Four Darcys and a little lady

Monday, October 6 08

The little Miss Twin Bennets were mesmerised. Never had they seen so many men in a confined space. To watch one male was plenty, to watch four was almost too much. Outside where the conservatory once stood, the building quartet was busy at work, drilling up rubble and knocking down walls. Miss Kezia was particularly hooked. A dainty sandwich which normally went straight into her mouth was stuck half-way between face and plate. She could not possibly watch and eat at the same time. The other hand was pointing at the foreign human objects, accompanied by “ooh” and “aah” sounds which she did well. If the twins were seventeen rather than 17 months, the scene might have provoked a different response. As it was, the Darcys in the dirt, rippling their muscles, were out of bounds, despite Miss Kezia’s efforts to get their attention.
After almost two years in limbo, failing to sell and waiting for planning permission, change was finally in the air for the Bennet family. Builders were building a pint-sized Pemberley out of the three-bedroom semi to accommodate the five Bennet daughters and their parents. Mrs Bennet had only agreed to this on one condition.
“Do you want a wife at the end of all this? Because if you do, the only way I’m putting up with this is by moving out,” she’d told her husband and that was that. But that was not that and they were all still there, living most of the day in a lounge. They were surrounded. Surrounded by a group of very friendly and polite builders, but surrounded none the less.
At least from Mr Bennet’s point of view, the hormones were balanced out by a surge of testosterone, something the Bennet girls knew nothing about - yet. Miss Kezia Bennet watched it all, goggle-eyed through a pane of glass. Miss Rosie Bennet soon lost interest. Pulling the newspapers out of the magazine rack was far more fun.
Mrs Bennet on the other hand, wasn’t sure Mr Bennet would have a wife at the end of it. She had left her mind somewhere. She acknowledged this when she went upstairs to put one of the twins to bed and leaning over the cot, realised the baby was still in the car! Mrs Bennet seriously considered getting into the cot herself.