"What say you, Elizabeth, should you not like it better to remain home for the time being instead of traipsing to Hunsford to see yet another great house?" Mr. Bennet inquired of his daughter one evening during dinner time.
"I have been thinking about it, father."
"Indeed, Miss Elizabeth?" Mrs. Croft quickly cut in. "I understand the present Mrs. Collins is your particular friend; I am sure you would wish to see how she settled in and show her your support."
"I do, Mrs. Croft," Elizabeth turned towards her with a smile, "yet I am not convinced now is the best time to take such a trip."
"Why not?" Mrs. Croft sounded genuinely curious.
"I do not believe you should give Charlotte any consequence! Why, that scheming girl, I should have had a word with her. With Lady Lucas too," Mrs. Bennet said waspishly and then remembered who was the real culprit in the whole sorry business. "And it was because of you, Miss Lizzy! I take no pleasure in undutiful children!"
"You should still go, Miss Elizabeth, and try to apply our lessons."
"Lessons? What lessons? Is she to serve as Charlotte's companion?" Mrs. Bennet was becoming quite alarmed.
The more anxious she got, the more Mr. Bennet smiled behind his napkin. He quite liked his little jokes, although he did not feel like sharing them with the rest of his family. Not that there were any who paid attention to him, the girls were all looking to their mother and Mrs. Croft.
"I have been explaining to Miss Elizabeth how she should speak with gentlemen who are new to her acquaintance with the purpose of discerning their intent towards her," Mrs. Croft hurried to answer, lest the mistress of the house be laid down with a fainting fit.
Mr. Bennet scowled openly now, he did not feel he needed to hide his disapproval behind the napkin.
"You did? Mrs. Croft, you are a treasure! Oh, if she would only listen! She never listens to anybody, that child!"
"Young men today are delicate creatures, Mrs. Bennet! They do not enjoy being pushed towards a young woman. Why, I have seen more than one very promising beginning ruined by the family's insistence to throw the young people together."
"Indeed?" Mrs. Bennet frowned unconvinced. How else would a match happen if nobody pushed for it?
"Of course! I had Mrs. Brown absent herself altogether from her daughter's season. I begged her to go take the waters in Bath. You see, she was so enthusiastic about her daughter's prospects that the young man's family felt there must have been something wrong with my charge, otherwise why would her mother push so hard and talk about a wedding when they were not even courting."
Mrs. Bennet frowned again, but abstained from further comment.
"Oh, I count it as a great success!" Mrs. Croft continued. It was hard work to spell out the behaviour expected of Mrs. Bennet. Her natural delicacy worked at first against Mrs. Croft, but she quickly put it aside in favour of a more direct approach.
Who cared that Mrs. Brown went to Bath to oversee the wedding preparations of her other daughter?
"Miss Brown married the heir to a very nice estate, a clear four thousand a year. And now Miss Elizabeth will be gone for a month or so. I have been told Rosings too is a great estate and I am sure she will be invited to teas and parties and she will meet new people.
What a wonderful opportunity for Miss Elizabeth!"
"Is this true, Lizzy? Is your purpose in going to Rosings to catch a young man of good fortune?"
There were many answers Elizabeth was tempted to give to her father, some of them more intemperate than others, some more cutting than others, but she was being mindful that Mrs. Croft's continued employment hinged on her parents' lack of reasons to complain.
She took a breath to steady herself and then another.
"Of course, father. We have petitioned for years for a governess or companion and now that we have Mrs. Croft with us I intend to faithfully apply everything she has been teaching us. And I will also put to use everything that you, sir, and my mother too have been kind enough to impart to us."
Mr. Bennet looked like he was not sure what to say in reply and Mrs. Bennet was trying to discern if Lizzy was being impertinent again.
"We will have to think of some scheme for Miss Mary and Miss Catherine too," Mrs. Croft said as if the others haven't spoken, "although not quite yet. They all have to go out into the world to learn to conduct themselves properly when you and Mr. Bennet are not there to guide them," she said with a smile in Mrs. Bennet's direction.
"Yes, yes, I am always telling them!"
"They will all do marvelous, Mrs. Bennet, have no fear! All of the girls I have had the pleasure to tutor did splendid matches."
And so it was decided: to Hunsford and Charlotte Elizabeth would go.
-`o´-
A couple of days later Bingley found himself in Mrs. Gardiner's sitting room making stilted small talk with Lt. Denny. Or was it former Lieutenant? He wasn't quite sure.
"And do you intend to continue in the Army?"
