~~F~~
A Changing Fate
Since her eviction from Longbourn Mrs Bennet had often considered moving to another area but she could not bring herself to go to a place where she did not know a single soul. Even though her friends amongst the four and twenty families refused to call on her while she was in deep mourning other than to gloat about her reduced circumstances since word had spread about her treatment of Elizabeth, at least here her sister was prepared to maintain contact.
For the first several months Mrs Bennet railed against her second daughter for cruelly tossing her out of her home and refused to listen when her sister and Mr Phillips told her she only had herself to blame for what happened.
During their annual sojourn to Longbourn, the first Christmas after Mr Bennet's death, Mr Gardiner visited his sister in her cottage at the edge of Meryton at the behest of Mr and Mrs Phillips to attempt to get Mrs Bennet to see reason.
'Brother, it is wonderful to see you,' Mrs Bennet greeted Mr Gardiner excitedly when he stepped into the small parlour and grasped his hands. 'Perhaps you will be able to make Elizabeth see sense and get her to step aside to allow me to resume my rightful place at Longbourn. Martha's husband is useless and refuses to listen to me.'
Stunned by his sister's immediate demand, Gardiner did not bother with a greeting, instead answering, 'Fanny, you do not have a rightful place at Longbourn after the abominable way you behaved towards Elizabeth.'
'What do you mean… abominable? I ensured that Lizzy had a husband and a home which no one could take away from her. All I expected in return was to remain in my home when Mr Bennet passed away.'
'How could you possibly think that Elizabeth would be feel charitably towards you after you forced her into such a brutal marriage? And to think you even encouraged that man.'
'How was I to know that he would be so very bad? I just thought she simply needed a firm hand to bring her to heel. Mr Bennet always let her run wild and she never listened to me.'
'You are saying that you knew she never listened to you and yet you expected her to step aside and let you continue as mistress of the estate?' Gardiner shook his head at Mrs Bennet's steadfast refusal to acknowledge her own culpability.
'She is too young to act as a proper mistress.'
'She is the same age as you were when you married Bennet and she had the advantage of growing up on an estate. Something you cannot claim.'
'But…'
'No, Fanny. You were wrong to force Lizzy to marry that man. You were wrong to expect her to defer to you. You are wrong now to complain. And furthermore, she is now doing a better job than you ever did or ever could.'
'You cannot possibly mean that. I heard tell that the table she sets is positively parsimonious.'
'As it happens, Jane is acting as the mistress of Longbourn and is responsible for the menus, for which Lizzy has set a perfectly adequate budget and unlike you they are sticking to it. Lizzy is also more involved in the running of the estate than your husband ever was. I expect it will not be long and she will be an excellent master of Longbourn.'
Mr Gardiner hesitated since he knew his next words would hurt his sister more than anything else he had said so far, but in fairness to Elizabeth, it needed to be said. 'Lizzy is also better at raising your daughters than you or your husband ever were.'
'How can she raise her sisters; she is only a child herself.'
'Lizzy is a bright young woman who has learnt manners and accomplishments despite your constant attempts to make her and Jane act like you did at their ages.'
'Do you not understand that was why Lizzy had to leave. How is Jane supposed to catch a husband if Lizzy is always interfering and stopping Jane from putting herself forward.'
'You mean to say that you forced Lizzy onto that man so that you could then have the opportunity to force Jane to behave like a slut?
'How dare you use such a horrible word,' screeched Mrs Bennet.
Gardiner was unmoved and unapologetic. 'Quite easily because I remember that I used to be mortified by your behaviour when you were pursuing Bennet. Unfortunately, I was too young at the time, and nobody would listen to me when I advised against that match.'
Mrs Bennet ignored most of his statement and only focused on the portion she felt that she could refute. 'I was right to behave as I did since he married me.'
'Bennet was a fool to marry you. But he paid for his mistake since you nagged him into an early grave.'
For the first time her brother's words made an impact. 'Are you saying that I am to blame for my husband's death?' whispered Mrs Bennet.
Gardiner sighed and felt ashamed that he let his sister goad him into putting his feelings into such blunt words. 'I think you picked the wrong man to marry. Once he realised your lack of intelligence and character, he despised himself for falling for you. This in turn caused him to despise you. He repaid your shrill and nagging ways by making sport of you at every opportunity.'
Mr Gardiner saw the information penetrate his sister's limited understanding. Since he had gone this far, he decided he might as well continue. He shrugged as he said, 'The discontent and tension in your marriage took its toll on his health. You pretended to nervous prostration to get your own way. Bennet truly did suffer from nerves, and I believe that was what killed him.'
Mrs Bennet shook her head. 'Since you believe that, you have to admit that I was right when I feared for his early death which would leave my girls and myself homeless,' she claimed and crossed her arms as she returned to the main topic of their conversation. 'I kept hoping that Jane would make an advantageous match as she could not be so beautiful for nothing. How is she supposed to get a rich husband if she refuses to use that beauty? After all, wealthy men are only interested in beautiful women.'
