Dinner that evening was a sad shadow of what it had formerly been, with Mr. Knott and Colonel Fitzwilliam gone. Everyone expressed themselves very concerned for Mr. Knott and his family, but no one seemed willing to talk about it, or ignore it by talking about something else. Kitty could not stop thinking of what had happened in the ruin. Was he trying to convince her that she should find another accomplishment to pursue? Perhaps he wanted Kitty's help in deciding whether to propose to Miss Darcy. That could have been it. Surely it would have been an intimidating prospect, for even if Georgiana had been completely encouraging he still would have had to approach Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam with his proposal, and they could not have been pleased by the connection. Kitty did not know how she could be of any help in that regard, but she was strangely pleased that he had thought to seek her counsel, or even her sympathy.

After dinner, Miss Pratt approached her while she was sitting with Georgiana. Kitty was rather startled by this; she had imagined Miss Pratt to be quite as willing to let their friendship cool as she was, but the look on her face said differently.

"Kitty, can you forgive me for how terribly cruel I was toward you that day?" She sank onto the chair next to Kitty and clutched her hand. "I have been perfectly desolate without you ever since, but I have been too afraid to seek reconciliation till now. But with so much of our party gone, what will we do if we do not have each other?"

For a brief moment, Kitty considered denying her. She had, after all, been very hurt by what Amy had said and done, and she was not at all convinced that she had been "perfectly desolate" without Kitty's company, when she had her Colonel Fitzwilliam to make love to. What did it mean that she had not come forward with her apologies until now?

But it would be miserable to be trapped in so limited a company with two people whom she wished to avoid, and Miss Pratt did have her good qualities, as long as Kitty was careful to stay within the boundaries of what she would not mock. There were a great many things, Kitty thought bitterly, about which she had to be much more careful than she would like, for fear of not making her life more miserable than it had to be.

"Well, all right—I can forgive you," she said. But she pulled her hand away.

"Perhaps she would like to join us for The Absentee tomorrow morning?" Georgiana asked Kitty.

"Mr. Knott is gone," Kitty reminded her. "We will have to take turns reading to each other, and I am not half as good a reader as he."

"I can read," Amy said eagerly. "I am not as good as Mr. Knott was either, but I can certainly manage a chapter of a novel."

Georgiana looked skeptical, but Kitty, eager to find out how the story would end, agreed to let her.

Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bennet soon joined them, having exhausted, Kitty supposed, the few things they had to say to each other in a very brief span. This limited the ladies' planning for the following morning, but Kitty did not find that she minded. A more general conversation would better benefit her state of mind at the moment, as it would allow her to return to her own thoughts without so readily being noticed. But Georgiana saw that she was pensive.

"Is something the matter, Kitty?" she asked.

"No…" Kitty said slowly, but she knew it wasn't quite the truth. Something was the matter, only she couldn't quite place why.

"I thought, perhaps, that your father might like to talk to you tonight."

Kitty was startled. "What? Why?"

For a moment, Georgiana looked confused, but she covered it quickly. "Only that, as there are no more unmarried gentlemen in the house, and there have been no more disasters, you know, so perhaps you might be allowed back into some further society. You know, to dinner parties and the like. Elizabeth received an invitation to a dinner party at the Dawson's for next week, and meant to accept, but she was hoping that you would be able to go with us by then. Has your father not mentioned anything?"

"Nothing," Kitty said, shaking her head miserably. "I suppose he means for me to stay out of society altogether for my whole stay here."

"Well, he has conceded much so far. Perhaps we can talk him out of this, as well." Georgiana patted her hand gently. "It is not entirely hopeless."

"No, only mostly so," Kitty amended.

"Well, if it is, I shall not go either, and remain here with you. I don't love the Dawsons so well that I am not willing to give up their company for an evening in favor of yours."

Miss Pratt overheard this and interjected, "Do you mean the Dawsons who live at North Lavender? Their daughter is such a darling thing. I quite love her."

"Miss Dawson is a very friendly person," Georgiana admitted. "But if Kitty is not allowed to go to their dinner party, I do not feel inclined to go either. I should be far happier to show my support for her and remain here."

"Should you?" Amy looked askance at this. "I think it would be more pleasant for Kitty to let us go, so we can bring her back a description of everything and every one there. If we exercise our powers of description well, we could make her feel as if she was there."

"Would that not only make it the more painful that she could not be?" Georgiana asked. Kitty was inclined to agree with her, but more than that, she was inclined to keep peace between the two of them. She did not want to find herself trapped between two friends at war with each other.

"If it comes to that," Kitty said, "I will send Amy, and keep Georgiana, and then both of you are satisfied, and I have the joy of company for the evening and a description of what I missed."

Neither Amy nor Georgiana seemed perfectly satisfied with this answer but they allowed the subject to be dropped.

