Chapter Two
Jane and Elizabeth Bennet had been back at their father's estate of Longbourn, following a three week visit to relatives in London, for less than a sennight and Lizzy was ready to plan her escape. Rather than taking such drastic action (such as walking the four-and-twenty miles to return to her aunt and uncle's home), Lizzy chose to burn her restless energy with walking the lanes around Longbourn and Meryton.
Elizabeth loved her family, of that she was in no doubt, but that did not mean they could not be trying at times. Rather than get into trouble for saying something which her step-mother would call impertinent simply because she failed to understand her, Lizzy would walk along the lanes and through the fields of the countryside which surrounded her home in an attempt to calm her emotions.
After breakfast, Lizzy had had to physically bite her tongue to prevent herself from correcting her youngest sister, Lydia, on her needlepoint. It would have been the fourth such comment of the half of an hour tutorial and Mrs Bennet had already complained Lizzy was being too harsh with the girl. As she plucked wild flowers nearly a few hours later, her tongue still throbbed slightly and her frustrations at being treated as an interloper in her own father's house continued. The walk was not working.
Elizabeth and her elder sister Jane had long accepted that not being Mrs Bennet's true daughters meant they were treated differently that their younger sisters. When out in society, this difference only became noticeable to their neighbours once Mary, the eldest of Mrs Bennet's daughters, came out at the start of the summer, at the age of fifteen.
Until that point, Mrs Bennet had proclaimed to all who would listen to her how Jane would use her beauty to capture a fine husband and save the family from the entail on the estate; which could see them all turned out of their home when Mr Bennet passed away. Once she had a true daughter of marriageable age, Mrs Bennet saw Jane as competition to Mary and would often criticise her to the surrounding families; at the age of twenty Jane was far from a spinster, but Mrs Bennet placed her on the shelf and dedicated all her efforts to seeing Mary married well.
In public Mrs Bennet neither commended nor condemned Elizabeth; to the matriarch it was like the young lady did not exist outside of their home. Elizabeth knew it was because she looked so much like her real mother and was the confirmed favourite of Mr Bennet, and that Mrs Bennet would suffer consequences should news of her disapprobation get back to her husband. When in the privacy of her own parlour, with Mr Bennet sequestered away in his book room, Mrs Bennet had no such reservations and directed most of her frustrations at the nineteen year old Elizabeth.
Mary herself would have much rather delayed her coming out for another year or two, but her mother was determined to see her daughters married. Preferably before Mr Bennet met his earthly end and she was forced to support herself and her girls with her own meagre portion.
Lizzy knew it would only get worse at the end of the spring when the fourth Bennet daughter, Catherine (known to all as Kitty) turned fifteen and was also catapulted into local society before she was truly ready. Only the youngest Bennet, Lydia, was excited by the prospect of dances and balls with eligible young men. Thankfully, at the age of just thirteen, there was still hope that the elder daughters could be far away by the time Lydia was ready to make a spectacle of herself.
After a while, Lizzy noticed the sinking of the sun and realised it was time for her to return home. There was an assembly planned for that evening in the nearest town and it would not do to delay Mrs Bennet in presenting Mary to the newest eligible bachelor in the area, or one of his many, equally wealthy, friends who were expected to join him.
Since their arrival back in Hertfordshire, Jane and Elizabeth had heard little but the talk of the new tenant at Netherfield Park, his handsome features and attractive bank account. The gentleman was reported to have four or five thousand a year and was expected to appear at the Meryton assembly with a large party. The exact definition of 'large' had been hotly debated amongst the local residents, it varied from a gentleman's shooting party of eighteen eligible young men, to a house party of twelve ladies and seven gentlemen. It was settled just the day before that he had brought with him only six ladies, all relations, rather than twelve. Though Elizabeth was of the opinion the matrons of the area were spreading wishful thinking rather than gossip; it would not do to have so much competition for the gentleman's attention after all.
As Elizabeth meandered back towards Longbourn, she took her usual detour into the churchyard. Pausing only for a moment, she laid her collected wildflowers in the space between her mother and brother's headstones, touched each one lightly, and returned to the house. Elizabeth rarely stopped to sit with them anymore, she was only two years old when the carriage accident tore her family apart so there were no memories to revisit. Lizzy did not know the sound of her mother's voice or the advice she would have given had she spoken of things that troubled her. Elizabeth turned to her Aunt Madeline on the occasions she required maternal support, for she knew she would not receive any from Mrs Bennet.
