October 27, 2014 – I spent 2 1/2 hours in a dental chair this morning. My jaw is sore. Ugh

One more chapter and then everyone will be back in Hertforshire. Some clues on the mystery that is Jane Bennet and Mary Bennet gets more than she bargained for in Sir John. That's a good thing.

Chapter 32

Winter was milder in Kent than in Derbyshire.

That was one of the things about which Anne frequently grumbled in her letters to her mother after her marriage. Lady Catherine laughed ruefully. One of the advantages of moving south from Lincolnshire after her own wedding was the warmer climate in wintertime. Not that there was a tremendous difference, but it was enough to be noticed and appreciated.

Mrs. Stuart came into Lady Catherine's study for their daily meeting. Maggie had served her mistress for over two and twenty years, most of them as her housekeeper. Day after day, year after year, the two women met, Lady Catherine always letting Maggie know who was the mistress and who was the servant. Yet despite this, they had become friends in their own right.

"I received a letter from Anne yesterday. My granddaughter has started crawling."

"Miss Darcy is a fine lass, and appears to take after her mother."

"Aye, and if so, she will be a trial to her parents."

Maggie laughed. "I did not think you noticed."

"Why on earth do you think I allowed the nursemaids to look after Anne when she was little? And you along with those poor servants, for that matter."

"Indeed!" Both women took a drink of their tea. "Mr. and Mrs. Darcy still plan to arrive at Rosings at the usual time?"

"Anne has not said they will not. I expect them to come as they always have." Lady Catherine hesitated before continuing. "I also received a missive from my brother."

"Has the earl any more news?"

"No, as I believe you are aware. He still awaits word from his man in America."

"It matters not. They have nothing to tell him if they are found."

"You were very thorough."

"You have paid me to be very thorough."

"And Lewis' man, you are certain he will not be found? I cannot believe I did not think to buy his silence."

"Actually, your husband did, albeit unwittingly."

"Pardon?"

"Sir Lewis left Mr. Walls a large enough sum of money that Walls did not need to seek out employment as a valet again. He left Kent for a chance to be his own man, a new start in life, so to speak. He will not be found unless someone knows where and how to look."

"Do you know where he is?"

"You have trusted me this far. Trust me to keep your secrets the rest of the way."

"You will not tell me?"

"Tell you what, your ladyship?" Maggie smirked.

