On Second Thought

Thomas Bennet always regretted that he had allowed Frances Gardiner's beauty and his own... attraction to her to lead him into a rash decision. What if he had stepped back, removed himself from her proximity, and reconsidered before committing himself?

Note: This is fiction, so genetics have no place. The five daughters are the same, the parentage... not so much.

Note 2: A response to a request from MPDE. And yes, I am still taking requests, though I make not promises. I have tried to fulfill several requests with no success. I just haven't always been able to make it believable in my own mind yet. I will try not to publish unless I can give you a story worth reading... I hope.

Meryton Assembly, 1788

Fresh from university, Thomas Bennet was free to move about and on top of the world. At his parents' request, he had come home to help with the harvest. He was the heir to Longbourn now, whether he liked it or not, and he needed to learn how to manage the estate. Poor Phillip. He loved Longbourn, the smell of freshly plowed soil, the plentiful harvests. It gave him joy. He loved taking care of the tenants as well. To be killed by falling off a tenant's roof seems such a foolish way to die.

Shaking off his sad musings, he looked around. When he saw the stunning blond dancing with his good friend since childhood, William Lucas, he could barely breath. Never had there been a more beautiful creature! When the music finished, he made certain to position himself where Will was leading the beauty off of the floor.

From the moment they were introduced, Thomas and Fanny seemed made for each other. They danced and talked and generally ignored everyone else in the room. He could not remember a single thing that they had spoken of that night, but it must have been a brilliant conversation. He was so smitten that he almost kissed her before taking his leave. Thankfully he was not so lost to propriety as to do such a thing.

When he spoke about the spectacular young woman at the assembly the following morning, his mother was less enthused. "Thomas, I know that Fanny Gardiner is beautiful. She is all that the young men around here talk about these days. But I would not have you unequally matched..."

Thomas immediately became defensive, "You object to the fact that her father is a solicitor? From what I understand, he had a very lucrative law office in London before the filth and smoke of the city began to injure his lungs..."

"No, Thomas, I do not object to her origins. Your father and I have had the Gardiners over to dine and we quite like Jonas Gardiner. His wife is a silly, vapid creature, as are his two daughters. Young Edward is s brilliant young man who should make a great success of his life if he continues as he is."

"How can you describe Miss Francine as silly and vapid? I quite enjoyed our conversations last evening!"

Abigail Bennet smiled into her tea, "Did you? And what do you remember about those conversations other than her big brown eyes?"

"Her eyes a blue. Cornflower blu..." Thomas glared at his mother for having caught him out. Then he thought back and tried to remember anything noteworthy about those conversations. Other than the family's reason for removing from London, was there anything else? She spoke of her siblings, but her words were not positive. She gossiped about the neighborhood. She spoke about the other single ladies of Meryton... and Thomas now realized that few of the words she spoke were complimentary...

Abigail Bennet waited. Her son had an amazing gift for remembering, something she shared. They could both read an entire book and be able to remember it almost word-for-word. It was a gift that had served him well at Cambridge, but she feared that her son's intellectual prowess would be a burden as a gentleman farmer.

Thomas finally met his mother's eyes, "I fear that you may be correct as usual. Removed from her rather striking presence, I am able to review her conversation in a different light."

His mother nodded, "You are a young man of marriageable age, Thomas. That also means that you are primed to respond towards attractive young women positively. It is the way that nature insures that there will always be a next generation. But that does not mean that every attractive young woman would make a suitable wife or Mistress of Longbourn.

"The harvest is over. Your father and I appreciated the effort you put into it. Now I would suggest that you respond to any one of the many invitations from your friends and visit elsewhere for the winter. We would like to see you over the Christmas holidays, but only if it works with your situation at the time."

Thomas rose, went around the dining room table, and kissed his mother on the cheek. "You are the wisest and best of mothers, Mother."

"Go on with you, Son. And Thomas... your father and I are very proud of you."

