About Lizzie starting to manage Longbourn at 12 – I did say that she was assisted by Bennet and the steward. Bennet would not just hand over the estate and walk away – at least not this one.
Have you considered that midshipmen in the navy started at the age of 12? And they risked being shot at…
Btw the younger girls will not be presented. They are not the offspring of nobility.
~~PoP~~
Netherfield
The Earl was as good as his word. In August he informed Bennet that not only was the purchase complete, but he had also found a tenant who would take possession in September. Although the Earl had been careful to preserve Mary's privacy and only the agent's name was on the lease.
The tenant, Mr Bingley, was the son of a tradesman who was leasing the estate to decide whether he was suited to the life of a landed gentleman. His two sisters, one of whom would be his hostess, and the husband of the older sister were to accompany him.
The inhabitants of Meryton and its environs were quick to discover that Netherfield had been let and were eagerly looking forward to meeting their new neighbours. The gossips were excited to discuss the fact that Mr Bingley was young, wealthy and most importantly – single.
~PoP~
The day after news came that Mr Bingley and his family had arrived at Netherfield, Mrs Elizabeth Bennet asked her son while they enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, 'Are you planning on visiting Mr Bingley?'
Bennet looked up from his paper as he answered, 'I suppose that I should.' He paused and added, 'I confess that I am curious whether Ashcroft's agent picked simply a suitable tenant or whether Ashcroft is hoping to matchmake.'
Mrs Bennet, who had become good friends with her son's in-laws smiled and said, 'I suspect it might be both, although since this Mr Bingley is the son of a tradesman, Ashcroft may have thought to provide an opportunity for one of the other young ladies of the area. I know that he is hoping for more advantageous matches for your children.'
'He can hope all he wants, I want the children to be happy first,' Bennet immediately refuted that idea.
'Thomas, there is no need for you to become defensive, I know from Mary that he is simply hoping that the two can be combined.'
Bennet allowed himself to be mollified. 'As long as he is not trying to push any of the children into a marriage of convenience, I shall not argue if a love-match happens to be advantageous as well.'
He took another sip of coffee and considered the situation. 'In answer to your earlier question, I believe that this afternoon would be a good time to pay the man a visit.'
'Excellent. Let me know what you think of his hostess. I might visit her myself if she should want advice.' Mrs Bennet gave a rueful smile. 'Not that she will need much advice from me, since she has Mrs Nicholls.'
~PoP~
At Netherfield the atmosphere was less pleasant, although Mr Bingley was grateful that his sister was sulking quietly, rather than throwing a tantrum like she had the day before.
Caroline Bingley was the youngest of the siblings at the age of twenty but due to her volatile temperament she often ruled the Bingley household.
Her brother Charles at the age of four and twenty was technically the head of the family but much of the time he gave in to Caroline, particularly when she refused to listen to anything she did not wish to hear.
The other residents currently at Netherfield were Bingley's older sister Louisa and her husband Reginald Hurst, a fashionable gentleman whom she had married two years earlier.
The quiet did not last long as Caroline took up her complaint again. 'You do realise that I only agreed to come to this godforsaken wilderness because you promised that Mr Darcy would join us. Although I could not see how a wealthy and important gentleman like him could agree to be dragged away from London by you. And now I am proven right. He has abandoned us in this savage backwater for the delights of town.'
Bingley sighed and rubbed his temples. 'Caroline, how often do I have to tell you that Darcy had to deal with a family emergency and he will join us as soon as he can.' When his sister opened her mouth to continue her complaint, he cut her off. 'Apart from that, Netherfield is not in a wilderness. We are only four and twenty miles from London.'
'The distance between here and London may not be so great in the number of miles, but in sophistication and elegance there is no comparison. We might as well be on the moon. There is not a single person in this neighbourhood of any consequence.'
Once Caroline had started on her tirade, there was no stopping her. Her family chose the path of least resistance and ignored her.
~PoP~
When Bennet arrived at Netherfield and the footman opened the door at his knock, he was treated to the strident ire of Miss Bingley in full flight, even though the door to the drawing room was closed.
Bennet managed to suppress most of the amused smile which threatened as he handed his card to the footman and said, 'Good afternoon, Simon. I have come to call on Mr Bingley, but if this is a bad time, I can call another day.'
Simon Baxter, whose father was one of the Longbourn tenants, was not yet as versed in controlling his expression. He openly grinned as he said, 'I believe that Mr Bingley would be delighted to receive you. Perhaps you would like to wait in the library?'
