Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

Before Christmas, Jane gave birth to her second son, named Charles, who had the same name as his father, and Mary became the godmother of little Charles as she wished, which inevitably gave her a place to release her maternal love , so although she lived with the Earl in Emerald Valley Manor, most of the time around Christmas was spent in Howard End.

It is worth mentioning that Mr. Bingley's younger sister, Miss Caroline, finally got married. She was a young man who was neither rich nor self-motivated. It's really embarrassing to go the same way.Caroline herself seemed dissatisfied with this marriage, but since she offended the Earl of Leicester at Howard Manor last time, she tried to avoid this nobleman who was good at holding grudges as much as possible, so Mary also Without the chance to observe her husband-in-law at close range, I also don't know her married life.

Elizabeth has not been pregnant since she gave birth to a daughter. Now that Jane has two sons, she is a little anxious. Fortunately, Mr. Darcy still loves her very much, and Miss Darcy seems to have recovered from the blow of the annulment. Life in Pemberley is still very pleasant after recovering from the middle ages.

Kitty also came to her sister's house, because she is very sad now. Major Andrew, who was once engaged to her, died of a fever in India. Kitty originally had a very cheerful personality, and she laughed and laughed all day without any troubles. Noisy, but now I cry at every turn.The sisters discussed this matter in private, and felt that she hadn’t actually stayed with Major Andrew for a long time, and the relationship should not be too deep. Knowing that he is no longer in this world, she naturally feels the irreparable loss. Time should heal her wounds, so every sister is very tender to her and tries to be considerate of her feelings. Sure enough, not long after Christmas, Kitty also became Be strong, at least you won't cry when you hear the words army, red uniform or India. My sisters think this is a good sign.

Even Lydia, who is far away in America, sounds very smooth, and now the only person who keeps in touch with Lydia is Kitty.In her letters to Kitty, Lydia described America so beautifully that she always regretted why she hadn't been there sooner. It was so full of gold, and everyone was so enthusiastic. Among her friends, she is very popular and has dance parties every day. Unfortunately, she talked about so many lively scenes, even when it comes to the style of her new dress, her sisters still don’t know what she and her husband do for a living. .Not long after Lydia arrived in America, she gave birth to a daughter, but in pursuit of pleasure, she fostered her daughter in a local family, and seldom visited her, let alone mentioned her in her letters, which made her family feel very sad. Sorry and worried.

Mary is much more comfortable as the hostess of Emerald Valley than she was in Leicester Castle. On the one hand, the omnipotent butler Smith followed to Emerald Valley to take care of everything in order; In the Emerald Valley, Mary can do as she pleases, without having to consider the ostentation of a noble family.

Mary was especially satisfied that the earl let Mrs. James, who lived in seclusion in the wooden house in the valley, come to the mansion to serve as the housekeeper. This old servant who once served the earl's mother didn't have much obsession with rules and pomp. On the contrary, she appreciated it very much. Mary's simple and elegant taste, always said that she saw the shadow of the old master in Mary, so when there is nothing to do, Mary will go to the woods with Mrs. James to pick wild strawberries, and then cook in the kitchen of Emerald Valley Manor. Do-it-yourself strawberry cheesecake, all the materials are produced by the manor itself, and only the cheese comes from Leicester Castle, because even Mrs. James, who advocates local materials, has to admit that the cheese produced in Leicester Castle is The best quality in all of England.

This afternoon, Mary made a honey raspberry cake in the kitchen, but the people who wanted to enjoy it had something to do and couldn't accompany Mary's afternoon tea. The Earl of Leicester received an urgent letter and told Mary He will go out for a few days to deal with some affairs in Paris. Mary does not feel bad about the short separation, on the contrary, it is an indispensable adjustment of married life.

So after sending the earl away, Mary put the cake into a straw basket and walked to Howard Endor to visit Jane and her children. She thought that if she walked faster, she could catch up with afternoon tea, Howard Endor The cake made by her is not as delicious as her own, and Jane has admitted this more than once.

