Title- Catherine
Author- 4give4get
Rated- T
Disclaimer- I am nothing but a slave to this story.
Serena- Thanks for reading. And thanks for no hate-reviews. Means a lot.
distorted realities- Thanks for much, you're a great reviewer! Yeah, I liked SOME parts in Breaking Dawn, but really think that Jacob and Leah should have ended up together. Think about it, they'd make a great couple… Anyway, that's mostly why I don't like it—Ms. Meyer and I don't have the same taste in good couples obviously… (SNIFF) Ah, well, I'm done rambling—you're dead on about your depiction of Kitty's disposition, by the way. Thanks again for the review!
Chapter Four…
Kitty did not hate Lizzy. Contrary to what the gentle reader may well believe—Kitty did not dislike Elizabeth. In fact, she cared very much for her. She still cared for Lizzy even after all of her faults for the same reasons she still cared about Lydia, even after all of her faults. People make mistakes, and even so—Lizzy was her sister. For better or for worse. So the low, sinking feeling in her stone-heavy heart was not because of the conversation she had just had with Lizzy.
Stupid Strat. He was officially the biggest idiot she'd ever met. Because not only was he making her hurt him, but because he was hurt, she was too. And maybe perhaps something more… Perhaps saying no to him in the first place hurt. She punched her pillow. This wasn't even making sense anymore!
For Kitty, things always made sense. The world was not such a complicated place, honestly. People do things for reasons, and those things affect other people, who will do things in return that reflect how they feel about being affected. That was pretty much the whole chain of how life flowed. And it made sense. But somehow she couldn't apply her situation with Strat back to it, and therefore it made no sense to her.
So… stupid Strat.
And because Kitty was upset she decided to denounce the world.
"I denounce the world!" she sat up, and said icily.
And because she was so upset, she also decided that she was done with love.
"I'm done with love, too," she snapped and stuck her head back under her pillow.
She was, in fact, so upset that she didn't even know what to do with herself anymore. She didn't know what to think. She could only lay there in feel miserable—and at the time, it felt like the only thing she even knew how to do anymore. Like there wasn't even a time where she was happy and carefree. And every time she'd try to remember an easy, carefree day at Longbourn with Lydia, it seemed like the farthest thing in the world. Eons from where she was now.
I might as well be in prison.
Maybe that was all she needed—to go home. Perhaps she was done with Pemberly and all of the people she'd met there. Perhaps to just be at Longbourn again would be enough. But… Longbourn without Lydia? And not even Mary would be there. Kitty honestly had never felt so alone.
I'm just on my own for right now, she told herself gently. But Kitty had never been on her own before. There was always somebody—her mother, Lydia, Mary, a friend perhaps… But Kitty now realized that her only friend was Lady Susan, and she really did not care to hear what the old woman had to say about Strat, because she'd already heard a good deal of it, and didn't like it one bit.
Perhaps the world was too real for her. She'd rather just dance around in a fairly tale, like Vassilissa the Beautiful and marry a czar and live happily ever after. Kitty pondered that. Why didn't people live happily ever after in real life? It would be so much nicer and easier. Yes, if there were one prince per every scorned, unhappy young maiden…
That must be why real life is different, she realized with a sigh, there would have to be millions and millions of princes in the world. So a few lucky young things might marry a prince, but as for the rest of us… well, we'll just have to settle for less. Or perhaps hope for all of the Mr. Sutters in the world. She stroked her chin as she pondered on.
What if there were no such things as males and females? Everybody was just the same sex? And in order to reproduce, people would just plant a seed in a pot and put it under their bed for the night, and when they woke up there would just be a baby there? That was where Kitty wanted to live. And she and Lydia would have never been separated like this, and Strat wouldn't exist. Kitty closed her eyes and imagined it all. How lovely it would be.
But when she opened her eyes again she was still scrunched in a tight ball in her chamber at Pemberly, in the world where there was different sexes and love and all sorts of other horrible, far-too-real things.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Strat.
.x.X.x.
Unfortunately for Kitty, she could not stay in bed all day. She could claim a headache and be in bed for half of a day, but as the minutes inched past one o'clock, she decided that if she didn't get up and move her legs she'd go mad. So she dressed herself and paced around the room, until she thought she'd go mad anyway. She flung open the window and leaned out, smelling the sweet air. The wind played with the hairs that had escaped her braid and has she took a deep, deep breath down to the core of her being she even felt normal again.