'If you are sure that I am not intruding…'
Simon firmly closed the front door and led Bennet to the indicated room. 'I am sure that Mr Bingley will not be long.'
Even though Simon had known his new employer for only two days, it seemed that he had already come to know him well. Bennet had been waiting for only two minutes when Bingley entered the library.
~PoP~
Bingley greeted Bennet effusively and his visitor wondered if that was his usual mode of address or if it was in response of having been provided with a respite from what was clearly an uncomfortable situation.
While the gentlemen exchanged the usual pleasantries, Simon entered with a tray and served coffee to both men.
Once they were comfortably seated by the fire, Bennet said with a broad smile, 'Your arrival has been anticipated with great enthusiasm by my neighbours.'
'Surely not.'
'Indeed, it was. This blasted war with France has lured many of our young men to join the army, leaving the local ladies with an insufficient number of swains.' Bennet chuckled. 'I should warn you that according to the local matrons, a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. I am afraid that you must brace yourself for an onslaught of visits by mothers with marriageable daughters.'
'From your comments and attitude, I gather that you do not have any daughters or a very sensible wife,' Bingley laughed at the mischievous air of his visitor.
A brief shadow passed over Bennet's features as he said, 'I am afraid you have this the wrong way around. While my wife was very sensible, she has been gone for many years. But you may rest easy, Mr Bingley, although I do have two daughters, they both consider themselves too young to marry… if they choose to marry at all.'
'They must be very young indeed to have no interest,' Bingley answered, curious about this unusual attitude.
'I confess they are not all that young as they are both out in society. They are simply not prepared to marry just for the sake of marrying. The right man might change their mind, but as I said, they are not in any hurry. And I must admit that I would be pleased to keep them to myself for quite a few years yet.' Bennet grinned in response to Bingley's curiosity. 'But what of yourself? Why have you come to grace us with your company, if you do not mind my asking?'
Bingley did not mind and quite happily explained his background and his reason for leasing Netherfield. Perhaps he went into greater detail than absolutely necessary, but he seemed to enjoy the company. The library was certainly more restful than the drawing room had been.
~PoP~
While Bingley was chatting with Bennet, his sister was busy finding out about the man's family from her maid, who had been tasked with learning about the locals from the servants.
'Mr Bennet owns Longbourn, the nearest estate and has two daughters who are twenty and eighteen years old,' Lucy reported, knowing what her mistress would be most interested in. 'The girls are reported to be most genteel thanks to Mr Bennet's mother who lives with them.'
'Is there a Mrs Bennet other than the mother?'
'Yes, there is a young Mrs Bennet.'
''So, tell me about Mrs Bennet.
'Which Mrs Bennet? Mrs Bennet Senior or young Mrs Bennet who married–'
'The mother of the girls, of course. Who cares about the old crone.' Caroline interrupted Lucy before the maid could clarify the relationship.
'Young Mrs Bennet is the daughter of Mr Gardiner, who was the solicitor hereabouts until a couple of years ago when he died. Mr Phillips, who is married to Mrs Bennet's sister is the new solicitor… and a very good one he is too, I am told.'
'So, Mrs Bennet is not a gentlewoman,' mused Caroline with a nasty smile.
'Begging your pardon, Miss, but I was told that women take on their husband's status when they marry, and the Bennets are gentlefolk from way back.'
Caroline waved a negligent hand. 'Who cares. The point is that the mother of those girls was not born a gentlewoman. What else can you tell me about her?'
'Well, they did say that she was lucky that she was not in the family way for very long. She gave birth to her girls but six months after her wedding.'
'Better and better,' murmured Caroline. The daughter of a tradesman who gave away her favours before her marriage. Neither Charles nor Mr Darcy would want to be tied to a daughter of such a woman.
~PoP~
A few days later, Bingley returned the visit of Mr Bennet. His choice was impelled by his curiosity about two young ladies who were not chasing potential husbands.
After the obligatory courtesies, Bennet was tempted to prevent Bingley from meeting the girls at this time but decided it would be better for all concerned to gather their first impressions in the more relaxed atmosphere of Longbourn. He therefore invited Bingley to take refreshments in the drawing room.
As it happened, Elizabeth and Mary were having tea with their grandmother when Bennet entered with Bingley and made the introductions.
