The Longbourn Lending Library

Mr. Collins dies without marrying long before and Mr. Bennet breaks the entail. As the only unmarried daughter, Elizabeth inherits. What will she do with the place she loves and sometimes hates?And what about that arrogant guest at Netherfield Park?

AN: For the sake of this story, it begins after the war is over. Fitzwilliam Darcy is seven years older than Elizabeth but Charles Bingley is only twenty-four.

Longbourn, 1816

Three of the five Bennet daughters sat in the drawing room across from their Uncles Gardiner and Phillips while the latter, a solicitor, read the will. Lydia was not there because she had run off with Lieutenant Wickham in 1812 and had then vanished without a trace. Kitty was not there because she was with her husband and first child in Portsmouth and saw no reason to attend. In her own words in her letter, "Neither mother nor father every made time for me, so I will make no time for them."

The eldest three, Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary, did not begrudge their sister's harsh letter because they knew it was true. Fanny Bennet only paid heed to Kitty to scold her, tell her to let Lydia have her way, and bark at her for coughing. Thomas Bennet had dismissed her one of the "silliest girls in England" and paid her no more attention. Jane had been one of her mother's favorites while Elizabeth had been her father's, though for both it had often proven to be a backhanded blessing. Jane was harrassed and harangued endlessly to marry before her beauty faded. Elizabeth was highly educated by her father, yet disregarded whenever her desires or concerns inconvenienced him.

Fanny died of an apoplexy after her husband and brother's gave up on their search for Lydia. Lieutenant Wickham had been caught and shot for desertion, but died without telling them where the girl was. In a heedless moment the Bow Street Runner that Edward Gardiner had hired stated that the girl was "either dead or sold to a brothel." Fanny had been listening through the door. The only warning that she was there came when she collapsed to the floor, dead.

In the next four years three of the four remaining sisters had found husbands by visiting relatives and friends far away from Meryton and Longbourn. Jane found her husband in Scottland, Mary in Cambridge, and Kitty in Dorset. Elizabeth had remained resolutely at home and ran the estate in her indolent father's stead in order to raise enough for her sisters to have at least a small dowry each.

So it came as no surprise to anyone when the will was read and Elizabeth Bennet was declared to be the heir to Longbourn. It had been entailed, but after the untimely death of the male heir presumptive Mr. Bennet had displayed uncharacteristic energy in working to break the entail forever. So now the estate was Elizabeth's and the three remaining girls received an additional five-hundred each as a parting bequest.

Jane and Mary lingered for another few days then exchanged tearful farewells with Elizabeth, who then looked at her home and felt the bleakness of loneliness in the once loud and bustling home.

But Elizabeth Bennet, then five and twenty, was not made for melancholy. She had often considered what she would do with this pile and the estate if it belonged to her, so now she intended to make it happen... beginning with what was left of her mother's hoarded jewelry and her father's rare books.

Netherfield Park, 1819

Fitzwilliam Darcy, then thirty-five, groaned as he surveyed the nearly bare shelves in the Netherfield Park library and cursed himself for not bringing along more of his own books. He resolved to write to his housekeeper at Darcy House in London with instructions to send an entire crate of his favorites, lest he go mad.

Darcy had been good friends with Howard Bingley for some years and counted him as a trusted mentor. The man had been steeped in trade while Darcy was a gentleman, yet Darcy had trusted him for advice once he suddenly became the Master of his family's vast properties and fortune at the age of twenty-two. That advice, along with the man's support, had guided him through the many dangers of wealth and investment and had resulted in a deep friendship, though Howard Bingley was many years his senior. So when the man had asked him to watch over his son on his deathbed, Darcy could not refuse.

Sadly, while the man's son Charles was a man of decent character, he had none of his father's industry, drive, or intrepidity. Howard's daughters were even worse. Having left their raising to his wife, what resulted was two young women who thought too highly of themselves and too little of others. Worse, they were the worst example of grasping social climbers.

Recently Charles Bingley, to honor his father's dream, had decided to abandon trade altogether and become a landed gentleman. Darcy, having his doubts, had suggested that the man should lease instead to make certain that that life was right for him. In return he had promised to spend a month whole at Netherfield, the man's leased estate, to teach him the ins and outs of estate management.

What Darcy had not anticipated was that Charles Bingley would bring his married sister and her husband along, or that he would install his unmarried sister as his hostess. Louisa and Albert Hurst had thus far proven to be merely annoying leeches on Charles. Caroline Bingley, however, had resolved to "catch" the aging bachelor and become the next mistress of his vast estates. Of course Darcy wanted none of it.

