DISCLAIMER: I do not pretend to own any of the works by Jenny Austen or any other author and their characters. I am but a lowly servant.
AN: Sorry about the delay everyone - laptop hates me
It would be three months before she saw Charlie again. Mr. Collins liked to be near his boss, Lady Debouf and had moved interstate very quickly after being employed by her ladyship. As a dutiful wife that Charlie had resigned to be, she allowed herself to be dragged away from all she knew. That was one of the few things she didn't understand about her friend, her acquiescence to a situation that Eleanor would have objected too. Largely objected to.
Therefore they had to make do with long and explicit emails to each other and lengthy conversations on the phone about their lives. Charlie's was quiet to be perfectly honest, she didn't mind it. Only working part-time for Lady Debouf meant that she didn't have to see the 'old bat' more than once a week at meetings and she saw Mr. Collins (she could never bring herself to call him Jerry) not very often at all, taking to her small study and simply whiling away the hours immersed in consulting work for the local practise. But, there was one piece of news that shocked them both.
"Eleanor? I'm pregnant."
Eleanor was silent, she was sitting in her living room with a cup of tea that promptly ended up all over her (thankfully) brown skirt. "You're What?"
"Pregnant!"
Both of them were silent until Eleanor sighed. "How did Mr. C take it?"
"He doesn't know."
"Charlie!"
"I know, I know, I'll tell him soon."
"Good."
"Would you come over?"
"Charlie, I can't afford it, you know that."
"What if I paid? Please? I really need you over here."
Eleanor sighed, Charlie knew her too well. "Fine."
A week later, the day after the school holidays started Eleanor was on her way over to Charlie's house via plane.
Charlie met her at the airport, her stomach already showing that she was three months pregnant, she hugged her friend tightly and thanked her for coming. For despite her brave face, Charlie was lonely here in this relatively unknown place and that feeling at anytime is unnerving.
They walked outside, Eleanor only having a small bag with her, and into the car that Mr. C had given Charlie as a wedding gift. "Nice," Eleanor said as she slipped into the FWD.
Charlie shrugged, "it almost makes up for having an indifferent husband."
Eleanor looked at her, worried that she'd become depressed or something, that is until Charlie cracked a smile and laughed a half laugh.
"You'll meet the old bag tonight," she told her. "Mr. C has organised a 'dinner engagement' for us. Lady D's got some guests over, I have no idea who, and Mr. C wants us to meet them."
"You've told him?" Eleanor looked at her friend knowingly as she studied the car.
"He guessed," Charlie admitted not exactly saddened by the situation.
Eleanor laughed out loud, "The one time he's observant." Charlie laughed a laugh that was closer to her old self than anything Eleanor had heard since the wedding.
"What about you?" Charlie asked. "Found anyone yet?"
Eleanor laughed, "I don't think so, but when I do I'll tell you."
Charlie smiled, "good to know," she said.
They drove through countryside and eventually reached a road…not a road, a Very long driveway. "We're a little late so we have to go straight to Lady Debouf." Charlie exclaimed. "Do you have anything else you could quickly change into?"
Eleanor gave her friend a look which made Charlie laugh. Regardless, Eleanor checked in her bag for any sign of a 'suitable' outfit. There wasn't much.
"Couldn't I just put a jacket over the top of this?" She pointed to the white singlet she wore with the black skirt.
Charlie took her eyes off the road for a moment to check her friend over and nodded. So as they ran up the steps to the small castle that was Rosings Hall, Eleanor pulled on a small black jacket.
A young man met them at the door, "I didn't think people still had servants," Eleanor whispered to her friend who could only shrug.
The man lead them through the rooms and corridors until they came to a small sitting room. Mr. Collins rushed up to his wife to help her sit down (not that she needed it) and turned to introduce Eleanor to 'her ladyship'. He beckoned Eleanor over to where an elderly, but nonetheless imposing lady sat and introduced her. Lady Catherine Debouf was a stately lady straight from the 18th Century. She sat with a ramrod straight back and surveyed the guest. She didn't say anything, but somehow indicated to Mr. Collins that she was agreeable as Mr. Collins continued with the introductions. First was Mrs. Annie Debouf - Rushwood, Lady Catherine's daughter and her husband Howard and their small son Peter, who was about 2 and sitting in his father's lap as his mother looked sick enough to drop dead at any minute. But it was the next three that surprised Eleanor the most, she'd always known who Lady Catherine's two nephews were, but she never expected to see them here. "And of course you know Mr. Darcy and Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam."
Eleanor smiled warmly at Laura and Ritchie while Will gave her a look that she couldn't decipher.
"I hear Miss. Bennet, that you are quite good at the piano, play something for us." Lady Catherine spoke slowly as though every word had its own power and force behind it.
"Then I'm sorry to say ma'am that you were misinformed," Eleanor felt she had to be civil here, one wrong move and you're dead. "I actually play extremely shoddily and whoever told you must be tone-deaf." For some reason Mr. Darcy seemed to find that comment extremely funny as he struggled to hold back laughter.
"Well then Miss. Bennet, you must Practice and live up to your reputation."
Eleanor paled; she couldn't be serious could she? Eleanor hadn't played the piano in Years and thought that last argument with her teacher would be the last she'd ever hear about the horrid thing. Apparently not.
Laura and Ritchie gave her pitying looks as she was shown the grand piano by the same man that lead them into the living room. She sat down at the stool and stared at the keys hoping against hope that somehow they would simply play for her. Nothing happened.
Ritchie and Laura came over with Laura telling her to budge over on the stool so she could sit down. Laura began to play a simple piece and made a few intentional mistakes as the three of them sat there tricking the old lady with Ritchie's son Jack sitting contently on his father's lap. Will came over after a few minutes and watched them all, he didn't talk until Eleanor spoke to Ritchie.
"Does you cousin even have a tongue?" Ritchie burst out into surprised laughter as Laura giggled into her playing.
Will looked at her, not glaring, there wasn't even hate behind those eyes. Simply confusion. "I have a tongue Miss. Bennet," he told her placing particular emphasis on her name. "I'm just not very good at talking to people I don't know."
"Then maybe you should practice," Eleanor told him looking up into his grey eyes.
"Like you are?"
Eleanor laughed and looked at Laura's fingers gliding over the keys, "my musical skills are a lost cause." She told him.
"William!" His aunt called out to him, for a moment he looked annoyed and then walked off to do her bidding.
"He's not that bad you know," Laura told her. "He saved this friend of his, I mean I heard about it from his sister, but this friend was 'in love' with this girl who only wanted his money, Will got him out of it."
Suddenly Eleanor was alert, "When was this?"
Laura shrugged not noticing anything different about her friend. "No idea, I just got an email from his sister yesterday telling me about it. It wasn't that long ago I don't think, maybe even when we were with you lot…but I don't know who she could have been talking about." Eleanor did.
Eleanor smiled but remained silent the rest of the night blatantly refusing to talk to anyone and on their way home she got a vast reprimand from Mr. Collins. But she wasn't thinking about that, she was dwelling on the fact that her sisters happiness and love had been ruined by Him.
The next day she managed to stay away from another visit to Rosings Hall with the excuse of jetlag and for half the day she simply stared at the phone considering whether or not to tell her sister. Eventually she decided not to, Jenny was just getting over it, why bring it up now?
Then there was a knock at the door.
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