Part I

t nineteen years old Beth Martin had everything she could wish for. This was a most remarkable occurrence as, by the common consensus of her family and neighbours, she had insufficient beauty and fortune, especially fortune. Her uncle, an attorney, had gone as far as to say she was a good two thousand pounds short of any claim to contentment at all.

Her father, Henry Martin, was an apothecary in the little market town of Lambton in Derbyshire. He was a decent, kindly man who preferred treating rich patients to poor ones because, as he told his daughter, the fee from one wealthy invalid enabled him to treat three poor ones for nothing at all. His wife had died young leaving him two daughters to care for as best he could. The elder, Harriet, had married a man of property and removed to Dorsetshire and the younger, Elizabeth, remained at home. It was this daughter who, in every turn of phrase and countenance, resembled her mother so perfectly that he lived in dread of her marriage and the emptiness and coldness that would follow that second bereavement. However, he was a sensible man and years of tending the poor without recompense had made him an anxious one, so although it would cost him dear emotionally, he kept a weather eye out for a man who might deserve her.

At one time he had hoped his friend, William Temple, the young rector might take a liking to Beth but he had married Anna Price. Henry Martin could understand that, Anna was a plain, sensible, unaffected young woman ideally suited as a helpmeet for a country clergyman or doctor. She was both refined and well educated and as Beth's closest friend and confidante she shared Mr. Martin's ambition for her to marry well. By these two, at least, Beth was regarded as the dearest, brightest and best of girls.

Lambton was a bustling market town owing much of its prosperity to the nearby estate of Pemberley. It was the grandest property in Derbyshire and consequently in all England, a fact which was most firmly impressed on the minds of all connected with it and there was barely a family in the district that did not have at least one member employed there. Pemberley was owned by a Mr. George Darcy who, although not titled, came from one of the oldest families in England. His ancestor, Sir Robert D'Arcy had been a knight in William the Conqueror's army and had married a Saxon princess, Edith of Meryton, thereby uniting noble Norman blood with a descendent of the royal house of Wessex. His wife, Lady Anne, was the younger daughter of the Earl of Matlock whose ancestry was not as glorious as his son-in-law's as his lands and title had been gifted to the first Earl by Queen Elizabeth a mere two centuries ago. However, no one minds having what is too good for them and Anne Darcy was more than pleased to be mistress of Pemberley although she was most unsuited to it by everything but birth. Nature had given her great beauty and upbringing had given her great pride and for those two things alone she was remembered and talked about.

"When I was a girl" said old Mrs. Price to Beth as they worked together on clothes for the poor, "I was invited to balls at Pemberley and I remember George Darcy as a very shy, awkward young man who only needed a sweet, bright girl to bring him out of himself."

Beth smiled, Mrs. Price was the daughter of a former Rector of Lambton and loved to reminisce about her girlhood before she had married, some said, beneath her.

The old lady shook her head sagely, "It was a sad day for him and everyone connected with Pemberley when he chose to marry Lady Anne, she is beautiful to be sure but that is the sum of her qualities. Margaret Reynolds keeps telling me young Master Darcy is a sweet child but I have yet to see evidence of it."

Beth turned away and looked out the window, she was not particularly interested in the Darcys and she had heard Mrs. Price's memories and mutterings before. Mrs. Price, however, was too dull to realize that Beth was not listening and talked for another hour entirely about Lady Anne and her confinement. Beth learned, although against her will, that Margaret Reynolds was too confident, that Mrs. Price had delivered more babies than Mrs. Reynolds had actually seen and that Lady Anne was much to be pitied. It was Mrs. Price's opinion too that the fancy physician brought up from London would be useless should things go badly wrong and it was the consensus of opinion among the wise-women of Lambton that things would go wrong indeed.

Mrs. Price and her friends soon discovered that the greater part of a prophet's pleasure lies in anticipation; none of them could rejoice when within a fortnight the greater part of their prediction was fulfilled. Lady Anne died with the most expensive doctor in the country as helpless as the newborn infant at her side. Mr. Martin was summoned to Pemberley in the dark hours of Tuesday morning but could no nothing but confirm his colleague's pronouncement, the mother would die and the child could not live. As a doctor he was rarely wrong and in this case he was not wrong but mistaken; Death had indeed come to Pemberley to claim two lives but against all expectation little Georgiana thrived and Henry Martin fell from his horse on the way home and died without regaining consciousness.

Part II

"Beth, dearest" Aunt Martin took her hand, "you will have to come and stay with us. You cannot stay at Ingleby alone and I cannot leave my children."

"I want to stay in my own home" protested Beth, "for as long as it is my home which will not be long."

Aunt Martin managed a small smile, "It may be, my dear, your uncle and I are hoping to purchase it from Tom Fairfax, if he is agreeable and I do not see why he should refuse us. He has no use for a house in Derbyshire and our money is as good as anyone else's."

Beth's heart lifted a little. She was fond of her aunt and uncle and had accepted that she would have to live with them but had been heartbroken at the thought of leaving a place in which every room and every view reminded her of her parents and the idea of strangers living in Ingleby was unbearable.

"I still do not understand why Tom Fairfax should inherit my father's house" she said, "I had thought that Harriet and I would inherit equally or that it would go back to my mother's family."

