I don't own Pride and Prejudice
A.N. I would like to apologize to everyone I have annoyed with my poor spelling, I sadly really am that bad at spelling. However I am also writing this on my phone, so autocorrect must take its share of the blame.
"Ah, Mrs Darcy, my cousin told me you have another sister here," Colonel Fitzwilliam said as she entered the room, Mary right behind her. She saw Kitty practically bouncing in her seat with excitement, so smiled at the young girl.
"Kitty, would you care to make the introductions?"
"Colonel Fitzwilliam, Georgiana, this is my older sister Miss Mary Bennet, Mary, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Miss Darcy." Once the introductions were made Kitty bounded across the room and wrapped Mary in a tight hug, startling the poor girl. "Oh Mary, out new brother just told us you are going to be living here with us! You are going to love it here. Fitzwilliam has hired masters for us, can you believe it, I'm learning the piano forte and how to draw! Lizzy let's us sit with her during calls, if we want to that is. They took us to the theater and shopping...Oh Lizzy, can we take Mary on a shopping trip like the one we had when we first arrived. It was ever so much fun, Lizzy and aunt Gardiner took us to uncle Gardiner's warehouse, and let us pick our own fabric for our dresses. They then took us to the modiste...oh, look at these dresses Lizzy also had the Modiste make, we are sewing the decorations on ourselves, and we are going to give them to the tenant children as Christmas gifts. Did you know Jane and Lizzy have been making these dresses for years for Papa's tenants?"
"Perhaps if you slowed down, Mary could join the conversation with you." Elizabeth said with a laugh, and was thankful she'd warned Mary of how altered Kitty had been.
"Perhaps it is best the shopping trip wait until I have retrieved Miss Bennet from Longbourn." Fitzwilliam cut in, but did so gently so as not to embarrass Kitty.
Grabbing Mary's hand she pulled her over to where Georgiana was sitting and started showing off all the dresses they had done. "This one is my favorite," she said, holding up a little peach dress, "We should find fabric this color for you Mary, this would look very pretty on you." Kitty held the dress up to Mary's face so she could verify her thought.
"Very pretty." Georgiana said shyly, "we will also need a purple one."
"That's right, Lizzy invited a friend to join us on an outing to the museum. We are all going to dress in purple for the day, does that not sound fun?!" Poor Mary didn't know what to make of this new Kitty, and could only nod her head in agreement.
"Mary, would you like to come over here and I'll teach you one of the patterns we are using?" She asked when she noticed the younger girl getting overwhelmed with Kitty's incessant chatter.
"Miss Bennet, is this your first time in town?" The colonel asked, pulling Mary's attention away from Lizzy and on to him.
"It is, sir." She answered shyly, a light blush on her cheeks.
"Please, being called Sir reminds me of being in the barracks," He smiled at her, and Elizabeth detected a bit of flirting in his manner.
While she truly liked the Colonel, she knew that men like him, second sons, had to marry a woman with a healthy dowry, and she didn't want her sister to be hurt. She had finally seen just how truly fragile her sister was, and would do anything to protect her.
She had found that since bringing Kitty to London, both she and Fitzwilliam had become more of parents to both her and Georgiana, rather than brother and sister. It was a testament to just how much the two young girls had craved a parent's love that they would take so easy to such a dynamic. She felt like Mary may crave it even more so, as Mary had never had a sibling or parent she was closest to.
"Don't let this brute make you uncomfortable Mary, he will answer to just about anything I'm afraid." Fitzwilliam said with a fake look of disapproval on his face.
Mary couldn't help but stare at the man in shock, she was so used to seeing him look nothing but stern and disapproving, to see him joking was unsettling. "I hope you don't mind Elizabeth, I took the liberty of sending a message to your uncle about the shopping trip your sister just mentioned."
"I appreciate you doing so, hopefully we can go the day after tomorrow so that Jane and Mary both have their dresses for the museum." Elizabeth smiled at her husband, "Perhaps a visit to your tailor is in order as well, for I doubt you have anything in purple." She said with a teasing smile, which got a loud laugh from the colonel.
"I assure you Mrs Darcy, I will be the only member of our party not wearing purple." He gave a fake glare, but the smile he was trying to contain ruined it.
"Does that mean you will be wearing purple, Colonel?" Mary asked shyly.
"If you wish it I would be happy to do so. Then the old man here would look especially out of place." The colonel laughed as he slapped Fitzwilliam on the back.
It was then that dinner was announced, Fitzwilliam offering his arm to Elizabeth, while the colonel offered his to Mary.
Elizabeth woke the next morning to find the side of the bed her husband had occupied empty and cold. He had told her he would be leaving early in the morning to retrieve Jane, wanting to be back in time to enjoy time with his family. The moment she realized family meant her and her sisters, as well as Georgiana, was the moment she realized that she had lost her heart to the man. How could she not when he had shown her time and time again just how good of a man he truly was.
She had thought it strange, writing that he could take guardianship of any of her sisters he chose, if her parents proved to be incapable of protecting them. She hadn't seen the dangers he saw, in her parents lackadaisical parenting skills. Venturing out into the Ton she was seeing there was more danger to a young woman than she had ever known.
He had also explained to her that he had talked to his cousin about his flirtation with Mary. He had laid down the law, that she was his to protect, and that he would not allow her to be toyed with. He also said that if he was honorable in his intentions, he would be glad to call him brother.
Richard promised that his intentions were all that was honorable. That when he'd seen Mary looking so lost and alone he had wanted nothing more than to protect her. He truly wanted to take the time to get to know her and see if they would suit each other.
Fitzwilliam then explained that his father had left Richard a small estate when he passed. He had wanted to ensure that both of Georgiana's guardians were cared for, and had loved Richard like a son. The estate had yielded roughly two thousand a year at the time of it's purchase, which his father had improved, and brought it to three thousand a year. Richard had then asked Fitzwilliam to over see it, investing two thirds of his pay and prize money into it, while investing the rest in different trade ventures. The estate has since doubled it's earnings, and they were currently looking to higher a steward for it.
He had also explained that generations of Darcy men had been setting aside money into an account to be used specifically for dowries for any Darcy daughters. Due to a lack of daughters and an abundance of good investments, he was able to settle dowries the size of Georgiana's on her three sisters, and still have enough left over for their great great great granddaughters. He explained that he and his father had never considered that account to be part of the estate, as both hoped to one day have daughters who would need it.
Fitzwilliam also told her he had been trying to talk his cousin into retiring now that the war was escalating. However his cousin enjoyed being a soldier, and would not consider retiring even though he could more than afford to. Her husband admitted that a selfish part of him hoped that his cousin would fall in love with Mary, and that he would want to retire.
Sighing, she rose from the bed, and prepared herself for the day, calling out when someone knocked on the door. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind lending me another dress." Mary said shyly, and she smiled at her.
"Of course," she stood from her vanity and asked Emma to wait again so that she could help Mary prepare for the day, making a mental note to hire another ladies maid. "Let's see here, the blue was lovely on you, and I thing this one will be as well." She pulled out a pastel green dress that had light blue embroidery on it.
She didn't allow Mary to argue, shooing her behind the screen to change. She then had Emma style her hair in a in a manner much less severe from Mary's usual tight bun. "Just as lovely as any of us Bennet sisters." Elizabeth smiled, wondering why Mary had ever been classified as plain. Even with her glasses she was a very pretty girl, the glasses being the only objection to her sister's appearance she could imagine her mother, or anyone else for the matter, having, as they were not considered to enhance beauty. However, Elizabeth thought they suited her sister very well.