Hey y'all! Here is the next chapter! So I decided to
Disclaimer: I don't own this book!
So, a couple of you reviewed and said that there were some major flaws so I want to explain my thinking. Mrs. Bennet has already been gone a week and people are going to start to wonder why she hasn't come into town. Also, with Lydia being so little, there is a chance she could say something about Mrs. Bennet being gone. Since they are saying that Mrs. Bennet is gone it also could explain if she suddenly comes back. As for people recognizing her somewhere, England is a big country and travel was somewhat rare during that time due to money. As for Mr. Bennet listening to children, children tend to think out of the box and find solutions that adults can't see. Also Mr. Bennet does think through the pros and cons of the plan, he just does so silently and quickly.
Early the next morning a carriage was seen leaving Meryton. The few that saw it recognized it as the Bennet carriage. Word spread through the village that the Bennet carriage was seen leaving town and Mrs. Phillips made the trek to Longbourn to see which Bennet had left. She was greeted by Mr. Hill at the door and when she entered the parlour she was greeted only by her nieces, "Hello my dears. Is your mother still unwell?" Jane stood and greeted her aunt, "Yes Aunt Phillips. Mother's health was poor, so father suggested mother go to Bath for her health. Mother left early this morning." Mrs. Phillips nodded and filed that information away so she could tell everyone else later.
Mrs. Phillips stayed for an hour before leaving. After the woman left, the girls spent the rest of the morning with their father. Their father told the other girls about a governess coming to work for the family. The three younger girls were receptive to the idea, they knew their father wouldn't bring anyone that could hurt them into the house. After working on their lessons with their father, the girls decided they would write a letter to their new friends.
Mr. Thomas Bennet decided to follow his daughters' example and write letters that were needed. He wrote to Darcy and informed him about his wife's illness. He also enquired if he could pass a message onto his wife's sister about making sure to mention in the initial letters to the governesses that Mrs. Bennet would be gone.
The next day brought Liam back home to Longbourn and about a week after that a young woman came to be a governess for the Bennet girls. Her name was Isabelle Lowell. She was the daughter of a gentleman from Kent whose father died two years ago. Her brother had inherited the estate and his new wife did not like her, so she decided to find employment. She was lucky that Lady Catherine decided to help her. She enjoyed the Bennet family, but she did wonder about the mistress of the home and how she had treated the girls.
When she first started with the family, she found the girls to be quieter than normal. She remembered when she had been their age and she had not been that quiet or well behaved when her governess joined the family. At first, she thought that their father was beating them, but as she spent more time with the family, she realized that the girls adored their father and he adored them. As time went on the girls started to relax a bit and act more like little girls.
As she spent more time with the girls, she learned that they were very focused on their learning and wanted to learn everything they could. She was a bit taken aback about the girls learning some subjects that weren't typical of young ladies. Their father was teaching them anything they wished to learn and when he saw her confusion at what he was teaching them, he decided to explain, "I never want my girls to feel like they cannot come to me. I want them to be able to learn anything they want to learn. My father did not want my sister to learn all that she could. He wanted her to only know what is expected of a young lady. I saw the way that it hurt my sister. My sister is one of the wittiest people I know, and to see my father keep her in that role hurt. My father loved my sister, but he had certain views on how a woman should act. I never wanted my daughters to feel like my sister did. I ended up teaching my sister what I knew from my different years at school. My sister was also lucky enough to find a man who treats her like an equal and he lets her learn whatever it is she wishes."
After meeting with her employer Isabelle was impressed by what she was told. Her father had been similar to Mr. Bennet's father and only wanted his daughters educated in what was proper for a young lady. She knew enough to teach her young charges and get them ready for marriage, but she wanted to learn more. The next day she approached her employer and was granted permission to any book she wished from his book room. His only rule being that she let him know which book she borrowed.
A couple weeks after she started at Longbourn a notice was received stating that Mrs. Bennet had passed. Mr. Bennet immediately left for Bath and returned a couple days later with a coffin and while he was away Mrs. Hill made sure to order the girls' mourning clothes and Miss Lowell helped the youngest girls deal with their grief of losing their mother. Even though she had never met the Mistress of Longbourn she still mourned the woman. She mourned the fact that her charges would grow up without their mother. She did not know what life would be like for the Bennet family as the girls grew, she just hoped that she would be there to see how the girls blossomed.
Don't forget to review and tell me what you think please! Should I do a time skip to when the girls are older or should I still keep the girls young?