While Kitty and Miss Darcy were out on their charitable errand, Elizabeth went to her father in the library. She was looking forward to one of their old chats—if he was in the mood for it. One could never quite tell with him. But Lizzy had always been good at breaking him out of his mood, whatever it was.
He looked up at her entrance, and on seeing her, smiled and put his book aside. Elizabeth smiled; she was clear. "Papa. I thought you might want a little chat."
"Ah, my Lizzy, I have missed you." He smiled warmly and patted the chair across from him.
She sat in it and leaned forward, glancing at the book he'd laid aside. "Ovid? Of all the books in my husband's library, you choose one you've read a hundred times before?" She looked at him, eyes narrowed. "What's troubling you?"
A half smile lifted one corner of his mouth. "I can't hide from you, can I, my dear."
"You had better not try. What is the matter?"
He looked at her for a long moment, and she knew he was deciding whether to be honest with her. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. Finally, he made up his mind. "Kitty." He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "I have no idea how to keep her safe."
"Safe?"
He nodded. "I had hoped, you know, that removing her from Lydia's influence would keep her from making the same mistakes as her sister, but it appears that I greatly underestimated her silliness. No matter where I take her, she is determined to get herself into trouble."
"Kitty's behavior has not been perfect, by any means," Elizabeth said, selecting each word carefully. "But she has not done anything that makes me fear for her reputation."
"Surely you have noticed her marked interest in Mr. Johns."
She frowned. "Yes, and I wish she would abandon it. I'm not pleased by how that whole situation has gone. We were meant to offer him a bed and a place for his meals while he oversaw the work on his house. I had no idea of his being here so often, or I would have insisted that Mr. Darcy learn more of him before we asked him here." For a moment, she wondered whether she ought to say more—but who better to hear her concerns? Mr. Darcy had heard them all, and shared her opinion. "I am also displeased with Miss Pratt. Poor Miss Darcy has been quite disappointed in her as well, but Kitty has not yet seen through her facade. But what can I do? She has done nothing that warrants such a breach of etiquette as sending her home."
"I do not imagine that Kitty will ever see Miss Pratt for what she really is," he said, shaking his head. "She is far too apt to take people at their word, and follow the worst of them wherever they will go. She has no sense or thought of her own, and she is forever throwing herself after the wrong people to give them to her."
"She is very young, Papa," Elizabeth said, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "It takes time to develop a sense of the duplicity of others, and I know that you well remember the first sting of betrayal from someone you thought was a friend. Give her time."
He shook his head again. "If she keeps on in this way, she may not have time. You did not see how she threw herself at Mr. Warde, completely oblivious to every hint. I had hoped that by taking her away from that, she would improve, but she has only found more opportunity to make poor decisions here. What must I do with her to keep her from making the same choice Lydia did?"
"I don't know." She wished she could say more. She was so proud of him for taking an interest, and trying to do right by his remaining daughters, but what could she advise him to do? Neither of them understood Kitty's motivations well enough to predict her movement. "Perhaps she will improve on her own, if we give her time. It is encouraging that she is out with Miss Darcy today, at least."
"That is only because I forced her to go."
Elizabeth sighed. "Well, perhaps that will be enough to start her down a better path."
Kitty and Amy were eager to put their matrimonial plans into action. Together, they schemed to bring them in company with Mr. Johns and Colonel Fitzwilliam as often as possible, and it was not long before Amy observed that they had left Miss Darcy at the mercy of Mr. Knott. She declared herself perfectly delighted with this result.
"They are rather perfect for each other, in their own way," she mused, "and it would be such fun to watch her brother lose his mind when she declared her intention of marrying someone so little deserving of her consequence! Of course, with her ridiculous inheritance, he would hardly need to take a post, if he did not wish to. I daresay Mr. Darcy would not dare deny him the living if they were to marry, though!"
Kitty could imagine the stormy anger that would overcome Mr. Darcy if his sister were to form such an attachment, and when she was not at risk of being anywhere near him, could imagine it with as much amusement as Amy did. "But do you think she likes him at all?"
"I hardly see how she could not; they are both rather quiet people, and they probably have the same opinions of nearly every person they know. Honestly, in terms of character, I think it would be a very good match. He is much too dull to do for a woman of livelier temperament, and Miss Darcy is so sweet and so affectionate to everyone that she would almost certainly be attractive to him. A woman is not long immune to the charms of a man who is in love with her, I think."
So Miss Darcy was included in their schemes, though Kitty felt, rather uncomfortably, that if she were to find out their plans for her she would be rather offended. Kitty convinced herself that she did not mind; if a happy marriage came out of it, was that not all that would matter? Mr. Darcy would be resigned when he saw how well matched they really were, and the more she and Amy talked of it, the more convinced she was that it would be the best thing for both of them.
It was, however, only incidental to their plans. Their first object was to throw Kitty and Mr. Johns together as much as possible, and accordingly, Amy put their plan into action that evening, by proposing that they all walk out together the next morning and have a picnic brought to them on the top of some picturesque hill.
