The Secret Life and Love of Miss Kitty Bennet
Kitty met and befriended Daniel Wynn, her Aunt Madeline's cousin, when she was seven, but her jealous younger sister spun tales to get her mother to forbid the friendship. Since then Kitty maintained a sporadic communication through her aunt whenever Daniel sets foot on British soil. Now that her sister is married and gone, can Kitty finally have a friend of her own?
Handsome older men and jealous sisters
Daniel Wynn, at the advanced aged of twelve, was the handsomest man of Kitty's acquaintance. He had dark, close cropped hair, a long but slightly crooked nose, and ice blue eyes too big for his skinny face, but Kitty thought he had the best smile.
She met him when she was seven, on a family visit to London. Her mother and older sisters were shopping London's markets, but she and her younger sister Lydia were considered too young for such activities. Mother's "nerves" could not handle all five at once. Daniel was their Aunt Maddie's cousin and a former resident of Derbyshire, but a landslide and the resulting injury had made it impossible for Daniel's father to continue his job as a guide in the Peaks. They now resided in Town and the man worked for Uncle Gardiner.
Daniel a pleasant, gangling boy, had taken an instant liking to the pretty and soft-spoken Kitty. He told her stories, read to her, and played games upon request. Lydia, who was loud, boisterous, and thought that all attention belonged to her, would interfere and interject herself between the children whenever Nurse was not paying attention. When Daniel scolded her, Lydia threw a raging fit. So when Mother returned from shopping, the five year old made up all manner of lies to send the boy away and keep him from her sister.
That visit lasted for a week full. At first the two new friends snuck opportunities to spend time together, but once Lydia became aware of this, she refused to nap and demanded every moment of Kitty's attention. Mrs. Bennet, being a vapid creature, loved the younger girl best because they shared the same features. So when Lydia demanded, her mother supported. Aunt Maddie tried to talk with her sister-in-law, but the woman never listened. Lydia had spun ridiculous tales to discredit Daniel in her mother's eyes and Mrs. Bennet decided that they must be true.
The Bennets returned home. Lydia, having found that she liked controlling her older sister, continued her campaign to subordinate the quiet girl. One time when Kitty refused to submit, Lydia tricked her into an old abandoned tenant's cottage and blocked the exit. It was the dead of winter, so by the time that Lydia finally "suggested" that Kitty liked to play in the abandoned house, poor Kitty had become very sick with chills. And by the time she recovered enough to speak lucidly, neither of her parents seemed to believe or care when she told them that Lydia had blocked her in. The incident left Kitty with a cough that persisted for many years and an unhealthy fear of her younger sister.
Just after the Bennets departed for Meryton, Daniel Wynn also departed. Edward Gardiner, who was making a part of his fortune supplying the Royal Navy, had been able to secure a midshipman's appointment for his wife's young cousin. He had been hesitant to send a boy of twelve off to that life, but it was what Daniel expressly wanted and his father supported.
Daniel's own father passed from complications with his injuries, so for the next eleven years, as the boy became a man and a responsible ship's officer, he maintained a steady correspondence with the Gardiners. His letters were sporadic and usually arrived in bundles, but arrive they did. A prolific writer from a young age, Daniel filled his lonely letters with all of the details of what he was learning, the various little events of ship-life, and descriptions of battles. Mindful of his aunt's sensibilities, he avoided gory descriptions and stayed with describing the maneuvers of a ship in battle.
Edward Gardiner had given his cousin a detailed lesson in saving and investment before the boy shipped off. Per prior agreement, Edward was appointed as his "prize agent," authorizing the older man to collect the young man's prize money from the Prize Court and put it to work earning Daniel more than he could make by leaving it with the Court or in the Four-percents. Daniel also learned to purchase unique and unusual items which might sell for a profit, and either ship them home or hold them until he made shore. By these, and through economy in his spending, Daniel put himself in the way to saving a respectable fortune when it came time for him to be cast ashore.
When Daniel first shipped, he also wrote little letters to Kitty. He could not explain why he liked his second-cousin so much, but he just did... and he was lonely. Madeline, having witnessed the stranglehold that Lydia exercised over Kitty and the entire household, retained the letters until the Gardiners could visit Longbourn, the Bennet's estate. Lydia, having discovered that Aunt Madeline would not submit to her supreme will, found ways to insure that neither she nor Kitty ever went to Gracechurch Street.
