Page 65 of A Most Beloved Sister
Louisa bit her bottom lip and fiddled with the bracelets on her uninjured wrist. She looked down. “Dr. Fields came today to speak with Miss Elizabeth about the wedding. He’s the parson, you see. His wife accompanied him, and I asked to speak with her.”
She paused, keeping her gaze fixed on the bracelets. When he didn’t interrupt, she continued, “She’s the midwife here, and… well, that is… I haven’t had my courses in several months…”
Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lip again. The bracelets not doing their office, she clenched her hands tightly together, staring at her white knuckles, mentally begging him to say something—anything!
“Do you mean…? Louisa, are you with child?”
She nodded silently.
“Good God Almighty.”
The rest of the words came out in a rush. “It was when she was checking me to see how far along I am. She had to measure my stomach, you see, and she saw some of the bruising. I didn’t tell her anything, but she guessed. I told her that you’re notusually like this. She gave me this pamphlet. I haven’t read it or anything, and I wasn’t even sure if I was going to give it to you.”
“Were you even going to tell me?”
A pause, then, “I don’t know when I was going to, but yes, eventually.”
Hurst exploded. “Eventually? Louisa, do you not understand what could have happened? If I didn’t know, and I drank too much, and I—I—my God, Louisa—you could lose the baby!”
Louisa buried her face in her hands and wept. Gasping for breath, she sobbed out, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
The only answer was the heavy stomping of boots, then the slam of a door, then silence.
∞∞∞
“When we aremarried?”
Elizabeth Bennet looked in horror at the large, greasy man kneeling on the ground before her. She rubbed at her eyes, wondering if she were in some part of a strange dream from which she had not yet awoken.
The day had taken an odd turn when Hurst had come storming from his wife’s rooms after the doctor’s visit, calling for his horse to be saddled. Elizabeth had gently knocked on her friend’s door, but the answering maid said that her mistress was sleeping.
Once she had assured herself that Jane was also asleep, she removed herself to the library. When she first came to Netherfield, it was quite sparse. Her father had generously placed an order of several books for her at the bookshop in Meryton. As novels typically cost at least a pound—if not two—it was a rare indulgence for herself, as she typically spent her pin money on more practical needs.
The night before, she had also discovered on the shelves several more books that appeared to be recent additions, and she was eager to explore the titles.
It was with great displeasure that she had been stopped by a footman just as she was about to enter her place of refuge. “Pardon me, Miss Elizabeth, but Mrs. Bennet and another guest have come to call on you. They are waiting in the parlor.”
Elizabeth sighed and looked longingly at the comfortable chair near the library’s fireplace, then turned and walked forlornly towards the room that held her mother, dreading what she knew would be a most tedious half-hour visit.
She’d had no idea.
To her utter shock, her mother was accompanied by a young man who was introduced to her as Mr. Collins, the heir presumptive of Longbourn. The man seemed to be wider than he was tall, and he smelled as though he hadn’t bathed in a month.
As he bowed in introduction, she could see flakes of white skin mixed in with profuse amounts of grease from his hair, forming a type of natural paste that almost made her lose the contents of her stomach.
Before she even realized what was happening, Elizabeth had been outmaneuvered by her mother and was walking alone with the strange man in the gardens.
Not more than five minutes later, he had dropped to one knee and declared, “My dear Cousin Elizabeth—Elizabeth, if I may be so bold—you can hardly doubt my purpose in calling on you today. I have your respected mother’s permission for this address, so while it may be sudden for you, I can assure you that it is not for me.”
At a loss for words, perhaps for the first time in her entire life, she could only gape down at the shining bald patch of skull on top of his head, which seemed to be the only part of his scalp that was not covered in the disgusting glaze.
The man continued. “I came to Meryton with the purpose of taking one of my fair cousins to wife, in an effort to make amends for the dreadful situation in which you find yourselves upon the demise of your father. I was urged on this mission by my noble patroness, the great and wise Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
He said her name with a flourishing wave of his hand, which came dangerously close to brushing directly across her bosom. Alarmed, she took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest.
Her actions went unnoticed, and his blathering went on. “At first, I had resolved to marry the eldest, as I heard she was the most beautiful of all my cousins, but I understand her to be quite unwell. Naturally, you are the next in line, and I have therefore singled you out as the companion of my future life.” At this, he lifted his head and beamed up at her, perspiration dripping into his eyes.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he lifted a hand and pressed a finger to her lips to silence the words.
