Wednesday early morning, Meryton Inn, Hertfordshire, England
At first light, Elizabeth, Jane and Mary, with minimal luggage, left Longbourn and walked into Meryton.
Before reaching the post stop at the Meryton Inn, they stopped briefly for Elizabeth to push an envelope containing a letter and fifty pounds under the door of Mr Phillips' office in the main street.
The Meryton Inn was the busiest place in town at this hour. The Bennets noticed a handsome dark blue private carriage in the inn yard, undergoing repairs to a wheel.
The innkeeper spotted them as they arrived at the inn.
"Good morning, ladies. Are you for the Post?"
"Yes" said Elizabeth.
"I'm afraid it will be at least an hour late this morning. Come in." He took them to a small comfortable lounge overlooking the street. "The door out the back leads down the corridor to the ladies retiring room" he said as he departed.
"Thank you," said Jane.
The little lounge was already occupied by three well dressed ladies and their maid but there was plenty of room for more.
There was an exchange of greetings.
Elizabeth said, "Do you await the Post, too?"
"No, our carriage needed repairs to a wheel." said the elder lady.
"Oh" said Mary "That lovely dark blue carriage is yours?"
"Yes" replied the youngest of the ladies. "My father had it made for my mother…a long time ago" Her smile made Jane sense a deep sadness in the girl.
"Dark blue is unusual" she said with a smile "many carriages are just black."
"It was my mother's favourite colour" said the girl "I am told, for I never knew her…"
"That is so sad," said Elizabeth.
Mary said, "At least you have something that was special to her."
"That is true."
"We lost our father not so long ago" said Jane "He wasn't a perfect man by any means, but I don't think the sadness ever completely goes away."
"No, it doesn't" said the third lady "My mother passed, last year, it was so sudden, unexpected..."
"Yes" said Elizabeth "like our father. There one moment, then gone…completely. Everything changes…"
Their reminiscences were interrupted by the sound of a carriage approaching and slowing. It stopped out front of the lounge, black and imposing, a coat of arms obvious on its side. Several outriders brought their horses to a halt nearby.
The older lady stood. "It's a Fitzwilliam carriage, Anne" she said
"The Earl!" said Anne
"Or his sons," said the youngest lady
"Just as bad. What to do, Clara? Where's Simpson?"
"There's no time to find him," said Clara
"You wish to avoid this Earl?" asked Elizabeth
"At all costs" said Anne "He wants to marry my cousin and I to his sons. Repellent individuals. We haven't seen them in years, but I don't expect them to have changed."
"Out that door and down the corridor is the ladies' retirement room. Go, now. I hope there's a lock on the door."
The ladies moved, disappearing in a few seconds. On their way out the door, Anne asked the maid to wait in the corridor and listen.
Left alone in the lounge, the Bennets awaited developments. Seconds later, the outside door burst open and two young men entered the room.
The taller of the two briefly looked at them then said, "It's been a long time, cousins."
After a moment of surprise, Elizabeth responded, "We are not your cousins, sirs."
"Nonsense," said the shorter of the two "your carriage is in the yard."
Jane said, "It is not our carriage, we await the post."
"The post? Ridiculous. You will be coming with us."
"With you? Not likely." Jane and Mary could see Elizabeth winding up towards scathing.
One of the brothers said to Mary, "You, bring the luggage."
"That is our sister Mary, you total ignoramus. She is not a servant."
As Mary did not move, the Fitzwilliams moved to pick up the Bennets' bags.
The shorter one said: "I'm marrying Georgiana, John, you can have Anne."
The other said "Edmund, you know what Father said. Pemberley goes with the Earldom. You get Rosings. Let's get going. We need to get back to London."
As Elizabeth and Jane protested the taking of the bags, Mary happened to look out the window.
"Jane!" she whispered urgently, gesturing towards the window. "Lizzy! Look!" They looked. Getting closer by the moment was the Longbourn pony cart, driven by Mr Hill, with Collins beside him, gesticulating wildly.
Elizabeth gazed at Jane for long moment, asking a silent question. Jane nodded. Elizabeth looked at Mary, who also nodded. As one they rose, gathered up the rest of their luggage and followed the Fitzwilliams out to the coach.
As soon as the lounge was empty, the maid Tilly crept into the room from her listening post in the corridor and approached the front window. Tilly saw the first of the Bennet ladies getting into the carriage and the others still outside. Their luggage was being loaded.
Tilly also noticed a horse and cart approaching at a dangerous pace. Two men were in the cart, one driving and one seemingly gesticulating for more speed.
The cart came to a hard stop behind the carriage. The gesticulating man leapt out a little too fast, tripped and landed on his posterior in the street. The last Bennet boarded the carriage.
"My cousins! My betrothed! You are kidnapping my betrothed!" the man wailed from his position in the dust.
The Fitzwilliam brothers did not spare him a glance. They boarded, the door closed, a whip cracked, and the carriage took off towards London.
The mistaken identity, the kidnap and the flying cart were not as surprising to Tilly as the fact that she recognised the wailing man - William Collins, the former Vicar of Hunsford.