Ten From Infinity by Paul W. Fairman (ebook voice reader TXT) 📕

Is there some way that, when you are to return home, you can ask Aunt and Uncle Gardiner if they are willing to offer me a visit? You can tell me how I can make myself more agreeable to them. I just wish… for someone to invite me somewhere, for a change.

Write to me soon. And do not dare call me foolish. Sometimes, what needs to be said is not unwise for being said. And I did indeed need to say that.

I am yours etc.

Kitty

When closing the letter, I looked at Jane.

“Kitty truly wrote that?” she asked, though the question was quite rhetorical.

“Indeed, she did,” I responded, and then I placed the letter down. “The comical side of me wishes to call her mindset frivolous and too much depending on others to give herself importance in the world, but that would be too hard, cruel and inaccurate of an assessment.”

“Yes, it would.” Jane leaned forward and took up the letter. “She is truly just writing the basic needs of the heart, and her heart is like any other. After all, Lizzy, consider, that we all do need attention.”

“Yes, we do. I just feel a little foolish. We all do need attention and I did not notice that perhaps much of her disposition stems from this entire lack of being allowed to discover her own identity in the world.”

“Well, she never has been allowed to really have an identity. Thinking on it, like us, she has too often suffered under the weight of being viewed as one-word labels.”

“And when you are forced into one way of being,” I furthered, “your personality will become quite shallow, because it was regarded as being such from the very beginning.”

“Yes. Yes, she and Lydia focus too much on the militia and lean too much on the crutch of gossip and scandal, but…”

“But we were not given much of an education, and therefore, how much exposure could they have been given to a wider acquaintance with the many intellectual complexities of life? They were not given much to set the foundations of their personality on, therefore, how could they have formed any personality above the vulgar trivialities of life?”

“That is just what I think. Besides, Kitty is neither vicious nor mean-spirited. She is, in truth, a girl who is perfectly willing to be cordial with people. She just needs more chances to be in the world.”

“Yes.” Hearing what Kitty was pleading for, I had quite made up my mind. “Do you think that I should ask our aunt and uncle if she may come and stay with them when we depart?”

“Here,” Jane said, taking the letter, “I shall do it.”

I was surprised at her taking the initiative.

“You will?”

“Yes. I will try to speak in a way that will make them see the necessity of her being made to feel special. In truth, I feel somewhat guilty for not seeing that Kitty was feeling such things all along.”

“You cannot blame yourself.”

Jane tapped the missive against her chin. “Actually, I can. The more that I look over the matter, the more I can recall moments of moroseness in Kitty’s nature, of not being allowed to speak and have anyone listen. Attention must be paid to a person eventually. Perhaps, it can start with me.”

“Are you and I both deciding to allow our natures to grow?” I asked, arching my brow, in jest.

“Lizzy, we are women without a father now. Our natures have every excuse to change.”

With that, she left me, to go and speak with our aunt and uncle.

The day continued and eventually, Jane, our aunt and uncle, as well as I, were dressed in our best attire as we were traveling by chaise and four to Grosvenor Street. Since we had all been preoccupied with getting ready for the evening, we had not had time to engage in a discussion over Kitty’s missive.

Now that we were driving along, and confined to one compartment, the present had felt like as good a time as any other.

“Your aunt and I did discuss the matter about Kitty,” Uncle Gardiner informed us.

“And?” I asked. “What decision have you reached?”

“We were surprised at Kitty’s desire to come and see us,” Aunt Gardiner asserted, “for we never considered ourselves to be favorites among Kitty. Therefore, imagine our surprise when, this whole time, she was the one who was feeling no special regard for her from us.”

“We never would have noticed that she would have desired a visit until she wrote this letter,” Uncle Gardiner added. “We decided that yes, it would be better if she were to come and visit when you left.”

“However,” Aunt Gardiner compiled, “I would recommend that one of you remain behind while she is here. Kitty is a very good sort of girl, but she is a bit of a follower. If one of you were to remain behind and be a companion to her, she would be following a good example.”

“Lizzy is better at guiding her than I,” Jane said. “I shall go home.”

“Jane,” I began to argue, despite that I truthfully did wish to remain in London. “You are the eldest. She listens best to you.”

“Are you truly going to tell me that you do not wish to remain in London?” she asked me, pointedly.

I did not reply immediately, and Jane continued speaking before I could.

“I believe that you want to stay,” she pursued, “therefore, I am giving us both what we desire. You have a cause to remain behind, and I know that Kitty will be safe with you. Besides, I want to return home, for I wish to check on our mother and Mary. I worry about them being left for too long to their own counsel and company. Father is not there, and our mother does not do well on her own.”

“No, she does not.”

“You are wholly obliging and that is very good of you,” Aunt Gardiner complimented her. “Your mother will want for nothing better than to have you to