Family (a Pride and Prejudice fanfiction)

The Bennets and Their Daughters

It was a pleasure to be at the piano, although adjusting her playing to harmonise with Mary's was a bit of a challenge. Mary played with a mechanical proficiency that felt halting and slow in Georgiana's ears; the other girl didn't seem to feel the music flowing through her.

They finished the duet and Mary sat back, nodding. "Very nice."

"Thank you. You, too," Georgiana added after a moment. "Is that your favourite piece?"

Mary frowned. "It is well-written."

"Yes, but that isn't quite what I meant. I was thinking more of how it makes you feel while you play it. I can't help feeling like a bird, soaring through the air, especially during this passage." She played a bit of the song, watching Mary's face as she did so. But there was no change in the other girl's expression. Georgiana stopped playing.

"How fanciful," Mary said.

"What does it make you feel like?"

"Nothing in particular. I take pride in my accomplishment, but not to such an extent as to fall victim to vanity, of course."

"Of course." Georgiana stood up, collecting the sheet music and putting it carefully away.

Mary stayed where she was, watching Georgiana thoughtfully. "Do you often feel yourself to be a bird?"

"No. Only when I'm very happy. Usually when I'm playing a particularly lovely piece of music, or when I'm singing. When I'm in the garden I sometimes feel like a butterfly." She gave Mary a sideways glance. "Haven't you ever imagined what it would be like to fly?"

"I have not." Mary was looking at Georgiana as though she was a butterfly—one caught and pinned to a card for study.

To wriggle free of that gaze, Georgiana went back to her earlier question. "If playing music doesn't make you feel as though you're flying, what does it make you feel like?"

There was a silence between them as Mary considered her answer. "I have never really considered what it makes me feel like. It has always been enough for me to be proficient at the notes." She frowned a little. "I have been disappointed when my playing was not well received in company."

"That isn't exactly the same."

"To many accomplished, fashionable women, I believe it is."

Well, there was no arguing with that. Georgiana smiled. "You're right about that. But your playing is superior to that of most women who consider themselves accomplished." Technically, that was the truth, but there was no showmanship in Mary's playing, no consideration of enjoyment—her own or that of her listeners. "Therefore I assume you choose to play for reasons other than the appearance of accomplishment, which leads me to ask what playing music makes you feel." She'd all but given up on provoking a response from the other girl, but she felt it was worth one final attempt.

Mary stood up abruptly. "I must hurry; I have a schedule to keep." Georgiana watched in surprise as Mary moved hastily toward the door. But in the doorway, she paused, looking back at Georgiana over her shoulder. "Playing music allows me to hear only the notes I play instead of the sounds of the household. Few—if any—of which are directed at me." And then she was gone, her face turned away.

Georgiana finished arranging the sheet music, thinking about what Mary had said, and what it meant. She had noticed in her days here at Longbourn that Mrs. Bennet addressed herself almost entirely to Kitty and Georgiana, and Mr. Bennet addressed himself to almost no one. Mary was left to her own devices. Perhaps something should be done about that.