“I know.” Elizabeth said. Lydia’s eyes flashed.
“No, Lizzie, you donotknow. How can you know? Were you there? You disobeyed; Jane disobeyed. Now mama is making sure that we will not follow in your footsteps. We are not even allowed to walk into town without her.”
“She made no such attempt with me.” Mary interjected, “She does not care where I go, as long as I do not go toofar.I am to be her companion. I am the one she calls upon to bring her salts, even when the servants are right beside her. I must fetch hercompresses and her slippers. And it is I who she sends to tend to father when he…”
Mary fell abruptly silent. The sisters all shared an uneasy look. Their father’s ailment was something they had never dared to name, although they were all deeply afraid of it. If they had not known what his symptoms meant, their mother’s staggering transformation spelled it out clearly.
“The attacks are more frequent, now.” Mary whispered, “He cannot move one of his hands at all. He slurs when he speaks and his smile looks… well, he rarely smiles, but I have never thought that a blessing until recently. It takes him longer each time to recover. We rarely see him outside of his study.”
“I miss him.” Kitty piped up sadly.
“He is the only one who can keep mama in check!” Lydia cried.
“Yes, but…” Kitty looked down at her feet, her voice almost inaudible, “I misshim.”
There was an awkward, foot-shuffling silence. The sound of male voices broke through it. Five ladies looked up to see the gentlemen climbing down the steps towards them.
Elizabeth was grateful for the distraction. While her younger sisters curtseyed and were introduced to the master of the house, she idly studied their reactions. Was it pride to want to see what her sisters thought of her husband?
Lydia stepped forward first, as always. She looked boldly up at the large, rather imposing Mr. Darcy and then faltered. She could not summon her usual mischievous grin, only mumbled something polite and stepped back.
Kitty was just as cowed but greeted her brother-in-law more fluently than Lydia. She had adopted a gentle manner whichsuited her very well. She must have copied it from Jane. When she used it, she seemed much less girlish than she used to be, and the sweetness in her nature shone through. Darcy spoke more softly to her than he had with Lydia, although he did glance curiously at his wife. She had described Catherine as an energetic mirror to the younger girl, but this wide-eyed child reminded him much more of Georgiana.
Darcy’s gentleness amazed Kitty. Like all of Meryton, she knew Mr. Darcy as a serious, forbidding man. His penchant for drink might have made a lesser man ridiculous, but it only served to make Darcy more intimidating.
The letters that Elizabeth had sent to Jane had nothing to add. Knowing that Mrs. Bennet would intercept them, Lizzie only communicated the bare minimum. Jane reduced it even further: Elizabeth was in good health.
That could mean any number of things!
The example of Mr. Collins had taught Kitty that men could hide cruelty under any number of false virtues. Likewise, her mother demonstrated how the bonds of family did not protect the innocent from abuse. Love was no defence. One’s protectors were just as likely to hurt you as the bullies themselves.
Elizabeth had not loved the man she married, and Kitty doubted that he cared for her. She knew not the intricacies of their engagement, only that it was somehowarrangedinstead ofdesired.Jane had not explained any more than that. Kitty was deeply afraid that Elizabeth had left the frying pan and leapt straight into the fire.
So, what wasthis?Kitty remembered Mr. Darcy as a drunkard, with sallow skin, deep-set eyes and a surly manner. He never sounded amiable, even when he recited his wedding vows. Now,he was different. So different, in fact, that Kitty’s concern for her sister turned into envy. Mr. Darcy was polite, courteous andhandsome.Staggeringly handsome, in fact! Kitty blushed when he said her name and did not dare look up.
That left Mary.
Marydidlook up. She spoke clearly, confidently and in the businesslike manner of a man’s equal. It was she who thanked Mr. Darcy for his hospitality and made the expected compliments about the roads and the horses. He replied in turn, with impeccable politeness, and then he began to introduce the ladies to his good friend, Mr. Bingley.
There was a light in Mary’s eye that told Elizabeth that, despite her apparent serenity, she was just as relieved to be here as the others - including Jane!
But was that really surprising? Jane was afraid of being tired to an abhorrent man. Mary’s fate was just as bleak: to be condemned to a life where she would always have to rely on another woman’s whims and charity. Spinsters were not celebrated for their sacrifice, only pitied for their withering youth. All of that awaited Mary, to serve a mother who barely even spoke to her. Mrs. Bennet had neverenjoyedMary’s company, but now shedemandedit.
What a family they had become!
Chapter 48
A striking detail of Lydia Bennet’s personality was that she refused to be intimidated by anyone. Or, at least, by anyone that she did not deem worthy of her respect.
Miss Caroline Bingley certainly did not qualify.
Having ascertained that Miss Bingley’s clothes were the only enviable thing about her, Lydia devoted her first evening in Pemberley to unmasking the pompous miss. She relished the challenge and had no qualms turning her ‘better’ into a plaything.
In fact, she was prepared to launch into a full-scale vendetta.
Lydia had seen the way Miss Bingley had looked at Lizzie and heard the insults she threw at Kitty the second they were introduced. Why did everyone smile and change the subject? Why were they pretending they could not hear the double-meanings and the snide implications that dripped from that witch’s tongue? She was rude - shockingly, abominably rude - and Lydia could see that nobody else was going to punish her for it.
Miss Bingley’s eyes were like liquid oil as she lazily regarded the Bennet sisters. They were still in their travelling dresses,as Elizabeth had told them that formality could wait until tomorrow, when they were rested and settled into their rooms.