The next morning brought Kitty no further understanding of the events that had transpired with Mr. Knott, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. She had concluded that he must have been looking for help in proposing to Georgiana, but that explanation simply did not satisfy her. She was the last person he would turn to for such a thing. Even Elizabeth would have been better. And if that was the case, why did he have so much trouble speaking? It was evident that he was very nervous about whatever it was he wanted to say, but it is not generally quite that stressful for a man to indicate to a woman that he is thinking of marrying one of her friends, even if she would tease him about not going directly to that friend.

Georgiana noticed her preoccupation. "Kitty, is there something you are not telling us? Perhaps about Mr. Knott?" She looked slyly at Elizabeth, who only rolled her eyes a little bit.

"You… know about that?" Kitty stammered.

"We know that he took you for a walk yesterday, and that you have been quiet and preoccupied ever since," Elizabeth said. "I was hoping that you would have confided in Georgiana or I by this time, but it appears that you have not. Perhaps you might do so now."

Kitty hesitated. "There… I don't know what there is to confide, exactly." She explained briefly what had happened. "I don't know what to make of it. Do you?" The other ladies exchanged glances, and Kitty began to worry. "What have I missed?"

"So, he didn't propose?" Elizabeth asked.

"Propose? Why on earth would he be proposing to me? I'm not the one he was in love with!"

They laughed. "Who did you think he was in love with, silly—me?" Georgiana said.

Kitty was too stunned to answer.

Amy said, "Of course he's in love with you. All the rest of us have seen it for weeks, and we were wondering when he was finally going to propose, and whether you would accept him."

Kitty thought back to the last few weeks… she had been so wrapped up in Mr. Johns, and her own conduct, that she hadn't noticed anything else. And lately she had found it next to impossible to believe that anyone could care about her. And she had noticed that he was making love to someone, only she had thought it was Georgiana. So had Amy, come to that, or at least she had early on. How long had she known? Why didn't she tell say anything?

But if he was in love with her! Ready to propose to her! Suddenly the whole of yesterday made so much more sense.

"What do I do?" she whispered. She hadn't meant the others to hear it, exactly, and was a bit startled to hear them respond.

"Well, you had better decide whether you like him well enough to marry him," Amy said, "and you'd be smart to do it before he gets back, because if he does come back and you aren't able to give him a straight answer, you might well find yourself leading apes after all."

Elizabeth gave her a warning look for that, but it was blithely ignored.

"Do you love him, Kitty?" Georgiana asked gently.

"I… I don't know." Kitty had never been more bewildered. What was she supposed to think? She had never given Mr. Knott more than two seconds of thought in her life, before yesterday. He was pleasant, and he read very well, and he was always kind to her, and took very good care of her, and defended her to her father… Lord, what a fool she had been to believe that he was indifferent to her!

"That might not be the best place to start." Elizabeth set aside her work and leaned forward. "Instead, Kitty, consider: do you think you could learn to love him well enough to be happy with him? You needn't be madly in love right now. But love can grow slowly, sometimes—so slowly that we are not always aware of it."

"And you don't have to decide this very moment," Georgiana put in. "He has gone to London, and will probably be there for a week or two at least. You have at least that long to determine what your answer will be, if he asks you."

"What do you mean, if he asks her?" Amy said. "He has been making sheep's eyes at her since before Mr. Johns left. I can't imagine that a few days in town will overcome his feelings."

Kitty's eyes went wide. "So long! And not one of you thought to mention to me that the whole time I was losing my head over a married man, that there was another in this very house who was developing an affection for me—you just let me believe that I was entirely unloveable!"

"We tried to convince you that it was not the case, but until a gentleman declares himself, there is not much use in speculating on his affections," Georgiana said.

"And when Mr. Johns was here, you wouldn't have cared one jot for the love of Mr. Knott, you know you wouldn't. If he had been stupid enough to propose, you would have turned him down in hopes of getting Mr. Johns, and that would have turned out worse." Amy sniffed. "Really, it's probably only after Mr. Johns left that Mr. Knott believed he had a chance."

It did not make any sense. Kitty was sure it did not. There could be no reason that Mr. Knott should be in love with her. He was a man of God, who thought deeply about things and cared about people, and she was… someone who threw herself after a man who was already attached to someone else. She felt as though they were toying with her for their own amusement, and though she would believe that of Amy, she never could of Georgiana, or Elizabeth—not for something of this magnitude. Lizzy teased, but she was perfectly capable of restraining herself when she needed to be serious.

"Poor girl—I think we've driven her to madness," Amy murmured to Elizabeth.

"No." Kitty shook her head. "I'm not mad… only very surprised… and I haven't quite determined what to make of all this, yet. I need to think more." She stood up and started pacing the room. "I don't know how I missed it before. Now that you have made it clear to me, it seems so obvious. But I have no concept for how to feel! I am grateful to him, for how he has tried to protect me from Papa, when he felt it was necessary. I think of him as a friend, I suppose—which is its own surprise, for I never imagined I could be friends with a clergyman."

