Chapter 3:
He was beautiful. The first thing she noticed about him were his eye lashes. Were men allowed to have lashes like that? They were long and thick, standing over the iciest blue eyes she'd ever seen. His eyebrows were dark and well defined, his forehead small, covered by thick, luscious dark brown hair. His nose sat perfectly slanted on his face, his lips and his chin looked like it was chiseled by a sculptor. His best feature were those dimples that sat perfectly in his cheeks. They were deep and present even though he wasn't smiling. Kitty was at a loss for words.
"Wentworth, come meet Mr. Philips!" bellowed the other rider from across the site at the beautiful man in front of her. He gave Kitty one last icy blue look before joining his friend. Kitty observed him walk away. He was tall, with broad shoulders, long legs, and well-built arms. One would think he did manual labor the way he was built. He certainly wasn't working class. He was dressed finer than any gentleman she knew in a dark blue coat, tan breeches, and a white cravat. He moved with such confidence.
Kitty was brought out of her reverie by Hercules nudging her as if to say, "Snap out of it." She gave the horse a good-natured pat before joining her uncle, and the others.
"And who is this?" asked the other rider as he saw Kitty approach.
"Mr. Parker, Captain Wentworth, allow me to introduce my niece Catherine Bennet. Catherine this is Mr. Thomas Parker, our neighbor, and this is his cousin, Captain James Wentworth." Kitty curtsied to them both. Mr. Parker bowed, and Captain Wentworth barely inclined his head.
"Mr. Philips you've been hiding this enchanting creature!" exclaimed Mr. Parker. Kitty smiled politely and felt the piercing blue gaze of Captain Wentworth on her. She couldn't bear to look at him.
"I assure you I have not. We only arrived yesterday evening."
'I will have Mrs. Parker pay you a call," said Mr. Parker addressing Kitty. "I'm sure my wife would be delighted to make your acquaintance."
"I look forward to it sir." He went back to speaking to Mr. Philips. She took the opportunity to observe Mr. Parker. He was a man in his late thirties with sandy blond hair and green eyes. He wasn't what one would call handsome, but he wasn't unpleasant by any means. He had a cheery disposition, but he seemed a bit ridiculous. His manner was exaggerated, and it was very clear he thought very highly of himself. He was lecturing her uncle and Mr. Stringer about the methods they should use to refurbish the cottages. She could tell her uncle and Mr. Stringer were annoyed but were doing their best to be polite. She smiled to herself and found Captain Wentworth's gaze on her. Her smile disappeared.
"We'll leave you to it!" announced Mr. Parker and clapped Captain Wentworth's shoulder. "Come cousin, we must not be late for lunch, or we'll never hear the end of it." The two men mounted their horses and rode off toward Mr Parker's estate. Both Mr. Philips and Mr. Stringer breathed a sigh of relief.
They walked back to the cottage when Mr. Stringer turned to her.
"He's one of the highest-ranking members of the county if you can believe it." Kitty smiled.
"He's entirely aware of it." Mr. Stringer grinned at her. He had a lovely smile, so warm and welcoming. Mr. Philips and he preceded to discuss building matters. After a few minutes Mr. Philips and Kitty departed back to Arley Hall. They had a light lunch after which Mrs. Philips had Kitty help with household chores. They were arranging flowers in the dining room when Mr. Philips burst in with a newspaper in his hand.
"I knew his name sounded familiar!" he exclaimed waving it around.
"What on earth do you mean?" asked Mrs. Philips.
"This morning's paper," he said. Both women stood on either side of him looking over his shoulder. The article in Mr. Philips hand spoke of a famous naval captain by the name of Wentworth who surprised the leadership by abruptly resigning his commission.
"And you believe it's the same Captain Wentworth we saw today?" asked Kitty.
"My dear girl I know it is!" Mr. Philips turned the page and sure enough there was a drawing of the man in question. It was crude but there was no mistaking that face.
"He's very handsome. How was he in person Kitty?" asked Mrs. Philips.
"It is a fair likeness," she said. Kitty wondered why he'd left. He must have been quite successful if the entire navy felt his absence.
"Perhaps we'll see him during tea at Lady Denham's. She usually invites quite a few members of the neighborhood." Kitty merely smiled at her aunt. That night as Anna brushed her hair before bed Kitty's mind kept flashing back to those icy blue eyes.
"What's are you thinking about miss?" asked Anna.
"Nothing," said Kitty far too quickly to be telling the truth. Thankfully Anna didn't press her. Kitty tossed and turned trying to understand why exactly he looked at her as if he disapproved. She'd hardly said two words to him, and he couldn't be mad at her for petting his horse, could he? If so, she wanted nothing to do with such a short-tempered man. With one last fluffing of her pillow Kitty finally managed sleep.
