~PoP~
Compromises
During his frequent visits to Longbourn Fanny discovered that Thomas Bennet was a widower with two daughters. Since he was younger and better looking than his older brother, Fanny made some contingency plans.
In June 1795 Mrs Frances Bennet gave birth to non-identical twins… Catherine and Lydia.
As soon as she had recovered from her confinement, she started openly flirting with Bennet, suggesting that they could provide Longbourn with a male heir.
Fanny was not happy when he replied, 'Even if I wanted to marry you, which I most definitely do not, canon law forbids marriage between us. If you wish for a husband, you had better look elsewhere.'
He did not bother to tell her that he did not believe that any woman could ever live up to Henrietta's standard.
Since Fanny's behaviour disgusted both Bennet and his mother, they decided to comply with the terms of the marriage contract, although Bennet was somewhat more generous than he needed to be.
Despite her protests, Fanny Bennet was installed in a comfortable, even spacious cottage with a nurse, two maids and a manservant.
A month later, Mrs Elizabeth Bennet was thrilled to welcome Elizabeth and Mary Bennet to Longbourn. Bennet had spent weeks preparing the twins for their separation. He had patiently answered a myriad of questions all beginning with Why. Bennet had even managed to impress on Lizzy the need to keep the existence of her brother a secret. He was aided in that endeavour by the fact that the twins were extremely protective of each other.
He was fortunate that Mary was too young to care where she was as long as her nurse was with her.
When they arrived at Longbourn, the girls were accompanied not only by their nurse but also Mrs Julia Taylor, the new governess who had been employed by the countess to ensure the girls received the education appropriate for their station.
~PoP~
While Bennet lived at Longbourn with his two girls, Mrs Fanny Bennet languished in her cottage with her own two daughters.
At least she claimed to be languishing and thought herself to be hard done by immediately after her removal from the manor. After all, she had gone to the trouble of seducing Henry Bennet in the hopes of becoming the mistress of Longbourn. Instead, she was reduced to living in a cottage with only four bedrooms. The only saving grace was that Bennet assured her that she would be able to reside in that cottage all her life without fear of eviction, unless she married again. In that circumstance she would be expected to move to her husband's house.
Once she was fully recovered from her ordeal and comfortably settled in her new home, Fanny started to visit her friends in the village. Fortunately, the colours of half-mourning suited her complexion well, so she was quite happy being seen as the grieving widow.
Fanny was amazed when she discovered that her friends envied her position as the mistress of her own home and what was, by their standards, a lavish income.
As time went by, she recognised that she was actually rather fortunate. Bennet had been generous and allocated this cottage to her, which was on the edge of Longbourn lands and only a stone's throw from Meryton. Since her brother-in-law covered the expense for the nurse, the maids, and the manservant, her two hundred pounds per annum, which was the interest on her jointure, provided her with a much more comfortable existence than she had enjoyed in her father's house.
Now, while she was not the mistress of an estate, she was the mistress of her own home, and she did not even have to answer to a husband or perform any marital duties.
When she was delivered of her twin girls, she was grateful that her husband was dead, and she would not be expected to endure either his attentions or the results of those attention. Giving birth once was more than enough, and since Longbourn needed a male heir to remain in the family, she would have had to repeat this ghastly experience again, possibly several times, until she produced a son. If Henry had lived, she would have had to go to all that trouble to ensure that she would have a roof over her head for life.
There was another factor which made her more reconciled to her situation. While she lived at Longbourn, she had noticed that her mother-in-law had many duties, which Fanny would have been expected to take on if she had become the mistress of the estate. Instead, she enjoyed a life of leisure.
Yes, all in all, she was quite happy with her new situation.
~PoP~
In the main house, the situation was somewhat more fraught, as it did not take long for Mrs Taylor to clash with Mr Bennet about Elizabeth's education.
Bennet found it easy to teach his daughter because he understood her quirks. He knew that Elizabeth had a stubborn streak and whenever someone tried to push her, she pushed back. But any time someone presented her with a challenge, she was a most willing student and eager to prove herself worthy.
Mrs Taylor came from a different school of thought. In her world, children learnt by rote and constant practice.
'Mr Bennet, how am I supposed to teach Miss Bennet how to behave like a lady when she is immured in your library or worse, running about the country getting her hair tangled and her dresses muddy.'
