During the first few days Elizabeth, Mary, and Johnny arrived at Darcy's house, Johnny asked daily about his 'mother' and cried out to be taken to see her, but little by little and partly because of his sisters and his new friends Georgiana and Mr. Darcy, he settled down, but he was sad. Elizabeth wondered if she was doing the right thing by separating her brother from Mrs. Bennet, as they were leaving for Sandstone the next day and probably, they wouldn't see her again for a long time…
"I have doubts if I am doing the right thing by not letting Mrs. Bennet go to Sandstone with us." she sighed, "John loves Mrs. Bennet and she loves him. I don't want my brother to be sad because of my prejudices."
"Elizabeth, you are doing the right thing. Maybe you don't realize it, but Mrs. Bennet is spoiling John, just as she spoiled Lydia and to a lesser extent her other daughters. Mary is the exception because Mrs. Bennet never paid any attention to her and she lived with your parents for a few years. Your brother is a curious and intelligent boy, but he has no incentive to learn, he is spoiled and is used to throwing tantrums to get what he wants."
"But he is only five, he will have time to learn..."
"Therefore, it is important that he has a good example in the house where he lives. Mrs. Bennet must not raise your brother, so far, she has only spoiled him."
Elizabeth sighed, "Aunt Gardiner thinks the same as you."
Darcy smiled, "And she is right. Johnny is going to live with us in Pemberley and Miss Taylor is going to be his governess..."
PPP
Madeleine Gardiner was an observant woman and she noticed that Kitty was very thin, and coughed frequently... Unfortunately, Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, and Jane were immersed in their own problems and were not paying attention to her.
After a week in which Kitty hardly spoke and ate very little, Madeleine went to her niece room to have a serious conversation with her. Kitty was sitting on the floor staring at the wall with tears in her eyes. Madeleine calmly approached her and asked directly if she was feeling alright...
"I have noticed that you are very thin and practically do not eat. Are you feeling alright?"
Kitty nodded but said nothing.
Madeleine sighed, "Kitty, look at me. I know something is not right. Tell me, please, what's wrong with you?"
Kitty began to cry uncontrollably, and Mrs. Gardiner, seeing her so vulnerable, hugged her. After a minute or so she stammered, "I feel guilty Aunt. When I found out Lydia was seeing Mr. Wickham alone, I should have told my mother and father… but I didn't." She continued crying, "I always wanted to be like Lydia so my mother would love me and the officers would admire me, so I flirted with Mr. Denny and I let him kiss me more than once… but one day he invited me to the same cabin where Lydia was seeing with Wickham… I wanted to go because I was in love with him, but in the end, I said no… He told me I was a flirt and then he didn't pay attention to me anymore… If I had gone, I would also be in the same situation as Lydia now… I'm a fool."
"Kitty, it's very important that no one knows that you allowed Mr. Denny to take liberties with you. Your reputation would be ruined."
"Yes, I know." She started to cough.
Mrs. Gardiner gave her a glass of water and said, "Kitty, you are not well and you must make an effort to eat and recover. It's not worth you wasting your life over Mr. Denny or what Lydia did."
"I feel like no one cares about me... my father said I was one of the silliest girls in the Kingdom, and I realize he was right..."
Madeleine stayed for almost an hour talking to her niece and then went to talk to her husband. She was very disappointed in Mr. Gardiner for how little he had looked out for Elizabeth and Johnny's interests and in her opinion how little he cared for his nieces.