Bennet was amused when Bingley politely greeted Mrs Bennet and Elizabeth but seemed to be rather taken with Mary. As she had grown older, Mary had developed into a tall and willowy young woman, with the fair beauty of an English rose. As she was very much of a type which Bingley favoured, he could hardly take his eyes off her.
Mary on the other hand showed no particular interest in their new neighbour. She was still not used to the company of strange men and was made uncomfortable by Bingley's stares. Mrs Bennet helped out by distracting Bingley with questions.
'How do you like Hertfordshire, Mr Bingley?' the lady asked and was rewarded by an enthusiastic answer.
'I like it a great deal indeed. I find the neighbours are exceedingly welcoming. Many gentlemen have come to call, and Sir William Lucas even invited us to your next assembly, which I understand is the day after tomorrow. I hope you ladies will allow me to request a set from each of you,' he asked while looking at Mary.
Elizabeth suppressed a mocking smile as Bingley was rather obvious in his admiration of her sister. Mrs Bennet took pity on Mary and teased Bingley, 'I am afraid that I must decline your gracious offer, but I am afraid that I am not as spry as I used to be, and country dances are rather beyond my capabilities these days.'
That answer finally caught Bingley's attention to the fact that he had been ignoring his hostess. He managed to recover himself and for the rest of the visit included everyone in the conversation, although he did manage to extract a promise of one set each from the sisters.
As Bingley was leaving, with Bennet escorting him out, they encountered Kitty in the hallway.
'Catherine, have you only just finished with your lessons for today?' Bennet asked.
'Yes, Uncle Bennet. I was having some problems with my painting, and Mrs Taylor kindly helped me see what I was doing wrong. I suppose that it took longer than I thought.'
'In that case I will not keep you. John will see you home,' Bennet said but when Bingley cleared his throat he added, 'but while you are here, I would like you to meet Mr Bingley, who has recently leased Netherfield. Mr Bingley, my niece, Miss Catherine Bennet, the older daughter of my older brother, who is unfortunately deceased.'
Bingley saw a lovely young girl on the brink of womanhood, but still dressed appropriately for a girl not yet out of the schoolroom. He greeted her with exaggerated courtesy causing her to blush.
'It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Bingley, but I am afraid that I must rush,' Catherine managed to whisper, before dashing out the door.
As there was nothing else to delay him, Bingley made his own farewells and made his way to his new home.
~PoP~
Bingley returned to Netherfield in high spirits. He had met with several pleasant neighbours and had been lucky enough to make the acquaintance of a number of lovely ladies. Foremost amongst them was Miss Mary Bennet.
At dinner the discussion naturally revolved around their neighbours. When Bingley waxed lyrical about the charms of Miss Mary, Caroline pounced. 'You cannot be seriously interested in that girl. I hear her mother, who is the daughter of a tradesman, is quite atrocious. You know, loud, crass and mercenary. I am certain that if you show the slightest interest, she will push that girl onto you.'
'Caroline, wherever do you get your outlandish ideas? Mr Bennet is a widower, and his daughters are two charming and genteel ladies. The only Mrs Bennet in that household is his mother who would make any of your friends appear like unmannered hoydens.' Bingley did not mention yet again that he considered his sister's manner equal to her friends.
'I have it on excellent authority that the mother of those girls is young Mrs Bennet,' Caroline insisted.
'I suppose that the woman of whom you are speaking could be Mr Bennet's widowed sister-in-law who was married to his older brother. He did not mention how many children she has, but I briefly met her older daughter.'
'That is just as I feared. I am told that this Mrs Bennet was fortunate to be married as her daughters were born very early into her marriage. With a mother like that I am certain that her daughters are equally fast, and that trollop will do her best to snare you.'
Bingley was horrified at the vitriol his sister was spouting. 'Caroline, get a hold on yourself. Your imagination and your mouth are running away with you. The older daughter whom I met is still a shy young girl not yet out of the schoolroom.'
Miss Bingley sniffed. 'Be that as it may, you would still do well to be careful and stay away from that family. You have no idea to what lengths these country mushrooms will go to snare a husband.'
'You really should listen to Caroline,' suggested Hurst with a sly smile. 'After all, your sister has a great deal of personal experience in that subject.'
Hurst was fortunate that Miss Bingley's aim was notoriously bad and her knife fell harmlessly to the floor.
~PoP~
~~E~~
A Plethora of Peers (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023