"Ah, no, that would hardly be fair to Miss Lydia. I was promised a post helping with the war effort and my godfather assures me that I will be able to start no later than the third week of Mars."
"I am sure this will be enjoyable for you both. Where is your family from?" Bingley continued his efforts to get to know better Miss Lydia's intended. Although by the way the man was frowning he wondered if he was going the wrong way about it. Try as he might, he couldn't see why that would be. It was a natural enough question.
"Mr. Denny's father has a perfume business," Lydia answered when Denny didn't right away.
That probably explained his reluctance to talk about his family's situation. Well, there they both were, two sons of merchants each trying to win the hand of a gently bred lady. For what it was worth, he thought Denny's qualms had no merit. Miss Lydia was clearly not bothered; in fact she sounded enthusiastic.
"Is that so? We are from the North, my father's business was in textiles," Bingley said, willing the other man to relax.
From the corner of his eye he saw Jane smiling radiantly at him and it was enough to spur him on.
"My father did not want me to continue the family tradition. I see that yours has had the same idea."
Or at least it looked like it to Bingley, although he had to question the wisdom of the decision. His dear departed father was an exceptionally rich man. Rich enough that he was able to liquidate his interest in the mills in a matter of months and still raise a fortune. Had he had more time to put his affairs in order, he would have gotten a much better return.
Mr. Denny senior did not seem to have enough money set aside to be able to launch his son into the gentry.
"No, it is not that at all. I would have followed in his steps willingly," Denny said, a bit more relaxed now. "I have a weakness that does not allow me to be near scents for too long."
"Indeed? That is most unfortunate."
It was then that Mrs. Gardiner called her nieces to prepare for the outing. She encouraged the young men to take some more biscuits and promised Jane and Lydia will be ready in a trice.
"I do not know you very well and please do not let my words lead you to suspect some nefarious purpose, but I would like to have a few minutes with Miss Bennet."
Denny jerked at being so accosted and was reluctant to reply.
"You will need to remain where Miss Lydia at least can see you both."
"Of course, of course, I do not mean to abscond with Miss Bennet!"
"See that you do not, Mr. Bingley. I have no quarrel with you, but I will not let you take advantage of her naivete." He opened his mouth to speak again, but then he thought better of it.
"Pardon?" Bingley was not quite sure what the other meant to say.
"You should not take advantage of Miss Bennet's kind disposition again. I reckon you have no idea of the gossip roused by your marked attentions towards Miss Bennet last autumn and your subsequent desertion."
-`o´-
"Mr. Denny," Bingley said once the two couples were a few yards apart, "agreed to keep Miss Lydia company for a few minutes, so that we could have some privacy and perhaps speak and clear any misunderstandings that still exist between us."
Jane smiled. "Then he will have no trouble accomplishing his mission. My sister Lydia insisted that I talk to you; my aunt convinced me it would be the wise thing to do.
I believe she will keep Mr. Denny occupied so as he will not be tempted to interrupt."
"Miss Bennet, I understand you might have reasons to question my behaviour towards you, but you must know that my regard for you is as strong as ever and I would like a chance to gain your heart and your hand."
"You have my heart, Mr. Bingley," Jane replied quietly. She saw him beaming and quickly continued. "I cannot promise you a favourable answer, should you ask a certain question. I would like to understand why you have left so suddenly."
He shifted beside her and looked into the distance. Jane's heart sank: it was as she supposed, he had tried to run and forget her due to her family's circumstances.
"I know that our family's situation is not what it should be," she continued bravely. "We are five sisters with no dowry between us and our parents raised us with no care for our future." She saw him startle and look at her in surprise. "Forgive me, but I must speak plainly: I cannot help but be afraid that you might resent me in the future for circumstances entirely out of my control, for I cannot divorce myself from my family."
"And I would not ask you to, Miss Bennet," Bingley replied, matching her serious tone. "You are in error, however, in your belief that it was that which kept me away."
"How can that be?"
"My sisters and my friend - Darcy, you might remember him, have taken it upon themselves to point out to me the serious disadvantages of a union between us."
"As any good friend would do, sir."
"Maybe, Miss Bennet. Although it could hardly be within the bounds of friendship, let alone propriety, for my sister to have implied a future union between myself and Darcy's sister - a girl who is not even out."
Jane shrugged. She understood that Miss Bingley would want to prevent an attachment between a poor and unconnected Miss Bennet and the rich and well connected Mr. Bingley. She did not like her methods, but she could excuse them as they stemmed from a strong sisterly affection.
