A quarter of an hour later Elizabeth was in Kitty's room, standing above and scolding her, "The impropriety, and the scandal is quite enough Kitty," she looked down at her sister who was sitting in a high back chair, dressed plainly and quietly wiping tears away with a blue handkerchief, "to ruin you!"
"Oh, Lizzy it cannot be that bad. Only you saw what happened between Lord Matlock and myself. Surely he can forget about it just as easily as you or I."
Wholly ignoring her sister Elizabeth continued, "We can only hope he'll marry you Kitty, and save your reputation."
Kitty gasped, the idea of marriage to the Earl had not crossed her mind. She began to giggle in spite of her tears, "Lizzy! You're surely overreacting. Me. A Countess. Can you imagine? Besides, no one ever ruined their reputation over a little kiss. It's not as if I ran off to London with him like Lydia would have done."
"That's where you are wrong Kitty. Many a reputation has been ruined over a little kiss. You were in your night clothes Kitty, your hair was down and you were up against that hot stove like the most wanton girl. Darcy will not stand for that behavior under his roof and neither will I. If Lord Matlock chooses not to marry you, he could spread this gossip about the whole country. You do not want to be an Earl's knock-off Kitty. No man will have you. No man decent enough to cross the threshold of Pemberley anyway! Is that what you want? To be cast-off like Lydia and sent away with a miserable bridegroom? "
Elizabeth's words started to sink in. The younger girl looked wide eyed at her sister and fresh tears surfaced, she remembered the weeks following her sister Lydia's scandalous elopement. Her family had been in constant turmoil. Her mother had been abed for days on end, and father sulked more than ever. Panic began to rise in her chest, "Oh Lizzy, what if Lord Matlock will not have me?"