AN: I hope you all like this chapter. Please forgive me ahead of time for my depiction of Georgiana. I do hope to show some character development in the future as she grows up more, for I make her very childish, especially towards the end. But, I do promise I will tie it all up in the end. Don't forget to tell me what you think, especially because I am introducing some of Jane Austen's previous masterpieces of characters in these two chapters.
5
A fortnight provided Mary with as much enjoyment as she had experience in all of her life. Though it had been not even a year since Jane's departure from home into wedlock, it seems as if she had forever been residing in the halls of Netherfield Park. She and Mr. Bingley were most gracious hosts, and did all within their power and capabilities to make Mary feel as comfortable as possible during her stay.
When time called upon them to depart for Pemberley, Mary found it very difficult to imagine a stay anywhere else being relatively close to the pleasure received from Netherfield Park. But, true as gossip ever shall be, Mr. Darcy's dwellings were beyond words. The general splendor of the structure almost gave off an overbearing presence that many often associated with Mr. Darcy himself, but the softness within the building proved far from likewise in its exterior countenance.
Mrs. Reynolds informed Jane, Mr. Bingley, and Mary of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's absence during the day, but that they should return by nightfall, if they are not detained. Left to settle in her room without a welcoming from her eldest sister, Mary followed Mrs. Reynolds to her room, which would be adjacent to Georgiana's. Never had she imagined such bedroom chambers could be so large, and she felt more claustrophobic in such a large quantity of space than she did in her small square room at home. Sitting at the vanity, she stared at her reflection and commenced to brush her hair.
"Are you Mary Bennet?"
Mary turned instantaneously to identify the speaker and saw Georgiana stand before her, a pleasant smile on her face, though her eyes held a taciturn fear in them, as if hesitating to advance. The Darcy shyness, often mistaken enough for pride, was evoked in her manner, looking at Mary in discernment and trying to make out the character of her visitor.
"That is who I am," Mary answered, standing up and placing her brush down. "I assume you are Georgiana."
"You assume right," she moved towards her, and Mary saw how she was taller than she. "My brother told me of your arrival. I am to treat you as a sister. You are my sister, if only through the law."
"I suppose I cannot argue with you there," Mary admitted. "You have uncommonly large bedchambers."
"Really?" she laughed, and Mary smiled at how some of her companion's timidity dissipated with her remark. "I suppose we do. I am so accustomed to them, I notice not."
"If surrounded with such privileges all my life, I doubt I should notice as well."
"I do believe I shall enjoy your company immensely," Georgiana helped herself to jump upon Mary's bed. "Please, join me and tell me about yourself. I wish to know all that I possibly can."
"And I thought you shy just moments before," Mary remarked, sitting down lightly on the edge of her bed.
"I suppose I am, in many aspects, but I cannot bear to be shy around family, though we still be strangers."
"Tell me, is my eldest sister well?" Mary inquired. "She is the same Lizzie, is she not?"
"Goodness, I do not think she capable of being anything else." Georgiana giggled. "Why, though a fool can tell they are in love, she is as full of fire towards my brother as ever. He is still smitten, as most young men are when they begin marriage, but there is no denying their happiness. I never before saw such a finely matched pair in my life."
"That was what I thought of Jane and Mr. Bingley."
"They are fortunate," Georgiana commented. "…To so easily stumble across a worthy companion for life."
"Fortunate? Fate could not have delivered them a better partner, if given the opportunity."
"Do you not think it fate to find your true love in the most advantageous circumstances?" Georgiana questioned. "It was as meant to be as the rising sun."
"You sound as if you are quoting some romantic rubbish," Mary shook her head. "It seems more fortuitous to be a realist and look at such circumstances in a pragmatic manner."
"But then it is not romantic at all."
"Not many women can afford romance when left to little or no options for their future."
"Certainly you do not consider yourself to be part of this assemblage."
"I need not classify myself, when I have a mother at home who does enough comparisons to last a myriad of lifetimes."
"But you do not truly believe your fate rests in a marriage with little foundation of affections and partiality, I hope."
"I do not believe in fate."
"Do not believe? Whyever not?"
