Pride and Prejudice

AU

No Common Lady

Previously

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Continue supporting Mrs. Fletcher and make sure you steer clear of advice, or association from this Mr. Preston -even if it is simply by letter form."

"Will do."

Bennet's Talk With Mrs. Fletcher

Ch. 10

Mrs. Fletcher sat in the parlor overlooking the gardens totally unaware she was being watched by Mr. Bennet. He saw how tired Lydia's friend looked, not physically, but emotionally. Her shoulders were slumped and her head in her hands as her arm rested on the windows sill. Mr. Bennet half thought sleep, for her, would be a welcomed escape even though bedtime was not for another hour at least. The gentleman did not have to guess why. He was sure more than his family had been getting that pesky letter. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously approached Mrs. Fletcher making his presence known as not to startle her, and there was definitely no desire to see her fleeing from the room.

"May I join you?" He pointed to a nearby seat, only after getting permission did he sit down.

"Did I forget something?" Aurelia asked nervously when he did not speak right away, not able to fathom what it would have been, but not daring to assume she had not overlooked a chore.

"No." Thomas smiled, but then gave one very long sigh. "I owe you an apology, one that is long overdue."

"For what?" Mrs. Fletcher sat straight thinking for sure she should be looking for other employment rather than sticking around the Bennet home. However, Aurelia dreaded leaving Lydia as there had been so much improvement, and the concern over what the young lady might do if she were to leave without much notice was high. It did not help her funds were low. She simply had been so focused on keeping her word of no pay that it was a situation the lady had been unable to change.

"For going to West Sussex months ago for my answers, instead of coming straight to you." When Mrs. Fletcher fidgeted with her fingers and appeared unsure what to say he continued speaking. "I do not know everything; I know enough and, no, I did not keep you around out of pity. I wanted you to stay for the sake of my daughter." Mr. Bennet lifted his hands and slowly lowered them. "I was grateful she came home unmarred, and yet she was too quiet, it worried me just as much. I did not think I would even get a shell of my daughter back. I began to wonder if she would ever be able to function outside the four walls of my home." He gave a soft smile towards Mrs. Fletcher. "You have enabled Lydia to live among society in manner she was not capable of before. However," Mr. Bennet let out a long breath of air. "That does not excuse me going elsewhere for my answers. If you must hate me, you have every right. However, please do not consider leaving because of the letters being mailed by Ambrose Preston to me, my family and friends. I have it on good authority." Thomas chuckle. "Meaning my daughter, Elizabeth..." The vast majority are tossing those letters into the fire where they belong. My daughter can be quite persuasive when she wants to be." He shook his head. "Mr. Preston clearly cares only about what society appears to think of a person in relation to their wealth. There are other things he stated which tells me any money advise Mr. Preston attempted to offer me I should run from. And, I will admit, the one I asked about you already warned me about him and gave you glowing recommendations."

"Nice to know someone over that way would actually speak kindly of me; thought they all had it out for me."

"Not all." Mr. Bennet then asked her about Ambrose. "I have been warned not to listen to him, would you mind telling me, what your point of view is in regard to Mr. Preston is?"

"For one, you are wise to heed the advice to run from his counsel. He would rob you blind if he can. Leave you penniless and on the streets without regret. My cousin loses one relative's home and causes another one to lose theirs, moves into it and repeats the cycle. However, our one saving grace is he is addicted to city living. Unless there is high society surrounding him; he cannot handle it. I hope your family and friends heed your advice or they will find themselves in dire straits, for he is not beyond robbing country people blind."

"What are his motivations for plaguing you so much? Why is he not behind bars by now?"

"As to me? He prefers to blame me for all his problems as he did when we were young rather than grow up and own his actions to himself. Nothing complicated there." Mrs. Fletcher shook her head. "His wife is just bad. As to the law? I keep expecting him to be there, why he is not; I do not know."

"I think I will personally talk to Mr. Collins, as much as I do not care for the man; he needs a second chance to listen." Mr. Bennet then stood up as he then reiterated to please not look for employment elsewhere. "Lydia needs you. We need you. And, as much as I respected, and honored, your request to come on as a servant, a companion for Lydia is much more suiting, especially as you continue to refuse proper pay." He then confessed they had gotten away with inviting her to the social simply because his family had allowed people to believe Mrs. Fletcher was already Lydia's companion. "We should have told you upfront, but truth be told we have all had our minds so much on Lydia we slipped up on that one."

"You best be glad I did not open up my mouth on the subject then."

"Believe me, I am."

Aurelia watched Mr. Bennet leave the room. He amazed her. Ambrose would have been better off learning from life as had Thomas Bennet - in spite of him slipping up on telling her about how she had gotten away with going to the party. Two men, both with high intellect and who started out with a fair amount of wealth and neither one had planned well. However, that is where the similarities ended. Thomas had gotten a hold of his finances in spite of a very bad investment and, while not as wealthy as Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingley, he had gained a shocking amount of it back - with no harm to the innocent. His sarcasm came and went; depending on whom it was he was dealing with, and the games Mrs. Fletcher had seen him play with his family had shown the man was no dull tool. Mr. Bennet had even allowed her to join in the game when Lydia had asked for her to join in.

"I think, my dear, Mrs. Fletcher, I shall have to consider having you as a partner more often when we play whist, for we have won against Mr. Darcy and my daughter, Elizabeth." He had grinned wide, and the Darcy's had been gracious losers.

Mr. Preston was a different story. He had no class, no real sharp mind other than to figure out how to take people's money and keep a roof over his head that he had not truly worked for. Mrs. Fletcher blamed Mr. Preston's ethics just as much on his wife as she did on her cousin only because there had been enough personal dealings with the lady to justify the conclusion. Looking down at Dash, Mrs. Fletcher patted her lap and her dog jumped onto her lap.

"For the first time, in a very long time, I do not feel the need to look to a new area in which to reside. I hope I am not making a mistake."