Chapter Thirteen

Papa had welcomed Mama and Catherine back with an unusual amount of sentiment, taking several minutes to themselves in Papa's book room while the Gardiners settled in. At loose ends until dinner, Catherine walked to Longbourn village with Mary, who wished to confirm that no details of the church decorations or wedding breakfast would be changed in the three days before the event.

London had been lovely, but it was nice to be back in the country air of Hertfordshire, too. "Did something happen in our absence?"

Mary smiled softly. "Our parents have been partners in marriage for more than twenty years, for good or ill. Unlike some couples, they are rarely out of each others company, and our Father is discovering that Mama is not as silly as he thought her. I believe he found himself lonely in her absences."

Catherine and Sir Jasper had only been parted for a day, and she already missed the steady presence she had become accustomed to in London. "I suppose it is a good discovery to make, since they will soon have only two daughters at home, and rather more time to themselves."

Mary laughed, "Given both Lydia and Elizabeth's fondness for long walks outside the house, you mean? But Lydia seems to have improved somewhat, so perhaps she may take on some responsibilities."

Catherine decided not to mention that she and Lydia would have happily been helping with tenant visits before, but their eldest three sisters had already divided that duty between them. With enough servants that the Bennet daughters did not need to help cook, as the Lucas girls did, and Kitty having only a little talent in the stillroom, was it any wonder that they had gone searching for occupation?

Mr. McKnight joined them, an unknown young man trailing behind him like a duckling, raising Mary's hand briefly to his lips. "Good afternoon my dear, Miss Catherine. May I introduce Mr. John Marshall?"

Catherine might have appreciated a more lengthy introduction, but Mary smiled warmly. "Oh, your new curate. We did not expect you until tomorrow."

Mr. Marshall bowed politely. "I made better time than I expected, but I can very well stay at the inn if there is a need."

Mr. McKnight waved away his concerns. "There will be no need for that, though offering a tour of the parsonage is not yet Mary's duty, so we will let you ladies go about your day whilst I get Mr. Marshall settled in."

They parted ways and continued to the village. Catherine did not think that she would have been suited to the life of a churchman's bride, but if it made Mary happy, she could have no objections. "I had not realised that Mr. McKnight was seeking a curate."

Mary nodded, leading the way into a shop. "Well, someone must tend to the needs of the parish while we are on our wedding tour, even if it will not be nearly as long as Jane's or yours. A curate is a good thing to have, in any case."

If the North Sea wished to follow the example of the Red Sea from the Book of Exodus to shorten the journey, Kitty would not complain. Until then, the distance to their destination would require a longer absence than either of her sisters. But Mary had less of a taste for such jokes than Lydia did, so Catherine kept it to herself. "I suppose there will be room for all three of you. Mr. Collins was offended that Swansea was larger than Hunsford, after all."

Mary covered a smile. "That is because Swansea was built by the first Longbourn Bennets for a younger brother in need of a living, and expanded with a curate's cottage when another younger son needed an occupation. Hunsford, on the other hand, pre-dates Rosings Park. Lady Catherine does not seem the sort to expand a parsonage's land or house, when she can re- arrange the insides and declare it charity."

Catherine laughed, envisioning shelves in closets and no room to hang dresses or outerwear. "I am glad to see you so happy, Mary."

***

The following day was much busier. Elizabeth arrived with Maria Lucas, the two of them conveyed by none other than Mr. Darcy and a young lady who could only be his sister. Mr. Darcy had greatly improved from the Netherfield Ball, where he had danced only three times, and spent the rest of the evening disapproving of everyone.

Barely had Elizabeth been unloaded, and her trunks carted inside, when the Bingley carriage arrived. Likely Jane and Mr. Bingley had meant only to deliver Lydia home before continuing on, but for all her occasional silliness, Mama had sharp eyes and could spot a pregnant woman at twenty paces.

Exclaiming with delight, she sent Hill to fetch ginger root tea from the store-room , and to make up a pot of the same. Exchanging rueful glances, the Bingleys sent the carriage with the servants and luggage on to Netherfield. "We have not made any announcements yet, Mama."