"Apparently nothing I need to know." Lady Catherine smirked back.

~~~/~~~

Sir John's prophecy that Bingley would soon be engaged was proven true. Near the end of February, Darcy's courier arrived at Pemberley with even more correspondence from Hertfordshire than normal.

Anne and Fitzwilliam read their letters together, commenting as warranted.

"What does Jane have to say?" he asked, thinking he already knew the answer.

"Bingley finally worked up the courage to propose. What does he say?"

"Well," Darcy studied the words on the page, "he says, 'my…' I think it's 'angel', 'loves me and has … agreed? ...' yes, agreed 'to be my wife.' Please dear, have mercy on me and share Jane's words. Bingley was obviously very excited when he penned this." Darcy rolled his eyes and waved the paper in his hand. "When he is agitated, the quality of his penmanship decreases at an alarming rate."

"Let's see."

…Mr. Bingley asked me to marry him this morning. I accepted, of course. He is a dear man and as you have teased me repeatedly about his attentions, you must know I was receptive to them from the beginning. He had hinted enough about this eventuality that I was not too surprised when he declared himself. I must admit that I was extremely pleased to finally discover the depth of his feelings for me. I shall be cherished and loved, and that is all I have ever truly desired.

I suppose you would like some details on how this momentous event occurred. The weather was fine and Mary and Sir John took advantage of the sunshine to escape outdoors with us. Charles, I can call him that now, must have spoken to Sir John and asked for his assistance this morning because before I knew what was happening, Mary and Sir John were nowhere in sight. Charles led me to a bench sheltered from view of the house and asked me to sit down. Instead of sitting next to me, as he had done before, he knelt down and opened his heart. His words were so beautiful, that even now I blush in memory of them. I hope you will not be disappointed when I say that I do not wish to share them with anyone else. All that needs to be told is that he asked me to be his wife and I happily agreed.

We will wed in two months, at the end of April. I hope you and Mr. Darcy will be able to come for the wedding. I remember you saying you would be in Kent before you went to Town for the Season. Since Longbourn is but a half-day's journey, I believe it should not be too difficult for Charles to convince you to come for a few days at least. He intends to write to your husband with the offer.

I would like all my brothers and sisters to see me wed. I may not be the first of us to marry, but I shall be the first to marry from this house.

Your sister,
Jane

"Oh, that is what Bingley was trying to convey," Darcy replied, surprised at how much easier it was to read Bingley's missive once he knew its contents. "Shall I write to accept his offer?"

"Certainly. I will write to Mother with the news and inform her that we may cut our trip to Rosings short, depending on the date of the wedding. Poor Mama, I feel I have been neglecting her."

"I think Lady Catherine understands your divided attention these past months. And we will see her soon enough…

"I was wondering if we should plan to stop in Hertfordshire on our way to Rosings? It is a convenient place to break our journey. We could leave a few days earlier than planned."

"Perhaps we are trespassing on Mr. Bingley's hospitality?" Anne challenged playfully.

"Do you honestly think Bingley would mind? I know him, and if he is as in love as he appears to be, he might not even notice we are there."

"Miss Bingley would."

"She will be happy to house us, especially since she will be off to London right after the wedding looking for a husband. Caroline Bingley is no fool. A connection to us is highly desirable in her quest and she will do everything in her power to ensure it remains intact."

"You are very frank today," Anne noted.

"And right," he said rather smugly.

"Yes, you are. It is the way of things." She paused. "I tend to forget that not everyone is as fortunate in their marriages as we are."

He took her hand and bestowed a searing kiss. "Indeed, we are the lucky ones." The next kiss he gave her was not on the hand.

~~~/~~~

A few days later Mr. Bennet called Jane into his study.

"I have received a letter from your sister. The Darcys will stop here for a few days on their way to Kent. I am sure we owe the honor of their visit to you and your Mr. Bingley." Jane nodded her head, but her father detected a lack of delight in her sister's visit. "Jane dear, I thought you might be a bit more pleased to hear that Anne is coming back. I thought you would be happy to see her again so soon?"

She sat still, with her eyes closed. "I have been thinking about her a great deal." Jane opened her eyes and met her father's intent gaze. Her voice was soft, but her unease was very clear. "I have not told Mr. Bingley who she is. I do not believe I have her permission to reveal that to him."

Mr. Bennet leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "I can see how this would weigh upon you. You are not one who is comfortable keeping secrets from those you love."

"No, I am not."

"Would you like me to write to her?"

Jane pondered that for a few moments. "I think it would be best to wait until they arrive so we can talk about this face to face. As awkward as such a meeting might be, I believe that is the wisest course of action for us to take."

"Do you think she may refuse?"

"I really do not know, Papa. She has given no indication that she is ready to publicly claim us as her true family."

'At last we come to it, what is truly bothering Jane,' thought Mr. Bennet. In all honesty he had to admit he had the same concerns regarding Eliz…Anne Darcy's failure to acknowledge their real relationship. Fortunately, he did not believe anyone else in the family had such reservations about the behavior of their long-lost Elizabeth, and he hoped it remained that way for a while longer. The disappointment of his wife and children was not something he wanted to confront anytime soon.

"I shall defer to your wishes as long as you will follow through on the proposed conversation," he declared at last.

