Here's next chap. Hope everyone likes!
I want to thank Steff for reviewing 2 chapters ago. Thanks for enjoying it, and hopefully Mary's family will begin to understand her.
A few days passed when most enlightening news came upon them: Mr. Bingley was to return to Netherfield. This news was of little concern to Mary, though she supposed she felt happy for Jane, or rather sorry for her. Jane seemed a bit distressed hearing the news and Mary had newfound ability to sympathize with her. Mrs. Bennet was a mixture of disdain for the man and hopes that he would soon become her son-in-law. Finally, Mr. Bingley arrived back at Netherfield and within three days visited Longbourn. He arrived with his friend, Mr. Darcy, and the two men sat with the remaining females of the house. Mr. Darcy had taken a seat near Mary in a lesser occupied corner of the room. Mary blushed for a minute until she noticed the inexplicable glances Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth threw each other's way. Not that it really matter; after two disasters, or perhaps it was one, Mary had no desire to bother with men and, though handsome, Mr. Darcy interested Mary not. Mrs. Bennet, of course, dominated the conversation to the two eldest sisters' embarrassment, which only increased as she discussed Lydia's wonderful marriage.
"It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter well married." Mary heard her mother say. A soft, barely audible snort escaped from Mary, and luckily none heard besides Mr. Darcy. He looked at her, raising his eyebrow, and she, embarrassed, picked up her book and hid behind the upside down tome. She did not see his slightly amused smirk before he unwillingly turned to listen to Mrs. Bennet's monologue. Elizabeth soon changed the topic and Mary finally realized her book was upside down and turned it around with a blush. If Lizzy and Mr. Darcy ever did fall in love, Mary wasn't sure how she would handle such an intimidating brother-in-law.
The next day arrived and it was a Sunday; Mary was nervous of yet another approach by Mr. Singleton. She was lucky, however, for Mr. Jenson came in his stead.
"Hello Miss Mary!" he said cheerfully, sitting in the pew next to her. Mary looked at him warily.
"Hello, Mr. Jenson." She said evenly. Noticing Mr. Singleton observing them she forced a giggle and blinked her eyelids awkwardly at Mr. Jenson in attempt to flutter them. Mr. Jenson gave an uncomfortable smile, cleared his throat, and reached into his coat pocket.
"I wanted to give you this." He said cheerfully, handing her a folded letter. Mary looked at it curiously wondering why he would give her a letter. She didn't take it but glared at Mr. Jenson instead.
"It's from him, isn't it?" she asked.
"I haven't the foggiest what you are talking about."
"I bet you two had a right laugh over the deceitful trick he played on me."
Mr. Jenson looked at Mary in confusion.
"Deceitful trick?" he questioned, and shot an odd look toward Richard. "He didn't tell me anything. He wouldn't; he said it would betray your confidence."
Mary looked up in astonishment at Mr. Jenson. Mr. Singleton hadn't even told Mr. Jenson, his closest friend? Mr. Jenson had to be telling the truth, he was a terrible liar after all.
"He didn't?" she asked in confusion.
"No…and for heavens sake it wasn't for want of my curious pestering!" Mr. Jenson exclaimed.
Mary smiled at the silly, young man but then frowned.
"Well, he should have thought about my confidence sooner!" she exclaimed and it was Mr. Jenson's turn to frown.
"Hello Mr. Jenson!"
Mr. Jenson sighed irritably and turned toward the ever-eager Maria.
"Not right now Miss Lucas!" he hissed.
Maria's smile fell as she looked between Mary and Mr. Jenson and then toward a tormented Mr. Singleton. Her lower lip trembled and she walked quietly away. Mary looked after her in sympathy but the oblivious Mr. Jenson simply sighed in frustration. He turned back toward Mary and gave her a tired look.
"Miss Mary, believe me, I'm Richard's closest friend and if anyone knows what an idiot that man can be it is me." He said. "But he has a good heart. Any wrong thing he might have done was probably out of idiocy and not bad intentions."
Mary frowned in consideration but then looked at Mr. Jenson skeptically.
"Alright, I will take the letter." She said as she took it from him. "But I'm not promising to read it."
Mr. Jenson smiled.
"That's alright with me; I did my job at least." He said satisfactorily.
Mary shot him an odd look and he cleared his throat in discomfort.
"Well then, I suppose I will see you later. Good bye Miss Mary." He said.