"My own thoughts on the matter, when I first read the letter, were that Miss Bingley meant to put me on my guard, to give me a reason to protect my heart from injury."
"Oh, no, you should never suspect my sister of acting in the best interest of somebody other than herself," Bingley replied with some bitterness. "She aims high, too high, in my opinion. The Ton is full of young women of gentle birth, with good dowries and all the right accomplishments. I do not believe she will get her heart's desire, try as she might."
"The same can be said about me, sir. A good marriage would lift the burden of an uncertain future from my sisters' minds. Perhaps Miss Bingley thought I aimed too high in thinking of a match between me and you."
"Miss Bennet, Caroline believes I aimed too low, and not for any thought of my felicity, but because you cannot bring her any useful connections."
"But you do not care about my lack of money and connections." Jane decided to completely set aside the matter of her lack of accomplishments. Maybe her mother was right after all? Maybe all men wanted was a pretty face and passable manners?
"I do not. Strictly speaking your station is greater than mine, even if your fortune is not. Your father is a landowner and your family has been at Longbourn for generations."
"Why then did you not come back? If you rejected the weight of the arguments put forth by your sister and your friend, if what you knew about my family did not put you off, why did you stay away?" The last words were mere whispers, as Jane was trying valiantly to swallow a sob she felt sure would escape, should she speak any longer. And she so hated crying!
"If you must know, Darcy convinced me you did not care for me."
"That I do not care for you?!"
"Indeed. What do you think of him now? Not such a good friend after all."
"And is this the only reason you did not come back?"
"Yes."
It hurt. Maybe it shouldn't have had, but it hurt Jane that Mr. Bingley could be so fickle.
"I believe I wish to go back to my sister, Mr. Bingley."
"Miss Bennet! You cannot have the heart to leave me like this, without any word of encouragement!"
"I know how it feels, sir," Jane said and Mr. Bingley had the grace to blush hearing such an admonishment, delivered entirely devoid of any intention to hurt him.
"At least tell me that I still have a chance."
"Can you visit us two days hence? I would like to have the time to ponder what you have told me."
He did not have much choice, did he? He was both baffled and somewhat resentful that Miss Bennet would not answer him straight. In spite of knowing that all Caroline ever spouted about the Bennets must have been at best prevarications and most likely self serving lies, he still thought that Jane's hand was his for the taking.
It seemed to him now that he really did accept it as gospel that the Bennets were so down on their luck that any daughter of Longbourn would rush to accept him as a suitor.
As he just found out, that was apparently not the case.
It was always possible that Miss Bennet would hold out for someone better, but he did not think so. No, his Jane would never do that.
What was more probable was she found him wanting in some way. He would let her be. It would behoove him to ponder on what they have said and what still needed to be said to build trust between them.
"It would be my honour to visit you, Miss Bennet," he answered, bowing over her hand.
-`o´-
Author note:
Thank you all for your comments, they are wonderful!
Guest Colleen S: Thank you! It was good, equally good to be back :)
Guest who said Darcy encouraged Caroline:
That's a really big issue in the original novel. Caroline really acted the way she thought would be most acceptable to Darcy and for the most part she was right in her guesses.
Basically Caroline is that obnoxious person who says what many think, but would never say aloud because they are more polite. Being so mean had the added advantage that very few people would call her out on her hypocrisy.
Our Bingley suffers from after-shocks right now :) It's all well and good to be brave, but once the adrenaline dies down you're very much left to deal with the consequences.
In the matter of education, I also don't believe the girls themselves had any fault. Without support - and I mean constant support and interest - what are children to do other than carve a place for themselves the best they can?
They'll do better from now on, Mrs. Croft will see to it!
Guest Saralee:
Mrs. Croft is a treasure!
Guest Lachesis:
Yes, laziness and self assurance are the hallmarks of the Bennet family. But you cannot really expect the girls to know better. They were living in a time in which there was barely any formalized education for boys. Women were not considered worthy of the pursuit at all.
Between Mr. Bennet laughing at them and Mrs. Bennet being cross that they were too bookish, there was precious little incentive to do more.
Guest Lachesis (the second comment):
Georgian Hertfordshire was a semi-backwater, not a real back-water :)
First of all it was very close to London, where everything happened and still does to a large extent. Yes, they didn't have the factories of the north or the agricultural power of the counties South of London - like Kent ;) - but they were already established as the main region who supplied beer to London.
I intend to make the most of Hertfordshire's trade and industry!