Mrs. Martin frowned, she did not know whether to tell Beth the truth or not. Beth for her part was astonished at how old and worried her aunt looked. She remembered, however, that Aunt Martin was old, nearly forty in fact, and had seven children and a husband who talked all the time of estate management or other people's bank balances.

"I am very much afraid, my dear, that your father owed Tom Fairfax a good deal of money."

Beth took a deep breath, "My father cannot... would not allow himself to be in debt to anyone... especially that man!"

"It is true, Beth, all too true. I know it is so because your uncle has the papers and I have seen them with my own eyes."

"I do not believe it, there is some mistake."

"There is no mistake. Your uncle advised your father against making this agreement but he went ahead."

Beth was aghast. "My brother-in-law is turning me out of the house? Dear God, I had not thought him capable of such cruelty!"

Tom Fairfax arrived the next day for the funeral. He barely spoke to Beth but insisted that he take her back to Dorsetshire and although she was reluctant to travel such a distance with him she agreed because it had been at least three years since she had last seen her sister.

Marriage had not been good to Harriet. Her husband was ungenerous and spiteful, he had married for a pretty face and found himself attached for life to a woman whose intelligence and taste far exceeded his own in every way and he resented it strongly. He never allowed her to forget the £1000 Henry Martin had borrowed and was now rejoicing in the opportunity to sell her childhood home to someone who wanted to demolish it and build something grander. For Harriet Fairfax, then, the tragedy of her father's death was somewhat tempered by her ability to offer her sister a home.

It was far from the home Beth would have chosen after losing her father; she would have been happy to stay with her aunt or with Mrs. Temple but Harriet had written begging her to come to Dorset. Her joy in being reunited with the sister whom she had not seen since her marriage three years previously was great indeed but she quickly discovered she was not wanted by her brother-in-law. It seemed that her fortune of five thousand pounds was tied up in an investment which would not release anything for another two years and Tom Fairfax did not want her if she could not support herself. He said it was enough that he had lent her father money and reveled in proving to her how badly in debt Henry Martin had been. It was some comfort to know that he had only got in that state because he would not pressure the poor and the bereaved for payment but comfort was unable to pay her board so at the end of three months she discovered that Tom Fairfax had arranged for her to be employed as a governess by friends of his from Bristol.

Mrs. Augusta Roberts was an arrogant, vulgar and remarkably vain woman. She was conscious of having married well and spent well to ensure that everyone else knew how well she had married. She did not, however, think it necessary to pay her staff much and Beth learned to her confusion that she would not receive any wages until she left. The children, a boy and a girl, were unruly and against her principles she kept them in tolerable order by more sweets and cake than a doctor's daughter should.

The Roberts' had moved from Bristol to London where they could be elegant without being constantly reminded of their inelegant origins. Mrs. Roberts manipulated and connived at every turn to be noticed in good society and was making some small headway much to her satisfaction although she often found good society populated with the most undesirable types. "I was at Mrs. Ford's last night" she remarked to Beth, "and found several of her guests to be the most atrocious puppies, it was a punishment to listen to them."

Beth was ignorant of puppies and of London society in general and listened wonderingly, small dogs were unlikely to be invited to Mrs. Ford's elegant functions but she did not dare ask Mrs. Roberts to explain herself.

"Uppity tradesmen are another breed I cannot abide" she remarked having returned from an afternoon party, "upon my word, I cannot stomach the pretenses of those who live in sight of their own warehouses!"

Beth had been in the family three months and knew from the cook that the Roberts had moved from Bristol for no other reason than to avoid their warehouses and so concluded that, although she might wish otherwise, her employer was most definitely a hypocrite. She longed ardently to be in Lambton again, at Ingleby, in the parlour at the vicarage, in Mrs. Price's kitchen, in short anywhere except with the Roberts in London. It was not to be, however, she could not bring herself to tell her Aunt Martin that she had taken her post unwillingly for fear of what Tom Fairfax might do to Harriet and with that ended all her hopes of being rescued. Some relief was offered though when Mrs. Roberts announced her intention of renting a large house in the Hertfordshire countryside for the summer and autumn.

Part III

Hay Park was a large Tudor house set in very pretty grounds and within easy distance of Meryton which offered the various attractions of a good milliner, a lending library and a regiment of militia. Beth alone of female staff was more interested in the library than the other two and her first action on arrival was to take out a subscription from the money Mrs. Temple had sent as a birthday gift. It was a wise decision rewarded almost immediately with ample time to read when Mrs. Roberts childless sister arrived from Bath anxious to spend time with her little niece and nephew.

On her third visit to the library which happened to be on a rainy day she found herself accosted by two girls who, having forgotten their umbrellas, had been seized with a desire to read more. Miss Gardiner was fair and slender and Miss Catherine rather plump and bearing evidence of a recent disastrous experience with curling tongs. Beth recognized them as the daughters of the local attorney whom she had seen in church with his cheerful, gossipy wife. The girls were anxious to learn how the various officers had conducted themselves at Mrs. Robert's housewarming party which they had not been deemed grand enough to attend.

"She will soon run out of people to invite" sniffed Miss Gardiner, whose first name was Jane, "we dine with seventeen families and some of them are quite as elevated as your Mrs. Roberts."

