“Yes,” added Miss King. “We Marys should stick together, you know.”
Miss Lucas clapped her hands together with delight. “Exactly,” she cried. “We are a trio of Marys, and we must support each other at all times.”
Mary felt their warmth and their easy inclusion of her right down to her toes. “Thank you,” she said, acknowledging their thoughtfulness in visiting as well as their kind words. “I agree,” she added.
“Have you heard any exciting news lately?” asked Miss King. Since she lived with her uncle with no female relations in the house, she was often one of the last to hear news from the neighborhood.
“Actually, yes,” said Miss Lucas. “Mama told me something rather exciting that she heard at Kitty’s wedding breakfast, though she couldn’t quite remember who told her. She said that Netherfield has been let once again, though this time the lease is for three months rather than the year that is more common.”
“Why would someone wish to lease Netherfield in the winter?” asked Miss King.
“Well, they won’t be here until the beginning of February, so only half of their lease will be in the winter,” said Miss Lucas. “Even so, I agree that it doesn’t make much sense. Most people who are wealthy enough to lease such a house prefer to go to the city this time of year where everything is much more convenient.”
“Not only that,” said Mary, “but the fact is that the biggest reason anyone would wish to lease Netherfield is to have access to the forest between here and there for hunting, but early spring is the absolute worst time of year for hunting. It makes me wonder what our new neighbor intends to do here.”
“Well, if it is a lady, she wouldn’t care so much about the lack of hunting,” said Miss King. “Do you know who it might be?”
“I am afraid not,” said Miss Lucas. “I don’t even know if it is a single person, a family, or a party of friends.”
“Oh, I do hope it is a party of gentlemen,” said Miss King. “It would make our assemblies and parties so much nicer to have more young men around.”
Mary’s mind went back to the last time there were enough gentlemen in the neighborhood, which was when a regiment of militia stationed there for the winter and spring. She had no fond memories of that time whatsoever, so she could not agree with Miss King’s statement.
“If it is, they will likely all flock to you, Miss Bennet,” said Miss Lucas.
The very idea absolutely shocked Mary. She was so used to being the last and least, even in her own mind, that she simply could not believe what her ears were telling her mind.
“True,” said Miss King. “You are, by far, the most accomplished lady in the area, and your looks have quite improved over the last year or two.”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” said Mary. “I look the same as I always have, and I am not accomplished in the least. I no longer play piano, nor do I study.”
“No, no,” said Miss Lucas. “Your complexion is much better than before, ever since your spots cleared up. It is somehow brighter, though maybe that is because you seem happier. Honestly, you remind me quite a bit of how Elizabeth looked before she married Mr. Darcy, though your complexion may, perhaps, be a bit darker.”
“As for your accomplishments,” said Miss King, “just because you don’t study any more doesn’t mean you have forgotten everything. Kitty tells me you still play at home even if you will not do so in public anymore. She says you have gotten much better, in fact. And I have heard that you have even taken up drawing. With your knowledge, your sewing skills, your music, and your drawing, if you aren’t considered accomplished then the rest of us have no hope whatsoever.”
Mary had never considered that she was still continuing to improve after giving up her studies and her hours of practice. Mary had somehow believed that when she burnt all her papers, she had erased all their knowledge from her mind. She had thought that if she no longer performed in public then her musical ability didn’t count.
But when her two friends laid out all her improvements in front of her so plainly, Mary could not help but see their point. In addition to all she had learned before, she had taken up drawing to give herself an excuse to spend more time outside with nature and to help her identify and track which plants lived in her area.
She didn’t know if she would ever truly look upon herself as accomplished, and she definitely couldn’t think of herself as pretty, but she could at least acknowledge that, perhaps, she might have improved just a bit in the past two years.
“I do thank you both for saying so,” said Mary, “but it is all pointless speculation anyway. For all we know, our new neighbor might be a seventy-year-old gentleman who simply wishes to get away from the close city air for a time. Besides, there is one thing I am certain of. Every man likes something different in a lady. We all have an equal chance.”
Though she said it aloud, inside her own head she could not help but add the tiny phrase, “except me.”
Chapter 5
January 3, 1815
“Thank goodness the old man is gone. Now you can finally take your rightful place.”
John Fitzwilliam couldn’t believe such words escaped his wife’s mouth the moment he had returned from his father’s funeral. He knew she was selfish and ambitious, but he hadn’t realized exactly how heartless she had become.
“My rightful place?” he asked. “And what exactly is that?”
She looked at him as if he was an idiotic child. “Your place as the Earl of Matlock,” she said slowly, emphasizing his new title in such a way that he felt she was hammering a nail into his head.
He didn’t want to be the earl. He had never wanted that. While he wouldn’t mind the extra income, the price he would have to pay for it was that he would have to attend parliament and suffer through even more social engagements than he already did, many of which would revolve around politics.
