An Interrupted Journey Chapter 1: An Impertinent Young Girl, a pride and prejudice fanfic

An Interrupted Journey

Lady Catherine's journey south is interrupted when her daughter Anne suffers an attack of asthma. The help she receives changes the lives of many... and the path of P&P.

"Life is a series of interrupted journeys. Sometimes it is the dips in the road that define us." – Unknown Author

Chapter One – An impertinent young girl

Lady Catherine de Bourgh frantically struck her cane against the roof of her carriage, then turned her attention back to her Anne. Anne was struggling for breath, inhaling loudly but ineffectually, while her useless companion fluttered and fussed and generally made matters worse.

The coachman pulled them off the road at a busy coaching inn in outside of Nottingham. It had been dark when they departed Sheffield, and it was still early in the when they pulled over. As a result, there were no rooms yet available when the coachman rushed in. Mrs. Chester, the innkeeper's wife, was a kindly woman, who, upon hearing about Anne's distress immediately sent her two servants scurrying to prepare the private dining room. She also sent her boy running for the doctor. All this was done quickly, even before the footman carried the gasping young woman through the front doors.

Lady Catherine followed, issuing contradictory instructions and barking demands in her desperation. She caught a glimpse of the young girl sitting and holding a book in the room they entered, but paid her no mind. All of her attention was for her struggling daughter.

Twelve year old Lizzy Bennet, having woken early and under strict instructions not to leave the inn, had taken up her book, descended to the main floor, and politely requested a private place to sit and read. Mrs. Chester had kindly seated her in a corner of the private room next to a window that took the morning sun. There the girl sat, reading her text and ignoring the rising sounds of activity around her. She was used to the chaos of a large, boisterous family after all.

The Bennets were returning from a visit to Mrs. Bennet's relatives in Leeds, though in actuality it had been more of an exploratory venture than a visit of pleasure. Mama's uncle had passed away and Fanny Bennet had been hoping that there might be a bequest awaiting her. There had been something, though Lizzy never learned the details, but whatever the bequest was, it was not sufficient to please her mother. Now they were nearing the end of their journey home... and if the weather held and the rest of the family woke in time, they might complete their trek on this very day.

Lizzy hadn't actually noticed when the servants bustled in and hurriedly began rearranging the room, so intent was she on a particular page. They didn't notice her either, so she was still there when the older girl was rushed in, gasping, followed by her shrill, worried mother. It only took a moment for Lizzy to recognize what was happening... after all, she had seen this same condition all too many times of late. Without a word she bookmarked her page, hopped off of her chair, and ran up the stairs to the room assigned to the Bennet daughters.

Of the four girls in the room, only Mary lifted her head to regard her. Lizzy went straight to the brown valise, the one which carried all of the Bennet ladies' medicines and necessities. In a trice she found what she needed, waved at Mary, and was gone again.

Lizzy reached the foot of the stairs just as little James, the Chester's boy, was breathlessly telling his mother that the doctor was out on a call. Mrs. Chester was wringing her hands in worry, so it took a moment for Lizzy to gain her attention, "Mrs. Chester, I know what to do. Please bring boiling water and clean sheet. Hurry!" Desperate for any guidance, the woman didn't hesitate to obey the young girl who spoke with the voice of authority.

Lady Catherine looked up as a curly-haired girl pushed in, followed by the Innkeeper's wife and a little boy. "Where is the doctor! I asked you to send for him immediately!"

As poor Mrs. Chester wrung her hands and tried to answer, Lizzy took the steaming pot and pushed past the pair. Then she began issuing instructions to the footman. "Lift her up. That's right, here, put this over your head..."

"What is the meaning of this!? Who is this girl!?" Lady Catherine demanded. Lizzie, having est the steaming pot on the chair in front of the cot where the gasping young lady was, began crushing leaves and dropping them into the water. As she did this, she turned her head and replied, "My sister Kitty also has the asthma*. One of my uncle's ships brought this back from a place called Sydney. It is the only thing that helps her to breath whenever this happens." Turning away from the startled mother, Lizzy threw the sheet over the both her head and the frantic young woman's. Then she took her hands, "Look at me. That's right. This will help, but you have to take slow breaths. There, now push out as much air as you pull in. No... don't take a breath unless you expel one. Look at me... doesn't that smell good? It's called eucalyptus... a funny name, right? It comes from the other side of the world. There... you're already breathing better."

