Chapter Six
A short time later….
It was still quite dark, but Jane saw no need to wait any longer. Her ankle was burning, and she could not sleep. The sun would be up in an hour, generally when she and Kitty started their work. Jane sat up and swung her legs, with some difficulty, to the edge of the bed. Grabbing blindly for her cane, she helped herself up with a small wince, and moved to light the candle. The light illuminated them in a soft glow. Kitty was still asleep, her face serene and calm. There were no worries when one was asleep, nothing to do but dream.
With some difficulty, Jane went to her gowns and laid out a simple morning dress and wrap on the bed, before quickly undressing in front of the small bowl of water. She swiftly gave herself a quick wash and splashed cool water on her face, securing her long blond hair into a simple bun. Hearing movement from the bed, she saw that Kitty was awake.
"You don't have to get up for a while yet, Kitty." she said, as she watched Kitty rub the sleep from her eyes.
"It's all right, Jane. This is more sleep than what I get with Lyddie. Lyddie likes to kick, and is always grabbing the covers from me. Poor Mary!"
Her eyes lit up with a mischief that Jane had not seen in a long while. Of course, even that dimmed at her next sentence.
"It is a good thing Mr. Collins did not put her with-." Kitty trailed off, unsure how to proceed. With great difficulty and pain, Jane limped her way to the bed, without her cane, and sat next to Kitty, feeling quite silly in her undergarments. She pulled her arms around Kitty, laying her head on her breast. Kitty pulled away after a minute or so, hopping to the end of the bed where her gown was, and picking it up.
"Come Jane! Put your gown on, and I shall do your hair better. Lyddie taught me a style that I think would become you very well."
Smiling, Jane allowed her sister to do so, and then returned the favor. In some ways, Jane was glad that she and Kitty were now sharing a space. She was seeing a side in her second youngest sister that she perhaps never would have seen, being that she and Lizzie were so close. Yet, Lizzie was her sister, her best friend, and it was not the same.
Jane ached for her sister. Lizzie was all alone, and there was nothing that any of them could do about it. She would marry Mr. Collins, and they would all be able to stay at Longbourn. Perhaps, in a few years, Lizzie would be able to convince the elder Mr. Collins that Lydia, Kitty, and Mary would be better served going to live with their Aunt and Uncle Gardner, but Jane would stay. Always. She knew that no matter how she looked, she was now un-eligible for marriage. No man, who would have taken her with her dowry and looks before the accident, would take her with the added problem of her ankle and cane.
Perhaps this was God's will. God's gift to her. She had been sitting right next to her papa when the accident occurred, yet she received relatively inconsequential injuries compared to his. If she had gone the same way he had, her Lizzie would be going through this ordeal alone. Would be dealing with both the Mr. Collins' alone, and Mama.
Jane knew Lizzie was strong and stubborn, but the Bennet household was not the same. Jane remembered, ever since they had come through womanhood together, gone to the same assemblies, danced with young, handsome men, and fussed over their gowns, that they had an idea of how their lives would turn out. Lizzie had always teased her under the coverlet, that a wealthy young man would suddenly appear at the assembly, fall passionately in love with her, and marry her on the spot. Lizzie would be the maiden aunt to their many children, and they would live happily together.
That was not to be, not anymore, and Jane would make the best of it. She would take care of her sisters in any way she could, and that would now be her purpose. She would deal with Mama, and work upon the Collinses in order to give them their best chance.
Jane helped Kitty arrange her hair, although she was wildly out of practice due to both she and Lizzie's preference for simple hair styles. Her fingers ached with all the braiding she had been doing recently. The sun was now up, and she and Kitty started their day, making their way to the small room that their Papa had been moved to.
Mr. Hill had been in charge of Papa's care, washing and feed him through a tube that the apothecary had sent for. The elder Mr. Collins had insisted that Jane and her new bedmate, Kitty, take on some of the responsibility for their father. Although he was not quite so shocking as to insist that Kitty and Jane bathe their father, they were now responsible for feeding him, and turning his body so he did not develop sores.