Beth hastily pointed out that she had no relationship with Mrs. Roberts beyond that of employee and employer. The Gardiners were far from the kind of girls she would have chosen for friends but they were young and female and of her own class. She guessed they would have received a similar education to herself and was surprised to learn it was rather better yet neither of them read half as much nor spoke French nor played an instrument. Janet, it was true, played a little but very ill and assured Beth she only did it because she had been complimented on her appearance at the pianoforte and not because she cared for it.

She was invited back to dinner at their house and learned that their brother was in trade in London, that Janet had a beau in the person of Colonel Miller and that Cathy was in hopes of attracting young man called Frank Oliver. Mr. Frederick Bennet another young man who had recently inherited the nearby estate of Longbourn was mentioned in the course of the evening and it seemed that Mr. Gardiner hoped he would marry one of them, an idea quickly put down by Mrs. Gardiner who thought that Mr. Bennet read too much and danced and talked too little.

The following week she decided to explore Netherfield woods on the other side of Meryton from Hay Park. Netherfield was quite a grand estate with considerable grounds some of which bordered on pasture belonging to Longbourn Farm. She eventually found a little nook and settled down with a volume of Spenser that the younger Mr. Gardiner had bought for one of his sisters and which had remained unopened since he inscribed the fly-page with best wishes and happy returns. It had been a favourite of her father and of Mrs. Temple and soon she was sobbing fervently into her shawl.

"Can I help you?" offered a voice, kind and gentle.

"No, thank you" she replied, "I will be quite all right."

The voice smiled, "Here, have my handkerchief."

She took it and most unromantically blew her nose before looking up into truest hazel eyes she had ever seen. The owner of the eyes sat down beside her and smiled again, "Are you a pixie or an elf?" he demanded.

"Neither" she answered, "just an ordinary girl."

"No, most emphatically not. I have been in Hertfordshire some four months without seeing a girl as lovely as you."

Beth smothered her laughter, he really was too forward, "You should not speak so to someone you have only just met" she said severely, "it is not done."

"But you almost laughed" he replied mischievously, "may I introduce myself, of course it would be better to be introduced in the assembly room by Mrs. Long or Miss Goulding or some other ancient worthy but in the absence of those ladies I shall take the responsibility myself. Frederick Bennet of Longbourn at your service, ma'am."

"I have heard of you from the Gardiners" she said, "you are very well thought of there."

"Not as well as I would like" he said with a momentary flicker of sadness, "what are you reading?"

"Poetry" she replied timidly having now noticed how handsome he was, "I used to read with my friend, Mrs. Temple, but she is so far away..." her voice shook a little as she remembered each fond scene, the hills and woods, of her native land.

"How far away is that?" he asked gently.

"Derbyshire" she replied, "I had to leave to find employment when my father died."

She did not mention that her brother-in-law had forced her to work, it was humiliating and reflected badly on poor Harriet. It was bad enough that her amiable sister had been deceived by good looks and a pleasing manner before finding herself married to one of the cruelest men in England but the world did not have to know.

"And what is your name? Oh, not your real name, I do not need to ask that but how should I refer to you?"

Beth laughed, "Not my real name, what do you mean?"

"I mean" he replied solemnly, "that I know your real name already. You are Maeve, Queen of the Faeries, who else should I meet reading Spenser in a wood garlanded in golden curls and clad in an emerald gown?"

"I am plain Elizabeth Martin, governess to Mrs. Roberts of Hay Park."

"Very well" he said with a smile, "Elizabeth, eh? I like that name very much and from this day it will be my favourite even if it is a pseudonym."

"It is no pseudonym sir, I assure you" Beth had never met anyone quite like this. Was he ever serious?

"You cannot hide your true identity from me I know the signs, why look, there are flowers springing in your wake, everywhere you walk, daisies, clover, buttercups...."

She soon discovered, to her amazement, that Frederick Bennet who had a gentleman's education and an excellent mind was deeply in love with Janet Gardiner. It was not in Beth's nature to be critical or judgmental and she tried to see Janet through his eyes but beyond her obvious beauty and good-nature she could find no lasting attraction and eventually concluded that Janet must seem vastly different to Mr. Bennet than to another young woman her own age. If Mr. Bennet's interest in Janet was a mystery then how much more so Janet's disinterest in him? Beth had not known Mr. Bennet and Colonel Miller half an hour together before she knew which one she would choose. Colonel Miller was nothing to Frederick in respect of looks, manner or intelligence but Janet liked him above every man she had ever met and, to be honest, she had flirted with every man she had ever met.

Part IV

Almost a month passed without Beth seeing either Cathy or Janet thanks to Mrs. Roberts going to Town for new clothes and taking her sister with her. Mr. Bennet she saw often having discovered that the children were happier and therefore more controllable out of doors and Mr. Bennet seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time in the woods and groves between Meryton and Hay Park. Beth was always happy to see him, sometimes dangerously happy and often dangerously sad when she did not see him which happened occasionally if the children were ill or lazy.

At the end of three weeks she got a letter from Janet very full of meaningless chat about beaus she had never met and, at the very end, an invitation to come to dinner the following Sunday to meet her brother, Edward. Fortunately that Sunday was her afternoon off and she set off to meet the Gardiners after church.

