Chapter Fourteen

For Kathy

Meryton

Hertfordshire

May 1807

After fussing after her children and giving them some last minute instructions which were essentially a repeat of what she had said earlier, Mrs. Bennet brushed a warm, loving hand over Alina's head in farewell and descended the steps to the thoroughfare. She watched Mrs. Bennet disappear into the crowd and was surprised by the mild affection she felt for the loud, matronly woman she had met only moments ago.

Though Mrs. Bennet was most certainly a gentlewoman for she had mentioned an estate-Longbourn- she was completely different from any other woman belonging to proper society Alina had ever encountered. In their sphere, mothers did not travel with their daughters in tow and never left them alone in public, without the supervision of a governess. Regardless of her unusual behavior, Alina found herself wishing that her own mother could perhaps be a bit more like the loud, effervescent Mrs. Bennet.

Oh yes, she did adore Alexandra Fitzwilliam but at times she seemed more like a distant relative who came to visit occasionally. After observing her mother, Aunt Catherine and various other Society Mammas she had the misfortune of meeting in London,she had concluded that this was how mothers were supposed to be until seeing Mrs. Bennet's obvious warmth and affection towards her children had brought back memories of Auntie Annie, a woman who had been more loving and caring towards her in the little time they had together than the fifteen years with her mother. It confused her: Were Mrs. Bennet and Auntie Annie the norm when it came to mothers or the exceptions?

Her train of thought was interrupted when someone cleared their throat rather pointedly and she returned to her surroundings only to see the little girl in front of her glaring indignantly at her with her arms crossed across her chest.

'My mother says it is most improper to ignore your guests', she said in an injured tone to the consternation of her sisters who reprimanded her with a firm 'Mary!'

Alina on the other hand couldn't contain the amused grin that pulled at the corners of her mouth.

'Your mother is a very wise woman',she said seriously, her violet eyes dancing with mirth in contrast to her tone. 'And I must apologize for my abominable behavior.'

The girl seemed inordinately pleased as she replied, 'You're forgiven.'

The blonde sister however seemed to be getting increasingly incensed at her sister's behavior and moved to stand behind her as she addressed Alina.

'You must forgive my sister her impertinence-' she said anxiously as the brunette chuckled in the background, apparently amused by her younger sister's bluntness.

Alina however was tired of the cold formality that had cloaked her interactions with everyone she had met in London and wanted to have an honest conversation without worrying about societal conventions for once.

'Tis of no import, Miss Bennet', she said smiling at the bespectacled child in front of her. 'Your sister is absolutely justified in subtly reprimanding me for my inattention. Such a quick little child.'

The child's cheeks flushed with color at the praise and she looked at Alina adoringly.

'Why don't you sit with us Miss Bennet?' Alina offered, loooking at the blonde, not caring a whit that she had not been formally introduced to this woman. Oh only if Aunt Catherine could see her now!

The blonde-Jane-shook her head in response and smiled wryly. 'I must look after my youngest sisters for Lizzy gets them more often that she gets them out of it.'

The brunette-Lizzy-scoffed good naturedly at her sister's mild teasing. 'Jane', she teased, her eyes shining with good humour, 'if only everyone could be as perfect as you, my dear, then this would indeed be paradise on Earth.'

Alina found herself smiling at their evident affection for each other. It reminded her of her carefree conversations with Richard, her courageous yet foolish brother who had recently fought in the battle of Montevideo after refusing to come home after being injured in Britain's disastrous invasion of Buenos Aires the previous year.

She nodded politely as Jane inclined her head in her direction and proceeded to sit with her three sisters. Alina watched them for a minute before returning her gaze to the one in front of her. She seemed to be of Georgiana's age and Alina felt a sudden desire to protect her. Shaking her head to clear it of these strange thoughts, she smiled at her.

'Miss Mary', she said amusedly. 'May I know which book you clutch so protectively?'

The girl blushed again before offering the thick tome to Alina who almost dropped it after glancing at the title.

'Fordyce!'she exclaimed, horrified. 'Why little one, what gave you cause to read this..this book?

'I..', the child seemed to be at a loss for words after Alina's outburst and Alina felt a tad guilty for scaring her.

'Forgive me', she said meekly. 'But I am curious about your wish to read this particular book.'

'The parson recommended it', interrupted the brunette-Lizzy. 'And the good little religious girl our Mary is, she decided to purchase it the following day.'

She smiled mirthfully as she said it but Alina could see that Mary was hurt by Lizzy's joke at her expense.

'My cousin gifted the volumes of his sermons to me', she commented casually, hoping to distract Mary. 'I must say I found them truly horrendous', she confided in the little girl, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

Mary leant forward, interested.

'Why?', she asked curiously.

