AN: The last two chapters of Volume I. Hope it measures up. Thank you for those who have R&R. I do pray that you all continue, and that you spare some time to tell me what you think. So here we go with the chapter...
19
Though Mary had heard what was in necessity of being said by Edward, she did not find sleep easily, but rather spent the remainder of the night in circumspect of her life. Edward Pendleton slept soundly beside his new wife, and they both dreamt of a happy future ahead for them both.
Perhaps I should give up entirely on this pursuit for a man. What had initially began as mama's fruitless attempts had now became an opportunity for myself in which I may prove my claims wrong that a man might, in the chance of choosing between two women, decide upon the less beautiful of the two. How often shall I cross a man who is able to see something of worth within me but lose all earnestness he felt when a woman whose countenance is more appealing than my own appears? Of whatis there to offer a man when he has seen all there is of me and still does not find me satisfactory? Though such downtrodden sentiments are to provide me with no means of comfort, I feel pity for myself in this situation, for never have I met a man who I could truly imagine myself with in the future. Maybe that is my own subconscious wishing to speak of the truth of the matter and that I am, and forever will be, destined to be alone. Perhaps there is such a thing as fate…and that fate speaks of my own solitude.
"Oh, Mr. Pendleton, how happy I am for the two of you!" Mrs. Bennet declared at the breakfast table. "I do hope that you enjoy the plate we have given you. It is of the utmost quality, of that I may reassure you. Many blessings upon your marriage! I might never have known such happiness before!"
"Thank you for your kindness," Edward appeared more comfortable in the morning, and managed a natural smile. "I am a most fortunate man to be married to such an extraordinary woman."
"Do you not hear how he spoils me so?" Kitty giggled, her ringed hand covering her dimpled smile, and she turned to Mary. "I do think I might not have asked for more from life."
"I do suppose after all that has occurred to you, that shall be the case." Mary smiled weakly, and Georgiana giggled. "I am sure you shall be the best spouse that you can possibly be."
"Well, of course I must." Kitty responded. "However could I be anything less, when married to such a man?"
"At least you both shall take comfort in the knowledge that your love is reciprocated," Georgiana remarked. "I do wonder if many couples are able to boast of such a thing."
"Oh, but of course they must! Whyever would you marry if that be not the case?" Kitty asked naively.
"Might it be because not every person may boast of having enough to recommend themselves to the respectable gentlemen they would initially desire to marry?" Mary suggested with raised eyebrows.
"Whatever do you mean, Mary?" Kitty inquired.
"You are a silly girl as ever," Mary grinned at the realization.
"Do you mean to tell me, Mary, that you think me a gentleman after all?" Edward entered the conversation, noticing the discord between the two. "I am very honored to hear that."
"Do not flatter yourself," Mary replied stiffly.
"And such a lovely day it is!" Mrs. Bennet noticed the tension as well. "Such good weather for traveling, I do declare. You are both very fortunate to have such conditions."
"Of course," Edward smiled and turned to Mary in a hushed voice. "You need not treat me so publicly."
"I am not one to be different in any other environment," Mary answered. "And I shall not apologize for not having the complaisance to change my habits in every place I step within."
"So what are your plans now, Mary, since your previous ones are no longer possible?"
"To stay as far away from you and your tedious ways as possible."
"Whatever are you whispering about, Edward?" Kitty leaned across the table to face her husband. "No sweet little nothings, I do hope."
"None at all, those are reserved primarily for you." Edward smiled at her and then turned to look at Mary, who had sat back in her seat from across him.
"Then whatever were you whispering about?" Kitty questioned. "Us married people should not hide secrets, especially when married only the day before."
"We were discussing the possibility of Mary's future," Edward answered.
"Oh," Kitty sat back and turned to Mary. "And what was it that you have decided?"
"She has thought it best if she joins us on our way back to East Yorkshire," Edward responded for Mary.
"She is what?"
"I am what?"
"Yes, Mary shall be leaving with us to East Yorkshire," Edward grew more confident with each word. "I do feel a new environment will be of the most benefit to her, and I am sure that there are some within my acquaintance who might wish to call her to be their own as well."
"It does appear my days get better!" Mrs. Bennet rejoiced, standing up. "Blessed, happy days! Mary shall go off to East Yorkshire!"
"I must think of the situation before I decide completely," Mary spoke for the first time since Edward's declaration. "It is one of the utmost impertinence pertaining to my future. I do feel as if I shall need some time."
"We shall leave in the afternoon though," Edward reminded. "Do try not to invest too much of your morning in thought, Mary, otherwise you might not have time to pack."
"My possessions are so very few, I do doubt if it shall take more than a few minutes to place them within a trunk." Mary replied. "So I suppose that leaves me with the remainder of the morning to consider the offer."
"Offer? But, Edward, I thought that we should have the estate to ourselves for a bit. We are just married!" Kitty cried out in a fashion that appeared more like an outburst typical of Lydia. "Would you wish not to spend some time with your new wife?"
