Thank you for all the wonderful feedback! I really appreciate it! I agree, the delays between each post has been way too long. I'm appalled at my own inability to juggle life's curve balls, but all the positive feedback really helped me make finishing this story a priority. Thank you all for that! Will do my best to deliver the chapters more frequently :)
Elizabeth awoke a little later than usual the next day, but still early enough that most of the household were still fast asleep. She headed down stairs to greet her father, but to her surprise, he was nowhere to be found.
"Mrs. Hill, do you know where Papa went? He's not in his study nor in any other room. Perhaps he has not come down yet?"
"No Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet came down earlier than usual today. He asked that his horse be made ready and then he and Sam left about a half hour ago."
"Did he say where he was going?"
"Not to my knowledge, but he did take his gun with him, and Maggie went with them as well."
Maggie was their hound. If he took Maggie with him, then he must have gone hunting. It wasn't like Papa to leave without telling her. But pheasant season would be coming to an end very soon, perhaps it was a spontaneous decision.
Elizabeth thanked Mrs. Hill and headed outside for her daily walk.
By the time Elizabeth returned, Mama and the rest of the girls were awake and enjoying their breakfast. Elizabeth joined them and was just about to take a bite of her pastry when they heard some commotion coming from the garden out back. Mary & Kitty went to investigate and found that the puppies had gotten loose and were running around enjoying their newfound freedom.
"The puppies seem to be extra energetic today," Kitty giggled as she entered the dining room.
Mary agreed, "looks like they've gotten into quite a bit mischief, they're completely covered in mud and leaves."
"Well, that won't do! We can't have them running amuck and raking dirt everywhere! Where is Maggie? Why isn't she watching over them?" Mama inquired.
"Papa has taken Maggie with him this morning on his hunt," Elizabeth responded.
"Aaah! He can't just go off hunting without telling anyone! And taking Maggie with him! And now the puppies are loose, and they're making a mess while Mr. Bingley and his party are in town! Why now? Why do such things happen to me?" Mama began her hysterics.
Both Jane & Elizabeth stepped in to calm their mother from getting overworked, "Don't worry Mama, we'll get everything cleaned up," Jane said in a soothing tone.
"Yes, we'll tidy up the garden and get the puppies cleaned up as well." Elizabeth said as she looked at Mary, Kitty & Lydia.
"Besides, Jane's invite for tea with the Bingley sisters is not for another two days. I doubt we'll see anyone from their party before then."
Mrs. Bennet thought about what the girls said and that seemed to calm her down. However, the sudden hysterics had exhausted her enough that she excused herself to go lie down for a bit in her room.
Lydia waited until their mother left before loudly displaying her disapproval.
"You can't be serious Lizzy!" she exclaimed. But from the expression on Elizabeth's face it was pretty clear that she had meant what she said. The girls were going to get everything tidied up.
"Well, I for one do not intend to spend my morning chasing after and bathing those beasts!" Lydia announced.
This didn't come as a surprise to Elizabeth. Lydia rarely engaged in any activity that she did not like, and she definitely did not like chores or work of any kind.
"And what do you intend to do instead?" Elizabeth asked sternly.
"I'm going to go visit with my friend Melissa. She had taken ill yesterday."
At this Elizabeth's expression softened a bit. Visiting a friend in need was certainly a noble gesture. Perhaps Lydia wasn't as selfish as she had come to believe.
"Yes, Melissa had to stay in bed all day, so she missed all the fun at the ball yesterday. What fun it'll be to tell her that my dance card was full the entire night!" Lydia grinned.
Some noble gesture. The stern expression returned to Elizabeth's face, but it had no effect on Lydia. She simply skipped out of the room, but not before calling out to Kitty.
"Coming Kitty?"
Kitty looked at girls and then at Lydia, then back at the girls.
"No, I think I'll stay."
"Fine, suit yourself," Lydia sang as she left.
Unlike Lydia, Kitty loved the puppies and she did not consider caring for them to be a chore.
After breakfast, the four girls divided up the tasks. Elizabeth and Kitty would bathe and wash the puppies, and Jane and Mary would dry them off and groom their fur. Catching the puppies was the trickiest part as they were surprisingly nimble. It took some effort but they finally managed to lure the puppies to one place with the smell of roast meat and put them in a makeshift pen as they waited for their bath. Elizabeth and Kitty had just brought out a big tub full of water, and Jane and Mary were returning outside to the back garden with a handful of old towels when Lydia entered with a big sigh. The girls were surprised that she had returned so soon but they decided not to indulge her and continued on with the task at hand. Lydia cleared her throat and let out another big sigh. Still, no one offered to ask her what was the matter.
"Melissa isn't well enough for visitors" She announced.
"I'm sorry to hear that, I hope she feels better soon," Jane said.
"I don't understand why her mother wouldn't let me see her. I would be the one talking, all she would have to do is listen. How could you not be well enough for that?" She whined.
