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Mrs. Bennet was still displeased that the Bingleys had left Hertfordshire; it had been so convenient to have her dear Jane just three miles away!

And Netherfield was such a fine estate—certainly the largest around!

She comforted herself with memorizing all those details about Holloway Manor that she was certain the ladies back in Meryton would want to hear about. If only it was not so far away!

When the Darcys arrived, the Bennets were already settled in and Mrs. Bennet welcomed them as if to her own home. Her daughters only shared a knowing smile before embracing. “Dear Jane, it is very good to see you.”

“And you, Lizzy. Letters just aren’t the same. But let me look at you.” Jane kept hold of her sister’s hands even as she stepped back. “Oh dearest Lizzy—you are glowing!”

Unfortunately, that comment drew the attention of their mother.

“Yes Lizzy—you do look well enough. I hope you are not still running about in the wild manner you were accustomed to at Longbourn—you must not do anything to put Mr. Darcy’s heir in danger!

I hope you’ve paid attention to the advice in my letters…

Oh—and Lady Lucas said that Charlotte ate a great deal of orange marmalade while she was pregnant, and she had a boy.

Don’t ever tell them I said so, but you might as well try it—I brought along a jar in case you didn’t have any in Derbyshire.

Don’t roll your eyes, young lady; no matter how high and mighty you may have married, I’m still your mother!

Mrs. Collins and Mrs. Bingley both gave their husbands heirs—it would be a great shame if you cannot manage the same!

A man wants a son, and no amount of book reading will help you if you do not! ”

“Mrs. Bennet!” exclaimed Mr. Darcy, finally interrupting the matron’s flood of words.

“We thank you for your advice, madam, but on this, you are very wrong. I shall rejoice to have a daughter or son equally, as long as mother and child are both healthy. Now, shall we go inside?” His serious look suppressed most of the indignation Mrs. Bennet felt at being contradicted.

Later, Mr. Bennet drew the Darcys aside under the context of sharing a letter from Mary. “I apologize; your mother has become somewhat obsessed with the subject of birthing male children. As you shall see from Mrs. Tucker’s letter, I have been gifted with another grandson.”

After Elizabeth’s happy exclamations and Darcy’s more sedate congratulations, Mr. Bennet continued, “I enjoyed having Sir Richard and Lady Fitzwilliam at Longbourn, and young Master Collin is a good lad. I would like to see him come to know the estate as he grows up, but your mother cannot seem to put aside her bitterness that her own offspring will not inherit Longbourn.”

Elizabeth was beginning to realize that her father was genuinely concerned. “I had not noticed anything out of the ordinary in her letters, but perhaps I have not read them carefully enough.”

“Perhaps Mrs. Bennet is feeling the quietude of having only one daughter left at home?” offered Darcy tersely, still unhappy over the woman’s tactless speech to Elizabeth.

Mr. Bennet shrugged and, losing interest in the subject, inquired after the Fitzwilliams.

In the days leading up to Christmas, Elizabeth was happy to spend time with her sisters.

Jane had settled into her role as mistress of the manor just as serenely as her friends would have expected and was quite devoted to her young son.

Having been picked up from school by her parents on the way to Derbyshire, Lydia was as boisterous as ever, though several in her family noticed that her manners were less inclined toward vulgarity than before.

She kept her mother in raptures with her stories, and if she spoke less about her studies and more about the clothes and connections of the other girls, Mrs. Bennet certainly did not mind.

Perhaps most changed in manner was Catherine. She no longer trailed along behind Lydia, desperate for any crumbs of attention that might fall her way. Instead, she appeared surprisingly comfortable sitting quietly to one side, busy with her sketchbook and pencil more often than not.

“May I peek?” inquired Elizabeth, coming to sit beside her younger sister.

Startled, Catherine snapped the book shut, but upon seeing that it was Lizzy, she shyly offered it to her sister after only a few moments of hesitation. “If you like… they’re really nothing very special.”

“I disagree, Kitty. Look here, you have captured Mrs. Long perfectly—I can almost hear her laughing! Oh and here is dear Mrs. Hill with that expression she gets when Mama is calling for her smelling salts. Oh Kitty, these are delightful—I feel as if I’m back in Meryton again!”

Catherine murmured her thanks, embarrassed by the praise but also very pleased.

