Page 50 of Without Pride and Prejudice
With shaking hands, Jane lifted the neatly folded letter and broke the wax insignia.
Nerves coursed through me. This was totally going off script. If Lady Catherine were here now, she would be having a complete meltdown, and would no doubt blame me for all of it. I mean, I guess I was to blame, but it’s not like I planned on being dropped into this story by some strange, unknown means. I was trying my best to embody the best version of Elizabeth under the circumstances.
Jane carefully unfolded the letter. As she read it, I caught glimpses of beautiful calligraphy strokes on the page. Oh gosh, I hoped I didn’t have to write any letters soon. We hadn’t gotten to any of the letter-writing classes at the park. I would worry about it later.
We request the pleasure of Miss Jane Bennet and Miss Elizabeth Bennet at dinner tomorrow eve at seven o’clock at Netherfield Park.
How mysterious.Who iswe?I wondered while the table erupted in loud chatter. Mrs. Bennet jumped up like a spring chicken, not to say she was all that old—she couldn’t have been much older than early forties. “Hill, Hill, you must help me get ready.” No doubt she wanted to set off to Lucas Lodge, or perhaps to Mrs. Phillips, to tell them the news.
“Papa, may we have the carriage?” Jane asked.
I expected Mrs. Bennet to push us to go on horseback—there was always a decent chance for rain this time of year—but she said, “Of course you may,” before Mr. Bennet had time to answer.
Mr. Bennet caught my attention, his lips pressed together as if thoughtfully contemplating this turn of events. “Lizzy, what do you make of this?”
Believe me, I was the last person to ask. “I do not know.” For all I knew, only Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst would be our hostesses, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the case. Did Mr. Darcy truly wish to dine with me tomorrow? If so, did this make me the best Elizabeth ever, or the worst?
“Hmm. Well, of course, you must go,” Mr. Bennet responded.
“Yes, of course they must,” Mrs. Bennet screeched.
“Why were we not all invited?” Lydia complained.
“Because you are silly and ignorant, like most girls,” Mr. Bennet stated.
Mrs. Bennet didn’t correct him but ran off with Mrs. Hill, her bonnet flapping.
I stood, feeling as if I could do with a good walk to clear my head. Elizabeth was fond of walking, after all. As was I.
Mr. Bennet grabbed my hand as I moved past him. “Lizzy, what do you hide?”
Did he know I wasn’t really his daughter? “Uh ...” I didn’t know what to say. I was hiding some pretty big secrets, like that magic might really exist, or that when you died, you went toPride and Prejudiceinstead of heaven. Or maybe you just went into your favorite novel, whatever that was. Yikes, I felt sorry for the horror crowd, if that was the case. Could you imagine living in a Stephen King novel for eternity?
“What do you mean?” I stammered.
Mr. Bennet narrowed his eyes. “Only that you do not seem amused by the attention paid to you. Does that mean you hold some affection for this Mr. Darcy?” His tone indicated some concern, like a father who wasn’t ready to let his daughter go.
How to answer that question? Truthfully, I did hold a lot of affection for Mr. Darcy. He was my first crush, and now for him to resemble the man I’d loved for almost half my life only endeared him to me more. “I hardly know him, Papa.” That was true. You can only know someone so much from reading about them. “And who is to say that he will be there tomorrow when we dine at Netherfield?”
“Lizzy, you would be a fool to believe that, and you are no fool.”
That was debatable. Ask theDaily Mail. “I will do my best not to be.”
His brow furrowed. “I have seen no evidence to the contrary.”
I smiled, more determined than ever to be the best Elizabeth.
He patted my hand. “Now there is a good girl. Be true to your heart, Lizzy.” With that, he picked up his book and went back to ignoring the world around him.
It’s all I’d ever wanted to be—true to my heart. Or at least to act with my heart in the right place. I’d tried, I really had. Unfortunately, it always seemed to end in disaster. Then therewas also the little matter that I’d actually hidden from the depths of my heart.
I really needed to walk now, to make sense of this all.
I put on a bonnet and slipped into a spencer jacket before heading out the door to who knows where. With my luck, I’d surely get lost. Or maybe not. I only made it a few yards from the house before I saw Charlotte Lucas walking up the gravel lane. She stopped and grabbed her side as if she had a stitch. I wondered how far she’d had to walk.
“Hello, Charlotte.” I waved.
“Lizzy,” she said brightly, her cheeks rosy from the cool air that was saturated with humidity. At least it wasn’t raining. “Where are you headed? Netherfield?” she teased.
