It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a blank wrist, must be in want of a soul mate.

However little known the feelings or the views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that all marriageable daughters are introduced to eligible gentlemen at the earliest possible convenience.

It was a well-documented fact that the first words you heard from the lips of your soul mate would be written upon your wrist as they were being spoken. Though most believed that there was only one soul mate for each person, Mrs. Bennet did not want to take any chances. She tried and tried to convince Mr. Bennet to introduce their daughters to the new residents of Netherfield Park before the coming assembly, but he was unmoved. The introductions would take place at the assembly.

\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/

Elizabeth Bennet could not be happier for her sister, Jane. Shortly after the arrival of the Netherfield party to the Assembly rooms in Meryton, Mr. Bingley was introduced to the women of the Bennet family. As soon as he started speaking, the words, “I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” appeared on the wrist of Jane Bennet.

Feeling the telltale itching on her wrist, Jane glanced down. Seeing the words appear before her, she exclaimed, “Tis too much! Oh, why is not everybody as happy?” As she spoke, the words appeared on the wrist of Mr. Bingley. There could be no doubt. The two had found their soul mates.

In the commotion that followed, none of the rest of the introductions were made.

\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/

Charles Bingley was ecstatic. He had found his soul mate. None of the other men dared ask Miss Bennet for a dance, as the two of them spent the evening getting to know each other better.

His only sadness lay in his friend, Mr. Darcy. He knew he had been neglecting his friend, but it was not every day that you met your soul mate. Taking a momentary absence from the woman that would become the most important person in his life; he approached his friend, hoping to convince him to dance.

“Come, Darcy,” said he, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”

When Mr. Darcy continuously refused to dance, Mr. Bingley decided his time would be much better spent back in the company of Miss Bennet. As he turned back toward the dancing, he spied Miss Bennet’s sister, Elizabeth, approaching. With little thought, he offered to have Miss Bennet introduce her sister to Mr. Darcy.

Just as Elizabeth Bennet was walking within hearing range of their conversation, Mr. Darcy uttered the words, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

Feeling an itching on her wrist, Elizabeth glanced down, only to see those horrible words appear on her skin. She was not nearly as happy as Jane had been.

\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/

It was not uncommon for newly married soul mates to show off their soul marks. People would exclaim with joy, and ask for the story. Such was the case for Mr. and Mrs. Bingley. The resulting story always brought with it the accompanying sighs and smiles.

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, on the other hand, did as much as they could to hide their soul marks. When Lady Catherine accused them of not having soul marks, they showed just the very beginning of both. Although their secrecy led to much speculation, both of them would always refuse to show their marks, explaining that they were very dear and private words.

Mr. Darcy once made the mistake of complaining to his dear wife that his wrist was full of a string of profanity more fit for that of a sailor. In response, Elizabeth merely removed the wrap from her wrist, reminding him what his own first words had been.

With all the excitement surrounding the appearance of soul marks on the two eldest Bennet daughters, it is somewhat excusable that Mr. Bennet failed to mention the imminent arrival of his cousin, and heir, Mr. William Collins. So it was that on four o’clock on the day of his arrival, not a single member of the Bennet family came out to greet the clergyman.

If Mrs. Bennet or either of the two youngest Bennet daughters had been home, his carriage would have been spotted from the drawing room window. As it was, only Mr. Bennet and his middle child, Mary, were at home. After having his trunks removed from the carriage and placed by the door, Mr. Collins finally rang the bell. A confused Mr. Hill showed Mr. Collins to the master’s study.

Mr. Bennet had completely forgotten that he should have been expecting his ridiculous cousin. Fortunately for him, Mr. Collins was incapable of being offended. When Mr. Bennet explained that his wife and daughters were in town making preparations for the upcoming wedding of his two eldest daughters, who had recently found their soulmates, Mr. Collins began expostulating on the blessing of finding a soulmate, and his continual search for his future companion.

Unknown to either gentleman, Mary Bennet was at home, and found a need to compare some writing from Fordyce’s Sermons with the referenced scriptures in the family Bible. The Bible was kept in her father’s study. As she approached the study, she was surprised that the door was open and her father had a visitor. Not wanting to interrupt, Mary stood by the door, waiting for a break in conversation.

\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/

“Hill, why is there a pile of luggage sitting in the front yard?” Mrs. Bennet asked while her and her daughters were having their outerwear removed.

“It arrived with the gentleman currently visiting with Mr. Bennet,” was the simple reply.

Confused as to why a gentleman would bring luggage, Mrs. Bennet asked about the name of the caller. Being told that it was Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet could only conclude that he had brought his luggage in an attempt to move into Longbourn and stay until the day came that he would inherit.

When Mrs. Bennet flew off in a huff in the direction of Mr. Bennet’s study, all of her daughters followed her. The eldest two in an attempt to calm their mother down until they could learn more about the unexpected visit; and the younger two because they thought it would be interesting to watch. Mrs. Bennet didn’t even see her middle child standing in the hallway outside the study door. Jane and Elizabeth followed their mother into their father’s study.

\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/

Not wanting to crowd into the study, Kitty and Lydia were content to remain by the door. They were a little surprised to find their sister Mary eavesdropping at the door as well. Brushing up against Mary, Kitty was the first to notice that some writing had appeared on Mary’s arm.

“What is that?” Kitty asked, pulling back her sister’s sleeve a little further. For a moment all three girls were speechless as Kitty continued to pull on Mary’s sleeve. Writing was wrapped around and around her arm, starting at her wrist and working its way up. None of them had ever even heard of a soul mark of such length. Lydia jumped in, pulling the sleeve up even further. They had pulled the sleeve up the elbow, and the mark just kept going.

“How long has he been talking?” Lydia asked with a laugh.

Her exclamation drew the attention of everyone in the room. As all eyes turned to Mary’s arm, she looked up, meeting the eyes of the man that could only be her soulmate. Letting out a very quiet “Oh,” Mary surprised everyone by falling to the floor in a faint.

Mrs. Bennet was ready to forgive Mr. Collins anything.

\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/o\o/

To everyone’s relief, including Mary, Mr. Collins had not come in an attempt to move into Longbourn before his time, but to meet his family and heal the breach that had existed between them. He was only too happy to spend his days describing his home, and Rosing’s Park, to his future wife. Mary was happy to hear the descriptions.

Although Kitty and Lydia were known to laugh at the fact that Mary’s soul mark covered her entire arm, and Mr. Collin’s was only two letters long, it soon became clear that their dispositions were well suited to each other. Mary liked searching through sermons, and was happy to have a listening ear that would repeat anything she told him. Mr. Collins liked having a woman tell him what to do and say, so that he did not have to spend the energy to think for himself.