AU Pride and Prejudice

Fan Fiction

Blindsided

NOTES: My research told me it is possible that some people who lived in Japan during the period of 1300-1400 had written on metal if they wished to preserve something for history AS LONG AS they had been exposed to influences outside of Japan. However, metal was not a common writing material in Japan at that time.

Previously

"Sounds good to me." Marianne agreed and wondered what secrets the old book and key might hold, and could not help but speculate who the horn had once belonged to. She hoped the items would reach this Lady Catherine safely and that Mrs. Bennet would then gain possession of the book, items and horn.

Books

Ch. 17

Mr. Bennet sat at a newly acquired, round, brown table in his library. It had been placed in front of the hearth, which not only had a fire going, but also had a portrait of Emmaline above it. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, but ringlets were allowed to fall onto the back of her neck. The dark blue gown she was wearing in it had a bodice full of white linen trimmed with lace. Originally, Mary had hung it in the hallway, but upon seeing her father standing in front of it one day and reaching out to trace his hand down the replica of Emmaline's face done in dried paint, his third daughter had asked her new beau to move it to Mr. Bennet's library when her father was gone.

Thomas now looked at it as he was waiting for his wife to bring the items she had brought from her father's home. He let out a sigh; the gentleman knew Emmaline had been feeling melancholy as shortly after her sister and husband had left, Mrs. Bennet had lost the child she had carried.

'There is no way I am going to tell her just how much I wanted that baby,' mused Mr. Bennet to himself. 'Poor lady feels bad enough as it is.' His mind turned to what the earl had said as he looked out and saw their second gardener working. So far, the extra help did not seem needed, but upon hearing some of the rumblings that had reached his ear, there was no way the hired help was going anywhere. His library door opened and Mrs. Bennet walked in with the covered items. His mind turned to them and not the gentleman outside his window.

"You still have them under canvas? I thought after you gave Mary your mother's journal they would not be covered up."

"I sort of had my mind on other things." Emmaline joined her husband at the table and uncovered the pile.

A book with a golden line, along with a skilled painting for its cover, was opened. Line upon line, it showed the heritage of the Varangian guard and the places they served other than protecting the Russian czars, such as those in higher power in Asia Minor, Italy, Greece, and many others. There was a family bible belonging to Ingrid's family with names and dates going back further than Mr. Bennet thought possible. Maps that had been carefully preserved were laid open, showing places he had no idea existed. That was all fascinating, but what held him spellbound the most were small thin dull silver metal plates bound together by hoops made out of the same kind of shiny metal and a strange looking map; none of them had words on them written in English.

"Can you read these?" Mr. Bennet asked his wife.

"No, I cannot. All I know is the map written with the language of the east. You call it Japan, but my father and my grandfather always called it Nippon or the land of the rising sun when in the privacy of our home. We spent a few years there. I tried learning the language, but unfortunately, it is a very difficult language to learn. My mother and I did not succeed, even though my father tried to teach us."

"What about these metal plates?" He held the thin sheets.

"Those are the old tongue of the Norwegian people. Sorry, I have gifts, but reading other languages is not one of them."

"Do you think these items are what Matilda is really after?"

"I fail to see why." Emmaline shook her head. "I may not be able to read those metal plates, but most likely, some explorer recorded something he did not want erased with time. As to the map? There is a high chance it is simply one of the areas one of my ancestors made while traveling in that country. My brother's wife has never cared for such things. No, Mrs. Gunnarsson has only cared about monetary wealth." She pointed at the books, maps, and metal plates. "None of these items would bring her that. I honestly have no real idea to any of it. I kept it all because I value family connections."

"I feel as if we have been given a puzzle but are missing pieces, or at least a piece." Mr. Bennet looked over the books and maps. "But what, I cannot deduce." Thomas asked her if she minded him taking her items elsewhere, at least the metal plates and strange maps "If by chance, she gains access to our home, I do not want her getting hold of those items before I can figure out what it is we are missing."

"If you think it is best." Mrs. Bennet stood up, only to find Mr. Bennet's hand on her arm.

"Yes?"

"I love you, Emmaline, I hope you know that. I do not care if whatever it is that Mrs. Gunnarsson is looking for is ever found. As far as I am concerned, you are the true treasure who that family overlooked. Do not concern yourself over an heir for me; whether we have a son or not, or if Collins inherits Longbourn, I do not regret marrying you. My youngest two will not be left homeless; their sisters will make sure of that, and they will not leave you homeless either." Mr. Bennet speaking her first name, and his eyes moistening, letting Emmaline know her husband was sincere.

"And I…" Mrs. Bennet leaned in close to Mr. Bennet's ear. "…do not regret exchanging vows with you." Kissing the side of his forehead she then stood up, Leaving the items with her husband.

Emmaline closed the door not caring about what the books, or items, may or may not end up telling her husband. He may think she was a treasure, but to Emmaline Mr. Bennet, worts and all, was the prize others overlooked. The lady passed Mary in the hallway and thought nothing of it, even though it was clear her third daughter - she never thought of any of the girls as just Thomas' - was carrying Ingrid's journal.

Mary knew what her parents had been discussing. She had seen what her mother had carried downstairs and had gone straight to her own room. If those two were discussing those books, then, after her original behavior towards her father's remarriage, the least she could do was to get her father a possible clue to the mess they were possibly facing now; especially after Mrs. Bennet had turned into such a wonderful mother.

"Think it will do any good?" Kitty asked as her sister when her sister had entered their room.

"It has to. However, do not worry about things. You just get ready for that new beau of yours, leave this to me." Mary had then hurried downstairs.

Mary looked back and saw her mother disappear around the corner. Turning back, she knocked on the door. "Come in." Mr. Bennet's voice invited his third-oldest daughter into the room. She shut the door behind her, for she wished no one to hear what she had to say, nor for them to see the entries she wanted her father to read.

"Here." Mary handed Mr. Bennet the journal. "I thought, maybe, this would be of help." She opened the journal and pulled out some folded pieces of paper from the middle. "I think Mother must have forgotten about this, or she would have taken it and put it with the other books."

Her father opened the paper and found it to be a separate journal. The handwriting was not the same as Emmeline's mothers, and it was not the year that shocked it -it was the fact it was still readable and in two different ways of recording dates.

Meio 16, Ichigatsu 1 January 1, the year of our Lord 1500

"I spent a week in these strange jungles, lost and alone. I survived by the Lord's good graces. Fortunately, my knack for conveying a message when coming across a group of natives, even without knowing their language, served me well. It helped that my family had served as guards for centuries before being disbanded, and that my great-grandfather's horn and his rare book were recognized.

Meio 16, Ichigatsu 2

I was given another book and other items. I will hand them down to my son. He may choose to travel like me. If he does, they may come in handy."

Mr. Bennet read on and then looked up at Mary, who had just sat down. "These papers," he said, holding up the ones he had been reading. "Were there any others?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I thought maybe Mother might have brought the books he mentioned with her."

Mr. Bennet picked up the thin metal 'book', looked over at the map, and then at his wife's mother's journal. It was then the gentleman felt a strange sensation hitting his skin. He wanted to go to London get answers to whatever information had just landed in his lap, but Mrs. Gunnarsson's schemes made him wary of that option. So, without knowing exactly what to do with the mysterious paperwork, and metal 'book' in his hand, nor of the map and journal, he put them all together in his leather bag - the one that never left his side when he traveled. And travel they would.

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