"Fate makes an event ineluctable, and I do not agree with such a word." Mary responded in all of her sagaciousness and shrewdness. "If truly perceptive of the term, to acquiesce in its meaning and its hold on life, you suddenly become as meaningless and devoid of purpose as the rocks that lay upon the street. To comply would be to consider that, no matter the actions taken in your life, you are destined to end up as fate deems it to be. The absurdity is undeniable, in my eyes. I would much rather think of my future being the result of my actions up until that very moment than a meaningless effort to subdue my predestined, inevitable fate. Fate is a horrid word to consider, given that it transfigures you into a purposeless being, and I wish to think that some degree of purpose is fulfilled in my existence in this world."
"My, your talk makes me feel silly and foolish." Georgiana giggled, not sure how to reply to such a speech. "Elizabeth did not warn me of your seriousness in such matters. Perhaps in the near future, I shall take heed in not letting my imprudence capture hold of all my sensibility."
Silence followed, whereupon Mary stood and moved towards the windows that took up the majority of the far wall. Too often had her habit of demonstrating some degree of intelligence in a quest for complaisance ruined a conversation. Try as she might to perfect herself, she would never be a master of eloquence or amiability.
Pemberley truly was as breathtaking a sight as words could express. Though Mary stood tense and in a sense of abashment for her remarks, a feeling of ease and tranquility still carried relief through her, just standing in such a peaceful place. Misplaced as she was, a stranger to such a life as that which was presented to her, Mary was the first to return to the fraternization.
"How do you invest your time? What activities of leisure are presented here at Pemberley?"
"Leisure?" Georgiana looked up and laughed. "There are balls and grand suppers we attend often. We may spend an afternoon horseback riding, if you wish, or quiet afternoons playing the piano…"
"You play?" Mary found herself laughing at her excitement. "I suppose it would be reasonable that you do. I am sure your family supports your accomplishments."
"Accomplishments?" her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "My brother is enchanted with my devotion, and I receive great pleasure from it."
"Do you not see it as an accomplishment?"
"Goodness, I think it to be a perfectly enjoyable way to invest my time. I never sought it as a means to make me any better of a person than I be at this moment."
"Perhaps it is my turn to feel silly and foolish," Mary moved and sat more on her bed, propped besides Georgiana. "It must be pleasant to have your family so supportive in the tasks you partake in."
"Is your family not so?"
"They ought to, but I doubt they ever shall." Mary smiled and shook her head. "Their primary interests are far from my own."
"Whatever do they wish for you to do?" Georgiana inquired. "I cannot imagine me doing anything that might arise a feeling of disapproval from my family."
"To go to balls and get married like my sisters."
"You do not wish for such things?"
"I would prefer to sing and practice the piano."
"For the rest of your life?"
"Until there be a man in the country who finds such things as indulging as do I." Mary shrugged. "Perhaps I be asking much from the world in my demand, but if I must dream the impossible, I shall make it unceasingly impossible, for one impossible is no different from the next."
"My, your thoughts are quite strong." Georgiana remarked. "Your skills of perception are positively occult. You remind me much of Elizabeth. I can draw such similarities between the two."
"Be that true?" Mary raised her brows. "Such comparisons between my sisters and myself typically yield us to be quite dissimilar."
"Not at all, I find you to be just as confident and assured as your sister."
"I do appreciate your compliment, for I find Elizabeth to be an admirable woman."
"She is," Georgiana smiled. "…she be a free spirit, if ever I saw one." Laughter escaped her and she looked through the window in reminiscence. "Oft times enough, it feels as if she may take off into the night. She did once, were you aware of such an occurrence? My brother searched all of Pemberley on horseback, and my brother be knowing our estate better than any person I have ever encountered, but she could be found no where! Why, my brother feared the worst and was in such a dreadful mood that I felt it best to leave him be, and then she shows up in the morning, covered in mud and saying she felt the need to have some fresh air, for such walks were invigorating to the spirit. Could you imagine? Such freedom to roam! I do hope to someday have such independence and will."
"I do believe such traits are something that one is born with, and not cultivated over time." Mary answered considerably, but softened into a smile. "However, I, too, wish for such things as well."