Edward Gardiner was a quiet man of about seven-and-twenty. He would be better described as pleasant-looking than handsome but was very well-made and had excellent manners. Beth found him much to her liking, her original impression of him in church a few months ago was proved correct, he was indeed interesting. He talked animatedly of such diverse subjects as architecture, gardening and the Terror. Beth was fascinated, he had more substance than Frederick Bennet who, for all his cleverness and three years at Cambridge, was in comparison shallow and flirty. The evening ended too soon but she was comforted by an open invitation to return as soon as her duties would allow and the assurance that Edward planned to spend at least a fortnight in Hertfordshire.

Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Metcalfe returned the next day from their trip to London. Mrs. Roberts was well pleased with the additions to her wardrobe and Mrs. Metcalfe less so as her husband had avoided her again by escaping to Bath with his mistress. She consoled herself with her sister's children and Beth needed no encouragement to take her advice and "amuse herself elsewhere."

The Gardiners' house was now more attractive than it had ever been. Janet's beaus were interesting, Cathy's sighing over Mr. Oliver was no longer a bore and even Mrs. Gardiner's refrain that there were not enough rich men in the world for all the good girls who deserved them did not deter her although it was repeated forty times a day. Frederick too was a regular visitor at the house sometimes bringing his jovial, empty-headed friend, William Lucas, but more often coming alone.

"I do believe William Lucas is in love with you, Cathy!" cried Janet who, having bid farewell to Colonel Miller for a day or two, felt equal to involving herself in her sister's affairs.

"Shush!" responded Catherine in embarrassment, "He will hear you and you know I do not like him."

Beth felt most sorry for Cathy, William Lucas was cheerful and inoffensive but not even his profitable business could make him attractive to any reasonable woman and Cathy, although frivolous was not entirely without sense in some areas.

"Anyway," continued Catherine, "Frederick Bennet is madly in love with you."

Janet groaned, "Yes, so he is. Lord, I long for a ball... and when there is one I shall have to dance with him!"

Beth was all astonishment, although she felt pretty sure of not being in love with him anymore she would not have passed up the opportunity of dancing with him to anyone but before she could express herself Edward had spoken.

"Jane, how often must I tell you that Frederick Bennet is a sterling fellow?"

"Too often, dear brother, too often" laughed Janet, "far too often! He is a sterling bore and that is all, handsome I grant you but not handsome enough to compensate for all that Shakespeare he inflicts on anyone who will listen."

"I am serious, Jane, Bennet is worth a dozen of your Colonel Peacock."

"Half to be precise" replied Janet, "for Colonel Miller, who is not a coxcomb, has twice Mr. Bennet's income."

Edward flinched, impatient with his sister's folly, "Miller has only money in the bank" he explained, "Bennet has land."

Janet, however, was unpersuadable and ran into the nearest shop to avoid being polite to Mr. Bennet or Mr. Lucas and was quickly followed by Cathy. Beth and Edward remained together outside.

"I sometimes despair of her" he said with a wan smile, "I do not know where her mind is half the time."

"Perhaps she is truly in love" said Beth sincerely.

He began to be derisive but perceiving her sincerity said, "I hope you are right, Miss Martin, but I fear it is only my friend Bennet who is in love. Perhaps he does read too much and has become overly romantic, he is entirely deceived by her face and imagines her to be Portia or Guinevere. What do you think?"

Beth thought it disloyal to agree but could not lie either. Poor, poor Frederick!

By the end of Edward's first week Janet had persuaded her mother to hire the Assembly Room for a ball. Colonel Miller was expected back and, as he often said himself, his officers were in perpetual need of entertainment. The white soup was made, the cakes were iced and Beth was commandeered to write the invitations which were numerous for every young lady in Meryton and the surrounding areas deserved her chance with an officer.

"I think nothing suits a man so well as a red coat" said Janet contentedly, "if he is handsome it makes him handsomer still and if he is plain it makes him quite a tolerable fellow!"

Catherine agreed enthusiastically and Mrs. Gardiner went so far as to relate how she fell in love with Mr. Gardiner while he was serving in his county's militia, "Your father was the handsomest officer in the entire regiment" she said with a good deal of pride, "and he is still a remarkably handsome man."

"Very kind, my dear, very kind. May I engage you for the first two?"

"Oh, Mr. Gardiner, away with you for being so foolish! My dancing days are over but still you must come to the ball and keep an eye on who dances with the girls."

"I plan to dance the whole evening with my dear Colonel" announced Janet, "who shall you dance with, Beth?"

"I shall wait and see who asks me" replied Beth prudently.

Part V

Everything was arranged at last. The Assembly Room, decorated by Mrs. Gardiner and Janet was lovelier than it had ever been, the musicians excellent, the punch delicious and the guests enthusiastic; in short, a most enjoyable evening was about to be embarked upon and suddenly Colonel Miller was seen to ask Charlotte Smith for the first two dances! Janet was devastated, it had not occurred to her that she would be passed over for anyone and for Charlotte Smith of all people was quite incredible. She glanced around the room seeking an alternative, someone of whom the Colonel might reasonably feel jealous and her eye alighted on Mr. Bennet talking to her brother of some doubtless tedious business.

She walked briskly across the room pretending not to notice the once invisible and now highly offensive Miss Smith.

"Beth" she whispered, "I do not care how you manage it but bring my brother and Mr. Bennet to me."

