WARRIOR WITH A PARASOL

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope that you enjoy this, my 11th story that I have posted on this site. As with my other stories, I will try to post a chapter every day. Of course, I welcome all comments.

Mrs. Philips hurried to Longbourn with important news to tell her sister, Mrs. Bennet. She desperately wanted to be the first with such good news as one of her main enjoyments in life was to spread news as soon as she heard it. While she preferred to spread bad news, any news would do. On arriving at Longbourn, she immediately said, "Fanny, such good news! You know that Mr. Philips is the agent for the renting of Netherfield Park? He just had a letter from London from a gentleman, a Mr. Bingley, who may be interested in renting it. He asked for more information about the estate and said that he would like to come to view the house, grounds, and farms. From his letter, if the estate meets with his requirements, he intends to live here with his sister, beginning as soon as everything was finalized. That must mean that he is unmarried! If he is rich enough to rent Netherfield, he is worthy of one of my nieces." As Mrs. Philips was Mrs. Bennet's only family member in the neighbourhood, their families were quite close and in constant communication with each other.

Mrs. Bennet agreed with her sister's assessment, "That is good news! I know that just one look at how beautiful Jane is and he will want to marry her. Do you know how old he might be? Of course, that is not important as long as he is rich. Did he say when he might be coming to live here?"

"Probably by the end of the month if he likes the estate. Mr. Philips is writing to him right now with the additional details that he wants. If everything meets with his requirements, he will come quite soon for a short visit of inspection."

The sisters talked much more about what this news might mean for the Bennets, but Mrs. Bennet had already made up her mind that he would marry one of her five daughters. She suspected that Jane would likely be his choice, but she did not care which one he chose as her main goal in life was to see all five of them married before her husband died and they lost their estate due to the entail that was on it.

When Mrs. Philips finally left to continue to spread her news, Mrs. Bennet called, "Jane! Jane! Such good news! An unmarried gentleman is coming to look at Netherfield to see if he will rent it. One look at you and he will want to marry you. We have to go to look at your wardrobe to see which of your gowns you will wear when you meet him."

She and Jane looked through her gowns, but her mother was not satisfied with any of them. "Jane, you will have to go to London for new gowns. I will talk to Mr. Bennet about giving you enough money for at least two. I will write to my sister Gardiner about your going there as soon as possible to go shopping."

"Mama! Do you really think that is necessary? My gowns look good enough to me. You know that I do not like to go shopping in town. I feel overwhelmed with so many shops and choices."

"Of course it is necessary! This Mr. Bingley is unmarried and I am depending on you to capture his attention. He must be rich, so if you marry him, he can prevent us from being thrown out into the hedgerows when your father dies."

"If I have to go shopping in town, at least let Lizzy come with me. She is not intimidated by all the activity in town. Besides, she needs new clothes just as much as I do."

"You are the beauty of the family; her looks are nothing compared to you. However, if you insist, then I will let her go with you. She can help you pick out colours that suit you best. I will write to my sister Gardiner today. You have to go as soon as possible so you will be back home when Mr. Bingley takes up residence at Netherfield." She had no doubts at all at what the future would bring.

The letter was written and immediately answered that of course the Gardiners would love to have both sisters come to town to go shopping. Lizzy was happy to accompany Jane as she liked nothing better than to get away from her mother's continual effusions about this Mr. Bingley and how he was going to save them all. She smiled to herself when she thought that the poor man seemed to have no say in the matter. To her mother, his fate was sealed.

Jane and Elizabeth arrived at the Gardiner residence in Gracechurch Street and were greeted very enthusiastically by their four young cousins. Their Aunt Gardiner made plans to accompany them on their first day of shopping so she could show them some shops that she knew were not too expensive but produced quality-looking dresses. That excursion to the shops was productive and both Jane and Elizabeth found fabrics and designs they liked that were within their budget. They were told that their new gowns would be ready in just a few days, so they knew that their next several days would be more relaxing. They were tired after visiting so many different shops and looking at so many different colours and fabrics.

The day after their successful day of shopping was spent in a more leisurely manner with their cousins in the park. They enjoyed their young cousins and had fun with them, chasing them on the lawns and feeding the ducks in the lake. They made plans to go shopping again the next day for some smaller items to go with their new gowns. However, their Aunt said that they would have to go without her as she was already committed for the day. She suggested that this would be a good opportunity to go to the best shopping area in London, New Bond Street, which they had never visited before. She said that they could take her footman, Robert, with them for decency and safety.

