-`o´-
"I believe I was maybe too hard on you, through no fault of your own."
"Oh, no, Miss Bennet. I thoroughly deserved all that and more," Bingley replied with a smile and a bow.
"I do not think you did, sir. You see, my diffidence when it comes to our shared future does come in part from what I see as a trait you share with me. I am speaking about avoiding conflicts and disputes. My aunt and uncle disagree quite often and yet they are happy."
"I greatly admire the Gardiners, Miss Bennet."
"So you understand my qualms about how two such people as ourselves, in the habit of giving way to our friends and family, could manage to ever accomplish something."
"I do. I would readily promise you to do better in the future, but the truth is I do not know how I can become more… I do not know what exactly. More forceful, perhaps."
"No, sir, I do not believe I would like a forceful husband."
"What would you like then?"
Lydia began to read just a tad louder, to keep herself busy and deaf to anything but her play. And to prevent herself from offering advice. Jane and Mr. Bingley were so tiresome, there was no other word for it.
"I would like a husband who would not ignore my concerns, even if he doesn't agree I should be having them. My parents," Jane was not sure how much she could or should share with Mr. Bingley, seeing that he was, after all, a stranger.
But you would like to be Mrs. Bingley and he would be a stranger no more, a voice very much like Lizzy's spoke in her mind.
"My parents," she tried again, "do not have a happy marriage. My uncle once said that instead of complementing each other's strengths, they are compounding each other's weaknesses. I would not like the same for me; or for you."
"Is this related to your very small portion?" Bingley was confused as to the purpose of the talk. "You should not be bothered by it. To tell the truth, I have thought about settling some money on Miss Lydia too, so she could be married as well."
Mr. Bingley was too nice and thoughtful and his sudden offer put Jane in a bind. She could not refuse in her sister's stead, although she felt that she should. It was beyond frustrating!
"I thank you for the offer, Mr. Bingley, but my aunt says I am too young to marry," the young lady in question answered without taking her eyes from her play. Then she thought better of it and added "Maybe in two or three years, if you will still be inclined."
"You can depend on me, Miss Lydia. I count you among my friends and I would repay your kindness in helping us to clear our misunderstanding concerning my supposed attachment to Miss Darcy."
"It was my pleasure, Mr. Bingley," Lydia smiled widely then turned again with her back towards them. She would make better use of the light this way.
"I thank you kindly for your offer, Mr. Bingley, it was not my intention to press you into doing so."
"You did not. I made the decision right then and there, when Miss Lydia first made me aware of Caroline's duplicity. But if the matter of the dowries is not foremost in your mind, then what is? I confess I do not understand."
"My father was - is still - a lazy man, albeit a very intelligent one. My mother is a flighty, nervous woman. They do not work together. He laughs at her concerns and openly mocks her and she descends into hysterics should he not accede to her wishes."
"Just like my sisters, then. Fear not, Miss Bennet, I will not hold your relations against you, if you would do me the courtesy to not hold mine against me."
"Of course, Mr. Bingley, but my point is, and please let me finish my thoughts." She saw him opening his mouth to answer and then closing it with a snap. That was better. "As I was saying I would like better for me and for you, than such an unhappy union. I greatly admire the way aunt and uncle Gardiner have a marriage built on respect and understanding. I would like us to be -"
"I promise I will not say another word until you give me leave, Miss Bennet, but know that you have made me a very happy man!"
Jane's brows drew together trying to understand what Mr. Bingley was getting at, but then she blushed and smiled at him. There was no point beating around the bush, was there? "Then I am glad, Mr. Bingley. I would like us to be like the Gardiners, sir. To listen to each other and respect each other's thoughts on all matters, great and small."
"I believe I can do this, Miss Bennet. I can most certainly promise that I will try and I wish you would remind me of this promise, should I slip and forget."
"Of course, Mr. Bingley."
"Charles, please. Should I go to your uncle?" He asked and stood in a hurry, then remembered himself and sat back down. "I mean to say: what are your thoughts in talking to your uncle right now about our understanding?"
"Our understanding, sir? I do not know of any understanding and I should not presume," Jane smiled happily at him.
"How silly of me! Miss Bennet, Jane, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
"It would be my pleasure, Mr., erm Charles."
"Enfin!" Lydia quipped from the other end of the room. It was a lucky occurrence, as Bingley had every intention to seal the deal with a kiss.