~oOo~

Thomas visited a friend in Essex first. They hunted together, rode together, and laughed quite a bit. Then he went to visit a friend in Cornwall and repeated the exercise. By the time he visited a third friend in Derbyshire, he was ready to relax with a good book instead of pursuing more physical activities. His friend, Arthur Fitzwilliam, Viscount Ashbourn, was recently married and quite happy to leave Thomas to his own devices. In fact, so preoccupied was he with his wife and their newborn twin sons that he forgot to mention that they would have another house guest in the following days: his bride's sister.

So one afternoon when Arthur had gone off with his wife, Thomas strolled into the Ashbourn library to retrieve the book he had left there unfinished. There he found a young lady with rich brown hair and a shapely figure sitting with his volume in he lap, clearly engrossed. Since the book in question was the Odyssey in Greek, he was more than a little startled. The longer he looked on, though, the more convinced he was that she was in fact reading the work.

As he examined her, he realized that there was a twig in her hair and mud on the bottom of her dress. This was not a ballroom flower. This was a creature of the outdoors.

"You do know that it is rude to stare, I hope?" The young woman said without raising her head.

Thomas cleared his throat, startled, "I apologize. I came to retrieve my book and found a wood-sprite had absconded with it."

The young woman lifted her head up then and regarded him with amused, curious eyes. And what eyes those were. They were dark brown, almost black, and seemed to sparkle with mirth. They were the finest eyes he had ever seen. "A wood-sprite, Sir? And how did you arrive at that conclusion?"

Thomas grinned, "Perhaps it was the fact that you brought the forest with you? The twig in your hair. The mud on your petticoats. All very charming and fitting for a faerie of the forest."

Her eyes went wide in embarrassment as she quickly searched to find the twig and confirmed the mud. Then, instead of fleeing in mortification, she giggled... a delightful sound to Thomas' ears. "It seems that you have found me out, Sir. I had so hoped to hide my true identity from mortal man. Alas, now the Forest King will call me back and confine me to the forest... but what must be done with the mortal who has discovered the family secret?"

In future years Thomas would remember his answer and still be amazed at his own boldness. His answer was as forward as to evoke pleased embarrassment in them both, "Your father may take me where he will... so long as he does not take me where I cannot be near you... that would be the cruelest punishment of all."

They both turned red at his answer, but it settled the matter of their mutual attraction quite handily. Over the next several weeks Thomas Bennet came to know Lady Elise Montgomery quite well. They spoke of books. They took long walks despite the cold. They spoke of their plans, their desires, and their disappointments. Thomas even spoke about how he dreaded becoming the next Master of Longbourn and how stifled he felt at the prospect.

In truth, the amount of time they spent alone was a scandal, but the couple were well-behaved, the servants were loyal, and the onset of a Derbyshire winter kept others from visiting. When the viscount and viscountess realized that a budding courtship was taking place, they made the effort to spend more time in the public rooms of the house with Thomas and Elise, but they did nothing to discourage the match. Lady Susan, Elise' older sister and the viscountess, might have worried that her father, himself an earl, might object to the match, but she quite liked young Mr. Bennet.

Letters were sent. The Earl of Holder arrived despite the foul weather. There were several serious conversations with the young man and with his daughter. He was not best-pleased that this courtship had gone on without his approval, but he could see his youngest daughter's heart in her eyes. She had already frightened away several of the prestigious matches he had supported due to her intelligence and outspoken nature. This young man was not put off by this at all... which spoke well of him. Holder also found that he liked young Thomas. By the beginning of February a proposal was made and accepted. When the snow cleared enough for travel in March, the entire entourage moved south for a wedding.

Fanny Gardiner would have been angry about the wedding of the future Master of Longbourn to another, but she had been caught in a compromising position with another young man, the new Master of Brightmoore, an estate of three-thousand. Luckily the man's parents were honorable... even if he was not... and she was a married woman when Thomas brought his own bride home to Longbourn. She also had her first child on the way.

Elise and her mother-in-law, Abigail, became close from the very start. Elise had lost her own mother at the age of ten, so Abigail's sweet motherly welcome was a gift. For her part, Abigail Bennet could not have been more pleased with the kind, intelligent, and lively woman her son had found. She was his perfect match.

