Author's notes: I returned to my country a few hours ago and I hope to publish half or a chapter every day. There are still about 15 half-chapters left.
PPP
Upon arrival at Sandstone, Miss Taylor along with the housekeeper and Mr. Shaw were waiting for them. The first thing Elizabeth sadly noticed was that several of the tenants' houses were poorly maintained and two of them were unoccupied. That same day, Darcy and Elizabeth met with the steward to review the ledgers. He had also made copies of the letters he had sent to Mr. Bennet and had the replies he had received.
Darcy was furious with Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner, and Elizabeth was sad and resigned. The estate had no debts, but the income had dropped considerably and more than £1000 had to be invested in repairs, and there was not enough money in the account. Since Elizabeth was not going to demand that Mr. Gardiner return the money – her cousins' dowries - Darcy would pay for the repairs until Elizabeth received her dowry.
As the days passed, a routine developed with Elizabeth and Mary visiting tenants, Miss Taylor teaching Johnny to read and write, and Darcy helping in the administration of Sandstone. Georgiana visited her friends with her brother almost daily. Since they were in mourning, they didn't receive visits from the other neighbors.
In early July Elizabeth received Mrs. Gardiner's letter about Kitty's health. After reading it, she gave it to Mary to read…
"What do you think of Aunt Gardiner's letter?"
"Honestly, so much has happened in the last few months that I didn't pay much attention to Kitty. I remember she was thinner, coughed more than usual, and spoke very little." She sighed, "Kitty was very ill as a child and her lungs are weak as a result. If it's like Aunt Gardiner said, the situation is worrying. What do you think?"
"I would prefer that she not come and the Gardiners find another solution. For example, they could lease a small house in Bath, Brighton, or Ramsgate and a companion for Kitty. She sighed, "You know Fitzwilliam doesn't want Georgiana to have any kind of relationship with Lydia, Kitty, and Mrs. Bennet. If she comes, he probably won't let Georgiana come to Sandstone anymore. I don't blame him, for a long time, Kitty's behavior was similar to Lydia's. The situation is delicate and our reputation will be tarnished if it becomes known what happened to Lydia. I don't trust Kitty's discretion and common sense."
Mary nodded, "I understand, are you going to tell her not to come?"
"I do not know. what would you do in my place?"
"Our situation is different, Lizzy. She is my sister and I cannot turn my back on her because if something bad happens to her I will have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life." She sighed, "But, you barely know Kitty, and she wasn't particularly nice to you in all the years you lived in Longbourn. You have already been very generous in allowing us to keep our dowries and you are under no obligation to do anything for us. So, it is your decision. Whatever you decide, I will support you."
Lizzy nodded.
Three days later, after some serious thought and discussion with Darcy – who was not in favor of Kitty coming to Sandstone - and subsequently Miss Taylor, Lizzy replied to Mrs. Gardiner's letter. Lizzy didn't invite Kitty to Sandstone, but since Darcy had a small estate in Ramsgate, she was invited to go there with Miss Taylor until she recovered. On the other hand, Mrs. Annesley would be moving to Sandstone until Lizzy married Darcy or Miss Taylor returned.
In the second week of July, Mrs. Gardiner and Kitty arrived at Ramsgate, where Miss Taylor was waiting for them.
As soon as Miss Taylor met Kitty, she realized that Kitty was ill both physically and emotionally and she took personal care of her. She spent many hours with her, they went out for walks on the beach, and she forced her to eat, to talk, and above all to keep her busy. She was horrified to see that she had received no education or instruction. Kitty was an ignorant young lady, not very curious, but on the other hand, she was very sweet and docile. She couldn't play the piano, she didn't speak languages, her knowledge of literature was mediocre, and her handwriting was poor. Added to that, she didn't even have money to make up for all those shortcomings. As Kitty recovered, Miss Taylor began giving her lessons in literature, drawing, history, and the piano.
Whether it was the benefits of the sea air or the attention of Miss Taylor, the truth was that in two months Kitty recovered physically and realized several of the mistakes she had made in the past. She was not a brilliant young woman, but over the years with instruction and dedication, she improved remarkably.