She tried to smile. It just felt like she was grimacing in pain instead so she gave up on that. She tried to laugh. It sounded so forced and fake that it just depressed her more. Kitty's thoughts went back to Kitty. She sure wished she would hurry up and divorce bloody Wickham so they could go and be together at Longbourn and forget this whole nightmare ever happened.
Kitty then imagined hitting Wickham in the head repeatedly with a croquet bat. What a horrid man he was, indeed. What sort of person took such an advantage over a fickle, young girl like Lydia? And that got Kitty angry rather than depressed, which was an emotion she knew much more about handling. After throwing three innocent books against the wall, she finally decided to walk down to the drawing room to let Lizzy know she was still alive.
"Feeling better, I hope?" Lizzy asked as she entered.
"Much, thank you," Kitty answered pleasantly and took a seat beside her sister, "Have I missed much?"
"Oh yes, Mrs. Hatter has decided to send her son to a military academy," Lizzy began urgently.
"How dreadful!" Kitty exclaimed, but Elizabeth did not seem to share her opinion.
"No, it's wonderful. Think what a fine young man he'll become. The military is an admirable thing for someone to join. We should all be quite proud of him!"
Kitty only twisted her mouth and gave her sister a side-glance. What did Lizzy know about the military anyway? Of course, Kitty did not claim to know much about it herself, but would certainly be more of an authority on the subject out of the two. For most of the months after she'd turned seventeen, her and Kitty both had spent many hours each day with officers from the Hertfordshire militia. They did not often speak of being in the military but more of mindless flirting topics with her and Lydia, but every once in a while it did come up.
It was hardest when they were taken from home at such a young age. The schools were strict and rather awful if you were still young. And many of them had been at sea and fought against the French, which was a horrifying experience in itself. When asked, most of the officers agreed they would indeed rather not have joined the military at all, but it was what they had been trained to do for their whole lives and could hardly start over then. But Kitty also did not bother trying to explain this to Lizzy, doubtful that she could possibly understand.
"Indeed," was all she said.
"And I trust that your headache has gone?" her sister continued.
"Yes," Kitty answered, cocking her head to look out the window, "And it seems to be going on two o'clock—I've missed two meals. Lizzy, do you suppose if I went down to the kitchen one of the cooks would feed me something?"
Kitty did feel famished. It was a strangely human thing to feel after such a night of bawling her eyes out over that idiot, Strat. In fact, a buttered slice of bread and some bacon sounded like the most beautiful thing to her at that moment.
"Stay seated," Lizzy laughed, "Mrs. Reynolds may bring you a something to eat here."
Mrs. Reynolds was called and Lizzy asked her to see what was down in the kitchen at the moment and to perhaps bring her sister something nice. The housekeeper frowned.
"The late Mrs. Darcy would have never permitted food in her drawing room," she stated with so much authority that Kitty thought Elizabeth would consent for her to simply eat down in the kitchen.
But she did not, "Oh, stuff and bother!" she snorted, "It isn't her drawing room anymore is it? So there, she won't have to deal with it—I will."
Kitty made a small giggle.
"But, Mrs. Darcy…" Mrs. Reynolds looked positively floored by her response, and her hand rose to her mouth in shock. She was at a complete loss of what to say. And perhaps rather angry as well.
"So go and tell my husband what I've said," Lizzy told her calmly, pushing a dark curl back from her face, "I dare say he will not care that his sister-in-law is doing something his mother wouldn't have approved of."
"How can you say that?" the housekeeper wanted to know, "I do believe I know him better than yourself. He thinks very highly of his mother."
"I am sure he does," Lizzy countered coolly, "But whose wishes is he more likely to respect: yours or mine? I like to have faith in the fact that what I do for him is much more appreciated than you keeping the house."
Both Kitty and Mrs. Reynolds saw instantly what Elizabeth was talking about, as for what she does for Mr. Darcy. If the gentle reader still does not understand, I ask only that they think very long and hard on it, and the answer will become obvious. But the housekeeper had to admit defeat then. The new woman at Pemberly had much more power than her.
"Oh, my mistress is likely rolling in her grave now," Mrs. Reynolds muttered, turning towards the door.
