An End to Estrangement - A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Part 27

"...and then we chanced to cross paths with Mr Bingley!" Lydia finished, as she floated through the parlour of Longbourn and dropped, unceremoniously, on the sofa. "I am sure your afternoon was not half so profitable, Mary!"

Mary tried to ignore the scorn that was forever present when Lydia spoke to her.

"On the contrary," she said, mildly. "I made some progress on a piece I am playing -"

"Perhaps you will play it this evening," Jane said, patting Mary warmly on the shoulder as she passed her. "You know how everyone enjoys hearing you play!"

Praise of this sort from Jane was not entirely unexpected, but even so, Mary blushed, pleased to have her hard work recognised and even more delighted to be offered a role in the evening ahead of them. She was rather less fond of dining at Lucas Lodge than her sisters, for whilst she liked their neighbours well enough she found Sir William Lucas to be rather brash and overbearing, particularly when he entertained guests. If she must go, the very least she could do was be afforded the opportunity to hide at the piano and play, and escape the rigours of talking.

"Very well," she said, smiling shyly. Lydia groaned.

"At least tell us it is something cheerful that we may dance to! I shall never understand why you always learn the complicated, dreary pieces, Mary!"

"I shall play both," Mary offered, knowing but not caring that to do so was to reward Lydia for her cruelty. She was already imagining the applause her performance might bring, for whilst she was not vain, she did like to be recognised for her skill and she knew that Sir William, whilst overbearing, was also effusive in praise of those who possessed such a skill as hers, and shared it.

"I wonder who else shall be there this evening," Lydia said, turning abruptly from any further discussion of Mary's talents to their fellow guests at the evening's dinner. "Mr Wickham did not seem to know a thing about it, Kitty, did he?"

"Who?"

Mrs Bennet had come alive again upon the return of her daughters, and the mention of a gentleman caused her motherly eras to prick still further.

"Mr Wickham, Mama," Kitty piped up. "He is a -"

"Let me tell it!" Lydia said, crossly. "You barely spoke to him at all!"

"Only because you monopolised him -"

"Girls," Mrs Bennet said, reaching up to massage her forehead in a manner that was long-established code for cease your quarrelling at once.

"Mr Wickham is a member of the regiment, Mama," Jane said, offering her mother a cup of tea without being asked. "A friend of some acquaintances of Lydia and Kitty that we chanced to cross on the path to Meryton. He kindly accompanied us the rest of the way to town."

"Did he?" Mrs Bennet peered over the rim of her cup, but when Jane was not immediately forthcoming with detail, she turned to Lydia. "And what of this Mr Wickham? Is he handsome? Does he have family in Hertfordshire? What do we know of him?"

"Oh, he is handsome and charming," Kitty began, falling silent when Lydia shot her an imperious look and conceding to her sister to tell the rest.

"Handsome and very charming," Lydia corrected. "And quite clever, I think. There was some misfortune in his past, I believe. He was cheated out of some money, or a living, or...something." She waved a hand as if the recollection of such details could scarcely be considered important. "We might have known more if Mr Darcy had not scared him away."

A movement to Mary's right caught her attention and she turned, sensing that Lizzy had straightened quite suddenly at the mention of Mr Darcy. Or was it the notion that he had been responsible for, how had Lydia put it, scaring Mr Wickham away? She regarded her sister carefully, thinking it was the second time she had seen Elizabeth so discomposed lately, although giving very little indication she was so to the casual observer. Quiet Mary had never been a casual observer of anything, and she began to wonder what was the contributing factor to Elizabeth's discomfort both now and at the Meryton assembly.

Of course!

The notion came to her so suddenly and overwhelmingly that she sucked in a sharp breath, clamping a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. She needn't have worried, for Lydia continued to hold court, sharing her detailed opinion of Mr Wickham and her plans to make him fall immediately and completely in love with her, to Mrs Bennet's amused, indulgent giggles.

It was not Mr Wickham that so unnerved poor Lizzy, Mary ventured to guess, but Mr Darcy. Had it not been Mr Darcy that Mr Egerton had mentioned when Lizzy had sat with them at the assembly? Indeed, was it not Mr Darcy whom Lizzy had been almost unable to keep herself from looking at? It was too funny! Poor, practical Elizabeth seemed to have lost her heart from the very moment she laid eyes on the newcomer to Hertfordshire. Yes, and no matter how much she or anyone else remarked upon Mr Bingley's sudden and undeniable affection for Jane, Lizzy's own feelings for Mr Darcy had developed just as quickly.

Mary dropped her hands to her lap, her heart sinking with them.

What a pity for poor Mr Collins, if that was the case. He had as good as confessed his interest in Elizabeth to Mary. He had practically conscripted Mary to his side in securing a match. But if Lizzy's heart lay elsewhere...

I shall have to discover the truth, she told herself. And tonight's dinner will be the perfect opportunity to do so!