[Comprehensive Book] A Rose for Catherine

【The Road Not Taken】

Lydia opened her mouth wide in shock, and it took a while to fully wake up: "Kitty, do you know what you're talking about!"

"of course."

Lydia grumbled and went to wash, and Elizabeth, as the newly appointed "Miss Bennet", sent a letter to the maid to say that they would come to visit.Morning visits are a normal social activity among neighbors, and Mrs. Bennet is happy to see the success, and urges Mr. Bennet to prepare a carriage for them.Mr. Bennet put his hands behind his back, glanced at Catherine inexplicably, and walked away.

Catherine felt a little guilty, but her expression was tense, and she couldn't see anything.

The ladies then got into the carriage.The property Bright purchased was located near Longbourn, making it easy to move around.He received a message from the maid early in the morning, and walked back and forth in the living room nervously.Darcy was sitting at a table writing to Georgiana, not wanting to see Brett in his glory.Knightley was talking with the two, his mood was always peaceful, so that people could not see the superfluous things.

At [-]:[-], the ladies arrived on time.Brett helped Lydia get off the carriage, they looked at each other, and they could easily see the joy in each other's eyes.When Lydia stepped on the ground with her skirt in her hand, she whispered something to Brett while others were not paying attention. Brett's eyes flashed with surprise, and then he showed a secret smile.

No one noticed the intimacy of the unmarried couple. Several young ladies were welcomed into the house, while the other two gentlemen were sitting upright on chairs. They got up to greet the guests, but judging by their attitude, they were not very eager.

What can morning visits do?The main activity is chatting, but Catherine's mind is not on it.She pinched the hem of her skirt unobtrusively, her eyes were half down, she didn't want to sit here and chat with a room full of people at this moment.Catherine looked up in Knightley's direction, and quickly pretended to be nonchalant before observing the other party's reaction.

Her nervousness before going out was strangely calmed down now, with a strange anxiety--she should have a good chat with Knightley, but she couldn't find an opportunity to speak to him alone.

This is indeed a very distressing thing.

Just when Catherine thought that there would be no chance to talk to Knightley alone this morning, Lydia suddenly pulled Catherine and asked them to go for a walk together.

Bright: "Didn't Darcy write to Georgiana?"

Lydia: "Lizzie would like to borrow a book from your study here."

Elizabeth stood up: "Yes."

She smiled.

Darcy glanced at Elizabeth and acquiesced to Brett's remarks.

The other four went out.Brett and Lydia were a step behind them, side by side.Catherine walked silently, not knowing what to say, and when she came to her senses, Lydia and Brett were already far behind them.

Catherine comforted herself before plucking up the courage to speak to Knightley: "I heard from Mr. Bright that you are going back to Donville soon."

With a nod of his head, Knightley acknowledged the statement: "Indeed. I am sorry, Kitty, that you, as a friend, did not get the news from me yourself."

"I thought I should feel sorry, after all, you are the one who is leaving." Catherine said with a sigh.

"As far as the parting itself is concerned, it also makes me regret." Knightley slowed down to match Catherine's pace. "I also regret that you learned this news from someone else. I think I should have done it sooner." Tell you about this."

There was really nothing to blame him for, after all, they had no reason to meet in private.

Catherine originally planned to say a lot to her friend, but when Knightley opened her mouth like this, she didn't know where to start.

She had no choice but to answer Knightley first: "But maybe because it wasn't told in person, the atmosphere wouldn't be so sad?"

"Is that what you think, Kitty?"

Catherine didn't answer, she asked tactfully, "Then what do you think, sir?"

"Either way of saying goodbye, I feel the same regret and sadness."

He gazed into Catherine's pale eyes, as if to look through them into the depths of her heart.

"But this reluctance didn't make you stay longer?" Catherine said half-jokingly and half-complainingly.

Knightley's tone was still calm: "Kitty, how dare you be sure that I haven't stayed for a long time because of this reluctance?"

At this time, the end of summer brings the smell of sunflowers in the fields, mixed with the hot sun and the wind passing through the groves.

Lydia and Brett had already changed another way in the woods, and the young girl proudly said to her lover: "I am smarter than Kitty and the others. You see, she still needs my help now." . Her awkward personality is really unlovable."

