Page 75 of Regrets

But he swallowed her words with his mouth.

Chapter Sixty-One

We have Mr. Darcy to thank for this,” Mr. Bennet told his family. “I never suspected that there might be irregularities in Mr. Collins’ birth.”

“What made you think of it, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth asked.

Everyone turned to look at Mr. Darcy; he reddened under their admiring gaze. “My father taught me never to assume anything; uncover all the facts before moving forward.”

“You were certainly well-prepared for your role in life, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said. “Not all of us are so fortunate.”

“That is true enough.”

“You told me about your friend, Richard Barnes. Would I be asking too much for you to repeat the story to the rest of my family?” Elizabeth asked.

Mr. Darcy understood at once that Elizabeth wished to make her family understand what had happened to Mr. Bennet, and so he complied. When he was done, all eyes turned to Mr. Bennet.

“Papa? Is that what it was like for you?” Jane asked, softly.

Mr. Bennet stood, motionless. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. Finally, he said, “It was like that, yes. But I was even less fortunate than Mr. Barnes, for both my father and my elder brother had died. I was given the keys to the house, and then the servants all came to me for direction. There was a line of tenants waiting to speak to me about repairs, for both my father and my brother had been ill for some time, and the estate had been neglected.” Mr. Bennet shook his head. He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them again. “I did not know what to do. I was grieving the loss of my father and brother, and at the same time grieving the loss of the life I had anticipated. Decisions had to be made and I made them, and doubtless most of them were wrong. I consoled myself by hiding in my study as often as I could.”

The room was silent except for Mr. Bennet’s voice; every eye was riveted on his face.

After a brief pause, he went on. “After a time, I understood that I would need to marry and bear a son. After six months of mourning, I began attending social events. It was difficult, and my face hurt from pasting a smile on it, but I knew it had to be done. Once I saw Miss Frances Gardiner, though, my face stopped hurting; the smiles were real. Suddenly, the life I had been fated to live did not seem so terrible.” He smiled at his wife, who was staring at her husband with wide eyes, as if she had never seen him before.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Walking down the road between Longbourn and Netherfield, Kitty and Lydia were laughing at how easily they had escaped from Longbourn. “Once Mr. Bingley was there, Jane never noticed us!” Lydia said, gleefully.

“And then Lizzy went into Papa’s study with Mr. Darcy, and Mary and Mama were busy with wedding plans, and we just slipped away!” Kitty added, laughing. “Not that we want to do anything bad,” she added, more soberly.

“No, it’s just a relief to not be watched all the time!” Lydia agreed.

“Exactly!” Kitty said. “And perhaps…hold on, do you hear that?”

They paused to listen. Lydia shook her head. “I do not hear anything.”

“Maybe I imagined it. No, wait, there it is again. Did you hear it?”

“I heard something, probably just an animal in the woods.” Lydia was impatient to be off.

“No,” Kitty insisted. “It sounded like a girl.”

“What would a girl be doing in the woods?”

“Perhaps she is hurt; we should go and look.”

“Very well; but it is likely just an animal, and we will be running for our lives!”

Kitty just shook her head at her younger sister’s dramatics, and she led the way into the woods.

They both stopped and gasped in horror upon seeing a man and a young woman fighting in the midst of the trees. He had pushed her down onto the ground and was on top of her, trying to open his trousers, as she tried, futilely, to push him off.

“This is just what Jane was talking about! He is trying to put his – his thing in her!” Lydia hissed.

“Lord, it is Georgiana!” Kitty exclaimed. “I am certain of it! That is her pelisse! What are we to do?”

“Why, stop him, of course,” Lydia said, matter-of-factly. She picked up a large rock and advanced toward the struggling couple. Kitty watched in horrified fascination as Lydia raised her arm and brought the rock down upon the man’s head.