Catherine Bennet was not quite eighteen and it seemed to her that a new world was unfolding before her. Three of her sisters had just married, and though she was not the eldest Miss Bennet left in the house, she was certain that she was the prettiest and liveliest girl who remained. No more would she be in Lydia's shadow, whose lead she had always followed into adventure and flirtation. No more would she be snubbed by those who preferred her elder sisters, who had always condemned her behavior as wild and unbefitting. Now it was only Mary, whom nobody liked, and whom Kitty easily outshone. She was confident that she was destined to be married before she was twenty, and she would make her mother happy.

Now, at long last, Kitty was going to be the one with exciting news to tell, and she could not wait. She burst into the drawing room at Longbourn without the slightest regard for the servant who was trying to announce her. "Mama!" she cried. "I have such news!" Wait until they heard that her uncle had hired a new clerk—a young, single, handsome clerk!

Not only did her parents and sister Mary rise to meet them, but Jane and Charles Bingley, and Maria Lucas, were there as well. Kitty's excitement grew; she would be able to announce her news to her eldest sister as well, and she knew that Jane would be pleased.

"Oh! Kitty, Maria, I am glad you are here," Mrs. Bennet said, setting aside her teacup and hurrying to embrace her daughter. "Jane has come to give us some very exciting news!"

Kitty glanced at Jane, who looked as placid as ever, except for a slight blush at her mother's words, and felt a little twinge of despair creeping up under her excitement. "I have exciting news as well, Mama," she said, but it came out weaker than she wanted it to. "I just came from Mrs. Phillips, and—"

"I am sure it can wait, Catherine," her father said sternly. Kitty glanced at him and sighed. Ever since Lydia had married, she had found it harder to get away with anything less than perfect obedience to everything he said, and he said a lot more to her. It was only slightly better living with the Bingleys; they were less angry in their discipline, but no less firm in keeping her fun to a minimum. She sank into a seat on the sofa, and Maria sat next to her with nothing more than a sympathetic glance.

Her sister Mary handed them each a cup of tea, with that precise civility that only Mary could make seem so strangely offensive. Kitty took it with a muttered thanks that was largely covered up by Maria's "thank you," and glanced again at her father. He was still watching her carefully. Kitty sighed, and looked at Jane instead. Speak quickly; my news is sure to be more exciting, she thought.

Jane was sitting next to her husband. She looked at him with an encouraging smile, and he returned it and stood up. "My dear Jane and I have concluded our search—we have found an estate to purchase, and in fact, I completed the deal last Thursday." He took a deep breath and looked directly at his mother-in-law. "It is, however, rather far from here; in fact, in Lancashire."

Mrs. Bennet gave a wail of despair. "Lancashire! My dearest Jane! So far! How can you leave me without one married daughter near me to comfort me?"

Kitty snorted. If her mother would only listen a moment to her news, she would not be so despondent. Mr. Warde was not likely to take his wife very far from Meryton! But her father shot her a warning glance, and she said nothing. "I am very happy for you, Jane," she said weakly.

Jane smiled and came over to stand in front of Kitty, taking her hands. "Thank you, Kitty. I know that you have become accustomed to living with Mr. Bingley and I, and we would wish to have you live with us again—but I think, for the time being, it would be better for you to remain here, until we are quite settled. That is, of course, unless you have an opportunity to visit elsewhere!"

"Thank you." She scowled. She rather liked living with the Bingleys, and she would not be pleased to be back at Longbourn, where her mother kept far less fashionable company and she was never invited to go to London with anybody. But then, if she was going to have a chance at attracting Mr. Warde, she was going to have to remain in the area anyhow.

But in Lancashire she could meet anybody! She sank into silence, debating which of her choices was most likely to lead to the greatest chance of making a gentleman fall madly in love with her. Here she had the man, but there—so much possibility!

Her unenthusiastic reaction was enough to send Jane back to her seat looking somewhat confused. Mrs. Bennet thanked her profusely and accepted the invitation on Kitty's behalf, but Kitty wasn't really listening. She wondered whether she would be able to get away any time soon. Maybe she could go back to her aunt and arrange to meet this Mr. Warde before anyone else. What would her mother say to that!

