Chapter 15

Mary pulled the blanket a little closer to her chin and shivered. Glancing over at the fireplace, she watched as the flames danced in the hearth. She did not know why, but it seemed colder in her room this afternoon even though they had just added logs to the already roaring fire. Shaking her head to ward away the thoughts, she snuck a look out the window hoping to see Michael's horse coming up the lane, but just like the past fifteen minutes no one was there. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the handkerchief she was embroidering with her initials in the corner.

Mary wanted to get him something for Christmas which was less than a month away and spent hours thinking of something and all that she could come up with was a handkerchief. "He will think this is a poor gift," she muttered under her breath, letting the fabric fall through her fingers.

"A gift for whom?"

Startled, she looked over to find her sister, Lydia lounging in the bedroom doorway. Looking at her more closely, Mary noticed the glint in her eye and that half turned smile that always meant trouble. "How can I help you Lydia? I thought you were with Mama and Kitty in Meryton?"

"We just arrived home," she said as she flounced in to the room. Taking a seat on Mary's bed, Lydia looked around, giggling softly. How could Mary have so many books and not spend her pin money on ribbons or a new dress. "Kitty and Mama are in the parlor and I did not want to be there anymore. I could not find Elizabeth or Jane so I came to see what you were doing," she gave Mary a smile, but Mary knew it was all an act.

"I was reading a book. If you do not mind I would like to finish it before supper is served," she stated, picking up her discarded book and opening it to where she left off.

"You have not answered my question."

"What question was that?" Mary asked without looking up from the page.

"Who are you making a gift for?"

Glancing at her sister, Mary smiled. "It is for Papa. I saw that he needed a new scarf and decided to make him one for Christmas," she lied to her sister. Mary knew it was wrong of her to do, but if she told Lydia the truth then she would just start asking more questions and tell the whole village about her being sweet on Michael.

Seeing that she was not going to get the answer she wanted to hear, Lydia decided to find Kitty and see if she wanted to redo the bonnets they did not wear anymore. Once Lydia was out of the room, Mary picked up the half done Christmas gift and decided to finish it before nightfall. As she was stitching the M, a flash of red caught her eye. Looking out the window, Mary smiled when she saw Michael riding towards the house. As her eyes moved across the other mounted men, she gasped when she saw a young woman riding behind Colonel Fitzwilliam. "I wonder who she is?" Mary asked aloud.

Putting her items on the window seat, Mary threw the covers to the side, and made her way to Elizabeth and Jane's room. Knocking on the door, she greeted her sister. "The gentlemen are coming up the drive, but I saw a young woman riding behind Colonel Fitzwilliam. Shall we help Jane downstairs and see what is going on?" Mary asked quickly, glancing behind Elizabeth to smile at Jane.

Nodding her head, Elizabeth allowed Mary to enter and together they helped Jane down in the parlor. Taking a seat, she glanced at Jane and then Elizabeth, before staring at the parlor door waiting for them to enter. A gentle squeeze of her hand by Jane was all it look for her to calm down.

A few minutes later a commotion was heard in the hallway. They could hear their father yelling for Hill and a young girl weeping. Rushing to her feet, Mary threw open the door. Making her way to her father's study, she found Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy, and Michael all trying to talk to her father at once. Peeking behind Michael, Mary caught a glimpse of the young woman. "Miss Sidle!" she exclaimed with shock. What was she doing here?

All eyes turned to her, making Mary blush. She hated when all the attention was on her.

"Mary?" Michael urged as he walked up to stand in front of her. He was not surprised by her outburst as the two young women had met earlier that day, but he knew all the attention being focused on her was making her uncomfortable.

Raising her head, Mary smiled at Michael. "I am sorry for my outburst."

Shaking his head, Michael chuckled. "There is no reason to be sorry. You were just surprised to see Miss Sidle here. Is there a place we can talk in private? I would like to tell you the story myself before someone else does."

"Yes, we can go in the kitchen. No one will disturb us there," she said as she led the way through the house. Stepping in to the kitchen, Mary hesitated a moment. She knew that being alone with Michael was not proper, but right now she just wanted answers.

Pulling out a chair, Michael urged Mary to take a seat. Sitting across from her, he quickly picked up her hand, pressing a feather light kiss to the inside palm. Watching her eyes open slightly, Michael dropped her hand, but not before giving it a light squeeze. As they sat there, he told her the story of how he had met Emily's brother in the militia and a few short months later he was introduced to Emily. He had not heard from Emily's brother in quite a while when he received his note.

Mary nodded along, thinking back to earlier that day when she had met the young lady in the bookstore. "How come you did not say anything when we were in town?" Mary asked after a few moments of silence.

