Mary Bennet and Love's Misfortune: Mary of Longbourn #6 by Carrie Mollenkopf

Author:Carrie Mollenkopf [Mollenkopf, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Sequels, Others POV
Goodreads: 218483745
Published: 2024-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

~Fifteen~

A fortnight passed after the dinner, with not a word from Constable Campion. Disappointed and puzzled, Mary began to believe that little was being done to discover the identity of the murderer, or if it was, it was without the presence of either herself or Atlas.

“Why did he even bother to ask?” she mused in irritation. It had been two weeks of blissfully ordinary days, filled with chronic complaints and only one unexpected call for a midwife. This time, it had been a visiting relation to a friend of her Aunt Philips. The child, although not expected for another month, was healthy and demanding, and everything he should be. Otherwise, Mary’s particular skills were not in demand. To her knowledge, Melanie Clegg was the only person expecting a baby, and that was not for some time. However, it was past due that she paid the woman a visit and made plans for that afternoon, escaping yet another demand by her mother. Having dropped by unexpectedly, just as Mary was about to leave, Mrs. Bennet begged a carriage ride to town. With the removal of her parents to the smaller house, her father had left all but the smallest of conveyances for their use.

“I simply cannot manage that thing he calls a carriage, nor would he spare me a driver. Really! Your father can be quite selfish. Is a footman too much to ask? Am I to walk three miles? Alone?”

Mary had only sighed, for it was a list of complaints to which she had long since turned a deaf ear. Mrs. Bennet was famous for spending money, especially when it belonged to another.”

“Where is Kitty?”

“Oh! Sir Franklin has come and she won’t be persuaded to leave him alone with your father. I told her she shall have plenty of time to be together once married, but she can be terribly stubborn.”

In the end, Mary had driven her mother to town. Altas, having departed much earlier to attend a particularly cantankerous gentleman that did not care for women when it came to his complaints, promised to meet her at home by tea.

“Let us go, Mama, I have much to do today.”

“So, you always say, but there is nothing more important than your sister’s wedding. Do not forget the fitting for your new gown,” she had reminded, pleased at the prospect of finery for Kitty’s wedding. Unfortunately, the choice of color was not to Mary’s liking, but she would wear the ugly yellow confection to keep the peace. The Clegg cottage, only a mile on the other side of town, would allow Mary to make her visit before returning to fetch her mother. But at least the woman had spared her the prospect of being obligated to attend her. It was a true act of desperation when Mrs. Bennet sought out her middle child for company. Depositing her mother amid the bustling main street of Meryton, Mary promised to return within two hours’ time before urging her horse forward.

“Plenty of time,” she thought, and was soon making her way down the lane that let to Melanie Clegg’s cottage.

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