“And who is this young man? I recognize the stable at Longbourn, but not the gentleman standing before it.” Elizabeth was intrigued by the way her sister’s cheeks immediately flushed with a rosy blush.

“Lieutenant Wright. He is training Sir Richard’s horses. Although now that he is retired from active duty, I suppose I should call him Mr. Wright.”

Before Elizabeth could respond, however, Mrs. Bennet’s piercing voice interrupted them.

“Are you speaking of that Wright boy, from the stables? Really Kitty—I’ve told you time and again to ignore him.

He’s nothing but the younger son of some country squire no one has ever heard of.

You will not waste the connections your sisters have gained for you, not if I have anything to say about it!

” She turned back to Lydia and continued scornfully, “His father could afford nothing but a cornet in the cavalry and now that he is crippled, he’s nothing but an overeducated stableboy. ”

“He was promoted to lieutenant on his own merit and awarded a medal for bravery, Mama,” responded Catherine, though her voice was too soft for her mother to catch.

Elizabeth heard, however, and reached over to squeeze her sister’s hand.

“Remember what happened with Mr. Collins,” she whispered.

“Mama will have her say, but if you can convince Papa that you share a genuine affection and have adequate means to live on, I believe that he will support you regardless of our mother’s wishes. ”

Catherine looked so desperate to believe her that Lizzy leaned over to give her sister a hug.

“All will be well, dearest.” She glanced over at Mrs. Bennet and then stood and gave Kitty’s hand a tug.

“Come, let us go for a walk in the gallery. Mr. Bingley bought all the family portraits along with the house and its furnishings, but as no one here knows who they are, I like to amuse myself by making up stories about them.”

The sisters excused themselves and spent a pleasant afternoon trading confidences.

Later, when the Darcys had retired, Elizabeth shared some of Catherine’s hopes with her husband.

“Apparently Mr. Wright is quite a talented artist as well. They began talking when Kitty came upon him sketching horses in the yard.”

“And his father has an estate in Essex?” inquired Fitzwilliam. He had not spoken with Elizabeth’s younger sister much himself, but his wife’s enthusiasm was enough to make him take notice.

“Indeed. And you will enjoy this—it is a most unusual sort of farm—they grow white willows for cricket bats!”

Will was so surprised that he actually guffawed. “Well now, that is a crop I had never considered!”

After some further discussion, they agreed that Darcy would write to his cousin and inquire as to Mr. Wright’s career options. “It may well be that Richard knows of an opening at Whitehall for him.”

“Hmmm… I believe they both prefer the country, but if it would allow Kitty to marry her Mister Right ...”

Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes.

In the end, none of their assistance was required except to help defend their sister against Mrs. Bennet.

Not many weeks after the Darcys returned to Pemberley, Elizabeth received a joyful letter from her sister.

Lieutenant Wright’s elder brother was dead of influenza (a sad thing to be sure) but, now that Aaron was his father’s heir, he could afford to take a wife.

Old Mr. Wright had written to Longbourn, asking his younger son to come home as soon as possible.

Aaron had burst into the Longbourn drawing room, dropped to his knee, and asked Kitty to marry him in such an incoherent fashion that it took the young lady some minutes before she could comprehend the change in his circumstances.

However, once she did there was no mistaking her joyful answer, and in short order the couple were speaking with her father.

Mr. Bennet had no specific qualms with the attachment but suggested that Mr. Wright return to his father’s estate and spend time with his family before any formal engagement was announced; it would be six months before Aaron was finished mourning his brother and able to marry without raising eyebrows, after all.

Having only recently discovered that Kitty was not nearly as silly as he had always believed, Thomas was in no rush to lose her, particularly without having ever met the young man’s parents.

“Well now; why don’t the pair of you run along to the drawing room and talk over your plans, such as they are.

I shall write a letter for Mr. Wright to take to his father.

Oddly enough, although I have three daughters married, this shall be the first time that I have discussed the marriage settlements with the applicant’s father,” said Mr. Bennet with a resurgence of his usual sardonic wit.

“Thank you, Papa,” said Catherine breathlessly, kissing her father’s cheek before taking Mr. Wright’s hand to pull him away.

Aaron resisted just long enough to shake Mr. Bennet’s hand gratefully before following.

Thomas watched them go, chuckling to himself but feeling a little melancholy as well.