Chapter Text
Mary Bennet looked out the car window, chin resting on her hand. She sighed, watching as their destination inched closer and closer. London.
The traffic had been horrible so far, making the trip seem endless, but it was almost comforting to Mary. The longer it took to get to London, the more time she had to process.
Well, she hadn't exactly been precessing during said ride, more like avoiding, but she had a few more minutes to pretend. Pretend that she wasn't permanently moving to London. Pretend that she wasn't leaving Hertfordshire behind, and in tandem, leaving her mother behind. It wasn't as if she couldn't visit, but it might as well have given the scowl her mother had greeted her with that very morning. It wasn't like she was moving to another country, London was barely an hour and a half from her childhood home. It would be a bit longer now that her mother was moving into Jane's guest house, but even then it really shouldn't have been such a big deal. It wasn't like her mother was very fond of her anyway.
Mary sighed again, causing her uncle to look into the rearview mirror and ask, "You alright back there?"
There was concern in his eyes, something that she had never seemed to find when it came to her mother. They looked alike, but in moments like this it was obvious how different they were.
"Yes, just nervous." Mary responded.
Her aunt reached back from the passenger side to give Mary's knee a soft squeeze. "It's normal to be nervous, Mary." She smiled, "But trust me, you'll thrive here."
Mary had stayed with her aunt and uncle, Madeleine and Edward, for a month earlier in the year. She told her mother it was just an extended visit, but in truth it had been to get a feel of London and to potentially find a job. She had attended online university to get a degree in education, working as a TA for a year at the local primary school, and she was ready to be a teacher.
Her mother hadn't wanted to her to go to university at all, wanting Mary to focus instead on taking care of her and being miserable, probably. But after her father died a few months ago, she had no desire to move in with Jane. Aside from the fact that she didn't want to continue living with her mother, there were also no schools in the area that were hiring.
So, when her sister Elizabeth suggested she look in London, Mary was a bit hesitant at first. It took quite a bit of persuading from her aunt and uncle, but she finally decided to visit and immediately fell in love. It was significantly busier than where she grew up, and there was a kind of comfort in in being surrounded by people who weren't paying attention to you in the slightest. No one walking down the streets of London cared about Mary, and she loved that. It was not that she grew up in a tiny town, but it was small enough to feel like everyone was judging her. In actuality, it probably felt that way because her mother was always judging her, and she was always there. Now, Mrs. Bennet was nowhere to be found and Mary was on her way to hopefully the best change of her life.
-
Her uncle parallel parked directly in front of a small brick building, only about three stories tall. It was significantly smaller than most of the other buildings in London, but that made no difference to Mary. When she finally made the decision to move, she was a bit shell shocked when looking at the prices of one bedroom flats in London. She had received a small sum of money from her inheritance, but there was no way it would be sustainable for her to pay those kinds of prices on a teachers salary. So, she had let her aunt and uncle know she wouldn't be moving after all.
Her uncle laughed it off and said, "Mary, you know I own a small building in London, don't be daft. You can stay there for free."
Mary insisted that she needed to pay something, and when her stubbornness became too much, he agreed to a much smaller amount than any other flat in London went for. Her uncle would practically be losing money on the space, but he insisted. So Mary agreed.
Now, she was staring up at the small brick building, imagining what it would be like to come home here everyday.
"Are you ready?" Her aunt asked as her uncle unloaded Mary's two big suitcases.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Mary responded, taking a deep breath, picking up one of the suitcases and heading inside. Her flat was on the second floor, so the three of them took the rickety elevator up as Mary attempted to ignore the pit in her stomach.
Once they made it out of the elevator, they walked down a small hallway all the way to the end. Her uncle turned, slotting a key into room 210, and opened the creaky door. "Here we are," he said, heading inside and leaving the door open behind him.
It was a small space, consisting of an open concept kitchen that extended into the living room. They had hired movers to transport her furniture over, which wasn't much considering her mother would have kept all of it if not for Mary's uncle. There was a green couch in the living room along with her electric keyboard. She didn't need to go into the bedroom to know that the only additional furniture was her full-sized bed and chestnut dresser. She needed to get a table and chairs for the kitchen as soon as possible.
Even though the building was old, it seemed the flat had been renovated a couple of years ago.
"I know it's not a lot of space," her uncle said, "but all of the appliances should be in tip top shape, and there's a small balcony."
"I don't need a lot of space," Mary said, setting down her suitcase and walking toward the sliding glass doors that led to the aforementioned balcony. She flipped the lock and slid the door open, taking a step out into the almost fall breeze. It still felt a bit like summer, but the weather would start to turn soon and she was trying to enjoy the last bit of sunshine. The balcony was covered, so she hoped to get a chair and small table for the space. It would be a good reading spot, she thought to herself.
Mary closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to steady herself. It was a lot, imagining herself here. Imagining that she would not be going back to her childhood home, even if she left London. That life was over, and it was time for Mary to start a new one. That did not, however, help with the anxiety surrounding said new life.
"Mary," she heard her aunt's soft voice behind her. Mary opened her eyes and turned her head.
"Yes?" Mary asked.
"You can talk to me, you know," her aunt smiled, "about how you're feeling. You need not censor yourself on my behalf."
"I know," Mary responded, "it's just that I am not sure if I even know how I'm feeling yet. It's a lot to process."
Madeleine hummed, "Quite true. I can't imagine it was not an easy decision... leaving your mother."
"She'd tell you I did it out of spite." Mary huffed, blowing a small curl out of her face that had fallen from her plait.
"Did you?"
Mary sighed, "No."
Her aunt smirked, titling her head slightly, causing Mary to laugh and gently roll her eyes. "Okay, maybe. Just a little bit," she corrected.
"That's my girl," her aunt grabbed her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Now come inside, Edward has gone out for takeout and I am going to help you unpack."