Mama nodded, pouring a generous cup for Jane and adding several spoons of honey. "It is best to wait until the child quickens, yes, but you should have honey over sugar to sweeten ginger tea. I am sure you will be quite sick of it by the sixth month, but it does help."

Jane's eyes widened. "The sixth month? It will last that long?"

Papa sat down with them, Mr. Bingley having wanted to talk in his book room briefly. "It varies, I am given to understand. Lizzy and your lost brother had Mrs. Bennet drinking ginger root tea almost the full term."

Kitty cast around for something else to pay attention to, and settled on her younger sister. "What has sparked this new interest in art?"

Lydia had been instructed by the same Art Master that Kitty had requested to learn from, but had found herself in the same boat as Lizzy; not particularly inclined to sit and draw nature when she could experience it for herself. Lydia, astonishingly, blushed. "I wrote to you of the theatre we attended in Scotland, did I not?"

She had, extensively. At one point, she had been in such raptures that Kitty had wondered if she should be writing to Jane with her concerns about Lydia running away to be an actress, even if that apparently meant something rather different in Scotland. "You did, yes."

Lydia bounced in her seat. "Well, Mr. Douglass, who Mr. Bingley introduced us to, he is a patron and theatre enthusiast. They were having rather a hard time with designing costumes, and Mr. Douglass said that if I could come up with something better, he would use them."

Lydia had always had a deft hand with re-making bonnets, and an eye for fashion. Kitty hadn't expected to enjoy mechanical drawings until she met someone who gave her room to grow. Perhaps it was the same here. "So what is it that you need help with?"

The youngest Bennet sister pouted, but not in the way she had before, as a prelude to some demand. "I could not do more than rough sketches, standing still. I should be better than that, if I wish to be taken seriously."

Catherine nodded. "Well, faces are not so much a requirement, especially if you do not know who will be cast in the roles yet. We should begin with a study of the human form, and how it changes with movement. Wait here a moment."

The gift shops in London's art galleries had a surprising number of instructional texts for young ladies who came in to draw the exhibitions, and produced less than stellar results. One of Catherine's purchases was a book dedicated to drawing the human form, presumably for would-be painters and sculptors. Returning to the drawing room, she handed it to Lydia. "You may borrow this, and once you have read it, we can practice the techniques. What kind of play are you looking to design for?"

Lydia was already opening the book, a brief quirk of her eyebrow the only indication of her surprise at the inscription. Sir Jasper had excellent taste in gifts. "Moralities, for the most part. Scotland is extremely strict on what can be shown for public consumption, even with the sanitised versions of Shakespeare that are shown in London."

Kitty personally preferred the un-sanitised versions in Papa's study; much of the comedy was lost in censorship. Perhaps more outside help would be needed. "Then when you are ready to design, we may bring Mary in. She will be familiar with such plays."

Lydia smiled, "Perhaps Lizzy, too, as she has been stuck with Mr. Collins for over a month."

Ah, there was the sister Catherine remembered. The return of Lydia's sharp tongue was almost a relief.

***

The following day was the day before Mary's wedding, and so busy that Kitty almost missed the Longbottom carriage arriving.

Catherine almost danced at the confirmation that they might go to the far north this year. Mama was less enthusiastic at the idea of pulling together another wedding breakfast in only a month, but agreed in the end. After all, no-one else in Meryton was marrying their daughter to a Baronet; how could anyone compete?

The Longbottoms would be staying at Netherfield overnight, and continuing on to Scarborough after Mary's wedding, but would return before Catherine took her turn at the altar. Which was all to the good, because Kitty had no desire to find another husband on short notice, if something happened to delay them!

Sir Jasper squeezed her hand lightly, before raising it to his lips. "This time, we can write to each other openly, without needing intermediaries."

Catherine smiled, missing him already. "I still intend for my next invention to bear my married name, so I shall have to spend my days in a window seat, sketching and dreaming of the moment you return."

He laughed heartily, and released her back to her family. "I shall count the days."