It would not do to be seen to approach Mr. Bennet, he must approach her. Beth was mystified but did as she was bidden but it was not easy, in fact, to persuade Frederick to move at she had to agree to dance with him. It was not a difficult decision to make, it was her very first ball and he was by far the most handsome man in the room. Edward claimed her hand for the next two and the boulanger so she was in high spirits as she took his arm and the three of them joined Janet in her war office by the tea table.

She, however, was in no mood to share her friend's happiness, "Dolt!" she muttered and glided off while she still had time and pride enough and latched firmly on to one Captain Munro who seemed unable to believe his good luck in securing Miss Gardiner for the first dance.

Beth thoroughly enjoyed her dance with Mr. Bennet although the odd glare from Jane was disturbing.

"Have I offended Janet?" she asked Edward as they stood together.

"Not unless you put Colonel Miller up to dancing with Miss Smith" he answered.

"I am surprised at him" said Beth, "does he have no proper feeling?"

"Miss Martin, you must see my sister's regard for him is purely imaginary and his for her something less. You cannot go through life attributing to others your own feelings and thoughts, believe me, they do not deserve it." They were separated by the dance and Beth concentrated on Frederick now with some difficulty. There was something very definite she liked about Edward, more than just his looks or figure; he was level-headed and industrious and more so than most young men. Yet, he possessed a sense of humour and, unlike her Uncle Martin and Mr. Phillips, he did not talk about business all the time.

Janet eventually managed to dance with Colonel Miller and engage him for several more which restored her to her normal cheerfulness. She was even gracious enough to introduce Miss Smith, who was new to the neighbourhood, to Mr. Lucas and she apologized to Beth for calling her a dolt. Beth watched Janet and the Colonel very carefully anxious to find signs of real affection on his side as she was not yet prepared to believe Janet capable of such gross self-deception but although Colonel Miller seemed cheerful and talkative there was no indication of any special regard for Miss Gardiner or any other woman in the room; she deduced his heart was not easily touched.

At the end of the second week Mr. Gardiner returned to London as his business could not manage without him.

"It is the same thing every time" commented his mother, "everything is cut short because his business cannot be left. 'Tis a strange thing to be in business."

Beth missed him acutely and became quite miserable wondering if he were attached to any young woman in London.

"It is a wonder your brother is not married" she remarked offhandedly to Cathy who was not very bright on such matters.

"La! I know," she replied, "Mamma and me despair of him."

It was comforting to know that Mr. Gardiner was not attached but most distressing to discover that he was not expected back before Christmas if then. The second piece of bad news was that the regiment was to leave Meryton. Mrs. Roberts was disappointed as the officers had provided welcome colour and numbers at her parties and Janet, of course, was distraught as Colonel Miller had not declared himself. Beth attempted to avoid them both, she was unhappy enough without becoming an receptacle for the anger of one or the grief of the other. She continued her walks in the woods although it had become too cold for the children and they preferred their aunt anyway. Frederick, it seemed, walked in winter too. She wondered what time he had for his estate for whenever she was at the Gardiners so was he, when she went to the library she found him there and it had been weeks since she had walked between Hay Park and Meryton without meeting him. To her relief he did not talk of Janet as formerly and neither did he tease her about being an elf or a faery; he talked of literature and music as always but also of more serious subjects and she found herself drawn out on topics of great import - politics and theology amongst others.

On her way back to Hay Park after a yet more lengthy discussion with Frederick she met Cathy wandering forlornly near the church.

"Mamma is encouraging Janet to think that Colonel Miller has broke her heart" confided Cathy as they sat together in the lychgate.

"And was there an understanding?" enquired Beth.

"La, no! There was no such thing except in my sister's imagination. Jane thinks she must only set her cap at a fellow for him to be wild about her."

Beth hid a smile. Poor Jane, she had been very fond of Colonel Miller but perhaps fonder of his four thousand a year and red coat than of the man himself, after all she had flirted with all the handsome officers.

"I am determined to stay out as long as I can" declared Cathy, "they have made our house a bedlam and I, for one, cannot bear it!"

Beth had no choice but to follow Catherine wherever she led for she had been invited to tea with the Gardiners and had no intention of returning to Hay Park before it was absolutely necessary.

"Look!" cried Cathy, "there Mr. Oliver and Mr. Phillips, let us walk away lest they think we are waiting for them."

She jumped up resolutely and linking her arm in Beth's began to walk swiftly in a direction that was sure to bring them out on to the High Street just as the two young men entered it heading for the bookshop. In vain did Beth attempt to explain it.

"Cathy, if we take this way we will meet them at the close, let us go towards Perry's and we will be safe."

Catherine, however, seemed not to understand and in a short time they were sheltering from the rain under Mr. Oliver's umbrella while Mr. Phillips mother threw up her window and shouted them all in for tea.

Mrs. Phillips was a good-tempered woman but her house was full of children and laundry and the maid sat down to tea with the family even though the stove was smoking and the butcher's boy hammering on the door with a delivery. Much to Beth's relief Mr. Oliver got up and, after placating the boy with a thruppence, took the meat into the kitchen.

By the end of the afternoon Cathy seemed content with a job well done but Beth was not able to determine what it might be, or rather, which it might be. Cathy Gardiner, she was sure, did not think highly of men or matrimony but had no alternative in life but to marry and either Mr. Oliver or Mr. Phillips was her target. Of the two, Mr. Oliver was rather better-looking and had rather better sense but Mr. Phillips was Mr. Gardiner's clerk and therefore his prospects were better. Edward did not wish to follow in his father's business and so it looked likely that when old Mr. Gardiner retired that Mr. Phillips would succeed him to the happy and profitable pursuit of entails, inheritance and feu.

