This chapter is on 7 January 2024- incase you're interested I can keep letting you know the timeline I'm working with. There's some reasons for that you'll see as we go along.
The first draft has been completed! I'll be working out some plot bunnies and kinks here and there, I think it will be roughly 25 chapters. You'll know more as we go along. And I will now be uploading more regularly from now (every few weeks)!
The next morning came quickly. She didn't sleep much between her worry and a fear, but she felt rested. There was something to look forward to today. A conversation with another Bennet sister. When she went down to the main room at 9 am she saw Mary and Kitty already there laying out breakfast.
Kitty looked at her and brightly said, "hi G!"
"Hi Kitty." She looked at them, "is this for the other residents?"
Mary remarked, "no, generally we keep the kitchen well stocked and some residents like to keep food in different shelves or in the fridge, they're always labelled. I thought you'd figured this out when you would take a sandwich last night. Lizzy has terrible eating habits and skips meals due to work so if we see her, we like to make sure she eats properly."
G blushed, "I didn't eat last night."
Kitty smiled, "looks like there's another one we'll have to remind to eat along with Lizzy!"
Mary responded, "G, I know it's hard to get on a proper eating schedule. But do try, it'll be better in for you in the long run."
G smiled, at that moment a woman a few years older than Mary walked in. She was tiny, but seemed to have a commanding presence, nonetheless. She had long brown curly hair that seemed to move in all directions, it reminded G of something, but she wasn't sure what. She had on no makeup but seemed to have a natural glow on her skin despite the dark circles. She took off her big coat and cardigan on the coat rack at the entrance of the kitchen. Her blouse revealed that one of her arms had multiple tattoos, G couldn't count how many. But the one that caught her eye was the one of what she presumed was Medusa and drew her eyes up to the woman's hair again. Her brother would have a heart attack if he saw these tattoos. He always was very stodgy when it came to these things. She thought, this must be Lizzy. She wondered what Lizzy wanted to talk about, since the sisters knew barely anything about her. It must just be a get to know you breakfast.
Lizzy smiled at her sisters. While she missed Jane's presence now that they had left for their extended honeymoon a month ago and wouldn't return for a month. Exchanging kisses, all sisters sat down. At first, they didn't pay much attention to her just talking about this and that, things and people G knew nothing about. She didn't mind, it was nice to be in a social setting where nothing was really being asked of her. She observed Lizzy a bit more. She had twinkling eyes and a smiling face. She was striking and joyful, with her own joie de vivre emanating out of her every pore. She heard about Maria again, who she knew from yesterday was the previous caretaker at the centre and Mary's partner. They spoke of their lives for a few minutes and G got a look at what happy family must look like. They all seemed to talk affectionately of Maria. She knew that even in today's times many people would have disowned Mary for her sexual orientation. But they all spoke of it openly and it was a joy to see supportive siblings. Her mind drifted to her own brother for a few moments when she heard Mary call her. "Lizzy, this is G. You know I've offered her the caretaker position. I figured that you should meet her and perhaps help us draw up a contract if G does decide to stay. G, this is my hurricane of an older sister, Elizabeth Bennet."
Lizzy snorted and said, "hi G, please call me Lizzy. And don't listen to my sister, she likes to exaggerate." She turned to Mary, "yes, I'll have my intern email over a contract when you need it. Just give me a couple of days."
"You're a lawyer?" blurted out G, feeling like she was being extremely impolite not even having greeted the woman in front of her.
Lizzy smiled, "yes. Though I think I would be better described as a creator of chaos, a thorn in the side of the county government (hopefully one day in the side of the number 10), and a human rights defender. It's a tough and thankless job, but someone's got to keep them accountable."
"Not to mention, she works pro bono on too many cases because she can't say no and so barely makes any money," Kitty laughed.
"Luckily, that isn't the driving force in my life," Lizzy said dryly.
G was stunned, her family had more money than most people could dream about. Both her father and her brother had been profit oriented but fair business men and good people in her understanding. Her Fitzwilliam relatives cared mostly about rank and wealth. Richard was a bit different from the rest and wanted more from his life than money. Ultimately, the people in her life till now, her 'husband' included based all their decisions on what would make them the most money. These sisters were different, they had something that she'd only seen from her brother, and that too somewhat rarely, since their parents had died. True affection and fondness for each other, it was unconditional in a way that Wills' love didn't seem to be. They were genuinely good people these three sisters. She idly wondered if the other sisters were similar. Maybe, just maybe these sisters would give her a place in their lives and help her if Wickham found her.
Breakfast ended abruptly when Lizzy got a message alerting her to call her chambers. She was told of an emergency and kissed her sisters, telling them she would see them here around 7 pm to finish this conversation. Mary seemed to accept the affection even if she was a little disgruntled.
