[ UNDERGOING EDITING 08-18-24 ]
- Ever since she could walk, Elodie Bennet had expectations set upon her, as many other women did. As the second eldest, she was meant to care for her younger sisters and fulfill her duties without complaint.
Bei...
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ACCOUNTABILITY.
"I just don't understand. What caused Mr. Bingley to leave so suddenly?" Elodie murmured, her thumb resting thoughtfully against her lower lip.
Jane exhaled softly, her expression weary, before handing over the letter she had been clutching. "You can read it, I don't mind."
Elodie hesitated, her fingers lingering over the folded paper before she reluctantly took it from her sister's hand.
With a cautious gaze, she unfolded the letter, her eyes narrowing as she began to read.
"Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister and we are scarcely less eager to meet her again..." The mention of Darcy left a bitter taste in Elodie's mouth, her disdain for him rising swiftly to the surface.
It was no shock to her that he was involved in this situation; she wouldn't be surprised if this was yet another one of his calculated maneuvers to rid himself of her supposedly "tolerable" company.
"I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance, and accomplishment, so-much-so that I hope to hereafter call her sister. Caroline Bingley."
Elodie's eyes widened in disbelief as she scanned the letter from top to bottom, flipping it over as if searching for some hidden message.
She must have read that wrong, especially after the couple had gotten along so kindly at the assembly ball and Netherfield ball.
"Is that not clear enough?" Jane's voice carried a slight edge, her distress evident in the way she spoke. Lizzie, without hesitation, snatched the letter from Elodie's hands and tore it in half, her eyes blazing with anger.
Jane gasped and quickly gathered the torn pieces, cradling them as though they were the last remnants of her hope. It was really all she had left of him at that point.
"It is obvious that Caroline knows he's in love with you and has taken him up to persuade him otherwise." Lizzie said, her voice filled with conviction as she finally voiced her suspicions about the manipulative Caroline Bingley.
Elodie silently agreed, her thoughts mirroring Lizzy's, particularly after enduring Caroline's thinly veiled contempt during their stay at Netherfield.
Jane shoved the letter in her bedside table and stared after Lizzie as she dove into their closet. "But I know her to be incapable of willfully deceiving someone!" Jane argued, her voice pleading as she looked to Elodie for some semblance of support.
