The fairy continued after a moment of silence. “Now, here are the rules for your wishes. You do get three wishes, however two of them have already been chosen. The first is the wish you have uttered most often in your past. The second is the wish you will utter most often in the future. The third is the only one you have control of in the present, and you have two days to decide. If you have not uttered a wish by midnight tomorrow night, that wish will be lost forever.”
Elizabeth forced herself to think. Even if nothing made sense, even if she was dreaming, it seemed she needed to pay attention and understand what she was hearing. Finally, she asked, “What are the two wishes I made in the past and in the future?”
“Your past wish was difficult to discern. If I was allowed to combine similar wishes in the count, then it would have been that you wished your mother was sensible or more intelligent or something along those lines. However, I can only count wishes that are said in exactly the same way. Under that rule, your mostfrequently uttered wish in the past was that you wished you were rich.”
“Why would I wish something like that?” she asked. “My father is the second wealthiest gentleman in the neighborhood. We are quite comfortable. Besides, even if I thought such a thing, I can’t imagine ever uttering it aloud.”
“Well, this one was most often said when you were young,” replied Jeanie. “It was followed by a variety of reasons, such as wishing you were rich enough to buy all the sweets you wanted or wishing you were rich enough to make your mother happy, but since they all started with the same wish, I counted them all.”
Elizabeth put her hand to head, partly in embarrassment and partly out of exasperation with her younger self. Now that she heard the explanation, she could well remember many times when she uttered such frivolous wishes.
“So, you will be making me wealthy?” asked Elizaeth, still not entirely certain what was happening.
“Yes,” replied Jeanie. “The deed has already been done, though you will have to wait a few days to see the results.”
“I am not certain I believe you,” said Elizabeth, “but I am curious to see what could possibly make me suddenly wealthy.”
“Now as for your future wish, the one you utter most frequently is that you wish you knew what Mr. Darcy was thinking,” said Jeanie.
“Who is Mr. Darcy, and why would I wish to know what he is thinking?” asked Elizabeth.
“As to that, I cannot tell you,” said Jeanie. “All I can say is that you will meet him, and there will be many times you wish to know what the man is thinking. I cannot grant this wish exactly as wished for, because if I did the results would cause you harm,and I am not allowed to do that. So, I have modified the terms of the wish as follows.
“First, you will only be able to hear his topmost thoughts and only when you are within ten feet of him. Second, the spell will only last until you have learned to understand him enough to no longer need it.”
“But when will I meet him?” asked Elizabeth.
“I am not allowed to give you any information about your future other than the specific wording of your wish,” apologized Jeanie. “If I did, all three of your wishes would be canceled.”
“Very well,” said Elizabeth. “I suppose I would rather be wealthy than know who some mysterious man is.” She said this, still not quite believing what was happening.
“Now, what would you like to wish for in the present?” asked Jeanie.
“I don’t know,” said Elizabeth. “I don’t want for anything and am perfectly happy.”
“You don’t wish for your mother to have more sense or intelligence as you have so often wished for in the past?”
“I admit that my mother’s silliness occasionally causes mild irritation,” Elizabeth said. Jeanie gave her a disbelieving look at her inclusion of the word, “mild.” Elizabeth rushed to add, “Even so, I would not wish to change her personality. Though her methods are not always to my liking, her intentions are good. She truly cares about our happiness.”
“Well, then, if that is not your wish, what is?” asked Jeanie.
“Can I have some time to think?” Elizabeth asked in return.
“You may, but if you do not wish for anything by midnight tomorrow, you will forfeit your wish,” said Jeanie. “Also, I must warn you that anything you say out loud that starts with thewords, ‘I wish,’ will count. Your intention has nothing to do with it. Since that is the case, it is better to make an intentional wish sooner than an accidental wish later.”
“I will keep that in mind,” said Elizabeth.
“I am quite serious with my warning,” said Jeanie even more sternly. “I remember one time a young man tripped over a rock, and in his pain, he wished the rock wasn’t there. That was a wasted wish, let me tell you.”
“I genuinely have no idea what to wish for at this moment. I suspect that if I were to wish for something right now, it would be almost as wasteful as the young man you just described,” said Elizabeth.
“Very well, I shall leave you to your thinking,” said Jeanie. With that she faded into smoke, and the smoke seemed to be sucked back down into the lamp.
“What…what just happened?” Elizabeth asked the empty air.
She looked around. She was still in the forest between Longbourn and Lucas Lodge. She pinched herself, and it hurt, so she probably wasn’t dreaming.
Elizabeth picked up the lamp and rubbed it again, testing to see if it really was a real magic lamp. Instead of smoke pouring out, though, she heard Jeanie’s voice say, “I know you’re just testing, so I’m not coming back out right now.”
