“What?!”
“Yes; oh, I would have been happy for you to come no matter what, and certainly Georgiana is delighted as well, but it was actually the Colonel who first made the suggestion.”
Mary was silent. Expressions of joy, hope and then sadness crossed her face in less than a minute. She opened her mouth to speak, but Elizabeth spoke first.
“First, you were happy, then you thought that something might actually come of this and were excited, and then you decided that he could not possibly want you and felt sad. Is that right?”
Mary stared at her sister. “Are you a witch of some sort, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth laughed. “No, but I have known you all your life, Mary! You have been beaten down by Lydia, Kitty, and Mama. Papa was certainly no help. As a result, you have formed a rather lowopinion of yourself. But it is not an accurate opinion, and that is the important point.”
“He is the son of an Earl!” Mary burst out.
“He is, yes,” Elizabeth answered, calmly. “And I am now married to a very wealthy man, as is Jane, so why might not you do equally well?”
Mary could make no answer, but she felt warm inside. It had been the Colonel’s idea! And now he was here visiting her! How had life gotten so wonderful?!
Chapter Seventy-Six
Mary!” Elizabeth knocked on Mary’s door.
“Come in!”
Elizabeth walked in and closed the door. “I am going to Gracechurch Street this afternoon, Mary,” she whispered.
“I will accompany you,” Mary whispered back. “But why are we whispering?”
“I am afraid the Countess will hear me!” Elizabeth laughed.
“Is she here?” Mary asked in alarm.
“No; I am just being silly.”
“She would not approve, would she?”
“I have already warned her that I would not snub my relatives, but I do not wish to poke a hornet’s nest. When can you be ready?”
“Just let me get my new coat. Oh, Aunt Madeleine will hardly recognise me, will she!”
No, Elizabeth thought, eyeing Mary carefully. ‘London’ Mary, with her fashionable clothing and her hair beautifully arranged bore little resemblance to ‘Longbourn’ Mary. “They have always thought you beautiful, Mary,” she replied, honestly.
***
If the coachman was surprised at being directed to take the new Mrs. Darcy and her sister to Gracechurch Street, he was far too well-trained to show it. Elizabeth gave him some coins and suggested that he find a nearby pub and get himself something to eat.
“Come for us in about an hour,” she said.
He thanked her politely, touched his hat respectfully, and drove off.
“Lizzy! Mary! Come in! Oh, heavens, let me look at the two of you! Oh, Mary, I scarce recognised you! And your hair does take a curl after all!”
Mrs. Gardiner let the little boys spend a quarter of an hour with their cousins and then had the nursery maid take them upstairs. “Now we may talk,” she said. “Tell me, Lizzy, how are you finding things?”
“Exhausting, if I am honest,” Elizabeth said. “Everyone wants to know everything about me, it seems. But I am so very dull, in truth, that everyone just keeps digging and digging, looking for something remarkable about me. I wonder if I should invent something scandalous in my past just to satisfy everyone!”
“No, I beg that you do not,” Mrs. Gardiner said, looking horrified. “Being dull is the best possible recommendation. Butit must be very tiring, indeed, to have to be so constantly on one’s guard.”
“I am weary of being stared at,” Elizabeth said, moodily. “I am weary of having my dresses inspected. I am weary of being disapproved of, for being reminded every day of my lack of connections and dowry.”