Part VI

The Gardiner's home was still miserably chaotic when they arrived. Mr. Gardiner was on the porch in his greatcoat unable to endure the sobbing and shouting indoors. He looked kindly at the two girls as they passed him and remarked to Cathy that if she wished to have her heart broke too he would gladly furnish her with the means to do it at Brighton or Eastbourne or some such place.

"Oh, Cathy, Cathy... my dear, where have you been?" shrieked Mrs. Gardiner as they entered the parlour, "Poor Janet is quite distracted, I cannot calm her and know not what to do!"

Cathy winced. She certainly did not know.

"Beth, I am glad to see you," continued Mrs. Gardiner, "I know you will be able to settle poor Janet. I do not hope she will settle for long for her heart is shattered in as many pieces, poor child, that man has used her abominably ill."

Although feeling most unequal to restoring Miss Gardiner to anything like serenity Beth was ushered up the stairs and into her room. Janet was huddled in a chair weeping with determination, her face was bloated and hideous and two broken tea cups lay at her feet.

Beth picked up the pieces of china and sat holding them in her hands.

"I am so sorry, Janet. I did not know you were so attached to Colonel Miller."

Janet stopped for a moment, "No, I hid my feelings too well, I should have been more open. I have only myself to blame for a life of spinsterhood - I shall never love another!"

Beth thought this was going too far but could not find an inoffensive way of saying so. She thought that had Frederick Bennet loved her as much as he loved Janet she would not have given Colonel Miller a second glance and remained staunch in her belief that the allure of a red coat and four thousand a year was the foundation on which her affection was based.

As if reading her thoughts Janet burst forth into a tirade about love for it's own sake.

"I did not care for his fortune, I should have loved him as dearly had he been the merest subaltern... a sergeant even! Oh, Beth, how could he do this to me!"

"Did you have an understanding?" Beth repeated what she had asked Cathy earlier. Janet's grief was so pronounced that she could not imagine that there had not been an understanding.

"Janet, were you engaged? Did he tell you he loved you?"

"Did not every look tell me he loved me?" she cried, "My eyes told him!"

Beth sighed, "Were you engaged, did he declare himself?"

"No" Janet slumped back on her chair, "No, he never did. I am undone - I am the laughing stock of Meryton. I shall never henceforth stir from my room, I shall be a recluse. Beth, I will depend upon you, you must never leave me for I do not know what I shall do without a real friend. You must be my sister for I know Catherine does not care, I know she had tea at the Phillips tonight, she is only out to get Frank Oliver but he does not like her. He used to like me, you know, his heart was true and I spurned him for Colonel Miller...."

Her voice was lost in another fit of sobbing and Beth, unable to bear much more nonsense, made her excuses and fled downstairs to where Cathy and Mrs. Gardiner sat alone in the parlour in scarcely better circumstances. Mrs. Gardiner's face was pink and tearful, she had fidgeted with her cap so much that the lace was torn in one corner and her tea lay untouched on the tray.

"She will die of a consumption!" was the declaration that met Beth as she entered the room, "and then he will be sorry!"

Cathy stood up, "Beth will be late back, ma'am, let me accompany her to the end of Goose Lane."

The two girls left swiftly before any ruse of Mrs. or Miss Gardiner could prevent them.

"Do you see now why I was wandering the streets when you met me?" said Cathy when they had reached a safe distance.

"Indeed" replied Beth with some feeling, "I was half persuaded she does love him but then she started some nonsense and I decided she does not."

"Of course she does not" said Cathy, "but she had convinced herself he was going to propose."

Goose Lane was soon reached and Beth made the rest of her way back to Hay Park alone but if she had hoped for some quietness and sanctuary in her own room she was disappointed for Mrs. Roberts met her in the hall and scolded like any fury.

"What time do you call this to return, Miss Martin? You are above an hour late and my sister has had to tend to the poor little ones entirely alone."

She was scarcely ten minutes late but knew better than to argue with Mrs. Roberts.

"I have had enough of you. Do not think I do not know how you spend the free time my sister has been good enough to give you. I know you see Mr. Bennet and I shall tell you, you are a fool. Do you think such a man, handsome and with two thousand a year, will marry a little nobody like you?"

"I had not though of marrying..." Beth began but could not finish for Mrs. Roberts suddenly put her bag in her hand and ordered the footman to open the door and lift her out bodily if necessary. Within seconds she was walking across the fields again in the direction of Meryton, upon reaching the bridge she sat down unable to decide what to do although the only thing she could do was go to the Gardiners and beg their kindness for the night at least. She had got as far as wondering if her wages which Mrs. Roberts had thrust in her pocket would take her as far as Lambton on the morrow when she was disturbed by the sound of a carriage. It stopped and Frederick jumped out.

"Miss Martin, whatever has happened?"

"They have thrown me out!" she discovered she was crying, "Mr. Bennet, I do not know what to do."

"Thrown you out? Good God! Come with me and I will take you to the Gardiners', that is your plan, is it not?"

"Yes, it is. Please believe me, I did no wrong."

