Author's Note: Another chapter for you.
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Chapter 28
Richard's report of Mr. Bennet's continued indolence was no surprise to anyone at Netherfield, especially concerning his reluctance to communicate the consequences to his wife and daughter for their actions. It was evident to all that Elizabeth could not—nor should she—bear the burden of delivering such news to women who clearly detested her. Once again, the responsibility fell upon Richard, but this time, he would be accompanied by Lady Anne and George Darcy. The family believed that the presence of a titled lady and a wealthy landowner might aid in enlightening these women about the folly of their opinions regarding their worth.
The meeting proved to be challenging. Jane welcomed her guests into the room with a saccharine tone as they were ushered in. After the obligatory introductions and initial pleasantries were exchanged, she inquired with feigned sweetness, "How may I be of assistance to all of you today?"
The major was the first to speak. "We will wait on your mother. I know the housekeeper sent for her, but we need to speak to you both."
Jane cast a suspicious gaze at the rugged man dressed in uniform and pondered his presence in the room. Opting to disregard him, she turned her attention to Mr. Darcy instead. With a facade of innocence, she inquired, "Has my sister managed to cause any trouble for your family? I wouldn't be surprised; she has always been quite headstrong. It's fortunate for you that your mother can still act as the hostess of your estates, sparing you from having to depend on her. I assume you will be seeking a wife soon, someone who can follow in your dear mother's footsteps." She attempted a coquettish flutter of her eyelashes, believing it to make her more appealing to the gentlemen.
He barely restrained a chuckle. "My brother could not have chosen a more perfect wife for himself. Both my mother and I have been very impressed with Mrs Darcy, and I know my brother has no complaints about his choice."
The major joined in. "I have rarely seen my cousin so happy," he laughed. "He is far more open and content being out in society with his lovely wife by his side."
Jane scowled at this compliment to her sister but honed in on the major's connection to the Darcys. "I did not realise that you were related to the Darcys, Major Fitzwilliam," she said.
"Yes, Lady Anne is my aunt; she is my father's sister," Richard confirmed.
"Lady Anne's brother— he holds an earldom, does he not?" she inquired. Her guests simply nodded in response. Realising she was hosting an earl's son, she shifted her attention toward that gentleman. "So, you are also a member of the first circles? Well then, surely you agree that Mrs Darcy is unfitting to be in such high company."
"Not at all, Miss Bennet," Richard replied. "Had I met her first, I would have been tempted to marry her myself. She is extraordinarily lovely, witty, intelligent, and will make any man an excellent wife. When I learned of her dowry, I cursed my cousin's good luck in finding her first. Of course, she would likely have never looked at another—as I understand it, Cupid struck them both at first sight."
"Her dowry!" Jane exclaimed, her voice becoming shrill. "What dowry? My sisters and I each have one thousand pounds upon the death of my mother. How would Lizzy have gained additional funds?"
Her guests exchanged puzzled glances before Lady Anne finally spoke up. "I have not been privy to the particulars of her dowry, but I understood her grandmother left her a legacy," she replied after a moment.
Jane was furious at this revelation and began to rant about her sister's negative traits and the unfairness of others preferring her.
"My grandmother should have left that money to me as the eldest," she ranted. "I should have been the one to have a dowry. I will make her rue the day she was born."
"I believe she already does rue the day she was born into this particular family," Richard said dryly. "Although she did have an excellent grandmother, and her uncle and aunt in London are also admirable. It is just her immediate family that leaves much to be desired."
"As I understand it, her younger sisters have some redeeming qualities," Lady Anne rejoined. "And as Elizabeth is discussing their coming to Pemberley to share in Georgiana's lessons, those qualities can be improved and added to."
"My sisters are going to Pemberley?" Jane exclaimed. "Why?"
"Because they need instruction and attention, something they are not getting in this home. They needed parents who cared enough about them to teach them how to be proper ladies with accomplishments and perhaps even a touch of humility, which is not taught in this household," Lady Anne answered calmly.
"If anyone should go to Pemberley, it should be me," Jane stated, her face contorted into a rather unattractive pout.
