“Poor, poor little thing,” Elizabeth continued. “You are safe now. Come, let us go inside — we both need to dry ourselves and to drink something warm. A little milk, perhaps? You would like some, would you not? Aunt, I hope you do not mind if I keep it. Tomorrow I shall ask the neighbours to see whether perhaps someone recognises it.”
“Of course, my dear. Just be careful to keep your windows and the door closed, so it cannot escape. It must be terrified, the poor thing.”
Mrs Gardiner retired to her room, and Elizabeth took the cat to her chamber and wrapped it in a towel. Then she changed her own clothes and dried her hair before going to the kitchen for some milk.
Sleep evaded Elizabeth for several hours. The cat, with beautiful grey and white fur, was so scared that it remainedhidden most of the time. It came out only briefly to lap some milk but stayed away from Elizabeth.
Having owned pets all her life, Elizabeth knew she must not force the cat in any way. She spoke to it from a distance but did not attempt to approach it. The creature certainly needed time to recover after such a shock.
The more she thought of it, the angrier Elizabeth grew. Who would purposely catch and wrap up a cat and throw it to its death? Why would someone do that? What harm could such an innocent soul have done that it was required to pay with its life? What sort of human could be so evil and heartless?
Time passed with many such questions but no answers, and it was late in the night, when she was certain the animal was unharmed, that Elizabeth finally found some rest.
***
The following morning proved that the cat was in perfect health, though still frightened. Elizabeth guessed it was around a year old, and Mrs Gardiner assumed it belonged to someone as it was clearly well fed and cared for. The question of who might have sent it to its death became more puzzling.
Over the next few days, Elizabeth asked about the neighbourhood, and Mrs Gardiner sent a servant to enquire farther afield, hoping to find the owner — all to no avail.
The cat, however, became more comfortable and eventually allowed Elizabeth to stroke it and to hold it. Only then did she notice it was a male, and soon afterwards he proved he was a delightfully mischievous boy who liked to be stroked, to sit on a lap, and to sleep in a bed with his human. Since nobody claimed him, Elizabeth decided to keep him and named him Mr Ash.
When Mr Gardiner arrived to take the family back to London, he was equally surprised to hear the story of the cat and agreed with his wife that it looked like it probably belonged to someone. More enquiries were made around Ramsgate, but in the end, Mr Ash travelled back to Longbourn with Elizabeth.
***
September 1811
“Put that cat down, Lizzy!” Mrs Bennet demanded. “Your dress will be covered in fur, just when we expect Mr Bingley to call!”
“Yes, Mama. I shall take him to my room so he will be in nobody’s way.”
“You should do that. That cat is so wild that he should not be allowed in the drawing room, especially when we have company!”
“He is not wild at all, Mama. He is the sweetest boy most of the time. He simply has a strong personality, and he dislikes certain people.”
“In fact, he dislikes most people and only likes a few,” Mrs Bennet replied. “Remember when he scratched Sir William?”
“I cannot fault the cat for that,” Mr Bennet interjected. “He was probably weary of Sir William’s endless comments about St James’s. I would have scratched him, too, if I could.”
“Mr Bennet! Do not encourage Lizzy to spoil that cat even more! He is dangerous in company, I tell you!”
Despite her amusement, Elizabeth could not actually argue with her mother. In the two years since she had rescued him, Mr Ash had become exceedingly demanding of her attention and extremely miserly with the attention he gave others.
Apart from Jane and Mary, he did not allow himself to be touched by anyone else. The Gardiners’ children adored him and would have liked to play with him, but their joy seemed overwhelming to Mr Ash, and he kept his distance from them. The only time he was obedient and calm and would allow other people to touch him was when Elizabeth held him in her arms and stroked him. That seemed to be his happy and comfortable place.
“Come, Mr Ash, let us go to my room, and you can sleep there,” Elizabeth said, picking up the cat. “But I doubt Mr Bingley will care about fur on my dress. His interest certainly lies elsewhere,” she said with a smile and a glance at her eldest sister.
“I am sure it does, especially after he danced two sets with Jane at the assembly!” Mrs Bennet replied enthusiastically, while Jane blushed. “What a handsome and amiable young gentleman, and what fine taste he possesses. Unlike his friend, whose name I shall not even mention!”
“You mean Mr Darcy, who refused to dance with Lizzy?” Mr Bennet interjected again, and Elizabeth laughed, slightly uneasy.
She had been annoyed and offended by the strange man who had called her tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt him. Who would make such a rude remark at a party? Someone proud, arrogant, and uncivil, she was certain. Three days later, after hearing the story repeated countless times by her mother, her younger sisters, and even Mrs Long and Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth was able to laugh about the incident with her father. Her mother, however, was not so forgiving.
“You should never dance with him, even if he asks you, Lizzy! He might be tall and handsome and worth ten thousanda year, but he is an unpleasant sort of man and not worth any consideration!”
“Dear Mama, precisely because Mr Darcy is worth ten thousand a year and is such an unpleasant sort of man, I doubt he will ever ask me to dance with him. I shall take Mr Ash away — I believe Mr Bingley’s carriage has arrived.”
Mrs Bennet ran to the window, then exclaimed, “Dear Lord, it seems Mr Darcy has come with Mr Bingley! What on earth is he doing here? Lizzy, you had better leave the cat. With a little bit of luck, he might scratch or bite him, as he deserves!”
