Richard found Mary seated on her own, reading a book. “Mary, I hope I do not disturb your solitary reverie,” he stated. “May I sit down next to you here?” Richard indicated the armchair next to hers.
“You do disturb me, but that is not to say said disturbance is not welcomed,” Mary replied with an arched eyebrow. “Please sit.”
“I should hope it is; you and I have always been good friends in addition to cousins,” Richard declared as he seated himself. “Mary, I have a request of you.” She inclined her head for him to carry on. “At your coming out in November, I know you will dance the first with your father. May I be so bold, even months before the event, to reserve the supper and final sets?”
Mary felt a thrill at his request, but she fought hard to school her features, failing to stop a blush of joy. “Yes, Richard, I would be more than happy to grant you those sets,” she replied with pleasure.
Her response gave Richard a satisfied feeling of happiness. A month or so ago he had spoken to Becca and Bennet, who were aware of his attraction to Mary. His cousins had told him that if Mary agreed, they would be happy with Richard as her suitor; however, they had asked that Richard not make a formal declaration until after Twelfth Night. They had added that they would prefer Mary reach her nineteenth birthday before he made a proposal.
The family enjoyed time together until it was time to change for dinner.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Why have you leased an estate in some backwater of Hertfordshire and not near Pemberley like you should have?” Miss Bingley whinged when her brother broke the news that he had found an estate to begin his journey to join the landed gentry.
“Caroline, you can hardly call a place that is no more than twenty miles from London abackwater,” Bingley defended.“Was it not you who told me I needed to find an estate close to the entertainments you enjoy in Town?”
Caroline Bingley looked away. She hated it when her own words were used against her. “Did you inspect this Netherland Place on your own?” she sniffed.
“It is Netherfield Park, and no, I did not. Darcy joined me and he also approved of the place. Of course, if you want to tell him he is wrong, I can invite him to dinner soon…” Bingley grinned slyly.
“If Mr Darcy approved then of course it will do,” Miss Bingley backtracked. “Did you learn anything about the locals? Will we find any people of fashion and sophistication in the area? If not, it will be rather tedious.” She placed her arms akimbo. “No chasing some lowbornangelas you are wont to do. When you marry, you need to marry someone like dear Georgiana who has both fortune and connections. She must be a member of the first circles, so she will assist us…you in rising in society.”
“Other than the man who met us at the estate, Darcy and I did not meet any others, so I have nothing to report about the locals.” Darcy had told him there was no more of a chance he would be an acceptable husband for Darcy’s sister than Caroline was for himself. It was something Bingley knew deep down, but it was not anything he dared to tell Caroline. He did not need the ensuing tantrum. Especially as he would bear the brunt of her displeasure. He knew that it was a confrontation which would occur one day, but the longer he could defer the inevitable, the happier he was.
“Just remember what I said. I do not want to have to separate you from another inappropriate woman,” Miss Bingley commanded.
Bingley did not respond. It was so much easier for his younger sister to think he agreed with her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When he received the reply from his cousin, who he prayed would not be the master of Longbourn for much longer, William Collins was not surprised none of what his beneficent patroness had told him was contradicted by Mr Bennet.
It was only natural that Lady Catherine, who was an authority in all things, had had the right of it. He would make the visit to the small estate. Well, compared to the magnificent Rosings Park, it was small, but then all were. Collins was extremely excited to go report the results of her orders being followed to the great lady.
Before he rushed out of the door of his parsonage, Collins remembered to take his cousin’s deferential letter with him. Lady Catherine would, of course, as was her right, want to read his words for herself.
Collins could not wait to see his inheritance. He would increase the frequency of his prayers for God to take his cousin from the mortal world as soon as possible.
Chapter 14
Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale, was extremely frustrated at the lack of speed of the ship transporting him towards England and his beloved Jane. Here it was past Michaelmas, the final day of September 1811, and with the winds and seas they had encountered, the Captain estimated it would be three weeks to a month before they reached England’s welcoming shores.
Andrew intended to keep to his prior determination of stopping to see his parents at Matlock House first, but depending on the time, he would ride for Longbourn the same day, or at the very least, at first light the next morning.
His heart ached to see Jane again. He intended to propose to her as soon as he was in her company. How many times had he lamented his decision to take things slowly after her come out? He knew it was selfish from a certain point of view, but had he been married prior to being sent on the mission for his father, Jane would have been with him, and, God willing, they even now may have been returning with an expanded family.
Before he departed on his more than two-year odyssey, Andrew had been aware he loved Jane. Over the months and years of the separation, that love had become an ache in his heart that only Jane would be able to heal. He had not known that the depth of his love was without a bottom, deeper than the oceans he had crossed. That was no longer the case; he had no doubt just how much he loved her. Andrew was fully aware thathis heart was a shell of itself without his Jane and until she was with him, and accepted his hand in marriage, it would not be whole again. That organ belonged to Jane Bennet in its entirety, and she was the one who had the power to leave it missing a large part, or make it complete again.
As much as Andrew dreamed of faster methods of travel, this was the reality and there was nothing to do but hurry up and wait. Even though he wished they would arrive in England on the morrow…no, this very day, he was thankful for the fact that no matter how few knots of speed the ship was sailing at towards its destination, every minute of every hour brought him closer to his love.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The holder of Andrew’s heart was thinking about him and how much she missed him at the same time he was thinking of her. It was a cold September night as Jane sat in the window seat in her bedchamber with her coverlet wrapped tightly around her shoulders for warmth. There was little fire left in the grate, but it had burnt low already. Jane did not want to disturb a servant in the small hours of the morning to come build her fire up for her.
She looked up at the still black night sky, seeing the twinkling of some stars between the occasional dark clouds which floated across her field of vision. Jane wondered if Andrew was awake on the ship thinking about her just as she was thinking about him. If mayhap they were both looking at the same stars, that would make her feel much closer to his physical presence.
Andrew was always in her heart and consciousness. While she was awake, very few moments passed in which Jane did not think of him, and when she slept, he would always be there in her dreams to comfort her with his presence. She loved her dreams because for the hours she slept she was with herbeloved. She was sad when she woke up, and he was not there with her.