Lydia could not prevent her Aunt Madeline from requesting, almost demanding private walks and talks with any of her siblings, even her "slave" Kitty. So whenever Madeline visited, she would walk with Kitty to a private location and allow the poor dear to read Daniel's letters, both the ones sent to the Gardiners and the ones sent personally to her. Lydia tried to sneak off and follow, but after two such incidents Uncle Gardiner was enlisted to find ways to distract the girl and keep her home. Of course she always found ways to make her sister suffer for this afterwards, but Kitty did not care.
Kitty read each letter with enthusiasm. Daniel's life was so very different than the life of a small estate-holder's daughter. It was so interesting, exciting, and sometimes dangerous! Kitty dreamed of being there with her friend, climbing the ropes, setting the sails, and firing the cannons! Instead she was stuck at home trimming bonnets that her little sister then stole.
As both children grew, so did their understanding. Kitty was not welcome in her father's study, but the Gardiners quietly facilitated her extra learning in many subjects by bringing her books as gifts. After Lydia destroyed the first books without suffering any consequences, the Gardiners arranged to house the books with Spencer Phillips, the Bennet's other uncle who lived and worked as a solicitor in Meryton. It was not easy, but over time Kitty grew in knowledge. And if her primary secret interests had to do with ships, navigation, and geography, who could blame her?
For his part, Daniel Wynn was diligent in learning everything he needed to know to work on a ship. His first ship, a seventy-two gun behemoth, inappropriately named the HMS Agile, had a skilled Master's Mate who conducted most of the midshipman's lessons in the areas of navigation, math, science, and literature. Since Daniel hailed from trade, his climb to the rank of lieutenant had more obstacles than the sons of nobles and wealthy gentlemen. Still, his intelligence, cheerful disposition, determination to learn, and natural affinity for the seas led to a string of minor deeds which got him noticed and "mentioned in dispatches."
When he was set ashore after his first four-year tour, he went immediately to London and to the Gardiners. Through a happy quirk of fate, Mrs. Bennet had gone to visit a wealthy relative in Yorkshire, taking along her eldest, Jane and her youngest, Lydia, but leaving the rest. Lydia had bragged and mocked about her mother's preference until the carriage departed. Kitty was now wise enough to pretend to be upset intead of relieved. Now that both were well past the napping stage, she seldom had any reprieve from her younger sister. Now she could enjoy two weeks full without the harridan. Joyous indeed was the day when the Gardiners arrived at Longbourn's doorstep to collect the other three daughters for a trip to London.
This was the not the first time that Lizzy and Mary had met Daniel, but it was the first time that they learned that Kitty had been semi-corresponding with the now handsome teen. During this visit Kitty was eleven and Daniel was sixteen. The two visited this time as if there had never been a separation, leaving Lizzy and Mary dumbfounded. They had not seen Kitty so lively and happy for years!
Great Britain was at war, so Daniel's time ashore was short. This time he would serve upon a frigate. He was excited because, unlike the heavy seventy-twos which fought in a line, frigates often sailed independently and saw more individual action. Neither Kitty nor her aunt were as enthusiastic about this, but they did show him their full and cheerful support, just as women left ashore had done since the first time men took ships out on the ocean.
When Lizzy, Mary, and Kitty returned to Longbourn, it was with a new and secret understanding. They might never earn their mother's devoted love and support, but they could be there for each other. It was the beginning of a deeper shared friendship and kinship which would carry on throughout their lifetimes. By the time that their mother had returned with Jane and Lydia, the three had worked out strategies to circumvent many of Lydia's attempts to rule the house.
The letters continued. Daniel sailed in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and even the Pacific. He wrote of crossing the equator and the odd ceremony King Neptune would put the "griffins" through a day of trials before inducting them into an exclusive club. He wrote of sailing below the Capes of Africa and the Horn. He wrote of storms and endless calms. And he touched on battles. His ship had a young, vigorous, and ambitious captain, so they were engaged more than many. Daniel captained several prize vessels back to the closest British-held port, which was only added to his record.
It is impossible to engage in sea battle without casualties and Daniel moved up the list towards promotion rapidly. Though fresh blood came in, sometimes over his head, he still managed to stand before a promotion board in his twentieth year to become a lieutenant. When Kitty read this with her aunt, she had to stop and pen a long letter of congratulation in reply.
Daniel was wounded in battle while serving with a blockading squadron off the coast of France. When he was invalided home, Lizzy and Mary cornered their father in his office and convinced him to send Kitty to London. She was fifteen now and quite distraught to learn that her favorite was wounded. Before Lydia woke the next morning, Kitty and Mary were on the road to London. Though Lydia and Mrs. Bennet demanded answers, Mr. Bennet chose not to inform them of how he had disposed of his two most-over looked daughters.
