Dear Aunt Gardiner
I think you will be worried about me, but you need not.
I have received the most wonderful Christmas gift for which I could ever ask.
Mr. Robert Harris has taken a clerk’s position with Uncle Phillips.
He is to live in Meryton and has promised to see me every day.
Papa has already given him permission to court me. You can well imagine my joy.
Mama seems pleased as well. She practically pushed us under the kissing bough.
I admit to being quite embarrassed, but then Mr. Harris kissed me, and I can tell you, as you know what happened in London, that his kiss banished all others from my mind, forever.
He also admitted to having met his cousin with pistols, and leaving a hole in Mr. Franklin Harris’s hat, promising to do worse if he or his wife ever trouble us again.
So, you see, honor is satisfied and all has been put right, and I am the happiest of young ladies.
Moreover, thanks to Grandmother Harris, I have two adorable kittens.
The second kitten awake now, more paws tapped at the desk, attempted to pull Mary’s page away from her. She slid it out of danger, then sacrificed the second ribbon to the little monsters in her lap. Returning to writing, Mary changed her last period to a comma.
Moreover, thanks to Grandmother Harris, I have two adorable kittens, who are quite mischievous.
You will also be pleased to know, but I do not believe I will yet tell Mama, that Mr. Robert Harris is now his grandmother’s heir, and while I would not be so uncouth as to ask the particulars, I believe we will be quite comfortable in our circumstances.
Thank you for a lovely visit in London. I shall forever be in your debt. Enjoy a joyous Yuletide in Pemberley, and please give everyone there my love, even that stodgy Mr. Darcy.
Yours truly and with love,
Mary
THE END