'You may have been hired by her grandmother to teach her ladylike accomplishments, but I am her father and decide what lessons my daughters will have.'
'But she should at least learn proper comportment…'
'Mrs Taylor, Lizzy is less than five years old. There is plenty of time for her to learn such nonsense. Right now, she needs to learn how to be a child.'
Eventually they came to a compromise.
Elizabeth would spend an hour a day in activities prescribed for young ladies… such as drawing (she was terrible at it but was having fun being terrible), painting (she preferred to use her hands rather than brushes and her pinafore was even messier from paint than mud) and sewing (her threads always ended up in knots).
Yet it seemingly took no time at all for her to learn her letters and numbers, and her writing was surprisingly legible.
Once she learnt the rudiments of several languages from Mrs Taylor as well as her father, she delighted in mixing them together in a sentence.
When Elizabeth included words which Mrs Taylor considered to be nonsense, the governess reported to Mr Bennet that she thought her charge was potentially simple minded because she spoke gibberish.
Bennet investigated the allegation and to the chagrin of Mrs Taylor, he informed her that the only simple minded one was herself since Elizabeth included Greek and Latin words. He did not mention that while the words were correct, the whole sentence was indeed gibberish.
Elizabeth also quickly learnt to identify all the plants which grew at Longbourn since her father always took her along when he visited the tenants or simply rode about the estate, with his daughter perched before him, when making inspections.
Once she had learnt to read for herself, Elizabeth would happily sit quietly for hours at a time to devour whatever book her father gave to her.
~PoP~
Once Mary became old enough to join the lessons, Mrs Taylor, whose teaching style had mellowed somewhat, became much happier as the younger girl was sweet-natured and willing to apply herself to becoming the perfect little lady.
Once the focus was off herself, even Elizabeth improved although much of that success was due to her grandmother. The lady introduced her granddaughters to the duties of the mistress of an estate, lessons which they all enjoyed.
One evening Mrs Bennet confided to her son, 'I always wanted daughters, but I was only blessed with two boys. It is such a joy to spend time with those dear girls.'
'I am pleased to have provided you with such pleasure,' Bennet replied with a smile. He was truly delighted that his mother and his daughters had developed such a close bond.
'Thomas, while I have no wish to criticise you, I wonder why you keep Mrs Taylor. You know that Lizzy despises the woman.'
'I know she does. But Lizzy needs to understand that she cannot always have her own way and she needs to learn how to deal with people she does not like and do so politely. Since Mrs Taylor is not cruel in any way, and she is exceedingly well qualified, I am prepared to put up with her.'
~PoP~
Two years after Mary started her lessons with Mrs Taylor, the lady acquired another student.
Even though Mrs Bennet was not thrilled about having Fanny Bennet as a daughter-in-law, she did love her two granddaughters and visited them on a regular basis. As the girls grew, it became obvious that Lydia was turning into a miniature version of her mother, making her Fanny's favourite. Catherine, whom Fanny chose to call Kitty, to the disgust of Mrs Bennet, was quieter and always relegated to the shadows as Lydia was the apple of her mother's eye.
Mrs Bennet adjured Fanny to educate the girls as appropriate for the daughters of a gentleman, only to encounter resistance. Lydia was not interested in learning, she only wanted to have fun. She liked pretty things and had no patience for sitting still and studying.
Kitty on the other hand was quite prepared to study, since it meant being praised for any small successes she might achieve, even if it was not from her mother or sister.
A compromise was struck. Once Lydia had learnt at least the basics of reading and writing, as well as simple arithmetic, Mrs Bennet would be satisfied. At least for the moment. Kitty on the other hand was to be allowed to attend all the lessons with her cousins.
~PoP~
Bennet still visited James as often as he could, taking Elizabeth with him since she missed her twin even though she rarely said so. Once Mary was old enough to be trusted with the secret, she too joined the family on their visits, although she never became as close to James as Elizabeth.
Over time, they twins started a friendly competition to see which one of them could learn the most. They were well matched in intellectual pursuits, but in physical activities James soon outdistanced his sister since he was growing much taller than Elizabeth who remained quite petite.
Bennet, quite by accident, found a way to even the playing field. When he needed a new groom, he hired John Farrer, a young man, barely more than a boy, who was rather short and slim, but wiry. Since boys and young men were accustomed to some roughhousing, Bennet was surprised to hear that even the biggest boys could not get the better of John.