After she'd tartly closed the door behind her, Kitty and Lizzy both fell into fits of laughter at the scene that had just passed. It felt good to laugh—really laugh, not like when she'd forced herself to laugh back in her chambers. The kind of laugh that you couldn't keep inside you even if you wanted to, and it is forced out of your mouth in such a way that you can't even think of a feeling that feels better. And the laughs will jolt your body and make you as limp as a rag doll, and sag right out of your chair. And as you begin to laugh so hard that you can barely get a breath in, your face turns red and tears pour down your cheeks.
Kitty was quite sure that Mrs. Reynolds was not yet out of earshot for what a racket they were making, but neither of them particularly cared.
"The late Mrs. Darcy would have never permitted food in her precious, precious drawing room!" Lizzy mimicked, her face flushed as she held Kitty's hand.
"Oh, I bet she is indeed rolling in her grave over the notion of bread crumbs in her parlor!" Kitty laughed.
"Heaven forbid!"
And very reluctantly did Mrs. Reynolds return with a plate of buttered biscuits and a few chucks of cheese. A small slice of cake was off to the side, and it seemed that the cook insisted it be served with tea, because Kitty very highly doubted that the housekeeper would be so thoughtful.
"Thank you," she murmured, as the tray was set before her on the table. It did look like the most delicious thing she'd ever set eyes on. Hunger was not a thing Kitty felt often either.
She dug into the biscuits first, chewing and swallowing so quickly she was even strained for breath. Lizzy laughed at her horrid manners, and Kitty silently offered her some, but the offer was declined. And the food did send Kitty's thoughts back into focus. She was biting into the last biscuit when another knock was heard on the door.
"Yes?" Lizzy asked, as Kitty kept eating, not dubbing it worthy of her attentions.
Mrs. Reynolds reentered, and for the briefest of seconds Kitty thought that perhaps she'd heard them mimicking her and came back to shout an angry retort. She also decided that that would have been one of the most interesting things that had happened since she came to Pemberly and even got her hopes up for such a thing. But her spirits sunk as she realized it was not anger on the woman's face.
"There is a gentleman here," she began, "To see her."
Kitty looked up, crumbs falling off of her lip to see that Mrs. Reynolds was looking directly at her. This surprised her, causing her to frown through her mouthful of half-chewed biscuit. Who would drag themselves all the way to Pemberly just to see her? She pondered for a minute and came up with this thought: It had better not be Strat…
The housekeeper looked to Lizzy.
"Well, send him in," her sister said as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. In fact, Elizabeth was the one in the room with the clearest mind at the present. Mrs. Reynolds was far too shocked that someone would possibly ask for her, and Kitty the same. Only Lizzy was in her right mind.
The statement broke through to Mrs. Reynolds who turned away to bring the "gentleman" into the drawing room before him. Kitty took the time to cram more food into her mouth, for she was not completely full yet. When the door reopened, Mrs. Reynolds appeared and behind her was a man that Kitty could honestly say she had never seen before in her life. Indeed, that explained how suspicious Mrs. Reynolds was, for the man was easily forty if he was a day, and looked to be more of a city dweller than a country man. How could Catherine Bennet have come into the acquaintance of such a man? Quite suspicious, indeed…
And Kitty was floored. How could this mysterious, older man claim to know her at all? She was still a little too hungry to stare at him unmolested, and did eat as she studied his countenance and dearly wondered what could possibly be going through her sister's mind at the time.
The man was tall and dark and took off his hat as his dark eyes scanned the room, "Miss Bennet?" he questioned, looking from Kitty to Lizzy. Lizzy silently motioned to her sister.
Kitty spoke through her full mouth, aware of her atrocious manners, but only able to do little about them, "I am she." But it did rather sound more like, "Ah'm shree."
He raised his eyebrows at her but nothing more, indeed he seemed to be more of the serious type of person, "I am here on the behalf of the will of Lady Susan Carter, of whom I am afraid to report passed away at nine o'clock this morning…"
Kitty was about to swallow, but choked and had to cough up every piece of food in her mouth as the man began to speak. Lizzy thumped her back heartily, and wrinkled her nose at the half-chewed cheese she spat back onto the tray. The man merely looked utterly disgusted but kept talking in a similar formality he had used in his tone before the interruption.
"A slight change was made to her will before that time, leaving everything in her possession to a Catherine Bennet," he said her name as he wrinkled his nose and looked back at her tray where her coughed-up cheese was splashed and then looked rather green himself.
