Page 21 of What if Jane was married?

“Oh. Well then, may I call upon you and become acquainted?”

Catherine Bennet had escaped from first Lydia, and then her mother. She had also been exposed to the company of her second oldest sister. Her more than slightly wilful sister. She smiled most sweetly.

“Shall we say Tuesday morning at 10.00?”

The address was passed over and the evening came to a close. But not the interrogations.

--

“Why did you agree to allow this Bingley fellow to call upon you?”

Kitty smiled at her uncle’s question. Mary and her aunt also sat waiting for her response.

“Am I not allowed to become acquainted with a man of means in an appropriately chaperoned setting?”

The Gardiners looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“We are not laughing at you Kitty. We were laughing at the fact that you are sitting in front of us but you sounded exactly like Lizzie. It is exactly the sort of answer that is not really an answer that she perfected. You have been a diligent student.”

Kitty had to shake her head, as it was entirely accidental. It was not as if she had practiced.

“Now that you are done channelling the spirit of Elizabeth can you explain please?”

“I think it is time that Mr. Bingley heard the truth about how he is perceived.”

There was no trace of the earlier amusement.

“The truth?”

It was clear that her uncle was merely extemporising.

“Yes Uncle. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

This time she went three for three, winces all round.

“We saw them tonight, four of the infamous five from Netherfield Park. And absolutely nothing has changed in a year. Look at how they behaved. One sot, two sneering visages that have been clearly duped by their modiste, and a milquetoast who wanders around wondering why nobody takes him seriously. I have considered that he might be simple, nothing but a natural. He did not remember me from last year in Hertfordshire, and could not remember my name later in the evening.

“I think it would aid him immensely if he understood how he is perceived. He might not like what I tell him but I think he is overdue in hearing it. I cannot force him to act upon it but that is not my issue. And the final reason is that I did not wish to reject the man publicly. I am going to ask him not to call on me again, and that we become indifferent acquaintances if we meet in public.”

Kitty was surprised when her uncle pulled her to her feet and engulfed her in a hug. It was followed by similar from her aunt and sister.

“Er, what was that for?”

Her uncle smiled.

“You are growing up. That was a mature response to some gentle teasing from your family. And as I think on it, in time Bingley will thank you as well. It is unlikely he will ever thank you to your face, but your characterisation of the party is unerringly accurate. He is a figure of fun that does not know it.”

He shook his head.

“Lizzie only ever met the man on that notorious first evening. But she will be disappointed that she is not in London to be part of this event. You and Mary will have to send letters to her detailing everything. She and Jane will love to hear about it.”

Elizabeth was visiting their oldest sister, pregnant again after the attentions of her husband.

--

“You seemed very calm earlier when you talked about dealing with Bingley. Are you not nervous?”

Kitty considered Mary’s question.