Live, Love, Longbourn by Jennifer Becton

Author:Jennifer Becton [Becton, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whiteley Press, LLC
Published: 2020-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

Elizabeth surveyed the small historical display that she’d helped Mary set up in the community center. The town meeting was set to begin soon, and people had been filtering in for the past half hour. Her neighbors seemed to be enjoying the stroll down memory lane.

In fact, the section of building was part of Meryton’s history. It had begun life as a simple country store. Back in the day, before Meryton even had a town square, farmers came to the General Store to purchase all their wares—everything from farm implements, feed and seed, and fertilizer to fabric, foodstuffs, and sweets. It was also where people gathered to hear the news and gossip.

As times changed and supplies could be purchased at new, more efficient shops on the square, the General Store became a kind of community center. People still gravitated there to buy a Coke and socialize. So when the owners retired, they donated the building and surrounding land to the community, and over the years, additions were made. As it stood now, the community center expanded beyond the old storefront. A multipurpose room with a stage had been constructed.

This afternoon, all two hundred Meryton residents, plus the owners of the surrounding farmland, would be jammed into wooden folding chairs in the meeting room.

“I wish I’d had more time to perfect everything,” Mary lamented as she adjusted one of the trifold displays she’d set up on the old store counter. “This is only a fraction of our town’s history. I have so much more to add.”

“Don’t worry. This won’t be the last meeting,” Elizabeth assured her. “We’ll have to meet numerous times if we’re going to incorporate. It might actually be better to roll out your presentation in stages. It will keep people interested.”

“I suppose that’s a good point. People do indeed have short attention spans. I read once that—”

Before Mary could complete the statistic that Elizabeth felt sure was coming, Katie and Lydia exploded in the room.

As usual, they were dressed as if they were going to be on the red carpet. Lydia looked like a modern Audrey Hepburn in a flared black dress over a crisp white shirt and a pair of ballet flats. Always eager not to be outdone, Katie wore skinny jeans and a chic over-sized sweater.

“Elizabeth, thank God we’ve found you!” Lydia burst out, rushing through the displays and practically knocking over a table in the process.

“Be careful,” Mary warned, reaching out to right a tri-fold display that had been dislodged.

“Oh! There’s no time for being careful,” Lydia complained. “This is just the worst.”

“We have terrible news,” Katie reiterated breathlessly.

People were starting to arrive, and her sisters were attracting undue attention. Thinking some boy had offended them, Elizabeth shushed them and pulled them to a less populated corner of the room.

“What is it?” she whispered.

Lydia displayed her phone for her, and Elizabeth squinted at a picture on the screen. Dread walked up her spine. It was, indeed, a male who caused offense.

“Is that Liam talking to Arthur Collins?” she asked, using her fingers to zoom in on Liam’s face.

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