15. Chapter Fifteen

When Gabriel came into the room with another armful of wood to stack by the stove, he found his sister clinging to Mary's side, sobbing. "Hey now, what is all this? Is everyone well?" Dropping the wood, he rushed over to them and stood hovering in concern. On closer inspection, Mary had tears in her eyes as well.

Mary shook her head and, running her fingers through Evaline"s hair, she hugged her tightly to her side. "Nothing for a man to concern himself with. We were just talking. Everyone is fine."

Gabriel found himself confused by the glib tone of Mary's comment. "How are you fine? You are both crying!"

Laughing and wiping at her eyes, Mary smiled down at Evaline before gazing back at him and saying, "Gabriel, you will just have to understand that women are mysterious. Sometimes we scold and sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry. It is not for you to understand." This elicited an extra round of laughter from Evaline.

Glad that they were well enough, Gabriel took the subtle jibe and went back to stack the wood he had dropped. "I surrender to your superior manner of mystery. As long as you are both well, I am happy enough."

Mary went back to filling the containers they had found with water and placing them on the counter. While Evaline seemed to search for anything useful in the cupboards. They were all settling themselves into necessary tasks quietly and without speaking. Gabriel knew that there was a need for conversation. He had two ladies that he needed to apologize to but could not find the words or the moment.

"I found us some mugs, Mary, but unless we find tea somewhere, I am not eagerly anticipating hot water on its own." Bringing the mismatched cups over to Mary, she set them on the counter next to the various random things that she had found.

Gabriel noticed that they were all quite plain and chipped. Most likely they had been used by the servants at some point, but Gabriel was impressed at even they had survived. So much had been shattered by Mr. Bennet's wrath before their arrival. He also noticed that Evaline had started to call Miss Mary, Mary. When had that happened? Shaking his head in confusion, he sighed while moving to warm his hands by the stove. Suddenly, Gabriel remembered that Mary had not seen the changed contents of the pantry yet. The last that she had been to Longbourn, there had been a rodent problem, and they had just barely cleaned the kitchen. Things had much improved in the interim. "Mary, I never had the chance to tell you about the changes in the pantry. I think you might find some tea in there now."

"Changes?" Mary looked at him in confusion and then at his sister. When Evaline shrugged, they moved together to look into the nearby pantry.

Holding his breath, he waited for their reaction. He thought she might be happy with what she found, but he was starting to second guess his thought process where women were concerned. When he heard his sister's squeal of delight, he moved to stand in the open doorway.

His little sister was on her knees next to the little cat bed that had been placed on the ground beneath the lowest shelf. On the bed sat a less than regal looking cat that was receiving love none the less.

"When did we get a cat?" Mary inquired, her voice full of wonder.

"Well, Isaac knew that we were in need of one. He had observed the rodent problem firsthand when a mouse came out calm as could be and ate some of the lunch he left on the counter." Gabriel grinned when he heard Evaline's laugh. He realized he had never heard her laugh so happily. Evaline never laughed or smiled much at home. Looking at Mary, who he knew was somehow the cause of his sister"s changed demeanor, he beamed. "To make a long and convoluted story short, he learned of a tenant farm that this gentleman had wandered on to and had been getting into territory disputes with the family"s own cat. So, Isaac took the cat off their hands and brought him here. It turns out that he is a prodigious mouser. He has started to fill out quite nicely."

Leaning down, Mary ran her fingers against the gray fur on his head. "What have you been calling him?"

Gabriel gave a half shrug and a rueful grin. "You need to remember that it has been a group of men working on the house. We rarely name things as you women do. At most, we have been calling him Cat."

Smiling at Gabriel affectionately, Mary shook her head and said, "Oh, that will never do. This defender of the pantry must be granted a name worthy of the effort he puts forth on our behalf. What do you think, Evaline? Do you have any ideas about what we should name him?"

