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“He rode into Meryton.”
It took Mary several moments to discern what Elizabeth was worried about, when it came to her she gasped.
“He left his horse in Meryton and escorted you home?”
Elizabeth nodded her head.
“That is.”
Mary stopped, knowing she could append several words to the end of that short sentence.
“Bold, unexpected, either welcome or unwelcome depending on how you feel, which I guess is the reason for this conversation.”
Another nod and Elizabeth took over the conversation.
“When you think of the word bold it can have so many connotations. You are right Mary, it is bold, it could be seen as daring or courageous, and I will come back to my susceptibility to that in a moment. It also could be seen as impetuous or thoughtless, especially given my words to Mr. Darcy just mere weeks ago.”
Mary waited but eventually asked since Elizabeth appeared deep in thought.
“Daring? Courageous?”
“Yet another impact of Sir David entering our lives. I saw how he courted Jane, how he wooed her and married her, I saw him in his family home for many weeks, and was impressed by his consistency. I do not want Sir David, he is Jane’s husband and they are blissfully happy together. But I do want someone like Sir David, bold and courageous, direct in his dealings with people, and this action of Mr. Darcy has me all at sea.”
She groaned to herself.
“That is a terrible pun given our brother-in-law’s naval career.”
Mary had not made that connection but did smile once it was explained to her.
“You were set on your dislike?”
Elizabeth nodded.
“You know me Mary, I am getting worse not better. I wanted.”
She stopped.
“It is terrible. When I was in the carriage returning home, I dreamed of all the possible punishments he should suffer for being so rude to you. I even wished I was a man so that I could have called him out for having no honour. My dislike was intense, and two separate four hour journeys only stoked that vitriol.”
She sighed.
“And I got to say my piece, delighted at embarrassing him in public. My expectation at the start of that evening was that he would return to London, hopefully taking the supercilious sisters with him. What was completely unexpected, and something that I foolishly had not considered, was his arrival the next day where he apologised to you and to the family generally. You heard me that morning, Mama may have accepted his apology on behalf of the family but I was still unwilling to accept it. But he was honest with the pair of us, brutally honest and I could see that his motivations were sincere.
“Which is all well and good. This Mr. Bingley has dragged the rest of his family back to London, according to the gossip he is leaving the Hursts there and is working hard to get his sister married off. When he has done so he is to return to the neighbourhood. Which works out perfectly for Kitty. Our younger sister has demonstrated she has matured and as a reward is spending the next two months with Jane, she will assist her through the Christmas period and return after Twelfth Night. Just in time for her to renew acquaintance with a gentleman who had displayed an interest in her. We will see of his consistency when he returns.
“Everything nicely organised, troublemakers despatched to who cares where, a little matchmaking to keep us on our toes, life is nicely falling into the appropriate slots. But then Mr. Darcy has to go and upset the applecart with his handsome smiles and slightly forward behaviour.”
“Handsome smiles Lizzie?”
Elizabeth blushed down to the neck of her dress. She had not meant to admit that last part. Which was just indicative of the problem.
“I know you do not need me to quote the Rev Fordyce’s words. Or do I?”
This last was said in a teasing tone. One of the more welcome aspects of Sir David’s impact on the Bennet family was that Mary was no longer an unthinking slave to his words. A spirited debate where both listened to the other, something her sisters never did, had been good for them both. Sir David no longer considered the work to be a waste of time, there were several good points within it, but Mary also was capable of critical thinking on it. She had not discarded it completely but it was no longer the sole arbiter of how she should live her life.
Elizabeth sighed beside her.
“No Mary, you do not need to dust off his Sermons. It took me by surprise on the walk home from Meryton. He had a sudden thought, one he did not share with me, and he broke into this glorious smile. The man is handsome enough even when he is scowling, but seeing him smile?”
