Chapter 28
Her plan now set in her mind—and convinced there was no other way to preserve her dignity and future happiness—Mary went straight to her father who was, as usual, in his book room.
He looked up with a smile, but on seeing his daughter in such disarray and so clearly upset, his countenance quickly changed to one of concern.
“Mary, my dear, what on earth is wrong? Are you unwell?”
“I am not unwell, Papa. But I am terribly distressed by something I have heard—” She broke off with a small sob and grabbed her handkerchief, pressing it to her mouth, struggling for control. Mr. Bennet hurried over and gently led her to the settee.
“Tell me what is troubling you,” he urged, sitting beside her.
“Before I do, I must ask you to promise to have the carriage available for me tomorrow so that I may leave first thing for Pemberley. For I cannot bear to—” She took a shuddering breath. “Promise me, Papa.”
“Of course, if you wish it. But what is so upsetting that you should desire to leave Longbourn? What did you hear?”
Mary looked at her father and felt a pang of guilt, knowing that the lie she was about to tell would ruin his hopes for happiness with Amelia.
But she simply could not bear to have Mr. Yarby or his sister so near and see them daily, knowing what they really thought of her. She took a deep breath to tell her lie.
“I was walking over to see Mr. Yarby in order to ask about something I had read in the Bible. As I reached the house, their maid told me he and Phillip and Amelia were in the back. So, I walked around and as I approached, I…I…” Mary swallowed, nearly losing her nerve before plunging ahead.
“They were speaking—of you, Papa, and how their plan was working perfectly to make you fall in love with Amelia. Then she laughed and said she did not care for you at all, but just wanted to live at Longbourn and secure Mr. Yarby’s position here as rector.
It is clear she does not love you, Papa.
She only wants the riches of our home! You must break it off with her. ”
Mr. Bennet sat back, his mouth open. He stared at his daughter, and she felt him studying her. She lowered her eyes and was silent.
“Are you…are you quite certain of what they were saying, Mary?” he finally asked. “Perhaps you misheard them.”
“No, Papa—I know what I heard. And now I recall that, early on, she pressed me to tell her where you enjoyed walking. It was clearly a plot to occasion opportunities to meet with you in an innocent way and worm her way into your heart.”
Mary placed her hand on her father’s, forcing herself to go on.
“I am all too aware of how hard this is for you to learn. It is for me as well, for I have been just as deceived as you have. Amel—Mrs. Withers clearly took me into her confidence and pretended to become my intimate friend in order to get close to you. But it is all a sham. You must break with her. Thank goodness, nobody outside of the family knows of your attachment; we can avoid a scandal. And you must speak to the bishop about dismissing Yarby, for he clearly took this position under false pretenses and intended deceit!”
Mr. Bennet ran a hand over his face. “Not that I do not believe you, Mary—you are not one to tell a lie—but I wish to speak to her first. This is all so sudden and, frankly, completely unlike the Amelia I know. I must hear her side before taking such a dramatic step. This may just be some strange misunderstanding or confusion on your part that can easily be cleared up.”
Mary tilted her chin defiantly. “Speak to her if you like, Papa, but of course she will only lie and use her charming ways to play on your affections and persuade you that I am…making this all up. But I am your daughter; you must believe me. I know what I heard!”
She reached for her father’s hands. “Come away with me to Pemberley—and Kitty too. We shall all get away from this horrible fraud, and then you can write the bishop from there about dismissing Mr. Yarby. Then we shall return to Longbourn in due time and make a fresh start.”
“I am so shocked. I must think long and hard about this news, Mary. What you have related distresses me greatly. I cannot believe Amelia would even say such…”
He gave himself a little shake and rose to pull the bell cord.
“I shall order the carriage and tell Mr. Hill to accompany you tomorrow. Go and pack. Kitty and I shall stay here for now. Although, if what you have told me turns out to be correct…then we shall follow later.” He gave a wan smile to his daughter. “Go along now, and leave me to think.”
***
Three days later, Mary arrived at Pemberley.
When the carriage drove up to the grand manor, Barton, the butler, and Pemberley’s housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, came out, expressing great surprise at Mary’s unanticipated arrival.
Told her room would be made ready as soon as possible, Mary was escorted into the morning room where she found Lizzy and Georgiana doing needlework.
They both looked up from their work in astonishment.
“Mary!” exclaimed Lizzy. “I did not know to expect you. Did a letter advising us of your arrival go amiss?” She set her sewing aside and rose to embrace her sister and give her a kiss.
“There was no time to send advance word, Lizzy. Please accept my deep apologies for arriving unannounced. But I simply had to get away; the situation at home has become quite untenable and—” Mary broke off with a sob. “Oh, Lizzy, I am so unhappy!”
Lizzy enfolded her younger sister in her arms and comforted her while Georgiana rang the bell pull to order a pot of strong tea—the remedy for every crisis.
***
“So, of course, as soon as I learned of their deceit, I told Papa I must leave Longbourn at once,” Mary finished her tale. “I tried to persuade our father and Kitty to join me, but he wishes to remain for now.”
“I am beyond astonishment at your report,” Lizzy said. “Papa wrote not a word about his affection for Mrs. Withers. We had no idea!”
“Well, of course—he is still in full mourning, so he could not speak of it. Aside from Kitty and Mr. Yarby, no one knows of their attachment,” Mary replied.
“How lucky for you to have overheard them when you did, Mary,” Georgiana added, earnestly. “For the romance might have continued, and I should hate to see a man as kind and sweet as your father enter into a marriage under false pretenses!”
“Yes, and since it has not become public knowledge,” added Lizzy, “Papa can speak to the bishop for approval to send them away and no one will be the wiser. We have escaped any hint of scandal. Well done, Mary. Oh, but poor Papa—I do feel sorry for him. If his heart was truly attached to Mrs. Withers, your news must have been a terrible and painful shock.”
Mary dropped her eyes, feeling guiltier by the minute. One lie seems to have led to another, and she was amazed at how easily Lizzy and Georgiana believed her falsehoods.
I have always made it a practice to be honest above all things.
I abhor liars, and yet, it appears I have become quite a skillful one.
Well, once Amelia and Mr. Yarby are gone from Longbourn, I shall double my good works in the parish in penance, and I vow to never lie again. If only…there had been another way.
The faces of Amelia and Robert came into her mind, and Mary felt an ache in her chest that mingled with her guilt and the exhaustion of the long trip. What had she done? She had betrayed the man she loved and her only true friend. She gave a little moan and fell over in her chair in a faint.