Kitty went downstairs to get their Papa's food ready, a thin gruel made of vegetables, meat, and gravy.
Jane was left alone with him. As she often felt Lizzie do so in the days after her accident, she laid a cool hand on Papa's forehead. His body was warm, and she dreaded the day that he would grow cool under her touch. Her hand trailed down to touch his forehead and lips, caress his beard that was just starting to grow in. Mr. Hill would need to shave him later tonight, after his wash. Smoothing over the skin of his neck and cheeks, she saw that he was getting thinner and thinner, despite their best efforts.
The elder Mr. Collins claimed that their papa did not need as much food, when he was not contributing anything to the household, yet Jane and Mrs. Hill found ways to sneak more and more food into him-using some of the scraps that might normally go to the pigs, and so on. Every day, Jane's body tightened with tension whenever they went into Papa's room to ready him for the day, hoping and praying that this would not be the day that she found him dead. From then on, it would be a four or five months or so before Lizzie and Mr. Collins could properly wed, perhaps even before, due to the special circumstances that they were in. Most people, from around Meryton and even London, would perhaps cluck their tongues over it for a year or so, and then happily agree that it was for the best.
It would come to that, one day soon, and Jane hoped she had the strength to hold herself up, as well as Lizzie.
Their morning meal would not be due to start for another three hours, so Jane and Kitty walked to their greenhouse, a short distance from their home, to tend to the plants. Jane could still hear all the goings on within the kitchen, and it seemed that Lydia was not adjusting to her new duties. As Jane and Kitty had to take care of their father, feeding him thrice a day and the like, so Mary and Lydia had to help Mrs. Hill with the preparation of meals. Jane thought Mama would have died of shame if it had not meant that she could not screech in the face of the elder Mr. Collins.
An hour or so later, Kitty and Jane headed inside to change their shoes for a light walk about the estate. Jane was determined to get over the pain of her ankle, sooner, rather than later, as well as the added opportunity that it gave her to escape the house. Kitty retrieved her boots, and on their walk they went.
Kitty skipped gaily ahead of Jane, who has glad to see her happy. Once separated from Lydia, Kitty had become reserved and quiet, almost instantly. Jane had been worried, afraid that Kitty would hate that she was stuck with her, her crippled elder sister who needed help to dressing herself, and the like. She knew that Mr. Collins had only paired them together because it was a way to separate Lydia and Kitty, both of whom spent their days alternately spending quality time gossiping and doing lacework, or otherwise fighting over the silliest of things. Where Papa shut himself in his library and Mama took Lyddie's side, Mr. Collins, neither of them, stood for it.
And thus, there they were. Pairing a silly girl with a cripple, and an even sillier girl with a moralising force.
Their walk ended, and so their morning meal began. Their seating, of course, was regimented to Mr. Collins' choice, and it had caused no small amount of grief. Mama still ground her teeth whenever they sat to a meal. Jane smiled sadly as she finally saw Lizzie again, for the first time today. Lizzie sat above her, yet they were still together, so Jane did not much care for their seating. Both Mr. Collins joined them, the younger Mr. Collins greeting his father obsequiously. Receiving a grunt in return from his father, Mr. Collins focused his attention on Elizabeth.
"And how are you this beautiful morning, my dear Miss Bennet?" he asked her in an oily voice that Jane supposed was meant to be affectionate.
Jane watched as Lizzie paused for a brief moment, as she had been pouring herself some water from the decanter in front of her, her hand shaking slightly. Jane gently took the decanter from her, pouring the water for her. Lizzie flashed her a grateful smile, as the elder Mr. Collins cleared his throat in clear warning.
As Lizzie turned to Mr. Collins, Jane could see the hint of strain in her smile, the tired wariness in her eyes.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Collins it is a lovely day. I am well." she said, and then hesitantly continued on. "I saw that Jane and Kitty took a walk this morning."