"I did not want Emily to know that her brother had written me. After I dropped you off here, I grabbed my horse and made my way to Netherfield. I knew that I could count on Richard's and Darcy's help in locating her. They were actually the ones that led me to the man that Emily was with."

"How did they do that?"

"I will let them tell the story as to how they know the man, but he is someone from there past and this is not the first time he has tried to run off with someone. He has tried this a number of times and has yet to be successful. We have told your father everything I am telling you. He also knows to watch out for the man if he is ever around."

"Where will Emily stay?" Mary asked with worry. It would take at least a week or more to get ahold of her brother before he could come and escort her home.

"That is another topic we discussed with your father. Emily will be staying here until her brother can make his way here to get her or send an escort," Michael said with a smile, watching as the tension left Mary's shoulders.

"She can stay in my room with me. I have a large bed that will be able to hold both of us comfortably," she said with a grin.

Listening to Mary talk about sharing a room and bed with Emily made his mind wander to her sharing a bed with him. As he glanced around, he wondered if it would finally be a good time to tell her how he felt. He wanted her to know that he would come back for her. "Mary there is something I would like to talk about."

"Yes?" Mary asked as Michael reached for her hand again.

Michael started to speak, but a sound at the kitchen doorway made both of them look up. There in the doorway stood Colonel Fitzwilliam watching them.

"Mr. Bennet is requesting the presence of Mary in his study," Richard said with a slight bow of his head.

Standing to her feet, Mary gave both gentlemen a curtsey, before leaving them alone. Making her way to her father's study, Mary hesitated slightly before taking a deep breath. Knocking on the door, Mary opened it when she heard her father's voice saying enter. Stepping inside, she found her father and Emily sitting across from each other.

Waving to the empty chair sitting next to Emily, Mr. Bennet said, "Please take a seat Mary."

Settling in to the soft cushioned chair, Mary folded her hands in her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Emily shift slightly. Reaching across the space between them, Mary gave Emily's hand a slight squeeze.

"Mary, Michael Lucas tells me that you met Miss Sidle in the bookstore earlier today?" he asked with a raise of his brow.

"Yes, sir. I helped Miss Sidle find a book she was looking for. We only talked for a few moments," she said with a nod of her head.

"I have thought this over and discussed it with the gentlemen and I have decided to let Miss Sidle stay here until her brother can come and collect her. She will be staying in your room since it is the only one with room right now. Now go and show her to your room and let her get settled. Supper will be served shortly. All of the gentlemen have decided to join us," he said as he turned back to his book work.

Taking that as her cue to leave, Mary grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her out of the study. Leading the way up the stairs, she opened her bedroom door. "Well this is where you will be staying for a while. I will let you get settled."

"Please stay, Miss Bennet," Emily said as she walked over and sat on the bed.

Taking a seat by the window, Mary tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "If we are going to be staying in the same room, please call me Mary."

Smiling at her new friend, Emily said, "Then you must call me Emily. I hope I am not causing your family too much trouble. I did not mean to let things get like this."

"My sister's will be happy to have you. May I ask why you decided it would be a good idea to run away and get married to a stranger?"

Wringing her hands in her lap, Emily tried to come up with a good answer. Raising her head, she looked at Mary. "I honestly thought I was in love with him, but now looking back I think it was just nothing. He was the first gentleman to treat me like I was special, but I have seen the way a certain gentleman looks at you. I can tell that that is what love looks like," Emily giggled with a slight cock of her head.

Blushing to the roots of her hair, Mary did not know what to say. She knew now that she was in love with Michael Lucas, but was he with her? A squeeze of her hand made her glance up.

"I am sorry if I embarrassed you Mary. Would you like to talk about something else?"

Gratefully nodding her head, Mary smiled at Emily. Soon the two women were chatting about books and horses.

00000000

Taking a seat across from Michael, Richard grabbed one of the coffee cups and took a hearty drink. Setting the cup back on the table, he studied Michael for a moment. The young man was staring in to his coffee cup with a thoughtful expression on his face. He seemed to be thinking heavily on something or someone he thought with a small smile.

"Michael?"

Raising his head, Michael found Richard sitting across from him. "What can I do for you Richard?"

"I need to talk to you about something. Before you came to Netherfield today, I received an express from headquarters. We have to be back in two weeks. They want us to start training earlier and leave for America sooner than expected. I know this puts a damper on your plans with Mary, but you have to tell her Michael. She has to know what is going on."

As Richard kept talking, Michael's head started spinning. They were leaving for the America's in two weeks? He still had yet to tell Mary that he was being shipped over there and he did not know when he would return if ever. He needed to speak to her as soon as possible.

Author's Note: How are you guys enjoying the story? Would you like to see Bingley return and maybe stir up some trouble before Colonel Fitzwilliam leaves for America? What do you think about Mary and Michael? How is my new character Emily? Let me know what you think please?