"I shall. Indeed, I would like this resolved before the wedding. Charles should know he is gaining another brother and sister."

~~~/~~~

The weather had taken a turn for the better. Spring was a few weeks away and the courting couple happily played chaperone for the engaged couple on a walk through the Hertfordshire countryside. Bingley and Jane walked ahead of Sir John and Mary. Mary noticed the way her future brother kept turning his head to gauge the distance between the parties. Jane laughed lightly at whatever her betrothed said. Quite suddenly, Bingley stole a quick kiss from Jane.

"MR. BINGLEY!"

The guilty party just laughed and walked on with Jane still at his side.

"I cannot believe his … insolence to kiss my sister without a care in the world for her reputation!"

"Mary, it was just an innocent little kiss. And they are to be married."

"Happy as the event will be for Jane, we must always recall that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable - that one false step involves her in endless ruin - that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful - and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the other sex."

Sir John stopped walking and looked at the woman whose arm he held. "Good G*d Mary, listen to yourself. This is your eldest sister you so quickly judge, who, I might point out, is engaged to a very honorable man. Bingley is not some cad who is going to get what he wants and then abandon her." He started walking again, thinking aloud as they went down the lane.

"That is it; you have read too much Fordyce and not enough of the supposed source for his treatises." Without warning, Sir John turned them towards the direction of Longbourn. "Come, there is something I must show you."

"What of Jane and Bingley?" Mary was trying to make him turn around.

"They will be fine without us. Trust your sister; she will not allow him anything that would disgrace her. Both are too principled for that kind of behavior."

Mary was worried, but could do nothing to dissuade her partner. Sir John might have been shorter, but he was definitely stronger than she.

In no time they were back at the house and Sir John did not stop moving until they were at the door of Mr. Bennet's bookroom. He knocked impatiently.

"Enter."

The pair walked in and the resident of the room raised his eyebrows at his two guests. Sir John looked determined and Mary looked agitated. "May I help you?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow your family Bible. I would like to discuss a passage with your daughter and I believe it would be best to have the source at hand."

Mr. Bennet was intrigued, but did not question the man in front of him. He waved his hand in dismissal.

"Certainly. Take it and go someplace where you will not disturb me."

"Thank you, sir. I will return it when we are done." Sir John grabbed the book and led Mary out of the room before she had a chance to protest. Once in the hall, he asked, "Where can we go to talk?"

"The parlor?" she offered meekly.

"No, I do not think your mother will be very entertained by our reading scripture aloud in her presence."

"The breakfast room?"

He nodded his approval. "Lead the way."

With the door closed, something that Mary was clearly uncomfortable with, but which Sir John knew was necessary, given what he was about to read, the two sat at the table.

"Have you read this book much, Miss Bennet?"

"Of course I have read it," Mary said tersely.

"Have you read all of it?"

Mary blushed slightly. "I said I have."

"Hmm. Then let me remind you that it has much to say about things in life – things which you would do well to remember and consider as superior to the words of the other writers you have demonstrated you prefer."

The gentleman leafed through the pages until he found what he was looking for. Mary blushed even more as she read the name of the book he had selected.

"From the Song of Solomon, Chapter 1, Verse 1 and following:

"The Song of Songs, which [is] Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love [is] better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name [is as] ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee."

He stopped after Verse Four and looked at Mary. Her face had turned a darker shade of pink. Looking back at the volume, he paged forward. He started to read again in Chapter Four.

"Behold, thou [art] fair, my love; behold, thou [art] fair; thou [hast] doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair [is] as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth [are] like a flock [of sheep that are even] shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none [is] barren among them. Thy lips [are] like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech [is] comely: thy temples [are] like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck [is] like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts [are] like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou [art] all fair, my love; [there is] no spot in thee."

