Chapter Five: Life at Longbourn

After what seemed to be hours of deliberation, Elizabeth Bennet opened the door of the room she was staying in Netherfield and looked at Jane. "Jane, was it?"

"Yes."

"Well, Jane, I apologize for causing you pain. I understand how you all must feel, to have someone from you own kin reject you … well, I can understand that it can be hard on you."

She paused for a while. She did understand this feeling; she was rejected by her own parents. She continued. "It is not my wish to inflict further pain on you. I can see that you all care for me. Only an idiot would discard the love you are offering me. Therefore, even if I do not recognize you, I decided to give this connection a chance. Maybe, I will come to love you as the person I am today, even if I do not know the feelings I had towards you, before last night."

Well, she was telling the truth in this. She wanted to get to know what it is like to live within a family, and she truly wished that she would come to love them eventually.

Jane hurried to embrace her sister. After a long and tender embrace, she took a step back. "Oh, Lizzy, you have no idea how happy you made me. The rest of the family would be ecstatic to hear it. Thank you for trusting us, siter. You will never regret it."

I hope you will never regret it, Elizabeth thought. But she did not say anything.

The Bennet parents, the Bingleys, the Hursts, and Darcy were all in the parlor when Jane came and told them of Elizabeth's decision.

Mr. Bennet looked ecstatic, and he let out a deep sigh of relief. "My smart girl! Even after losing her memory, she retains her intelligence!"

Jane looked at him kindly. "She will be here shortly Papa. I gave her the clothes you brought from Longbourn. She will change and come here shortly."

Mrs. Bennet's eyes widened. "You left her alone Jane? But what if she gets lost?"

Jane shook her head reassuringly. "Do not worry Mama. Miss Bingley has assigned a maid to assist Lizzy. I simply could not wait to give you the happy news."

"Yes, yes, thank you child. It must be your kindness that softened her towards us. Oh, my Jane, how kind and good you are. Isn't that right Mr. Bingley? And Miss Bingley, thank you for thinking about Elizabeth's best interests. You all have been so kind to her and to us. How can we ever repay you?"

Before anyone could say anything, Mr. Bennet chimed in. "Yes, please. Allow me to extend you a dinner invitation at Longbourn. We witnessed your noble sympathetic feelings towards my daughter, and I would like the opportunity to express my gratitude. Please be so kind as to accept our humble invitation."

Mr. Bingley smiled at them, and his genuine smile was reflected in his kind eyes. "Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, there is no need to thank me, or us. Any sensible human would do the same. If it is your wish however, we would gladly accept your invitation. On the meantime, please accept my sincerest wishes for you daughter's health."

Elizabeth was helped into the carriage by her father. They have said their goodbyes and best wishes for the Netherfield occupants, and took the direction of Longbourn. Elizabeth was silent during the trip.

First, she came to realize how suffocating were the clothes she was wearing. She wanted to tear them to pieces and to throw them from the carriage. It took everything within her willpower not to do that. If she were to live with this people, she will have to abide by their rules. Maybe with time, she will adapt to wearing different layers of garments.

The second reason was because she was awed by the scenery around her. The landscapes were captivating, to say the least. There were no tall buildings obscuring her vision. The green lands just extended to the edge of the horizons, with minor mansions here and there. She was raised in a big city, and then she moved to a big city. All she ever knew of the world were tall buildings, endless shops, and crowded streets.

She used to seek solace in parks before. But these parks could never compete with what she was witnessing. Calmness surrounded them. She could hear the sounds of birds circling the sky jovially. The sun seemed to shine more brightly here. Her family did not want to disrupt her reverie. They just left her to her musings.

Not long after, they arrived at Longbourn. Elizabeth was astonished with the house. It was not as opulent as Netherfield. Its simplicity screamed echoes of coziness. This feels home-y, she thought. The architecture was also brilliant and unique. Before she was finished with her observations, she was greeted and introduced to her other sisters: Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. She was also introduced to the household staff who welcomed her warmly.

