Detective Mary

Chapter 52

The wedding of Jane and Mr. Bentley was the first in the neighborhood in years.

This was great news, especially since Mr. Bentley was an investor with a wide range of contacts, and his good name was known far and wide, and many of the unmarried girls in Meriden were thinking of taking advantage of Jane's wedding and perhaps finding themselves a husband who was as good as Mr. Bentley.

Unfortunately Mr. Thornton and Mary's distant relative, Miss Margaret Hale, did not come. The former was busy with the factory, the latter with her mother, and both stayed in Milton.

Otherwise, Mary thought it would be all right to help the two Pride and Prejudice couples - but there was no hurry, as Mary would be going to Milton in a few days!

However, Mary's failure to act as a matchmaker did not mean that others would not feel the same way - Sir Lucas, for example.

After the marriage of the eldest daughter, there is still a youngest daughter in the family, and Sir Lucas, who has always been kind and generous, took advantage of Jane's pre-wedding period to invite all the visiting ladies and gentlemen, and organized a lively ball.

It was time for Mary to socialize, which she usually did not like.

As usual, she stood in the corner of the hall, avoiding most of the young men's glances and the ladies' conversations. She wasn't interested in gossip, and with all the pretty girls around, it wasn't the turn of other gentlemen to make advances.

Why don't you take this time to think about the new chapter of your novel?

With that in mind, Mary was immediately lost in thought.

A reply from Editor-in-Chief Hall arrived at Longbourn this morning.

-- not a letter, exactly, but a large package.

Mary was startled when she got the package, and by the time she unwrapped it she immediately understood what Editor-in-Chief Hall was up to: the package was full of out-of-date magazines and newspapers, and the one thing they had in common was that they carried reports or stories related to P.T. Barnum.

In his letter, Editor-in-Chief Hall said that if Barnum was to be used as a character model, he could carefully read the comments and feedback at the time, which might help Mary's creation.

Actually, Mary didn't say in her letter that the inspiration came from Barnum. The editor-in-chief is the editor-in-chief, and is indeed a knowledgeable and perceptive person.

On top of that, Editor-in-Chief Hall recognized Mary's idea. He thought that adapting a real person was a desirable thing, especially since Mr. P.T. Barnum's story was a hot topic in society, and if it was well written, then Mary's serial would not only be just a speculative mystery novel, but also take on the value of pinpointing the ills of the times.

He praised the story's smooth writing and realistic behavior, but at the same time, Editor-in-Chief Hall admonished, saying that if Mary wanted the circus owner to end up with a big success, the exaggerated advertisement in the synopsis alone would not be feasible. In reality, the media and public feedback on Barnum was more negative than positive, and almost all "decent people" viewed his fame and popularity as a social disgrace.

So if Mary wanted the orgy to be a sensation in Paris even after the truth was known, the circus owner needed a motive - a motive that would make the real readers clap their hands and applaud as much as the fictional circus-goers did.

This was not unlike Mary's idea.

She was also considering just what the circus owner had planned this grand orgy for. The greed for money was certainly not an option, and this point would not require Mary to stay close to reality, but rather to use her imagination to make the ending as romantic and splendid as was appropriate.

What exactly is a good reason ......

Just as Mary was deep in thought, a tall figure paced silently up to Mary, blocking her view.

Mary subconsciously looked up until she saw Mr. Darcy's handsome poker face and blinked indistinctly before coming back to reality.

"Ah, Mr. Darcy," she spoke, "long time no see."

"Long time no see, Miss Mary." Darcy nodded.

"What can I do for you?"

"......"

What could it be, he was just seeing someone he knew and coming to say hello out of basic etiquette!

This Miss Mary Bennet, was as wanton and rude as before. Mr. Darcy was helpless-her eldest sister was a lady's lady, so gentle that she could pinch water; her second sister was independent and intelligent, and carried herself with an air different from that of a squire's daughter.

Unfortunately, however, the two fine sisters did not bring much positive influence to Mary; Darcy recognized that Mary was a clever young lady, but she also cared from the bottom of her heart for her reputation and social connections.

It's almost as if she's exactly like his brilliant friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

What to say, people of the same type will always be attracted to each other, I guess, and while it didn't appear that Sherlock was all that special to Mary, Darcy could tell that Miss Mary Bennet was solidly doubly interested in Holmes' life as a detective.

"I hear you've been doing quite a bit in London," so Mr. Darcy spoke up, "with the serial going through the draft without a hitch, and helping Charles track down useful leads in the case."

As well as meeting a new, if poor, but extraordinarily noble friend, Miss Mary Morstan.

Of course this was something Mary would never say to Darcy.

She nodded, "Everything went well."

Darcy: "Then congratulations, young lady."

Mary: "And yet I hear you have not been doing so well lately, sir; at Rosings Hall, Lizzie refused your proposal, did she not?"

Darcy: "......"

Is this something that can be mentioned directly to the person in question!

Mr. Darcy was once more certain that he really did not like this third young lady of the Bennet family!

Mary, of course, saw his displeasure, but she, too, really didn't care.

She wasn't stupid; Mary had known for a long time that Mr. Darcy didn't like her. Yet she didn't feel the need to please Darcy either - Mary wasn't a pound note, what did she need everyone to like her for?