The next morning was sunny; a perfect day for a relaxing stroll in this fancy area where they were sure to see many finely-dressed ladies and gentlemen. They did not care if they found that the shops were too expensive for them as they knew of other districts that would provide the items they needed at a more reasonable cost. However, just before they left, their Aunt said, "Be sure to take your parasols as I do not want you, Jane, to get sunburned. Lizzy, you do not want to become even browner than you already are." To humour their Aunt, they found their parasols and left in the Gardiner's carriage.

New Bond Street was everything that they had expected; many shoppers were strolling on the sidewalks and carriages lined the street. It seemed as if not everyone was there to shop; some wanted only to see and be seen. Almost everyone was dressed in fine clothes. Jane and Elizabeth, followed not too closely by Robert, wandered down the street and went into several shops. However, as they had feared, they found that the prices were much higher than they wanted to pay, even though the goods they inspected were of better quality than they were used to purchasing. They did not really mind their inability to purchase anything here as they were enjoying watching the other shoppers. Jane had her parasol open to protect her very fair skin from the sun, but Elizabeth was only carrying hers as she quite enjoyed the sun on her face.

They were slowly meandering down the street when a carriage, not one of good quality or condition, suddenly stopped right beside them. A man jumped out of it and pushed Elizabeth aside to grab the arm of a young lady who was standing near them in the company of an older woman who appeared to be her companion as her clothes were not nearly as expensive-looking or fine as the young lady's. Elizabeth just had time to notice this when she heard the young lady say, "Mr. Wickham! What are you doing? Let me go!" She was obviously very shocked at his actions. She seemed about to scream when the man clamped his other hand over her mouth and began to drag her to the carriage. The young lady fought him, but he was much stronger and she was not able to resist him.

Elizabeth was shocked at this brazen scene unfolding right beside her. She immediately saw that it must be an attempt to abduct the young lady very much against her will. Without thinking, Elizabeth said to the man, "What are you doing? Let her go!" He ignored her words and continued to drag the young lady towards the carriage. Elizabeth could see by the lady's wide eyes that she was terrified. She quickly looked around but did not see anyone else coming to her aid. She acted without thinking and swung her parasol at the man's head, yelling, "Let her go! Unhand her, I say!"

She continued to swing her parasol at this head but only managed to knock off his hat. Her blows did not seem to have any effect on the man until she changed her tactic and stuck the pointed end right into his face, jabbing him on the cheek. He automatically took his hand away from the young lady's mouth to grab at the offending parasol. As soon as he removed his hand, the young lady let out a mighty scream that stopped everyone in their tracks. Elizabeth's parasol went flying when he grabbed it, so she took hold of the lady's other arm to try to pull her away from him. Suddenly, Elizabeth saw a red blur pass her and the man's grip loosened, allowing her to pull the young lady away from him.

She glanced back and saw that the red blur was the red coat of an army officer who was now standing nose to nose right in front of the man and that he was holding his sword in his hand. She saw that the sword had pierced the man's chest so far that the whole blade had been thrust into him and had come out of his back. Elizabeth saw that the point of the sword was stuck in the side of the carriage and was so far embedded that it was holding the man from falling. She also noticed that the man's face showed extreme shock; his eyes and mouth were wide open, but he made no sound at all. She quickly turned her back on this ghastly scene and put her arms around the young lady, who was sobbing.

Elizabeth tried to soothe her, "It is all over now. That man will never bother you again. Are you all right? Where is your companion?"

The young lady looked at Elizabeth and said, "Oh, thank you! Thank you! You saved me. If you had not helped me, he would have thrown me into the carriage before anyone could have come to rescue me. I cannot thank you enough. You were so brave!"

Elizabeth looked up to see that the older lady was coming to take care of her ward and that Jane was looking horrified. She released the young lady into her companion's care and saw that Jane was now right beside her. Jane whispered to her, "Lizzy! I cannot stand the sight of that sword! It went right through that man. We have to get away from here or I will be sick." She pulled her sister away and dragged her through the crowd that had gathered around the scene. They found Robert standing right where he had been when this drama had begun. His eyes were wide in astonishment at all that he had seen.

Jane said, "Robert! Take us to the carriage right now! We have to get away from here." He led them down the street to where the Gardiners' carriage was waiting. He helped them in and they went back to Gracechurch Street to relate the events to their astonished Aunt.

When their Uncle returned home from his work, Jane told him everything that had happened. He was pleased that neither niece appeared to be overly upset, even though they had obviously gone through a traumatic experience, especially Lizzy. Both he and his wife talked to them to try to ensure they would not suffer nightmares from what they had seen, especially the sight of the body with a sword projecting from it. Mr. Gardiner had a severe discussion with Robert about his duty to protect his nieces when he was out with them. Robert had obviously failed in this role in this situation.