Miss Elizabeth Bennet, escaping out the back door of her family's home, happily walked along the path away from her home towards nowhere in particular. Her mother was upset with Jane because Mr. John Lucas had become engaged to Miss Grace Goulding. How this was Jane's fault, Elizabeth had no notion. While Elizabeth felt sorry for her sister, caught amid Mrs. Bennet's tirade, Elizabeth had no desire to be likewise blamed for not securing the eldest Lucas boy's hand. John surely did not think of them as anything but sisters, and they likewise only thought of him as a brother. This was no excuse in Mrs. Bennet's view. Mr. John Lucas had known Miss Grace Goulding since they were in leading strings, just as he had the Bennets. Yet the Gouldings were never as intimate with the Lucases as the Bennets were. Furthermore, Grace had gone away to school for several years, leaving as a girl and returning as a woman who John could admire. All of this was superfluous to Mrs. Bennet. The main point was that an eligible man was marrying someone who was not a Bennet daughter.
Elizabeth broke into a run, determined to chase these disagreeable thoughts away. She remembered that there was an issue with drainage in the woods that ran between Netherfield and Longbourn, so she turned into the fields running towards the woods.
Bingley and Darcy rode the perimeter of the estate, taking note of the areas in which the land needed additional drainage, the condition of the tenants' houses, and the amount of underbrush in Netherfield's woods. It was clear that the estate had been under lax governance for many years. Darcy wondered that the estate had any tenants left considering the state of disrepair that the houses were in. He suggested to Bingley that he send an express to Mr. Morris, the solicitor to the owner of Netherfield relating the condition of the tenant houses. By rights, the owner should pay to repair the damage that had been wrought by his indolence, but Darcy doubted the man would be moved to do so. If he did not, they would have to visit Mr. Phillips to see what could legally be done to make the man care for those under his purview. If nothing could be done, Bingley and himself would fund the project. As the current leaseholder, Bingley could not let the tenants continue to live in these conditions.
As there was nothing else that could be done immediately, Darcy alerted the Netherfield staff that all available men should report to the back garden as they would begin to clear the woods as soon as may be. Carts, horses, men, and axes arrived before long, and they set to work. Bingley, Darcy, and as many men as could be spared worked all day in the woods, only pausing to eat the cold luncheon that a maid brought out to them. As the afternoon drew on, Bingley returned to the house to see to some correspondence and dismissed many of the staff to prepare the evening meal, to see to other tasks, or to rest, but Darcy continued. Only three footmen remained with him as he worked. As he was pausing to take a drink of water, Darcy heard a female voice.
"Excuse me, Sir! Sir! I fear that you are extending your efforts where you need not." The young lady that the voice belonged to called out. A young brunette, curly-haired, dark-eyed gentlewoman, likely around her majority, wearing a lovely white gown with green leaves patterned on the muslin stood before him.
"The woods need to be cleaned," replied Darcy.
"No sir. I mean, aye, they do. However, you have crossed over into Longbourn's woods. Are you working for Netherfield?" asked she. Darcy chuckled to himself. Looking at his attire, he could see how he could be mistaken for a servant. He was not dressed as a gentleman, but instead was wearing rough trousers and a canvas shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was sure he was covered in dirt and leaves.
"Excuse me, madam. I was not aware that we had crossed the property line. Forgive my trespass onto your land," he answered with a bow.
"There is nothing to forgive. Our neighbours are welcome on our land, should they be considerate. I simply would not have you extend your energies where your master would not benefit," said the lady with a smile. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled, making her look even lovelier. He found the exchange excessively diverting. One of the footmen came up behind him. He splayed a hand at his side to stop the man from correcting her misconception. He did not yet wish the woman to know who he was.
"Thank you, madam. Pray, would you shew me where the boundary line lays?"
"I would be pleased to. There are several large boulders in a line that mark the boundary. They appear every few hundred feet. If you turn around and look slightly to the left, you will see one such boulder, and there, by that birch is another." She gestured towards the boulders as she spoke.
"Thank you, Miss," said he and bowed. She curtseyed and ensured him that it was no trouble before continuing her walk. He directed the men to return to Netherfield's land and they worked a while more before returning to the house to eat and rest.
Mary sat awkwardly with her stranger turned fiancé, Mr. Wickham. She was in his rented home in Meryton, her father and Kitty accompanying them to chaperone. 'A bit late for that,' thought Mary ruefully to herself.