Being a Mary Sue heroine who is not loved by everyone is also quite good, at least she can write her own novel without worrying about it, think of ways to help the poor, and maybe continue to solve cases, how happy the days are.

So Mary still said on, "I'm sorry, sir, but I think ...... you're a little too eager to propose directly."

Darcy closed his eyes.

This wasn't the first time Mary had gotten right to the point, so Darcy, disgruntled as he was, still chose to continue the conversation with Mary.

"Miss Elizabeth has refused me," he said calmly, "and it is too late to say anything."

"It is not too late."

Mary quirked her mouth, "Lizzie told us she thought your proposal was too sudden."

Darcy raised an eyebrow, "What could that mean?"

"It means she's not rejecting you because she doesn't like you."

It goes without saying!

It was true that male and female brain circuits were just not the same, and even in the Victorian era, Mary felt deeply the difference in thinking that gender brought.

In Mr. Darcy's eyes, Elizabeth's rejection of himself meant that she just did not want to spend her life with him. Especially without the conflict of the original, Mr. Darcy was kindly talking to Elizabeth and proposing to her without being rebuked by her for being rude and arrogant, which he had reflected on long ago, and there was nothing to reflect on this time.

And what about in Elizabeth's mind, but only because it felt like their relationship hadn't gotten to that point yet.

"And didn't Lizzie say that she was feeling that she couldn't say yes to you, at least for the moment."

"So?"

Mary: "So that proves that Lizzie just thought you proposed out of the blue and didn't see fit to reject you completely."

Darcy: "......"

Looks like Mr. Darcy finally got it.

That's tough.

Mary thinks it's time for him to pursue Elizabeth like the original!

"I am sure that if Lizzie knows you well enough, sir," she blessed from the bottom of her heart, "you are a man of great beauty and integrity, and have seen and known so much, that Lizzie will fall head over heels for you."

"...... Thank you for the compliment, Miss Mary."

"If you do thank me," she said with a smile, "go and ask my good sister to a dance. I don't blame her for thinking your proposal too sudden, sir; the two of you have never even danced a proper dance!"

That was true.

And to think that the previous good-natured invitation to Elizabeth to dance was meant to be an apology, and not entirely out of admiration and affection. Mr. Darcy found Mary's proposal quite feasible.

--Even if in the end Elizabeth still could not fall in love with him, at least she could still be a friend, couldn't she?

Darcy, knowing that Mary was not one for false courtesies, stopped thanking him and instead said a few words and went straight to Elizabeth, who had just come off the dance floor.

As for Mary, she continued to "sit on the bench" happily.

And more than ever, Mary felt that the ball wasn't as hard as she thought it would be.

Normally, Mary was reluctant to skimp on social occasions like this, but since she was officially penning her work, she found this lively ball a little more interesting.

Observing more about the people in it was also a way of accumulating material for her creation! Switching to the author's point of view, Mary now found everything she looked at very valuable.

And this time the ball, because of the upcoming wedding of Jane and Mr. Bingley, was much more lively than before.

A new song was played, the lovebirds who were soon to be married made their entrance, and Mr. Darcy had managed to invite Elizabeth.

Even Mr. Wickham, who had done his best to avoid the same occasion as Mr. Darcy in the original story, after inviting Lydia to dance, was obliged to be present at the ball because most of the officers of the militia regiment had arrived.

Only Lydia's face did not look as if her dreams were as good as she wanted them to be.

She looked preoccupied - God, Mary couldn't believe it when she realized that Lydia had a day when the word "preoccupied" was used.

The youngest of the Bennet sisters was even a little reluctant, looking as if every second with Mr. Wickham was an ordeal. But it was easy for a scummy man to please a little girl with little heart.

Within half a song, Lydia was smiling again.

However her smile didn't last long.

Mary noticed that when one of the dances was over, the tall, handsome Mr. Wickham leaned down gently and came up to whisper something in Lydia's ear, with a look and a smile as if all the love in all the heavens had been put into his eyes and given to Lydia.

In the past, no matter what Mr. Wickham said, Lydia would have declared to the world that he loved her.

But now, hearing Wickham's words, Lydia's face suddenly went white.

Her unusual blush made Mary raise an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it - her reluctant look was enough for Mary.

Instead, the next day, Catherine pulled Mary in furtively, "Mr. Wickham asked Lydia to Meriden at the ball yesterday!"

Mary: "......"

What is this, a date in the southern English countryside in the 19th century?

"Just go," Mary mused, they would have bumped into each other in Meryton so often that both daylight and a public place didn't seem to be a big deal, "why tell me?"

"Because."

Catherine hesitated for a moment and exuded a few looks of admiration, "Lydia actually politely refused Mr. Wickham! Mary you really are so good, a few words from the district can make Lydia change her mind."

Mary: "............"

She burst into a bit of tears, Catherine hadn't even exclaimed so excitedly when she said she was interested in detective novels before, it seemed that in her eyes, getting the capricious and egotistical Lydia to change her mind and thoughts was more powerful than Phillip Luthor's solving of a serial murder case.

Still, it was a good thing.

While Mary didn't really think Lydia would be able to think clearly in such a short time, at least she was hesitating.

In Mary's opinion, it would be a good thing as long as Lydia didn't make any trouble in the near future. That way she and Elizabeth would be able to feel completely at ease as well.

For it was Jane and Mr. Bingley's wedding that they were now looking forward to with all their hearts.