The younger Mr. Collins smiled again. The elder Mr. Collins looked at his heir, with interest in what he was about to reply to her obvious query.
"Yes, I imagine so my dear, but Miss Jane must exercise her leg for the betterment of her health. You, however, are too busy to do such things. Perhaps later, in this coming Spring, you shall have much time for such frivolities." he said, referencing the lessons she now received in the morning before their meal, and afterwards.
Jane forced herself to calm as she glanced at the smirk that briefly touched the elder Mr. Collins' lips. Forcing herself to change the subject, she turned to Mary to compliment her on the preserves she and Lydia had helped Mrs. Hill make the previous days. Beside her, Lizzie relaxed minutely as Lydia began to complain of all the work it took to make her favorite preserves, her eyes darting nervously to the head of the table, although in a much quieter voice than she would have if it had been only six months previous.
Jane slid her hand in Lizzie's lap, finding her fingers. They would always have each other, no matter what.
"Jane, my dear, come and sit next to your mama!" Mama brightly patted the seat next to her, encouragingly.
Jane sat next to her, somewhat resigned, as Mama had taken to bemoaning their fates, in a much quieter voice, though, to Jane near daily. She had just returned, her and Kitty from turning Papa, and she was tired. Much too tired to deal with Mama as she had to. As uncharitable as it was, Jane was glad that this was the only part of the day that she and Mama spent any real time together.
The elder Mr. Collins insisted on the Bennet women being separated for the majority of the day, for the betterment of their general health and the Longbourn estate, especially keeping Elizabeth away from them. Jane knew that he thought it would break them, break her. She would see to it that it would not, and they, the Bennet family would go through this. Any child that Mr. Collins and Lizzie may have would bear the name "Collins", but Jane would give her life so that the child would grow to be a Bennet.
"Jane!"
Jane jerked out of her thoughts guiltily, as it was Lydia who was now demanding her attention.
"Yes, Lyddie?"
Lydia spoke at full speed, especially now that they were left to their own company.
"Tonight in our room, Mary and I are going to rip Mary's bonnets to shreds. They're frightfully dull, even if for half mourning, and I shall also have to show you a new hairstyle that becomes her a lot more than the dull bun she keeps it in! Do you have any more ribbon? I'll trade you my green slippers for any scraps you may have."
Jane laughed as she said,
"They were mine before, but yes, Lyddie. I have some ribbon in my room from when Lizzie-."
Beside her, Mama heaved a great sigh. Jane continued on, as though nothing had happened. While Mama and Lizzie had not been as close as they could have been, before the accident, their relationship had been strained further, afterwards. Although Mama had not been quiet about it, to Jane, to anyone who was not named "Collins", it was easy to see in her attitude.
Jane wanted to shake her, slap some sense into her to see the sense of how she was behaving-how it affected everyone else in the household. Especially Lizzie.
Jane sat upright next to Lizzie, hardly comprehending what she was hearing. After their evening meal was finished, the elder Mr. Collins ushered them all into their parlour. Lizzie had stayed behind her, as always to make sure that she did not need any help.
Jane, not for the first time since her accident, had thought rather uncharitably that she did not want any help. It had only been weeks since the accident, and Jane was simply tired of the pity. Of being catered to, of being asked about her feelings, of being treated like an invalid.
She settled down next to Lizzie, and gave the elder Mr. Collins her full attention.
"I shall be brief." he said, his voice oily and condescending as it generally was when he addressed them; he was enjoying every single word. They were the glasses of red wine he had guzzled down at dinner.
"Mr. Bennet and I were not on the best of terms, as I am sure he informed you all-."
"He certainly did!" Mama exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "He explained to me what a disgraceful-!"
The elder Mr. Collins cut her off with a high and tight voice, a dangerous edge to his words.
