The 26th of November, a Pride and Prejudice Comedy of Farcical Proportions by Elizabeth Adams

Author:Elizabeth Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: jane austen, pride and prejudice, quick read, beach read, groundhog day, mr darcy, elizabeth bennet, netherfield
Publisher: Elizabeth Adams

Chapter 11

A Taste of Freedom

Elizabeth awoke the next morning all aflutter. She had never felt so daring, so free from all restraint. She had met her impulses with action and the effect was liberating. Her mother’s shrill cries could not disturb her today—she was too high to be brought down.

She had kissed a man—Mr. Darcy!—in front of Netherfield. She had shocked him, that was clear, and she had no recollection of the footman’s position during her reckless actions. He may have been standing only a few feet away, she really couldn’t say. Oh, how wild she had been!

And she had poured punch down Miss Bingley’s dress! And tripped her own sister in the hall! What if Lydia had landed on the saber and it had cut her? She knew she should be concerned about these things, but she could not truly care. She had never felt so free.

And she had kissed Mr. Darcy!

~

Her ebullient mood was not to last. Kitty and Lydia had started arguing over who owned the pale pink ribbon that happened to match each of their dresses for the ball. Kitty recalled purchasing it herself, and Lydia insisted it suited her coloring better and therefore must belong to her. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth stepped into the room and tried to solve the quarrel. Seeing it couldn’t be done without the magistrate, she took the key from the lock, and without either sister noticing, left the room and closed and locked the door behind her.

She was on the stairs when Lydia began pounding on the door. Elizabeth paused and yelled back to her that she would unlock the door when they began acting more like proper young ladies and less like feral children. She smiled to herself when the sound of feet stomping and what sounded suspiciously like a growl followed her down the stairs.

Luckily, the breakfast room was far enough away that their cries could not be heard and she ate her meal in peace. When it was just she and Jane at the table, mercifully, she said, “You know, Jane, I really think you ought to be more forthcoming with Mr. Bingley.”

Jane looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you are so reserved, a person who does not know you well could mistake your serenity for indifference.”

Jane looked worried and perplexed at the notion.

“I do not mean to trouble you, I only wish to encourage you to be more demonstrative with Mr. Bingley.” At Jane’s look of alarm, she added hastily, “I am not suggesting anything unseemly, of course. Merely that some encouragement might not go amiss.”

Jane smiled nervously and nodded, saying that she would try. Elizabeth said that was all that she could ask and left for a long ramble in the garden.

When she returned to the house, she could not hear Lydia screaming and assumed someone had gotten a key from Hill and let them out. Not caring enough to find out, she went to the music room and

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