"Oh, Kitty, did you not also have some news?" Jane asked, pulling Kitty back out of her thoughts.

Kitty did not want to give her news now, after all that; it certainly would not get the attention it deserved. But Maria was already spurring her on and everyone was looking at her expectantly.

"Oh yes," said Maria, "and it is so very exciting. Well, not as exciting as your news, Mrs. Bingley."

Jane smiled and shook her head. "I do not know about that; let's hear it, Kitty."

Kitty sighed, and stood. She would give it her best, but all the fun had gone out of the announcement. "Uncle Phillips has hired a new clerk. His name is Mr. Warde. And, Mama, she says that he is young, and eager to make a name for himself, and very handsome—and single."

"Kitty! That is excellent news! Oh, my dear, we shall have to meet him as soon as may be! Did you find out from your aunt when he is to arrive?"

"He has arrived in town already; yesterday, I believe. But only Mr. Phillips has seen him."

"Well, you will speak to your aunt again, will not you, and see if she can introduce us?"

"Of course, Mama. She promised she would, as soon as she is able."

"How wonderful! I am very glad that we will not have to rely on your father to make the introduction." Mr. Bennet ignored the statement and the look that accompanied it. "Oh, Jane, it seems as though it were only yesterday when we were wondering how we would ever be able to meet our dear Mr. Bingley, and now look at the two of you!" And she was off in another paroxysm of grief over their decision to leave her. Kitty scowled.

"I would have thought this would have brought you more joy, Kitty," Mr. Bennet said, with that teasing glint in his eye. "Do you not expect to like Mr. Warde? That would be a singular occurrence."

"Of course I expect to like him; he is very handsome, my aunt says." Had he not heard her say that? Of course he never listened to her, so there was little reason to expect that he would begin to do so now.

"Ah, yes. Of course, he will not wear a red coat."

Kitty only shrugged. There seemed little chance of her ever marrying an officer now, and had her mother not also said she once preferred a red coat? Mrs. Bennet had done rather well for herself, in the end.

"Well, my dear, I can only hope that your sister's scheme to have you join her in Lancashire does not conflict with your wedding." He chucked at his joke and turned away, leaving Kitty to stew in her frustration.

On any other day, her news would have been the talk of the household for a week, at least. But not today, oh no. Today, perfect Jane had to come to visit and announce that she was leaving them. Well, Kitty thought scornfully, it would be a greater surprise if she was not! Meryton is small and unfashionable, and if I had enough money to go somewhere more exciting, I would leave, too!

But a new single man in the region, now, that was something that was not expected, and something Kitty personally found much more exciting. There wasn't a whole lot that changed in her day-to-day life, and the fact of the matter was, Kitty often wondered whether she would ever have the chance to meet a young man who wasn't already spoken for. Of course, she thought that if Jane or Elizabeth would only take her to London more often, she might be able to meet someone, but they had both been married for several months and had not made a whisper of that to her. So it was obvious to Kitty that she was going to have to shift for herself if she was ever going to get a husband, and Mr. Warde was the best chance at that she'd had in a very long time. She was going to go after him with every bit of strength she had, and she was going to get herself a husband no matter what. Jane could move to America. It hardly mattered. Kitty would be married!

UPDATE: Learnt to be Cautious is now a published novel! The final draft is published on under the same title, by Jaina Kirke. It has been edited and very much improved from this old draft, and if you are interested in supporting my writing I would LOVE for you to check it out! Just search Amazon for Learnt to be Cautious. Thank you so much for your support! You were instrumental in getting this book published.

(Original note)

Hello, everybody! It's bene a very long time (Sorry about that.) This new story is set to be a long one, and I can't wait to hear what you think of it! I plan to post chapters 1-2 times per week, and this story is 98% written, so no worries about my orphaning the poor thing. Look for chapter 2 early next week!