Mr. Phillips's POV
Chapter 29: Sometimes I Wish People Would Not Confide in Me.
Two weeks after Mr. Hosmer's latest ball, Mr. Hosmer came to see me at my office.
Mary-Ann and I had attended the ball and much of the talk was about how odd it was that Mr. Hosmer opened his ball not by dancing with one of his sisters (that had been the usual order of things), but with another woman, a Miss Dowdy lately arrived from town. All that was known of her (besides what could be seen) was that she normally lived up north, but had renewed her acquaintance with the Miss Hosmers while in town and had been invited for a visit along with her father and mother. Her gown was quite fine and her hair well arranged, but what everyone noticed was that every inch of her exposed skin bore the marks of smallpox and while she had no obvious wrinkles, some strands of silver were visible in her hair.
Miss Dowdy, though no one knew anything of her but for the aforementioned, was instantly derided as grasping ugly old maid who had forced Mr. Hosmer to dance with her. I remember overhearing some conversation about the matter, between two matrons that were still seeking husbands for their daughters. "She is a scheming wench for sure. That ancient frosty face has no business dancing with our Mr. Hosmer. Bad enough that he has to put up with that in his sisters. And my Elizabeth was sitting; he need not have resorted to her."
The other woman commented, "You mean that is not one of his sisters? Those that are afflicted all look the same to me. My Anne would look far better on his arm." And then more quietly she added, but not quietly enough, "Do you suppose she has pock marks everywhere?"
It seemed to me that they should be less critical; smallpox might afflict them or their daughters someday. I remembered discussing the matter with Mary-Ann when she finished the current set (she was young enough to still enjoy dancing and while I never had been too fond of it I dutifully partnered a few women as I could not always be dancing with Mary-Ann, but was also happy to simply watch her enjoy herself).
After I summarized the gist of the conversation, she commented, "Why should any of us care who Mr. Hosmer chooses to partner or favor? I understand why they do, they would like him for their daughters, but as he has not shown any inclination these many years to pick a bride from the women of Meryton, I hardly think they should expect aught else. As we are only present and enjoying ourselves upon his invitation, should not they all be more tolerant of his choices?"
"You mean you do not believe that he was forced into partnering her?"
I was teasing, but Mary-Ann answered me seriously, "Of course not, he certainly must have asked her. He is well old enough to know his own mind."
"Yes, but I suppose now our local matrons are seeing that perhaps he is ready to settle down and view him as the proper property of one of their daughters rather than an outsider."
But though there was much talk about such a pairing, I had not thought it likely, though, that Mr, Hosmer had any serious intention upon the lady. None of us had ever heard of her before.
I was surprised to see Mr. Hosmer enter my office, his wig slightly askew, as I did not expect him to have any legal business at the moment and certainly he should have no cause for upset with how well his ball had gone and I knew his fortune continued to grow. I was more surprised what he wanted to talk about. He did not even sit down, began pacing in agitation before plopping himself down in a chair and announcing, "I am thinking of getting married to Miss Dowdy but I have not decided for sure, at least not yet."
I waited, knowing that saying nothing is almost always quite effective in getting someone as loquacious as Mr. Hosmer to talk.
"It is just, giving up my name would be a hard thing to do, but the money, the property, almost makes me think it would be worth it."
"And the bride?"
"Well, women are all more or less the same, are they not?"
I looked at him with astonishment, he could not really mean that, could he?
"I have no real objection to the bride. Her appearance would not bother me too much, after all I am used to it with my sisters."
He absently scratched his big belly. As Mr. Hosmer was hardly an attractive person himself I did not see how he had much cause to complain, though of course a man with property never had to be handsome to make a splendid match with a handsome and well dowered young miss.
"So it would be a business arrangement?"
"Exactly. Her younger brother unfortunately died before he even achieved his majority and now she stands to inherit, but her father wants their line to continue. Any marriage is conditional on her husband taking their name. Mr. Dowdy wants her to marry a man who knows how to tend an estate and make it turn a profit, so that it may be passed intact to their grandson someday. Their estate is easily four or five times as big as Netherfield and does quite well."
"It sounds then as if you are decided."
"Should I not take the opportunity offered to me? I owe it to my future son to leave him more than I could now."
"And yet you never have seemed inclined toward marriage before."
"What need have I for a bride? My sisters are the perfect mistresses, tend to matters quite well. As there are plenty of merry widows around, it is not as if I have known any deprivation."
I though briefly about who might be granting him her favors but then did the best to sweep such a thought from my mind; I really did not want to know.
"If you decide to marry, you should really leave off continuing in such a manner." Then realizing that I had spoken out of turn, to someone of much more consequence than myself, I quickly pivoted. "I have a feeling that Miss Dowdy's father would not be pleased with such behavior and it would be well to build a solid foundation for a successful marriage."