"There is something about you Bennets," Georgiana smiled and held Mary's hand. "But I find you all simply delightful. None the same, yet so very similar. I cannot think of a family I would prefer to call my own, and I do hope we may grow to become close friends, Mary. You are not so lost to me in love for a man as Jane and Elizabeth are, and I know not Kitty and Lydia enough, for Lydia is off enough with her husband and Kitty rather enjoys her place with Lady Catherine at the moment."
"Lady Catherine? She has tolerance for Kitty? However did this occur? Why, I thought Lady Catherine had no such tolerance for such silliness."
"Why, Kitty is not half so dreadful as she might have been." Georgiana informed. "She truly did undergo quite a transformation living at Pemberley with us. She was awful shy, I must tell you, but she made for a great companion, for she knows well how to please a person."
"You have come to observe quite a handful of a person," Mary determined. "I think you know more of my family that do I. I have not talked with them in months, and it seems they all be strangers to me."
"Nonsense, I am sure you shall know them well as ever once you see them again." Georgiana reassured. "I am positive they will rejoice at your arrival, and be just as enchanted with your presence here as I be."
"I do not think they would do me as much justice as you do," Mary grinned. "But I do know they shall treat me as they would at home, at least that shall not alter with the progression of time. I hope not for anymore than that."
6
Providence had allowed Elizabeth Bennet to come into possession of a husband who loved her, body and soul, and an estate with an income too large for her to account for, but she still carried herself as she always did. Clad in her night gown with a thin robe of lace around her, Elizabeth stood in the doorway of Mary's room to greet her. Mary woke to the piercing eyes that long ago had captivated Fitzwilliam Darcy into love staring into her own eyes of equal darkness. To see her sister scrutinize her, as if making out her character, Mary sat up and ran a hand through her long hair, and returned the same interpretive gaze.
Before such a moment passed between the two, neither had thought the other possessed any similar qualities to their own. Though they both expressed their opinions openly and with the most intrepid air, their opinions often clashed and served only to further accentuate their differences. Where Elizabeth had a charm about her, despite her brazenness, Mary's own remarks were often cause of a feeling of aloofness on her part, a pretentious attitude that made many avoid her conversation and companionship.
The transfiguration of her sister left an overwhelming impact on Elizabeth, and she felt as if she were looking at a younger replica of herself, though Mary had not half the handsome features Elizabeth and her other sisters shared. Piercing eyes looked at her with such self-assurance and in such an unperturbed manner that Elizabeth smiled at how her younger sister was still so able to carry herself audaciously at ease.
"I do not think I have received such a look from you before, Lizzie." Mary shifted so her legs dangled from her bed. "Do you not recognize your own sister?"
"I dare say I thought you someone else," Elizabeth could not conceal her surprise. "Whatever has happened to you, Mary?"
"My sisters have all left me for love and marriage to deal with mama alone," Mary smiled and looked down. "I suppose that alone gives leave for a person to change, as does the progression of time. I, too, must certainly undergo some alterations in order to be in such a position as you all someday."
"Do you honestly believe that? I do not think you one to sacrifice yourself to please others."
"Is not everything we do in life part of our own complaisance?"
"Goodness, if you plan to make a mockery of all that I say, I shall depart for a better investment of my time, Mary."
"I did not mean to exasperate you," Mary laughed. "But I must say I find your reaction far more satisfactory than mama's, for you make no reference to your poor nerves."
"If ever such a remark passes my lips, I give permission to all those around to slap me." Elizabeth shook her head. "I see a change within you, and I swear you are a new person."
"People are too apt to prejudices," Mary remarked. "But, in addition, they are just as apt to watch such prejudices dissipate with the progression of time."
"Now there is the sister I know well enough," Elizabeth gestured for Mary to stand. "Perhaps after such inquiries, we may join the other inhabitants of this home? I feel we have been absent for far too long, and creatures like husbands are, to use your terminology, apt to take such an absence for neglect."
"This is Mary, brother." Georgiana tugged on Mr. Darcy's arm. "She is very much like your Elizabeth, I have come to learn. She and I are soon to become very good friends."
"I have been in your acquaintance before," Mr. Darcy bowed. "It is a pleasure to have you at Pemberley."
