Lydia sighed.“I am not magnanimous.I was horrid to Mary last night when we were getting ready for bed.I told her Collins was a disgusting toad and that she would be better off as an old maid than married to him.”
“You didn’t!”said Kitty.
Lydia hung her head.“I did.She nearly cried.And instead of being kind, I told her she would spend her entire life crying if she married Collins, and she ought to put him off while she could.”
Kitty slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Oh, Lydia,” said Elizabeth.“Is Mary all right?”
“She seemed well enough at breakfast, but it is Mary.She is impossible to understand!”
Elizabeth rubbed Lydia’s arm.“Did you apologize?”
“Yes.She said it was her Christian duty to forgive me, but that doesn’t mean she has done it, does it?Anyhow, I know I did the wrong thing because my favorite flower was missing this morning.”
“What?”
Lydia stood and raised her skirt, showing them the bottom of her mark.Where there had been a vibrant red flower over her hip, there was now a faded pink outline.Elizabeth and Kitty sat back in shock.
Lydia looked at them solemnly.“I know.It is wretched.After I saw it, I apologized again to Mary and promised I would help her along however I could if this was what she truly wanted.Then I came up here to improve my mind and try to get it back.”She gestured to the book beside her.
Elizabeth did not know what to say.Lydia’s mark had always been unusual.She had never heard of a mark behaving in such a way, but it was yet more proof that the Bennet sisters were out of the ordinary.At least the mark was encouraging Lydia toward good behavior.She did not want to think how wild her sister would have been without its influence.
“Are you going to hide out here all day?”asked Kitty.
“Probably.Mama does not want Collins to spend any time with the rest of us until he has decided on Mary.”
“You were right, Lizzy!”cried Kitty.
Elizabeth huffed.“We cannot stay up here for days at a time.How long is he staying?”
“For the week,” answered Lydia.
“This is ridiculous.Surely Mr.Collins knows the rest of us are marked.Even if we were not, Jane has Mr.Bingley and Lydia is too young to consider marriage.”
“That leaves you and me,” said Kitty, her eyes wide with horror.
“You are too young as well.And I would never marry a ridiculous man.I could never take him seriously,” argued Elizabeth.
“Mama seems set on Mary for Mr.Collins.It is a good match in some ways.He is respectable, I suppose, and he has a good living now.She will live moderately well.And then one day she will have Longbourn.”Lydia made good points, but it was clear they tasted like ash as they came out of her mouth.
Elizabeth stifled her urge to laugh at her sister’s expression and stood to leave the room.“I will go and greet papa.I shall pray for your mark, Lyddie.”
Lydia stuck her tongue out at her elder sister as she was walking away, then sucked it back in when Kitty tutted at her.
“You will never get your flower back with that attitude,” scolded Kitty.
Lydia crossed her arms and scowled.At least Kitty had the grace to restrain her laughter.
Mr.Bennet smiled when Elizabeth entered his bookroom.“How was your sojourn at Netherfield, my dear?Have you come back engaged like your sister?Jane has told me all about her plans with Mr.Bingley.And now Collins is sniffing around Mary.If he follows through, I will lose two of my girls in the same month.”
Elizabeth looked at him guiltily.“Three of your girls, papa.”
“What?”
“While I was at Netherfield, I made a discovery.”She took a deep breath.“Mr.Darcy is my soulmate.”
Mr.Bennet stared at his daughter with a blank expression.
