A Lady's Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Reimagining by Jennifer Kay

Author:Jennifer Kay [Kay, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2017-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

Elizabeth sighed and put down her pen, waiting longer than necessary for the ink to dry before she folded and addressed the letter. She would not tell anyone of her letter to Georgiana—not even Jane, who knew of the original letter. There was nothing to be gained from sharing the correspondence, and Mrs. Bennet would be impossible to silence if she found out that her daughter was writing to a Darcy, never mind the fact that the letter was likely to be the last the pair ever exchanged. No, her mother would see it as a sign that the family was saved, as if marriage to a wealthy man could wash away the blemish Lydia had put on all of their names.

The sigh turned to a frown. Mrs. Bennet was being stubbornly obtuse even for her, refusing to recognize that Lydia was likely gone for good and in her wake the remaining four daughters had lost whatever social standing they held previously. Elizabeth had walked out of her mother’s room yesterday at Mrs. Bennet’s insistence that wedding clothes be purchased for her youngest daughter and a wedding breakfast planned for the newlyweds when they reappeared in Hertfordshire. She had yet to return.

Kitty was nearly as inconsolable. She seemed to have a better grasp on the reality of the situation than her mother, but that Lydia should have left her to the drudgery of Longbourn without so much as a hint of her plans had hit her hard. The note they unearthed was addressed to Mrs. Forster, not herself, and had even called the former “my dearest friend.” To say that Kitty felt quite sorry for herself was no understatement.

Elizabeth did not find her second-youngest sister’s distress to be necessarily bad. Should Lydia be recovered, then Kitty may well fare better in society without her poor influence. If Lydia was indeed not recovered, which seemed more likely every day, then society’s opinion would be forever tainted anyway—but Elizabeth recognized that Lydia’s disappearance and Kitty’s disillusionment with her younger sister’s actions could be the key to Kitty becoming a more refined, well-behaved young lady.

If only Lydia were to be found! Mr. Bennet had left for London almost immediately after Mrs. Forster discovered the note, but so far his reports contained no good news. Elizabeth frowned again. The reports—of which there had been two—were only a few lines each, containing barely enough information to warrant sending. Combined, they said only that Mr. Bennet had reached London. He had found no word of the pair at Epsom or Clapham, but continued to believe they had gone to London, not Gretna Green. Beyond that, he had little idea of where to start but would attempt to search for Lydia and Mr. Wickham over the next few days nonetheless. To make matters worse, each day brought more information on the debts Wickham had left behind him in Meryton. It was hopeless.

But thinking would do no good, so Elizabeth stood and picked up her letter. It needed to be sent—and then, personal feelings aside, she would go to her mother so Jane could rest.

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