Before her father had allowed his eldest daughters to reconnect with the Gardiners, Lizzy had often been found sat between the stones. She would cry out at the unfairness of her situation, the isolation she felt when she saw other mothers caring for their daughters and knew she would not experience that. The love and support of Aunt Maddie throughout Lizzie's teenage years had helped to soothe that hurt considerably though.
Elizabeth walked quietly up to the servant's entrance at the side of Longbourn, there she would be able to seek out Cook or maybe Mrs Hill and discover the whereabouts of Mrs Bennet – to work out which route she should take to the room she shared with Jane to give her the best chance of avoiding the woman. By now Lizzie expected her step-mother's nerves to be causing havoc throughout the house. For the previous two days the servants had struggled to get their usual work done in addition to the superfluous demands the woman had been making.
Mary's gown for the evening had been changed twice during the week, but two days earlier Mrs Bennet had jostled her way into Jane and Lizzie's room and demanded one of the bundles of fabric that they had brought back with them from London. Each had brought enough fabric for two dresses to be made up by the local seamstress, in addition to the two day dresses and an evening gown they had each been gifted by their relations during their trip. Mrs Bennet took a dark blue muslin from the trunk at the end of their shared bed and instructed the housekeeper and ladies maid to work on a new dress for Mary. A few hours later she had returned and taken a pale pink muslin which she informed Jane would look far better on her dear Lydia, although she accepted that would have to wait.
The maid of all work, Alice, was waiting for Elizabeth just inside the servant's entrance; she must have been spotted during her walk through the kitchen garden. "Miss," she bobbed a small curtsy, "Mrs Bennet is in the side parlour. With the door open."
Lizzie knew what Alice wasn't saying. Mrs Bennet was waiting for her to walk into the main hallway and had positioned herself to full advantage so Lizzie could not politely get to the stairs without having to acknowledge her. She must want something.
"Thank you, Alice. I shall be upstairs, can you have hot water sent up I require a bath." Lizzie dismissed the maid and stepped out into the hallway that ran at a right angle to the one where Mrs Bennet was waiting to ambush her. Rather than turn right and walk into the trap she was not yet prepared to endure, Lizzie took one long stride forward and grasped the handle which would permit her entry to the servant's stairs.
As she was opening the door, Lizzie heard a noise to her right. A cold chill at the thought of being caught by Mrs Bennet as she was so clearly trying to avoid her prickled the back of her neck, but as she turned to look she saw her father. Thomas Bennet was aware of the cantankerous relationship between his favourite daughter and his second wife. Knowing he was in full view of Mrs Bennet further down the hallway, Mr Bennet remained quiet but raised a single eyebrow in question to Elizabeth.
From down the hallway Lizzie heard Mrs Bennet call out with a shirll voice, "Mr Bennet, what do you stand about for? Has that girl of yours returned yet?" In response Lizzie made a shushing gesture, which almost broke his resolve to remain discrete, and continued on her way.
Once safely hidden inside her bedchamber, Lizzy let out a breath and slumped against the door. After some minutes, there was a knock at the dressing room door indicating the bath had been readied and with that Elizabeth began her preparations for the evening.
After Lizzy had let the water go cold and her fingers prune, she decided it was time to vacate the bath. As she walked in she found Sarah, the ladies maid they all shared, hanging a freshly pressed yellow evening gown from a rail by the dressing table.
"Sarah, Jane will be wearing her new powder blue silk tonight, not the yellow muslin."
Sarah looked up apologetically at the sound of Elizabeth's voice, "The mistress has bid me press other dresses for yous and Miss Bennet tonight, Miss" It was then that Lizzy noticed a printed cotton dress, better suited for morning calls than an assembly, on the rail behind the first one.
Without saying a word, Elizabeth pulled on the simple day dress she had earlier discarded and buttoned it as best she could herself before walking out of her room. With nearly two hours before they were due to depart for Meryton, Elizabeth knew she would find her father in his book room. In her haste, Lizzy had forgotten the waiting Mrs Bennet who called out to her as soon as her feet touched the floor at the bottom of the main staircase. Without responding, Lizzie turned in the direction of her father's book room and heard footsteps and complaints trailing behind her.