The women talked and shared their mutual fears that Longbourn would stifle a man like Thomas. "My Henry is still healthy, so I see no need to hurry the issue now. I will speak with him, though, Elise, and perhaps we could train up a steward to watch over the property in the future. That would free our boy to pursue a life more fitting for both of you."

And so that is precisely what was done. Thomas, with the aid and guidance of his new father-in-law, secured a seat in the House of Commons. The two men did not always agree in their political views, but they did respect each other and listen. With the war with France and the many serious political issues of the time, the two men made a formidable team. A portion of Elise' dowry was a fashionable home in Town, so they stayed there when they weren't at one estate or another.

Meanwhile Elise interacted with a small social circle in Town and became a leader among the ladies while at Longbourn. She even befriended Fanny Albrecht, the Mistress of Brightmoore, though she found the woman to spend too much time in gossip and too little time in serious thought. Fanny gave birth to a daughter she named Jane, a girl as beautiful as her mother, but possessed of a gentler nature. Elise gave birth to a boy, name Henry in honor of her father-in-law. Fanny tried to engineer a cradle-betrothal, but Elise only laughed the idea off.

Elise gave birth to Elizabeth next, and Thomas loved the child immediately because she looked just like her mother. Elise had baby Thomas next. Fanny had Mary. The two toddlers often played together

As Elizabeth, or Lizzy, grew, she was loved by all. She became fast friends with Jane Albrecht right away, despite their two-year difference in age. When she was at Ashbourn she charmed her two older male cousins and the other cousins who visited with her shining eyes and ready wit. Lord Holder was equally charmed and kept the girl near him whenever the family was nearby.

Fanny Albrecht gave birth to three more girls. She bemoaned the lack of sons, but her husband was unconcerned. There was no entail on Brightmoore, so Jane would inherit. He had tired of his wife and his estate, so after the last birth he almost completely removed to London, where he kept a mistress. The property was not entailed, so he saw no further need to try for a son with his wife. Fanny was left to lord it over Brightmoore by herself. With little to do at home, she focused on gossip, on visiting, and on worrying about husbands for her four girls even though they were all far too young.

It was a horrible, tragic day for the younger Bennet family when Longbourn burned to the ground with Henry and Abigail Bennet within. Parliament had, thankfully, adjourned for the year so the Bennets were able to attend to matters without interruption. After the funeral, the Bennet children were sent north to stay with distant relatives at a place named Pemberley while their parents worked on rebuilding Longbourn.

Thomas and Elise talked and agreed to use a portion of her very large dowry to build a new and more modern manor house. They also agreed to use another large amount to purchase adjoining farms to add to the total size of the estate. Their faithful steward, the son of the Holder's own steward, continued to see to the improvement of the land, now with a larger salary. It was a sorrowful year, but the young couple felt that they would honor the elder Bennets best by taking care of the estate they loved.

Elise delivered one last child that year and named her Abigail. When Parliament opened in late January, Thomas returned to his duties in the commons, but Elise remained at Longbourn with her infant. The rest of the children were sent for as soon as the snows cleared.

The boys had spent a sad but comforting winter with their older male cousins, all of whom spent time with them to provide a distraction for their loss. Lizzy had fun as well with Lady Anne Darcy and just with the vast estate in general. She soon knew every hall, nook, and cranny of the great house. When the weather permitted, she also walked all of the trails close to the house that she was permitted to enjoy.

Lizzy was also in the midst of her first infatuation, with the tall, unemotional, but frightfully handsome young son of the estate. Though there was a significant difference in their ages, they spent many an hour debating (arguing) in the library about certain books and other ideas. For his part, Fitzwilliam Darcy found the little girl with the brilliant eyes annoying... and yet he seemed to find his way into her presence more often than chance would dictate.

It did not help that his cousins and even the girl's brothers felt the need to tease him about his repeated debates with the Lizzy Bennet. Sadly, Lizzy overheard one of his more vehement and somewhat insulting denials. From that day on until the Bennets returned south, she studiously avoided the boy... which left both of them less than pleased with the situation.