When Bennet asked John how he was able to win those fights, he was surprised when John said with a wide grin, 'I prefer to side-step the issue.'
Once John demonstrated his fighting style, Bennet laughed when John literally side-stepped to avoid being hit. At most, once he had moved out of the way, he used a small flick of the wrist to divert a punch. His opponent, being overcommitted, usually went flying past him. On the odd occasion when someone managed to get hold of John, he was not averse to using very ungentlemanly tactics.
As Bennet's daughters were getting older and prettier, he thought it was a good idea for John to teach them all his tricks.
Once Elizabeth had become proficient in side-stepping, she delighted in demonstrating her new skill to her brother… who took it with moderately good grace.
~PoP~
Another area for competition was riding. When James received a pony, Elizabeth had to get one too.
Of course, being a young lady, Elizabeth was taught to ride side-saddle despite her protests.
When at the age of eight, her pony was spooked by a fox darting across the lane, Elizabeth was thrown, resulting in a broken arm. She was fortunate that it was a clean break and healed perfectly after Mr Jones, the apothecary set and splinted it.
After this episode it was Mrs Bennet who horrified Mrs Taylor because she arranged for Elizabeth to be provided with split skirts so that she could ride astride.
'But it is most improper for ladies to ride astride,' the governess protested.
'That is a very silly fashion. The number of injuries to ladies could be reduced considerably if they are allowed to ride astride. I have no intention of losing my granddaughters to fashion.'
Since Mr Bennet had been horrified by the accident, he supported his mother. He also found it fascinating when he received a report from Ashcroft that for the first week after Elizabeth broke her arm, her brother complained of pain in the same limb.
~PoP~
A couple of years went by while Mrs Bennet watched over all her granddaughters. Three of them were doing very well, but one gave her some concern.
Hoping to remedy the problem, she visited her daughter-in-law for a serious conversation. 'Fanny, you know that I want what is best for all my grandchildren.'
'Y-e-s,' Fanny replied suspiciously.
'I have watched your girls and I am very pleased with Catherine's progress. She is on her way to be an accomplished young lady who should have no problem attracting a good husband once she is grown up. By grown up I mean at least eighteen years preferably twenty or older,' said Mrs Bennet.
'Older than twenty? But she'll be practically an old maid,' Fanny complained.
'Perhaps in your circles, but in the gentry and upper classes, it is more common for women to marry when they somewhere around five and twenty… give or take a couple of years.'
'That old?' A thought occurred to Fanny. 'I am six and twenty…'
'Indeed. Do you feel old?'
'No.'
'There you are then. But discussing the proper age for marriage was not the reason for my visit. I am concerned that you are teaching Lydia that she must catch a husband as soon as possible… by any means possible.' Mrs Bennet gave Fanny a hard stare, making the young woman blush. 'I am afraid that she will get not only herself but also Catherine into trouble if she does not learn to act with proper decorum.'
When Fanny opened her lips to argue, Mrs Bennet cut across her. 'You were exceedingly lucky that Henry was dying. Otherwise, he would never have married you.'
'But he was honour bound to marry me. He seduced me,' claimed Fanny with a stubborn set to her features.
'My dear girl, I know for a fact that Henry had no intention of marrying any time soon and he had set his sights considerably higher than the daughter of a solicitor. Therefore, he only dallied with professionals. If you say that he approached you, you are declaring that you were a professional harlot.'
Fanny blushed scarlet all the way down to her shoulders. 'Why are you saying such horrible things,' she cried and dropped her face into her hands.
'Out of concern for my granddaughter. I have no wish for her to end up in a similar situation to yourself, only this time with a man who only wants to enjoy the charms so willingly offered but has no reason to save her reputation.' Mrs Bennet gently pulled Fanny's hands from her face so that she had to meet her eyes. 'I never said anything in the past, but I can see Lydia heading in exactly the same direction. I do not wish to see her hurt. Do you not love your girls?'
'I do love them.'
'Then teach them to be sensible. Especially Lydia. Otherwise, if you fail to control her behaviour, my son, as her guardian, will have no other option but to send her to a strict school for her own good.'
Fanny's shoulders slumped. 'I will try.'
~PoP~
~PoP~
Equality (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023