Brett agreed deeply, but he dared not agree with this statement in front of Lydia.

"I didn't even notice—"

It was not without his suspicions, but Catherine and Knightley were so natural that he was foolish to think that they were just friends.He preconceived that a girl like Catherine, who had no intention of marrying in her life and wanted to be a single old lady, would not like anyone.

Such thoughts are harmful.

Or in other words, the two people's minds were too convoluted, but the part that was revealed was so frank that it was hard to believe that there was something else between them.

What he said, Lydia naturally understood.She mocked her fiancé unceremoniously: "If you were smart enough to see it from the beginning, you wouldn't be turned down for the first marriage proposal at all."

Brett was helpless: "But in the end I succeeded."

Lydia snorted and walked forward quickly, ignoring him.

She turned her head and glanced sideways, and through the gap in the grove, she could vaguely see a white skirt that belonged to Catherine.

Lydia hummed triumphantly one of her favorite Scottish ditties.

Is there anything clever Lydia can't do?

The atmosphere on the other side was far less relaxed.

After Knightley said that sentence, Catherine didn't know why she suddenly had a feeling that the dust had settled - it turned out that he did have a crush on her, not because she was passionate.But after confirming, she still struggled with what to say next.In her imagination, those thoughts that should have been tested and finally determined by her seemed to be presented before her eyes without her doubts and hesitation.

She even tactfully left enough room for her to say no.

The more this happened, the less she knew how to respond.She was afraid she could not give equal weight in response.

They walked for a while in silence.

This section soon came to an end, and if you go further, you will come to the land of nearby farmers.So they turned back.

They tacitly did not communicate aloud.Knightley left her plenty of room to think and say no.

If according to his original idea, this was not the best moment to express his thoughts. He could judge Catherine's wavering from her expression during today's visit, but he couldn't be sure which side she would fall to in the end.But just as Catherine felt, he didn't want her to cautiously try to get entangled.

Because in this ambiguous relationship that can never be revealed, he is already careful enough.

He doesn't need Catherine to be like him, he just needs Catherine to be brave.Just as she rebelled against what she didn't like, she also stood up to what she liked.

The village of Longborn is not wide enough, and its groves are always made up of only a few short paths.The outline of Brett's mansion gradually appeared in Catherine's field of vision, and she couldn't help but wonder if they were walking too fast.

Little did she know that Lydia and Brett had returned to the house a quarter of an hour earlier.Seeing that they came back alone, the remaining two didn't even ask any more questions.Seeing this, Brett felt that he was really stupid in the past.

He leaned over and asked Darcy how he had noticed it again.After the two chatted with each other, they realized that Darcy didn't notice, he just thought that Brett wanted to be alone with his fiancée.

Brett: "..."

He was suspiciously silent for a few seconds, and patted his friend's shoulder heavily: "Now you are the only one left in this house, Darcy."

Brett thought of what Catherine once said, "Lydia will not consider marriage until I find someone I like", and couldn't help but feel a burst of rejoicing.

This is really God bless!

Darcy glanced at him coldly, picked up the letter paper and walked into the study.Elizabeth was still inside.

In the woods, Catherine and Knightley were still walking slowly.

It wasn't until the outline of the house was completely clear that she could see the busy maids in the courtyard and the gate that was close at hand, that Catherine finally stopped first.

She couldn't hesitate to postpone it any longer.

Knightley also stopped immediately, and turned to look at Catherine.This caused Catherine to feel in a trance, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Catherine lowered her eyes halfway. At this moment, she didn't dare to look at him.For half a minute, Catherine stabilized her emotions, raised her head, and allowed herself to look directly into Knightley's eyes calmly.

as usual.

—Although it's not the same as usual.

"Sir, would you like to remain at Longbourne for some time?"

"—even if you've stayed a long time longer."

She heard a chuckle, and the other party's answer was completely opposite to her hesitation, as gentle as before, but with a rare decisiveness.

He looked at her with a thin smile in his eyes.

There are many other things under that smile.

"If you will keep me, Miss Catherine."

The author has something to say: [One update.Originally, I wanted to put the two updates together, but I was afraid that the second update would be a bit late, so I put a chapter first. 】