Leaving Longbourn: A Compilation of Five Short Stories by E A Batten

Author:E A Batten
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Others POV, Anthology, 1st Edition, Interquel, Sequel - Canon Compliant, Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Lizzy not a Bennet, Short Stories
Published: 2020-03-07T04:00:00+00:00

Miss Bennet’s Adventure

Part One

Mary Bennet escaped to the peace and sanctuary of her room as soon as the last of the wedding guests had departed. Her new brothers, Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley, had left over an hour ago with their brides. Both couples were heading for London. Although Lizzy had said how she and Mr Darcy had wished to head straight for Pemberley neither had wanted to spend their wedding night at an inn, so they travelled south intending to only spend a few days at Darcy House before starting the long journey north. Lady Matlock had been delighted and Mary had overheard the countess tell Lady Lucas that she hoped to persuade her nephew and his wife to stay longer in the capital before making their way to Pemberley. As the earl and countess prepared to depart Lady Matlock complimented Mrs Bennet on the delicious wedding breakfast; Mary was sure her mother would repeat the words of praise as often as might be to as many as would listen for the foreseeable future. The only guests left at Longbourn were the Gardiners, who would not return to Town until the morrow, and Aunt and Uncle Phillips.

Now in her sanctuary, Mary briefly closed her eyes as the peace of her room surrounded her. After taking in a slow, deep breath she exhaled with equal slowness and walked to the small table which was placed in front of the window and the book that lay upon it. Reaching down she picked up the tome on Scottish flora and fauna she had acquired from the small circulating library housed in Mr Gutteridge’s haberdashery store. During the wedding breakfast she had had a most interesting conversation with Mr Darcy’s cousin. The colonel had spoken about the some of the places the military now found themselves. Once Mary finished the book she was currently reading, she intended to return it and enquire if the library had any volumes on Portugal’s vistas and flora.

Mary’s love of books had bloomed four years ago when she and her sister Lizzy had visited Derbyshire with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. It had been a wonderful holiday. During the fortnight spent at Lambton, where Mrs Gardiner had spent much of her youth, Mary’s enjoyment of the written word expanded from the religious texts that had been her previous wont. In Mr Whitaker’s bookshop Lizzy had broadened Mary’s horizon to include poetry, plays, travel and the natural world. Albert Whitaker, a kindly gentleman and related to the Bennet girls by marriage, had enjoyed their company and was happy to allow Mary and Lizzy to spend many a formative hour perusing the books in his shop. No one in Mary’s family, besides from Lizzy and Jane, had shown any interest in what Mary read. Kitty and Lydia only seemed interested in fashion and redcoats. Their father spent most of his time in his study with the door firmly closed and their mother spent all her time either gossiping or attempting to find husbands for her daughters.

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