Chapter 4: Cocoon of Safety
Mary retreated to her room immediately after returning home and she did not appear again until dinner. Wistfully, she went over the story again in her head, trying to find a loophole in which to make Henry the hero, not the villain. She thought, if they had a similar nature, would he not think like her? She would never evict anyone out of their home. How could Henry do such a thing? Thinking socially, he was not very far from the Coles. He was not as rich as Jane's husband, Mr. Bingley and certainly nowhere near close to Lizzie's Mr. Darcy. He was very close to her family in terms of income and Mary knew the Hills, employed by her family, were better off than most families in their position. He would be, would have been, an honorable choice.
Mary was about to review the whole story in her head again when there was a knock at the door. Kitty poked her head in, "Mary, dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
"Thank you," Mary said. Kitty entered the room, closed the door behind her and sat next to Mary on the bed.
"I told Mama about Mr. Aldridge, so you wouldn't have to endure her," Kitty said. Mary stifled a laugh.
"How did she take it?" Mary asked.
"Well enough, I think she knows by now her daughters give prospective husbands a run for their money," Kitty said, laughing. "At least he wasn't another Mr. Wickham or Mr. Bingley for that matter."
"If only it would have been that simple," Mary said.
"It is really not that complicated, my dear sister," Kitty said.
"Why didn't he tell me? He leads me to believe he lives this wonderful life of books and music and an estate, and then it falls apart because of one mistake," Mary said, voice breaking. "He was the first gentleman to notice me."
"Men like to puff themselves up to attract us. His truths might have been exaggerated," Kitty said. "He won't be the last man in your life. You cannot give up because of one man."
"I am now thoroughly convinced all men are witless worms," Mary said. Kitty gasped. Mary started laughing and Kitty joined in.
"I never thought I would see the day! My sister, calling men witless worms," Kitty said. "I must write Lydia, Jane and Lizzie at once and tell them our sister has broken out of her cocoon and become a butterfly."
"Oh Kitty," Mary chastised and blushed. They burst into giggles again.
At dinner, Mrs. Bennet only commented on the predicament Mr. Aldridge had found himself in and praised Mary for not starting a relationship with him.
"Take heart, Mary, you too would have been caught in that scandal and Lord knows we could not possibly handle another cover up," Mrs. Bennet said. "Someone else will capture you with books and music and he will not have a scar to his name or reputation."
"Thank you, Mama," Mary said, but slightly questioned her mother's meaning and disregarded it.
"Mr. Bennet, have you heard of any new neighbors in the area?" Mrs. Bennet asked.
"None at all, my dear, though I believe the Hartwells have taken in an apprentice for Mr. Hartwell's blacksmith shop," Mr. Bennet said.
"Is he nice?"
"You know Mr. Hartwell, of course he is a nice gentleman. One of my good friends."
Mrs. Bennet shook her head and sighed, "Mr. Bennet! I am inquiring about the apprentice. Is he handsome?"
"Oh, I could not say, my dear. He has not arrived yet," Mr. Bennet said, a slight smirk on his face. "Let the young ladies of the county decide if he is handsome or not."
"Well, you know what you must do once he arrives in town, Mr. Bennet."
"Naturally," Mr. Bennet said and went back to eating his boiled potatoes.
"Mr. Bennet!" Mrs. Bennet said. He looked up in surprise. "When will you visit him?"
"The moment he arrives in town," Mr. Bennet said.
"Oh no, Papa, that is too much trouble for you," Mary said. "We do not need to meet him."
"Mary!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed. "You people are too much for my poor nerves! Now it seems as if you or Kitty does not want to be married, but only live off your poor mother and father's income, which is not very much as you know. 'Twas a good thing three of your sisters are married and living off their husbands."
"Mama, I only meant that it has not been very long since Mr. Aldridge left town," Mary said, annoyed. "Could we give town a chance to settle down before meeting this new gentleman?"
"Well, I suppose, if he is to arrive next week that might be sufficient time," Mrs. Bennet said. Mary breathed a sigh of relief. One man was hard enough to handle, let alone adding another one to her life.
A few days after Mary found out about Mr. Aldridge's scandal, Mary was in the bookshop, hunting for a new book and who should walk in but Mr. Aldridge himself. Their eyes met and Mary quickly darted around to the next aisle. If she skirted around the edge of the shop, she should be able to escape without a confrontation from him.
She peaked around the corner. He was talking to the keeper, his back to her. Mary put the back on the shelf and hastened towards the door. The jingle of the bell on top of the door gave her away. Mr. Aldridge excused himself and went out the door after her.
"Miss Mary!" he called. Realizing she could not run without making a scene, she stopped and turned to face him.
"Mr. Aldridge," she curtsied.
"Please, I must speak with you," he said. "I did not mean to rush off from Meryton without saying goodbye to you first. I had some business with my tenants that was imperative."
"Yes, I heard. You vanquished a family of eight from your land," Mary said.
"Wait, what?" Henry said. "No, no. I returned to Pine Hollow to tell Mr. Cole I would let him stay and pay back his work when he could. They were preparing to leave just as I got to the farm. Mr. Cole said he did not want to live on a credit line. He's a cash-on-the-barrel man he said and they moved on. I told them they are welcome back anytime."
Mary thought about his statement for a long time.
"Please, you must believe me. I have never evicted any of my tenants and actually, I have been working with them to improve our efficiency of the estate," Henry said.
"What about Anna?" Mary asked.
"Anna is like a sister to me. I would never do anything to tarnish her reputation or her family," Henry said. "She loves to read, so I lent her some books and a few extra blankets for her and her sisters because the cottage was cold. I understand if my story seems pieced together and gotten tangled in the Meryton gossip, but it's truth."
"How do I know?" Mary asked. "Who else can support you?"
"Come to Pine Hollow with me on Monday," Henry said suddenly. "I will show you my estate and farms and you can meet the other tenants. They know how it happened."
Mary contemplated the offer. Henry spoke amiably of Pine Hollow before and Mary did not deny that she would like to see it.
"I will have to ask my parents, and Kitty could just as well come with us. She's bound to discover the truth eventually," Mary said. "Can I let you know by a letter tomorrow?"
"Of course, your father is welcome to join us if he wishes, and for that matter, your mother too. We'll make an outing of it," Henry said. Mary's eyebrows rose. She did not think he knew what he was getting himself into.
"If you absolutely insist," Mary said.
"I absolutely insist," Henry replied. "I shall wait for your answer."
"Very well, then," Mary said.
They bowed and curtsied. Her face blushed and her mind raced with bewilderment as to why she accepted his invitation. Mary hurried her way home in anticipation of asking for permission.