Page 49 of Without Pride and Prejudice

“Good night, dear Elizabeth and Jane,” Mrs. Bennet called out.

Mr. Bennet seemed too shocked at the affection Mrs. Bennet had shown me to say anything.

Jane and I hurried upstairs to our room, and I was happy to discover that women’s friendships were important no matter the time period. We giggled as we helped each other undress as close to the fire as we could. I had to say, I really missed central heating and air-conditioning. And flushing toilets. I eyed the chamber pot in the room’s corner. If this was a dream, please let the pot turn into a proper bathroom.

The bedroom looked just as it had at Pride and Prejudice Park, right down to the beautiful wallpaper, minus the modern conveniences of electricity and plumbing.

As soon as Jane and I snuggled up in bed, we faced each other, our cheeks hurting from smiling so much. It had been a good night for the Bennet sisters.

“Lizzy,” Jane sighed. “Mr. Bingley is just what a young man ought to be—sensible, good humored, lively. And I never saw such happy manners! So much ease, with such perfect good breeding.”

I wanted to hug her for letting me hear this line in the flesh, just as Ms. Austen had written it. I had to give my mind huge props for recalling it all so perfectly. You know, unless I was lying somewhere without a pulse and none of this experiencewas my own doing. Or maybeFantasy Islandwas just this good. Regardless, I played my part. “He is also handsome.” I smiled.

Jane blushed. “But what about Mr. Darcy? Do you find him handsome?”

Oh yeah. I bit my lip. If there were a hottest eligible bachelor in Regency times, he would win hands down. “Very much so.”

“He seemed quite taken with you. I think it surprised him to see how well read you are. If truth be told, I do not remember you reading Homer.”

I curled more into myself. “Really? I love Homer, Milton, Shakespeare, Byron,” I babbled on.

“I thought you fancied Ann Radcliffe.”

“Oh, I do. I love a good gothic novel.” Thank you, Fitz, for being a history and literature professor. I’m not sure I would have known of Ann Radcliffe otherwise. “Do you think Mr. Darcy has read Radcliffe’sThe Romance of the Forest?” I laughed.

Jane gasped. “Oh, Lizzy, I do not think it is the kind of book Mr. Darcy would read.”

“Right, of course.” Apparently humor was a bit different here. It made me wish for Macey. I wondered how Macey was doing.

Jane recovered quickly from my misstep. “Do you think Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy will come to wait on us again?”

I took Jane’s delicate hands. “Dear Jane, Mr. Bingley most certainly will come again.”Do not try to fix it. Do not try to fix it.I so badly wanted to give her advice about how she should behave around Mr. Bingley. She was obviously smitten with him, but they hardly knew each other. Granted, this was a different day and age, and I knew they were meant to be.Resist, resist, resist.

“What about Mr. Darcy?” Jane asked, saving me from myself.

I didn’t dare hope that he would come to Longbourn to wait on me. Surely he’d heard Mrs. Bennet going on about his wealth,gloating that I was the only young woman Mr. Darcy danced with. Besides, it wasn’t part of the story. At least not yet. Jane hadn’t even tried to help me see the good in Mr. Bingley’s sisters yet. “I do not know,” I answered truthfully.

Jane gave me a mischievous smile. “Lizzy, do you believe you are in danger of falling in love?”

I was in love. There was no denying it. And it was more dangerous to my heart than I ever imagined. I thought of Fitz, of course. It was no wonder I’d kept my feelings so hidden, not even realizing they existed. Deep down, I knew it would spell the end for our friendship, so I protected myself and us. But despite my best efforts, we were over, and I could hardly stand the thought. It left me feeling completely empty.

Maybe that’s why I’d come to this place, wherever this place was. Maybe it was the only place I could safely open my heart and be with Fitz, a.k.a. Mr. Darcy. The question was, could Mr. Darcy fall in love with me?

“They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any other objects.”

MONROE

SOME EXCITEMENT STILL LINGERED THE next morning as we ate breakfast in the cozy dining room, enjoying fresh breads and jams on a neatly set table. Hints of strong coffee and teas wafted in the air. I honestly hadn’t realized how many servants the Bennets had. They bustled about the estate, attending to the house and its inhabitants. Mrs. Hill ran a tight ship and bossed those under her around with authority.

The temptation to improve the Bennets’ story niggled at the back of my mind as I observed the domestic scene. Lydia and Kitty tittered between themselves about the men they’d danced with at the assembly, and I found myself wanting to discourage Mr. Bennet from allowing all his daughters out into society at the same time. Kitty and Lydia were too young—they should think of unicorns and puppies, not husbands. Mary sat on one side of me humming a tune, slightly off-key. Would it be helpful to give her some voice and pianoforte lessons? Was that going too far? Jane sat on the other side of me, sighing happily while sipping her tea. Mrs. Bennet kept replaying the previous night’s events, so much so that she didn’t even care when Kitty kept coughing. Apparently her nerves did just fine when the chance of two of herdaughters making good matches seemed possible. Mr. Bennet kept his nose in a book between bites of his hearty breakfast, doing his best to ignore it all.

Meanwhile, I wondered what was going on at Pride and Prejudice Park. Today, assuming time was the same wherever I was, they would reenact Jane’s visit to Netherfield. I wondered who was playing Elizabeth. Was Fitz still playing Mr. Darcy? He wouldn’t do that if I was dead, would he? Of course he wouldn’t. My demise would devastate him, that I knew.

Before I could think about it too much, a bell rang, bringing everyone to attention. I didn’t know what it meant but pretended to be eager like everyone else. Within several seconds, Mrs. Hill entered, carrying a letter on a tray. “A letter for the elder Miss Bennets has arrived from Netherfield.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Bennet fanned herself. “Jane and Lizzy, make haste and read it.”

Mrs. Hill offered the letter to Jane.

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