Alina ruminated over her question for a minute then organizing her thoughts in her head, said 'Tell me, Miss Mary, suppose you were quite proficient at piano playing and one of your sisters who has not touched the pianoforte even once in her life tries to advise you on your fingering, would you consider her advice to be of any value?'

'No', Mary answered resolutely, glaring at her youngest sister who was salivating over the sweets that lined the shelves of the sweet shop. Ah! So this had happened in the Bennet household. She did her best to suppress her smug smirk.

'Why?', she questioned the young girl.

'Why?', parroted back the child, confused.

'Why would you ignore her advice?', Alina elaborated.

'Because she does not know anything about it,'exclaimed Mary heatedly, looking sourly at her younger sister.

'Exactly!' Alina exclaimed. 'Mr. Fordyce is not a woman, is he?'

Mark shook her head.

'Then how can he tell us what it proper for women: what books to read, what interests to pursue, even what thoughts to think if he knows next to nothing about being a woman? Reading and believing what he writes is akin to listening to your sister's advice about your fingering.'

To her ears, the arguement sounded fooolish and weak but the child in front of her looked flabbbergasted. She relinquished her tight hold on the book and it fell onto the table with a light thud.

'But what do I read then?'Mary questioned helplessly. 'What should I read to improve my mind?

Alina smiled as she rose from her chair. 'Now Miss Mary, how do you feel about accompanying me to the bookshop?'

The girl nodded enthusiastically and Alina looked over Mary's head to see Lizzy grinning at her in approval. Her smile widened. 'Would you consent to accompany us Miss-?'

'Elizabeth', said the brunette as she made her way towards them. 'Elizabeth Bennet, eccentric extraordinaire at your service.'

'Alina Fitzwilliam', she replied, holding out her hand in a friendly but grossly improper gesture. 'Just as eccentric.'

They walked together, Mary between them, clutching their hands just as tightly as she had clutched the volumes of Fordyce, the summer sun bringing out the gold in their dark hair and warming their bodies pleasantly. They made conversation as they walked; talking about everything under the sun and Alina was pleased to discover that Elizabeth was a clever and intelligent young lady who loved the outdoors as much as she did.

She liked Elizabeth. She was so different from the haughty, pretentious, feather brained misses she had seen in London. Elizabeth was smart, witty and could even read Greek-a highly unusual accomplishment for a lady. She, on the other hand, had abandoned her pursuit of Greek after the letters started to mesh together on the page and could only claim to be passably proficient in French and Italian and a beginner when it came to Spanish, for she had been learning a bit of that language from the letters Richard so kindly sent her instead of coming home. She huffed angrily at her brother's inconsideration for his own health and Elizabeth looked at her in surprise, startled by her sudden change in mood.

'May I ask, Miss Fitzwilliam', Elizabeth said, an ever present smile gracing her features. 'What puts you in so foul a mood this fine morning?'

'Tis my brother', she complained. At Elizabeth's questioning look, she elaborated. 'He is a lieutenant colonel in His Majesty's Army, fighting for the crown in the Latin Americas who refuses to come home inspite of being injured.'

'It is a noble profession', Elizabeth replied, kindly as Mary nodded her pretty little head in agreement.

'Noble, yes', she agreed tiredly, gazing up at the afternoon sun. Time was different in the Latin Americas, so it would probably be morning for Richard. She sighed and turned to look at Elizabeth. 'But I cannot help worrying about his safety. He is a hot blooded, impulsive buffoon, excessively prone to fits of recklessness.'

'Oh to have brothers', Elizabeth sighed, her brown eyes twinkling with mischief. 'But sadly, the Lord has denied me the pleasure of a dashing, handsome brother, choosing to test me by giving me not one, not two but four sisters!'

'Lizzy', exclaimed Mary, affronted. 'You must be grateful for your..blessings.'

Alina chuckled quietly as Elizabeth tickled Mary's middle. 'And you little Miss, must learn to discern between jests and actual conversation or you shall find yourself outsmarted by your extremely intelligent sister!'

Looking at her merry companions, Alina touched the cross at her neck and recited a silent prayer of thanks: thanking the Lord for giving her friends to drive away her loneliness. Meeting Elizabeth and Mary in these unusual circumstances had taught her that happiness and friendship could be found in the most unexpected places if only one gathered the courage to seek it.

Alina brushed her fingers against the numerous titles that lined the shelves in front of her, remembering another time and place. Though the visit to Pall Mall had ended on a sour note, she looked on the time spent with Niklaus in Dodsley's with fond remembrance.

The copy of Shakespeare's tales that he had gifted her had been read so thoroughly that it resembled a decade old book than a new one.

