Page 95 of May I Have the Pleasure
“Lady Mawbry?”
“Yes.”
“I… I…. You… Um… I am all astonishment. How did this come about?”
“Oh, the usual way! I married a wonderful man—the best of men really. He was quite my best friend in the world—aside from Mr Darcy of course. So very amiable, honourable, and trustworthy!”
“Ah… ah…”
“Oh wait!I neglected to mention he was Earl ofMawbry.”
“You are wearing black?”
“I regret to say I am in mourning. My husband recently died.”
“I… understand. I… hope he left you… reasonably well settled?”
“Tolerable, I suppose, but I would much rather have my husband and friend back and be penniless. The Earl left me reasonably well settled. I of course inherited his estates. It is a bit of a nuisance really. I have three in England, one in France and one in Scotland; and naturally, I already owned Sweetwater in Sussex, and you probably already heard I am heir to Longbourn. My good friend, Mr Darcy, spent half a year teaching me to be an excellent estate master, but it really is a lot and keeps me quite busy.”
“Miss Bingley! Miss Bingley!Miss Bingley..., are you well?Let me call your maid. Is there nothing you could take to give you present relief? A glass of wine; shall I get you one? You are very ill.”
“I am… I am fine, Lady Mawbry.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes…. Yes… I am… I am… I am… I must go now.”
“Goodbye, Miss Bingley.”
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London—Mawbry Townhouse—September 1815
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“Kitty, welcome to my home! It is so good to see you!”
“Lizzy… ah… Lady Mawbry, it is… it is… Thank you for inviting me.”
“Nonsense, Kitty. You may call me Lady Mawbry if we are ever in the presence of overly haughty people, but otherwise I am still Lizzy. You, Charlotte, and the Gardiners are the only ones that have that privilege though.”
“What do your other friends call you.”
“Elizabeth or Eliza. After I married Mr Collins, I did not want to be called Lizzy. It was… too painful.”
“I am so sorry, Lizzy.”
“All is forgotten, Kitty, though in company you will need to be Miss Bennet, and for your friends you may wish to become Catherine.”
“How did you get me out of Longbourn so fast? It all seems such a whirlwind.”
“I imagine nobody in Meryton has changed very much—more specifically, our parents?”
“Mother gets more and more flighty every year. Jane took a reasonable match a few weeks before you gave us our dowries. Mary is being called on by the new rector in Hatfield, though he seems to have conveniently appeared after she acquired some fortune. Lydia is still Lydia, but she has at least not ruined us yet. Mother still complains about you often. Otherwise, things are much as they were.”
“As expected. I gave Jane the dowry anyway, even though she was already married. Uncle approved of her husband, and I was happy to assist. However angry I might be, I do want you all to be happy.”
“What did Jane have to say about that?”
