Master of Longbourn Chapter 8 - Mentors and Students, a pride and prejudice fanfic

~MoL~

Mentors and Students

Rosings Park – 1798-1802

Lady Catherine was indeed a most attentive lady. Some people around Hunsford called her a nosy busybody… but never to her face. Despite her overbearing attitude, William liked the lady as he recognised that under all that bluster, she had a good heart.

Her attention was also directed at William Collins. Part of her reason was the provisions her husband had made in his will to further William's education, such as preparing him for the church as well as his potential inheritance.

The other, official, part was her gratitude for saving Anne's life. The unofficial reason, which she did not admit to anyone, was that she genuinely liked the boy.

He was eager to learn and to help in any way he could. He was also properly polite and respectful towards her, but never obsequious. Lady Catherine felt that Mr and Mrs Parkhurst had instilled in William the best qualities of a young gentleman.

As Lady Catherine had too many demands on her time to fulfill the duties of the mistress of the estate, she delegated those duties to Mrs Parkhurst.

Whenever William was home from school for the holidays, he would often accompany either Mr or Mrs Parkhurst on their visits to the parishioners. If those parishioners were also tenants at Rosings, Mrs Parkhurst would stop at the manor to pass on any requests for assistance which could not be supplied by the parsonage.

On some occasions it was William who reported problems which he had learnt from the children of the tenants if the wife was reluctant to bother the great lady.

As a result, without even realising it, William started to grow into the role he would play as an adult.

~MoL~

Easter holidays were usually a good time for William as that was the time when Mr Darcy came for his annual visits. The only exception was the second Easter after Sir Lewis' death when Mr Darcy stayed at Pemberley, mourning his own wife who died shortly after the birth of their daughter Georgiana.

During those visits, Mr Darcy assisted Lady Catherine with estate matters. While the lady was perfectly capable of overseeing the day to day running of Rosings, some of the men with whom she had to deal were reluctant to accept the word of a woman. While it did not take Mr Darcy long to deal with those matters, he always stayed for at least two weeks.

William sometimes thought that Mr Darcy and Lady Catherine found comfort in spending time with each other as they both still missed their spouse.

During those weeks, Mr Darcy often took the time to inspect the estate when he would explain issues which needed to be addressed to his companions. These companions were usually his son Fitzwilliam, his nephew Richard Fitzwilliam, who frequently joined them for the visits, and William Collins.

When the boys were on their own, William discovered that Sir Lewis had been wise to send him to Winchester rather than Eton.

'You have no idea how grateful I am to have Richard at school to look out for me,' mourned young Darcy during one of the visits. 'Those titled louts would make life hell for me otherwise.'

'I imagine that the teachers believe that anything that does not kill us makes us stronger,' replied Richard with a grin. 'At least you are getting better at boxing and fencing. By the time I leave, you should be well able to trounce those… ah… gentlemen.'

William listened carefully as the cousins discussed life at their school and was indeed grateful to Sir Lewis for his foresight.

~MoL~

Due to Lady Catherine's overprotective attitude towards her daughter, William rarely saw Anne de Bourgh.

He was therefore all astonishment when one morning during the summer holidays, he encountered the girl as he went for a walk at the crack of dawn.

William had woken just as the sky started to lighten and since he could not go back to sleep, he decided to enjoy the cool morning air. He had barely entered the park at Rosings when he almost ran into Anne as she came around a corner of the path.

'Miss de Bourgh,' he exclaimed. 'What are you doing here?'

Caught off-guard as she had not expected to encounter anyone, Anne answered with some asperity, 'What does it look like? I am walking.'

The obvious reply caused some amusement to the young man but also raised some concern. 'Do you think it wise to walk on your own? Does your mother know?'

Anne blushed furiously. 'Please, do not tell my mother. She never allows me anything other than a gentle stroll and I am so tired of walking in the formal gardens at a snail's pace.'

'But your health–'

'Is not as bad as my mother wants to believe and would be even better if I was allowed more proper exercise,' Anne defended her actions.

'But–'

'It has been eight years since that accident. Yes, it was difficult to breathe in the early years when I exerted myself. But I have discovered that by gradually increasing my exercise, breathing is becoming easier. But I cannot convince my mother of that.'

'Miss de Bourgh, my concern is not that you are walking but that you are walking alone. What if you had an accident.'

'Mother has given strict instructions to all the staff that they are not allowed to let me exert myself. I am only allowed to stroll in the garden… on a fine day. I am not even allowed to leave the house if there is the slightest chance of rain. I cannot ask anyone to accompany me, otherwise they risk losing their job,' Anne explained… almost patiently. At least she refrained from rolling her eyes.

When it looked like that William was going to argue further, she said, 'Mr Collins, I do not have all day to stand around talking to you and you are stopping me from getting my exercise.'

William sighed and offered her his arm. 'In that case, please allow me to accompany you.'

'Oh, very well,' Anne agreed reluctantly and took his arm. 'But if you wish to come along, please do not dawdle.'

William never had a chance to choose the direction or the speed of their walk as Anne took off at a brisk pace. After a few minutes, William relaxed as Miss de Bourgh was breathing hard but did not seem to be in any distress.

When they approached the manor William suggested, 'Perhaps if you proved to Lady Catherine that you are capable of more than a ladylike stroll, she might allow you greater freedom.'

'How do you expect me to do that, since I am not allowed out?'

'If you were to run up and down the grand staircase several times, it would prove that you have regained your energy.'

'Mother would scold me for unladylike behaviour.'

'It seems you have to make a choice. Endure a scolding or imprisonment.'