"Calm yourself, Mrs. Bennet. I am only going to say this once. I am in charge now. Your husband is not dead, yet he may as well be. You know this. We all know this. It is only a matter of time before he will be dead and buried in the ground. When that happens, you shall all be at my mercy. I know well of what portions you all shall bring to any such marriages you may make."
The tone of his voice concluded that he thought that this was a rather ludicrous, if necessary statement to make. He turned to her sister Lizzie then,
"Miss Bennet, tell us, what portion shall you bring to your marriage to my heir?"
Jane withheld a wince, wanting to be strong for Lizzie, for herself. She was no longer Miss Bennet. Not to this man, not to her friends and neighbors. He was merely putting a voice to all the thoughts that went through everyone's minds once they heard about the terrible, terrible accident, and what had happened to Jane. Mama sat ramrod straight at the news, and looked as though she desperately wished to protest. Her face slowly turned a deeper and deeper red, as though the words she had to keep within were physically painful.
Moments passed, and the younger Mr. Collins said in a faux soothing voice, "My dear, my gracious father asked you a question. Answer him. Naturally, I do not judge you for your father's actions, and inattention to the finances of Longbourn. Such things were none of your concern. We shall have to discuss it after your father's death, but such things-."
His own father cut him off, already bored by the proceedings. The younger Mr. Collins sat back in his chair, quietly defeated. His father turned to Lizzie again.
"Miss Bennet?"
Jane felt Lizzie take a deep breath, and then answered in a low, slightly trembling voice. Jane had never heard her speak in such a tone. Lizzie had always been a self assured, confident young woman, always ready to make an opposing point or defending a dear friend.
"I will bring a sum of one thousand pounds, on the event of my marriage to Mr. Collins," she paused, before continuing with, "after my papa's death."
The elder Mr. Collins smiled malevolently at Lizzie, as though she were a young child performing a dictation of the alphabet or numbers for her mother for the very first time.
"That's right." he said, his voice dripping with false sincerity. He addressed the rest of them. "This marriage will not take place for some time, so before that we shall get this household in order. Your daughters," he said, specifically addressing a silently fuming Mrs. Bennet, "are out of control. I am speaking of the two youngest ones."
Lydia and Kitty squawked in outrage at being spoken as thus, yet were quelled by the attention of his gaze on them. "Their behavior reflects badly on this home, and I will not allow it. As for the other two-" his gaze resting on Jane and Mary, "they shall prove that they are the worth the pounds it takes to feed them. To that end, there shall be changes in accommodation."
He studied them for a few moments before saying "Miss Jane and Miss Kitty shall the room that Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia share. Miss Lydia will move into Miss Mary's room, while Miss Bennet will stay where she is. It is not negotiable." he said harshly, at Mrs. Bennet's protest.
"Miss Jane and Miss Kitty will take over the care of their father. He is taking too much time away from Mr. Hill's duties at the farm. The two others will help Mrs. Hill in the kitchen before breakfast. I am sure we can find some things for you to do, Mrs. Bennet that do not include bankrupting the estate." he said, referring to Mrs. Bennet's rather limited and uninformed performance as the Mistress of Longbourn, at least in the matters of finance and savings.
"Each and every one of you shall earn your place in this household. You are the ones who bring nothing but debts, and all of you would do well to remember such a thing. The only reason you and your daughters have a place here are because of the simple fact that your daughter will be marrying my heir. And that mercy does not extend far."
Jane did not know where to look, from the elder Mr. Collins, his face impassive yet shining with satisfaction, to her Mama, who had forgone her usual shrieks, directed Mary to retrieve her smelling salts, to Lydia and Kitty who were hysterically protesting the restrictions that were now placed upon them. Her gaze swung to her sister Elizabeth. Lizzie looked down to her lap, her fingers going from tightly clasped within each other, to playing with the fabric of her gown.
None of this was news to her. Lizzie knew before everyone else, exactly how their lives would be going forward from this day.