She was led into her room by Jane. She took a second to admire the authenticity of everything. It was so different from what she used to own. In the 21st century, individuality and authenticity seemed to blur, as everyone seemed to own the same things. It was an age marked by mass production and mass consumption of popular trends. The era was defined by the uniformity of trends and consumer culture. People competed to be among the first to obtain the trendy products that were replicated endlessly.

In this room however, her "belongings" breathed a different meaning to the concept of ownership, adding a sense of personal significance to it. Oh, yes, I will love it here.

The days passed at Longbourn were nothing but blissful to Elizabeth Bennet. On her first day, her family did not want to bother her much, and they left her to wonder and to explore the corners of the house, as well as its gardens, and backyard. Then, a doctor came by to examine her wound, and asked her some questions. He reassured the Bennets that their daughter suffered only from memory loss, and no further harm has attained her mind.

She spent the next days with her sisters, each one telling her stories of their childhood, and bringing her books and other objects that they claimed that she loved or admired. After a week of her stay at Longbourn, the occupants of Netherfield paid them a visit. They inquired after her health and dined with them. The tall handsome man was not among them, as he sent his apologies for being too preoccupied with answering urgent letters from his estate.

She noticed that Jane and a certain Mr. Bingley seemed to exchange glances that transpired feelings that go beyond neighborly respect, or even friendly affections. By the end of the night, his sisters issued an invitation to luncheon at Netherfield for her sister Jane. She noticed with pleasure that Jane was pleased to receive the invitation, as was Mrs. Bennet as well. As the days went by, she was also introduced to their neighbors, the Lucases, and to their relatives the Philips. Charlotte Lucas told her that they share a deep bond of friendship, and she asked her whether she would want to resume being friends. Elizabeth accepted of course, as the lady seemed extremely kind as well as funny.

Overall, life seemed fine. Her newfound joy was sometimes interrupted by pangs of guilt emanating from having to lie to these people. But she would hastily dismiss such feelings. As days went by, she somehow managed to convince herself that she was indeed Elizabeth Bennet. Her previous empty shell of a life did not matter. There was nothing to remember of it anyway.

The early morning light crept through the heavy curtains of Jane and Elizabeth's room at Longbourn, casting soft, golden hues across the room. Lizzy stirred from her slumber as she noticed movements in the room. She turned to see Jane sitting by the hairdresser, examining her accessories. "Jane, what are you doing so early in the morning?"

"Lizzy, I apologize for interrupting your peace. Please, go back to sleep, I will go to another room."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Oh, no, there is no need. I was just curious as to why you woke up so early."

Jane smiled fondly. Her angelic smile was a balm to Elizabeth's disorientation. "Lizzy, have you forgotten? I will go to Netherfield today to answer the invitation of Miss Binley and Mrs. Hurst. I cannot contain my excitement any longer."

"Guurl slay."

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing. Um. I am happy that you are happy of course. Will you tell me what is the story of you and Mr. Bingley?"

Jane turned into a shade of crimson. "There is no story Lizzy."

"Oh, come on. Maybe I do not possess the knowledge of the events that transpired between you two before, but I can trust my intuition that there is some kind of a mutual regard between you." There. My language now seems more appropriate to this era, mused Elizabeth.

"Do you really think so, Lizzy?"

Elizabeth nodded with enthusiasm. "I am certain of it. Now, come. Tell me everything."

"Well, if you insist sister. Well, Mr. Bingley is not originally from here."

"I know that."

A flicker of hope spiraled across Jane's angelic features. "You do? How? Do you remember Lizzy?"

Elizabeth's gaze dropped in embarrassment. "No, the tall man told me."

"The tall man?"

"The one who saw my fall, and helped me inside Netherfied."

"Mr. Darcy! He told you this?"