'I am a wealthy man and while I appreciate Madeline's beauty, I would never have married her if she did not possess intelligence, accomplishments and a sterling character.'
Mrs Bennet tried a different strategy. 'But how can I assure that the girls will find husbands if I am banished to this miserable cottage.'
'You could always invite your daughters to come live with you,' suggested Gardiner who was getting more irritated with his sister by the minute.
'Live with me? How can you suggest such a thing. My jointure is barely enough to keep me housed, fed, and clothed. As you probably know, I have only ten pound per month to live on. How could I possibly have any of my girls live with me. Especially when in a few months I can at last get rid of all these ghastly widow's weeds and need to buy a new wardrobe.'
'Fanny, your daughters are not in any rush to marry. Elizabeth has hired a governess to teach all the girls the proper manners of ladies and ensure that they will have all the necessary accomplishments. I believe that they will have better a chance at making good matches without you making a spectacle of yourself by pushing the girls at men.'
'But…'
'Most men do not want a woman to push their daughters at him. It makes them wonder what is wrong with the daughters if the mother is so desperate to marry them off.'
'But…'
'I am sorry, Fanny. But your daughters are in better hands now than they have ever been.'
Seeing the calm determination in her brother as he refuted all her arguments made an impression on Mrs Bennet at last.
'You think me a bad mother?' she suddenly asked as she collapsed into a chair.'
I think you are a mother who was given a very bad example to follow.' Gardiner relented as Mrs Bennet appeared to grasp that her way of dealing with her daughters had been counterproductive.
He only stayed a little longer to ensure Mrs Bennet was well enough before he returned to Longbourn where his wife, their children and nieces waited for him with a great deal more cheer.
~F~
Painful and vexing as Mrs Bennet's conversation with her brother had been, it had been profitable as she at last had an inkling how misguided she had been, and she stopped making demands.
After that conversation, whenever the lady encountered any of her daughters, they greeted her politely, but none of them stopped to converse with her, not even Lydia.
Since her own hurt pride stopped her from extending an olive branch to her daughters, Mrs Bennet was forced to rely on Mrs Phillips to provide her with news of her girls. To that end she asked Mrs Phillips to resume her close connection to the girls.
She was chagrined when she learnt that Elizabeth and the governess were succeeding in slowly educating even her youngest to be accomplished ladies.
~F~
Mrs Phillips was pleased when her sister stopped railing against her fate and her daughters as Mrs Phillips had always been fond of her nieces as she was unable to have children of her own. In recent months the lady had been torn between love of her nieces and love of her sister.
Even though Mrs Phillips, like their neighbours, disapproved of Mrs Bennet's actions towards Elizabeth, she could not abandon her sister, whom she loved regardless, to being shunned by everyone. She had felt obliged to be the one support her sister had left.
Now that her nieces were out of mourning, and Mrs Bennet was somewhat reconciled to her situation, Mrs Phillips looked forward to resuming her habit of inviting the girls to tea, dinners, and card parties.
~F~
During one visit for tea, which was attended not only by the sisters but also Lady Lucas, Mrs Long and Mrs Goulding, the topic of remarriage for Elizabeth was raised by the ladies.
Lady Lucas was particularly keen to canvas that topic as she hoped one of her sons could become the next master of Longbourn. 'So, tell me, Mrs Elizabeth, now that you are out of mourning, how soon are you planning to remarry to ensure that there is a man in charge of your estate again?'
'Remarry? I have no such plans. I shall be much too busy managing my own estate,' Elizabeth exclaimed, feeling vexed that the lady would suggest that she should give up her new freedom.
'But surely, you cannot mean to continue in this way,' exclaimed Lady Lucas. 'While I think it admirable of you to have stepped in to take up the reins when your father and husband passed, ladies are not suited for such an occupation.'
Jane could see her sister was starting to bristle at the implied insult to her abilities, interjected, 'Lady Lucas, as much as it pains me to speak ill of the dead and of our father, no less, but as everyone knows, he was a rather indolent master. In the short time since she has been in charge, Elizabeth has already become a better manager than Mr Bennet ever was.'
'But it appears to me to be quite unseemly for a young woman to perform a man's job. And you must also consider the future of the estate. Who shall inherit Longbourn.'
Elizabeth gave her a tight smile. 'Since the entail has ended, it is my decision to whom I will leave the estate. I am certain that since I am blessed with four sisters, at least one of them will produce a child who will be able to carry on our family at Longbourn. There is no need for me to risk another marriage.'
Mrs Phillips shot an angry look at Lady Lucas for having brought back bad memories for Elizabeth of her late husband, supported her niece. 'While it may be unusual for ladies to manage estates, it is certainly not unheard of. And Lizzy is doing a wonderful job. Mark my words, I predict it will not be long before she is one of the most respected landowners hereabouts.'
~F~
~~F~~
Fates (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023