"Of course I believe you. Those people are monsters, they made their money in the slave trade and capable of every form of cruelty."

Frederick took Beth to Mrs. Gardiner and left her there promising to call the next day. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were kindness itself and assured Beth that she would be safe with them until her Uncle Martin should come for her. It did not occur to Beth that he would not and, after she had recovered from the shock of being so abruptly dismissed, she spent several happy days in anticipation of her return to Lambton. It was with little short of horror that she received a letter at the end of the week informing her that because of her aunt's lying-in that she would have either to stay with the Gardiners or return to Harriet as her uncle could not fetch her and would not countenance her traveling alone; Tom Fairfax could afford to send a servant.

"He can afford it!" she cried to Cathy "but he will not do it. He will hate me for losing my position and he will take it all out on poor Harriet."

Both Cathy and Janet were most sympathetic; Janet had got over her disappointment in Colonel Miller sufficiently to find someone else's troubles interesting and Cathy needed something to prevent herself dwelling on Mr. Oliver's having gone to London with no word of returning soon. Mrs. Gardiner, for her part, declared Tom Fairfax to be the most vicious man she had ever had the misfortune to hear of and insisted that Beth must remain in Meryton indefinitely.

"She must stay with us until we can find a good husband for her" she announced to Mr. Gardiner, "we would be hard-hearted indeed if we sent her back to such a man."

"I quite agree, my dear" remarked her husband from behind the latest edition of The Quill.

Part VII

Frederick was as good as his word and called in almost every day to enquire after the Miss Gardiners and poor Miss Martin. He seemed delighted to hear that Beth was to stay in Meryton although she impressed upon him it would only be until her aunt was safely delivered and her uncle could come to take her home. A week passed in this happy manner and at the end of it the most surprising thing happened. Beth was so determined to return to Derbyshire and voiced it so often that she frightened Frederick into proposing to her. Hertfordshire, he insisted, could not afford to lose her; Meryton would become the dullest place on earth and he himself would be quite undone. Beth was at first amused by those assertions but she very quickly realized that he was quite serious and indeed in love with her. What could she do? Prudence dictated acceptance but she so longed to marry for love and she knew she did not love Frederick as she ought.

After much thought she reluctantly made her answer; she could not marry him. If he had asked her two weeks sooner she would have accepted with alacrity and been happy but she could not admit that to him, she could not explain that she was fickle enough to have been in love with two men in the space of a single month.

"I have been a poor fool" he said, "I should have asked you before you got to know me better. Never mind, it will pass and sooner than it should."

He stopped calling at the Gardiners to everyone's surprise. Mr. Gardiner missed him and was forced to play chess with Mr. Phillips which was thoroughly unrewarding and Mrs. Gardiner missed him as she hoped he might still be in mind to pay his addresses to Jane.

"One piece of mutton pushes another down" she remarked placidly, "he is not as dashing as Colonel Miller but he does have Longbourn."

"Spoken like a true lawyer's wife, ma'am" complimented Mr. Phillips.

Mrs. Gardiner, however, was not deterred from the business of getting her three daughters married by the mere fact of their suitors vanishing. She had adopted Beth in her heart and longed to see her as well settled as the other two but, in view of Jane's recent disappointment she felt it necessary to find a husband for her first and so by various means she persuaded Mr. Bennet back to the house and encouraged him to revive his former feelings. Beth was a little disturbed by this for she knew that he had ceased to love Janet and that she had never loved him.

Christmas arrived sooner than expected and Beth demanded Cathy's assurance that Edward would come home so often that even she understood the importance of it.

"La, Beth! You should have confided in me sooner, of course he will come home if he is asked, cajoled and nagged at for long enough. My fear is that we will run out of time - he takes a good deal of nagging and I have not much practice."

She wrote and wrote again without receiving a reply to her liking. He would come home for Christmas business permitting. However, there was soon such news to be shared that he could not avoid returning to claim his portion in it, his good friend Frederick Bennet had become engaged to his sister, Jane. Mrs. Gardiner's felicity could not be confined to paper and she demanded her son return to offer his congratulations in person and, hopefully, to encourage Mr. Lucas to pay court to Catherine.

"I shall have them both married by Candlemas, Mr. Gardiner!" she exulted, "and then I will have time for my poor Elizabeth, she too must marry well."

"I am sure she will, my dear, I am sure she will." Mr. Gardiner was shrouded for safety in The Porcupine, a paper recommended to him by his future son-in-law.

Edward duly returned and Beth, along with Cathy and Jane, met him from the post. Beth liked Graymarket, the coaching town, it reminded her of Lambton. She wondered if she would ever have the opportunity of showing Edward Lambton; it was not likely, should she ever return he would have no reason to visit unless he brought Cathy and that was a foolish daydream.

"Frederick and Jane seem very happy" he said to her as they stood together in Mr. Gardiner's porch that evening. She had gone out to elude Mr. Lucas who was becoming altogether too attentive as was Mr. Bennet's dreadful cousin, Mr. Collins. Poor William Lucas was only stupid and if he were not trying to make himself agreeable he might be tolerable for a while but Mr. Collins was decidedly ignorant and boorish, she felt a pang of pity for whoever he should marry and for any children he might have.

"I am glad for them" she answered only too aware of the falsity of his statement as well as her response. Frederick did not love Jane adequately, different feelings had taken the place of love, loneliness for one, and others she would rather not think about.