Not only did Mary catch up with afternoon tea, but she also caught up with a new friend—Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Wellesley, a slender, brown-haired man in his mid-thirties, returning from India on vacation. With his short wavy hair and bright blue eyes, he was dressed in tailored civilian clothes, but with a serious demeanor, it was obvious that he was a man who had a career in the army.

Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley is a friend of Major Andrew in the Indian Army. According to his friend's last wish, he specially came to visit Kitty and handed over poor Major Andrew's belongings to her. Having not participated in any battle, he unfortunately suffered from a serious disease, so he died penniless and without honor.Kitty couldn't help thinking about things and feeling sad again. Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley looked at her with pity, and told Kitty about Andrew's life in India very considerately, hoping that her sweetheart would always be with her. Consistent love can somewhat soothe her sadness.

Later, Kitty returned to her room upstairs with the small box brought by the lieutenant colonel to pay tribute to her fiancé, so Jianjian invited Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley to have afternoon tea together.Mary's first impression of this man was very good. He is not a boastful person, but he is well-informed and well-behaved. He is not a suave person, but he is calm and cautious. The habit of merry pomposity.

After hearing about Mary's identity, Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley paid tribute to the Earl of Leicester, because he once participated in the battle against Napoleon in Egypt as General Nelson's adjutant. Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley believed that the Earl of Leicester dispatched sufficient supplies for the British army in time in that battle, which contributed to the victory of the battle.Mary thanked him for the compliment, but it was inappropriate to talk about the war with the ladies all the time, so he talked about himself, guided by the two ladies.

Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley was born in a noble family in Ireland, but he was not the eldest son, so according to family tradition, he enlisted in the army very early. His father, the Earl of Mornington, had four sons. Served as the Governor of Ireland, and the other sons also have decent careers, but they are not in the UK now, so Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley's leave does not have a fixed end point.

Hearing this, Jane and Mary immediately invited him to be a guest at Howard and Emerald Valley, which was in the hands of Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley, because his mother died young, there were no sisters in the family, and his father was serious and militarized towards his sons. Colonel Wellesley had seldom experienced the tender side of the family in his manner of administration, and now, in the midst of a beautiful country scene, in the company of gentle and beautiful ladies, who were not unlike the affectated dames he had come into contact with at court. Quite different, frank and kind, they talked not of politics, riches and jewels, but of lovely children, farming and domestic details, and although they were noble, they cooked for themselves, and Wellesley tasted fresh He felt that he was fascinated by this warm family atmosphere, which was very different from everything he had encountered in the barracks and court, so he accepted the mistress's offer without hesitation. kindness.

Things got interesting over the next few days.If it was purely out of good intentions that Jane retained Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley to stay as a guest at first, in the next few days, seeing him always walk with Kitty as graciously as possible, telling her various anecdotes in India Unraveling her depression, Jane and Mary inevitably had some thoughts.

For Kitty, Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley is a very rare marriage partner. He is young, has no family, his parents are dead, and he can make his own decisions about marriage.He was born in a famous family. Although he did not inherit the title, he also inherited enough property, and he made great contributions in participating in the colonial war in South India, and grabbed a large amount of wealth. The surviving officer has made a fortune, and he has a bright future.

Jane is just worried that her sister is still immersed in the bad news of her fiancé, so she ignores Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley's affection.Mary was very optimistic about this question. What she worried about was whether Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley would make up his mind to propose marriage to a girl who had no property and didn't know much.But soon, both of their worries dissipated.

It's funny to say that that evening, Mary was picking half-open rose petals in the garden of Howard Manor, planning to make rose pies. Hearing Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley coming from behind the greenhouse, he paced up and down the path beside the rose bushes, murmuring words.

"...Dear Miss Bennet...No, no, too formal...Dear Kitty...Isn't that too immodest...Dear Miss Bennet...Yes, that's it... "

Mary's hand was pricked by a rose thorn, but she didn't make a sound. She didn't dare to stand up from the rose bushes for fear of embarrassing Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley, but she was very happy. When she said good-night, Mary gave Kitty a hug, and said, "My dear, you are a lucky girl."