Detective Mary

Chapter 11

It's been raining all day.

Mary was in Elizabeth's room, looking out at the pattering rain, her insides on fire. She stood and paced uncontrollably by her bed, looking left and right, and the more the rain continued, the tighter her brow wrinkled.

Elizabeth had to say in relief, "It's no use being anxious, Mary."

"Doesn't Lizzie worry," Mary retorted, "It rained just as Jane left the house and it hasn't stopped now!"

"I worry."

Of the several sisters, Elizabeth and Jane were the closest, followed by Mary. Of course she was worried about Jane who had gone out into the rain, but in Jane's absence, she was the biggest one, Miss Bennet.

When Mary was in a hurry, she could not afford to lose her temper, or she would not be adding fuel to the fire.

So Elizabeth pressed down her inner worries and spoke calmly, "Even if it rains, Jane should have walked to Netherfield Manor by now, and there is Mr. Bingley and the others to take care of her."

"But-"

"If you're in a hurry, can't you run out in the rain right now?"

Well, that's the point.

It's just that Elizabeth doesn't know what's going to happen tomorrow, and Mary does.

In the original novel, Jane gets caught in this very rain and becomes very ill when she arrives at Netherfield Hall. Though objectively speaking, this illness both facilitates the relationship between Mr. Bingley and Jane, and gives Mr. Darcy the privilege of spending more time with Elizabeth to get to know her, and indeed, as Mrs. Bennet had originally intended, provides the two couples with the opportunity to spend time together, which is a good thing to bring men and women closer together.

Mary, however, cannot be "objective" about Jane's illness - she is now not a reader of the novel, but Jane Bennet's own sister.

She is now Jane Bennet's own sister, and when the most gentle and beautiful sister is sick, how can she not worry?

"Well," said Elizabeth, seeing Mary's still drooping look, so she took her hand and pulled Mary to her side, "if you really can't worry about it, get up early tomorrow and let's go straight to Netherfield to see what's going on, Mr. Bingley won't mind. "

Of course he didn't mind; Mr. Bingley had long since been so overwhelmed with love that he even looked at their mother, Mrs. Bennet, with affection.

By that time, however, Jane would be too feverish to get out of bed.

Mary was anxious, but she was more upset. She was sad that she had the chance to stop Jane from going out in the rain, but she missed it because of Mr. Holmes.

It made her reflect on whether she had really indulged her fantasies too much, as Elizabeth usually resented.

She did not regret meeting Mr. Sherlock Holmes, in fact Mary now felt that she had no regrets about even dying. But she did not wish Jane ill all the same.

Mary had always prided herself on being a different person from the original, pedantic little nerd, but now she seemed to have unrealistic ideas and was no different from the original Mary Bennet.

Mary liked Mr. Holmes because he was a clever, sharp man with a genuine sense of integrity. Compared to her idol, always pursuing the hunt and the case, it was no wonder that Papa said she was not much cleverer than Lydia.

However, Elizabeth was right, it was useless for her to be anxious at the moment. What goes around comes around, and it's good to make sure that the misses committed now are not repeated in the future.

"Alright then."

Mary steeled herself and spoke seriously, "When the rain stops tomorrow, let's leave for Netherfield Manor immediately."

Elizabeth had agreed in advance, so when Jane's handwritten letter arrived home the next day, the two sisters had already packed their clothes, changed their shoes, and were ready to go out.

After learning that Jane's fever was high because of the rain, Mary and Elizabeth were again so serious about the occasion that the Bennetts were really startled.

Mrs. Bennet felt that the two of them were completely fussed, not only did she not worry about Jane, but she was happy because she was sick: "Nesserfeld Manor to recuperate, just enough to be able to spend time alone with Mr. Bingley, just a cold, rest for a night and you will be fine, you guys go to add to the chaos?"

"When you're ill, you always need someone close to you," Mary muttered in a low voice, "What use is Mr. Bingley?"

"Jane is married to Mr. Bingley, and has servants to look after her," said Mrs. Bennet, who did not like Mary's unenlightened appearance; "and if you remain confused, you will be an old girl, and I will not take care of you when you are ill!"

Mary rolled her eyes considerably.

Ever since she was a little girl she had been told off by Mrs. Bennet for marrying someone and finding someone to marry, and Mary had long since gotten used to it.

Normally, Mr. Bennet would have taken the opportunity to make a few witty remarks, but today his father saw that Mary and Elizabeth did not seem to be on the spur of the moment, and pondered for a moment for a change.

