The Ashes of Longbourn Read Online Free PDF

fine gowns and jewels.  What pin money you will have as well.  And I am sure that Mr Bingley will purchase a new carriage for you.  My daughter will be Mistress of Netherfield.  I must go and tell my sister at once.”
                  “Mamma, please do not trouble yourself to run off to Aunt Phillips’s home.  The news can wait a bit longer.”
                  “Oh, no, Jane, I must be on my way to speak with my sister, as there is much planning to be done.  There will dinners and teas given in honor of your engagement, gowns to have made, planning a wedding breakfast as well.  Have the two of you discussed when you wish to wed?”
                  “We were hoping to wed as soon as Mr Darcy returns from his estate.” Jane said.
                  “Forgive me, Jane, but I have forgotten to tell you that Mr Darcy is delayed, as his sister has taken a deadly fever while she was in Scotland with her aunt. I do not know when Darcy will return here.”
                  Mrs Bennet continued speaking.  “That is fine, as I will need time to make all the preparations.  There is so much to be done.  We could not manage to have a proper wedding in a few weeks.”
                  Jane had turned to Elizabeth to see her sister’s reaction to the news of Miss Darcy’s illness.  There was obviously despair in her expression.  How Jane wished that her sister was free to speak of her relationship with Mr Darcy.   She felt guilty being able to openly discuss her future with Bingley and having him at her side made Jane realize how fortunate she was in comparison.
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                  As children, Jane and Elizabeth had often spoken of the men that they would marry, and the sort of wedding that they each preferred. Jane wished for a fairy tale wedding, with the white horses with flowers braided into the mane and tail to pull the carriage from the church to the wedding breakfast.  She wished for a beautiful gown of ivory silk, with flowers embroidered on the bodice, and flowers woven into her hair.  One thing she had always wished for was to have her dearest sister at her side, standing witness, at her wedding.
                  In contrast, Elizabeth had always wished for simple.  She had no desire for finery or elaborate gatherings, the only important matter, other than having Jane stand beside her, was the man who she married.  If she had her druthers, Elizabeth would have a simple wedding in a small chapel, only the closest of family and friends in attendance.  The gown she would wear would be pale yellow silk, simple, yet elegant.   
                  The sisters spent many hours each evening, speaking of the future, of the joy they would have with the men that they loved.  It was pleasing to both of them that the men were already the best of friends. Most nights one of them slept in the other’s bedroom so that they could continue their discussions.  Since their rooms were across the hall from each other, it was simple enough for them to slip across the hall without disturbing anyone else.  It was just such a night as this that the sisters had been in Elizabeth’s rooms, talking until quite early in the morning.  It was a night that neither would ever forget.
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    Chapter 4
                  Elizabeth was pleased with how the day’s events had gone.  Her beloved sister was betrothed to Charles Bingley.  It was more than Elizabeth could have hoped for a month prior.  Thinking about Mr Darcy, knowing his part in bringing Mr Bingley back to Netherfield and back to Jane, brought a smile to Elizabeth’s face.  She knew what a kind man he was and he had kept his word. And he would arrive