"I well imagine you have nothing to complain about with Mrs. Phillips. She is a damn fine looking woman." He gave me a wink and a nudge. Perhaps he wished me to share a story of our bedroom exploits, but I remained silent; I would not disrespect our marriage so. When he saw that I did not mean to comment, he added, "Never you fear, if I decide to marry I will do my duty to her, as well as Mr. Bennet has toward your sister. She is another fine looking woman; I would not have minded plowing her fertile soil. Soon to have five children in eight or nine years is quite an accomplishment. It is a pity that none of them are boys, but perhaps this latest one will be. Miss Dowdy is not getting any younger, but there should be time still for a boy or two."
We talked a bit then about what a marriage settlement ought to detail if he decided to go through with it. Of upmost importance to him was that he still wanted to inherit the estate should Miss Dowdy die in childbirth. "After all," he told me, "I will forever more be a Mr. Dowdy after this and it is not as if Mr. Dowdy will have anyone else to leave it to. He has only some very distant cousins, older than himself."
When I had just thought we had concluded talking of the matter for a while, he introduced a new topic. "Speaking of wives, do you know if Mr. Bennet ever determined what caused the fire at his dower house?"
"No," I told him, "I have not heard any more about possible causes since a few days after it happened. No one seems to know and at this point it is unlikely that anyone ever will."
"I would not be too sure of that, Mr. Phillips. My steward brought me a very interesting tale last week, but I can hardly credit whether it is true."
I was intrigued. "What did he learn, and from whom?"
"He was at the inn, having a pint, when he overheard Mr. Smythe and Mr. Wynn discussing Mrs. Roberts. Apparently they started out commiserating with each other about how Mrs. Roberts had rejected each of their suits and wondering who might be good enough to tempt her (who can blame her for rejecting a widower with seven children who need raising or that crumped-back morose Mr. Wynn) when Mr. Long joined them. While the other men were bemoaning the fact that Mrs. Roberts was not willing to remarry and what could be done to convince her (each was hoping he would ultimately prove successful), Mr. Long told them not to bother. Apparently he said, 'She is a kept woman, a merry widow.' While the other men rejected such an idea, Mr. Long said, 'While I can see why she would not want either of you, if it was a handsome fellow she wanted, she should have accepted me, if it was security she should have accepted spider-shanks Harrington when he asked her.'"
I tried to picture the scene in which three single men were all commiserating about the lovely Mrs. Roberts rejecting them. While I knew, everyone did, about how Mr. Smythe and Mr. Long had their suits rejected (Mary-Ann had given me a most detailed accounting of all she knew about the matter), I was surprised to hear that apparently two other men had pursued her as well.
"But what does this have to do with the dower house?" I asked.
"I am getting to that. The next thing Mr. Wynn said is, 'She will never marry any of us and it is all for the best, given her nature.' The other men decried that there was anything the matter with her, when Mr. Wynn told them something that astonished my steward. He said, 'Do you mean to tell me that you have not heard how Mr. Bennet warms her bed? They used to meet at his dower house. Why else do you think it was burned to the ground? Someone wanted revenge. Perhaps you protest to cover up your misdeeds and it was one of you.' The men then asked how he could know about such an affair and he told them, 'I have it from the mother of one of the farm hands at Longbourn. She came in to buy new drapes for their cottage.'"
I was all astonished and felt a bit sick. Perhaps it was just an ugly rumor, but we had all seen how much better Mrs. Roberts dress once she began receiving money from her rich uncle in London. I knew from Mary-Ann, who much have had it from Fanny or Edward that Longbourn had run short on funds, that there was no dowry for the daughters or money to rebuild the dower house. Could it be that Mr. Bennet spent his money outfitting Mrs. Roberts instead?
"Not that I blame Mr. Bennet if he is indulging in such a manner. Who could not want a piece of that? I have long realized she cannot have any rich uncle and when I noticed how well she was looking when dressed handsomely and out of mourning, I even approached her about an arrangement (who would not want to occupy her?) but she rejected me. It really is most unfair if Mr. Bennet has two handsome women at his beck and call and I will have to settle for just Miss Dowdy, at least for a while."
I was all astonishment.
"I felt sure you would already know all about it, Mr. Bennet being your family and all."
"He does not share his confidences with me." I told him.
"Yes, I remember him not wanting Mr. Gardiner involved with redrafting his father's will. I thought he had gotten over the matter if he employs the son, but perhaps he is more focused on rank than character. I know you can be trusted, that you never reveal your clients' personal matters. Speaking of which, not a word about my possible marriage, but I do give you leave to speak of the rumors about Mrs. Roberts and your brother Bennet; perhaps you will want to address the matter with him, not that this really gives much clue into who might have burned the dower house down. Arson is a most serious offense and I doubt anyone wants to swing for it. I am sure I am not the only one who heard about that conversation and you might want to give him some warning especially as it might cause problems in his marriage; it would not do to have Mrs. Bennet hear and become upset during her lying in."
