Mary Barton was a very serious young woman, since she was a child, she got used to going unnoticed. Since she was born, she had been completely ignored by her mother and the only friends she had were her sister Elizabeth and, to a lesser extent, Jane.
So, when such a wonderful man as Mr. Barton showed interest in her, it was very easy to fall in love with him. From the beginning, their marriage had several obstacles mainly caused by their own mother. When she had finally achieved happiness, Mary had a miscarriage and was plunged into deep sadness. The only of her sisters who cared about her welfare and came to visit her was Elizabeth. Due to her husband's devotion and her sister's affection, she was feeling much better.
The new challenge she had at this time was different; ever since the people of Meryton found out her husband had connections with the nobility, they had been the center of attention of the community. Several people who previously greeted her just out of courtesy now wished to befriend her and she didn't know how to handle that popularity.
On this particular night, she didn't want to attend the party at Lucas Lodge and be in the same room as Mr. Collins. The fact was that Mr. Collins was still looking at her in a way that she did not like in the least...
Not wishing to arrive at Sir William's house alone, Lord Sebastian went to fetch the Bartons and Miss Bennet in his carriage, and they were the last to arrive. Miss Bingley was one of the first to warmly greet her 'friends' Mrs. Barton and Eliza.
Given his popularity, Lord Sebastian had to listen to Sir William and Mr. Collins's long nonsensical monologues for several minutes, while Elizabeth immediately approached Georgiana and they talked animatedly about the new novel Georgiana had lent her.
"... Just a few hours ago I finished reading the novel you lent, and I completely agree with you. It's one of the best novels I have ever read. I will return it to you tomorrow as Mr. Barton has to go to Netherfield Park."
Georgiana smiled, "Don't worry, I've already read it twice. You can keep it for a few more days so that Mary can read it. Did you really like it as much as you say?"
Excited, Lizzy exclaimed, "I loved it! I really liked Colonel Brandon and Eleanor. I confess that I would have liked Colonel Brand to marry Eleonor and not Marianne."
Confused Georgiana asked, "But why? The Colonel was in love with Marianne and not Eleanor. Besides, Eleanor was in love with Edward."
Lizzy nodded, "It's true that the Colonel was in love with Marianne, but she wasn't particularly nice to him at first. But I guess in the end she changed her mind and finally fell in love with the Colonel."
"Are you talking about a novel?" Darcy asked.
Elizabeth nodded and with a smile, she asked him, "Indeed, do you like to read novels, Mr. Darcy?"
"I don't have time to read novels."
She smiled broadly, "Ummm, you realize you didn't answer my question. Let's see, imagine if you had time, would you like to read a novel?
He shook his head, "Honestly, I prefer to read other things than a novel."
Lizzy nodded slightly, "What would you like to read?"
"Well, for example, I prefer to read Shakespeare's plays or sonnets, new farming techniques to improve Pemberley's productivity, history, and natural science books. Anyway, I think I would rather read any other type of genre than a novel... Although I admit that there are some very interesting novels and well-written novels, like Sir Walter Scott's novels."
"I also like Sir. Walter Scott's novels. Maybe you could read the novel your sister lent me and give us your honest opinion." She paused and added, "I propose a game to get to know each other better, since the three of us like Shakespeare's plays, each of us has to tell the others what is your favorite play and favorite character and justify why. Do you agree?"
The siblings agreed.
The three of them talked animatedly for several minutes; Georgiana preferred 'Romeo and Juliet' and did not have a favorite character, Elizabeth favored 'A Midsummer Night's Dreams' and her favorite character was Beatrice from 'Much ado about nothing' while Darcy favored Hamlet and his favorite character was also Hamlet.
At the other end of the room, Mr. Collins's eyes followed Mary Barton, who was conversing with Miss Bingley with a mixture of hatred, admiration, and desire. Unfortunately, Charlotte didn't arouse remotely the strong feelings that Mary Barton inadvertently aroused in him. Sometimes he fervently wished that Mr. Barton would die so that he could possess Mary once and for all. It didn't matter he was married, his wife would understand. Furthermore, important men like him were known to have mistresses.
But since he knew he couldn't kill Mr. Barton, and the gentleman was unfortunately in excellent health, his wishes were going to be impossible to achieve any time soon. It was imperative that he completely forgets about his obsession with possessing Mary Barton, but that would not stop him from taking revenge on her. Days ago, he had seen Kitty and Lydia Bennet shamelessly flirting with two officers in Meryton, and as he knew they were the silliest young women in the Kingdom and had no supervision, he had paid Captain Denny and another officer a few pounds to completely ruin them, and then abandon them, preferably one or both of them pregnant. That way the reputation of Mary's sisters, and by association, hers as well would be ruined... The plan was perfect and revenge would be very sweet...