"I realise we are still waiting on your mother, and we have not yet spoken of our reason for calling, but I can assure you, madam, that after handing me a glass filled with poison intended for my brother's wife, you will never come to Pemberley. You are fortunate that your attempt was so ill-advised and ill-concealed that no one was harmed and that your punishment, compared to the crime, will be light."
"Punishment," she asked, her voice rising in both volume and pitch.
At that moment, Mrs Bennet joined the guests in the sitting room. "What is this about a punishment? Have you decided that your son's marriage to my daughter is a punishment and will encourage him to set her aside for my Jane? Perhaps, though, it would simply be better for the elder to marry my Jane; then she can ensure that Lizzy is kept under control, and there will be no need for punishment."
Richard and George shook their heads in disbelief. "How many times will you need to be told, madam, that my brother will never set aside his wife? He loves her dearly and would never choose to be parted from her," George stated.
Lady Anne stood, causing everyone else to stand with her. "Boys, I think it is time you paid a call upon Mr Bennet for a time," she said. "I will speak with my dear Elizabeth's family and inform them of our plans. Please ask Mrs Hill to send in tea."
Mrs Bennet looked unhappy at this stranger directing her household. "I realise you hold a title, Lady Anne, but this is still my house and my servants, and you should not be ordering anyone about."
Lady Anne laughed derisively. "Not for much longer, madam. It is best you sit while I tell you about the changes that are about to occur in your life and household."
Although unhappy about this lady taking control, something in her voice made Mrs Bennet do precisely as she was told. She sat and listened as Lady Anne explained what she and her daughter had done to deserve a punishment and listened impatiently as that punishment was outlined. Mrs Bennet attempted to protest a few times, but Lady Anne had commanded her silence with a glare, proving just where her younger son had learned that action and, after some time, finished explaining.
"But, madam, my husband is yet living; how can you say he must give up his estate to the heir and take us to live in Scotland? It is not to be borne," Mrs Bennet said when Lady Anne finished.
"Your husband has abdicated his role as master of this estate and, in truth, has done so for years. My son knows this Mr Collins, and intends to write to him about taking over the estate now and hiring a steward to help him as he learns to run it. As long as your husband lives, he will receive a small portion of the estate's profits. Some will, of course, be set aside for your youngest three daughters as a dowry one day," Lady Anne replied, but Mrs Bennet cut her off.
"Why will my Jane not receive funds toward her dowry?" she demanded.
"Why? She is lucky not to be tried and hanged for attempted murder—she will not marry now. I hope to make your youngest two into girls I can introduce to society, and they will need a dowry to make a match there. Of course, it will take quite a bit of work to train them from the wild creatures they are now, but with some care and discipline, I believe they will turn out well enough."
"There is nothing wrong with my daughters," Mrs Bennet insisted.
"Believe that if you will, but if you refuse to do as we say, your daughter's trial and subsequent hanging will ruin the rest of them. Then, when Mr Collins takes the estate anyway—did you know that the father can be made to answer for the crime of an unmarried daughter?—you will have three daughters to support, along with yourself, and no one will aid you," Lady Anne said. While this might not have been wholly true, Mrs Bennet was unlikely to know the difference, and the Darcy family wanted to protect the youngest daughters and offer them a chance of success. She hoped appealing to what little sense Mrs Bennet possessed would help her make the correct decision.
"So, my husband and I, along with Jane, will be sent to live in Scotland, living off the income from my portion and whatever amount Mr Collins can be persuaded to send us?" Mrs Bennet clarified. "Otherwise, Jane will be hanged, and my daughters and I will be thrown to the hedgerows. What a poor choice for me. Jane, how could you have fallen so far as to believe that man? This is your father's fault—he brought that Mr Wickham to our door. I knew he was no gentleman. Jane would not have acted this way otherwise. And, of course, Lizzy stole Jane's opportunity to marry. None of this would have happened had she not gone to London."
Mrs Bennet began to moan and complain, blaming anyone and everyone for the problems in her life. Lady Anne was grateful that Mrs Bennet would no longer bother her or her family once she was in Scotland.
Jane had sat quietly through all of this. She was concerned about the idea of being hanged, but she was unwilling to meekly accept this punishment as it was explained to her. Surely, there was something she could do to create a better life for herself. But she had yet to figure out how to take Elizabeth's happiness for herself.