The next morning, she felt rested and managed to put Captain Wentworth and his eyes out of her mind. Her aunt took her along to visit one of the tenant families. Mr. and Mrs. Turner just had a baby and Mrs. Philips wanted to bring them a basket as congratulations. Mrs. Turner received them warmly and seemed grateful for the basket. Kitty adored children and relieved Mrs. Turner of the baby while she spoke to Mrs. Philips. There were five children in the house all varying ages. They were full of energy running, playing, and shouting at each other. It reminded Kitty of her and her sisters when they were young, climbing trees and getting into trouble with John Lucas. Mrs. Bennet disparaged their unladylike behavior while Mr. Bennet encouraged it. He'd adored the spirit in his daughters.
"They are their father's children," he'd declare proudly. Mrs. Bennet would roll her eyes, but she was secretly pleased. Their marriage had been one for the ages. Kitty had never known two people so deeply in love. Despite the pressure to produce a son, not once had she seen them falter. Her father embraced every single one of his daughters as they were presented to him as if they were the most precious gifts. They all spent hours with him in his library where he'd teach them about ancient Greece, plants, and everything else under the sun. He loved long walks, something he passed onto Lizzy, and his daughters were his constant companions with the youngest hoisted onto his shoulders. Now all of that was lost, and it would never be again. Kitty could feel the tears start to well up as she felt the pang of losing her father all over again.
"Are you alright?" she heard a little voice ask. Kitty looked up from the baby and found a little girl standing before her. Kitty quickly wiped her tears.
"Yes, I am," she replied.
"You were crying," pressed the little girl. Kitty smiled. The child was probably no more than three or four but stood there with her arms crossed and her expression demanded an explanation.
"You see being here with all of you reminded me of my sisters. They're far away from me now and I miss them." The little girl seemed satisfied with the answer.
"You can come here when you miss them," she offered. "I can share my sisters with you." Kitty laughed.
"That is very kind," she said and tucked a strand of hair behind the little girl's ear.
"We should be going darling its almost time for dinner," said Mrs. Philips to Kitty. They took their leave of Mrs. Turner and Kitty reluctantly relinquished the baby. She promised Alice, the little girl, another visit soon and they started the trek back to Arley Hall.
Kitty was silent on the walk back. She couldn't help but think about the new baby. It would never know their father. He or she would not know what it was like to live in that wonderful childhood.
"Thinking about your father?" asked Mrs. Philips bringing Kitty out of her reverie.
"Yes," she replied. "I am sorry aunt. I don't mean to mope."
"Certainly not what you are doing my girl. He was a wonderful father to you and the girls. It should be strange if you didn't miss him."
"Sometimes I go about an entire day without a thought of him and I feel a terrible daughter. All these years with him and the new baby will never know what it is to be his child."
"Living life is not the same as forgetting Kitty. We must learn how to go on and that doesn't mean we love those we've lost any less." Mrs. Philips hooked her arms through Kitty's. "And as to the new baby we will make sure we keep your father's memory alive for him or her. Your mother will make sure of it." Kitty smiled at her aunt's words. Mrs. Philips was considered the sillier Gardiner sibling, but Kitty was starting to think they'd underestimated her.
When they arrived back at Arley Hall, it was almost dinner time. Kitty went up to change and observed a small drizzle outside from her window. By the time she'd finished dressing it had turned into a proper storm. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, turning the earth to mud. The house practically shook from the violence.
"Haven't seen weather this terrible since I was a girl," said Anna, finishing the last of Kitty's hair. "My grandmother used to say storms like this meant fate was coming." Kitty had the strangest feeling it was coming for her. She stared at the clouds from her window, and it almost seemed as if they were calling, telling her to brace herself. The rain made it almost impossible to see anything, but a jolt of lightning illuminated the view. She was sure she'd seen it. It was a carriage, sat unmoving near the road outside the gates.
"Anna there's someone out there!" she exclaimed. Anna joined her at the window.
"I don't see anything Miss," said Anna squinting to make out what Kitty was talking about.
"The lightning!" she insisted. Anna was confused but followed Kitty as she raced down the stairs. Mr. Philips was being attended by the butler, in the sitting room.
"Uncle there's a carriage stranded outside in the storm! We must send men to their aid. They could be hurt!"
"Are you quite sure you saw a carriage?" he asked.
"How can anyone see in this weather?" asked Gregson. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Kitty being closest to it and in her haste to see who it was failed to remember that a gentleman's daughter never answered the door herself. When she did, for a second time in as many days she found herself staring at icy blue eyes.
Author's Note: I apologize for the lateness. You have no idea how many times I've started and stopped writing this story. Sudden inspiration came and I managed this short chapter. I hope you enjoy. Please leave suggestions for where I can take this next, in the comments.