Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Rub-a-Dub, Dub, Three Brownies in the Dale
Beside Lizzy, all the other passengers in the coach anxiously watched as Longbourn came into sight.
Tiddle was bouncing on the seat opposite of Lizzy and Mrs. Hanson as he diligently searched for the young boy he hoped would become his new companion.
Lizzy also watched Tiddle because she was seeking the one definitive signal that would show if a connection between the two existed.
This connection Lizzy first saw when she was three years old.
It was a silvery thread that ran between her and Butterbell.
Once she saw it, she began to see others.
She next saw the same thread between Grandma Bennet and Peachy, but their thread was more of a shiny gray color.
She saw the same thread slowly dissolve upon her grandmother’s death.
Since those first two, Lizzy saw every thread between brownies and humans who had the special connections; however, she also noticed each thread was of a slightly different color.
Only if more than one brownie was connected to a human was the thread the same color.
Lizzy had noticed this when Willow and his three companions came into the inn with Lady Catherine Merriweather.
For Robbie’s sake, Lizzy hoped to see the development of a thread form between him and Tiddle. She imagined Tiddle was hoping for the same development.
As the coach turned the corner into the Longbourn drive, Lizzy saw her family awaiting her arrival.
She knew Joseph had ridden ahead to inform the family of her imminent arrival.
She smiled as she watched Robbie bouncing up and down on his feet and her father, with his hand on his son’s shoulder, trying to hold him down.
To Mrs. Hanson, Lizzy said, “Some things never change, but I am happy I will be able to reward Robbie’s excitement.”
“Yes, but only if Tiddle sees him as his companion,” the lady replied.
As the two spoke, Lizzy watched Tiddle. She saw an almost invisible thread reaching out from Tiddle.
At first, it looked like it was heading for Tommy, who was held in his mother’s arms, but then the thread shifted.
‘Thankfully,’ Lizzy thought as she watched it creep toward Robbie.
Then it paused. Lizzy had watched this event unfold only twice.
The brownie’s thread would only go so far, and then the receiver had to have a thread come forth to connect to the brownie’s thread.
Lizzy held her breath as she watched, hoping Robbie’s inner power would send forth a receiving thread.
She noted Tiddle’s thread was a light brown.
Before the coach reached her waiting family, Lizzy finally saw a light brown thread creeping forward toward Tiddle’s reaching one.
Once they were almost touching, a burst of light appeared, and the two threads instantaneously entwined around each other and then fused together.
Lizzy smiled at the sight, pleased for both Robbie and Tiddle.
“Miss Lizzy be correct. Tiddle be meant for Robbie,” Butterbell happily declared.
Lizzy knew Robbie felt the connection for he moved quickly toward the moving coach; only his father’s swift grabbing movement stopped the boy from running in front of the coach. Until Lizzy breathed out, she did not realize she had held her breath.
“Tiddle excited, too, but I know not to move until box stops moving,” Tiddle declared with a toothy grin.
“You will have to teach Robbie that lesson, Tiddle,” Lizzy proclaimed as she too smiled.
As soon as the coach stopped, Ben, who had already dismounted, stood by the door to help everyone out. Lizzy came out first, followed by Mrs. Hanson. Butterbell followed by Tiddle both jumped down from the coach without any help.
Robbie looked at Lizzy and asked, “Mine?”
Mr. Bennet had released his hold on Robbie, and at Robbie’s question, Lizzy said, “Yes, he . . .” but she was interrupted.
Tiddle rushed up to Robbie, threw his arms around him, and declared, “Master Robert,” followed by, “Mine.”
Tiddle had made the claim, making it official.
The family watching the scene smiled with the exception of Lydia.
Lizzy sensed Lydia’s jealousy rather than saw any signs of it.
Lizzy had sensed the same feelings from Lydia when Mary’s brownie chose her.
She decided not to ruminate on this fact but greeted her family cheerfully.
After greetings, all the family retired to the family parlor where Lizzy distributed the gifts she had collected and bought while on her trip.
Tommy loved the blocks she purchased for him, while Robbie was more captivated by his brownie than the toy soldiers.
Hats, gloves, shawls, and length of fabric — the last gifts from their uncle and aunt Gardiner — were gleefully distributed to her sisters and mother, and her father received three new books.
Afterwards, tea was served, and then Lizzy began sharing the story of her travels. She wove a colorful tale about the Lake District, which produced oohs and ahs from most of her siblings, while her father and mother smiled.
By the time supper finally ended, Lizzy was ready for bed. It had been a long day and an ever longer time since enjoying the comforts of her own bed. As Lizzy laid her head upon her pillow, thoughts of what she wished to achieve in the next three years filled her head.
For the next two years, Lizzy occupied her time with experimenting with different ways to use nature’s power.
She continued to experiment with ways to bind up the ability of those who misused the power.
Lizzy always felt the ability to reach out and use the power was a special gift and those who used it should never cause harm with the power.
Grandmother Bennet once said, “Those who misuse their skills are as bad as the one who destroys the brownies. Unfortunately, other than warning them of the harm they cause, it is impossible to create a ward that stops them from misusing the power.”
Lizzy always felt there must be a way to prevent others from misusing the power. Nature’s power, she reasoned, would object to humans using it for harm. Although, she could not explain why nature’s power allowed the eliminator to destroy forever the brownies.
One problem with her experimentation was the lack of finding someone who was misusing the power to harm others. Until she could find someone to practice on, she had no way of knowing if what she was hoping to achieve would work.
The only help she obtained came from Butterbell and Peachy, and Tiddle who was only available while Robbie was busy with lessons.
The three brownies would meet Lizzy in a nearby dale.
They would use the power to play tricks on each other, and Lizzy would attempt to bind their ability while they were trying to misuse it.
It became a long, hard, drawn-out process, and Lizzy experienced no success until early in her second year of experimenting with different methods of weaving the power.
Unfortunately, even her success proved minor and of short duration.
It wasn’t until the summer of her second year that an event occurred to changed Lizzy’s focus on how to achieve the success she sought.