Chapter 14

I lay on top of the bed I would be sharing with my sister, Jane. I was toying with the idea of just stringing some sheets together and crawling out the window. Most of the Bennet family was quite insane. I decided to think about this completely before making a decision, and so I ran through everything that had happened that day in my mind.

Mr. Bennet said that he had recognized me because I was the spitting image of my childhood painting and, apparently, I shared many resemblances to my sisters and mother. After an almost tearful goodbye to Vivian, I climbed into the waiting carriage. Following the initial greeting and excitement, the carriage ride to the Bennet home was silent. Mr. Bennet and I sat across from each other in the carriage. We looked in opposite directions at the passing scenery as the carriage bumped along from cobblestone streets to well-worn dirt roads.

The scenery was unlike that of my ride to Manhattan with Darcy. It was early morning, and the fog was thick and felt heavy as it rested on the landscape. The city that we had docked had been a bustling port, with people and buildings everywhere. That all quickly disappeared, though, and changed into countryside. The change was quite sudden and startling. The country reminded me more of home. A wave of homesickness overtook me suddenly, but I did my best to push it back down.

The ride lasted several hours, during which Mr. Bennet asked me a few questions such as what my childhood was like, what the first thing I could remember was, what were the people who raised me like, and things of that nature. I decided to be completely truthful about my life up until being bought by Darcy. Something about my father made me want to tell the truth, and so I did, including that I was married. But I still brushed over some of the worse details of my life as an indentured servant as well as Darcy's name, as promised.

I inquired of Mr. Bennet about the rest of my family, which he answered in as unbiased a way as possible. He then told me that I would meet them soon enough and would form my own opinions then. He paused, seemed to think for a moment, and then told me that if I found that I had trouble settling in, the best person to talk about it with would be my older sister, Jane. Apparently she was, as Darcy said, very kind-hearted and would be the perfect person to help me adjust to this new, large family.

I found myself dozing off and, as I did, thought of Charles once again, and what he had said to me. Something in my mentioning the Bennets had made him think that I was in league with his sister, Caroline. I could not fathom where he had got that notion, but I decided that it must have something to do with his botched engagement. I let the rocking of the carriage lull me to sleep then, and didn't wake until we stopped at the house.

The house was quite large, and the dirt driveway leading up to it was long. The yard was surrounded by barns, sheds, and a fence, and there were some scattered trees throughout it. I could see a small stream that flowed behind the house, with a small brick bridge going over it. It was all very pretty and, farther around the house, I could see colorful gardens and a clothes line.

There were five women lined up outside the house. Four of them were young and looked to be my age, but the fifth was rather plump and middle-aged. Some of them were smiling, some didn't seem all that happy, and one of the girls was out-right scowling at me.

I looked at them uneasily as Mr. Bennet climbed out of the carriage and offered me his hand to help me down. Once I was on the ground, the older lady, who I assumed to be Mrs. Bennet, stepped forward.

"My dear Elizabeth, I am Mrs. Bennet, your mother," she said as she grasped both of my hands in hers.

I inclined my head in her direction as gracefully as I could manage, and forced a smile onto my face. "It is wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Bennet," I replied.

She did not correct me for calling her Mrs. Bennet, and Mr. Bennet had not corrected me either. I was grateful, for I was not comfortable yet with the idea of calling them mother and father.

Mr. Bennet walked around to the back of the carriage and began to take my bags down. I now had one more bag with me, for Vivian had insisted that I take some of her dresses permanently and I could say nothing to dissuade her from the idea.

"Mr. Bennet!" said Mrs. Bennet in a shrill, scolding tone, "We have servants for that, you know. They can get her bags in good time," she turned to me, "We have many servants here, you see. We are not destitute quite yet," and then she threw another scolding look at Mr. Bennet.

Mr. Bennet merely gave a small sigh and then lumbered inside the house.