"You would think he would be not so cordial to family," Elizabeth remarked. "You are amongst family and friends. Shall you proceed to address them with the same polite aloofness as you do at other social functions?"
"Your sister finds a great many pleasures in carping about my faults," Mr. Darcy told Mary.
"You would think after so much time, the poor man may take leave to end such habits." Elizabeth commented. "But what might I know of the matter? I am only his wife, and hold no influence in his life."
"Quite contraire, my dear, you hold all the influence in my life." Mr. Darcy enveloped Elizabeth in his arms.
Up until this moment, Mary had yet to realize the peculiarity of the entire scene before her. Her, the Darcy's, and Bingley's were all within the sitting room. Jane and Mr. Bingley were smiling on their own settee, dressed in colors of the spring. They sat perfectly at ease, ready for the day with their pleasant appearance and countenance. The Darcy's were standing, Georgiana with her hands clasped, and Elizabeth in Fitzwilliam Darcy's arms. All of them were still in their night gowns except Mr. Darcy, who was dressed as in starch, though his softening facial expression evoked a sentiment that contrasted with that of his outfit.
And so the morning reunion passed, completely in comfort, with the couples resting against one another on their own settee as Mary and Georgiana curled up on the rug in the center of the great room. Servants emerged every hour, the first to rekindle the fire, the next to open the dark velvet curtains to cast the room in illumination, and the third to provide them with nourishment of the finest sort. It was as a scene depicted in a painting of a family in perfect contentment, and one in which none could deny the joy and utmost sincerity of all the inhabitants.
"How is mama?" Elizabeth asked. "I do wonder if she is not bored to death with no daughters left to marry off."
"She is as busy as ever with finding me a suitor," Mary answered. "It is the primary purpose of her life since you all left me with her, but I suppose her perseverance should be revered."
"And papa? Is he well?"
"He feels no more trouble with his daughters being married off as he has in the past."
"I am glad to know life at home has not changed at all," Elizabeth laughed. "I suppose mama could not have asked for a better marriage for any of her daughters if she had several lifetimes to plan it all out."
"Now she has the task of marrying me off," Mary smiled and then frowned. "I wonder why she does not give up such thoughts and take satisfaction in having four daughters well off. I do not mind such a life as that offered in being alone."
"Alone? What a dreadful thought!" Georgiana explained. "Why, Mary, we must do something about you. We must present you to society. No, we mustpresent society to you!"
"Present society to me?"
"Of course! We must show you that there be not so much humdrum as often depicted in society. There is much to be enjoyed out there, and perhaps such elations were denied you until this verymoment."
"I assure you I have not been deprived in the least bit from such trifles."
"Oh, but we must do something about that." Georgiana ignored Mary's last remark and turned to her brother. "And what better way for Mary to become acquainted with all that is good than through a ball?"
"You shall plan the event, Georgiana." Mr. Darcy informed.
"A ball?" Mary sat erect. "Oh, no, anything but a ball…"
"We shall have the finest music and everyone shall be invited! I shall pick out the food and tell the servants today and send word into town by nightfall. And of course Kitty shall be called for…"
"Kitty? Please, you need not do all of this for me."
"It shall be our delight," Georgiana smiled. "I believe it be about time you had your share of jollity, Mary. It will be a great opportunity to meet new people."
"I am perfectly content with those that I already know."
"Nonsense, there is always room enough to meet more people."
"I do appreciate your sincerity, but… a ball?" Mary shook at the thought. "Please, if you have any consideration for me…"
"It shall give us an opportunity to go into town," Georgiana informed with a wink. "We may go to buy a gown this very afternoon."
"Shopping? I am not one to find delight in such a task."
"Then I must change that about you," Georgiana giggled. "Do not worry, Mary, darling, we are ensured to have the greatest time. I will ring up a servant to help you ready yourself."
"Ready myself?"
"We cannot go into town looking as such," Georgiana replied, implying the fact they still wore their night gowns.
"Though we spent half the day clad like this already?"
"I believe it about time we changed out of them."
And so, without much reluctance on her part, Mary Bennet followed a servant to her room to dress for her trip into town with Georgiana Darcy.