"Good bye," she said. She watched him approach the anxious Mr. Singleton then looked at the letter, turning it around in her hands. Looking up she saw the two men smiling expectantly at her. She turned her nose in the air and threw the letter in her Bible to the chagrin of them both. Mary ignored their further glances.
The matter of the letter was not too far from Mary's mind, yet she stubbornly refused to read it. Tuesday came and Mrs. Bennet hosted a large party in hopes to impress Mr. Bingley. Mr. Singleton and Mr. Jenson attended as well. Luckily, the former had ceased to approach her but Mary was not so fortunate with the latter.
"Hello there, Miss Mary!"
Mary, reading in a corner hoping to avoid attention, looked up to see Mr. Jenson's cheery smile.
"Yes Mr. Jenson, what is it that you need?" She asked impatiently.
"Well…?" he asked with an expectant smile.
"Well what?"
"Did you read it?"
"Read what?" Mary answered, knowing full well what he was asking. "My book? Yes, I am reading it right now so do not bother me."
She put the book up to her face signifying she was done with the conversation.
Mr. Jenson sighed and muttered something about "how that buffoon Richard puts up with her".
"Miss Mary, I do believe you know what I am talking about."
"I have the slightest idea, Mr. Jenson, for unlike Mr. Singleton I do not share your peanut of a brain."
Mr. Jenson looked affronted.
"Well, pardon me, Miss Mary." Mr. Jenson said. "But first and foremost your argument is with Mr. Singleton, and not myself."
"I apologize; but why is it, then, that you must involve yourself in it?"
"Believe me, I complained to Richard about it but he brings up nonsense about lifelong friendship, loyalty, and whatnot." He said. "But meddler or not I don't deserve to have my brain compared to his."
Mary laughed.
"Again I apologize." With that she turned her attention back to her book. Mr. Jensen sighed.
"Well, have you read Mr. Singleton's letter?"
"No." she answered not lifting her eyes from her book.
"There now, that wasn't so hard to say was it?"
Mary made no response and Mr. Jenson sat there looking at her.
"Well...?" he said.
Mary sighed and looked up from her book.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Are you going to read the letter?" He asked.
"I have no intention of doing so." She said turning back to her book. Mr. Jenson sighed once more.
"Well, I think you should." He sang. Mary rolled her eyes and looked up to respond when she suddenly dropped to the ground and crawled behind her chair. Mr. Jenson stared at the empty chair in confusion and then looked behind the chair to see Mary crouching behind it.
"Err…Miss Mary?" he asked. Mary hushed him.
"Pretend you do not see me. Look elsewhere." She said.
"Alright…" he said in confusion, and looked in interest at a blank wall.
"I looked up across the room and caught my mother's eye. She saw us talking together and her face lit up." Mary whispered. "I shant be surprised if she's making her way to us right now."
Mr. Jenson looked up to see Mrs. Bennet happily making her way through the crowd to the pair. Knowing full well the antics of Mrs. Bennet he let out a frightened squeak. Mary crouched down and snuck behind many chairs and people until she promptly ran into someone.
"Miss Mary?" A confused voice asked.
Mary looked up and, with all her luck, saw Mr. Singleton. She mustered all the pride she could, stood up, and thrust her chin into the air.
"Mr. Singleton." She said gravely.
"Is anything the matter?" He asked.
"Nothing that concerns you." She said. She turned on her heal and marched away from the distressed Mr. Singleton.
On Saturday and Sunday Mr. Bingley had come to call; both days brought Mrs. Bennet's efforts to isolate him and Jane in hopes to encourage a proposal. The first day was unsuccessful. On Sunday he stayed the entire day and Mrs. Bennet made everyone else play a game of cards leaving Jane and Bingley alone with each other. Lizzy had left to write a letter so Mary was petitioned to play since they needed four players. The table was evenly matched for Mary was paired with her father and Kitty with her mother. Kitty was an experienced player as was her father. Mary was a poor player of cards and detested them so. Mrs. Bennet had neither genius nor current attention for it; she only had mind for what was going on in the drawing room.
"I must say, I think this is the day!" Mrs. Bennet said. "You should be thankful, girls, that you will have such a rich brother. Kitty, you are sure to find a rich husband amongst his friends. And Mary, you no longer have to worry about spending spinsterhood on the street after Mr. Bennet's hastening death!"
Mary might have been disconcerted had she not anticipated such a comment; she did not dignify it with an answer but merely threw her cards down more sharply than usual. Kitty looked towards her for a moment but Mary refused to look at the smirk that most likely graced her features. Mr. Bennet's amused sniff did not escape her notice, however.