G watched her leave as in a rush just like when she came in and smiled. She stayed and talked with Kitty until she went to the café for her shift and to look over Longbourne's accounts.
Mary then told her matter of factly, "you should know what your duties might look like as caretaker. I have time now, let me show you some of the work today and some tomorrow?"
G nodded. They started at the vegetable garden, Mary told her that they liked to grow a lot of their own produce during the summer, she was to wash the produce and store it in the fridge. She would head up the main gardening responsibility. A janitorial staff came in twice a week for cleaning common spaces or when someone left but otherwise it was the responsibility of the resident to clean up their rooms and after themselves. Rarely would people leave a dirty room when they left because people were grateful to Second Chances and wanted to do their bit. There was a quiet dignity in the sort of way Second Chances treated people as adults and expected them to behave as such. It was a good system. Second Chances functioned as two things simultaneously, there was the resident side of it the house where she would live with other residents and the office, main room, etc. Residents would sign up for one month and could extend their stay as needed. And there was the community centre like side of it with classes, events, job fairs etc. Normally held in the large hall to the side of the main house. G 's main responsibility would be to help find jobs by calling businesses, setting up interviews, and coordinating sign-ups for the classes, events, and programs that would be run in the main event space accessible to the public. Mary and her would work as a team on both fronts making sure things went off smoothly. Today she was only being shown the responsibilities in the house side of things. By the end of the tour, G was in awe of everything Second Chances did.
She also learnt more about Mary during this conversation. More so because a large pregnant lady toddled towards them a little later in the day.
"Maria, you're supposed to be resting, love."
"Nonsense, darling, you worry too much. I need to waddle else my feet will become sore. And I only walked a few houses down as you well know! Don't make me tell Lizzy you're treating me as if we live in the 19th Century where pregnant ladies weren't supposed to be out and about."
A dark look passed over Mary and she demurred. They both kissed each other chastely. G smiled at both of them.
Maria said, "I wanted to see the young lady who was causing all the stir here." Maria smiled kindly at G.
Mary raised her eyebrows, "who told you, I didn't want to excite you."
Maria laughed, "you're so silly. Kitty told me all about her a few hours ago on the phone."
G sat with them for a short while getting to know Maria, and also the two of them as a couple. They seemed very much in love. Mary was a worrier and Maria was jovial despite what must be a lot of hormones and all the other challenges of being quite pregnant.
She went upstairs to her room later after what seemed like a long day, though it was barely the evening. Maria had given her a gift. It was so kind that the gesture had brought tears to her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she received a gift from anyone. It was a journal. Maria said that she kept a journal since almost the day that she came to Second Chances and that recording her journey during her second chance had been the best thing she did. She said that she hoped it brought G luck. G smiled through the tear drops realizing that in chancing upon Kitty Bennet she already had been very fortunate. It wasn't the journal that was the good luck but the Bennets themselves. She wanted to write in this journal. However, fleeting this freedom might be for her, she wanted to record it and keep it forever so she could read it again and again when Wickham found her again.
G knew that Lizzy was coming back at night. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be there or not. Why would she come back so late and why were they all meeting here instead of one of their houses if it was private. G went down to make herself a sandwich. She found herself in conversation with Preeti who was telling her rapidly about how she came to be at Second Chances and her stay there; how amazing Mary was to help her find this job; how excited she was to start getting back on her feet. As a young girl with so much of her life to look forward to she was optimistic, and it was hard not to be affected by the exuberance. Before she left, she gave G the number to the Erikson's house where she'd be moving tomorrow if G ever wanted to talk. She told G, "I don't have many friends here since my family disowned me. Maybe we could be friends." G smiled and kept the scrap of paper with the number.
Kitty and Mary came by, waiting for Lizzy. When Lizzy came in, she made a sandwich, and they started video chatting with someone. It was their sister Jane. They didn't ask her to leave but feeling awkward at overhearing a conversation she had no business too, Lizzy called her over gesturing with her hands.
Lizzy introduced her, "Janie, I'd like you to meet a possible new caretaker that Mary has offered the job to at Second Chances. This is G."
She blushed shyly but spoke a few sentences to Jane and then went out to start making some tea, maybe the sisters would want some too. She wanted to be helpful.
Lizzy asked Mary about G who responded, "she seems to be settling in. You know what I think. Perhaps Kitty and I will head out. You stay and chat?"
Lizzy nodded while the others left and started rinsing her now empty plate and G entered the room noticing that the others had left. "Can I offer you a cup of tea? I didn't know Kitty and Mary left. But you're so busy, you probably have to go, don't you?" She asked as if almost afraid of the answer.