The girls looked at one another, but none of them said a word.
A few minutes later, Lydia complained "I'm bored!"
At this Elizabeth looked up from the puppy that was currently wriggling in her hands.
"Then you can help." She said sternly. She passed soapy puppy to Kitty as she instructed Lydia to hand them the next puppy from the pen.
Lydia dragged her feet to where the puppies were. She let out a very unladylike groan as she opened the pen to pick up one of them. Just then, she heard the sound of hooves. From where she was standing there was a small thicket of trees, a short different after which, was the main road. She noticed the horses were heading towards their house. Squinting hard, she was able to identify her father on the first horse, Sam on the second, and she could see Maggie running up beside them. But there were two others on horseback as well. She looked closer and a few seconds later she let out a gasp. She threw her hands up and squealed, "Mr. Bingley is coming! Mr. Bingley is coming!"
In her distracted state, Lydia did not realize that she had left the door to the pen wide open. The puppies got wind of their mother's scent and grew very excited. Before she realized what was happening, the puppies all scrambled out of the pen at once, knocking down Lydia in the process. She squealed as she fell, "My dress! It's ruined!You little beasts!"
When the other girls looked up to see what all the ruckus was about, the hoard of puppies was running straight towards them. And that momentary distraction was enough for the puppies in their hands to slip away and join the others. All was a blur for the next few seconds. Puppies running in every direction, knocking over everything in their path. Soap, suds, water and towels were flying everywhere. Their system had completely broken down. Fortunately, the girls were in good spirits and they found all the chaos quite hilarious.
"We were outnumbered from the start," Kitty laughed.
"Yes, I was quite surprised that we managed to have things run so smoothly for a whole 10 minutes," Elizabeth chimed in.
Their laughter came to a temporary halt when Lydia marched over to them, with her hands on her hips to emphasize that she was not happy.
She had leaves stuck in her hair and muddy paw prints all over the front of her dress.
The four of them tried ever so hard to maintain their composure. But try as she might, Kitty simply could not look at Lydia without laughter bursting forward. Soon all the girls were wracked with fits of laughter.
"We'll see who's laughing when Mama finds out that you let those mongrels lose while Mr. Bingley was here."
This time their laughter came to a permanent halt.
"Mr. Bingley? What do you mean Lydia?" Jane inquired softly.
But the young girl refused to answer. She turned her head and marched into the house.
That's when the other girls heard the horses at the front of the house as well as the sound of Maggie barking.
Immediately the puppies all charged towards the front of the house.
Elizabeth and Jane looked at each other with worried looks.
"Quick, grab them before they get too far" Elizabeth yelled.
Immediately the four girls dropped everything and ran after the dogs.
At the front of the house, Mr. Bennet had just dismounted his horse and was handing him over to Sam. He turned around and invited the gentlemen in for some refreshments. Before his guests could respond, they heard Maggie begin to bark towards the side of the house, and immediately afterwards a hoard of puppies came rushing towards them. As much as the sudden flood of puppies took the gentlemen by surprise, nothing was as surprising as the group of ladies that came running around the same corner only moments later yelling "Quick! Catch them!"
Only after they rounded the corner did the girls realize that they had an audience. They came to a screeching halt and did their best to straighten out their dresses, curtsy and catch their breath all at the same time.
Mr. Bennet found the whole spectacle quite humorous.
"Looks like you girls have been doing some hunting of your own," he laughed.
Elizabeth was very glad that her father was not upset with them. And even more glad that their mother was not here to witness them in such a state, especially in front of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. "They've been a rambunctious bunch this morning," she smiled.
The puppies ran towards their mother, barked a few happy barks then decided to disperse to enjoy their freedom once more. They began weaving in and out among the horses, agitating them and once again the chase was on.
"Forgive us Papa, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, but we have to catch them before they run off the property," Elizabeth exclaimed.
Mr. Darcy was pleasantly surprised by Elizabeth's determination. He knew of very few women who would be willing to get their hands dirty.
"We'll help," Mr. Darcy offered.
"Yes, of course," Mr. Bingley agreed as both men dismounted their horses.
To an outsider entering upon the scene, the situation would be deemed most comedic. Jane and Mr. Bingley ran after a pair of puppies. Kitty, Mary and Maggie went after another pair, and Mr. Darcy was helping Elizabeth track down the remaining three, while Mr. Bennet and Sam tried to get the horses under control.
After nearly ten minutes, Jane, Mr. Bingley, Kitty and Mary had caught up with their puppies and were now carrying them back to their pen behind the house. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy had apprehended two of the three, but as luck would have it, the third was the most energetic. He escaped their grasp and rushed out towards the road. Elizabeth handed the puppy she was holding to her father and ran after the escapee. Seeing as how neither Mr. Bennet nor Sam were in any state to run after Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy handed the puppy he was holding to Sam and began sprinting after her.