Sorry for the mix up, this is an edit of Chapter 18...I realized that I managed a really big typo which wasn't at all what I wanted to get across... Lydia does not want to end up like Kitty...what a difference one little word can make!

Chapter 18

It was a small house with a very small garden on the side, but it looked very fashionable. Two windows glowed with light from the inside. Kitty climbed out of the carriage and walked slowly to the door. As she got closer, she could hear a great deal of commotion coming from somewhere in the house. She knocked loudly, hoping to be heard amidst the noise. As she finished the house became immediately silent and within moments she heard someone fidgeting with the door knob.

"Are you Catharine Bennet?" a small but serious voice asked from the crack in the door. "And you had better not lie, because my father will kill you if you do."

"I am indeed Catharine Bennet." Kitty laughed.

The door flew open and three small children stood staring at Kitty. "Hello Aunt Kitty!" the tallest girl yelled.

"Sarah! Do be quiet, I have a headache! Help your aunt with her things and then bring her to see me." Lydia screamed from another room. Kitty recognized the voice, but not the tone.

"Yes mama." Sarah said, hanging her head in shame.

"I only have one trunk, so if we all help carry it, we'll have no trouble!" Kitty beamed.

"Your going to help us with it?" Sarah questioned.

"Of course! Why would you ask?"

"Mother never helps with anything, she is always angry with us, and forces us to do everything that cook doesn't do." Sarah explained.

The children smiled and grabbed hold of the trunk. They took it upstairs and then escorted their aunt to the parlor. Lydia was lying down with a compress on her head, being dramatic. Apparently her sister had not changed after five years and three children. Lydia sat up slowly and smiled at Kitty.

"Well come and give me a hug! I've missed you Kitty."

Kitty obliged and gave her sister the hug she asked for. "Now would you please introduce me to these darling children."

"Darling indeed, you wait until you are here for a while, they will not be so darling to you then. Anyway, it is not to hard to figure out. Sarah is there, the tallest one. She is a know it all, obnoxious, always telling me I'm wrong. And there is beth with the brown hair, a terrible crier, everything seems to bother her, who knows why. And Albert is the only boy, always getting into something he shouldn't be in." By the end of the introductions all of three children looked incredibly uncomfortable and were staring at their feet.

"Lydia really, you shouldn't say such things in front of them."

"Oh please, they are quite used to it, and they know that I speak the truth."

"Just because they are used to it doesn't mean it is right, and it also doesn't mean that they like it, which they obviously do not. Now, how old are all of you?" she said, turning away from her sister.

"I am four and a half and Beth and Albert are three, they are twins." Sarah explained.

"Yes of course, I did remember that. Wow four years old, how very grown up you are."

"Four and a half." Sarah corrected.

"Yes of course, your cousin Charles is also four, soon to be five, and Samuel is three, like Beth and Albert." Kitty smiled.

"Do you see our cousins very often?" Sarah asked politely.

"I usually see them in the summers."

"I wish we got to see you in the summer." Sarah said, managing a smile.

"Oh darling, me too. But you barely know me, you could find me evil and cruel." Kitty laughed.

"Never." Beth mumbled.

"Well perhaps we should go get acquainted over some hot chocolate in the kitchen?"

"I love hot chocolate!" Albert cried suddenly.

"Would you like some Beth?" Kitty asked cautiously.

"Yes please." she said softly.

"Thank you Kitty, I will enjoy the silence very much. After the hot chocolate you can put them to bed and that will afford us some time to talk." Lydia said, lying back down placing the ice back on her head.

Kitty listened only because she wanted to spend time with the children and get them away from Lydia. She hadn't realized what an awful mother her sister was. She felt terribly sorry for her nieces and nephew. They all sat around the small kitchen table and talked while they drank their hot chocolate. The children were the sweetest most adorable things.

All three of them were very handsome and had beautiful blue eyes. Sarah was very smart, which would explain her mother thinking of her as a know it all. Beth was a very quiet child, she was calm and sweet, Kitty could tell that she hated to be yelled at. And Albert reminded her of Samuel, of course he got into mischief, he was a young boy, but that didn't make him bad.

The children were completely different when not around their mother. They seemed almost afraid of her. Once they were away, they laughed and joked like all children should. Kitty could tell she would enjoy her time with them, she only wished she had met them sooner. After their hot chocolate, Kitty took them upstairs and got them ready for bed. She read a quick story and then tucked each of them in.

"Will you be here in the morning?" Beth said as Kitty pulled her quilt under her chin.

"Yes my dear."

"Oh good, I do like you very much and I would hate for you to go away so soon." she snuggled under her blankets and closed her eyes peacefully as she spoke the last word.

Kitty stood at the doorway and watched as her two nieces settled down in their beds. They were such dear children. Kitty planned to go yell at her sister for her behavior. She closed the door quietly and began to go downstairs when she heard the front door open. Wickham was home, Kitty paused for a moment and then continued down the stairs. She really hoped that he had changed, but couldn't be sure until she spoke with him again.