Lizzy smiled gently trying to reassure her. "Not at all. I would love a cuppa and to sit a moment without worrying about all the other things going on. Sit with me?" she asked gently.
G sat in response and poured out a cup for herself and saw that Lizzy took hers the same way, a spot of milk no sugar. "I hope you didn't mind me putting you on the spot there with Janie. We all miss her, this way all of us can talk at the same time. She and her husband are due home in a month from their extended honeymoon." Lizzy said.
G smiled, "I understand, I miss my brother." A look of insecurity passed across her face, unsure if she should have revealed that given who her brother is. So, she quickly added, "don't mind me. I didn't really mean that."
Lizzy smiled in understanding, "you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. But if you want to tell me I can listen."
G looked at her and earnestly said, "thank you, Lizzy. That's very kind."
"Nonsense, dear. We're all here to help. And I promise we will do our very best to help you. It might be a good idea to share. As they say, a burden shared is a burden halved. Whenever I say that I always wonder who 'they' are. Anyway, I suppose that's unimportant! What is important though is that none of us will push you." After all she thought, we don't want to scare her away by demanding anything do we?
G wasn't sure what to say and so she said nothing. She felt like Lizzy was the kind of person who was always thinking. So much like Wills. She wondered what would happen if they ever met.
Lizzy then just started telling her about a trial she was about to start hoping that the opposing side would settle. She was representing an employee against his employer she was helping him sue for worker's compensation for an injury at a factory and hopefully they would be able to not just win but also recover legal costs from the factory so that she could be paid. She simply told her it was difficult but that she enjoyed the challenge. And helping people was why she went to law school. She'd worked at a corporate law firm for a few years having been disillusioned with the law as a vehicle to help anyone but powerful corporations. Eventually she felt like she'd started feeling selfish and greedy in that life and everything with Lydia encouraged her to start doing human rights work. Though she didn't say much more about Lydia, who g guessed was the 'L' referred to in the sign on the lawn. Lizzy said that she loved it, the feeling of helping people even if she got very little in return. She didn't do it for glamour or credit, just to be able to do good around her. She said it did take an emotional toll on her, but she enjoyed it because the benefits outweighed the cost.
Through this long meandering one-sided conversation, Lizzy disarmed G enough that afterwards she asked G a question and G replied honestly. Lizzy had a way of putting people at ease. She normally told them about something she was working on and a little about her law career to put them at ease. She asked G, if she ever had to change paths in life like that, a vague but deep question phrased like that would normally prompt people to open up about something. G responded in a stilted fashion, and Lizzy knew she was telling the truth. "I was supposed to go to Cambridge… to study political science and philosophy. I wanted to study piano after that… But I veered off course…. things happened" she gulped, "and I ended up not going."
Lizzy smiled, "would you want to go there now?"
G responded, no one asked her such questions. It was nice to talk to someone who was an adult who took her seriously, "maybe, maybe not. I'm not really sure. Maybe I have another path in life." She said looking around the room with something like fondness and trepidation.
Lizzy squeezed her forearm softly. She saw that Mary was right, G would open up to her and Lizzy would be able to find some way to help this girl. She saw in her eyes that G had had to deal with more than anyone should've had to. She simply rose washing out her teacup and said, "thanks for the tea. Would you mind if I came for tea again sometime tomorrow?"
G shook her head. She wouldn't mind and it's not as if she had to ask permission to stop by. It was kind of her to ask. Choices, Second Chances gave you the ability to make your own choices. It was a wondrous heady feeling and G fell asleep with a smile on her face after recounting the eventful day in her journal that she kept by her bed.
The next morning Mary went over some of the main tasks that G would have to undertake in the community centre side of things. Some of them were complicated. At the end of the tour of the centre as well as discussions with some of the regular instructors Mary and G sat down to chat. Mary handed her a book that had the gist of her tasks and responsibilities listed in bullet form. "If you're unsure this book will likely give you an answer, if not ask me. Though I trust you to make decisions as you see fit. I'm not one for micromanaging. We'll have meetings every day to start with so that we both know everything that's going on. Like I said, boarding and lodging are free with the job. Apart from that I can pay you –pounds a week. I know it's not a lot but I hope it works for you. At least to begin with."
G was stupefied, "how can you just trust me with all this. What if I'm terrible at it. How about I work for free for some time and then after a trial period you start paying me?"
Mary realized what her words revealed, unsure if G did, "does that mean you'll stay?"
G just nodded, surprised she was doing this.
Mary smiled, "you have a deal." She knew Lizzy would never let her get away with not paying G. She decided that she would hold the first month's salary for G separately and give it to her sometime in the future.
This is the first chapter introducing Lizzy, tell me what you thought!
I hope you're enjoying it, reviews always welcome 3 Your comments can help immensely and so please do let me know what you think