Chapter Fourteen
The first of May found both Eden and Jane back at Longbourn. The two of them sat together in the drawing room, Eden listening as her sister spoke sadly.
"I am quite over him, Eden," Jane murmured. "If he passed in the street I would hardly notice. London is so diverting."
"Oh Jane?"
"It is true," Jane nodded. "So much to entertain. What news from Kent?"
"Nothing… or at least, not much to entertain."
She tried to smile, but it dropped the moment Kitty rushed into the drawing room, sobbing loudly. She was followed by a smug Lydia and a dazed Mrs. Bennet.
"Eden, tell mama, tell her!" Kitty begged, throwing herself at Eden's feet.
Confused, Eden looked to Lydia.
"Mrs. Forster has invited me," Lydia said.
Kitty wailed, "Why didn't she ask me as well?"
"Because I'm better company," Lydia snapped.
"I've just as much right as Lydia, Eden! And more so because I am two years older."
Before another person could speak or wail, Eden held up her hand.
"I have no idea what is going on." She looked to Jane, who sighed.
"Lydia has been invited to Brighton with the Forsters."
"I shall dine with the officers every night!" Lydia preened.
"Mother! Are you mad?" Eden spat. Mrs. Bennet shook her head.
"I cried for two days when Colonel Millar's regiment went away. I thought I should have broken my heart."
Getting to her feet, Eden marched to the library where her father was sitting.
"Please, Papa, don't let her go!"
"Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed herself in some public place or other," Mr. Bennet told her. "And we can never expect her to do it with so little inconvenience as under the present circumstances."
"If you, dear father, will not take the trouble to check her, she will be fixed forever as the silliest and most determined flirt who ever made her family ridiculous. And Kitty will follow, as she always does."
"We shall have no peace until she goes."
"Peace! Is that all you care about?"
"Colonel Forster is a sensible man and will keep her out of any real mischief, and she is far too poor to be an object of prey to anyone."
"Father, it's dangerous!"
"I am sure the officers will find women better worth their while. Let us hope, in fact, that her stay in Brighton will teach her about her own insignificance. At any rate, she can hardly grow any worse, without authorizing us to lock her up for the rest of her life."
Would nothing touch this man? Clearly, he had given up on Lydia. Eden had always been fond of her father. To the point that she would defend him against anything. But at that moment, Eden realized it was for naught.
Tears started to sting in her eyes, and she looked severely upon him.
"No wonder our family is treated with contempt. When we do not even try to teach the younger ones the way of the world and let them play around. One of these days, they are going to do something that scars our family. See that they don't."
Spinning on her heel, Eden stormed out of the library and straight to her room. It was empty without Lizzie. It was colder without Lizzie, but Eden didn't care. She tossed herself onto the bed, wrapped her arms around a pillow and allowed herself to cry.
Jane came to speak to her later that night and saw her utter dismay. She climbed into bed beside Eden, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"What happened in Kent, Eden?" Jane whispered. She wanted to know, and Eden needed to tell her, but the words stuck in her throat. She could not cause Jane more harm.
"I… I saw Mr. Darcy in Kent."
"Why haven't you told me sooner?" Jane asked. "Did he mention Mr. Bingley?"
"I'm afraid not. We did not speak much."
"Is he the reason you are upset?"
"Not at all… I'm just tired from my travels, as I am sure you are also… Will you stay with me, Jane? Like you did when Lizzie and I were smaller." Jane kissed the top of Eden's head.
"Of course, darling sister. Of course."
Eden stayed in Longbourn for only a few short months. Between Kitty and Jane's sad temperaments and the longing to get away from her family, Eden readily agreed to accompany her aunt and uncle: Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner on a tour through the Peak District in early August when they offered.
They traveled by carriage and when they neared Derbyshire, they took time to walk through the mountains and wild rocky outcrops. Eden, though knowing the over exertion would tire her, determined to reach the very top.
She could practically touch the clouds and she laughed freely as the wind blew through her hair. She looked out over the land, the view magnificent. Shaking her head, allowing her hair to fall around her face, Eden smiled happily for the first time in months.
In the evening, they stayed at the Rose and Canyon Inn in Lambton. They ate supper with another tourist couple, who were of high spirits. The woman was bright and spoke animatedly.
"He's been taking the waters at Buxton," the wife said, speaking of her husband. "Hasn't done him a jot of good."
"But we've had a fine time, haven't we dear?" the husband asked. His wife nodded.
"We've visited Haddon, Dovedale, and Pemberley."
"Pemberley?" Mrs. Gardiner asked.
The wife nodded, "Just two miles from here."
"One of the best houses in the country," the husband said.
Mr. Gardiner looked to Eden.
"Are you not acquainted with the owner, Mr. Darcy?" She nodded, taking a bite of her food.
"Well, we shall go there tomorrow, Eden," Mrs. Gardiner decided.
"Oh, I wouldn't want us to be an imposition? Is Mr. Darcy currently in town?" The husband shook his head.
"Not for some months, he's in London I've heard."
"Ah, then Aunt and Uncle, we should visit. I'm sure it is as grand as Haddon if not more so."
The Gardiners smiled as the wife and husband began gushing about the estate and the apparently beautiful grounds. Eden stopped listening, instead fiddling with the skirt of her dress. Her hands repeatedly scrunched the fabric then smoothed it out. Was she making a mistake? What if Mr. Darcy returned while they were there. It would be mortification to both of them.
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