I had no idea what the meaning of this outburst was, so I merely smiled again. I cast another glance toward the rest of the Bennets, who surely must have been my sisters. There were four of them and when they were all standing there together, it felt like they were a united force against me. Only one of them was smiling. The other three didn't look at all happy at my arrival.

Mrs. Bennet then turned back to me, "Now, Elizabeth, these are your sisters."

I cringed as she steered me toward the group of girls. Mrs. Bennet began introducing them: "This is my eldest, Jane," she gestured toward the girl who had been smiling at me. She was very beautiful with an oval face, soft blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. She inclined her head in my direction.

"I am very happy to finally meet you Elizabeth," she said graciously, still smiling. Up close, it appeared that her smile was genuine, and I momentarily had hope that perhaps she would be as kind as everyone said she was. I could use someone to counteract the scowl that one of the girls was still bestowing on me.

Mrs. Bennet continued with her introductions, "You, Elizabeth, were born next, of course, which would make you the second eldest. Next came Mary," she motioned her hand toward one of the girls, who stepped forward. Mary had black hair and was dressed very plainly and modestly in dark clothing. She was neither smiling nor scowling, but her face seemed to hold a constant, unhappy pout.

"Next is Kitty," Mrs. Bennet continued. Kitty stepped forward, and I was startled with the contrast between her and Mary. Kitty's hair was light brown and her dress had several layers of pastel pinks, blues, and greens. She had not been smiling before, but now she greeted me with a wide grin.

The last girl, though, the one who was still scowling, tugged on Kitty's arm and pulled her back. Kitty look at her in indignant confusion before settling her face into a pout as well. It was quite clear which of the girls was in charge.

"And, finally, this is my dear Lydia," Mrs. Bennet concluded proudly, while a scowling Lydia stepped forward.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," she sneered, before stepping back and looping her arm with Kitty's. Both girls turned on their heel and swept back into the house.

"You musn't mind them," Jane said with a gentle smile, "They are, for lack of a better phrase, slightly silly. They will warm up to you soon enough, I am sure."

"Thank you," I replied. "It is wonderful to meet all of you, but I am very tired. I wonder if I might lie down for an hour or so?"

"Of course," Mrs. Bennet said, "Jane dear? Will you please show Elizabeth to your room?" She then turned back to me, "You will have to share a room with my Jane here, for we do not have enough bedrooms. And besides, you are one of my daughters now, and shall be treated as such, rather than an esteemed guest. I'm sure this is satisfactory?"

Mrs. Bennet's little speech caught me off guard, and I saw in her some of the same displeasure at my arrival as Lydia had expressed.

"Of course, Mrs. Bennet. I would have expected nothing more," I replied, trying to smooth over whatever bad feelings the woman must have harbored toward me.

Just then, a young, plainly dressed woman came out of the house. "Ah, Betsie, do take Elizabeth's bags up to Jane's room," Mrs. Bennet ordered her.

Betsie curtsied, "Yes ma'am," she replied. She went around and hefted my two bags out of the carriage and then began walking toward the house.

I followed her, and Jane walked beside me. "I hope the room is to your liking. You will have to share a bed with me, I'm afraid."

"That will be just fine," I assured her. I was quite confused at this point. Some of the Bennets were treating me like dirt, and yet others were treating me as though I thought I was better than they were. Oh, that was it. They somehow had gotten the impression that I thought myself to be above them. At least that was the only conclusion I could come up with at the moment.

I took in the house as we walked through it. The front door led into an entrance hall which split into three different directions. To the left was a sitting room, to the right was the kitchen, and then straight ahead was just a regular hallway with a staircase at the end of it. I caught a glimpse of a piano farther back in one of the rooms, against the wall. There were several mirrors along the main hall. The colors of the house seemed bright, centering mainly around blues, yellow, and browns, with very pretty wood-framing. Jane led me to the stairs, and I saw that Betsie was already half-way up them.

The house was old, yet it seemed alive and open. Presumably because there were so many women living in it. When we reached the top of the stairs, I saw that there were four doors, leading into what I assumed was four bedrooms. One door was open and Betsie was nowhere in sight. Jane led me through the open door.

