Author's note: I hope you are enjoying my story. Please do not hesitate to submit Reviews as I carefully read every one of them and have found the criticisms of my writing style to be helpful. I have tried to improve, but it is difficult for an old professor who had previously written only in dry and dusty academese.
The two officers returned to the Bennets' rooming house where they found that Captain Carter and Mrs. Forster were trying to console Mrs. Bennet and Lydia. The officers were not sure if the loud lamentations were for the dead gentleman or that it was their favourite officer, Lieutenant Wickham, who had been arrested. The Major saw that someone, likely the landlady, had covered the body with a blanket and that his Captain was just finishing taking written statements from the last of the witnesses. He reviewed their statements and saw that the evidence was consistent and overwhelming—that the lieutenant had pushed the gentleman down the stairs. Only the first person who had opened his door at the noise said anything about the gentleman asking why the Lieutenant had been in his wife's room. The Major knew that if this rumour became known, it could do serious damage to the family's reputation, so he decided that he would give this particular deposition only to Colonel Forster to let him decide if it should be included in the formal evidence package.
From the state that the Bennet ladies were in, the Colonel realized that they needed someone to help them as they were both obviously incapable of rational thought and likely would be for some time to come. From knowing them in Meryton, he wondered if these two were ever sensible. He had allowed Miss Lydia to accompany them only because of his wife's insistence.
It was now the middle of the night, but he sent Captain Carter off to find the coffin-maker so they could get Mr. Bennet's body ready for shipment back to Hertfordshire as soon as possible. He asked the ladies whom he could contact to assist them. Mrs. Bennet could not give a coherent answer, but Lydia said that Mr. Philips would be the best person who would know what needed to be done as he was a lawyer. The Colonel knew that Philips was Miss Bennet's uncle, so wrote a message to him outlining all that had happened and had it sent off express. He hoped that Mr. Philips would be able to come to Brighton as soon as possible, but he knew that that would take at least three days for him to receive the express and arrive in Brighton.
They waited for some time before the coffin-maker arrived. By now, it was nearing dawn. The Colonel arranged for a suitable casket for shipping and for the body to be taken away. He invited Mrs. Bennet to come to stay with them until they left Brighton. Captain Carter had returned, so he asked the landlady to show them the room that Mr. Bennet had been using. The three of them went up but found nothing unusual in the room. The Colonel carefully took possession of Mr. Bennet's wallet so he could return this to the widow. When they went back down, he loaded them all into his carriage to return to his house. He told the landlady to pack up all the belongings in the two rooms and send everything to his house.
When they arrived back at his house, the Colonel had his wife take Mrs. Bennet up and give her a potion to help her sleep. As everyone was very tired from being up most of the night, the ladies were soon all sleeping. However, before the Colonel sent the Captain to his quarters, he assigned him to look after the Bennet ladies and told him that included accompanying them back to Meryton and to help get them settled in their home. While Captain Carter was pleased to be relieved of his training duties for at least a few days, he was of two minds about having to care for these two ladies. He believed that there was little he could do for Mrs. Bennet except to listen to her lamentations, but he did not mind being in Miss Lydia's company as he had admired her appearance and spirit ever since they had first met in Meryton. He had resented the attentions that Wickham had paid to her; but, of course, that rival was now out of the picture, probably for good. The only thing that he regretted was that Wickham owed him money from cards and that he knew that he would never collect it; neither would the other officers who were owed even larger sums.
The Colonel knew that he would likely get no sleep as he had a court martial to arrange. He took all of the written eyewitness statements to the general's headquarters and conferred with the general's adjutant about convening the court martial. They agreed on the timing of the court martial and the officers who would be assigned to it. The Colonel also persuaded the adjutant that, since it was a military officer who caused the death of Mr. Bennet, all expenses resulting from this apparent murder should be borne by the military and that it would be acceptable to assign Captain Carter to accompany the Bennet ladies to their home and to stay there until the funeral was over and the ladies were settled in their home.
The next several days in Brighton were busy. The court martial was convened, Wickham was found guilty of murder and hanged even though that one deposition had not been entered into evidence. The Bennet ladies still bewailed their fate and Mrs. Forster soon tired of the noise. Captain Carter was assiduous in his attentions to them, but there was little he could do to alleviate their unhappiness. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Philips arrived. Mr. Philips quickly learned everything that had happened and approved of Colonel Forster's actions. He was very impressed with the speed of the military justice system. He knew that Mr. Bennet's death would have very serious consequences on the Bennet family because of the entail. He arranged for their removal to Hertfordshire and the shipping of the body to the Meryton church for the funeral and burial.
