Fine Eyes and White Lies: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (Sweet Standalone Pride and Prejudice Variations) by Beatrice Langford

Author:Beatrice Langford [Langford, Beatrice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Song Sparrow Press
Published: 2023-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Elizabeth sighed contentedly as she sat in the light and airy sitting room with her sisters. Mary played the pianoforte, and Kitty lounged on the settee, humming softly to the tune of the music. Elizabeth was especially glad of a day to rest after the excitement of the journey and the dinner with Lady Catherine. It had been dreadful of Lady Catherine to say Mr Collins should have married Elizabeth instead. Thankfully, she had been able to cover the injustice of her remarks, and Mr Collins had done a splendid job of being discreet — for once. It warmed her heart to see how he doted on Mary.

“Are the people here in Hunsford much different than our people in Meryton?” Kitty asked suddenly.

Elizabeth and Mary looked up at her, confounded. “What do you mean, Kitty?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well, do they hold assemblies, go to parties and dinners? Does the militia ever come through here?” Kitty straightened, blowing out her breath in acute boredom.

“As far as your first question: people are people, Kitty,” Mary said in a rather high and mighty tone. “As for the rest: I believe they hold assemblies and the like. But we may not see many of them until later in the year. Perhaps if you spent more time improving your mind than worrying about pretty ribbons and fripperies, you would have a better chance of catching a man of quality.”

Kitty pouted. “As you have?”

Elizabeth stood, closing her book with a loud thump to draw her younger sisters’ attention away from the storm that was brewing between them. “What say you, shall we get some fresh air? There is still plenty of country to explore, and we have been cooped up in the sitting room long enough.”

“I hate walking with you, Elizabeth. You go for miles and miles and seem to never tire of it. If you have seen one tree, you have seen them all,” Kitty said, laying back against the settee again. She propped her arm above her head in a very unladylike manner. Elizabeth was glad she had come to visit Mary. She was entirely too dependent on Lydia for entertainment. She took a deep breath and tried to muster all the patience she had in reserve.

“Nonsense. There are no two trees alike, just as there are no two people alike. You would do well to broaden your horizons, Kitty.” Elizabeth sat down with them, leaving her window seat behind.

“How did you enjoy your evening, Mary? Do you and Mr Collins often go to Rosings to dine with Lady Catherine?”

Mary turned around but stayed on the piano stool. “We have been to Rosings perhaps once a month. She is vastly knowledgeable about the area and has given Mr Collins some much needed advice about his sermons and how to handle some of the parish members.”

Elizabeth raised a brow at this. It should not have surprised her as it did to learn that Lady Catherine was pulling strings in the church behind the scenes. However,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.