A/N: So, yeah, sorry about the long wait. Work sort of killed my muse and my writing. I tried my best to do some research, but honestly didn't do a whole lot, or near enough. Sorry if this means I lose some of you readers. I hope that those of you that do stay enjoy this chapter.
Words, there were no words that could describe the fury rumbling through Elizabeth Darcy as she released her youngest sister and cordially invited her inside. Mr. Darcy merely clenched his fists without much beyond the mandatory greeting, turning towards the servants and ordering the carriage to be emptied and Wickham's things moved into the room prepared for them in a remote part of the house-as far away from him as possible. After that task was done, he removed himself to his study where Elizabeth was sure he would remain until she dragged him out for dinner. The anger in Jane Bingley was far more muted but, even so, it was there in the slight clenching of her jaw that only those who truly paid attention would even notice. Elizabeth gave her sister a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. Jane was not one to get angry easily and the fact that the Wickham's had succeeded in this in mere minutes further fueled Mrs. Darcy's anger. Where Jane's temper was pierced with fear for Lydia and her condition, Elizabeth's was aimed almost solely at the couple who had dropped such a 'surprise' on her doorstep. Those that had risked lives to make a pleasure journey simply for a party.
Their newest guests themselves varied greatly in expression. Lydia was glowing, chatting away happily to their mother while rubbing her ample stomach repeatedly as if nothing was wrong, admiring the grounds and the house she was standing outside of. At least Wickham had the sense to look somewhat ashamed. He kept his eyes cast to the ground and had already consumed two glasses of wine, though he was far too distracted trying to quiet his son to say a word to anyone else. Taking a few moments and a few breaths, Elizabeth slipped on her mask used only for guests she could not tolerate, and invited everyone to join her in the card room while their things were being situated.
In preparation for the visit, Elizabeth had arranged several tables with a variety of games and had kindly asked several strong looking men in her husband's employ to move in the pianoforte. There were many grand rooms in Pemberley, including several which were regularly open to the public. This room she had chosen specifically for the high windows that gave a great view of the carefully kept grounds, letting in sunlight without having the sun directly shine into the room. Elizabeth did not, however, want her family to have free reign of the house, oohing and ahhing at every little thing of some value. No, it was much easier to try and keep everyone in a contained space. And, she added, more like old times before she and Jane had married into money. What she had not decided, had not realized she needed, to prepare was a potential birthing room for the youngest sister who should truly and utterly be in bed. Should have been in bed for weeks, actually, preparing for the birth of her second child.
"Eliza, dear," her mother said, pulling Elizabeth out from her head for a few moments. "Where should I put this glass?"
Before Elizabeth could even reach for it, a young woman named Beatrice took it from her and was whisking it away, most likely to the kitchens. Mrs. Bennet blinked after the maid, still coming to terms with the fact that hired help beyond what she was used to receiving was going to be at her beck and call for the duration of her stay. On this, Elizabeth decided, she could not blame her mother. She was still not used to it. Nonetheless, Mrs. Darcy placed a gentle hand on her mother's shoulder and led her to a cushy chair near the window. Elizabeth took a wool blanket from a nearby chair and draped it over her mother's lap, seeing to her comfort.
"Anything you need, mama, just ask. By the way, a new record must be in play because you have yet to tell me any gossip about the town! And, might I add, not a single word about the Lucases other than how they took you shopping for new clothes."
"Oh yes, please tell me all the gossip of Meryton! It has been so very long since I have heard a single word about anyone! Who has married who, what are the latest fashions, have there been any scandals…" Lydia piped up, settling in a chair close to their mother. Jane settled into another chair close by, and soon everyone was circling around Mrs. Bennet, a position she seemed to rather enjoy.
"Oh, many wonderful things have happened this year! Several of the girls are getting married, having snatched up wonderful husbands. Not nearly as wonderful as yours, my dears, but I guess they will do. They seem charming all the same. Oh, there was a scandal, Lydia! Do you remember Josephine Thatcher?"
"Of course, how could I forget her! She was such a thin looking thing. Her legs and arms were nothing more than sticks and twigs. None of the boys really were fond of her, I'm afraid. Why, what about her?"
