The People We Love, page 1
THE PEOPLE WE LOVE
A PARANORMAL PRIDE AND PREJUDICE VARIATION
PENELOPE TALBOT
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Coming Soon from Penelope Talbot
Coming Soon from New Daisy Chain Publishing Author Miranda Pasley…
Also from Daisy Chain Publishing
CHAPTER 1
“Elizabeth, I do not understand! Why do you wish to leave us? What have we done wrong?”
Mrs. Bennet had been both crying and shouting for some time. Occasionally when she had the fortitude, she would do both in unison, which made it difficult to comprehend her words. Elizabeth was grateful that her daughter Sarah was outside in the garden with her Aunt Jane, because carrying on of this sort tended to make Sarah nervous.
“Mama, as I have been telling you since we arrived at Longbourn, it is important to me that Sarah and I make our own way for a while. William did not leave us much when he died, but it was enough for us to move on,” Elizabeth said with as much patience as she was able, though she was finding it increasingly difficult to remain calm. This was the fifth time she had repeated herself since breakfast.
“I do not understand, Elizabeth. I simply do not understand. Why was it so urgent that you leave Hunsford? Lady Catherine could not allow you to stay for a month or two more?” Mrs. Bennet asked like a petulant child. Elizabeth looked to her father for support but he appeared to be reading a book in his lap, hidden under the desk. She coughed to make it clear she knew what her father was doing and his eyes darted up.
“My dear, Lady de Bourgh made it quite clear that neither Elizabeth nor any member of the Bennet family was welcome at the parsonage. Did you wish for her to be pulled from Hunsford by the stable hands?”
Mrs. Bennet jumped to her feet and paced the room with worry. She had walked in that same circle a hundred times since Elizabeth and Sarah came back to Longbourn after the death of her husband, William Collins. The death had been sudden but not unexpected, as William caught an illness the year before and had been in poor health ever since. When he passed, Lady Catherine did not wish to welcome mourners into her home. Instead of a service at the church, the bitter old woman knocked on the door and informed Elizabeth that they had a fortnight to make other living arrangements. While she did not mourn her husband as many wives would, and she did not wish to remain at Hunsford a moment longer than was necessary, Elizabeth could not tolerate the idea of living in Longbourn again.
That was why she already had a plan when she and Sarah arrived at her familial home.
“Mama, this has already been settled. An acquaintance of a friend of one of our cousins on Papa’s side has rented us a cottage in Brighton at a very reasonable rate. With the little William left behind, I was able to pay the rent for a year. We will have enough for food and Sarah is already overjoyed at the prospect of having her own vegetable garden. I want to live by the sea, Mama. It is where I am happy.”
Mrs. Bennet’s face collapsed into a deep, wailing sob once again. Elizabeth could hear her younger sisters in the kitchen, having tea and waiting for their mother to cease her hysterics. Elizabeth suspected they would be waiting for some time.
“My darling, please,” Mr. Bennet pleaded in frustration. “We have been having this conversation all morning. Elizabeth has aptly stated her case and it seems she will not be moved. Perhaps, there is no further point in arguing with her.”
Mrs. Bennet took out her handkerchief and dabbed away the tears in her eyes, so that she might maximize her fruitless attempt at sympathy. “How can you take my Sarah so far away? I will never see her again!”
Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet sighed in unison. They were both weary of the matriarch’s dramatics.
“Mama, Brighton is a two day carriage ride. And you can spend the night in London with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner if you worry over your back pain. But we are not moving to India. Brighton is close. And it is exactly the fresh start that Sarah and I need.”
It was not the first time that Mrs. Bennet had used Sarah in an attempt to cause Elizabeth guilt. When she gave birth to her daughter, Mrs. Bennet wrote letter after letter, entreating Elizabeth to come back to Longbourn. She thought it was better for Elizabeth to care for Sarah at Longbourn while she was an infant than at Hunsford, where they were alone most days. Mrs. Bennet did not consider that Elizabeth was perfectly content on her own. Sarah became her dearest love and her dearest friend, even when she was still a baby. As William spent more and more time away from their home, Elizabeth found that his absence suited her quite well.
It was not as if she wished to marry him anyway. When she turned sixteen, her parents offered her the opportunity to go to Paris for a year and learn to paint. They decided to stay for two years instead and by the time Elizabeth returned to Meryton, her parents had arranged a marriage between herself and William Collins, a distant cousin with property rights to Longbourn. As she had come back from France with no prospects and did not think such a decision would be expected of her so soon, she agreed to the marriage. But it was never more than a marriage of convenience.
Elizabeth did little to hide the fact that Sarah was the only positive result of her marriage to William. She was nothing at all like her father; Sarah was clever, curious, and had a wonderful wild spirit. She loved all of the animals in their meadow, especially the rabbits, and refused to come in from out of the rain because she liked to dance in it. Sarah was half of the reason that Elizabeth wanted to move to the sea. She was sure that Sarah would love it there. Which was why her mother could cry and scream but none of it would change Elizabeth’s mind.