The Gardiners might be of the trading class, but they were sticklers about propriety. Kitty could not attend Daniel in his room, but as soon as he could recover and spend time each day in the drawing room she was there at his side. Kitty would blush to admit that she adored Daniel as more than a friend now. Daniel, for his part, found himself quite captured by Kitty's beauty, intelligence, and concern for his well-being. It took Daniel almost three months to recover and return to his ship. Before he left the Gardiner home, he and Kitty Bennet had an understanding.
Mary and Kitty returned to Longbourn. Their parents had hardly missed the girls, but Lydia was livid. She was certain that she had missed something important and it made her furious when neither sister would answer her demands. So when it came time for Kitty to "come out" in Meryton that next spring, Lydia demanded that she be allowed as well. When her father refused to allow a girl of fourteen to come out, she campaigned to make Kitty wait a year as well. Little did she know that her next-older sister was essentially unconcerned... Kitty only wanted to dance with Daniel anyway, and he would not be back for at least another year or two.
Very many events happened in the year 1811. Kitty and Lydia came out. Netherfield was let at last. Jane was courted and left by Mr. Bingley. Lizzy was insulted and yet maintained an odd sort of relationship with Mr. Darcy... who also left. Mr. Collins, the greasy heir-presumptive of Longbourn arrived, was refused in marriage by Lizzy, and then married Charlotte Lucas instead. But the event that had the most and worst impacts on the Bennets family was the arrival of the _shire Militia.
Lydia was over the moon with joy and... to be honest, lust. She might not understand everything about men and women yet, but she was quite determined to find out. She dragged Kitty along for many of her escapades, but became annoyed when some of the officers preferred Kitty. She was also annoyed when Kitty tried to quell some of Lydia's worst behaviors.
When the militia removed to Brighton, Lydia convinced the Colonel's wife, a silly creature like Lydia, to invite her along. Lydia scoffed at Kitty's exclusion, but Kitty was actually relieved. There were several of the young men in red coats who made her feel decidedly uncomfortable when they looked her up and down. Daniel never made her feel that way.
Due to the strife between them, Lydia did not trust Kitty enough to inform her of all that took place in Brighton. Kitty was as shocked as everyone else when her foolish younger sister eloped with Mr. Wickham. The house was either in an uproar or as dead as a mausoleum for weeks, then the news finally arrived that Lydia was married and would soon be off to a distant post in the north. Mrs. Bennet was overjoyed. Kitty was just relieved. Lydia was gone.
As the year 1812 continued on, Jane married Mr. Bingley and Lizzy married Mr. Darcy. Their mother was so overjoyed at the two illustrious matches and having three daughters married that she all but forgot about the other two who still remained at home. Neither Mary nor Kitty repined the loss of their mother's attentions.
On the day that Kitty Bennet turned eighteen the Gardiners collected the two remaining girls for yet another trip to London. Mrs. Bennet tried to insist upon coming along, but Mr. Bennet gainsaid that idea by pointing out that Jane's laying in for her first child was looming (in fact it would be another three months, but it worked anyway).
Kitty's true birthday surprise upon arriving at the Gardiner House was to find Navy Lieutenant Daniel Wynn standing on the landing awaiting her arrival. On a walk the very next morning, Lieutenant Wynn spoke of his love for Kitty and asked for her hand. He barely got the proposal out before a tearfully joyful Kitty was in his arms.
Mrs. Bennet was not best pleased when her second-to-last daughter insisted on marrying in only six weeks, but with the help of her sister-in-law and three other daughters, the work was accomplished. Lydia did not attend.
It was impossible for Kitty to travel on a fighting frigate, even though her husband was the first lieutenant. She was allowed to travel to the Caribbean, where she made a tidy little home for them at Port Royal, and then later to the many different assignments during their life together. When the war with France was finally over, many men were put ashore, but Daniel was retained for his superior record. Daniel made Master, Lieutenant-Commander, Post-Captain, Commodore, and finally Rear-Admiral before he stepped away from the Navy for good.
Kitty traveled the globe with Daniel quite happily several times over. They had two boys and three girls, but their fortune, under Uncle Edward's careful hand, grew to be more than sufficient to support three times that number of children. When they returned to England, they seriously considered purchasing an estate and becoming "landed." But Daniel chose to build ships instead. By the time that the pair passed, their children inherited a ship-building empire and the name "Wynn" was synonymous with good fortune and success.
Lydia Bennet, long since abandoned by her profligate scape-grace of a husband, never wrote to Kitty except to beg for money, just as she did to all of her sisters. She eventually married a man bound for New Zealand and was never heard from again.