Chapter 1
It was a day, Mr. Thomas Bennet II was sharing drinks with his son whose wife was upstairs giving birth to what would hopefully be an heir. His son, Thomas Bennet III shared the sentiment. There was no need for a daughter, daughters were leeches upon the estate until they could be married off to a gentlemen. Other families may be foolish enough to have a daughter, but he had raised his son better. Women were leeches to the estate. Wives were taken solely to provide a male heir, afterwards they had no use. The younger Bennet's wife, Jane, was brought in for her dowry at the behest of the father. Her dowry was to be used to expand the estate.
A cry broke the silence as the men took another sip of port. Minutes later the midwife came down holding a wriggling bundle. "Congratulations, sir, for your wife has born you a daughter."
Smash. Mr. Bennet, the elder slammed his glass down harsh enough to shatter the glass. The midwife jumped, wide-eyed. For what man would be angry at a healthy babe? She looked to the son. He, too, was seething. Unsure of how to proceed she begged a dismissal, and quit the room to check on the mother.
"I ordered that whore to birth me a boy. She never was obedient. You should have gotten me an obedient wife."
"If your wife failed to birth you a boy it was because you failed to take her in hand. Women are too stupid to independent think enough to disobey their husband. You have failed me again. I knew you were a disappointment when you were young and you continue to be a disappointment now."
"I assure you that whore will regret disobeying my directives."
"That whore is your wife. She may be disobedient, but the lily-livered gentlemen in this neighborhood have the same weak stomachs as their wives. So if you wish to maintain your position in this neighborhood, you will better manage you language. Servants talk. And you already provide enough talk with your gambling and drinking. I will no longer watch you run the Bennet name into the ground."
The younger Thomas Bennet was angry. This was that woman's fault. If only she bore a boy, he would have been restored in his father's eyes. His father had bore only a son, as he was constantly reminding his son. His father never missed the opportunity to remind his son of his short-comings.
Over the next few years, his wife would have 3 miscarriages. Many suspected he was the cause of the miscarriages. His daughter, Elizabeth, was ignored. His wife Jane doted on the girl too much. When Elizabeth was 6, Jane fell pregnant and finally delivered the much desired heir, Thomas Bennet IV. Young Thomas was the apple of his grandfather's eye. He was pulled out of the nursery and from the feminine influence of his older sister and mother as much as possible. He would be the future of the estate, for his own son would surely run the place to the ground in gambling away the profits.
If Elizabeth had noticed a distinct preference for her baby brother, she would never show it. She was intelligent enough to understand that she was unwanted and throwing a temper would merely put her in a poorer situation. She learned all she could from her mother, a sweet and gentle soul who could do no wrong. She would tell herself she was lucky she didn't have to spend so much time around her father or grandfather as both men were terrifying. She could spend her days with her mother. At least, that was what she told herself as she sung her brother to sleep.
Jane Bennet was never the same after Thomas' birth. She was weaker. Many suspected the years of neglect had finally caught up to her. At eight, Thomas would lose a mother. Her memory would be carried on in stories by Elizabeth who took over all the duties of her mother and doted on Thomas.
Thomas was everyone's hope for a better life. The eldest hoped he would save the estate from his father. The father hoped he would show the eldest that he was worthy of being the Master of Longbourn. Elizabeth hoped Thomas would protect her from the plans of the eldest Mr. Bennets.
When Thomas Bennet IV was 12, his grandfather passed from the world. As his father took over the running of Longbourn, all in the area quickly realized that the era of Longbourn's prosperity had come to an end. The new Mr. Bennet was all that his father thought him to be: a reckless gambler and alcoholic. He rarely looked at the estate books. Money went to port before it was spent on repairs to the fields or cottages. The estate fell on hard times. Over the next few years the coffers of Longbourn would start to run dry, no longer able to support the lifestyle of its master.
His sister had been out in society just before the death of his grandfather. Men would start to court and upon meeting the father, would turn around. The father made it clear that he had raised the girl and saw no reason to pay someone money after all the money he spent on the stupid chit.
When Elizabeth turned 20 and had few prospects, a widower entered town looking for a new bride. His previous wife had passed not 3 months prior in child birth and he wanted a young woman to raise his son. He was willing to accept Elizabeth with no dowry. The two were wed with little ceremony. Though many pitied the young girl, for the man left a sour taste in the mouth of many in the town.
The night before the wedding, Thomas wandered into his sister's room to spend one last night hearing stories of their mother and talking about the life she would no longer lead. It was that night that Elizabeth Bennet drew a promise from her brother, a promise that would affect many of the lives around them.
"Thomas, I want you to promise me something."
"Anything, LizBet."
"Promise me that any daughter you shall have will never be in the situation I am in."
"Married?"
"No my love. Married with little hope of love or respect. I fear that my future husband is not a kind man."
"Why would father make you marry him?"
"Because father does not see the value in women. Will you promise me Thomas?"
"Of course. No child of mine shall enter into a loveless marriage."
"Thank you."
"I would change things if I could LizBet."
"But you can't. You must care for the estate. Always be the kind and knowledgeable individual I know you to be. In a little under 4 years you will start at Cambridge. Show everyone there the strength of the Bennet name."
