Page 115 of A Most Beloved Sister
Her voice cracked on the last sentence, and she turned away, choking back a sob. Elizabeth, too, fought to keep from weeping and instead took her younger sister into her arms. “It won’t be the same without her; but even if she were still here, things would be changing. Her marriage, Mary’s to Collins, and now yours… things will always change. That’s the one consistent thing about life.”
Kitty wiped at her eyes. “Speaking of marriage… I want to ask your opinion about something, and maybe Bingley, too. You were the one that was closest to Jane, so I think you would know what she would want.”
“Perhaps.” Elizabeth’s brow knit in confusion.
“It’s just… well, I feel as selfish as Lydia even talking about this…”
Elizabeth chuckled. “I highly doubt that! The fact that you are even worried about being selfish automatically means that you aren’t as selfish as she is.”
“Fair point. All right… well… It’s just that George and I were planning on being married at the end of next month. The banns have long been called, but it would be expensive to live here in Meryton, since he is currently in the barracks. Even with my dowry—which I had no idea was so large—and the money he received from Mr. Darcy, it still made sense to wait.”
“Go on,” Elizabeth urged when Kitty hesitated.
“You see, in May, the militia will be moving on to Brighton for the summer. It will be much more economical to live together there. So we thought to marry at the end of April, then take a short wedding trip, and then we would return in time to go to Brighton. But with Jane so close to… well, you know… we would still be in mourning when it came time for the militia to go to Brighton.”
“So it’s either wait longer to marry, or marry now but spend money on lodging that you’d rather save?”
Kitty bit her lip. “I don’t even feel comfortable marrying now, not with Jane so ill.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Kitty, please don’t worry about that. Jane would have been the first to tell you that you should marry the man you love. She would be heartbroken to learn that she was keeping you from being with the love of your life.”
“But it would still cost too much. All the less expensive rooms are filled, and anyone who had anything available wouldn’t want to rent to someone for such a short time. They’re looking for long-time lodgers. The only real option would be the inn, and that would cost a small fortune for such a long period.”
“Then you must stay here.”
The two girls spun around and looked in astonishment at the doorway on the far side of the room, which stood ajar. Itwas the connection between Jane’s room and the sitting room she shared with her husband, which spanned the master’s and mistress’s chambers.
“I don’t mean to eavesdrop or intrude,” Bingley said, “but I was in the sitting room, and your voices were carrying quite loudly.”
Kitty flushed, and Elizabeth shifted uneasily. “Do I hope for too much that you didn’t hear Lydia earlier as well?”
“I did not, no.” His forced smile, however, told a different story.
Choosing to believe him, Elizabeth said, “That is a very generous offer, Kitty. What say you?”
“I will need to discuss it with George… er, Mr. Wickham. But are you certain? You will be in mourning, after all, and we would not wish to intrude.”
He shook his head. “Jane would be the first to offer you a room, and I would be dishonoring her memory if I did not do likewise. She would have felt wretched to know that it was because of her that you could not be together as you wished. And I… I would much prefer to have as much pleasant company as possible here at Netherfield.”
“Very well, then,” Kitty said with a curtsy. “I will speak with Wickham and inform you.”
“I’ll do better than that; I will have guest quarters prepared for the two of you—far away from any of the rest of us—and you will be at liberty to use them whenever you like.”
After taking a few steps forward, he took Kitty by the hand. “Dear sister, Jane only has a couple of days left to live. After that, we will all go into mourning. Do not hesitate to seize your happiness now, while you can.”
Chapter 31
Anote was received at Netherfield that evening from Longbourn to inform Bingley that Wickham and Kitty would gratefully accept his offer. The plan, therefore, was for the happy couple to marry from the Meryton church at eleven o’clock the following morning, then take a week-long wedding trip to a place yet to be determined, and finally return to Netherfield until Wickham received orders to go to Brighton with his men.
Elizabeth could only imagine the chaos that was occurring at Longbourn, what with Kitty attempting to prepare for the wedding and Lydia being disciplined.
At least, she hoped Lydia was being disciplined.
To her surprise, Elizabeth was also given a note addressed just to her, written in Kitty’s hand.
Dear Lizzy,
As I write this, I still cannot believe that tomorrow is to be my wedding day. Whenever I dreamed of this, I always imagined Lydia standing up with me. After her despicable behavior these last weeks, she is the last person in the world whom I would ever choose to be my bridesmaid.