She stood from her chair and sat next to her mother. “This is for Sarah. I want a new life, one where she can grow up strong and healthy in the salty sea air. I hope you can understand it and she would love for you to visit as often as you like.”
Kindly do not take me up on that offer, Elizabeth thought as she watched her mother dab one more tear from her cheek. She was not sure if her mother was convinced but then her father stood from behind his desk and walked over with a small leather satchel in his hand. He gave it to Elizabeth and when she opened it, there were at least fifty pounds inside.
“Papa, I can not accept this. It is too much.”
He hushed her before she could argue further. “Save it for a rainy day. And for your old papa’s sake, do not move my granddaughter further away than Brighton. I do not think either of our hearts could take it.”
Elizabeth leapt to her feet and embraced her father as tears of joy fell down her cheeks.
“Thank you, papa. Thank you.”
He held her close for a moment and then pulled away, nodding seriously. “Yes, yes, well. You must do what is best for Sarah. I will go into town and make arrangements for your coach to Brighton. You should begin packing your things.”
This was the most hopeful Elizabeth had felt in many years. And she could not wait to run outside and tell Sarah of their new adventure.
CHAPTER 2
The lovely afternoon sun spilled into the small cottage, covering everything with the warmth of light. Elizabeth and Sarah gasped in awe when they opened the door; the cottage was smaller, smaller than anywhere Elizabeth had ever lived before. But it was lovely, it overlooked the ocean, and it was theirs. While the bedroom doors were shut, all of the furniture in the sitting room and kitchen were covered with sheets, and the uncovered surfaces were covered in a thin layer of dust and salt.
“Mama, do we have to clean all of this ourselves?” Sarah asked, looking up at her mother in confusion. She had become a little too comfortable with Mrs. Hill doing all of the cleaning at Longbourn.
All of their trunks were sitting on the grass but Elizabeth did not wish to bring anything inside until the house was properly dusted and washed.
“We shall make a game of it. The first one who finishes cleaning their own bedroom and half of the sitting room gets to pick out a special treat to eat after supper.”
That was all Sarah had to hear to run into the house and throw open the first bedroom door she found. Her shoes squeaked as she slid inside and used one of the covers to dust the tables. Elizabeth laughed as she followed her daughter inside and got to work in the kitchen. It was small, but there was a stove and an array of items for roasting and boiling. Plates and bowls and eating utensils were in a small cupboard, and there was a bottle of port on the butcher’s block with a note that said, “Enjoy your stay!”
“I think I may,” Elizabeth said as she tucked the port in a cabinet up high that Sarah couldn’t reach. As she wiped down every surface until it was free of dust, she realized that it did not matter what window one looked out of; there seemed to be a view of the ocean no matter where she looked.
“Sarah,” she called out to her daughter, who was frantically cleaning her room. “What do you think of Brighton so far?”
“I love it, mama,” Sarah answered breathlessly. “I can not wait until we play in the ocean!”
Elizabeth smiled as she pulled the covering off the small dining table. “Do you think you would like to stay here, or would you rather go back to Longbourn?”
There was a long
“I will miss the sweets that Mrs. Hill used to make for me but perhaps grandmother and grandfather will bring some when they visit.”
“That is a wonderful idea, Sarah,” Elizabeth said as she tried to hide the excitement in her voice. It was true that there were comforts from Longbourn they would miss, and Elizabeth had not proven to be the best cook during their years at Hunsford, but she hoped she could learn more now that they were in Brighton. Elizabeth felt a peace in Brighton that she had not known in a very long time.
For a moment, even if it was a brief one, Elizabeth also felt the smallest bit of guilt. William had not been much of a husband and she did not mourn his absence when he was gone. In fact, he had once disappeared with Lady Catherine and her daughter for close to a month without ever telling his wife or daughter he would be gone. He simply left a few pounds on the table with a note that he “would return.” Elizabeth remembered her surprised laugh.
He will return? In a day? A month? A year? What sort of note is that?
The answer was thirty days. Thirty days in which Elizabeth was able to discover the joy and independence she and Sarah found when they were alone. Now that they were in Brighton, she could not wait to embrace that experience every day. And still… she had to be sure that her daughter was not suffering in silence because she knew of her mother’s joy.
“Do you miss your father, Sarah?”
Sarah was already in the sitting room, pulling sheets from the chairs, tables, and candelabras, dusting each in turn. “Father? I did not know him all that well. He did not seem to like me very much.”
Elizabeth hated lying to her daughter.
“Of course he liked you, my darling. He was just a very busy man. His job was very important and it took him away quite often. I am sure you two would have gotten along splendidly had he been at home with more frequency.”
Very little of what she said was true. While Lady Catherine kept him away from Hunsford, the importance of his job was questionable at best. Elizabeth often wondered if Lady Catherine kept William busy with unimportant tasks simply to keep him from his family. They never cared for one another and it only took two years of marriage for Elizabeth to cease seeing Lady Catherine de Bourgh entirely.