"We shall have our alone time, my dear." Mary could see Mr. Bennet chuckle at Edward's words. "The estate is quite large, and it shall appear as if it is all to our lonesome. That I reassure you."
"Oh, but must I entertain guests already when I know not the place with which I shall be living? I am not accustomed to tours and such."
"You need not trouble yourself over me. I am perfectly apt to explore the estate myself, and shall not require your assistance in guiding me through the halls."
"So you do plan to go?" Kitty questioned.
"I am not sure," Mary looked over at Georgiana. "I do not know."
"Well of course you shall not object to such a offer!" Kitty cried out and her eyes bore down on her husband malevolently. "I cannot think you one to so easily ruin our marriage by choosing to have my sister's presence in our home!"
"Now, Kitty, I do feel as if you are acting rather rashly," Mr. Bennet told his daughter. "Your husband is merely offering your sister an opportunity that I am sure you would agree would be of much benefit to her. You may not even notice her presence, in such a large home."
"I have not been married a sennight and my family wishes to move in already!" Kitty slammed her napkin upon the table, and all of the china shook.
"Need I remind you that Jane and Elizabeth were most reluctant to allow you to reside with them so early in their marriage?" Mr. Bennet stated. "And I do believe you took up the offer, did you not?"
"Oh, you are all so terrible for putting me in such a disposition!" Kitty covered her face and headed towards the door. "I cannot believe you ask of such things from me!"
"After seventeen years of devotion towards you, do you not think you might do some good for this family?" Mrs. Bennet headed after her but stopped before exiting, and merely closed the door and turned towards Edward. "Perhaps I might fetch you a warm brew of tea, Mr. Pendleton?"
"Oh, it is alright. I am quite satisfied with this cup." He smiled weakly and stood. "I do feel that I must retire for a bit."
He bowed his head and left.
"My, might you have guessed the morning might take such a turn?" Mrs. Bennet commented when she had sat down. "I do feel as if that my poor nerves shall never find relief, with such children. Ungrateful children! To be so selfish when mama asks not much from any of them!"
"Of course, my dear, but Kitty was always a silly girl." Mr. Bennet replied.
"Silly, Mr. Bennet? Why, I do feel as if she were no child of mine as she cried like such a babe. I have never been so humiliated! And with a new member of the family we wished to welcome into our household present! Didshe never learn the proper mannerisms that are appropriate within the presence of company?"
"Mama, you need not be so harsh upon her, when all that she knows of etiquette be what you had taught her during a lifetime."
Georgiana giggled and Mr. Bennet read his book, unperturbed by the conversation. Mrs. Bennet did not take heed to Mary's remark, and continued her tirade of her daughter's actions before all soon stood to tend to other matters of the day and escape Mrs. Bennet's prattling.
20
"Oh, but Mary, you must!" Georgiana urged when they had closed the door of their room. "It is quite a hospitable offer, and Edward does have friendly acquaintances that shall suit you better, I am sure."
"Do you not find the peculiarity of his proposal, when the previous day there was much conflict still between the two of us? That I should now reside within the home of the man who had promised me a future and then forgot such endeavors to marry my sister?"
"You have forgiven him, though."
"I cannot hold such a grudge against him, when that is the habit of most people within my acquaintance to take the actions that he had."
"Then what is left to be feared? You should not pass upon such an opportunity, Mary. I cannot stand for you to."
"I would think that you, of all people, might object to my consent of his offer."
"Whyever would I object? I am sure there are amiable men within East Yorkshire, and the country there is very romantic. Why it is the perfect setting for love. However might a man not take upon the opportunity of such a romance?"
"I am sure many men have, but surely not with women such as myself."
"You never were one to give yourself much credit, Mary." Georgiana brought out Mary's trunk and began gathering her clothes from the bureau. "Need I constantly remind you of the attention you received at the ball upon your visit to Pemberley?"
"You forget I no longer look like that, Georgiana."
"Are you not the same person as you were then?"
"That matters not if I have not the same countenance about my face. However would they determine myself to be the same, if they cannot bear beyond the differing appearances?"
"Well, you must write me as often as you are able," Georgiana closed the trunk and sat upon it. "It does appear as if you shall be going to East Yorkshire."
"East Yorkshire," Mary took a breath. "I know not what to expect. I have never ventured so far before."
"I do think that you shall be the traveling sort of person," Georgiana remarked. "Imagine, your first adventure. There shall be much opportunity up North for you, I am sure."
"And if there is no adventure to be had, and I do not enjoy myself at all?"
"Then you shall be forced to think of the adventures you might have, had you stayed in Hertfordshire with your family."
"There is no adventure to be had."
"Then remember that, and you shall take comfort in knowing that you are off away from such humdrum."
"I cannot think that I could possibly leave you to mama to entertain you," Mary shook her head. "Why, I do think that she might grow bored of not always having her nerves so troubled that she might partake in the task of having you wed as well."
