Kitty's heart leapt and sank at the same time, creating a very uncomfortable sensation. "What? Why?"
"Your uncle said he asked permission to have the morning off so he could bring some sheet of music to your sister. I suppose the shop got it sorted after she'd left. But he's been gone for some time; did you not happen to see him on your way here? I thought, since you pass by the office…"
Kitty thought of the little boy and his parcel with a pang. "No, I stopped to help little Johnny Martin find something he'd lost. Oh, aunt, do you think I might catch him if I go there now?"
"I do not know, but you must try. Hurry, my dear!" Her aunt kissed her cheek and Kitty turned and fled. She ran a little way, but she knew that it would be dreadful to arrive out of breath and flushed, and forced herself to slow down. Perhaps if she did not meet him at Longbourn she might meet him on the road.
It was difficult for her to pace herself and resist her near-frantic eagerness to be there, but she did manage to arrive in decent state, without needing to take time in the entryway to do more than remove her bonnet and coat. But it was all for naught.
"Kitty, my dear! It is a shame you did not call earlier. You have just missed Mr. Warde! He left not ten minutes ago," said Mrs. Bennet when Kitty entered the room. Kitty's shoulders slumped.
"Did he? Oh, I am so sorry to have missed him!"
Mary, who had already retreated to her pianoforte with her new music, began to play, and Kitty scowled.
"Yes," Mrs. Bennet said, "he came to give Mary the music she could not get yesterday. I think it was very good of him to do so, was it not?"
"Yes, very good." Kitty was barely attending what her mother said, dulled as it was by Mary's miserable initial attempt at playing. "Did he give any other reason why he had come?"
"No, but he did regret that he could not stay longer; it seems that Mr. Phillips had not given him long to run his errand. I did imagine that he might be hoping to see you, my dear, and I hinted that you were staying at Netherfield at present."
That was sufficient to brighten her up a bit. "Did you? I am all the more sorry to have missed him, then. Do you think he will be able to come to Netherfield? I must tell him how disappointed I am that I should have been so close to seeing him and been unable."
"I invited him to a family dinner some night this week, and he accepted, but said he was not sure of his schedule yet. He promised to send word when he knew which day would be best, which I appreciate very much. You should come, too."
"Oh, yes," Kitty said. This news mollified her somewhat; he was looking for a chance to make it up to her, clearly. It would be too bad that Mary could not be got rid of for the dinner, but Kitty would simply have to find a way to ensure that she sat next to him, and was as charming as she could be.
When she spoke to Mrs. Phillips a few days later, however, Kitty was suddenly less sure of herself again. She asked her aunt how she thought things were going with Mr. Warde, and Mrs. Phillips was suddenly quite flustered.
"Oh! I… that is to say, I do not know… oh, Kitty, I am sorry, my dear."
Kitty frowned. "Aunt?"
"I spoke with Mr. Warde briefly yesterday, when he returned from Longbourn, and he was by no means disappointed to have missed you, as far as I could tell. In fact, I believe that he went with the purpose of seeing your sister Mary."
"Mary! Impossible! What man would want anything to do with her?"
"I do not know about that—Mary is not as outgoing as you are, but of course, she is very clever, and very thoughtful—and perhaps Mr. Warde would prefer that to your exuberance and beauty. But that hardly seems like any gentleman, I know. Perhaps I was mistaken."
"It is only because he knows Mary so much better than he knows me," Kitty said, "and that is because he has never spoken more than three words with me without Mary being there to interrupt and commandeer his attention. I have no doubt that she wants to attract him, but I am sure that he is only being polite in conversing with her as regularly as he does."
"That may be true; and of course you have seen them together more often than I have," Mrs. Phillips said. "So perhaps you are right; perhaps the best thing to do is to try to talk to him without Mary there, and give him the chance to see your charms." She smiled and patted Kitty's shoulder.
"Do you think I might see him today?" asked Kitty.
"Not today, I fear, but see if you can talk to him this Sunday at church. It will ensure you have an opening to talk about; you can begin by discussing the service."
Kitty planned to do that very thing, but was sadly prevented by Mr. Warde's not being there. He had, it appeared, something of a cold, and had remained home in bed so as to have the best chance of being recovered by Monday. Kitty felt for him—spring colds were a source of immense frustration to her, too—and took the opportunity to have some beef tea sent over to him, with her good wishes for his recovery. It was all she could do, and she hoped it would be enough.
Several days later, Kitty was sitting in the drawing room at Netherfield with Jane, stabbing her needle listlessly at her work. She couldn't stop thinking about when she could justify going to see Mr. Warde again.
Her musings were interrupted by the arrival of the post, and with it two letters for her. One was from Lydia, the other from Elizabeth, and Kitty broke the first open eagerly.
My dear Kitty,
I simply cannot tell you how busy I have been lately! La, but such is the life of a married woman. My Wickham and I go out nearly every night, or have people over if we do not go out, and so we have been driven quite to the brink with all our comings and goings! I do love entertaining, and we have such merry card-parties. And the other evening, my husband won us enough to buy me a new dress, and I am simply wild with excitement over it.