-`o´-
"What can I do for you, children?"
"Uncle, Charles made me the happiest woman!"
"I asked Miss Bennet for her hand in marriage and she accepted, sir. We are asking you now for your permission and blessing."
"That was rather faster than I would have thought, Mr. Bingley," and not entirely a good idea, he privately thought.
"I believe it was my fault, uncle. We were talking about my hopes and fears and what I would want a marriage to be like and I spoke too much."
"I had every intention of asking for your hand, my dear Jane, at the first sign that you would be ready to accept me. Whatever drove you to speak today, I can only be thankful that it happened."
Mr. Gardiner looked between them with fond amusement. They were both so eager to please! Too eager, maybe. He wished Bingley would have waited a few more weeks at least. His talk with his niece has given him cause for concern.
"I am happy to welcome you into our family, Mr. Bingley. Please call me Gardiner as all my friends do. Why don't we all go to give the good news to Madeline as well. You and I can go over Jane's portion the day after tomorrow."
"I'm sure Miss Bennet - Jane - would like to be present, sir."
"Yes, uncle. I would like to know what will be decided for my future."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, uncle."
"Yes, sir."
-`o´-
"I am willing to forgo Miss Bennet's portion entirely, sir. I do not want to cause you pain, my dear Jane, but from what I understand you will have a share of the five thousand pounds which constitutes your mother's settlement."
"Yes, this is all each of us has, for the time being."
"Well then, it is perhaps better to give up your share so your sisters could benefit from it. I do not want to brag," he continued addressing Gardiner, "but I can settle enough money on Jane and any children we will have."
"This is hardly fair, sir! My parents should not be allowed to disregard their own children's security with hardly any consequences for themselves."
"My niece is right, Bingley. I have managed to convince my brother Bennet that setting aside some six hundred each year is necessary. A suitor who is willing to marry one of the girls in absence of any dowry would only serve to turn them both back to their old ways."
"Mr. - ah, Gardiner, I reckon providing a dowry of two thousand for each of Miss Bennet's sisters would not bring me any distress."
"You will do so with the money which should benefit your own children, Bingley."
"And I will not allow you to do so," Jane added resolutely.
"But wouldn't it help Miss Lydia to be married sooner? I know she said your wife doesn't approve of her marrying yet, but I do not know if this is merely a consequence of her not having a dowry."
"My youngest niece is full young. She will not be allowed to marry until my wife deems she has finished her instruction. Mayhap Bennet will even have close to two thousand by then."
"Charles, I thank you for your willingness to help all of my family, but our parents are responsible for us, not you."
"I have a better idea, Bingley. I fully intend to match Bennet's contribution for each of his daughters. You could do the same, if you really have money to spare, although do think before you commit yourself."
"So be it. I will take my time to fully consider the implications. I won't lie, my first impulse is to commit myself and be done with it. I might even come to the same conclusion later, but at least I will have been sure it was not done on a whim."
"That's the spirit, young man!"
"Except for Miss Lydia."
"Pardon?"
"Miss Lydia did me a great favour. Without her I don't know if we would have come to such a speedy conclusion."
"Very well, then. You will match Lydia's portion and I will do the same. And you will think about the rest."
-`o´-
"Jane, I do not know how to ask you about it, but I would like to understand why you do not want me to help your sisters."
"It is difficult for me, Charles. All of this, all that has happened with Mr. Wickham and Mr. Denny and our parents - I hope you will not think less of me when I am done with my explanation."
"Wickham? What does he have to do with anything?"
"It is a long story and not a pleasant one, I'm afraid. Suffice to say that Mr. Wickham tried to convince Mr. Denny to give up my sister Lydia and spoke in the most unflattering terms about all my family."
Having now accepted Mr. Bingley's proposal they were allowed to be together without a chaperone, provided the parlour's door remained open. Lydia had petitioned most strenuously for it, more so than Jane herself, as she declared herself not able to witness even one more tête-à-tête between Jane and her beau.
"Darcy always said he was no good, although I do not believe he ever explained why. Do you need my help with Mr. Wickham? Although he could not have been very effective since Mr. Denny is calling on your sister and seems determined to win her hand."
"Mr. Denny is a most honourable gentleman and I understand Mr. Wickham has been dealt with."
"Dealt with?"