She was engaged to Mr. Wickham because of an inadvertent compromise. Several days earlier, there was a dreadful storm. There was thunder, lightning, and high winds. Mary, foolish as she was, had found herself in Meryton when the storm had come on suddenly. Her Aunt and Uncle were not at home, and seeing the light on in the office, she thought her uncle may have been working late in the evening as he sometimes did. Instead of her uncle, Mr. Wickham, her uncle's new business partner, was working on a large contract well after business hours. As the storm had come on, he had reconciled himself to remain at the office until it abated, for the high winds would make it quite dangerous to go home. Then Mary had arrived, soaked to the skin, hair undone from the wind, and quite alone.
Unable to go back out into the storm and alone together, they strove to make the best of the situation. Mr. Wickham made up the fire and gave his jacket to Miss Mary as she sat near the fire to warm herself. They had hope that the storm might lessen to the extent that Mr. Wickham might leave her in peace, but it was not to be. The wind whipped about, whistling in its severity. As the next day was Saturday, they had thought they might escape without incident, but it was not to be. While they were yet asleep -Mary on a bed of chair cushions and Wickham in the resulting uncushioned chair- Mrs. Phillips entered with Mrs. Long to retrieve her reticule that had been left behind the day before when she visited Mr. Phillips at his workplace.
There was absolutely no hope that she could remain uncompromised, so Mr. Wickham did his duty and offered for her. She supposed she should be grateful, but she could not overcome the unfairness of it all. For her, Mary, to be the Bennet found in a compromising position with a man! She had always lived with the utmost propriety and yet, due to an accident, she was now betrothed to a man that she barely knew. She looked across the table at him, as he spoke to her sister. "At least he is handsome," she thought.
"Do you not think, Mary?" asked Kitty, bringing Mary back to the conversation.
"I am very sorry, Kitty. I was wool-gathering. What was the question?"
"I was telling Mr. Wickham that he should attend the Meryton assembly tomorrow with us," repeated Kitty.
"Oh, of course, you should, Mr. Wickham," she responded with a slight smile. He gave her a charming lopsided grin in response. She supposed there were worse fates than marrying a man with such dimples. He had also acted the gentleman when they were alone that night.
"Then if Miss Mary wishes me to attend, I shall," he stated, "However, in accepting the invitation, I must also request the first two sets and the supper set with Miss Mary and two sets with you, Miss Kitty." The women agreed, and Mr. Wickham bid them to request two sets from each of the absent Bennet sisters as well.
Mr. Wickham then took them on a tour of his rented home. It was nothing to Longbourn or Lucas Lodge, but it was charming and a good size, she supposed. He had rented it furnished, so the décor was sparse, but there was comfortable furniture throughout the home. It had two bedchambers- each with a dressing room - and a drawing-room, a breakfast parlour, a dining room, a kitchen, and servants' quarters consisting of two bedrooms and a sitting room, plus storage space in the attic, which was divided into two large rooms.
He explained that he had no servants, as he could not afford the expense, especially when he had grown up as a steward's son and had been taught how to do such things as cooking and cleaning when he was a boy. He gave a regretful look at Mary, who shrugged. She was the plainest of her sisters and had never been the one to turn men's heads. She had always assumed that she would end up with a less than grand match, that or she would be a spinster. She had sneaked into the kitchens at Longbourn many times and had some knowledge of how to prepare food. She had never cleaned beyond tidying her chambers, but she had seen the maids clean and dust. It did not look too difficult to figure out how to clean, just strenuous to complete the larger tasks. If he already knew how to do some of the chores, and was willing to assist, she had it better than many wives.
He led them out to his small back garden. A small metal table and chairs sat on a stone terrace. The lawn was well-tended, and the fence was lined with flower beds and rose bushes.
"It is lovely, Mr. Wickham," said Mary, taking in their surroundings. It really was. Mr. Wickham explained that he had thought the bare grass too plain. As the son of a steward, he had learned his father's trade while he was young, but he always sneaked away to play with the gardener's son and had been pressed into work whenever the gardeners found the boys' hiding places.
They sat outside for a great while, Mr. Wickham bringing several chairs from inside the house outdoors. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Wickham began to discuss the settlement and when the banns should be called and the possible wedding dates. Mary found Mr. Wickham very pleasant and charming, and he did his utmost to assure both her and her father that he would take care of her and try to make her happy as his wife.