Page 118 of May I Have the Pleasure
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“If we cannot find a better solution, I will marry Prince Gustov and—”
“And—”
“And I willbegFitzwilliam to marry Sofia, take her back to England, and be happy.”
Los alcornocales, Cádiz, España
July 1818
“Lizzy, it is so-so-so good to see you.”
“You know what I demand, Kitty! Do not vex me!”
“Very well. I know that determined look. Crown Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, may I present to your acquaintance Señor Luis Hidalgo Bennet. I hope you do not expect a bow.”
“I think not. I am quite in love with him already. Shall we start planning his wedding to Little Lizzy right now, or wait a fortnight?”
“It is good to see you, Lizzy!”
“It is good to be here!How is your Spanish coming along?”
“Not as good as your Swedish or French, but well enough. I can talk to my son.”
“He is two months old. It is not all that challenging.”
“I will get there. I love it here and never want to leave.”
“Will you show me your husband’s surgery?”
“Of course. Do you wish to prove you can walk on land first and refresh yourself?”
“That seems a fine idea. Do you have tea here?”
“This is Spain. We shall have meriendas. If you want tea, you can cross the border to Gibraltar.”
“I might just be sneaking over to Gibraltar before all is said and done, but that is a discussion for another time.”
“Welcome, sister.”
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“Are you happy here, Kitty?”
“I am!It is wonderful to be in the bosom of a real family, and my new one is everything wonderful—everything we never had at Longbourn. You know my husband would never have been in England at all if not for the war, and I always knew we would most likely move here… now… well—”
“I understand perfectly. Has the gossip followed you?”
“Somehow,it has not. People here are either impervious to or amused by English gossip. Nobody cares very much.Imagine though! A younger sister hanged!It is difficult to imagine Lydia with everything in her favour… a large dowry… excellent connexions, even if you were estranged… a lively spirit… a pretty countenance… really, every advantage. How is it possible she ended up committing such a heinous crime just because she could not take up with a man honourable enough for Uncle Gardiner and live a respectable life.”
“Even with my abysmally low exactions for Lydia, I never thought she could actually degrade her family name so far. Perhaps, I should have reached out and tried to save her before it was too late, but I just did not have it in me.”
“You were not her mother or father, and you did plenty. Besides that, Lydia never listened to a single person in the whole course of her life, so she would not have listened anyway.”
“I know, but perhaps I could have done more. Ah well, she is gone now. I imagine every relative of a condemned person feels the same.”
“Did the scandal follow you, Lizzy?”