"Perhaps, in that case, I shall consider returning home to Pemberley in the next few days." Georgiana sighed. "I do fear you have made a country girl of me."
"You could be placed in all of the world, and you should adjust well, I am sure." Mary complimented. "People cannot help but feel some inclination of pleasure while in your presence, for you are most affable and convivial and good-natured."
"I have my own puerile whims, and I do doubt those are as attractive as you paint them to be." Georgiana responded. "And how might I be the one more probable to adapt to such new environments, when you adjusted so very well at Pemberley and I have done nothing at Hertfordshire but paint and savor the atmosphere?"
"It shall be odd to not have you near me no longer, Georgiana," Mary remarked. "It does appear as if we are sisters now, especially since I have been alone for so long since all of my sisters left me with mama. Your company has been most appreciated."
"I owe much gratitude for you allowing me to reside here, and for being so very hospitable."
"It was only what you had done to me when I had visited Pemberley."
"If we are frank, I must admit I enjoyed to indulge my fantasy that we were sisters and this was our family at Hertfordshire." Georgiana giggled. "I do miss my rides with my brother and afternoons by the lake, where we might talk of anything we wished, whether it be ridiculous nonsense or something of incite."
Youthful laughter filled the walls in an old familiar way of almost a year prior, and when the chortles had passed, the room's din of jollity was replaced with a silence that ended abruptly. Down the hall, rapid footsteps were heard, in which large objects were heard being dropped or thrown, and angry voices passed through the walls into the room where Mary and Georgiana sat.
"Do you have no consideration towards this marriage, Edward?" Kitty cried, her belongings being tossed and thrown into luggage. "That perhaps your new wife might desire to spend some time with her husband, especially when there is still so much we know not of one another?"
"Catherine, I do reassure you, my intentions were most pure, and they were never intended to be of injury towards you."
"My, I do wonder how often you are inclined to say such statements, if you can so carelessly cause such grievances."
"You are unfair, Catherine, when I was merely being hospitable to your family."
"Is that what they call such sentiments now? Mere hospitality?"
"Whatever do you mean by…"
"You cannot tell me that there was nothing between you and my sister!" Kitty bellowed. "I am not so foolish as you might think me, nor am I daft enough to be so ignorant that you had such plans to marry my sister prior to your visit to London."
"Had my intentions been strong, or my attachment great, do you think I would have fallen in love with you and chose you for a wife? Kitty, you give me no credit."
"Oh, I do give you much credit, Edward. Credit for lies and carelessness and deceit!"
"If we must give credit, my dear, than you deserve your credit of jealousy, which is all that I sense within you at this current moment."
"Jealousy? You think this is jealousy?"
"Why else would you care of a woman that meant not enough for me to marry?" Edward reached out and held her wrists in his hands. "Catherine, it is you that I love."
"Kitty! Kitty! My name is Kitty!" she sobbed hysterically, and would have fallen to the ground, had not Edward pressed her against his chest, where she cried against his shoulder, her hands clasping his shoulders tightly. "You chose me, Edward. You chose to be with me. Please, please, and need I beg please, do not go and break my heart. I cannot bear it."
"You do not give me enough credit there," Edward placed a kiss upon her head. "My choice shall be you forever. Do believe me… Kitty."
"I want to believe you. I do. I really do." Her back shook still with her hysterics. "Oh Edward, just never stray from me. I wish to call you my own."
"I am but yours," Edward reassured. "You must believe me that I mean only to help your family out in my offer."
"I want to believe you, Edward."
"You would not object entirely if Mary did come with us, would you? If it truly did distress you so…"
"No, no, I shall be fine." Kitty stifled her breath once before she looked up. "It would not be such a sisterly gesture if I did not approve of such a beneficial decision for my sister."
"So she shall return with us to East Yorkshire?"
"Do you think she shall enjoy life at Chamberlain Hall?" Kitty questioned.
"If not, I am sure she might find some enjoyment at Bridlington Harbor," Edward remarked. "Has Mary ever seen the sea?"
"I do not think she has."
"Have you seen the sea?"
"When I was in London, I had stopped by the harbors once. I found it quite distasteful. How repulsive the smell of fish and the society there! It was more objectionable and unpleasant."
"You disagreed with the people at the harbor?" Edward chuckled. "If I might object, I do think that the society there shall be of much interest to Miss Mary Bennet and that she shall find it, or grow to find it, to be very satisfactory to her tastes."
AN: So concludes Volume I of this tale. I hope that it provided you all with substantial enjoyment and that you shall find the remaining two to be just as, or hopefully more, to your liking. If you wish to see a sneak preview of some of the setting, you can look up Burton Constable Hall, which will be the model of Pendleton's house. Also, Bridlington Harbor will play much significance in the future, and that might be of interest as well. I do think that such info might deserve me a bit of imput on this part, or volume, or just the story or suggestions or anything really.