Luckily, her mother had no more patience for cards for Mary was ready to quit after that comment. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty went upstairs to gossip about the happenings in the drawing room and Mr. Bennet retreated to his study. Mary hastened to her room and threw herself on her bed determined not to cry. Her thoughts immediately traveled to Mr. Collins and Mr. Singleton; if one hadn't turned into such a cad she might have been married to one of them by now…and if not then perhaps soon to the other. That would have shown her mother. Mary thought about the evils of Mr. Singleton and that brought thoughts of his letter still tucked in her Bible. The letter had been haunting her, calling her. She was determined not to read it and yet curiosity provoked her. Curiosity it must have been, for she refused to admit she missed him. She merely wanted to see what that scoundrel had to say for himself, what sort of excuse he had come up with. Finally she sat up in frustration.
"I will just touch it." She said. As if drawn by a magnet she made her way over to her Bible, fetched the letter out of it, and sat on her piano stool. She turned it over in her hands and held it up to the light to see its contents. As her finger slid to the seal a loud squeal caused her to fall off her stool almost risking her a sprained wrist.
"What in heavens name!" She exclaimed, tossing the letter into a book and hurrying out of her room. The sound had come from her mother's room and Mary entered it in exasperation.
"What on earth is the matter?" she exclaimed. She realized her alarm was unneeded as she observed the occupants of the room. Mrs. Bennet was bouncing in pure delight, Kitty was in a fit of giggles, and Jane's joy, to Mary's disgust, only made her beauty become radiance.
"Matter? Oh heaven's you silly child; nothing is the matter!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed. "I had been right. Mr. Bingley has proposed to Jane and she's accepted."
Jane was too happy to mind that Mrs. Bennet hadn't allowed her to announce it. Mary hugged her sister and offered her congratulations. Mary was happy for her, if any of her sisters deserved happiness it was Jane, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy. Mary spent the rest of the evening in quiet reflection while sitting with her family and her soon-to-be-brother. Mary was happy for her sister but couldn't help compare it to her own sorry situation. Mary didn't speak much at all, but after Mr. Bingley left felt she should say something and could only ask about the library at Netherfield.
The next several days passed with Mary forgetting about the letter, or rather, with the preparations for the wedding couldn't spare much thought for it. Not much happened for two weeks, other than her hearing her mother mention to some unimportant visitor all her daughters except for herself. This had upset Mary a little and she felt the loss of Mr. Singleton's friendship. She wondered at her stubborn refusal to forgive him without getting the full story about what happened. She wrestled with herself on the matter until one Friday she decided it was time to, at the very least, read the letter with much skepticism.
Mary picked up the letter and almost broke the seal when a knock at the door sounded. Mary sighed and put the letter down.
"Yes?" she asked irritably. Kitty poked her head in.
"We're going for a walk. Do come along."
Mary looked at her letter and then at Kitty.
"I cannot spare the time." She said.
"Oh do come on!" Kitty whined. "I don't want to walk with that Mr. Darcy with only Lizzy as company."
"Will not Jane and Bingley be going with you?"
"Hardly! They'll be far behind us, I'll bet." Kitty said. "Lizzy and I will have to talk to him for we cannot just ignore him. With you there, however, Lizzy can be stuck with him while we walk ahead of them."
Mary almost laughed at Kitty's scheme to stick Lizzy with the intimidating young man. Mary was very tempted to go and put off her letter reading, but she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. It had to be done.
"No Kitty. If you are so frightened of him, go call on Maria Lucas during your walk."
Kitty huffed.
"Fine! Have a boring old time with your books." She said, sticking out her tongue. She stomped out of the room.
Mary stared at the door then rolled her eyes and sighed. Apparently the effects of Lydia had yet to completely wear off. Mary returned to her letter and broke the seal.
Yeah, I'm getting pretty into this "cliffhanger" thing. Okay, if I get enough reviews (I'm not defining what enough is except as if you read it and haven't reviewed it it's not enough) I'll update within a week. That means I could update anywhere between now or monday.
To put a timeline in perspective it took her 3 weeks to, at least, open the letter since she received it. But will she read it? That is the question.
Oh, referring to this sentence: "her hearing her mother mention to some unimportant visitor all her daughters except for herself". Guess who the unimportant visitor is.
Quotes from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen:
"It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter well married." Volume III, Chapter 11