"Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson: that the loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable - that one false step involves in her endless ruin - that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful - and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the opposite sex." ~ Mary Bennet While the rest of the Bennet ladies are away from Longbourn, Charlotte Collins invites Mary to stay at Hunsford... more"Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson: that the loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable - that one false step involves in her endless ruin - that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful - and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the opposite sex." ~ Mary Bennet While the rest of the Bennet ladies are away from Longbourn, Charlotte Collins invites Mary to stay at Hunsford. Mary accepts, determined to quash her tender feelings for Mr. Collins, but she's is quite unprepared for the handsome and charming Lt. Col. Carleton "Carley" Quartermaine, visiting Rosings Park with Colonel Fitzwilliam. The man is utterly unbelievable, entirely insufferable, and completely unstoppable. Then prim Mary is scandalized to discover that she is the subject of a bet among gentlemen. Well, two gentlemen and one "lady" ~ mischief maker Caroline Bingley. The lieutenant colonel's smile may send shivers to Mary's very soul, but she vows she'll never let him make her eat her words regarding female virtue. less
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