"My sister is a decent girl" he continued, "she is kind and good-natured. I am persuaded, I hope I am right, that Frederick will be tolerably happy with her."

"I am sure you are" she replied, "look at the stars, Mr. Gardiner, there are almost as many in Hertfordshire as in Derbyshire."

He stifled a smile borne of a greater understanding of astronomy. "You must love Derbyshire very much."

"Yes, I do and I hope to return soon. I cannot trespass on your father's kindness indefinitely."

"Are your plans for returning settled then?" He enquired somberly.

"No, I am waiting to hear from my uncle. I do like Meryton and would stay here happily if I could not return to Derbyshire," she shuddered, "anywhere is better than London. I hate London."

"Do you?" It was a question that needed no reply. Of course she hated London, why would any girl born and raised in the loveliest county in England like cramped, filthy, smoky London? He felt acutely for his friend whose future could not possibly be happy with a woman so beneath him in sense, refinement and intelligence but he had hoped, although his conscience rankled, that Frederick's loss would be his gain. Nothing but the certainty that his friend was not in love with Miss Martin could have induced Edward Gardiner to leave London that Christmas and it was all for nothing. She would not live in London.

Part VIII

He returned to London claiming his business could not cope without him even before the New Year. Poor Beth, she could not decide whether 1790 or 1791 was destined to be the worst of her life.

"This year I lost my father" she sobbed, "and next year I cannot even hope for Edward."

Jane and Cathy listened in mute sorrow, it was beyond their limited powers of imaginations to deduce their brother's reasons for apparently not liking their friend.

"Edward is his own worst enemy!" declared Janet, "he does not know what is good for him."

It was Mr. Bennet, however, who guessed the real reason behind Edward's sudden departure.

"Miss Martin, did you happen to inform Mr. Gardiner of your love of Derbyshire to such an extent that he imagined you would die of unhappiness should you be required to live in London?"

Beth blushed into her scarlet cloak, "Must you still make improper remarks?" she asked.

"I am made that way" he replied, "and we are old friends now, Beth Martin, so answer me, did you send that man away imagining you would be happy nowhere but Lambton?"

"Not intentionally" she muttered.

"Well, you have only yourself to blame. You will get wrinkled and grey and die an old maid."

Beth glared at him but did not bite the hook, "Then I will visit you extremely often and teach your numerous daughters to embroider cushions very ill!"

"Unless...." he recommenced, "I invite him to my wedding and fetch him back by force if he attempts to excuse himself."

And so it was. Jane Gardiner and Frederick Bennet were united in holy matrimony on the first day of March 1791 and Edward Gardiner and Elizabeth Martin accompanied them to church as groomsman and maid-of-honour.

"God has certainly been good to us, Mr. Gardiner," remarked his wife as the carriage set off for Longbourn after the wedding breakfast, "if things continue like this I will be in a fair way to having Edward, Cathy and Beth off my hands by Midsummer. In fact, Mr. Gardiner, I may well kill two of my birds with the one stone and get Beth for my daughter in-law."

The carriage was finally out of sight, all the rice had been thrown and the guests retired indoors to finish the wine and cake.

"I have just bought a house in Gracechurch Street" said Edward as he closed the door on the maid who had already begun to sweep up the rice.

"Gracechurch Street" repeated Beth, "it sounds lovely."

Edward thanked providence that the house was not situated in the neighbouring Fowlness Street and ached for something else to say.

"Perhaps you will come and visit it when my mother and sister do in the spring? Well, you will, you are as good as a sister now anyway."

He could not believe his stupidity. Sister? No, indeed!

"You are dearer to me than any sister. Dearest, sweetest Elizabeth, do you think you could endure to live in Gracechurch Street with me?"

"I would live at the bottom of a well with you!" she cried, and compromised them both by throwing herself into his arms and kissing him furiously before he could change his mind.

So, Beth Martin, at the end of the worst year of her life entered on what she believed would be her happiest. She was wrong, of course, it was only the first of the happiest hears of her life and she was so very happy that although twenty-four years were to pass before she visited Lambton again she never missed it.

Catherine Gardiner was not so fortunate in love as her friend, after waiting patiently for Mr. Oliver to return from London which he never did, she was prevailed upon to accept her father's clerk, Mr. Phillips. It was not an unhappy union though, for Mr. Phillips was a kind man and in due course took over Mr. Gardiner's business which made him comfortable as well as kind. Mr. Lucas, too, made an advantageous match; he was fortunate enough to secure the hand of Miss Charlotte Smith who possessed the happy talent of making one of his shillings go as far as two of anyone else's which contributed greatly to his eventual presentation at court.

For Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, however, the writer cannot create a happy ending. Their characters were so unlike and their standards so very different that they were rarely happy; his love of independence kept them out of debt and her love of spending kept them precariously close to it. His wit soon degenerated into sarcasm and his charm into caprice; her good-nature quickly became nervous and discontent and although she retained her looks she was constitutionally incapable of retaining her husband's affection. They were both foolish enough to have favourites among their children from the start, she named the first one Jane and loved her best until the last was born, and he named the second, Elizabeth, and for the rest of his life favoured her above her sisters.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth..." complained his wife, "sometimes I think he's in love with the very name!"

The End