"Well, you'll be surprised to know that she came into her own. Why, she filled out overnight with a bosom and everything! But last week, she was married in a very small, private wedding and no one had even known she was being courted. And of course, you know, this raises all sorts of questions."
Jane gasped, her hand coming up to her mouth with a look of surprise on her face. Elizabeth frowned, wondering if this conversation was going to take the turn she thought it was. Lydia was all ears, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, leaning close to her mother. It was certain that Lydia cared very little who stared in the story—just that there was one.
"No, mother, tell me it isn't so!"
"Oh, Lydia, it is! Apparently her parents found her in the barn out the back of her house with that Matthew Woods in an alarming state of undress. There was no choice but to marry them off in haste for the good of the girl's reputation. You could almost pretend that she was still technically pure before they were married off—there were no reports that they were completely, well, you know- but I daresay the majority of us know better."
"But Matthew Woods? He's so handsome! He had the most gorgeous green eyes I had ever seen. Oh, you have the best eyes I have ever seen, dear Wichkam, don't worry about that. But why would he be around Josephine?" Lydia asked.
"I told you, Lydia, she became pretty overnight. But just think of her poor parents! Not to mention the other sister! What is her name—oh, Lottie. What will become of her? How much harder will it be for her parents to find her a good match when the elder sister's marriage came about in such a way?"
"I don't know, mother. Lydia ran off with a soldier in the cloak of darkness with only a letter to explain her disappearance and her other sisters have all turned out well despite," Elizabeth replied, trying to shake off the sudden spell of irration. She remembered Josephine far differently than Lydia appeared to. Josephine was a little bit shy but a pretty girl whose very strong emotions were always worn on her sleeve. Whatever Josephine did and felt was felt and done with such passion and enthusiasm, other people had no choice but to be swept away with her. This more than made up for any flaws in her appearance, because she really didn't seemed to eat a whole lot. If she had come into womanhood then that would have only served to make her more beautiful and if the boy she remembered Matthew Woods to be had come into his own as a man, then it was a fine match regardless of the circumstances that drove it. Wickham, who had been sitting in a chair sort of outside the circle looked at her with slight alarm, a frown pulling at his otherwise handsome face. Lydia said nothing, barely even reacting to the cutting words.
"Oh, Lizzy, how can you say that? My going away with my dear Wickham had everything to do with love and nothing to do with—with—lust! That's what got into Matthew and Josephine. Both of them could do to read the bible more. But, perhaps you're right and poor Lottie will not have to suffer for the inability of her older sister to control herself. I do hope that is the case, Elizabeth. The younger sister really was the prettier one."
Elizabeth trusted herself to say nothing more on the subject, excusing herself to go to the kitchens to check on the meal that was being prepared for them. The image of Lydia pouring herself over the holy book was laughable, and that was something she would much rather do in private. Jane asked to accompany her sister while the Bennet's and the Wickham's settled themselves into a game of whit.
"My, Lydia does seem to have quite a bit of energy for a woman so late in pregnancy. I can only hope that I maintain that much amount of vigor when the time comes," Jane said as soon as they had left the room.
"Ha! You have to be joking. How can you not be mad at her for coming here, Jane? She should be in her bed in her home, well into confinement. It took them at least a month to get here, you know. I do, considering how I paid for it. Imagine the number of things that could have happened enroute. What if she went into labor? Where would she have been? Who would have helped her?"
"Elizabeth! She's our sister and we have plenty of money to share. Are you resenting having to pay for her and her family to be here?"
"No, but I really do wish she had not come. You do understand, Jane, that I can't even dare have her leave until the baby is born. I will not be responsible for my sister having a baby on the side of the road in the cold, no matter how foolish she is! My husband and I got into our largest argument over having them come here at all but she was so insistent in her letters, Jane, I thought I could make it work. He was cross with me for weeks, though he can never truly stay mad at me for long. I really thought I could. But now he's holed up in his study and, as you can see, even Georgiana has not returned with Kitty to be in the presence of them. And she assured me it was alright, too. Kept telling me so every time I asked her."
