An Unexpected Win
I have neglected to thank my beta-reader for all her help on this story, though all mistakes are still my own.
Previously:
Knowing Paul would give her no answers and, knowing she must focus on her new duties as mistress of the house, seeing as how his wife was dead, got ready for supper. Her own thoughts were...Paul needed to remarry to a woman better suited to him than the first. As to herself, her sons, young as they may be, were grown as far as society was concerned. They answered to no one but the king. Therefore, with her husband dead—and living under Paul's home—and having made a promise to her mother in front of a priest, though not a practicing Catholic herself, Jennifer was bound to obey her brother.
Conversation in Mary's Parlor
Ch. 5
Any reply letter to Paul, or wondering about his relation, was nowhere near Thomas's mind as he was visiting Mary and her husband, Jonathon Philips...a distant cousin to her uncle and aunt. The day was one of the warmer days towards the end of January and they were sitting in the parlor above the store Jonathon owned. The parlor, though modestly furnished, exuded a cozy charm. An assortment of well-worn armchairs and a settee were arranged around a low wooden table, on top of that particular piece of furniture sat a vase filled with dried flowers and pinecones, adding a rustic touch. The walls were lined with shelves that held a collection of well-loved books, and the soft glow of a few oil lamps gave the room a warm atmosphere. The creaking of the wooden floor added a homely touch to the otherwise quiet room.
"Come to visit the poor relations?" Jonathan quipped as he opened the door. "Might want to be careful, people might start to look their noses down at you."
"I think my ego will survive." Thomas laughed. "If not, I will just have to invite some of my best friends over and we can support each other over our bruised egos."
The talk turned to the invitation Thomas had received, for it had been a long time since Mr. Bennet had taken any kind of vacation. In fact, it had been so long people were shocked Mr. Bennet had even accepted the invitation to go. Some insisted Thomas would simply back out.
"My customers are taking bets on you actually not going to Cornwall."
"Well, they would win, my good boy, I am not going to Cornwall. The Kingsley live outside of that place."
"Very funny. You are still going to visit your friend."
"Yes, but—since Mr. Hurst helped me find an excellent estate manager—one who has turned Longbourn around more than I thought possible, I am going up to London first, and then will head down to the Kingsley estate. I wrote that in my letter to Paul Kingsley. I explained, I had family obligations to fulfill first and then I would be on my way."
Mr. Bennet grinned as Nathan, Jonathon and Mary's young son, walked over and climbed up on his lap, just as Kent had done. "Years ago, no child came near me." Thomas bounced the small child on his knee. "I understand why, do not blame them; however, it feels great to have that fact changed."
"And if it were a girl?" Mary slipped and her face quickly reddened as she saw the shocked look on Jonathon's face, "Sorry, did not mean to say that; I know the answer. Therefore, it is a stupid question."
Thomas could have, like many men of his generation, ignored the question, reprimanded her for it, or anything along those lines. However, he did not. No, instead—knowing where his third daughter was coming from—Mr. Bennet spoke slowly. "Mary, for as wrong as I have been throughout my life—I would not change a thing, as strange as that may sound. However, I will openly admit, I would have been wiser to wake up to a few things sooner. And as to holding a girl now as I do Jonathon or Kent; I would pay attention the best I know how. I hope that would be good enough. If not, I have no clue what to tell you."
"I understand, really, I do."
Thomas put little Nathan down and stood up. "I must beg your pardon; I need to go visit your mother's grave."
Neither Mary, nor her husband, stopped Mr. Bennet from leaving. It was not until the door closed did Jonathan begin to speak. "Your father has been acting odd of late. Has he said anything to you? Does this trip hold more than Mr. Bennet is saying?"
"My father has spoken no word to me when I have gone visiting him." Mary went and took small objects from her son. "As to the way he has been acting, my father is no more reserved around me than he was growing up. Yes, he opened up in the past few years of mother's life, but -with her gone- it appears he has stepped back again...am I to find that odd? Perhaps it is simply an adjustment of being alone."
Mary's thoughts were understandable, especially as she was not privy to Paul's letters. And therefore, her response was to be expected.
"It is more than that; James mentioned him getting a letter from an old friend. Told me when it came in. It is then your father began acting strangely."
"If he is not telling us anything, there is nothing we can do about it."
Jonathon may have been discussing Thomas, and other things, but Mr. Bennet was standing by his wife's grave. Barren trees looking more like guards needing their uniforms back than anything else, a sturdy iron fence surrounding the trees and graves. They helped the trees protect Thomas while he talked, sensing Larissa was very well aware of what he was saying.
"I am heading up to London soon. Edward housed a young army drummer. Says the boy is the son of Paul's sister. Insisted the boy had planned to see his mother and had something he wished for her to have. Guess his unit got stationed in a different place than expected though, poor boy could not give it to her himself. So, since all our children are married and I under no time constraint, I consented to make trip up to your brother's."
Coaches' wheels could be heard rolling by and a few men, even women, could be seen waving to Mr. Bennet. The gentleman politely waved back and then went back to speaking to his wife's grave.
"All of that I am handling just fine, even Paul's invite visiting as two old friends. I have sent a reply and told him I will come, and when I will be arriving. And, yet, Larissa, James feels -as I do- Paul's letter contains an undercurrent, a sense, of more going on than what is being spelled out. Our old friend has invited another, I am sure it is no secret to others, but to me he wrote no name. Only that he hoped I would be the one to arrive first."
A group of young girls walked by and Mr. Bennet fell quiet not wishing for them to overhear him. It was only when they had passed did he speak again.
"In spite of only being in my late forties. I simply am getting too old for games." Thomas shook his head. "Yes, I said games, Larissa. If I did not feel a pull to go so strongly, I would write to Paul and demand answers to whatever game he is playing and tell him I was not budging until he spit answers out."