Well, what a day for surprises!
First I got all four of my sisters wandering in from who knows where for who knows what reason? Apparently Bennet could no longer even keep track of which particular daughters were to be sent to which location. I readily admit that it was the most pleasant surprise of the past year, or perhaps of my entire lifetime. My sisters were all together, and the world was full of possibility.
Lydia somehow seemed to be the leader of the sisters now, and they seemed to have formed new pairs in my absence. Lydia even carried a message from my former father, which she whispered to me as we left the poultry, indicating that I should expect the papers he had promised on the morrow from Uncle Gardiner.
At that very moment, as Lydia showed that she seemed to be all grown up, I began to realize how horribly selfish I had been for the past year. I had been so wrapped up in my own troubles, some of which were self‑inflicted and some not; that I had blocked my sisters out of my life entirely. I started the habit of writing them the blandest of letters clear back in January, right from my first missive after the wedding. Over the year, I became increasingly afraid of what might happen to them if I exposed them to the truth. As the truth became progressively worse, I became progressively less forthcoming; and I had not started off well in the first place. The nature of the marriage allowed me no room to do anything else, particularly as all of my attention was being spent on surviving with some part of my soul intact. Besides that, there was always the chance one or both of my parents read my letters, and I had endured quite enough of their interference. I imagine there was some chance my father would have helped me if I had asked, but more likely he would have just instructed me to do my duty, and entered a discussion with Mr. Collins on the best ways to insure that.
My sisters of course had their own troubles, what with the Netherfield party's abandonment and Lydia's shame; so they in turn I believe were afraid to burden me, so they replied with letters that could put Mr. Collins to sleep.
From that beginning, we had somehow established boredom and tedium as our mode of communication, to the point where my own sisters had less connection with me than an indifferent acquaintance. Right now, Mr. Darcy, of all people, knew more of my business than all of my sisters, my aunts and uncles and my parents combined. I was still quite confused as to why he was interested in such an office, and why I had allowed it. However, for the moment I was prepared to go along with the scheme to see where it went.
I belatedly realized I could have corrected the connection with my sisters at any time if I had simply trusted in them, but I had not had any idea how to begin. I could have sent a letter privately through Charlotte, or I could have asked for help or assistance from Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, but my need to avoid spreading my problems to others prevented any such action. It certainly would have never thought to discuss it with anybody but Jane, but from the looks of things, Lydia would have been a better bet, if I could have made myself do it… or even imagined the possibility. I had seen the relative deportment between the ways the two looked at Mr. Darcy. Lydia stared him down as if daring him to tempt her wrath. Jane just looked at him in perplexity, which come to think of it is what I did most of the time.
I thought by the end of the first half-year, surely my sisters would hate me for my neglect, as I occasionally felt that I hated myself. I could not even do the most basic duty as a wife, and my sisters must have thought I abandoned them to their own fate without a second thought. Their own fate obviously had included some real attempts at schooling, and I so perhaps once Bennet had discarded the most troublesome of his daughters, he had decided better late than never and tried to rescue the rest. If so, I would have to give him a tiny bit of credit.
Of course, it only took about two seconds for all of my thoughts and worries and concerns to fly out the window and we were sisters again, laughing and crying and together. I vowed at that moment that they would never return to Longbourn while their father lived, although I was no longer so certain I would emulate my mother by getting them married off. Lydia and Kitty were still much too young for marriage, and we might now have a few choices in life. Perhaps Mr. Darcy might offer some advice or even assistance, since he seemed stuck to the parsonage like a barnacle. He was a well-educated man, with apparently no other pressing duties. I even wondered if it would be worthwhile to reacquaint Jane with Mr. Bingley which seemed like it would be easy enough to arrange, but I had no idea how she felt about him; and my opinion of him was only marginally better than my opinion of his sisters.
I had been thoroughly surprised by the look and deportment of my sisters. The change was obvious at a glance when they came around the corner of the parsonage. They were quite possibly the most prim and proper young ladies I had ever had the pleasure; or was it displeasure; of seeing. Certainly in a public place they were nothing like the Bennet ladies of my memory, and I was not entirely convinced I approved the change, despite how much I had ranted and raved about their behavior previously. Obviously Lydia's shame was beyond the pale, but did we have to destroy every bit of liveliness in the process? In the end, it did not matter though. They were my sisters, and any injuries would be forgiven for at least for the next hour, until we could begin the serious business of creating new injuries.