"What do you think of his tastes? Do they align with yours?" Georgiana asked.

"They… sometimes, I suppose, but not always. He is far more inclined toward retirement and quiet pursuits, and does not prefer company as much as I do. But when he is in company, he is very engaging, and has no difficulty in expressing himself well, usually." She blushed, thinking of how poorly he expressed himself to her when she had last seen him. "He is not a great dancer."

"But he enjoyed going to visit with us, and was very encouraging of you when you wished to go."

"And you like his reading."

"Do you think he is handsome?" interrupted Amy.

Kitty thought about it for a moment, trying to draw forth his image in her mind. His thin face and straw-colored hair did little to recommend him, but his eyes were warm and twinkling, and he had a strong arm for her to lean on when they walked together. "I don't think he is handsome, exactly," she said slowly. "But I do not find his looks disagreeable. He is pleasant to look at, but not handsome." She dropped into her chair and had to laugh at herself. "That is not a very promising foundation for a marriage, is it."

"It is more foundation than some people have," Elizabeth said.

"At any rate, you do not need to make up your mind this morning. You have at least a week to think about it, and I am sure we are all happy to help you think through it." Georgiana smiled broadly. "I have to admit, I was hoping he had proposed already. I tried to put the two of you forward whenever I could, but it was not easy. You kept trying to bring me back in!"

Kitty blushed, and did not mention what her intent in doing that had been. "Well, it is probably a good thing he did not. I clearly would not have had any idea of what to say."

At that moment, Mr. Bennet walked into the room, and the conversation ceased. "Ah! Kitty, I had hoped to find you in here," he said. "May I have a word? Lizzy, I would like for you to remain as well."

The sisters exchanged glances as Georgiana and Amy excused themselves, but neither spoke as Mr. Bennet settled into a chair.

"Did Mr. Knott speak with you before he left, Kitty?" he asked.

Kitty blushed. She was very grateful that she knew what he meant, now—if he had asked her this before the conversation with the others, she would not have been so well-prepared to respond. "He did, Papa, but he was interrupted before he could say what he wanted to. We… we have no understanding."

To her surprise, her father seemed pleased. "Good! Clearly you know his purpose."

"Yes." She glanced at Lizzy, a little bit ashamed, but received an encouraging smile.

"I suppose you mean to accept him, if he returns for you?"

"I… don't know…"

Lizzy came to her rescue. "Papa, she has plenty of time to determine her feelings while he is away. It has all come rather suddenly for Kitty."

He looked at Lizzy for a few minutes, almost as though he was searching for something. But he must not have found it, because he looked back to Kitty with no change of expression. "I will not require that you give me the answer you will give to him. But I will tell you what he told me, so that you have some idea of what to expect from him."

He paused and seemed to be waiting for a response, so Kitty nodded.

"Mr. Knott came to me about a week ago, hoping that I might give him some insight as to whether it was worth his time to try to win your heart. He was afraid, it seemed, that you were so hurt over the loss of Mr. Johns that you might not be ready to entertain the thought of other suitors."

He wasn't entirely wrong, Kitty thought. How perceptive he had always been!

"When I asked him to explain to me what had led him to form an attachment to you, he regaled me with such a portrait of your playfulness, affections, and good nature that I could scarcely believe he was speaking of the same daughter I thought I knew." He bowed his head and glanced at Lizzy again, who smiled at them both and squeezed Kitty's hand.

"Papa…" Kitty whispered. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond. Had Mr. Knott worked the magic in his heart that she had never managed on her own?

He sighed. "I owe you an apology, Kitty. I treated you the way I ought to have treated your sister, without taking the time to consider that you are no longer following Lydia into trouble at every turn. Mr. Knott has seen in you a woman worth pursuing, and Lizzy has been trying to convince me of your great improvement from the start. I have only been too willfully blind to see anything but what I expected, and in doing so I have done you a great disservice. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can." The relief and gratitude that welled up in her heart would probably have led her to forgive much more than that! She slid out of her chair and knelt down before her father, picking up his hand and kissing it. "Thank you, Papa."

Elizabeth, too, got up to join them, and sat next to her father so she could hug them both. "I am so pleased that you've reconciled at last!"

Kitty laughed and leaned back. "Yes, I'm sure that having us constantly at odds under your roof has not been pleasant! I'm sorry, Lizzy, for my part."

"So am I," said Mr. Bennet. He chuckled and shook his head. "It is not a pleasant thing, to be so wrong about two of one's daughters. But I am much happier to have been wrong about you, Kitty."

Kitty decided that she would not take the offense that was lurking in the corner of his statement. Instead, she smiled and went back to her chair. "So am I."