She threw her head back in contemplation as she thought of Niklaus. She had not seen him since that disappointing night in late January but the rumours of his countless dalliances with the vapid young misses of London had reached her ears. Lady Susan was conspicuous by her absence in the long list of his lovers but then she was famous for her subtle underhanded ways. Niklaus was certainly living up to his reputation of being a heartstealer, leaving broken hearts in his wake, yet girls flocked to him like bees to a flower.

She couldn't really blame them. She, who prided herself on her intelligence and powers of discernment had fallen for Niklaus' beautiful blue eyes and charming smile. Niklaus had an innate talent for captivating women, it seemed, and she was no exception.

Her only saving grace was the fact that he was unaware of her foolish feelings. To him, she was merely the miffed sister of a friend and God willing, that was all she would be to him.

Thoughts of Niklaus filled her with sadness. This boy gallivanting all over London, breaking hearts left, right and centre was not the little boy she had known all her life; not the boy who lay with her on the grass, stargazing for so long that the damp seeped through their clothes and taught her to find the constellations; not the little boy who had always readily sacrificed his life for hers when they played Knights of the castle; he was not the little boy who accompanied Richard when her brother smuggled her favourite biscuits through her window when she had been confined to her room for calling Aunt Catherine 'fat'; he was not the same boy who climbed up a tree at five in the morning to rescue her cat; he was not the boy who dived into the pond after her when she was seven and didn't know how to swim inspite of his fear of water. Oh God, where was her Niklaus?

Sighing and leaving thoughts of Niklaus in the dusty aisles of the bookshop, she proceeded to the counter, Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare for children tucked under her arm.

Elizabeth who was browsing for books along with Mary made her way towards Alina, a serene expression on her face. She enjoyed reading and the bookshop was perhaps her favourite place on Earth after her father's library.

'What did you find?', she asked Elizabeth, trying to read the title of the book in her hand. Elizabeth grinned puckishly and promptly covered the title with her hand.

'Elizabeth', she complained.

'Alina', Elizabeth replied in a mock serious tone as Mary giggled in delight.

'It's a gift for you', Mary said excitedly, bouncing on her heels.

'You did not-'

'Alina', Elizabeth interrupted. 'If I am not mistaken, the book in your hand is a gift for Mary is it not?'

'Yes', she admitted grudgingly.

'Then you can not blame us for reciprocating', Elizabeth concluded smugly as she placed the book on the counter in front of the young clerk who watched them in quiet amusement. 'Mr. Grayson, if you could add this to father's account please?'

Alina tried her best to pay for the book but Elizabeth gripped her arm rather tightly as the clerk wrapped the book in brown paper.

'I concede defeat', Alina huffed ungraciously and disentangled her arm for Elizabeth's suddenly slack grip. Elizabeth smiled winningly at her in response. It was a shame that she was so young or she would have made a fitting Countess of Milton. But, Robert couldn't be more than a decade older than her could he?

Mr. Grayson handed Elizabeth the package and picked up the book she had selected for Mary. 'Quite a remarkable book', he commented as he covered it with brown paper. Alina subtly kept the money near the till when Elizabeth was distracted and wordlessly gestured at the clerk to pick it up when the girls were distracted. He nodded with an understanding smile and handed her the package.

They left the shop hand in hand, only to collide with the gentleman entering the shop and Mary fell onto the ground from the force of the collision as Alina smacked her brother angrily.

'ROBERT!', she said crossly as her frazzled brother knelt in front of Mary and checked her for injuries.

'I apologize, Miss', he said contritely as he helped her up and Elizabeth dusted off her skirts.

Mary nodded as she adjusted her spectacles on her nose only to see that the glass was missing from one side of the frame.

'Oh', Robert said, his eloquence astounding as he saw her broken glasses. 'I..I will compensate you-'

'There is no need for that Sir', interrupted Elizabeth, making a quick courtesy in greeting.

'Oh dear', Alina sighed, cursing herself for her forgetfulness. 'Robert, these are Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Miss Mary Bennet of Longbourn, Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary, this is my brother, Robert Fitzwilliam.'

'Tis my pleasure to make your acquaintance', Robert said suavely, his demeanour vastly different from the distracted man who had banged into them at the entrance of the bookshop, as he made an elegant bow in their direction.

They both curtsied prettily in response and Alina was quite impressed by Mary's flawless curtsy. It seemed that Robert shared her opinion for he bowed again and then knelt in front of the little girl, who looked at him questioningly. Alina sighed in resignation. There he went again.

'Will you forgive me, your majesty and allow me to compensate your loss?', he said, aiming a dazzling smile at Mary who looked stumped.

'Mr. Fitzwilliam', interrupted Elizabeth, her cheeks flushed with colour as she looked at Robert, 'there is no need for that since Mary has a spare pair at home-'

'Miss Elizabeth-'

'You are too kind Sir', Mary said over her brother as she smiled shyly and Alina covered her mouth with her hand to smother her laughter.