The gentlemen heard Mrs Bennet's complaints and stepped into the drawing room to see what progress had been made. Jane thought she would make one more attempt to ingratiate herself with George Darcy, but this effort proved as unsuccessful as her previous ones. Soon, the Netherfield party departed, and Jane concluded that one way to make her sister miserable was to steal her husband's affections. Jane began plotting how to enter Netherfield that night and sneak into the younger Mr Darcy's bedroom to seduce him. Convinced of her superior beauty, she believed her plan could not possibly fail.
Sneaking into Netherfield at night was far more challenging than she realised. She was not the walker her sister was, and the three miles that separated the two estates took Jane several hours to traverse. When she finally arrived, she was surprised to find the front door locked and eventually made her way around to the servants' entrance, which was also locked. Fortunately for her, she did manage to find a window that was barely open and, with significant effort, managed to slide it open enough to allow her entrance.
Finding her brother's room was the next challenge, and at this, Jane began to realise that her plan was poorly formed. She had no idea where to find her target, and there were several wings on the second floor, each containing several bed chambers. Jane tried a few but became frustrated at her lack of success. Several doors were locked, and those that were not locked were empty. In addition to bedrooms, some doors opened into sitting rooms, but those doors were almost always locked.
Entering the hallway after examining several doors off one elegantly appointed room, she saw a light moving down the hall. She peered into the darkness, trying to determine who was approaching, hoping it was her intended target.
All the men residing at Netherfield were of considerable height, but her sister's husband stood out as the tallest among them. While George Darcy had a lean frame, which showed signs of his years of over-indulgence, Major Fitzwilliam possessed a stocky, well-built physique, the result of his rigorous military training. Even Mr Livesay, the smallest of the group, was taller than most men in Meryton. As the figure approached her, Jane soon recognised from the breadth of his shoulders that Major Fitzwilliam was coming toward her.
She tried to hide herself in a dark nook of the hallway but was unsuccessful. "Miss Bennet," the deep voice of the major called out, "what on earth are you doing at Netherfield in the middle of the night? Are you here to complete what you started, or are you attempting to steal from your sister or her family?"
"I … I wanted to see my sister," she stammered.
Richard regarded her with scepticism. "In the middle of the night?" he asked, the disbelief evident in his voice. After a moment of silence, he continued, "I sincerely doubt your intent was to visit your sister. If that were the case, you would have simply knocked on the front door and been escorted to your sister's room by a servant. The fact that you are wandering the halls, peeking into rooms in the middle of the night, suggests otherwise. How did you gain entry into the house?"
He fixed her with a hard stare that he used on new recruits. It worked the same on Miss Bennet as it did on those green boys. "A window," she said in a whisper. "It was open slightly, and I was able to push it the rest of the way up and enter. I was looking for my sister's room."
"Whatever you say, Miss Bennet," Richard replied, his voice hard. As they had talked, a couple of servants had appeared, the same ones who had alerted him to the noise in the hallways. Turning to them, he stated, "I have found our intruder. I believe it is likely she is alone, but please continue to check the house. Please wake a maid and send her here so she might act as a witness that Miss Bennet is left undisturbed all night. I will escort her to her father's house in the morning."
The servants promptly complied with the instructions, leaving Richard and Jane alone in the hallway. Jane's gaze seethed with hatred, directed at the man who had once again thwarted her vengeful intentions—they remained that way for several minutes before a maid arrived. She received Richard's instructions regarding Miss Bennet's overnight accommodation and led the woman to a rather plain bedchamber. Despite Jane's attempts to dismiss her, the maid remained undeterred by the guest's wishes.
Eventually, tired of arguing with the maid and frustrated at her plans being thwarted yet again, Jane collapsed onto the bed, her tears flowing freely. The idea of moving to Scotland, something she didn't want, seemed increasingly likely with each setback.
AN: I'm planning to finish with the Bennets in the next chapter. They've packed a lot into a short period of time here in Hertfordshire. Jane is delusional but turned out worse than I intended when I started. I wanted Lydia and Kitty to be slightly better than in canon, and of course, they're all younger, which means they've had a little less time with their parents. At some point, I'll write a story with a good Mr and/or Mrs Bennet, but so far, they've all turned out kind of terrible. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please continue to comment any thoughts you have about the story and the story's direction!