"If you must insist," he said, "I will never prevent it. If it is not convenient for Jane to come back when she is ill, then go and keep her company, and I will just ask for the horse that is rented to the farmer."

"Then we'll go to Meryton in the wagon, too!"

Lydia, full of thoughts of the captain, heard of the horses and immediately spoke up with glee, "It just happens to be on the same route as them, and the wagon goes fast, and we'll run into Captain Carter."

Mary gave a little laugh, "Captain Colonel Officer Red Uniform, can't you have anything else on your mind?"

Bennet five daughters, Lydia is the youngest, but grew taller than Mary, physical appearance, beautiful, the most loved by Mrs. Bennet. While several sisters had different personalities, no one except Mary had any common sense with her, and spoiled Lydia beyond measure.

Hearing Mary's outspoken mockery, Lydia was not willing to show weakness: "How about you, you just think about being in the limelight all day long, don't think I can't see it."

Mary: "That's still better than you munching around and behaving frivolously."

Lydia: "How dare you say that about me!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel at the drop of a hat, Mr. Bennet was annoyed, "Well, if you want to quarrel, go to the carriage and do it, and don't disturb me at home."

Mary shut up immediately and just watched slyly as Lydia huffed and left first.

Since she wanted to correct her bad habits, shouldn't she start by caring for her sisters around her?

Jane was her family, and so was Lydia - and while it was true that Mary didn't see eye-to-eye with her little sister, it was okay to have your own family fights, and it was never okay to run off with a scumbag like the original.

It's just that Lydia's character is now frivolous and wanton and doesn't respect Mary much, and the two can't play together, and her little sister is even less likely to listen to her reasoning.

Gotta think of a way out, but that's all an afterthought, the most important thing right now is to visit Jane.

Mary and Elizabeth had been ready to walk to Netherfield Manor when Mr. Bennet asked for his horse back, and they fell back much sooner than expected.

It was just dawn when they arrived at the manor. The hurried arrival of the Bennet sisters startled the old butler at Netherfield Manor, who only had time to inform Mr. Bingley because of the suddenness of their arrival.

As they passed through the grounds, they happened to run into Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley, who were out walking.

"I was just going to ask Miss Bennet to come and sit down, but I didn't realize it was raining all of a sudden," Miss Bingley complained as the duo in the courtyard didn't notice their arrival, "This is bad, she's got a fever from being in the rain and it's causing a whole manor to have a bad night's rest."

"The weather is unpredictable," Darcy said calmly and soothingly, "it's not your responsibility."

"How is it not my responsibility when people have been ill at the manor," said Miss Bingley; "but it is fortunate that it is the eldest of the Bennetts; I could not bear it if it were her sisters."

Mary: "......"

Elizabeth: "......"

Hearing this, Mary and Elizabeth stopped in unison.

Mr. Darcy frowned rather disapprovingly at the words, but he apparently did not take Miss Bingley's complaint to heart, and simply returned out of politeness, "In Miss Jane Bennet's sister's place, I think Charles would have been responsible enough to have someone take care of it."

"That's natural."

Miss Bingley, of course, would not have resisted Darcy's complimenting her brother, yet she still insisted on her topic, "If you ask me, Jane Bennet is still worth associating with, and several of her sisters are of little value to be associated with, especially that Miss Mary Bennet."

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

Wait a minute, it did seem like she hadn't offended this Ms. Bentley anywhere, did she?

Technically speaking, Mary had kind of helped Miss Bentley at the previous ball. Even if she didn't like herself, it wasn't to the point of slandering her behind her back. Mary reflected on herself once again, but this time she really felt wronged.

Not to mention offended, she almost never said a few words with Ms. Bentley, the last time she had to play the piano and dance to make a fool of herself, even if, and now directly to the face, hate so big?

Mary was speechless, while Elizabeth's reaction was even more direct.

Elizabeth, who had always been straightforward, raised her eyebrows and picked up the hem of her skirt to take a step. Looking at that stance, she was going to confront Ms. Bentley, who was badmouthing people behind their backs, face to face.

Fortunately, Mary reacted quickly and pulled Elizabeth back.

She took Elizabeth's arm, and instead of being angry, she showed a smirk.

"Don't be in a hurry," she spoke quietly, "I want to hear what Miss Bingley will say about me."

It would also be good for her to figure out where she had offended her future brother-in-law's own sister.