Twisting around, Evaline inspected him more thoroughly before responding. "Well, he is all gray except for his feet, which are white, so I thought maybe smoke. But that does not seem right. His attitude does not match something as cheery as that. Maybe something historical like a general or king? He seems very commanding, and he does protect the pantry from invading hoards, after all." Evaline tried to entice the cat to chase after her fingers, but he merely lay there batting his tail. The cat reclined regally, allowing their attention but not going out of his way to ingratiate himself on them. He was a noble beast, and he knew it. Of course, the humans gave him attention. It was only right.

Standing next to Gabriel, Mary placed her fingers on her chin and thought for a moment, biting her lip as she did so. "I found a kitten recently. She is too small to go after mice, so I did not bring her over to Longbourn to help with the mouse population. I named her Cleopatra. Maybe we could name him after one of the gentlemen from that era? Perhaps Caesar, Antony or even Octavius?"

When Mary spoke the last name on her list, the cat looked up at her and meowed sharply, seeming to incline his head. Gabriel watched the cat seem to accept his name with the grace of a ruler and nodded in agreement. "So, Octavius it is, then. I do believe that cat is only allowing us to name him out of some form of cat generosity."

Mary smiled at the cat, who was still accepting the attention from Evaline with a quiet dignity. "It is the cat way. They are not like dogs who always seem to love their people. Cats expect their people to love them, and whether or not they return that affection is irrelevant." Finally, looking around the pantry, Mary noticed some of the other changes that had come with acquiring a cat. "You have stocked some supplies, it seems."

"Yes, we were rather missing the ability to make tea, so we first brought tea to use at our leisure and then other random things seemed to follow." Gabriel looked around the shelves. It was not much really, but it would keep them from being too hungry. A variety of items were displayed, including apples, a well-wrapped wheel of cheese, several tins of tea, and inexplicably, a few bunches of dried herbs were hanging in the back. "Apparently, Jeremy's mother sent the herbs saying they would help the long empty house smell fresh and more like a home."

Grabbing a tin of tea, Mary seemed lost in thought for a moment before she grimaced and then said, "I will make some tea, and then we can all talk. Gabriel, do you think you can get two more chairs into the kitchen? Then we might have some semblance of normalcy while we take our tea." Smiling at the distracted Evaline, she said, "Evaline, do you think that Octavius might like a bowl with some water? We do not have any milk to offer him, but he might be thirsty." Having given everyone assignments, Mary moved into the kitchen to prepare the tea.

In short order, there were three mismatched chairs in a semblance of order around the large kitchen table. The cat had its saucer of water, and they were all drinking tea from their mugs. Taking another long sip of the warm tea, Gabriel allowed it to start warming him from the inside out, but understanding the need to talk, he said, "What did we need to discuss, Mary?"

Mary held her cup in her hands as if absorbing the warmth it offered her and looking to it for strength. "It will be impossible to return home tonight. With the weather being so temperamental, it would be dangerous to even consider returning to Netherfield. The possibility that you could make it to your estate is too low for comfort." Glancing up from her cup, Mary looked Gabriel in the eye. Her eyes were as serious as he had ever seen. "We will have to stay the night here, and more than that, I am uncertain of how much we can warm the bedrooms to make them habitable. Or if we even have the wood, we will need to do so. It would be best to decide what we will do for the night. It is hours away, but I think if we are to make the attempt to have the bedrooms habitable, we would have to start soon."

Gabriel did not know why he had not thought about the fact that they were stranded at Longbourn. He was so focused on survival that he had not looked to the next problem, which was getting back home. Mary was right. Even getting to Netherfield at this point would be nearly impossible. If it was only himself, he might risk it, but he would not countenance trying to take Evaline and Mary out into the storm. "You are correct, there is no way to leave here safely before tomorrow, and that depends on how long the storm lasts tonight." Getting up, Gabriel looked out the window where the snow was still swirling. It seemed to have slowed down somewhat from when they made the mad dash into the building, but that could just be wishful thinking.

Mary smiled encouragingly at Evaline before asking, "I hesitate to sleep upstairs at all unless the floor has been repaired. I would hate to fall through a floor again."