Longbourn, 1811

"Oh, Lady Elise! You will never guess what I have learned from my sister just this very morning!" Fanny Albrecht was on a whirlwind tour of the four and twenty important families which resided in the area. Though their personalities differed drastically, Fanny and Elise still remained friendly acquaintances.

"I cannot guess, but I am quite certain that you have come prepared to enlighten me. So what has Edith to say?"

"Only this: Netherfield Park has been let at last! To a young man of fortune from the North with five-thousand a year!"

Elise was careful not to let Fanny know that Longbourn now yeilded eight-thousand, lest Fanny renew her pursuit of young Henry as a match for Jane. As much as Elise loved Jane and cherished the girl's close friendship with her own Elizabeth, she did not wish to tie the families together any closer. Mr. Albrecht's scandals in London were numerous and unsavory. Besides, Henry was (he thought) secretly courting the daughter of a baron and close friend of one of her Fitzwilliam nieces. "That is good news. Netherfield Park has lain vacant for too long. Even with Mrs. Nichols patient care, a great house does not fare well without people living within."

"True. True. And what a great thing for my girls as well!"

"For your girls?" Elise teased, "And what can it have to do with them?"

"Oh, Lady Elise, how you do love to tease! Of course it is my hope that this young man will turn his eye on my dear Jane. She is the most beautiful girl in Hertfordshire, after all... though I mean no offense to your dear Elizabeth."

"Have no fear. I am not offended and neither would Elizabeth be if she heard you. She has often stated that very few in England compare to her dear friend Jane in beauty or kindness."

"Yes! Such a good girl, your Lizzy," Nothing could endear a mother more than praise for one of her children. "Well, I must be off to visit the Gouldings... though I fear that my sister or another has already carried the news."

Meryton Assembly, 1811

"Miss Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of allowing me your next available set?"

"Oh! Am I tolerable now, do you think? Perhaps even handsome enough to tempt you? Am I no longer a nobby-kneed little twit?" Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fitzwilliam Darcy groaned, "Am I never to live that foolishness down, Lizzy? You know perfectly well that I now consider you to be the handsomest woman of my acquaintance... and if you would only forgive me fully find me tempting enough, we would be betrothed this very moment."

Elizabeth said nothing, but she gave her hand to the young man who had only grown taller and more handsome with each passing year. They danced the first of the two dances in silence, but halfway through the second the sorrow in her partner's eyes became too much for her, "Oh, very well Mr. Darcy! I will marry you if you will stop giving me those eyes! You know perfectly well how much I love you even if you are a blockhead at times."

Decorum was completely forgotten when the tall man abandoned their dance, swept his partner up, and swung her around with a whoop of joy!

The music stopped and everyone in the room watched in shock except for Thomas Bennet, who walked up to the pair and asked in amusement, "I take it that my Lizzy has decided that your penance is finally over, eh Fitzwilliam?"

Darcy's smile was enough to make half of the women in the room swoon (the other half being behind him). "Yes! Forgive me my inappropriate display, Mr. Bennet, but it seems that I finally have an important question to ask."

Thomas was joined by Elise, but he waved off the younger man's words, "My wife and I approved your match long before either of you came to your senses. You may have her, Darcy, because we cannot imagine a different match. Just go back to your dancing, you two, and behave yourself properly from this moment forward."

While the younger couple complied happily, Thomas led his wife away, "If I remember from my own experience, it would be wise for us to schedule an wedding sooner rather than later. I seem to recall that women with fine-flashing eyes have a bit of the minx in their blood."

Elise swatted her husband affectionately, blushing, "As I remember it, I only made it to the altar chaste because my father put the fear of himself in you. Otherwise it would have been a near thing."

"Oh, without your father close by there is no question at all. You were everything to me from the moment I saw you with half the forest in your hair and on your dress."

"It was one twig and a little smattering of mud, you cad."

"You remember it as you wish. I will remember it as I wish. All that matters is that I won the heart of my wood-sprite and she gave me a daughter just like her."

Elise considered this and nodded, "Perhaps you are right. An early wedding would be a very good idea indeed."