Page 28 of Brighton Rescue (Pride and Prejudice Variation #23)
Elizabeth opened her eyes, aware of a deep sense of satisfaction. This morning, at least, she remembered where she was – at Beehaven, with Jane sleeping peacefully beside her, with Mr. Darcy, the man she had fallen in love with and promised to marry, in the other wing of the house.
“You look so very happy, Lizzy,” Jane’s soft voice murmured, and Elizabeth turned with surprise to observe her elder sister curled up on the window seat, the early morning sun making a halo of her golden hair.
“You are awake early, Jane!”
“I am. I have a great deal on my mind and woke up uncommonly early, for me at any rate.”
Elizabeth hopped out of bed and hurried over to wrap a comforting arm around her sister. “Did Mr. Bingley’s unexpected arrival distress you?”
“Mr. Bingley? No, not particularly. I confess that I am flummoxed and rather annoyed at his appearance after so many months without word but no, I am thinking more of Mr. Hartford.”
“And what do you think of Mr. Hartford, Jane? ”
The eldest Bennet daughter bit her lip thoughtfully and then said, “I like him very much, Lizzy, very much indeed. However, our discussion last night was … difficult.”
“Difficult? In what way, my dear?”
Jane turned her clear eyed gaze on her sister and reached forward to grasp Elizabeth’s slender hands in her own.
“Lizzy, the things he has endured are quite beyond my capacity to imagine. His wound, the loss of his arm – that would be enough to devastate many a man, but he endured so much more. Close friends died, Elizabeth, at Corunna. He says he still has terrible dreams at times.”
“I can well understand that, Jane, but I quite see what you mean. He might not be an entirely comfortable husband if he is prone to nightmares.”
Jane blushed at the thought of sharing a bed with a man, but she lifted her chin determinedly and declared, “If I feel God’s leading to marry Mr. Hartford, then I will not allow fear to sway me.”
“Of course you will not, my dear, noble Jane. But I do urge you not to get ahead of yourself too much. You and Mr. Hartford have not yet known each other a week!”
“That is true, but I feel as if I know him far better than I ever knew Mr. Bingley. I know that sounds very peculiar, but last night he and I spoke of very serious matters, and he shared his heart and I shared mine. Mr. Bingley and I enjoyed one another’s company very much, but I think perhaps he is a shallow man in some ways.
I do not blame him for that; he has, in many ways, had a very easy life.
Mr. Hartford has had a difficult life, and his war experience and his injuries have stamped his soul with a gravitas that is quite missing in Mr. Bingley. ”
“My Fitzwilliam is quite a serious man,” Elizabeth mused, “and he has never been to war.”
“I suspect Mr. Darcy was born with an earnest nature, but do keep in mind, Elizabeth, that your beloved took the reins of Pemberley into his hands at three and twenty, plus the oversight and care of a much younger sister, and has thus carried a heavy burden from a young age.”
“That is true. Well, Jane, I will pray for God’s guidance for both you and Mr. Hartford. I would love to see you as happy as I am.”
/
Mr. Bennet was working on the Longbourn estate accounts when the door to the library flew open and his wife stormed in, her face flushed with outrage .
“What is this I hear, Mr. Bennet? Kitty tells me that you informed her this morning that she is not permitted to go to the assembly in Meryton tomorrow night!”
Her husband carefully put down his pen and folded his hands. “That is correct, Mrs. Bennet. Neither Lydia nor Kitty are to be considered out in society from this time forward.”
“What nonsense!” Mrs. Bennet screeched. “I understand that Lydia must not show her face until that dreadful bruise has faded, but Kitty must go to the Meryton assembly!”
“She is not attending the assembly,” her husband declared, “and I assure you that nothing you say will change my mind in this matter. Lydia’s idiotic pursuit of Wickham could have been disastrous to our family, though by the grace of God, she is safe.
Our younger girls have been running wild for years, which is my fault, but I am resolved to change my ways and guide them appropriately.
I promise you that I have no intention of giving either Kitty or Lydia a chance of ruining their sisters’ reputations! ”
“How are our girls to find husbands if they never go anywhere?” his lady demanded, tears of fear and fury spilling out of her eyes. “It is most unreasonable of you since that dreadful Mr. Collins will inherit Longbourn when you die! You have no compassion on my nerves! ”
Mr. Bennet forced himself to take a deep breath, and then another, as he struggled to calm himself.
He was, he knew, entirely to blame that his younger girls were such flighty fools.
He had disregarded his responsibilities as husband and father, and all his children would be ruined now if not for the timely interference of Elizabeth and the Gardiners.
For a moment, he allowed himself to mourn the departure of the Gardiners and their children for London the previous day; he knew that Mrs. Gardiner excelled in calming down his silly wife. However, he had been holding one piece of information in reserve, and now it was time to use it.
“Fanny,” he said, reaching forward and taking his wife’s hand in his own. “Please, do sit down.”
“What is it, Mr. Bennet?” she asked, quite taken aback by the gentle touch from her usually sardonic husband. She obediently sat down on a chair near him and peered at him in confusion.
“I did not tell you this before, my dear, and I do beg of you not to spread it among our neighbors, but our Lizzy is being pursued by a man of wealth and connection in Brighton. I assure you that it more important that Kitty and Lydia stay quietly at home at this juncture, as the gentleman in question has noble relatives, all of whom are rather fussy about the reputation of women who marry into the family. ”
“A wealthy gentleman for Lizzy? You must be joking, Mr. Bennet!”
“Not at all, I assure you! I saw them together, and unless I am very much mistaken, he is more than half in love with her already.”
“Is he truly wealthy? Truly?”