Turning back to face Mary and his sister, he smiled, at least confident in that one situation. He had made sure the floors were safe. He had no desire to have anyone else fall through the floor and injure themselves. "No, the floors have been mended. The wood that was rotten has been replaced. The floorboards are currently unfinished and need to be sanded and stained, but for now, structurally, it is safe." Rubbing at his face, Gabriel worried over their situation. It was quite possible that this accident of events would ruin Mary in the eyes of society, but he hoped that they could mitigate some of the talk. "We have enough wood to warm one of the bedrooms. What do you think of having you ladies share a room together and I bed down here in the kitchen?"

Giving a small cough, Evaline then clearing her throat and after pausing said, "As long as I may stay with Mary, I do not care where we sleep." Have said her fill, Evaline took another sip of her tea, which Mary had managed to sweeten with the sugar she had found in a tin in the pantry.

"I think your plan works. It would be better for talk if we slept in different parts of the house." Looking down at her cup with a slight blush creeping across her cheeks, Mary continued, "There are enough blankets around the house to make you an adequate pallet, I think."

Gabriel liked it when Mary blushed. There was something about the way pink spread across her cheeks, trying to hide in her hairline, that intrigued him to no end. He couldn"t help but suspect that the redness spreading across her cheeks was due to concern about the town"s opinion. "I am sure I will be comfortable enough and I will have Octavius to keep me company."

"Do we have enough wood inside to heat the bedroom we will use? It will take some time, I think, to warm a bedroom to a comfortable level. I know it is not late, but it has been a long day for all of us and I think we will do well if we are ready to go to bed at an early hour. We can have a dinner of apples and cheese. At least we won"t be hungry." Noticing that Evaline had nearly finished her tea, she poured her another cup and then added plenty of sugar to it for her.

"There is more wood outside along the wall to the stables. I will go out and get some more brought in and out of the snow so that it may dry. At least it is close and I can follow the line of the building." Pushing back from the table, Gabriel stood and went to the stove where all of their shoes had been lined up to dry from their journey in the snow. For a moment, he looked at Mary's shoes sitting next to his boots. Something about the sight caused him to pause. The simple sight made him smile unexpectedly. He looked down at his stocking-clad feet before his gaze moved back to where Mary sat. His smile grew larger just thinking about the fact that she wasn't wearing either.

Mary appeared unaware of the path his thoughts had taken, which was likely for the best. She picked up one of the blankets from a stack and brought it over to drape around Gabriel. "Thank you for going back out there to get the wood. You do not have a coat, so this will have to do to protect you from the cold and snow."

Reaching up, Gabriel clasped Mary's hand where it held the blanket tight around him. He could feel a faint tremble run through her hand, and he was eager to reassure her. "I will be quick. This blanket will be warm enough for my quick task. I will be back in no time. Do not worry." With that, Gabriel went out the door and into the storm to collect the wood.

Evaline watched Mary watch her brother go and knew with even more certainty that there was something there. She had half suspected something for all that he talked about her, but the looks that had been passing between them were unmistakable. It would be nice to have a sister that she knew loved and supported her. Clearing her sore throat again, Evaline asked, "So, how long have you loved my brother?"

Mary made an odd squeak as she turned around that made Evaline grin. Then, she suddenly became conscious of her mouth flailing, and Mary rapidly closed it, feeling her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. "I… Who told you that I love your brother?"

Shrugging with an unconcerned attitude, Evaline came close to rolling her eyes. "I think it is rather obvious in how you look at each other. I am fairly certain that he loves you too, just so you know."

It was into this conversation that Gabriel returned, his arms loaded down with wood. Setting the stack of wood down, he looked between his sister and Mary, keenly aware that he was missing something. "Should I ask what has Mary redder than a strawberry, or should I finish getting the wood first?"

"Wood!" Mary's voice croaked, but then clearing her throat she said, "Get the wood, thank you!"