The next surprising thing was not really a surprise, as much as a revelation. I was only mildly surprised to learn that Mr. Darcy had gone quite barking mad, and perhaps he stayed in Kent instead of Derbyshire because of its convenient proximity to his next home in Bedlam. The man who so openly sneered at my sisters before now greeted them much as I imagine he must greet the ladies of the first circles; or perhaps even better. He almost treated them as people who were genuinely important to him; but of course that was ridiculous. That was all supposition, and in my less charitable moments I thought most of the ladies of the first circles must be like Caroline Bingley. Perhaps instead of going mad, he had just finally come to his senses. It was most peculiar, but after the last week, well in truth today was only the sixth day since his arrival, I could see that he and I had some kind of odd connection; but I could not in the least define it.
When I saw his cordiality to my sisters, I also had another idea that perhaps he was not quite as mad as it sounded. He seemed to like my sisters, outside of the presence of their parents. I had just nearly flayed him alive about his lack of diligence in marrying and producing an heir. The very next day, the four loveliest ladies in England fell out of the sky, practically on his lap. He had mentioned a plan, so perhaps the man had settled on Jane! Of course, Lydia and Kitty were much too young for him, but Mary was well of age as well. So now, he was clearly in want of a wife; at least two beautiful young women had appeared as if by magic; their manners were now refined and I could only imagine they had some accomplishments. Yes, Mr. Darcy may well be eyeing my sisters with an eye towards courtship. Life is so much better when it makes sense, and that hypothesis explained all of his behavior admirably. I wondered which sister he favored.
Those thoughts, and his peculiar behavior were pleasurable enough to put an actual smile on my face, and I am quite certain he noticed and made me pay for it. In the end, I still did not understand him, but thought that someday I might; or at least whichever sister he chose could explain him to me.
All of these thoughts were tumbling around and around as Mr. Darcy greeted my sisters with a mixture of cordiality and familiarity, both of which actually amused me. There you have it. I admit it. I, for the first time in a year was amused, and the source of my amusement was Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Perhaps, he did have some uses aside from being very tall, and utterly brutal in his ability to make me face up to my own character and he to his.
I eventually decided that if I were to have the slightest hope of serving a meal on the morrow for nine people without poisoning anybody, I had better get to it. When I invited Lady Catherine on an impulse on the previous evening, I had most assuredly not planned for such a debacle, but after so much time being downcast, I decided I would let my courage rise to the occasion. We still had much to do, so I nodded my sisters back toward the parsonage so we could make a start.
As we walked, I watched my sisters in curiosity and there were certainly a lot of changes. Lydia was still Lydia somewhere underneath the manners that appeared to have been painted on her with a hammer, but now she seemed to possess a quiet strength; unless of course I was reading entirely too much into a few words and glances. I thought that the old saw about adversity making us stronger if it did not kill us might have some grain of truth; but the poor girl came very close to matching Icarus' fate in the process. I wondered how Mr. Darcy's sister fared. Was she strengthened by the experience or harmed? Would he allow the two girls to know of their mutual proximity to disaster? Would his sister like and accept mine?
I have no idea how it happened, as he did not offer, nor did I accept, but I found my hand attached to Mr. Darcy's arm as we were walking back to the parsonage to begin preparations for an extended stay. Rather than being as discomposed as I might have supposed, I actually found it comforting, and maybe even enjoyable. It had been quite some time since I had occasion to think well of any member of the male sex, and was astounded to find that I did not think as poorly of him as I once had. I still had not the vaguest idea why we treated each other as confidants, but was content for the moment with the uncertainty and ambiguity of our relationship. He had certainly shown himself to be made of sterner stuff than I had originally believed. With that in mind, I thought that as he was still here, I may as well talk to him. With my sisters all returned to me, it was probably about time for me to engage in a tiny little bit of impertinence, just to show them that some part of their former sister survived.
Still holding his arm, I looked up directly at him and asked, "Mr. Darcy, I would wonder if all of the men in your family are insane; or is it really just you?"
He gave me a small grin, the same as he had given while talking with my sisters earlier, and said, "I cannot vouch for all of the men in my family Elizabeth, so I imagine I will simply have to introduce them to you one at a time, and take your opinion."
That sounded... well, to tell the truth, I had no idea how it sounded, so I said, "It seems an unlikely scenario, so perhaps over the next year you might make a survey and report the results."
Not one to be dissuaded, he said, "There are not all that many men in my family, so the task may not be as daunting as suppose. In fact, you will make a good start tomorrow when I bring my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam to supper."
I was so surprised by the statement I stopped abruptly, but he started me moving again by simply clamping my hand against his side, while I either fumed or laughed or considered scratching his eyes out.