Robert laughed and offered his arm to Mary, 'Well then, let's pay a visit to the optician, shall we?'

As Elizabeth led them towards the optician, Robert glanced over his shoulder and discreetly nodded in the direction of a lady standing at the end of the lane who smiled and then turned away, much to Alina's puzzlement.

The sun was high in the sky when it was time to bid farewell to her friends.

'Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary', Robert said politely, 'We must take your leave. I leave Meryton an enchanted man.' He looked at Elizabeth as he said this and she smiled amusedly in response. She was too smart to be caught in a honeytrap, Alina thought smugly.

They both curtsied again. Alina moved towards them and clasped Elizabeth's hands in her own.

'Elizabeth', she said warmly. 'It has been a great pleasure to make your acquaintance.'

Elizabeth pressed her hands in understanding. After all, it was not often that they met people who shared their opinions and interests. 'I feel the same.'

Alina nodded, blinking back the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

'Mary', she said gently as she turned to the young girl. 'I wish you all the happiness in the world.'

The girl looked up at her and then hesitantly embraced her. Alina put her arms around Mary's delicate shoulders.

'I will remember you Mary,' she promised, looking at Elizabeth whose eyes seemed a bit glassy as well. 'God willing, we'll find each other again.'

'We shall', agreed Elizabeth, her voice thick with emotion. 'If only you would give me your writing directions.'

Alina shook her head playfully. 'Think of it as an experiment, Miss Elizabeth. Let us see if we can find each other again.'

'Miss Fitzwilliam, I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll see each other again', Elizabeth said pertly and she laughed.

Longbourn

Meryton

That night, after everyone had gone off to bed, Mary Bennet snuck out of bed and made her way to the library where the package Alina had given her rested innocuously on her father's table. Her mother had confiscated it as punishment for disobeying her and abandoning her sisters and Elizabeth had been banned from the library for a fortnight. Her father had winked at Elizabeth from his place at the head of the table as her mother announced their punishment and she knew that he would ensure that Elizabeth would get her books but she would be ignored as usual.

Shaking her head to clear it of these depressing thoughts, she picked up the package and tore open the brown paper covering it.

'Tales from Shakespeare', was written in gold in gold on the green cover and Mary ran a gentle hand over it in awe. This beautiful book was hers. Hers! She opened the book, its spine cracking loudly and she looked around her in alarm. Thankfully no one was around to get disturbed. Laughing happily, she looked at the note on the first page.

'For my dear friend, Miss Mary', it read in beautiful penmanship, 'who must know that there are better books to read than Fordyce. Yours affectionately, Lady Alina Fitzwilliam, Milton Hall, Cambridgeshire.'

Mary smiled as she settled on the sofa and began to read.

Lucas Lodge

Some distance away, Charlotte Lucas extinguished the last candle in her chamber and climbed into bed, a mysterious smile on her lips and a crimson blush staining her cheeks, transforming her plain features into those of a young woman in love. She tucked a hand under her chain, her other hand tightly holding a piece of paper that held his address: Milton House, Mayfair.

A few miles away, Alina held Mary Wollstonecraft's A vindication of the rights of women to her chest as she nodded off against her brother's shoulder. He stroked her head gently as he thought of a most unusual woman he had encountered in Meryton. He had talked to her and then found himself offering to correspond with her and then the way her smile lit up her face made him forget the impropriety of his actions. Charlotte Lucas. She would be a fine correspondent indeed.

The next morning, Mr. Bennet was most surprised to see his quietest daughter sound asleep on the sofa in the library, a book lying open on her chest. He sighed at the sight. The girl was becoming quite passionate about Fordyce's sermons and it seemed like the Lord was intent on compounding his misery by turning Mary into a preachy little nuisance to add to his worries (namely the trio of the featherbrained: Mrs. Bennet, Lydia and Kitty).

He stood over her and looked at her sleeping bespectacled face. He removed her spectacles but they slipped out of his hand and fell on the book. He bent down to retrieve them and found himself face to face with a page detailing Othello's despair after he killed Desdemona.

'This is not Fordyce!', he exclaimed delighted. Thank the Lord, Mary was choosing his side.

A/N: A big thank you to EdnaH and Fayhenderson for their reviews :) EdnaH, the secret of the letters will be revealed in time.

So, what did you think? Why did Alina give her writing directions to Mary and not Elizabeth? And I bet you did not see Robert/Charlotte coming!

Love,

Mango

P.S. Next update coming up in July. Reviews make me update faster ;)

P.S. I published a Darcy/Alina modern fic called Twenty-Two for those of you who ship them ;) Do check it out!