~~F~~

A Contrary Fate

Tuesday morning, after the Gardiners left Longbourn, Mrs Taylor sought an interview with her employer.

'Mrs Elizabeth, as you suggested, I have spent the last few days observing your sisters.'

'And despite that you did not leave with the Gardiners?'

Mrs Taylor smiled at the quip. 'Indeed, not. I am made of sterner stuff but I wished to discuss with you methods of rewards and punishments which I hope will be successful… and do not involve physical violence.'

'You intrigue me. Please explain.'

'I understand that your sisters' pin money is fifty pounds per year, which you plan to give them at the rate of four pounds per month, plus an extra two pounds at Christmas.'

'That is correct.'

'I would like to suggest that you raise that amount by a potential two pounds per year, but instead of giving it to them each month, you give your younger sisters one pound each week.'

'I presume you have a reason for this.'

'I do not wish to offend you, but I believe that your youngest sister is somewhat mercenary,' Mrs Taylor said and when Elizabeth reluctantly nodded, she continued, 'I therefore propose to fine her one shilling for each infraction of the rules which we will set.'

Elizabeth thought about the suggestion while the governess waited patiently. 'I believe I can see the point of the weekly payment. Lydia, and to a lesser degree Kitty, will learn more quickly the consequences of bad behaviour.'

'Precisely. And it will be easier for them to remember the instances which caused them to be penalised since they will all be within a sennight. If we were to work on a monthly schedule, there would be more arguments because they would likely forget their infractions.'

'This arrangement has the potential to save me quite a bit of money, especially in the first few months.' Elizabeth grinned as she considered this solution to the dilemma of forcing Lydia to cooperate without resorting to physical inducements.

'The short-term savings will pay for the additional pin money in the long-term,' Mrs Taylor agreed. 'Now that we are agreed on this issue, I have prepared a schedule of lessons which I would like to discuss with you.'

The ladies spent the next half hour discussing Mrs Taylor's ideas. At the end of their conversation, Elizabeth was well satisfied with the schedule, and she was amused by the list of infractions which would cost her sister one shilling each.

Elizabeth even provided two small ledgers in which Mrs Taylor could record Lydia's and Kitty's misdemeanours. Although she was reminded of the records Mr Collins had kept, she was pleased that her sisters would be spared those kinds of consequences.

~F~

Mrs Taylor found her charges at breakfast since the youngest Bennet girls liked to sleep late.

They were not well pleased when Mrs Taylor informed them that in future, she expected them to break their fast no later than by eight in the morning as their lessons would begin at nine and were to occur every day except Sunday.

The complaints by Lydia were vociferous but stopped when she was told that she was to receive her pin money in weekly instalments. Mrs Taylor gave the reason for this change as an opportunity for the girls to learn budgeting, as they would have to save up money if they wanted to have a new dress.

Lydia's good humour vanished again when Mrs Taylor handed them the list of infractions and explained that they would loose a shilling for each one.

̶ Rudeness / throwing a tantrum

̶ Deliberate disobedience

̶ Refusal to attend to lessons / chores

̶ Lying

̶ Tardiness

̶ Leaving Longbourn without permission / chaperone

̶ Flirting with members of the opposite sex

̶ Dressing inappropriately for a girl not yet out

̶ Stealing – also known as borrowing without permission

'But if you deduct a shilling for each time we do anything wrong, how shall we ever be able to afford new dresses?' cried Lydia.

'If you learn to mind your manners and comply with the rules of the house you will not lose any money. And even if you lose part of your pin money, you may still be able to buy some fabrics. In that case, although you will not be able to commission having the dress made by a seamstress, you can still sew it yourself,' Mrs Taylor explained patiently.

'Lizzy will never allow you to treat us so badly,' Lydia expostulated, refusing to accept that her days as a favourite and indulged child were over.

'I discussed this with Mrs Elizabeth, and she is in complete agreement with me. And I must warn you, this is the last time that your obstinate attitude will be tolerated. You have until tomorrow to become reconciled to the new rules.'

~F~

Midmorning, Elizabeth received a note from Mr Phillips informing her that Mrs Bennet had found a cottage to rent and requested her mother's belongings which were still stored at Longbourn to be sent to the new address.

Mr Hill accompanied the carts carrying Mrs Bennet's chattels and returned with an inventory signed by the lady and notarised by Mr Phillips, confirming that all her belongings had arrived in good order.

Mr Hill handed the document to Elizabeth and said, 'This was Mr Phillips' idea. He also sends his compliments and says that you owe him a shilling.' Hill chuckled at Elizabeth's puzzled expression. 'It's at the end of the list.'

The last item on the inventory was indeed – 1 shilling in lieu of a missing doily. Elizabeth looked up at her faithful retainer raising a quizzical brow.

'Mr Phillips paid that to shut her up and to stop her from coming here to claim her supposedly missing property. But I seem to remember that particular item as one Mrs Bennet ruined one night when she was in her cups by dropping a candle on it. Between the wax and the charring it was not fit to be used any more. She was only lucky that the candle went out and it did not catch fire and burn down the house.'

Elizabeth shook her head in disgust. Would that woman never be satisfied? The answer was simple – no.

Instead of complaining, she smiled at Hill as she said, 'I shall gladly reimburse Uncle Phillips. The peace of this house is worth much more than one shilling.'

~F~

She was not so sanguine at five minutes to nine the following morning when Lydia sauntered into the dining room where Elizabeth and her other three sisters as well as Mrs Taylor were finishing their breakfast.

Mrs Taylor was prepared and had already recorded the incident in the ledger which she presented to Lydia to sign as acknowledgement of her actions.

'La, what a joke. You cannot make me sign this silly ledger.'