"Yes, I asked him to tell me about Hertfordshire, but he told me that he is as new to it as I am."

"Oh, yes, he would not know. He recently came here, and he still did not make friends, I think."

"He told me that Mr. Bingley recently leased Netherfield to spend some time in the country, and he came here to accompany him."

"That is correct Lizzy. When Mr. Bingley came here, he was quite the object of gossip in the county."

"And why is that?"

"Well, … It is because Netherfield has not been leased for ages. Everyone was curious on the identity of the person who let it at last. There is also the matter with … with his annual income."

"Like he is rich?"

"Well, yes … He is said to have 5000 pounds per annum."

Elizabeth nearly choked on her breath. "Per year?! How does that make him rich?"

"What do you mean Lizzy? That is indeed a very respectable income."

"Oh, do not mind me then. Please, continue." Even though she said that, it seemed wild to her that merely 5000 pounds per year make a person rich.

"Well, at first, I did not pay the gossip much attention, until I met him at the Meryton assembly that took place three weeks prior to … to your incident. We danced twice that night. Oh, Lizzy, he is the most amiable man of all of my acquaintances."

"Well, he does seem as nice and kind as you Jane, dear. I say that you will make a fine couple."

Jane turned into a darker shade of crimson. Elizabeth chuckled.

Jane regained her composure after a moment, and replied. "Lizzy, please, this is embarrassing. We still do not know each other that well. We cannot just assume that he feels the same towards me."

"We will see. You will see that I am not wrong about this. What happened next?"

"Well, during the Meryton Assembly, he announced to the neighborhood that he will host a ball at Netherfield, and he issued invitations to everyone. During that ball, we talked a little more, and we also danced. However, we were … occupied with other matters later."

"Ah, yes, sorry about that. It seems that my incident interrupted you."

"Lizzy, how can you say that while laughing? There is nothing in the world more important to me than your well-being."

Elizabeth stopped laughing. She sent Jane a warm smile, and inquired calmly. "So, today, you will see him again, and for the first time it is going to be away from balls and dining rooms full of relatives?"

"Well, no. I will see his sisters today."

"But surely, he will be there?"

"Unfortunately, no. He will be hunting with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Hurst today."

Jane explained to Elizabeth the family tree of Mr. Bingley, and their connection to Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. Then, she asked softly. "And are you happy about this? About not seeing him today?"

"I do not know Lizzy. But I shall be equally happy to form an acquaintance with his sisters."

"And are they also kind?"

"Yes, they are Lizzy."

"You seem to think that about everyone"

Jane laughed merrily at this.

Elizabeth sent her a quizzical look. "What is wrong?"

Jane smiled fondly. Her pupils darted to the upper left side of her eyes, as if she was pleased to remember something distant. Then, they settled back on Elizabeth. "Oh, nothing. It just seems that something you would say. After the Meryton assembly, you were vocally critical about them. You said that they seemed arrogant to you. When I told you that they have been nothing but kind, you told me the same thing you just said now. But you saw how attentive they were to you when you were injured at Netherfield."

"Well, I hope the old me is mistaken about this then for your sake dear Jane. Although, she seems very wise to me, as everyone keeps reminding me that I was highly intelligent."

"You are still very intelligent Lizzy."

"We will see about that. But right now, let us go back to sleep, we still have ample time until lunch. Do not overthink about how Mr. Bingley's sisters will receive you. I am sure that anyone will find you admirable, as I have."

Jane did not reply, but she smiled warmly. After a couple of minutes of silence, she climbed into the nicely embroidered bed. She was surprised then by what Elizabeth said next. "Say, Jane, do you think that Mr. Darcy is an amiable man?"

"Mr. Darcy?"

"Yes."

"We would not know Lizzy. We never really spoke to him before, save after your unfortunate fall that night. He is usually very reserved, and he does not speak much. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, simple curiosity."

Then what was that pain I felt twice when looking at him?