Mrs. Philips tried to console her sister, but was more often joining her in her wailings and grievances against the fates. Captain Carter accompanied them to Meryton but mainly rode with Mr. Philips rather than with the ladies. He found that his presence did little to assuage Mrs. Bennet's sorrow, but was much more appreciated by Lydia.
Their arrival in Meryton was not as traumatic as it could have been as Mary and Kitty had already been told about their father and Wickham's involvement in his death. When Lydia told them that Mr. Wickham had already been hanged for killing their father, they were also astounded at the efficiency and rapidity of the military justice system. Mary preached about the biblical directives 'thou shalt not kill' and 'an eye for an eye,' so she was not too upset with his hanging. However, Kitty joined Lydia in regretting the death of such a handsome and personable officer who had paid so much attention to them.
Captain Carter's presence helped console the Bennet ladies, especially Lydia, who was finding that her affections for him were growing because of his close attentions to her. The fact that he was now the only red-coated officer in Meryton added to his attractiveness. Before he left, he talked to her about his prospects. He mentioned that he was to inherit a small estate from his uncle when he reached the age of 25, which would be the following year and that his intentions were to resign from the militia at that time to manage the estate. He asked if he would be welcomed if he came to Meryton whenever he was granted leave. Lydia read his intentions and said that he would be very welcome.
After Captain Carter left Meryton, Mary and Kitty talked to Lydia. Mary said, "Lydia, we have been talking about what is going to happen to all of us now that Mr. Collins will inherit Longbourn and will evict us out of our home as soon as he wants. We know that Captain Carter is an attractive officer, especially in his red coat, and has been paying you quite close attention. I hope that you will think very carefully about your future and not rush into making any decision until you are very sure of what you are doing. You are still young. If you marry, your whole life will be devoted to your husband and family. You will not be able to flirt with any other man, even if he is wearing a red coat. You will have to respect your husband."
"Mary, I hope that you still do not think of me how I was before I went to Brighton. I am not sure if you know how great the shock was to me to have Papa killed, and by Wickham, who I had thought was the epitome of the perfect gentleman officer. I was so wrong about him! Have you noticed that I have been trying to act differently from what I was before? Papa's death hit me hard, even though he always teased and criticized me. Now I know that he was right about me. I was far too silly and thoughtless until then.
"Now, I just want a quiet life where I can devote myself to a good man and make him happy. If Captain Carter does come back to me next year and asks for my hand, I will accept him. Just think! I could be the mistress of our very own estate. I promise that I will do the very best that I can to be a good mistress and wife. His estate is in Essex, where no one will know what I was like before. I will be able to start a new life and it will be up to me to earn the respect of the local people and the love of my husband. However, I understand your concerns for me and do thank you for trying to help me not to make a serious mistake. In any case, the Captain may have changed his mind by next year, so nothing is definite yet.
"In any case, I well know that our futures are in complete doubt as Mr. Collins will throw us out of our home as soon as he wants. I may have a chance for a good life if I treat Mr. Carter nicely. Where will I go if he does not want me? Mr. Bingley cannot take care of all of us."
Mary was impressed by Lydia's words and thoughts. She realized that her youngest sister had matured very quickly since their father's death. She decided that she would pay more attention to Lydia, even though her time seemed to be so occupied with other problems.
Mr. Philips was stuck with dealing with the legal ramifications of Mr. Bennet's death. He had to arrange for the funeral, the reading of the will, and for informing Mr. Collins. The funeral was straightforward and was well-attended as word of the details of his murder had quickly spread through the area. Stories of Wickham's debts and attempted dalliances with local girls were soon circulating, first among the worst gossips, then to everyone else.
Mr. Philips arranged for the reading of the will, even though the Gardiners were still on their trip to the North Country with Elizabeth. He had sent an express to Mr. Gardiner but had little hope that it would reach them because of their casual itinerary. Mr. Gardiner's presence was important as he was designated, along with Mr. Philips, as the official trustees of Mr. Bennet's estate and the guardians of his minor children. At the time of his death, Jane was the only one of his five children who was of legal age.
Mr. Philips knew that he had to tell Mr. Collins that he was now the official master of the Longbourn estate, but he hoped that Collins would give the family sufficient time to make arrangements for their relocation before he took possession and evicted the Bennets. He had not been impressed by the integrity or intelligence of Collins, so he went to see Sir William Lucas to enlist his assistance.
"Sir William," he said, "I am sure that you are well aware of the serious situation that the remaining Bennet family is in. Of course, Collins has the right to remove them immediately from Longbourn, but I hope that he will give them sufficient time to make suitable alternative arrangements. I will ask him to allow a period of at least three months before he takes possession.