As Sarah continued to dust the sitting room, Elizabeth walked into her daughter’s new bedroom. It was sunny and had its own fireplace. Once they took the bed linens and lamps from the trunk, along with Sarah’s toys, it would be the perfect little bedroom for her.
“Mama! I cleaned the sitting room. All of it. Can we go to town for things to eat?” Sarah called to her.
“I still need to clean my own bedroom and bring the trunks in from outside. Give me a few minutes, dear.”
Over the last six years, Elizabeth had moved items much heavier than their trunks. She was able to drag both inside at the same time. Once she pushed Sarah’s things into her room, she sent her daughter to start emptying it and then finally went into her own room. It was larger than Sarah’s, with bigger windows and a larger bed. Once she got the room set, it would be lovely. It needed a proper dusting first.
Elizabeth pulled the sheet from the armoir and gave it a quick wipe, then tossed the cloth onto the floor. Since she was already bent over, she opened her trunk and took out a bottle of perfume that Jane gave her as a gift before they departed. Elizabeth stood up and turned to put the bottle on the armoir and instead…
She came face to face with the ghostly specter of a man.
The ghost was taller than her, and dressed like a proper gentleman. But he was also as green as the mist over the ocean on a warm summer night. At first, they simply stared at each other, neither sure how to react to what they were seeing. But finally, Elizabeth found her voice. And she used it to scream right into the face of the ghost.
As soon as she screamed, the specter disappeared, but Elizabeth…
She continued to scream until she considered that she might pass out.
That could not have been real, she thought incredulously. Could it?
CHAPTER 3
Elizabeth did not cease her screaming until Sarah ran into the bedroom, her face as white as a freshly washed sheet.
“Mama? What is wrong? Did you see a spider?”
In the world of her daughter, there was nothing more frightening than a spider, and it was a fact that made Elizabeth proud. She had done well shielding Sarah from the world, so how could she explain what she just saw? Clearly, she could not. Sarah would never sleep again.
“No, my love. No spiders. I thought I saw a man outside of the window but it was just a shadow.” Elizabeth attempted to hide the shaking in her voice so she did not frighten Sarah too. “I think we should finish unpacking our trunks later. We should go into town for supplies before it gets dark. Bring your coat in case there is a chill in the night air.”
The walk to town was not as far as Elizabeth anticipated and before long, they had baskets full of fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs, and spices to keep in the kitchen. She could make them dinner tonight, then follow her mother’s instructions tomorrow to begin preserving and drying food to keep in the cupboard. Elizabeth could not help but enjoy the small things she was learning to do now that Sarah was depending on her alone.
When they returned to the cottage, Elizabeth realized that she had been distracted and forgotten about the ghost. Perhaps that was for the best. Maybe she was seeing things. The salty sea air and the long carriage ride could have confused her. Yes, that had to be it.
“Sarah, what would you like for dinner, darling?”
Sarah was reading one of her story books in the sitting room and looked up at all the fish piled on the butcher’s block.
“Fish, mama?”
Elizabeth could not help but laugh at her daughter. Hardly a day went by where she was not grateful that her daughter had more of the Bennet spirit in her than her father’s. William had to be informed that someone was telling a jest before he laughed and even then, he did not understand the joke. Sarah found joy in the laughter of others and she did her best to make her mother laugh every single day.
“That would seem to be our best option today. Would you like it with a bit of fresh lemon and dill, or maybe a tiny nip of wine and some spices?”
“Lemon, mama! Lemon!”
Elizabeth used the roasting rack to cook a monkfish stuffed with lemon and dill, then tossed a few oysters and potatoes in the skillet to share. They also purchased two lovely little cakes from a bakery, which Sarah would prefer to eat before dinner, and had often been caught doing before. But in the small cottage, her usual tricks would not work, and dessert would remain a treat for after dinner.
Once they ate dinner, Elizabeth lit the fire and sat with Sarah on the floor, playing with her toys and reading books. Soon, the moon was high above them and it was time for Sarah to sleep. Elizabeth knew she was keeping her daughter awake for fear of being alone in the cottage, but when Sarah yawned, she could not prevent her sleeping any longer.
“Come, love. This brisk sea air will help you sleep like an angel. Find your doll and then straight to bed.”
Sarah did not have to be told twice. She found Clara, her favorite doll, and ran straight to her room. By the time Elizabeth got there, Sarah was already under the covers with her little bottom in the air as she snored from exhaustion. Elizabeth smiled at her sweet girl as she lay her down and covered her up, gave her a kiss on the forehead, then blew out the candle by her bed.
Once the door was shut behind her, Elizabeth turned to her own door with a surprising amount of trepidation. She was confident that what she experienced before was nothing more than a strange result of exhaustion. But still… she wrapped her robe tighter around her with a shiver as she stoked the sitting room fire. The warmth offered no comfort, as her hands were still shaking when she walked into her room.