"This is our room. I used to share it with Mary, but when we learned of your coming, Mary moved into Kitty and Lydia's room."

Betsie had placed my bags on a chest at the foot of the bed, "Will you be needing anything else, miss?" she asked Jane.

"No, Betsie. Thank you," Jane replied. Betsie curtsied and then left. I stared after her and sighed as I remembered my years as a servant. It seemed that I could never get away from it no matter where I went. At least the Bennet's seemed like decent people, although I could have gone without the rudeness of the younger girls.

Jane was bustling about the room and showed me the two drawers and the section of the closet that would be mine. I began to unpack my meager belongings, and Jane helped me put everything away.

"I will leave you so you can lay down," she said when we were finished.

"Thank you," I replied gratefully, and offered her a weary smile.

Once she was gone, I removed my shoes, which had also been Vivian's, and fell onto the bed. I missed Vivian, and I wished to see her so I could talk to her about everything, especially about why Lydia seemed so hateful toward me, even though we had just met! Darcy had warned me about Lydia, and both he and Mr. Bennet had praised Jane's kindness. I felt comforted, especially after seeing their praises proved. I finally dozed off into a fitful nap.

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth!" I felt a hand lightly shaking my shoulder, and a soft voice calling my name. I slowly opened my eyes, my mind still heavy from sleep and disoriented. I then remembered where I was, and rolled over to see Jane standing next to the bed.

"Supper is in half an hour. You can stay here and sleep some more if you want to."

I sat up and shook the sleep from my mind, trying to make sense of her words. That had been my first time sleeping in a real bed on dry land in almost a month. It had felt wonderful once my mind had given up the fight and let me fall asleep.

"I will get up," I said, still bleary.

"Good," Jane said, with an ever-present gentle smile. She turned and filled up a wash-basin, "I do believe you may want to freshen up before you go down," she suggested.

"Oh! I am so sorry!" I said, suddenly realizing. "I didn't even bother to clean up before laying down on the bed. It must be filthy."

Jane just laughed, "It's fine. The sheets will be washed tomorrow, anyway. And you only laid on the top of the blankets. Truly, it is not a problem."

After I had changed, washed my face and hands, and Jane had done my hair up into a simple yet elegant bun, I was ready to go downstairs.

As we descended the stairs, I felt my stomach begin to churn at the thought of facing the rest of the Bennets once again. But I forced myself to calm down. I would only be in England for a few weeks, a couple of months at most, and then I would go back to America and back to Darcy and Georgie. I would just have to tolerate my "family" for a few weeks, and then I would never have to see them again.

This thought gave me an idea: if this were the case, I wouldn't always have to be so careful about what I said or did. I didn't want to come off as a complete mannerless savage, but I didn't have to put up with their grievances either. Feeling suddenly powerful, I straightened up, smiled at Jane (I had been doing more forced smiling that day than I had ever done before), and turned to face the dining room.

The meal was tense and awkward. I was seated between Jane and Mary, for which I was grateful. From what I gathered, Jane was happy to see me, Mary was indifferent, Kitty would probably not have minded if not for Lydia, who for some reason was very hostile. Mr. Bennet also seemed indifferent, yet happy at the same time. Mrs. Bennet, on the other hand - I could not tell what she thought of me. At times, she was courteous and kind, asking me if I wanted second-helpings. And other times, she was openly snide, insinuating that I was just there to leech off of their goodwill. I could not make the woman out at all.

Finally, after forcing down a plate-full of food, even though I wasn't particularly hungry, I asked if I may be excused from the table. Mr. Bennet said that I may, and I fled to the safety of the room I shared with Jane.

Once there, I collapsed on the bed again and tried to compose myself. Going to England suddenly seemed like a very bad idea and I missed Darcy and Georgie terribly. I lay flat on the bed and stared at the ceiling. After a while, I could hear the sound of several people coming up the stairs and they were followed by giggling and squealing.