"I think my sister-in-law will be alright. She has a blunt way of saying things when she's not forced into social courtesies. Kitty is what is probably keeping them apart from the rest of the group. She has been outside of Lydia's influence for so long that I think she realizes how foolish her younger sister was, though we love her dearly. She expressed worry to me in her letters that Lydia would try and find her a husband, since she is the last of us to get married. Perhaps she just needs a break from mother and father, too. You know how mother is with single daughters—very insistent that they changed that status as soon as possible. The journey could not have been easy on them either, you know."
"I know. Kitty had wrote to me that she was interested in someone—but not seriously enough to warrant bringing him around mother. Anyway, these are the kitchens. I had the chefs prepare all of mother's favorites. Blood pudding, quail, custard, and the like. I think she will be delighted," Elizabeth said, opening the large door that led into what had previously been an awe-inspiring kitchen. The smells coming out of it were delicious, already making Elizabeth's mouth water. Jane seemed to ogle at the sheer size of the room, hardly acknowledging the amazing smells coming from within as she passed a soft, genuine smile to the staff. Elizabeth beamed, knowing how much the staff as Pemberley adored her sister Jane, a sentiment she herself could not agree more on. Every time Jane arrived, they would laden her down with fresh fruit from the gardens or the orchard they had in the back. Despite everyone knowing that Jane never wanted for anything with Bingley as her husband.
And then the smells registered with Jane and, without another word, she bolted out of the kitchen in such a haste that Elizabeth had to run to catch up with her. But, unfortunately, there was nowhere for Jane to find relief in the sudden wave that was roiling through her, and she unceremoniously dumped the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Luckily for the staff, Elizabeth thought as she rubbed her sister's back, was that Jane had managed to find one of the few marbled areas uncovered by carpet. Immediately, a woman arrived with a small pale, gently holding it for Jane while she finished retching.
"Lizzy, I am so, so very sorry," Jane mumbled, fishing out a handkerchief and dabbing her face. Elizabeth simply laughed, tucking a stray lock of hair that had gotten lose during the ordeal.
"Don't be silly, Jane! You had told me your state and I still took you into a room full of overpowering smells. It is me who should be apologizing to you, sister dear. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Jane gave a small smile, still mortified by what had just occurred. Her hands smoothed out invisible wrinkles in her gown, a nice silk number in the shade of a beautiful periwinkle that complimented her eyes perfectly. Elizabeth, as weird as it was, thought she looked more beautiful in that moment than any she could remember. Her elder sister, her amazing Jane, was going to be a mother. There were few things Elizabeth could think that suited Jane better.
"How did Mr. Bingley take the news when you first told him?" Elizabeth asked, leading them away from the pile as it was being cleaned and down the halls. Beatrice, the young women that had taken away her drink, offered her and her sister two wine glasses, which they both took eagerly. Jane drank hers a bit quickly, swishing the white wine in her mouth before swallowing to get rid of the foul taste that had previously resided there. Elizabeth shoved hers into Jane's hand, claiming that she needed it more.
"Oh, Elizabeth! He was beside himself with joy! I don't think he had ever been that happy, even on our wedding night! And my, this is really good wine."
"I would not have thought anything else, you know. He's such a gentle soul. Though I can't possibly imagine him any happier than he was when you gave him the honor of being his wife. I didn't think I would ever see him stop smiling!"
"Oh, neither did I, Lizzy, neither did I. But what about you? You have Lydia and, I suppose, now me supplying mother with grandchildren. When do you think your turn would be?"
There it was, Elizabeth thought, her most dreaded question. It was easy for her to be happy for Lydia and even more so to be happy for Jane. It was not easy for her to be faced with the same questions she asked herself every month when she discovered that her womb had not quickened yet again. And while she talked about a great deal of things with her beloved sister, this was not something she wanted to deal with at this moment—not when the mere thought of it was generally enough for her to shut herself away in the library for escape. No, much easier to change the subject.
"How about we find Georgiana and Kitty? It's not right for them to be eluding the family fun. Besides, card games are much more pleasant when you have a large group of people and it's been so long since I've been around Kitty I hardly recognize her. "
"She has grown, hasn't she? I do want to see her, you know. It's been so very long…"
And with that the sisters made their way to the other girls, laughing away as they went.