She walked into the parlor and cleared her throat to announce herself. "Kitty hello!" Wickham said standing and giving her a hug. "Do you think the children are fast asleep yet?"

"Probably not, I just put them to bed, why?"

"I'd like to go say goodnight if they aren't sleeping." he smiled.

"I do believe they would still be awake, and I am sure they would enjoy seeing you." Kitty answered.

Wickham nodded and headed toward the children's bedrooms. Kitty was glad that she would have a moment alone with Lydia. She didn't want to scold her in front of Wickham.

"Lydia, your children are wonderful, I can not believe you tread them so poorly."

"Don't be so dramatic, I treat my children just fine."

"No you don't Lydia, they are terribly frightened of you. You do nothing but yell at them. We have been worrying about Wickham all of this time, and we should have been worrying about how you treat the children."

"Oh Kitty, you would yell too if you were their mother, they are never quiet! Oh the headaches they give me!" she reached for the top of her head and laid back on the couch.

"You sound just like mother."

"And what is wrong with that, we had a good mother."

"But she was always yelling! That isn't important, how does Wickham treat the children."

"Oh he's the worst! He lets them do whatever they want. Sometimes he is the loudest of all of them. The children absolutely adore him." she sighed.

"Unbelievable, Wickham turns out to be a good man, and you..."

"I what?"

"Yo are not what I expected. What happened to my favorite sister?" Kitty asked sadly.

"She got married and had three children and she misses having the freedom to run around and chase eligible gentlemen. I hate that at 21 years old I am already grown up."

"Oh Lydia, I am sorry. But you have to embrace what you have. Your children are joyful! And it seems like your husband has turned into a respectable gentleman. You need to look at your life with a better perspective, you are a very lucky woman."

"Kitty you do not know anything, my life is horrible. I am just thankful you are here to help me with the children. Today was positively miserable."

"I'm glad too." Kitty said, giving up her argument.

They sat and talked for quite a while and moved on from discussing the children. Lydia had definitely changed since leaving Longbourne. Kitty could not remember Lydia ever smiling so little, and she hardly ever laughed. While talking with her, Kitty could not help but hope that she would not end up like Lydia. After talking for a bit, Kitty asked the question that she had been wondering for some time.

"Lydia, do you think Wickham would ever cheat on you?"

"Oh how I wish he would!"

"What?" Kitty said, shocked by her sisters response.

"That would be a way out!" she exclaimed.

"With the way wickham was when you were married, we all thought he would break your heart by falling for someone else. And now you are telling me, you wish he had?"

"In the first year of our marriage, I was afraid he would, but when I had Sarah, everything changed. He would never do anything that might cause him to loose his children. He loves them so much. He even gave up gambling when they were bor, and he is one of the very best in his regiment now. Positively dreadful."

Kitty sat astonished for a moment and then seemed to gain new insight into her sisters mind. "Are you jealous of your children?"

"You must be joking." Lydia answered, not looking Kitty in the eye.

"You are! Your jealous because Wickham loves the children more then he loves you. Oh Lydia, I am sorry, that is no way to live life."

"I don't want your pitty, just your help. I can't handle the children on my own because they are brats. But, I certainly do not need a lecture from you on how I treat them. They are my children and I will treat them however I wish."

"I am sorry for you Lydia. You are merely setting yourself up for a life without joy. Children bring such joy to life and you are nothing but bothered by them. All they want is your love, they just want to please you."

"They can't." Lydia said in a sad tone. Just then Wickham walked in with a huge smile on his face.

"The girls love you! They couldn't manage to stop talking about you." he smiled.

"They are so cute, you are so lucky to have them."

"Very lucky indeed. It is so kind of you to come to us for these two weeks, I know Lydia will really appreciate the help."

"It is no trouble at all. I had been longing to see Lydia, and of course to meet the children." she smiled.

"They were equally anxious to meet you. They have talked of nothing else since we wrote to you."

Kitty spoke to Wickham for a bit, and Lydia sat completely silent, not participating in the conversation at all. From what Kitty could tell both of them had changed a great deal. Her greatest surprise was that she was finding herself liking Wickham. It was odd to have five years of dislike suddenly melt away.

After speaking with them, Kitty decided to go to bed. Once she had gotten upstairs she decided to write her sisters to let them know she had gotten there safely.

Dear Jane, Lizzy and Mary,

I have just arrived at the Wickhams home, it is a very quaint home. Our nieces and nephew are absolutely adorable! I am excited that I get to spend two weeks with them. Wickham has changed a great deal, he is a very good father and has actually turned for the better. It is Lydia who concerns me. She has actually turned for the worse. She despises the children, which is just the beginning of the problem. But do not worry about me. I will most definitely not fall into her trap. Love you all! Please keep me updated on how London is!

Your Sister,

Kitty Bennet