Hi everyone, I'm back.

Had relaxing vacation and now Mary and I are back with the newest chapter!

I hope you all enjoy it and don't forget to review, alright? :D

I was woken the next morning by a knock on my door, that made me realize that I had fallen asleep over my crying the night before.

"Yes…" I answered my voice hoarse, probably from all that crying just a few hours ago. My mother stepped inside and looked disapprovingly, like she did almost all the time when I was close.

"So why have you gone home so early?" she asked and walked closer to my bed.

"I wasn't feeling well." I answered and that was truth, after all, hearing about Henry's engagement with Camille had made me sick to my stomach.

"Why haven't you said anything? Father could have brought you home." That surprised me, usually my mother wasn't this understanding. The night before must have been very good in her eyes when she was like this now.

"I didn't know where you were and I just wanted to go home."

"Alright, but next time tell us."

"I will." I promised and she left the room, this was still very confusing for me, but then again I was too tired to think more about this. All I wanted to do now, was sleep a little more.

Closing my eyes, I fell pack into the pillows and only moments later I was asleep again.

Three days later I sat in our salon playing the piano when my mother hurried in, she had been in an exceptionally good mood since the ball. I wasn't quite sure what to make of her good mood, I had the feeling that it was just a warning for something awful that would happen very soon.

"Mary. You have a guest."

Confused I raised from my stool and asked:

"Who is it?"

"Mr. Henceforth of course." Of course? I didn't quite understand her words, but it would be very impolite to let him stand in the living room all by himself. So I walked past my mother into said room and Mr. Henceforth was really waiting in there. He smiled at me, as soon as I entered.

"Good Morning Miss Bennet, how are you on this fine day?"

"Very good, thank you. How are you Mr. Henceforth?"

"That is in your hands." he replied and I was utterly confused, what did he mean with that?

"I don't understand." I said and he nodded.

"Of course not, my dear. I am here to ask you for your hand in marriage." My eyes became huge, he wanted to marry me? We just talked for an hour, how could he know that I was the one he wanted?

"Why?" I asked and obviously he hadn't been expecting this question, because he looked confused at first, but then he started to talk.

"Well, as I said at the ball, you are different than the other ladies and after my wife died months ago, I need a woman who takes care of my household and my two sons instead of taking care of her appearance."

So that was why he was interested in me. He didn't like me, he just thought that I would be responsible enough to replace his dead wife. Did he have any idea how insulting this explanation was? He didn't want me for who I was, he wanted nothing but an obedient servant and someone who would warm his bed.

God, I felt disgusted to my very soul. Besides the fact that he was at least twenty years older than me, I really didn't like him.

Immediately I thought of the good mood of my mother and asked:

"Have you talked with my mother about this?"

"Yes, of course and she was very pleased with my decision."

"Would it be possible that I talk with her for a moment before giving you your answer?"

"Indeed, it is only wise to make such important decisions with the help of those who are close to us."

I just nodded, while quickly leaving the room. As expected my mother was waiting in front of it.

"What are you doing? Go back in and tell him you accept." she hissed, as soon as the doors closed behind me.

"But, he is old and I don't know, I don't like him." I reasoned.

"Mary. He earns almost 2000 per year, this is a very generous offer, you will never get an offer like this again." I bit my bottom lip, sure this was a good offer, but there was still the wish in the back of my head, that I married someone I loved, like Lizzie.

My mother saw how unsure I was and obviously decided to be brutally honest with me.

"Mary, listen. You know that I love you, like all my daughters, but let's be honest. You are not very pretty, you don't get along well with other people, you are not very graceful and you spend way too much time with your books and your piano, you cannot hope to find a man like Mr. Darcy or even Mr. Bingley."

I felt tears in my eyes, sure she was right, everything she had said was, there was no one else who wanted to marry me. I was eighteen years old and this was my first proposal. Jane and Lizzy had gotten a lot over the years, sure from families of which my mother thought were below us, so they had turned every proposal down, but still...

Maybe this was my only chance of getting married and making sure I wouldn't be unsheltered after the death of my father. Maybe this was what was meant for me. I wiped a tear from my face and nodded slowly.

"You are right." I whispered and with a heavy heart I walked back into the living room. Mr. Henceforth was still waiting for me. I forced a smile to my lips and said:

"I would be honored to accept your proposal."

He nodded, obviously pleased with my decision.

"Very well then, I will return to my house in Bedfordshire, there I will prepare everything for our wedding and after that is settled I will return to take you to your new home." he said and walked closer to me. I had to suppress the urge to back away, he would be my husband soon and I couldn't avoid him then, so I had to get used to him.

"Take care!" he smiled and kissed my forehead. Then he left the room, shortly after that my mother rushed into the room, a huge smile on her face.

"Oh my god, you will be married soon. Only one daughter then all of my daughters are married. I have to go and tell everyone that you are getting married."

I nodded, feeling slightly numb, this felt like a strange dream to me and somehow I just wanted to wake up.

But I knew that this was reality and my life would drastically change within the next few weeks.

Exhausted I sat down in a nearby chair and held my head in my hands.

How long I sat there like this I didn't know, but when I heard heavy footsteps I looked up. My father walked into the room, he even closed the door behind himself. He had his hands clasped behind his back and looked very serious.

"Mary, I know that I am not always there for you and that maybe you feel like you have to go because you are not welcome here. But you are. You deserve to be lucky, just like your sisters. You are a smart girl and you can find someone better, someone who wants YOU. Don't you think that this decision is wrong?"

Once again I felt tears in my eyes, I never knew that he really cared about me, but obviously he did, he wanted me to be happy. That made me smile at him through my tears.

"Thank you. Your words mean so much to me but I am smart enough to know that this is the best offer I will ever get! I am not like my sisters, as mother said it, I am plain, it doesn't get any better than Mr. Henceforth for me."

"But I want you to be happy Mary."

"I think that I will be, I just need some time to get used to him."

"But you shouldn't. Remember how your sisters were shortly before they got married. They were happy and anxious and couldn't wait to start a new life with their husbands. I want you to feel the same way for your husband."

"Not everyone can take the liberty of waiting for their happily ever after, father." I replied and got up from my chair. Without giving him more time to say something to me I left the room and hurried to mine. I just wanted to be alone.

Oh… Shock… Mary is getting married! Stay tuned to find out how that turns out

Until then, Take Care