A few days later, after Lady Catherine stopped berating her daughter at the top of her voice for her hoydenish behaviour, she ordered the purchase of a phaeton and ponies for Anne's use… as long as she was accompanied by Mrs Jenkinson, her companion.

Anne also discovered that Mrs Jenkinson also enjoyed brisk walks in the park. While Anne never did fully recover from her near drowning, she was able to do almost everything other young ladies her age could achieve.

No one was allowed to witness the tears of joy which Lady Catherine spilled in her chambers at the sight of her almost healthy daughter.

~MoL~

Longbourn – 1798

Mr Bennet entered his study, which was developing into a library as he had added a great number of books to the shelves since he became master of Longbourn.

It was the one place of solace he could find in the house which had become overrun with witless females.

Less than two years ago, his youngest daughter Lydia had been born, the last child he would ever have.

He was feeling rather put out that amongst five children, Mrs Bennet had not managed to produce a son who would be the heir of Longbourn. Even though his obnoxious cousin Horace Collins, the heir presumptive, had only one child, that child was a son.

Bennet thought it ironic that Collins, who lusted after being the master of Longbourn had a son who could inherit the estate, which was entailed to the male line, whereas Bennet, who only had five useless daughters never wanted that burden.

Unfortunately, Collins was a greedy, illiterate miser, completely unsuited to managing an estate, otherwise Bennet might have been tempted to dump the whole lot on him.

Instead, Bennet was still stuck in this savage backwater without decent conversation. The situation would have been marginally tolerable if he only had a son whom he could train in the classics. How he longed for a spirited debate.

As he made his way to his desk, he noticed that one of the chairs had been moved from its customary position by the fire. It was now close to and facing the window. Curious as to the reason, he approached and found his second oldest daughter huddled into a corner, clutching a book to her chest, looking up at him with fearful eyes.

'Lizzy, what do you think you are doing in here?' he grated as he glared at Elizabeth who was not yet seven years of age.

'I am sorry, papa. I did not think you would return so soon,' said the trembling girl.

'That is obvious, otherwise you would not be in my sanctuary.'

The fearful expression was replaced by curiosity. 'What is a sanctuary?' she asked temporarily distracted from her worry. Elizabeth knew she should not be in this room, but ever since she learnt to read, she had snuck in to indulge in her love for stories whenever her father was absent.

Surprised by the question, Bennet answered simply, 'A sanctuary is a place of peace and quiet where I can read my books without being disturbed by the noise of the house and the chatter of females.'

Based on his explanation, Elizabeth thought that a sanctuary was a place of perfection. While she loved all her sisters, mostly they were noisy and not interested in reading, especially since mama discouraged them from the activity.

Gathering all her courage, she asked timidly, 'Would you share your sanctuary? I promise to be perfectly quiet.'

'Why would you wish to share my sanctuary?'

'So that I can read my book. When I try to read anywhere else, mama always takes my book away from me.'

Bennet was torn. He had no wish to share his library with anyone, but the idea of his wife confiscating books from someone who wanted to read, was abhorrent to him. Even if the silly girl was only reading an even sillier novel. Curiosity got the better of him. 'What are you reading?'

'A short history of the British Empire by Francis Plowden.'

He was stunned. 'That is not one of your books, is it?'

'No, papa. It is one of yours, but I promise I was most careful not to damage any of the pages. It is such a wonderful story.' She held out the book for him to see.

That last statement decided Bennet. If he could not have a son whom he could teach all that he knew, he would take what he could get. He also knew his wife's attitude towards book and reading. It would give him the greatest pleasure to vex her by encouraging Lizzy.

'Very well. You may come to my study, but there will be rules. When you come here, I will expect you to study. Every day.'

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. 'Truly, papa?' When Bennet nodded, she cried, 'I shall be a most faithful student.'

~MoL~

Elizabeth was true to her promise. She was a most dedicated student.

Not only did she learn all the lessons Mr Bennet set for her, but she also absorbed his attitude to life and his fellow men and women.

Even though Mr Bennet had not initially set out to impart his bias to his daughter, he could not help but be delighted when it happened and to watch the results of his teaching.

Within a year, Lizzy sneered at the ignorance of her mother, who responded by becoming ever more shrill and more determined to ensure that at least her other daughters would be perfect little ladies… by her standards.

The only person with whom Elizabeth tempered her attitude somewhat was her beloved older sister. Since Jane had protected Lizzy from their mother's interference as much as she could, and retrieving the books Mrs Bennet had confiscated, Elizabeth judged Jane worthy of at least some respect.

'Jane, why do you always go along with mama's ridiculous ideas?'

'Because it makes her happy. And just because you are very different people, it does not mean all her ideas are wrong.'

'But papa said–'

'I am sorry, Lizzy. I know that you adore papa, but he has never been a woman and therefore he lacks the experience. I will never argue with you or him about science or history or whatever, but mama does know more about running a house.' Jane gave her little sister a mischievous look. 'Just imagine papa with an apron and a lace cap…'

Jane's stratagem had the desired result. Elizabeth started to giggle, and the argument had been diverted. 'Is mama teaching you how to prepare menus?'

'Not only that, but how to plan dinners based on what is in season, and so much more. You know, you might find some of it interesting as well. After all, one day you might be running a household of your own.'

'Oh, no, Jane. I think that I shall be the spinster aunt to your ten children and teach them their accomplishments… very ill indeed.'

'If you want to teach them their accomplishments, perhaps you should learn some yourself. I remember Aunt Gardiner offering to hire masters to teach you to play the pianoforte, last time we visited her in town.'

Elizabeth considered the suggestion. 'I do like music…'

Jane smiled gently, trying not to display her relief too openly. There was hope for her younger sister.

~MoL~