"Stop, please," Mary cried. She was mortified beyond anything she had ever experienced before.

"Very well. I shall stop." He closed the great book and took his time before he spoke again. "There is nothing immoral or sinful in a man and his wife expressing their affections and desires to each other. Why else do you think the Bible includes such a, dare I say it, erotic book? Not all forms of desire and yes, even lust, are wrong.

"I understand your wish to protect your sister's reputation, but sometimes you take your moralistic beliefs too far."

"Do you believe me too moral? I am a Christian woman!"

"I know you are," he replied calmly, "and it is to your credit." He paused to ensure her full attention. "Mary Bennet, you need to think for yourself and not rely on the words of other men. If you must rely on something, then rely on this." He placed her hand on the worn Bennet family Bible. Her name was written inside, as were those of all her siblings, her parents, and her father's family before him.

"How can I judge my opinions to be right, when they may not coincide with what I have studied?" she asked, still reluctant to trust completely in her own judgment. Sir John was pleased with her attempts towards self-examination – a mature, productive introspection.

"Your own conscience and experience will guide you, as will what you read in this book." He pressed his hand against hers, still on top of the old book. "Your father would be happy to give you his opinions, as would I, if you so honored me with your trust. Please say you will attempt it, for me?"

"I… I will try."

"Thank you."

Sir John lifted her hand from the Bible and bestowed a kiss upon it. He stood and gathered up the family treasure. "I will return this to your father. Do you mind if I leave you alone for now?"

"No, no, go ahead. Papa will be glad to talk to you." He smiled and left her to her thoughts.

Sir John knocked again on the door to Mr. Bennet's inner sanctum, though not as insistently as he had before.

"Enter," was the same reply.

"I am returning your Bible, sir." Sir John knew Mr. Bennet would be curious, but that he would never ask him directly what had been discussed, and he had no desire to reveal it.

"That was a rather short discussion," Mr. Bennet stated dryly.

"I have found that scripture often speaks for itself." That earned Sir John a raised eyebrow.

"Mary is quite fond of that sort of thing."

"Yes, she is. Though sometimes I wonder if it is always to her benefit. Not the Bible, I meant the other books."

"I have often encouraged her to broaden her reading." Mr. Bennet answered the implied challenge.

"I am sure you have. I hope she will now take your suggestions to heart."

"Mary is very young, and has lived too sheltered of a life, I am afraid. All my children have. Perhaps that was a mistake. More trips to Town might have been beneficial."

"Certainly, but do not disparage the advantages of a quiet life in the country. My own father preferred it to London."

"And you, sir?"

"Each has its own benefits. I hope for a balance between the two. I want to be in London enough to enjoy the society and culture, but still spend the majority of my time at my estate."

"Or at your friends' estates?" he said casually.

Sir John laughed. "I have been in Hertfordshire a long time. My steward reminded me of that fact a few days ago. I have told Bingley I need to go to Surrey for a fortnight next week, but after that I will remain at his disposal until the wedding."

"I see. Does my daughter know of your plans?"

"I have told Miss Mary of my impending travel, yes."

"And?" Mr. Bennet would not take the bait.

"I think it would be a good thing for me to be away from here for a while. Sir, I will return. I am not the kind of man who would slink away in the middle of the night."

"And after the wedding?"

"I give you my word, Mr. Bennet, that by the time Miss Bennet marries my friend Bingley, things will be settled one way or another."

Satisfied, Mr. Bennet decided to give into his curiosity. "Was this the subject of your ecclesiastical debate?"

Sir John was surprised Mr. Bennet asked, but would not answer him. "In a round about way, yes. As you said yourself not five minutes ago, she is young. I will know more when I return. We both have much to think on until then."

Mr. Bennet understood that he would not receive a direct answer, and that he was not included in Sir John's "we". He liked the little man before him. Sir John had risen much in his opinion since Mr. Bennet had met him. Mary certainly had blossomed under his attentions. He only hoped that his daughter would not be too disappointed if nothing came of this courtship. Whitby had a good head on his shoulders; he would make Mary a fine husband if it ever came to that. Well, they would discover if absence made the heart grow fonder while the gentleman in question was away.

I will warn you now that the next chapter will be rather emotional. Remember the story blurb?