Lizzie knocked on the door but did not wait for a reply before she entered. The long narrow room was decorated on all four sides by full height bookcases, rammed with books of all ages and sizes. Light from two windows was being heavily filtered by thick moss green curtains and the fire was burning low in the grate. Lizzie's eyes quickly adjusted to the low light and she easily found the figure of her father bent over a book at his desk.
"Papa." Lizzie knew that to start a conversation before she had his full attention was not worthwhile, so she waiting for him to look up from his book. By the time they made eye contact, a panting Mrs Bennet was rushing into the room.
"Lizzie, you insolent girl. I was speaking to you, do not ignore me."
"My dears, what an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?" Mr Bennet was enjoying the look of frustration on his wife's face, but the rising ire on Elizabeth's was a concern to him.
Elizabeth walked further into the room in an unconscious effort to get away from her step-mother. Being the only one of the family given leave to use the room freely, Lizzie was familiar with the scent of old leather and dust that filled the air; she knew she could navigate this space with her eyes closed. Elizabeth felt herself relax slightly as she eased herself into the small armchair that had become hers in recent years, she spread her fingers over the well-worn fabric of the arms and let out a breath.
Elizabeth looked up to find both adults stood looking at her expectantly. "Mrs Bennet has decided Jane and I are to wear old gowns to the assembly this evening, rather than our new ones from town."
"Jane has already agreed, I do not see why you are being difficult. It is best for our neighbours that you do not show them up with your fancy London gowns." Mrs Bennet argued.
"Of course Jane is willing to comply, she dislikes conflict, but our neighbours have never felt slighted by our choice of fashion before now; why should tonight be any different Mrs Bennet, prey tell?" Elizabeth countered as Mr Bennet looked on with a bored mien.
"The whole neighbourhood will be looking to make a fine impression on the Netherfield party, your dressing so much higher than them will surely sow discord I tell you."
"I find that unlikely, Mrs Bennet." Her father interjected sarcastically.
"That is because her real concern, father, is that Jane will be the most beautiful lady in the room and capture Mr Bingley's attention with no effort on her part. Leaving Mary to be the sister of the object of his affection rather that the object herself. That either of them could be judged on more than just their appearance seems to be lost on your wife, sir"
"I am inclined to agree with you my dear, seeing as what they wear should not matter, why can you have such a fervent opposition to the scheme, Lizzie?"
"Well said, Mr Bennet." Mrs Bennet said to no one in particular.
"They were gifts, Father." Lizzie stood and walked over to him and in a voice low enough for only her father to hear added "from our mother's family. Sir, the next few weeks will be difficult regardless, please do not allow her to make them more so."
Mr Bennet saw the pain in his daughter's eyes as she pleaded for a connection to her mother. The anniversary of the accident would be upon them in three weeks and Mrs Bennet always became more callous than was her usual wont at this time of year; even he had noticed.
"Well, seeing as those dresses cost your good Uncle Gardiner a small fortune, I believe you should get your wear out of them before he insists on buying you more." Mr Bennet held his hand up to avert Mrs Bennet's protests, "No, madam, I have already discussed these bothersome outfits more than I would like, no more. Leave me now, before I decide that no Bennet shall attend this darned assembly at all."
As Mr Bennet returned to his chair behind his desk, Mrs Bennet gathered her skirts and huffed out of the room. Elizabeth approached her father and kissed him lightly on the forehead, "Thank you, Papa."
By the time the party of Bennet's was ready to depart for Meryton, Lizzie had managed to calm her frustrations by such an extent that she was in fact looking forward to the evening. Lizzie was thrilled to be wearing her new sea green gown; the gold satin trim on the sleeves, collar and hem brought out the lighter flecks in her hazel eyes she knew. She felt handsome, but knew she was outshone by her dear sister Jane. A wide smile spread over Lizzie's face once she had pinned the last of Jane's blonde curls into place, just before they descended to meet their family. Jane had a loveliness that flowed from her, with grey-blue eyes and blonde hair she would have been considered a beauty regardless; but Jane possessed such a tranquil spirit and always sought to see the best in others that she was widely considered to be the jewel of the county. Seeing her now, in her powder blue gown with full lace overlay and silver trim, Lizzie ardently hoped their new neighbours would be able to see her inner charm as clearly as all would see her outer splendour.