He continued, "Do not be alarmed Elizabeth, he is after all a second son, so he is of little importance, and his father, the Earl of Matlock will hardly notice his absence… unless of course, the earl joins us. Perhaps I should have invited him as well?"
I fumed in silence for a moment, before figuring out the latter part was almost certainly in jest. At last, I said, "Will you be inviting any other relatives to my supper, sir?"
He just grinned, and shook his head.
Now I decided he was deriving entirely too much amusement from my discomfiture for his own good, and I thought to put him in his place, but had not the slightest idea how to do so. As I said, he seemed either more resilient or more stubborn than I had supposed.
My sisters were looking at me in a mixture of confusion and amusement, and it was difficult to see which emotion would rule them, so I simply decided to let it lie. Once you have ten people to table in a dining room the size of the doghouse Mr. Darcy was going to spend the rest of our acquaintance in, what was one or two more. I should hardly notice.
When we entered the parsonage, I took everyone to the parlor and started discussing what needed to be done.
"Sisters, while you are here, and I believe it will be for some time, I would not like any of you going out alone until you are more familiar with the area, and perhaps not even then. I have no reason to think there is any danger, but I am responsible for you now. Will you agree?"
They all simply nodded, so I moved on to practical matters.
"I have had the upstairs closed off for some time, so all the rooms will need cleaning and airing. I do not keep any servants, so we will all need to earn our keep. Is that agreeable?"
They were surprised by that, and I set out to calm them before any undue alarm set in.
"We are not destitute sisters. I have simply chosen not to keep servants for such a simple household. I have my reasons, but you need fear nothing except a little bit of work, and it will not kill you to learn to cook and clean. As you can see, I have survived it."
They all were just in the process of nodding acceptance, with Lydia actually smiling as if I had announced I kept a room full of ribbons in the back; so I at that point began to think that I had a lot to learn about my sisters.
Lydia, apparently the new Bennet sister spokesman, asked, "So we are to do useful things? How Wonderful! I cannot wait to begin."
That left me wondering what they had been doing and with whom for the past year if cooking and cleaning seemed an improvement, but I thought that subject could keep for another day. We needed to set ourselves to the tasks of visiting a few shops in the village including the butcher and baker, bringing their trunks back, and otherwise making the rest of the parsonage livable again.
Before we moved on to the specific tasks that needed doing, Mrs. Hewes and Sargent MacDonald came in from the direction of the book room where Sergeant MacDonald had no doubt been attending to my husband while trying not to stare at Mrs. Hewes, so I introduced them all around.
Much to my surprise, Mr. Darcy went over to Mrs. Hewes, bowed deeply and said, "Mrs. Hewes, I am very happy to see you. I had not known you left Rosings, and I was dismayed at the manner of it. I have not strangled my aunt yet, but it was a very near thing, and her fate is in your hands."
My sisters and I gasped, while Mrs. Hewes laughed like I had rarely seen her do. She was in general a very even tempered lady, but she had been one of the few to witness some, but not all, of the debacle with Mr. Collins. Even from a distance, it had taken a toll on her as well as me.
Mrs. Hewes looked at Mr. Darcy in clear amusement and the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face.
She said, "I will hear none of that you little rapscallion. I have been in good hands with Elizabeth and the Sergeant to watch over me. I have been precisely where I needed and wished to be, doing precisely what I wanted to do. I knew you would set things to rights when next you came to visit, and it did not even take you a day once you learned the situation. I trust you have overcome the difficulties of this year? Flooding and fires and highwaymen from what I hear! I dearly missed you at Easter, young man."
We all watched in amusement as Mr. Darcy answered cordially, and gave an accounting of his year at Pemberley, which did sound a bit on the harrowing side as well. I had never realized just how many people depended on his judgment, and just how badly things could go with such a large estate. His year had not been as bad as the year for myself or my sisters, but certainly bad enough.
Mr. Darcy looked at all of us with a bit of a grin and said, "Mrs. Hewes has known me since I was four years old. She has been known to administer bandages to skinned knees, hugs or pastries for a lonely boy, and occasionally the well-earned boxing of the ears. Sometimes, all three in rapid succession!"
We all just looked in amazement at this version of Mr. Darcy, and perhaps, just maybe, I thought he might work his way out of the doghouse eventually, should he still be so inclined. He was still a very confusing man, but after that day, he was no longer a vexing man. I doubted I would ever truly understand what made the both of us do what we did that week; but I did have to reluctantly admit to myself that when he went to do his duty, as I had most painstakingly pointed out he must, that I would miss him.