“Mama, Janey, and Mary, this is Anne de Bourgh. Anne my Mama, Mrs. Frances Bennet, my eldest sister, Jane, and the next younger after me, Mary.” Elizabeth looked around and did not see Kitty and Lydia. “Are Kitty and Lydia in the nursery?”
“Nurse took them up for their rest,” Jane informed her sister.
“Come, Lizzy, bring Anne with you to the drawing room, I think you have a story to relate to us,” Fanny stated as she began to shoo the girls into the house.
“Mama, may we please hear what happened?” Mary requested as soon as everyone was seated in the drawing room. She was an inquisitive girl and at the age of eight, patience wasnot one of her strongest virtues.
Elizabeth related the story much as she had to her father earlier. When she made light of her life-saving actions, Anne filled in the information. The latter had to take deep breaths if she spoke too much.
“Lizzy, I am very proud of you for being so resourceful,” Fanny praised. “You know it could have been very different had the horses objected to you being behind them when they were in a stressful situation, do you not?”
It was not to chastise her daughter Fanny pointed that out. She was giving voice to the worry she felt about what could have happened to her second daughter. And that was before considering if the tree had given way while Lizzy was on the side of the coach.
“Papa, Mr. de Bourgh, and their injured footman…” Elizabeth began to say before Anne tugged on her arm.
“Papa is not a…mister,” Anne told Elizabeth softly.
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “What is his correct form of address?”
“He is a baronet, so…he is addressed as Sir Lewis,” Anne shared.
“Our guests and Papa will be home soon,” Elizabeth completed her thought.
“Anne dear, I assume you had a trunk on the carriage,” Fanny enquired.
“Yes, Mrs. Bennet, I do…unless it is in the…bottom of the gully,” Anne related.
“With five girls in the house, if we need it, I am sure we will have some clothing for you until yours arrives, when and if your trunk is retrieved,” Fanny stated. “Would you like your own chamber, or would you and Lizzy like to share hers?”
“If you would like to share mine, I would welcome you to stay with me, Anne,” Elizabeth stated keenly.
“As long as it is not…a bother, I would…like to share…with Lizzy,” Anne replied.
“How old are you dear?” Fanny questioned. “Also, do you prefer to be addressed as Miss de Bourgh or Anne?”
“I much prefer Anne, unlike…” Anne stopped herself before she mentioned her mother, “I prefer informality.” She shared when she was born, so it was learnt Anne was just a sennight shy of two months older than Elizabeth.
For her part, Anne could not believe that not only had she met Lizzy, who was practically her own age, but there were two more girls she was getting to know who were within two years of her age. Then there was Mrs. Bennet who was everything Anne could wish for in a warm and loving maternal figure.
“Jane, Lizzy, and Mary, please show Anne up to Lizzy’s bedchamber. I am sure she would like to wash and change after her ordeal,” Fanny suggested. The four girls had not long departed the drawing room when Fanny heard the sounds of horses and the distinctive noises the large cart made.
Chapter 3
William Lucas was normally a very jovial and loquacious fellow. The exception was when he was called upon to discharge his duties as magistrate.
He and his wife Sarah—who was one of Fanny Bennet’s best friends—lived in a nice sized house in Meryton right next to Hattie and Frank Philips’ house and the latter’s law practice. Lucas owned the general store in Meryton, the Lucas Emporium, the book store, and the milliners.
Sarah and William Lucas had been blessed with four children so far. The eldest, Franklin, was eighteen and would begin his studies at Oxford in September upcoming. Lucas was determined his boys would be provided a gentleman’s education. The next eldest was Charlotte, who had just turned sixteen. Even though she was four years Jane’s, and six years Elizabeth’s senior, she was a very good friend to both of them.
The second Lucas son was John, called Johnny, who was thirteen. Like his older brother, rather than be sent to Eton or Harrow, Johnny was educated at home by tutors. The babe of the family, Maria, was but six. Just when the Lucases had thought their family was complete, Maria had arrived seven years after her next older sibling.
Kitty, who was about a year older than Maria, and Lydia, a little younger, spent much time with the youngest Lucas.
Bennet invited Lucas and his brother, Frank Philips to sit in chairs opposite from his guest. Mr. Jones had authorised Sir Lewis to come downstairs to sit as long as he felt no lightheadedness and he did not exert himself. The men were sitting in the parlour opposite the main drawing room at Longbourn.
After the introductions had been affected and Sir Lewis related what he remembered up to the point he awoke while Lizzy rode for help, Lucas asked the baronet if he was up to being questioned. Sir Lewis had nodded his agreement.
“The sabotage could not have happened too long before the axle broke,” Lucas reasoned. “If it had, the accident would have occurred long before you were in our neighbourhood.”