"My sister Lizzy said in one of her letters that he was caught stealing from his fellow officers. He was flogged and sent to an army encampment, I believe. I do not know the details.
His actions, however, have had lasting consequences for my family."
"It seems to me he was just a common scoundrel, Jane. His words should not have any weight."
"And yet they did. It matters little now what was said, but it made me see my family in a new light. I could not go on excusing our lack of decorum instigated by my mother and our lack of accomplishments brought about by my father's lack of interest in his family.
If that was not enough, my mother took it upon herself to relate the incident to all our neighbours," Jane continued and saw Charles wincing.
Despite his good nature she knew he had taken the measure of Mrs. Bennet, as any man of sense would.
"Lydia was declared jilted, just like me, and the gossip was as awful as you can imagine."
"I am so sorry for I have put you through," Charles said, pressing her hand lightly.
She smiled briefly and went on. "The consequence was that our aunt and uncle took us to live with them for a while. They hired masters for us with the intention to help us become more educated and thus able to attract a husband. When I would have been deemed ready they were going to introduce me to some of their friends so I could select a husband."
Bingley verily shuddered at the thought. He had never had reason to consider what life was like for women like his Jane. It was a wonder none of the Bennet ladies threw herself at him and Darcy. In spite of everything their honesty and respectability have never been in question.
"I was very happy to have found you in London, but never asked myself why you were here in the first place. Now I know. Jane, my dear, I promise you I will do right by you."
"And I promise I will do right by you too. You see, I would like you, us both, to help my sisters. The better their dowries, the better and more secure their future position in the marriage will be."
"I would never resent you for such a reason! I hope you know that!"
"I know, Charles, but not every man is so kind hearted."
"That is true. So why then, did you disagree?"
"I do not want my parents to feel like they can live without a care in the world. All they needed was a rich son-in-law and everything would be put to rights, with no effort on their part. Will you spend all your income and leave our sons and daughters at the mercy of strangers?"
"You know I will not; and I count on you to remind me of my duty, should I ever falter. But Jane, we cannot change the past. Nothing you and I or our aunt and uncle do now will ever change your parents' lack of care for the past twenty years."
"I also have other, more personal reasons to be upset with how they acted. I love you, Charles, most dearly, but I would have married you even if I did not. I would have married you for your money, to help my sisters, to assure the security of my family. My parents have left me with no other recourse."
"Oh, my Jane, my dear, please do not cry," Bingley said while offering his kerchief. "I do not know what I should do when a woman cries," he feebly joked. It was lucky that Jane was still speaking as he had no idea what to say and what to think about her confession.
"This period, our courtship, should have been the happiest time of our lives. We are young and healthy and we should have had no other worries than to enjoy each other's company. They took it all away from us. Knowing what you now know, I would not blame you if there would ever come such a time as to make you doubt the strength and sincerity of my feelings."
"How can I not love you, Jane? And love you more for your honesty! Darcy taught me that railing at the unfairness of life does nothing to help one's situation. Much better is to devise a plan to change your circumstances."
"He was a good friend then."
"I'm not so sure, but we'll talk about him some other time. Right now I would saddle my horse and travel to Meryton to give your parents a piece of my mind. That aside, we should thank Providence for our good fortune. We have already managed to change our circumstances and it serves nothing to dwell on the past."
"I find I cannot forget so easily, but Lizzy would agree with you."
"I will speak with our Uncle Gardiner. Maybe he will have an idea to help us deal with your parents. You would not like to be completely cut off from your family and the three of your sisters are still at home. We should not antagonize them, but together with your uncle -"
"And my aunt -"
"Yes, all of us together will form a plan. You will see."
-`o´-
Author note:
Thank you all for your comments, they are wonderful!
Guest who said "Lovely, smart chapter":
Thank you! I'm very glad you liked it :)
Guest Jen:
Just so you know, Col. Fitzwilliam is keeping tabs on Wickham and he will share any news about him.
I'm glad you are enjoying the story!
Guest who hopes that Mrs Croft is actually teaching the girls something:
She does, but that won't figure very much in the story.
There was a line about her instituting a schedule of lessons and there will be a few more lines here and there, but nothing more.
If I start yet another line of research, this time about how the teaching happened in the early 19th century, then I won't ever finish the story :)
I'm still not finished with the industrial profile of Hertfordshire of that era and this will be more important going forward.