Kitty was perhaps even too shocked to think perfectly straight. Lady Susan was dead? Logic argued that was hardly something to be surprised over. She was quite old, and people younger than her died all the time. A pang of sorrow ate at her heart—as much as she was angered over most of the things she said, Lady Susan had been a friend. Even if only for the few days they had known each other. And then the second half of his statement sunk in. A slight change to her will that left everything in her possession to her? This was where Kitty no longer even knew what to think.
The man cleared his throat, obviously not finished, "But I am also afraid that it is quite impossible. Her eldest son must inherit the estate, for it must remain in the family, as must her title. The only thing Lady Susan had the right to leave you is everything in her bank account in London, which as of today, 4 of October, 1811, is a total of seventy-two thousand pounds and a few family jewels."
It was a good thing she had already spat out what food was still in her mouth, because Kitty surely would have choked until she turned blue and died right there in the late Mrs. Darcy's precious drawing room. And to be frank, that is how our heroine, Catherine Bennet the almost-eighteen-year-old girl, not even in possession of a decent pair of shoes became an exceedingly affluent young lady. Indeed, she quite simply woke up one morning as Kitty Bennet, with only the ten pounds she had in her purse, which her father had given her as she left Longbourn, and went to bed the very same evening worth over seventy thousand pounds.
Lizzy was quite equally shocked, and Mrs. Reynolds had not quite closed the door and was listening the whole time, but at the shock of it all, stepped forward into the room, although Kitty hardly noticed her. Indeed, who could notice an old housekeeper when they had just realized that they were rich?
I am the most wealthy woman in Derbyshire, Kitty thought blankly, no, the most wealthy person, man or woman. The man seemed to say all that he had meant to and left, wishing them all a pleasant afternoon, and still with a last utterly disgusted glance at Kitty's cheese. The door closed firmly behind him and Lizzy was the first one to speak.
"Well, I surely did not see that coming," she said, taking a sip of tea, "You're a very wealthy young lady now, Kitty."
"Wealthy?" repeated Mrs. Reynolds, "I would say more than just wealthy, she's filthy stinking rich! You could buy half of Derbyshire with that sort of money!"
"It's too bad that you didn't inherit it all," Lizzy giggled, "Then you would have an income on top of that seventy-two thousand. And a fine house."
"I'm sure her son would not have been pleased," Kitty stated, speaking for the first time, her voice sounded hoarse even to herself.
"I am sure he is one very outraged man right now as it is," Mrs. Reynolds put forth, "All of that money cheated of him?"
"Not cheated of him," Lizzy pointed out, "It was Lady Susan's to do with it what she pleased. Obviously she liked our Kitty better than her son anyhow."
"I do wonder why she left it all to me," Kitty pondered aloud, still not quite believing it all.
"I've heard from many sources that he's a foolish, greedy thing. He spent every penny he's got gambling anyhow. Were I Lady Susan I wouldn't leave such a sum of money to him either," Mrs. Reynolds began indifferently.
"And she had to leave it to someone, so it wouldn't go to him. So why not you?" Lizzy finished.
Kitty pressed her lips together and went deeply into thought. For all that Lady Susan had said against her, she must have thought enough of her to leave every penny she had to her. Even after all that she had criticized about her and Strat, and told her she was selfish, and not a lady at all, and with a horrible temper (even though all of this was quite true) she still thought she was worth so much money. Well, hadn't Lady Susan said that she saw an earlier version of herself in her? Was that perhaps why she left Kitty her fortune? Or was it more like what Lizzy said, she needed to leave it to someone just so that it would not automatically go to her son. And Kitty just happened to be the first person she could think of.
That may have been part of it. But do you really just leave seventy-two thousand pounds to someone at random? Even if she was trying to prevent her son from getting it, she still must have seen something in Kitty that said she deserved such an amount of money.
And then Kitty broke into a smile. She was rich! She wouldn't need Mr. Sutter anymore. She was likely twice as wealthy as him now. She did suddenly did not feel hungry (partially thanks to the spat-up cheese before her) and went back up to her chamber to think in solitude. As night fell, she undressed and climbed into bed, still deep in thought. She would miss Lady Susan. She still could hardly believe the old woman was gone forever.
God rest her soul.
And Kitty barely knew what to do with herself again. When she woke up she would be living day one, of the life of a wealthy woman. And be quite prepared to accept any privileges that came along with it.
End Chapter
Serena- Yup. Please review!