Hey y'all! I know many of you had questions about the Bennets having a governess and I swear it will be discussed and explained. Also, the girls' behavior will be explained as well. This chapter will hint at somethings with a bit of insight to Mrs. Bennet. The bashing of Mrs. Bennet may be more of a medium than low.
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.
Mrs. Francine Bennet was neither well read nor witty, but she did not care. All she cared about was traveling to Meryton to visit with her sister and Lady Lucas, as well as promoting her eldest daughter Jane. Well there was one more thing she cared about, but that was for another time. Her husband and daughters had left that morning to head to Derbyshire to visit with a friend of his. She did not understand her husband. He would not give her more money for dresses and ribbons for Jane but would take all six daughters to Derbyshire with him. He spent most of his time in his bookroom alone, except for the times he dragged the girls in there to learn. He tried to drag her Lydia and Jane in there, but she would not allow it! Her Jane and Lydia did not need to know how to read! They were going to marry rich gentlemen.
After her daughters and husband left, she quickly went upstairs and changed into her best dress. She quickly descended the stairs and left the house after collecting her bonnet. She was in such a rush to leave the house she did not realize that Mrs. Hill had seen her leave.
Mrs. Hill and her husband had been working for the Bennet family for many years. The couple had been working there since the current Mr. Bennet had been a boy. The couple was loyal to the Bennet family and watched over the family for years, giving advice when solicited. While Mrs. Hill would never directly speak against the decisions that Mr. Bennet made, unless it would be dangerous to a member of the family, she did not like the current Mrs. Bennet. She thought the woman was a spendthrift and was spending the family into debt. Luckily, Mr. Bennet had been saving money without telling his bride and was able to save enough so the family would be fine if a drought happened.
She believed that Mr. Bennet would not have offered for the woman, had there not been a compromise. While Mrs. Hill could not prove that a young Francine Gardiner had orchestrated the compromise, she had strong suspicions. Mr. Bennet had been at an assembly with his father and sister. He had been watching his sister dance when he felt a body crash into him and the pair ended up on the floor. Francine Gardiner claimed she had been walking through the room when she tripped and fell. The only issue with her story was the fact that her dress was stitched loose enough that part of her dress came undone.
Watching Mrs. Bennet leave the house that morning in her best dress, Mrs. Hill assumed that she was going to visit with her sister or Lady Lucas like she normally did. She could not help but feel like something was going to happen, but she attributed that feeling to her worry over the girls and Mr. Bennet making it safely to Derbyshire.
*Pride&Prejudice*
Lady Catherine De Burg was a woman who was not used to being confused. In fact, she hated it when she didn't understand something. Currently, she did not understand how the Bennet girls were so well behaved when they did not have a governess at home. Normally, she would tell Mr. Bennet that the girls needed a governess and suggest one to him, but it seemed like girls were alright without one. She would still recommend one to the family, that way the girls could have the benefit of one and be accomplished when looking for a husband. She spent the entire dinner observing the Bennet girls and she was impressed with their behavior. Since it was a special dinner the children were not confined to the nursery like normal. She found the girls to be well behaved if not a bit too quiet. It was almost as if they were afraid of making too much noise. She decided to talk to Mr. Bennet the next day about a governess.
After dinner, the Bennet family retired early having been traveling the entire day, and the youngest members of the party were quick to return to the nursery as well as to sleep, little Leopold was already falling asleep while at the table. The men went into the library to drink and the woman went into the front parlour. The matrons sat on one side of the room and the Bingley girls, being the only females still downstairs were sitting off on the other side. The matrons were discussing their plans for the rest of the week when Lady Catherine decided to see if she was the only one who thought the Bennet girls behavior was odd, "Sister, Constance I have an inquiry for you. Do you think that the Bennet girls acted odd at supper? It was like they were afraid to make too much noise. I always say that children should be well behaved at the table and should not make too much noise, but those girls were at the extreme. When Miss Mary accidently spilled some of her drink, I thought that she was going was faint she was so pale." Anne Darcy agreed with her sister, "Miss Elizabeth and Miss Amber looked like they would argue with anyone who tried to yell at their sister. Miss Jane was quick to help her and Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia looked terrified. It was like they expected us to punish Miss Mary for a simple accident." Constance Fitzwilliam nodded in agreement, "The girls seemed like they were afraid more of us then the men. During Miss Lydia's explanation about her curtsey the other girls looked nervous."
At that moment the gentlemen entered the room. The older men joined the matrons and the younger men sat around the window to discuss different subjects. The elder group discussed their newest guests for the gentlemen had seen the behavior as well. For a quick second the women thought that Mr. Bennet was beating the girls, until Mr. Darcy reminded them that the girls didn't seem to fear the man. The three groups stayed together for a little longer, before they started to head upstairs to go to sleep.
What the adults did not know was that when the children went up to the nursery there was another conversation going on. The Bennet sisters had just finished getting into their night dresses when there was a knock on the door. The maid that was instructed to help the children in the nursery went to see who was at the door and seeing it to be Mr. Bennet opened the door. Mr. Bennet nodded at the woman before walking over to where his daughters were sitting on their assigned beds.
Seeing their father, the girls scrambled out of the beds and surrounded him. He smiled at his daughters and gestured for them to climb on two beds that were next to each other. He turned to face the other children that were in the nursery, "I hope you do not mind me intruding. I simply came to say goodnight to my daughters." Turning he faced his daughters and kissed each one on the forehead, "Goodnight dears. I hope you all sleep well and know that I love you dearly." The girls returned their goodnights and watched as their father left. The girls stayed where they were and said their prayers before climbing into their respective beds. Anne decided to question the girls in an attempt of getting to know them better. Richard also joined in and they were only speaking for a few minutes when Richard decided to speak about something that was the topic of conversation between the parents, "Miss Mary are you alright after what happened? I know that you were a bit nervous about the spill, but my Aunt and Uncle are understanding."
Elizabeth decided to explain a bit of what happened, "Our mother does not like messes. She says that a young lady should be proper at all times. That men do not like it when their wives make messes." Richard had a look of confusion on his face, "Really? My father does not mind when my mother makes a mess. My mother once accidently knocked over a tea tray and father helped her clean it up." Richard did not know much about how a proper lady should act, but he knew that his mother was a proper lady and that she made some messes. The nursery soon became silent when all the children fell into dreamland.
Hey y'all! I figured I would end it here. What do you think of Mrs. Bennet? Don't forget to review and tell me what you think please!