"Is she asleep?"

"I have no idea."

"You two leave her alone. She's had a long journey just to meet us. Lydia, I've never seen you like this toward anyone! Please, Elizabeth is our sister and you will treat her the same way you treat the rest of us. Now get to bed, all of you."

I easily identified the last voice as Jane's soft tone and I was grateful to her for sticking up for me. I pretended to be asleep when she opened the door, and blinked up at her when she came in.

"Elizabeth, sorry to wake you again," she said as she softly closed the door behind her.

"That's fine," I replied, "It is probably better for me to wake up now so I can get a good night's sleep."

Jane walked to the foot of the bed, "Do you want to take a bath now or tomorrow?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would much rather bathe tonight," I said, inwardly cringing. Of course baths were trouble, a lot of trouble, in fact.

"Oh, that is fine," Jane hastened to assure me, "I know you must have a lot of dirt to wash off after your long journey."

Jane went to find Betsie to tell her to begin drawing a bath for me while I just stood and looked out the window. The bedroom window was on the side of the house, and the view I got was that of a patch of forest, and beyond that were great rolling hills with small patches of trees scattered about them. It was truly a gorgeous sight and I sighed, thinking that Darcy used to see something akin to it every day.

Darcy, why did I still call him by his surname? Especially since my last name was Darcy, although I was sure to not mention that to anyone. Darcy's first name was William. He said so on the day we first met. William. I found that I rather liked that name, for it suited him. Yet, Darcy somehow sounded more exciting and it suited him even better. I frowned. I was tired and the tivial thoughts were making no sense and giving me a headache.

Jane returned then. I grabbed a clean dress and she handed me several towels and a robe, "The bathroom is this way," and she led me down the stairs and into a small back room. There was a porcelain bathtub, a changing screen, and a washbasin.

"If you need anything just shout," Jane said, before closing the door on her way out. I locked the door behind her and turned around. The tub was half-full of steaming water and looked so inviting. I quickly slipped out of my disgusting clothing and made a mental note to clean them tomorrow while the sheets were being washed.

I slipped into the tub and sighed as the warmth of the water enveloped me. It was heaven. I sank down as far as I could go and just sat there for what felt like an hour. I almost fell asleep, but finally made myself sit up and reach for the bar of soap. Oh, how wonderful it felt to be clean! Eventually, the water cooled off and it had turned a disgusting gray color. I quickly stood, reached for the towels, and managed to use all of them before wrapping myself in the robe.

I sat on the floor of the washroom and slowly dried my hair with the last dry towel. I could no longer keep my eyes open. I quickly pulled on the dress I had brought with me, hung the towels on the rack, and gathered up the rest of my things before slipping out of the room. I noticed a bucket outside the door, and realized it was for emptying the tub.

I didn't want Betsie to have to empty the tub that late at night. She was probably exhausted from filling it in the first place. I grabbed the bucket, dropped my armload of clothes, and began to haul bucket after bucket of dirty bathwater out the back door.

I was on my sixth trip with the bucket when Betsie came around the corner, "Oh Miss! You shouldn't be doing that. Here, let me take that."

She took the bucket from me and I followed her back to the washroom to pick up my things. I peeked inside the room and saw Betsie staring at the almost-empty tub. She turned around, "Did you empty this tub by yourself, Miss?"

"I did," I replied.

Betsie stared at me for a moment, "You aren't the high and mighty rich woman that everyone assumes you are, are you," she said, and it wasn't a question.

"Thank you," I replied, startled, and not quite sure what else to say. "Goodnight, Betsie."

"Goodnight, Miss."

I walked slowly down the hall, up the stairs, and into Jane's room. I pushed the dirty clothing into one of my drawers, quickly changed into my nightgown, and fell into bed beside Jane. It was a large bed, for which I was grateful.

Jane already appeared to be asleep so I curled up on my side, being careful not to disturb her. After contemplating the events of the day, I drifted into a slumber.