'If you do not sign, I will get these witnesses to sign on your behalf and fine you another shilling for refusing to obey an order.' As Lydia opened her mouth to start screaming and throwing a tantrum, Mrs Taylor reminded her, 'If you throw a tantrum, that will be yet another shilling.'

Lydia's mouth snapped shut as she stared at the implacable expressions of Mrs Taylor and her oldest sisters while Kitty kept her eyes on her plate, refusing to be drawn into the conflict.

In the past, Lydia's tantrums had been her most potent weapon since her father valued his peace and her mother was amenable to crocodile tears. If that ploy was denied to her, how was she to gain the upper hand?

Her memory of crocodile tears sparked an inspiration. '

Lydia managed to squeeze out a few tears as she took on a mournful expression. 'I am sorry. I was only late because I barely slept a wink. Ever since out dear papa passed away, I have had trouble sleeping at night.'

Mrs Taylor's expression took on a doubting cast before she shot a questioning look at her employer.

'That is the exact method Lydia used to employ to get Mrs Bennet to countermand Mr Bennet's edicts,' Elizabeth said blandly and after a moment's thought, added, 'You should also know that my sisters hardly knew their father. I only knew him because I was interested in learning.'

'I see. Thank you, Mrs Elizabeth.' Mrs Taylor acknowledged the information as she took up her pen and dipped it into the ink. She wrote Refusal to sign the register and on a separate line she added Lying about grief for her father keeping her awake.

She looked up from the ledger and advised, 'Lydia, you had better consider your actions and attitudes. At this rate, not only will you forfeit your pin money for the week, but you will be in debt… a debt which will be carried forward to the next week.'

Since Lydia could not argue against the judgement made by the lady and her older sister, Lydia focused on something she could refute. 'I did not give you permission to address me by my given name,' she said haughtily.

'I do not need a child's permission to address her in a familiar fashion. Until you can behave like a lady, you do not deserve the be addressed with a courtesy title.'

When Lydia opened her mouth to start yet another argument, Kitty lightly touched her hand and said, 'Lydia, no more. Come, eat your breakfast. We are already late for our lessons.'

Lydia grudgingly acquiesced.

~F~

The following Monday morning Lydia was most put out again when she received her pin money for the previous week.

She held up one coin in each of her hands. 'I am supposed to have a pound of pin money per week. How am I supposed to survive on only two shillings?' she stormed.

'You should have considered that before flaunting the new rules in this house. But considering that you have no need to spend money at present, you have nothing to complain about. You have a stout roof over your head, a comfortable bed to sleep in unmolested and you do not need to go hungry,' replied Elizabeth who was passing out the pin money to her sisters.

'I did not get any breakfast twice last week.'

'You were informed on several occasions that breakfast is served between the hours of eight and nine in the morning. If you choose not to attend breakfast at that time, you have only yourself to blame if you go hungry. Instead of whining, you should be grateful that we did not fine you for being late on those days, otherwise you would not have received any money at all.' Elizabeth shrugged. 'I felt that you missing breakfast was punishment enough. If you disagree with that judgement, I will be happy to apply the rules exactly.'

Elizabeth reached out as if to take Lydia's coins from her, only to have her sister snatch her hands back. 'You are horrible,' the girl spat and rushed out of the room.

Kitty was pleased enough to receive fifteen shillings, having learnt quickly that following Lydia was an expensive exercise. Instead, she discovered that her efforts to apply herself to her lessons garnered praise and attention which she had never before received.

Each evening over dinner Elizabeth had enquired about her sisters' activities for the day. Any praise Mrs Taylor expressed for her students' achievements, Elizabeth warmly seconded.

Since Mrs Taylor dealt with any reprimands immediately, they were never raised during dinner, ensuring that this time was pleasant for all the sisters.

~F~

While during the second week of the new regime Lydia still lost the majority of her allowance, she was surprised when she received praise for her mathematical ability.

'Why did we never hear that we have a mathematical genius in our midst?' asked Elizabeth when informed of this development at dinner that evening.

'Mama never wanted us to learn manly accomplishments,' replied Lydia with a shrug.

'Manly accomplishments? How can looking after the household accounts be a manly accomplishment? After all, every lady needs to know how to budget for food, clothing and other household necessities,' exclaimed Jane.

The sisters exchanged startled glances.

'No, this could not be possible…' breathed Mary.

'Jane, do you remember that it was Aunt Gardiner who taught us about household accounts,' Elizabeth reminded her sister.

'And we taught Mary…'

'Mama knows how to count,' interjected Lydia. 'But she always said no lady should ever need more than that. I always knew that numbers were easy, but having mama fuss over me was much nicer than have her screaming at me the way she did at Lizzy.'

Jane mused, 'I never thought about it before, but speaking about this brings to mind that Mrs Hill was always doing the household accounts. Mama said that was part of her duties.'

Mrs Taylor added her own advice. 'While it is indeed part of the housekeeper's duties, it is incumbent on the mistress to check those figures to ensure that the housekeeper does not cheat the family.'

'I believe we now have an explanation why Mrs Bennet is such a spendthrift and could never stick to her budget,' expostulated Elizabeth with a shake of her head and an unladylike huff. 'I believe I had better send a note to Uncle Phillips, suggesting that he might want to keep an eye on her spending, otherwise she might squander a years income in the first month.'

Jane was the first to think of an application of Lydia's new-found talent. 'I believe that since numbers come easy to you, Lydia, you might enjoy helping me with the household accounts.'

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to grin. 'And once you have mastered those, perhaps you would enjoy expanding your education into the realm of estate accounts.'

Lydia was uncertain whether to be chagrined at having more lessons added to her schedule or pleased with the praise by her sisters. In the end, pleasure won out since even someone as self-centred as she was, craved acceptance from her family.

~F~

~F~

~~F~~

Fates (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023