“Oh, I am,” said Lydia, and no one doubted her.
~~~~~
Catherine spent the rest of the day preparing for her departure the next day, though there was one additional interruption.
The mail arrived in the afternoon, though Catherine was unaware at first. She became aware when she was summoned from her bedroom. Elizabeth had received a letter from Mary.
April 17, 1814
Dear Elizabeth,
I hope you will share this letter with Georgiana, Kitty, and Lydia. I have so many visits to make that I am afraid I cannot take time to write all four of you separately, at least not in a timely manner. In this case, I believe timeliness is more important than politeness.
I am engaged. There I have written it, and perhaps seeing it in writing will help me believe it more. My future husband is Alan Goulding. I don’t know if you remember him. He wasn’t at home much in the last five years or so. He tells me he spent most of that time in London simply wasting his days away. However, he returned to Haye Park last autumn to help his father.
I will tell you the entire story when I have more time to write, but the summary is that he and I have more in common than I ever imagined. A mutual love of both philosophy and religion is where it started, but it soon became clear that we have a similar turn of mind, more serious than most, though not so serious that all the joy is sucked out of life.
He proposed yesterday, and Mama has been in a tizzy ever since. We plan to marry at the end of May, though I will tell you that I feel as though that is far too long. Between his mother and mine, however, we cannot convince them to compress the timeline any further. Apparently, the Gouldings need time to create a secondary suite for Alan and me, so that we can live in the manor house without forcing his parents out. The renovations will take at least three weeks, possibly more.
Personally, I would rather live in the dower house, but bringing that rundown place up to date would take longer and be far more expensive. At least by living with Alan’s parents, he will continue to be able to assist his father. Additionally, we will be on hand to help them both as they get older.
This letter is already longer than I planned. I will close by saying that I hope all my sisters can be there to share my wedding with me, though if you and Mr. Darcy are at Pemberley by then, I understand that would be too far to travel.
Give my love and news to Georgiana, Kitty, and Lydia.
Love,
Mary Bennet
After hearing the news, Catherine celebrated briefly with her sisters and Georgiana. Then she returned to packing.
At dinner that night, she asked Mr. Darcy to please tell Stephen about her unexpected departure. She ignored the sympathetic looks from Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Mr. Darcy.
