Thank you for all the reviews and follows. I was having a bit of trouble with my reviews earlier. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
April
For the next two weeks, whenever she could, Kitty would steal away to practice her talent. She had been a little discouraged to find she struggled with what had once been so easy, but the more she practiced, the better she became. She was doing just as well as before, and she hoped to continue improving. Today, she sat just outside of the garden's secret door. It wasn't really a secret, but she and her sisters had always enjoyed referring to it as though it were. It was early. Lizzy had left not long before for her walk. Kitty had decided five days before that it was the perfect time to work on her drawings. Today, she was working on a depiction of one of the field horses.
"Kitty, what are you doing?"
She nearly toppled everything in her lap over. "Lizzy! I thought you went walking in the other direction?!"
"I came back around to see what you were up to. I noticed you had been leaving the house almost as soon as I did. What are you doing?"
Frustrated, she snapped, "What does it look like?!"
"I don't mean the drawings, I mean, why are you acting so strange? Why do you have this sudden urge to be 'proper'?"
"Can I not just want to better my chances?"
"Kitty, you're not in love with Mr. Andrews are you? Is that what this is?"
"Heaven help me. No, Lizzy. I am not as silly as you think. However, I would like to one day be able to obtain the good opinion of a gentleman. I can't do that if I continue to behave like Lydia."
Elizabeth considered her sister and sat down next to her. "I am glad to see that you are drawing again. You always were good at it. Did you know that Grandmother Bennet loved to draw? That's why Papa always encouraged you in it. I think he was upset when you declared that you would never draw again. Will you show him your new sketches?"
"I don't know. I have only just started. I am at the same level of skill as I was when I quit. Perhaps when I have something I am very proud of, I shall."
"Well, I hope you won't be angry, but I fully intend to tell him that you have taken it back up again, even if you won't show him any of your work."
"Thanks," she replied dryly, "just please do not tell anyone else. I don't want to hear Lydia or Mama's opinion on the matter."
"Not a word," grinned Lizzy. She sat back and watched her younger sister work. Kitty tried not to think about the fact that she had slightly lied to her sister. She didn't love Mr. Andrews, but she did like him.
Oliver was in a foul mood. He just couldn't understand it. Why was Miss Catherine almost constantly on his mind? She was a bit young. Old enough to be in society and to marry, but young still. He had encountered her many times over the last three weeks. His mother had, what she termed, a pleasant conversation with the young woman. He could only conclude that he was fond of her. She was no bluestocking, but she was not what he would consider simple minded either. Many of the neighbors had commented on her sudden maturity since coming of age. They claimed she had successfully left her childhood behind. The same could certainly not be said of her youngest sister. But then, she was still a child, despite her family's allowances.
His mother had asked him the night before why he had not yet left to return to Dalton. He couldn't even recall what excuse he had mumbled out, but he knew she did not accept it. She demanded to know what he was up to, but he declined to answer. Now, she was very suspicious and spent the rest of the night asking about various young women. He escaped her before she got to Miss Catherine. He thought back to the small conversations they had shared. She always spoke honestly, and he liked that. Like him, she had a tendency to speak what was on her mind, though she would catch it and blush. She was decisive, another trait he appreciated. She did not interact much with her youngest sister anymore, or so he had heard. When they attended the same parties and teas, she stuck close to Miss Bennet, whom he had noticed would correct her posture or she would indicate that she should be silent. At first, he thought she was trying to train herself to be like her eldest sister, but those thoughts swept away when she would still give her opinion on topics in her usual way. Miss Bennet always smiled at her when she did so. He had nothing to judge from outside of his first few encounters with her, but he was certain she was happier than before.
He was going to have to make a decision soon. He needed to return to Dalton. It was easy for him to determine that he liked Miss Catherine, but did he enjoy her company enough to make an offer for her? Did he want to leave and perhaps miss his chance if he did?
Kitty felt awkward. Her father kept watching her. She knew that Lizzy had told him about her drawing again, but she hadn't thought it would garner much attention from him. She ate her breakfast as her mother went on another tirade about Mr. Andrews's lack of contact. She had been so sure he would have come to make an offer on her eldest by now. Everyone at the table rolled their eyes, save for Lydia, who was smirking at her. Kitty had a bad feeling.
"Well, Mama, perhaps it is because Kitty keeps interfering."
"I am interfering with nothing!"
"Kitty! What have you been doing?!" screeched her mother.
"Nothing!"
"Oh, la! You have asked Jane to help you become a 'proper lady' and then take what she teaches you to distract Mr. Andrews because you looove him!" she giggled.
"I have not!"
"You didn't deny that you love him," sang Lydia.
"I have done nothing to try and gain Mr. Andrews attention. I do not seek him out and I cannot help it if he joins a conversation that I am already a part of!"
"Kitty, how could you do this to your sister? To Jane?! Do you not see that she must marry to improve your own chances?!"
"Mama, Kitty has done nothing wrong. Mr. Andrews and I have no feelings for one another," stated Jane.
"Not another word, Jane! And Kitty! I am ashamed of you!"
Kitty was crying in earnest now. "But I didn't do anything! Lydia is just trying to start trouble. You always believe everything she says…"
"Mrs. Bennet, you have no proof that Kitty was trying to steal one of Jane's many admirers," interjected Mr. Bennet, "and even if she was, I daresay that it is natural for sisters to do so. Have you not also boasted of stealing a few of Mrs. Phillips's beaus when you were girls? Just the other day, I heard you laughing with Lydia over an admirer she supposedly stole from Lizzy."
"But this is no trifling matter, Mr. Bennet. Mr. Andrews is a man of means. He has six or seven thousand a year! I know you do not care that we shall be thrown from the house at the moment of your death, but I certainly do. Kitty has no right to interfere with a promising match!"
Kitty tuned out the rest of the argument. Why did it always come down to this? Why did Lydia always have to ruin everything? Standing, she left the room without another word. Her mother continued her angry tirade towards her fourth daughter, but she didn't care anymore. She laid on her bed, drawing pad in hand, and began to sketch. She thought of one of the rose bushes she had seen in the garden that morning. She was so into her work, she did not hear her door open, though she did hear the snort that followed.
"Don't tell me you have picked up that ridiculous habit of yours? Drawing, Kitty? Are you serious?"
"Yes, Lydia, I am. I enjoy drawing. Go cause your trouble somewhere else. I have had quite enough of you today."
"It had to be done. You have become entirely too dull and boring over the past few weeks. And you have begun to think a little too highly of yourself. I am only trying to save you from disappointment."
"I do not think highly of myself, I only want to improve myself… for myself!"
"Now you sound like Mary. You haven't been seeking her advice as well, have you?"
"Get out, Lydia!"
She laughed and left the room. Kitty felt as though she wanted to scream. Suddenly, there was a flutter of activity downstairs.
"Jane! Jane! He is here! He is here!"