A Spring Sentiment: A Pride and Prejudice Novella Variation (Seasons of Serendipity Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

dangerous, isn’t he?”
    The colonel’s eyes widened. “Like I said, wise beyond your years.” He lifted his glass to toast her cleverness.
    “That’s why we’re here. Lady Matlock didn’t truly desire my company.” She twisted her mouth wistfully and looked down at her lap. the colonel reached forward and lightly touched her hand. Startled, she looked up at him and after a moment, gently moved her hand away.
    “My family admires you very much, Miss Mary. The fact that you are here for your safety bespeaks just how much my mother cares for your well-being. You don’t see other young ladies of London invited, do you?”
    Mary immediately let out a small laugh, followed by more giggles. Setting her glass on the table in front of the sofa with most of the liquid still in it, she rose from the sofa.
    “I think I will be able to sleep now.”
    The colonel nodded and watched as the young woman retrieved her candle and left the library. Yawning and stretching, he finished off the last of her drink and blew out the candles, except for the one he took with him. He would sleep in his own bed tonight, if only to make sure there’d be no talk if one of the servants had seen Mary enter or exit the library. If they had, the last thing he wanted for himself or the lady was for him to be found in the morning, snoring on the sofa.
     
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    The Gardiner household was very quiet without the Bennet girls and Madeline Gardiner missed them most acutely. She had maintained correspondence with Elizabeth and heard all about the dinner at Netherfield, the house hunting and her struggles to accustom herself to being engaged. On a rare Tuesday, Mr. Gardiner returned home for luncheon to find his wife reading the latest missive from Hertfordshire and laughing out loud.
    “What has Fanny done now?”
    “No, not Fanny. It appears Mr. Darcy was a little high-handed with Elizabeth and she served him a taste of ‘careful what you wish for’ or in his case, demand.”
    Mr. Gardiner placed his napkin on his lap and helped himself to part of the meat pie. His brows furrowed. “He isn’t mistreating her, is he? I won’t let any of my nieces marry a brute.”
    “No, no! Nothing like that. He just demanded to be present when Charlotte Lucas, now Collins, visited recently. Elizabeth writes that she made sure to directly ask Mr. Darcy his opinion on every subject the ladies discussed. By the time they began the topic of lace, she says the gentleman suddenly remembered a promise he made to Bingley!”
    The two Gardiners laughed heartily at the predicament and tears began to form in Mrs. Gardiner’s eyes. She inhaled a few deep breaths so she could continue her letter. Mr. Gardiner, having spent most of the morning working hard on receiving the first of his vessels this quarter, wasted no time in finishing his first portion of meat pie and helping himself to another.
    “Oh dear. She writes that not much has progressed for Jane. I agree with her that Jane’s serene manners might not serve to encourage Mr. Bingley.”
    Mr. Gardiner held his fork for a moment in thought, then took the bite. After swallowing, he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I confess I don’t think too much of that Bingley fellow. He doesn’t appear to be a steady sort. Can’t say I see him as a suitable match for our Jane.”
    “Be that as it may, with Lydia’s situation, the girls would suffer if he should break off the courtship.”
    Mr. Gardiner nodded and sighed. He checked his pocket watch and shook his head. He needed to return to the warehouses before too long. Silently he prayed his oldest daughter, Amelia, would slow her growth. Though he felt strongly for his nieces, he knew when his own daughter’s time came, it would be a hundred times worse.
    “What does Elizabeth say about their plans? Are they to marry from Hertfordshire?”
    Mrs. Gardiner shook her head. “No, their plans are not yet set, and it looks like she has received