In almost any other time, Lady Catherine would have had the impertinent girl tossed out on her ear, even had her pilloried. At that moment, however, she was so desperate that she stood by long enough for the girl to successfully execute her remedy. The entire room watched as the young lady's struggles gradually subsided and she began to breath normally again. Then the young girl extracted her own sweaty head from under the sheet, and smiled, "She will be better now, Madam." She held up the leather bag, "If you have a method of carrying it, I could leave some of the leaves with you for the rest of your journey. I'm sure that my father would not object since Kitty had done well on our trip and we should reach home tonight."

Lady Catherine only harrumphed, so Lizzie shrugged, curtsied, took up her book, and left the occupants of the private room in peace. It was not exactly proper to do so, but Lizzie took up station in the common room to continue reading. She couldn't leave the inn and walk, as was her habit in the mornings, and she didn't wish to return to the dark and stuffy room upstairs. The guests came in and out, serving themselves at the sideboard, breaking their fast, and paying no attention to the girl. A few noticed her dark, curly hair and somewhat pretty face. Others noticed that her reading material seemed to put a sparkle in her eyes. One young man thought that, were she just a little older... But she noticed none of them...

Until an authoritarian voice demanded, "What are you reading, girl?"

Lizzy looked up and smiled at the woman from before, "Oh, hello Madam," she set the book on the table, stood, and curtsied. "Is the young lady recovered?"

"My name is Lady Catherine de Bourgh, not 'Madam,' and the 'young miss' is my daughter, Miss Anne de Bourgh. And who might you be?"

Lizzy, unperturbed, answered, "Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn, my Lady. I am very pleased to meet you."

Lady Catherine was gratified to discover that the girl was at least a gentleman's daughter, "That remains to be seen. Now, my question: What are you reading?"

"The Republic, my Lady. Have you read it? It is one of my father's favorites," she showed the embossed leather book to her interrogator.

Lady Catherine raised her eyebrows imperiously and took a seat across from the girl without asking leave, "Plato is hardly proper reading material for a young girl."

Unabashed, Lizzy grinned and answered, "The answer to that, I conjecture, is found in this same volume, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Plato said, 'Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each'."

"That is fine for sons, but hardly applies towards the proper raising of young girls." The lady pronounced.

Lizzie nodded, "My mother would agree. She says that our purpose is to make the best marriage we can and that men do not want intelligent wives. My father, though, believes that men and women should learn as much as they have the capacity to handle. Surely, my Lady, this potential husband Mama implies cannot be much of a man if he is afraid of an intelligent woman?"

The Lady, already upright of posture, seemed to puff up even more, "You express your opinions quite decidedly for one so young. Tell me girl, how old are you? You cannot be more than one and ten?"

The girl grinned impertinently and raised one eyebrow, "I am not three and ten, Lady Catherine."

"Harrumph. Now that my Anne is able to breath, we will continue our journey. Although I question your impertinence, your methods seem to have been somewhat beneficial. Therefore I would request some of the leaves your employed... and to learn how more may be procured."

Lizzy was happy to assist, even though the lady's tone was officious. She actually rather liked the woman. She was less pleased at the lady's reaction to discovering that she had relations in trade, however. Her uncle was one of her favorite people and her new aunt, his bride, promised to become even more so. Lizzy was old enough to understand the distinctions set by society, but that didn't mean that she necessarily agreed.

The de Bourgh carriage was well down the road before any of the rest of Lizzy's family rose that day. Although the innkeeper and his wife were grateful for her intervention, they never thought to mention the incident to either of the Bennet parents. By nightfall the family was home with none the wiser about Lizzy's morning adventure.

Meanwhile, Lady Catherine and her weary daughter proceeded on to Rosings, with an overnight stop at Darcy House in London. While Anne slept off the exhaustion from her ordeal, Lady Catherine found herself thinking of the impertinent little girl. As much as her natural inclination led her to disdain the child's behavior and upbringing, she also wished that her own dear Anne had even a little of that same spark. She would never admit it to anybody, but she had rather enjoyed meeting the outspoken creature.