Truly, you must come and see it soon! My father must give over eventually. There are balls and parties all the time and more officers to flirt with than ever there were at Meryton. They are such dears, too, and do enjoy a good flirtation! You must come and see them soon, for I have told most of them all about you, and they are quite wild to meet you. Write soon and say when I might expect you, so I can be sure to have a room for you. I shall have you a husband before the summer is out!
And tell Mama that if she might spare the brooch she mentioned in her last letter to send it with you; I am sure she will know what I meant.
Kitty dropped the letter on her lap and looked up at Jane. "Lydia has invited me to come and stay with her this summer! Oh, I should dearly love to go."
Jane laid her own letter in her lap and looked at Kitty with a measured calmness. "I do not imagine that Papa will permit it; but you should read your letter from Elizabeth before you make any decisions. You may wish to rethink your plans then."
Frowning, she picked up Elizabeth's letter and skimmed it until she found the portion Jane must have meant.
Miss Darcy has asked an old friend of hers to Pemberley for a few weeks this spring, and I think it would be very good for you to come to Pemberley at the same time. I know that Meryton society is not all you wish it to be, and I think that you will find more opportunities for good company here. Jane tells me that she does not anticipate being able to chaperone or entertain you very much during the move, and as I am under no such constraint, now seems to be the right time to bring you to Pemberley.
I have written our father for his permission as well, and he has granted it; now it remains only for you to accept, if you like. I do believe that you will like Miss Darcy very well, and Pemberley has enough charms to keep you amused for as long as you wish to stay.
"Oh," she said, and put the letter down. Pemberley was certainly the grander establishment, and Elizabeth might give her more than Lydia could do; she was sure to get a new gown or two out of the visit, between herself and her mother. But she and Lizzy had never got along especially well and Lydia would be sure to introduce her to more interesting people, and allow her more freedom. Besides, Mr. Darcy frightened her, and Mr. Wickham charmed her.
Jane looked up and smiled. "You see; you have a greater opportunity before you than what Lydia may offer. I think you should go to Pemberley. I am sure you will love it there, and you will have the opportunity to make more friends than you have had so far. Lizzy tells me that Miss Darcy will have a friend of hers to stay at the same time, and I am sure the three of you will get along very well."
"Lizzy is not likely to take me anywhere nearly as interesting as Lydia would," Kitty said, though not as boldly as she wanted to.
"Lydia does not have the resources to take you to the kinds of places that a young lady might meet with an eligible gentleman. Besides, you know Papa would never consent to your going."
This was a truth which Kitty could not deny, much as she wished to. Her father had so far forbidden Kitty's favorable reply to every one of Lydia's invitations, and there had been many. "But why not? Lydia is a married woman, and have you not said yourself that I have improved of late?"
"You have improved, dear, but I don't have any idea of Lydia's having done the same, and you know that she would be as irresponsible toward you as Mrs. Forster was to her."
Kitty privately thought that would be the best thing about it; she could use some fun and romance, and an elopement would certainly suffice for both. And Newcastle was much closer to Scotland, so if something were to happen, she would not be trapped in London instead of marrying right away. She privately resolved that she would make a case to her father as soon as could be.
It was for naught, however, when she went to him the next day.
"Absolutely not."
"But, Papa—"
"Kitty, I know very few ways of explaining this to you so that you will understand, that I have not already used. Your sister's behavior makes her entirely unsuitable for taking on the responsibility of your guardianship, and I do not intend to have another debacle on my hands like the last one. You may go to Pemberley, if you choose it, but you will not go to Newcastle, or anywhere else under Lydia's guidance, while I have any say in the matter."
Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but before she could protest again, he continued, "Elizabeth is offering your a much greater opportunity than Lydia, you know. Go to Pemberley, and for heaven's sake try to comport yourself well enough that she doesn't send you home before you've been there a week."
"I don't wish to go anywhere, if I can't go to Newcastle."
Mr. Bennet shook his head and stood up to leave. "Very well, then, stay here, where your best hope for marriage is your uncle's under-clerk! That will make a fine match for you, won't it."
Kitty brushed past him and hurried to find her things. She was going back to Netherfield and she was going to find a way to prove her father wrong.
Hello everyone!
I don't generally like to do author's notes because... the only thing I'd ever say is "you guys are so wonderful, thank you for all the reviews and all the follows!" which, while true, gets repetitive.
This week, though, I need to tell you something. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Seriously. I was starting to loose faith in this story-I'd been working on it for way too long and I honestly believed it was irredeemable. BUT. You have renewed my faith in my story, and given me all kinds of awesome things to think about when I edit it again for publication. So, thank you. You've saved this story.
The other thing I need to tell you is less good. (For you. It's awesome for me.) I'm going on vacation next week. Which means I will have no internet access, and can post no new chapters. :(
To make up for it, I'm going to try to post another chapter tomorrow, and an extra chapter the week I get back. (If I get too busy with last-minute things tomorrow to post, I will post two extra chapters the week I get back.)
Thank you again and again for the lovely feedback you've been giving me, and for being patient with me while I get a chance to recharge. :) You guys are the reason I write!