With that the two fell asleep, wishing tomorrow would wait a little longer.
After the marriage, Elizabeth was banned from writing her beloved brother. Thomas was devastated. Remembering his promise, he took over management of the estate. He quickly realized that as he would turn the estate around from destitution, his father saw the increased profits as permission to gamble more even at the cost of the servants' wages. Thomas found creative methods to hide money. He asked tenants to report lower crop numbers and lower rents if anyone should ask. Money was put into a safe that only he had the key to. As Thomas' entrance to Cambridge drew closer, he realized he needed someone to keep an eye on the estate while he attended school. The new housekeeper Mrs. Hill had a husband who worked as a steward on a neighboring estate. The estate was smaller, and while busy Thomas hoped he could request Mr. Hill's help in monitoring Longbourn and their tenants while he was away. Mr. Hill accepted the small payment in exchange for offering to check on the tenants from time to time. The primary burden of management would remain Thomas'.
At 22, Thomas graduated from Cambridge with honors to return home to a father whose temperaments had become more extreme. Mr. Bennet had decided he hated his son. Before, he hoped his son would earn him respect. He had come to realize that his son shared little in common with him and appeared to have grown the same weakness that plagued the local gentlemen. He knew his son was preventing the estate from being more profitable to spite him. Mr. Bennet knew exactly how to handle the situation. Mr. Bennet was a vengeful soul and quickly contacted the local solicitor, a new chap with an even newer wife, Mr. Phillips. Mr. Phillips was startled by the odd request. Mr. Bennet wanted to draw up an entail that would pass the estate to Elizabeth's step-son if Thomas failed to have a male heir. Mr. Bennet felt that his son was as lily-livered as the rest of society. Elizabeth's husband seemed sensible and understood the need to take a wife in hand and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. An entail had been drawn up to this effect while Thomas attended his last year at Cambridge.
But an entail wasn't the only surprise that had taken place while at Cambridge. Mr. Bennet happened to meet the sister-in-law of Mr. Phillips while visiting, a Miss Fanny Gardiner. Desirous of her five-thousand-pound dowry at the gaming tables, Mr. Bennet offered the marriage of his son to the girl. Miss Gardiner's parents were desirous of the connection to one of the leading families of the area. Soon a marriage settlement was signed and the contracts were in the process of being drawn up.
Miss Gardiner's relatives were thrilled at marrying her to a gentleman, it would raise their family standing. Miss Gardiner was not nearly so thrilled, for she enjoyed the life of an unattached female too much. As a married woman she could no longer travel as she liked, flirt, or keep her own mind. She would become the property of a husband. Her opinion of Mr. Bennet was in line with his character, and she had not much hope for the son.
Upon his return, Thomas learned of his father's machinations. Thomas was livid at the entail, it was a direct obstacle to his promise to Elizabeth and it was a clear message to all in town that Mr. Bennet despised his son. The marriage, Thomas knew would destroy a young girl who had no business getting pulled into his mess. But he could not back out of it. At a dinner to introduce the engaged couple, Thomas took his betrothed aside.
"Miss Gardiner, I must beg your forgiveness for the awful business with my father. I can tell you no more wanted this marriage than I did."
"Indeed I did not. What business does your family in writing out how my life should go? And without my permission!"
"I am very sorry. I have little hope that you will love me, and I cannot promise you that I will love you. We hardly know each other. But I give you my word that I will be faithful, honest, and treat you with respect. While I cannot say the same about my father, I will guarantee that you will not suffer at my hand."
Realizing that Thomas was in much the same situation as she, her anger at this man deflated. "And what do you suppose we do? I am well aware that your father picked me for my dowry so he may gamble it away. People talk."
"I know. I intend to tie up your dowry before you marry me."
"Tie it up? How will you tie up money that isn't yours?"
"At dinner, you said your brother was working with your uncle to take over his import business, correct?"
"Yes. But—"
"He will have a lawyer who while know how to tie up funds."
"Write your brother, ask him to draw up a marriage contract that insures that all funds remain in your name and cannot be touched without the express permission of a trustee and yourself. If you trust this brother in London, name him trustee. He will be far enough away from the machinations of my father. It also guarantees that any interest or investments with that dowry will remain firmly in your control. Once that is done, if you are willing we can discuss how to invest it."
"Why would you go so far? By doing this you also prevent yourself from accessing those same funds."
"Indeed I do. I made a promise to my sister that I would allow no daughter of mine to be forced into a marriage she didn't want. My father intends to make that promise close to impossible. If your funds are separate from the estate, then he has no control over their inheritance. The money may then prevent our daughter from being stuck in the situation you now find yourself in and the one my sister is in. No woman in my protection will have to marry for security."
Ms. Gardiner was at a loss for words. In one evening this man had done more to ensure her security (and by extension her offspring), than any other had done in her life. Upon her arrival home she sent an express to her brother with the recommendation of her betrothed. He responded that he thought it an excellent idea and would immediately carry about getting the papers drawn up.
For the first time since everything had started, Fanny Gardiner felt a glimmer of hope.
