Pomp and Circumstance: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation

Chapter 7: An Unexpected Invitation

A/N: Thanks so much to my readers for my first votes and reviews!! I really appreciate all the kind words, and the support :D Here's a bonus little mid-week chapter. Hope you enjoy, and see you all again on Friday!

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As for Elizabeth, she was very pleased by Mary's and Georgiana's friendship, and felt it to be to the equal benefit of both.

For Mary, she felt Georgiana to be a kind and steadying influence, who might encourage a more sympathetic proclivity within her character; and for Georgiana, she felt Mary to be a balm to her timidity, and instinctively a protector of those gentler souls who were misused; and the more time spent with her sister, the less was spent with the Miss Bensons, whom she mistrusted and of whom, for all their effusive words, she remained always wary.

And certainly there was a change in Mary, more pronounced now after these few weeks than when Elizabeth had first seen her disembark from the carriage. The zeal and the contempt of her earlier years had lifted, as a grey storm clearing from an evening sky, and left behind only a mellow pomposity and a social ungainliness which came from inexperience and the poor example set by their mother and father. But these were traits which were manageable, and improvable, and Elizabeth saw now only those things which inspired her with hopefulness and confidence for Mary's future, and was convinced that she had done things most correctly in inviting her to Pemberley.

Truthfully, Elizabeth had not had as much time to spend with Mary as she wished; between the usual affairs of the estate which she managed and organization of the upcoming dinner party, as well as the dance which Pemberley was to host at the end of the month, she had little time to spare; and was glad to see Mary's time occupied with her reading and with her friendship with Georgiana.

Indeed, the overseeing of Pemberley was a daunting task, which she had learned quite quickly upon first becoming its mistress – but Elizabeth was certainly not one to shy away from challenges encountered; for, seeing the inadequate example set by Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, she set upon the management of the budget and the household with alacrity and shrewdness, and picked up quickly all that she had lacked in knowledge, which, married with her innate astuteness, was proving her to be a most capable mistress of Pemberley, of which the household and the village all made frequent and appreciative remark.

She had just spent her week at work with Mr. Trembley of the vicarage, with her latest efforts towards charity and visitations, and had also been quite engaged with distributing invitations to the dance, each with its obligatory social call; and coupled with her usual responsibilities at Pemberley moreover, she had been well-employed the past several weeks.

...And there was, too, another matter, of a wholly different nature, which occupied her thoughts with undercurrents of fretful but hopeful excitement.

However, here, at last, the end of the week was come, and she was to breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude for a brief respite that had finally been bestowed. Mary and Georgiana had left early for a walk along the grounds that morning, and she had not caught them before they had left, so instead, she chose to await their return in the parlour, taking a moment meanwhile for her sewing and for quiet reflection.

Not much time had passed before someone did arrive, but it was Mr. Crawford who was announced, and she invited him to sit with her, and take tea, which he politely declined, upon saying he had only stepped in for a moment.

"I gather that I have missed Miss Darcy and Miss Bennet," he said, after having removed his hat and exchanged the usual cordialities of greeting.

"They are somewhere about the grounds, I believe," Elizabeth said amiably.

Elizabeth found Mr. Crawford to be an agreeable sort of man – knowledgeable but without the vice of pomp, flippant but without the vice of condescension, mild-mannered and unimposing, but with strong views and opinions held steadfastly behind the mild manner and reserve – she thought him to adhere to all the rules of tradition and decorum, to be compliant and most correct in his general conduct, but did not doubt him to be quite immoveable once he had fixed on some course of action, and to hold his own principles of correctness above the ones which were imposed, so often unnecessarily, by society.

"I come by briefly to extend an invitation to you, Mrs. Darcy. I have finished the first round of my works, which I hope to be sent off by the next week, and hoped to show you all the prints over tea at the cottage. Your sister Miss Bennet is most welcome to join as well, of course."

"I think we should all be quite excited to see your illustrations, Mr. Crawford. Georgiana has expressed to me several times how much she delighted in seeing your work the last time we were shown it, and how captivating she found it to be; and then I believe Mary finds interest in most matters of an academic nature. Just be sure to speak meticulously of genus and species, and she shall be quite happy, I think."

Mr. Crawford seemed pleased at her words, and said, "Excellent. Should tomorrow be agreeable for you?"

Elizabeth replied that it would.

"In that case, I shall await the pleasurable company of both you and your sisters on the morrow."

Brief he had said his visit should be, and brief he had meant; he donned his hat and, with a final bow, made his departure, leaving Elizabeth to resume her thoughts, which now admittedly tended in a different direction than before his arrival.

Her words had been true, Georgiana's praise and delight of his illustrations had been most effusive and earnest. In Mr. Crawford's presence, Georgiana appeared much more reserved, and indicated no particular affection; but then, Elizabeth knew already of Georgiana's timidity, and even of her own sister Jane's shortcoming in making her attachments known; and thus, it was her opinion that perhaps the truth lay in Georgiana's compliments and admiration of Mr. Crawford's work in his absence.

On the gentleman's side, little could be said if there was that which he was not ready to reveal; but having just now made mention of Georgiana's praise, Mr. Crawford had seemed most gratified and pleased upon hearing the compliments – and then, also, the efforts had been made to invite them to the cottage, a gesture which was unprompted and borne of his resolution alone.

As far as matches went, it was not unsuitable; Lizzy knew that Darcy held an esteem for him, both in his accomplishments and his character, and they shared a mutual, trusted friend from their days at university; and Georgiana was not wanting in fortune, and therefore freed from such motive in marriage.

It was this that Elizabeth contemplated as she sewed, but she was not unwise in its contemplation, nor tempted to rush into any unfounded conclusions, or courses of action. After all, if there was ever a person who knew that life was wont to be most unpredictable and irrational when it was least expected, it was Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy.