The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet by Katherine Cowley (the reading list book txt) 📗

The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet

A Secret Life of Mary Bennet Mystery

Katherine Cowley

The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet

Copyright© 2021 Katherine Cowley

EPUB Edition

The Tule Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

First Publication by Tule Publishing 2021

Cover design by Patrick Knowles

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-953647-10-8

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Praise for The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet

“Beautifully written, masterfully plotted, meet a Mary Bennet every bit as fascinating and twice as daring as her more famous sisters.”

—Gretchen Archer, USA Today bestselling author of the Davis Way Crime Capers

“Cowley’s creative continuation of the story of one of literature’s famous forgotten sisters into a world she could never have dreamed possible, broadens her horizons and ours. Following the pedantic Mary Bennet in her adventures after the conclusion of Pride and Prejudice was a delight that Jane Austen and mystery fans will embrace and cheer.”

—Laurel Ann Nattress, editor of Jane Austen Made Me Do It, and Austenprose.com.

“In The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, Katherine Cowley takes the least interesting sister from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and turns her into the heroine of her own story. It’s very fun to watch Mary transform into a competent spy, but the true delight is how Cowley masterfully keeps Mary true to her pedantic, socially awkward self from Austen’s original while making her a whole person we can root for.”

—Molly Greeley, author of The Clergyman’s Wife: A Pride and Prejudice Novel

“A delightfully fresh take on Miss Mary Bennet. A story I didn’t even realize I was waiting for until I read it.”

—Jess Heileman, author of A Well-Trained Lady

“An intriguing historical mystery that fans of Pride and Prejudice will find compelling.”

—Tina Kashian, author of the Kebab Kitchen Mysteries

Dedication

to my mother

for giving me a love of words

and helping me achieve my dreams

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Praise for The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Historical Note and Acknowledgements

The Secret Life of Mary Bennet series

About the Author

Chapter One

“Bonaparte is still flying from [region to region], reviewing his troops, fortifying his positions, improving his garrisons, collecting provisions, and, in short, doing everything that can give him a permanent hold upon Germany.”

–The Times, London, August 3, 1813

Miss Mary Bennet could do nothing to stop her life from shattering to pieces, so she played the pianoforte.

Her cousin, Mr. Collins, had arrived to take possession of Longbourn before her father, Mr. Bennet, was even in the grave. As Mr. Collins and the men he had hired swept through the house, removing items he had sold, Mary attempted to drown out the commotion by playing faster and faster, louder and louder, until her younger sister, Kitty, exclaimed, “Can you please stop, Mary!”

Mary pulled her fingers off the keys and sniffed.

Their eldest sister, Jane—known as Mrs. Bingley since her marriage not quite a year before—cleared her throat. “What I think Kitty means to say is it might be more appropriate to play that funeral march with a little more solemnity.”

Mary tried not to take offense. It was she, of all her sisters, who had applied herself most to the pianoforte over the years. Should she not be able to choose the manner in which she played?

A sticky summer scent blew in through the open window, and the breeze disturbed Mary’s music. She carefully rearranged the pages.

Kitty, Jane, and Elizabeth were seated at a nearby table assisting with the funeral preparations. They answered letters of condolence and sorted the black gloves for the funeral guests. In a few minutes they would organize the mourning rings. Mary had assisted them for a while, but she was more inclined to pass the time on the pianoforte. However, if they would not appreciate her playing—

“Oh, here is a letter from Lydia,” said Elizabeth.

Lydia was their youngest sister and had been the first to marry, to a Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth’s husband, Mr. Darcy, had purchased him a new commission, and his regiment was currently training so they could travel to the continent and fight against Napoleon Bonaparte.

Mary did not leave the pianoforte, but she did lean forward to better hear the contents of the letter.

Dearest Mother and Sisters,

I am devastated by the death of Father, and I have not stopped shedding tears since I heard the news. While I would love to return to Longbourn, my dear Wickham must remain here, and I find myself unable to part from him for even a few days. Surely you understand what it is to be newly married and in love.

I have used the money that you sent to purchase clothes of mourning. Have you seen the advertisements? In London some women are wearing burgundy for mourning instead of black. I went to the dressmaker and chose out a fine fabric. I intend to be the envy of all the mourners.

I will be thinking of each of you with fondness. Know that you and Father are in my heart.

With love and tears,

Lydia

The four sisters sat in shocked silence.

After a moment of reflection, Mary felt prepared to speak. “A duty to one’s spouse is paramount, but in this case, a duty to one’s parents should take precedence. To spend the money meant for travelling costs on expensive mourning clothing instead—that