“Oh yes, my dear. In fact, I have heard rumors that his income is some ten thousand pounds per annum.”
“Oh, Husband, if Lizzy could capture such a man, we would all be saved! And even if he tires of her, Jane is there as well; this gentleman might well transfer his affections to her, now that Mr. Bingley is coming no more to Netherfield. Very well, I will tell Kitty that she will not be able to go the assembly. For such an important cause as a marriage for her elder sister, she can be disappointed for a little while.”
/
“I cannot believe that I am not to go to the assembly!” Kitty whined, pacing back and forth in her bedroom.
“It is not fair! First you were permitted to go to Brighton, and then Elizabeth and Jane went to Brighton, and I have been stuck here, bored and lonely, and now Father will not even let me go to the assembly!”
Lydia, who was curled up on her sister’s bed, lifted her head and said wearily, “Oh, do stop carrying on, Kitty. Father is not going to change his mind.”
“Why do you say that?” her next older sister demanded. “He always has changed his mind, when Mama and you and I teased him. Why should this time be any different?”
Lydia sat up and, for the thirtieth time that day, touched her bruised face. It still hurt. “It is different because…”
She trailed off and slumped back down onto the mattress, before saying dully, “It is different, Kitty. After what happened in Brighton – well, it is different.”
“ Why? Lydia, I insist you tell me what happened in Brighton! The last I knew, you were in love with Mr. Wickham and were going to marry him, and Father raced off to stop you, and then you returned to Longbourn with a terribly bruised face, and all that Father would say is that you fell and hit your head! Perhaps that is explanation enough for Mama, but it is not for me. I promise you I will start screaming if you do not explain what truly happened.”
Lydia stared blankly at the wall for another minute and then sat up abruptly to glare into her sister’s face.
“ Very well, Kitty, you wish to know what happened in Brighton? I will tell you, though you must promise on your honor to not tell Mama. I cannot bear her crying and wailing, do you understand?”
“I swear I will not tell her,” Kitty said eagerly, plumping down all too eagerly on the mattress next to Lydia.
“I did pledge to marry Wickham, but then I met another man, a colonel in the Regulars, the son of an earl, and he promised to introduce me to the Prince Regent himself. I told Wickham that I would run away with him to Gretna Green but that I needed to wait a few days, that was all, a few days, so that I could meet the Prince! He pretended to agree, and then when I crept out the next morning to walk the Promenade Grove with him, he tricked me into entering a carriage and tried to abduct me! When I cried out for help, he struck me! That is what happened, Kitty. The man I thought was the best gentleman in the world tried to kidnap me and … and … he would have … he would have…”
She turned away and buried her face in her pillow, her shoulders shaking. Kitty stared at her usually brash younger sister with dismay – Mr. Wickham, a villain? Her sister Lydia, crying in distress?
“It sounds quite dreadful, Lydia,” she murmured, patting her sister’s back clumsily. “I am so very sorry. I thought Mr. Wickham was such a gentleman. ”
“So did I,” Lydia sobbed, “but he was a blackguard. Oh Kitty, he looked at me with such loathing and disgust! I was just a plaything to him. It was horrible. I have never been so frightened in my life. I hate him!”
“However did you get away?”
Lydia sat up again and wiped her face with her handkerchief and said “Lizzy knew Mr. Wickham was a bad man, and she and our aunt and uncle went to Brighton to protect me. Somehow Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam – the son of the earl I was telling you about – were involved as well. They rescued me within a minute of Wickham hitting me, but that was the most terrifying minute of my life, Kitty.”
“Mr. Darcy? Mr. Bingley’s friend?”
“Yes.”
“How very odd! How could he possibly have become involved in this affair? I mean, he despises Lizzy and even insulted her upon their first meeting.”
“I do not know, Kitty, but I am truly grateful that he and the colonel … oh, I hear Mama coming! Remember, not a word to her about any of this!”
“I promise,” her sister said fervently as her bedroom door opened and Mrs. Bennet stormed in with Mary at her heels. The lady of the house cast a cursory glance at Lydia, who had leaped up and was carefully washing her face with the water pitcher on the dresser, and turned to Kitty.
“Kitty, I am so glad you are here! Show me your dresses, my dear. Mary needs a dress for tomorrow’s assembly, and there is no time, of course, for a new one to be made up. But you and Mary are quite similar in size, and Sally can make any minor adjustments before tomorrow.”
“That is not fair, Mama!” Kitty exclaimed. “They are my dresses, not Mary’s!”
“Mama, I truly do not need a new dress, and especially not one of Kitty’s,” Mary protested.
“Nonsense, my dear. Jane and Elizabeth are in Brighton, and your father is absolutely determined that Kitty and Lydia will not attend tomorrow’s assembly.
It is imperative that at least one of you attend; I understand that the Porters’ son has returned from abroad, and he has at least a thousand pounds a year.
You are regrettably plain, Mary, but we must make a push to at least try and find you a husband. ”
Mary flushed miserably at this, and Lydia, strangely stirred, turned around to say, “Mary, I think that Kitty’s blue dress would bring out the blue in your eyes, and I do think your hair would benefit from curling with tongs.”
“It is my dress!” Kitty yelped indignantly .
“You can have my yellow one, Kitty,” Lydia promised. “Sally can work on fitting it for you after Mary is prepared for the assembly.”
Mrs. Bennet stared in surprise at her youngest, but was quick to agree. “Yes, Kitty, that is fair, is it not?”
“I suppose,” Kitty grumbled. She did adore Lydia’s yellow dress.
Lydia, relishing the opportunity to turn her thoughts in another direction, fetched the blue gown from the closet and said, “Mama, do send for Sally now, will you not? We need to begin working right away!”