After looking back and forth between the obvious embarrassment radiating from Mary and the barely contained laughter evident in Evaline"s composed demeanor, he said, "I will be back shortly, but once the wood is collected, I think I will have questions." Shaking his head, but willing to follow orders at the moment, Gabriel simply turned to go back out into the storm for more wood.

Evaline watched as Mary moved to collapse at the table, her blush still hot on her face despite the fact that the room was only just becoming warm enough to be comfortable. "My mother said I should not let things like emotions complicate my life." Walking over, Evaline sat down in the chair nearest Mary and turned to face her. She enjoyed having someone to talk to who did not simply lecture or belittle her. Mary was so different from the other woman in her life, and she wanted to know about those differences. "Mother said that emotions only get in the way of obtaining a good match and you are making me consider if it would be simpler to avoid looking for love. I certainly do not want to be caught becoming as flummoxed as you over some boy."

Rubbing her hand down her face, Mary seemed to find the line of thought she was looking for and frowned. "Some women do look at marriage as a transaction used to obtain the best possible living situation. They look for rank, prestige, and the comfort of the home they will live in. My sisters and I, however, have all agreed to look for other things in marriage."

Tilting her head, Evaline rubbed at her nose. "You are looking for emotions, for love. I heard Mother say that Mrs. Darcy was acting as if she had made a love match. She did not seem very impressed."

"Yes, my sisters and I saw firsthand what it was like to have a marriage where there was no love and respect to be found. We all used that knowledge to our advantage and chose to look for men who would be partners in our lives." Grimacing slightly as if remembering the unfortunate marriage she spoke of, Mary continued, "I will only marry someone who I know will love and respect me. I do not see that as a bad thing but rather something to aspire to, because if there is respect in a marriage, no matter where you live or who you know, you can find happiness. If you manage to find love as well, you are a person to be envied."

"And you love my brother?" Evaline leaned back in her chair, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. She found it reassuring that there seemed to be different ways of doing things than what her mother proposed was necessary. The things her mother talked about as goals for her life did not sound like anything she would enjoy.

Though she became four shades darker, Mary responded, "Yes, I love your brother."

"Are you hesitating because you do not think he respects you?" Leaning forward in her chair, Evaline tilted her head. "Gabriel is very respectful. I have never heard of him disrespecting a woman."

Screwing up her mouth for a moment, Mary seemed hesitant to speak, but then, after a pause, responded in a somber tone. "I cannot say what your brother feels, but it is very reassuring to know that you view him as respectful. I hope that he respects me."

Once more, Gabriel walked into the room with split logs in his hands and a smattering of snow in his hair. He put the wood down before walking over to the stove, where he picked up one of the towels that had been hanging nearby and began to dry his hair. Then he took off his boots and warmed his feet near the warmth that radiated from the fire. All of this he did in silence until he asked, "So what have you two been discussing in my absence? Mary is even pinker than before."

"I have confirmed that Mary loves you, but she will not tell me about what you feel for her. Have you not told her? When do you plan on telling her?" Tilting her head the other way, Evaline studied her brother, wondering what his reaction would be. Oddly enough, she found herself grateful for the storm as it had created a unique circumstance that allowed her to understand her brother better. She was thinking he was her favorite family member, though she was fairly certain that should he wed Mary, she would quickly become Evaline's favorite.

Gabriel's eyes widened and his mouth flopped open. His gaze darted quickly from Evaline to Mary, then back to Evaline, and he swallowed but was incapable of making much response at all. "Ahh?"

Her brother looked so funny, his face nearly identical to Mary's, who had suddenly become fascinated with the hem of her unfashionable dress. Evaline laughed at both of their reactions. Not maliciously as she might have in the past, but in a way of coming to understand that adults did not have it all together as they might like a child of almost thirteen to think. "I think you should talk to each other. I am going to the pantry to play with Octavius." Standing up from her chair, Evaline took her cup and poured herself more tea. Despite her efforts to soothe her throat with the warm beverage, the pain persisted, but she was grateful that they had tea to drink at all. Wrapping her blanket firmly around her shoulders, she took her cup and happily retreated to the pantry.