Elizabeth was enthusiastic about the plan, which Kitty hoped she would be, and readily engaged to help them. By the end of the evening, they had the following day planned out to the satisfaction of all, and Kitty could hardly wait for the day to begin. She was among the first to come down dressed and ready to go, and to her everlasting satisfaction, Mr. Johns was equally early. They had several minutes in the hall together entirely alone, and Kitty was fully prepared to make the most of it.
"I am so glad that you are able to join us today," she told him. "I was afraid that Edgepark would take you away from us again."
"Fortunately for myself as well as for the rest of the party, I do not expect to be needed at Edgepark for a few days yet," he answered. "I am happy to avoid interfering there whenever possible; I find the work very tedious, and would much rather allow the workers to do their job of working without me constantly being in their way. Besides, the more time I spend there, the more often I change my mind about how I want things to be done, and I am afraid that if I spend too much time at the place it will never be finished."
"That would be a trial," Kitty acknowledged. "You are much better served to come and relax with us, and trust that your workers have the job well in hand. I am sure that when they are finished, you will be happy with the end result, no matter what it is."
"That is exactly my philosophy on the matter, and I am very glad to hear that you agree with me. There is nothing in the world so gratifying as to hear your own opinions echoed so perfectly from the lips of one who could not have known that you share them—" he took a step closer to her and lowered his voice a great deal—"particularly when they are such enchantingly pretty lips."
Kitty blushed and stammered her thanks, and when the others joined them and they were on their way, had no trouble at all securing his arm for herself.
The day was bright, if a little warmer than was ideal for such an outing, and Kitty felt that the shining sun and singing birds were so cheerful solely because they had seen into her heart and decided to share her happiness with the world.
Perhaps encouraged by her expressed ideas, Mr. Johns continued to talk about Edgepark while they walked, and painted such a picture of the current state of the place, as well as what he meant to do with it, that Kitty felt certain she could visualize it quite clearly. "It sounds like it will be a delightful place," she said with a sigh, thinking of Amy's instructions. "I do wish I could see it."
"Perhaps, when it is safe for a lady to walk around it, I shall take you there. There are one or two spots of which I particularly need a second opinion, and the taste of ladies in general is probably better suited to the object; your taste has already proven close enough to mine that I am sure you would tell me exactly what would suit me best."
"I hope I would," said Kitty warmly, "and I promise that I am completely at your disposal. Name the day and I will go with you to give opinions on whatever you like. Perhaps we could take the whole party, and you will have more opinions than you really know what to do with."
He laughed. "Perhaps we should, and then I can disdain all their opinions in favor of yours."
Kitty glowed, and felt that Amy spoke better than she knew when she predicted their engagement. With such encouragement as this, she would not be surprised if she was engaged within a fortnight!
The prospect which Elizabeth had chosen for their destination did not disappoint; it must have been one of the prettiest places in the park, and at the top of the hill stood a little grouping of garden seats which were arranged to give the best view. The party stopped to rest there and found that an array of cold refreshments had been set out for them. Delight was universally expressed and Kitty took the opportunity to seek out Miss Pratt and exclaim over how well her morning had gone.
"I see that you and Mr. Johns were quite inseparable today," she remarked. "I trust that is a good sign."
"Excellent," Kitty said eagerly. She recounted the substance of their conversation and watched her friend closely for her reaction. Amy did not disappoint.
"That is very encouraging, indeed! I suspect it will not be long before he is making you an offer. Oh, if only I could say the same!"
"What! You were walking with Colonel Fitzwilliam for a good portion of the morning!"
"Yes," said Amy, shaking her head, "but never alone, and he did not speak to me unless I addressed him first. I do not think I shall have as easy a conquest as you will."
Kitty was very sorry to hear this, and strove to think of ways to help her friend. but very little came to mind. She did not know the Colonel very well, and Amy was so much better at this kind of thing than Kitty was.
"Well, perhaps Mr. Johns can think of something," she said at last. "I imagine he would think it fun to spend the rest of our morning trying to help Colonel Fitzwilliam fall in love with you!"
Amy laughed and patted her hand. "I give you permission to do so, if you must, but do not make it clear to Mr. Johns where my inclination lies, I beg you. What if he should let it slip to the Colonel that I have set my cap at him? There is nothing less appealing to a man than a woman he does not have to win."
"I will pretend it is entirely my own idea," Kitty promised.
My apologize for the late chapter! Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and while I managed to give him a great day, it came at the expense of having any time to sit down at the computer. I should be back on track now. Thanks for your patience!
A quick note: a couple of you have mentioned that your reviews aren't showing up the way you're typing them. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that the problem is that the site will automatically delete anything that is in the format of "text period text" - because they assume it's a website. So instead of typing, for example, MrdotB, try Mr. B instead and it won't delete anything.
Thank you to everyone who is following and reviewing the story! Your feedback is immensely encouraging!