"I am here to ask for your assistance in this request as you know that the Bennet ladies are in trouble. Mr. Bennet did not have significant savings to help them, so it will be up to Mr. Gardiner and me, and possibly Mr. Bingley, to provide for them. Might I request that you write to both Mr. and Mrs. Collins to suggest that it is his Christian duty to be generous with them?" Philips hoped that Sir Williams would have influence on his daughter and that she would be able to convince her husband to grant them this time before the Bennets were forced to move. Like everyone else in Meryton, he knew that Charlotte Lucas was a very sensible and caring person; quite the opposite of her husband.
Sir William was pleased to be asked for his assistance as he considered that, as the only titled resident of Meryton, he had some responsibility to take care of all the other residents whenever he could. "Philips, I will be glad to write to both Charlotte and Collins. I believe that he might listen to his wife if she emphasizes that this would be the Christian thing to do for the Bennets." He continued in this vein for some time, but did write the letters as promised.
When Collins received the letter from Mr. Philips telling him of Mr. Bennet's death, his chest swelled at the thought that he was now Master of Longbourn. His first impulse was to go there immediately to take possession of the estate, but Charlotte, who had received the letter from her father, talked to him about the necessity of arranging for a substitute parson at Hunsford Parish as he did not want to upset his esteemed patroness if he left too quickly to assist her in this transition. She also talked of the plight of the Bennet family and his Christian duty to be generous with those in need. In the end, he agreed that he would discuss all this with Lady Catherine and abide by her decision.
Lady Catherine was not pleased at the thought that she would lose such an obsequious and obliging parson much sooner than she had expected, but she knew that his taking possession of the Longbourn estate was inevitable. She finally agreed that he should give them the three months that lawyer Philips had requested. Mr. Philips was very pleased to receive word of this concession as it gave him time to wait for the return of both the Gardiners and Bingleys before they decided what could be done for the Bennet family.
The Bingleys returned to Longbourn first. Jane's complete happiness with her husband and new situation was shattered when Mary told her of their father's death. Jane went up to her mother, who was still unable to leave her room because of her misery. "Oh, Jane! Jane! What will happen to us? Mr. Collins is throwing us out into the hedgerows without a penny! I cannot even leave my room because of the palpitations I have been suffering. I have cramps and was even sick to my stomach this morning. What are we going to do?"
Jane tried to assure her mother that Mr. Bingley would not allow them to be homeless. Her assurances seemed to go unheeded, which did not surprise her. The next several weeks were spent with little change in her mother's complaints, except that she continued to talk about being sick with nausea, cramps, and bloating. When Mrs. Philips was visiting and listened to the litany of complaints, Mrs. Bennet said, "If I did not know better, I would say that I am with child, but that cannot be. After all, I am forty-two years old. This is just how I felt every time I was increasing for each of the girls."
After another couple of weeks, the Gardiners and Lizzy returned to hear the dreadful news. Mrs. Gardiner was also unable to console Mrs. Bennet, but listened patiently to her list of physical complaints and those against Lizzy for not accepting Mr. Collins's proposal. When Mrs. Bennet also told her that her physical problems were similar to those she had experienced when she had had her five pregnancies, Mrs. Gardiner began to wonder if she just might be. As she had four young children herself, the symptoms certainly sounded familiar. However, Mrs. Bennet said that she could not possibly be as she had not been with Mr. Bennet for months. She came to regret this admission.
Mr. Philips organized a meeting with the Gardiners, Bingleys, and Elizabeth to discuss what was to be done when Collins arrived to take possession of Longbourn. Mrs. Gardiner said that they would be very pleased to continue to host Elizabeth in London as their trip had been so pleasant with her. Jane and Bingley said they had lots of room at Netherfield and Mr. and Mrs. Philips said they had room to take one, preferably Mrs. Bennet as she and her sister Philips had grown so close. As there was still remained a month until Collins came to take possession, they did not finalize their plans any further.
The Gardiners returned to London with their children; Jane and Bingley settled into Netherfield. When Bingley told his sister Caroline that he would be taking in three Bennet sisters, she was furious. She had planned to return to Netherfield to live with her brother and Jane, but now said that this situation was simply not tolerable to her. Secretly, Jane was pleased to hear this as she had worried that Caroline would interfere with her taking on her role as mistress of the house. She was already finding that her Mother's almost daily visits were upsetting her running of the Netherfield household. Elizabeth was also pleased to hear about Caroline's decision not to come to live with her brother as she shared Jane's concerns about Caroline's interference. Elizabeth was not very happy with the thought that she would be living in London permanently as, while she loved her aunt and uncle and all of their children, she much preferred the country to the city, especially in the summer when London was at its worst.