Just as he abandoned his search for new reading material, his valet, Stevens, offered a suggestion, "Sir, it is my understanding that a local gentlewoman had established a lending library on her estate. She is a spinster and, like her deceased father, a great reader, so you might find books more to your liking there.

Elizabeth Bennet drove her gig up the drive and noted a tall black stallion tied to the hitching post. A stable hand stepped up to take charge of her horse and trap and she smiled at the young man, "Thank you, Withers. I may need Percy to pull the gig again later this afternoon, so could you brush him down, and feed him, but keep him handy?"

"That I will, Ma'am," the gangly young man answered, then led the horse and the small two-wheeled carriage towards the stable. Elizabeth took a moment to survey her domain. Longbourn Village, which had once been a thriving little town, had been mostly neglected and abandoned by the last three generations of Bennets. Now, under her guidance, it was beginning to thrive again.

With the end of the wars the prices of grains had dropped dramatically, but the hunger for flowers, herbs, and herbal remedies had grown. So also the desires for such things as jellies, jams, cordials, and ointments. She had largely left her tenants to their own choices, other than imposing the four-course system of crop rotation and upgrading the shared farm equipment. But the home farm had been completely reworked to support her new ideas. In addition, she had hired the wives and daughters of her tenants and others in the area to help produce the items that now graced the shelves of many upscale shops in London and other cities.

To fund this alteration Elizabeth had sold off her mother's gowns, lace, and jewelry, saving a few baubles each for the other three sisters. Then she had done the same with her father's collection of rare tomes. The latter were auctioned at such high prices that it made Elizabeth's head spin. Sadly, it also added to her disillusionment with her once-beloved father. Those funds could have done so much for his daughters and for improving the estate! Well now that is exactly what it was doing! Longbourn, which barely earned two-thousand per annum under her father, now earned over three... and growing.

Many of the workers who had joined her enterprise now made their home in Longbourn Village, and the image of a thriving village always made her happy to witness.

The one part of her father's contribution to her own life that she still cherished, however, was a love of learning. She was who she was today and able to run this estate because of the freedom that she was given to read. So in return, even though she had sold all but a few of her father's most expensive books, she had retained most of the lesser books and had added to them, creating a lending library so that anyone, even the lowliest servant or tenant farmer, could read, learn, and grow.

Elizabeth turned away from the view now and began removing her bonnet and gloves as she entered her home.

Fitzwilliam Darcy had been skeptical at first when he approached Longbourn. The word "spinster" implied an unmarriageable and possibly desperate woman. But as he crossed over into Longbourn lands he immediately recognized a very well-managed estate, with thriving farms that boasted various crops, the obvious use of the four-course system, and well-kept tenant homes. Approaching the home farms, he first saw the color and then caught the pleasant scents of numerous flowers and herbs. There were also quite a few women, young and old, working there.

Finally, he noted the manor village and saw that it was a thriving little community with industrious and seemingly content people. The manor house itself, an early Georgian-Era brick structure, was in well cared for and pleasant to look at. Stevens said that Longbourn is under the care of an aging spinster. She must have hired a very good steward to have such a prosperous estate.

An old man and woman oversaw the lending library, which was a part of the house but entered through an outside door. Darcy was extremely pleased to find that the large room was full of shelves and that these shelves featured many old favorites as well as modern works. Better yet, though novels did have a prominent place, classics, foreign works, philosophy, and even ancient texts (translated and original) were also available.

There were also several placed to just sit and enjoy a book on-site. Darcy was in no hurry to return to Netherfield Park, so he found an old favorite, a comfortable chair by a window, and settled down to read.

Some twenty minutes after he began reading, Darcy heard the sound of a horse and carriage on the gravel drive. Looking up he saw a horse and gig approaching, conveying a very pretty lady whose auburn hair was escaping the confines of her bonnet. For a few minutes Darcy watched, captivated, as the hostler rushed out to take control of her horse and then she stood, silently looking over the village. He wondered who the young woman was and if she had any relation to the estate owner. He found himself hoping that she might be coming to also use the lending library.

Eventually she stopped gazing at the village, turned, and entered the manse through the main door. Just as she entered, Darcy distinctly heard the woman being greeted as "Miss Bennet." Knowing that was also the name of the spinster, he wondered how they were related.

Darcy tried to return his attention to his book, but found the image of the beautiful woman with her auburn hair, fine eyes, and equally fine figure intruding on his thoughts. He was about to give up, check out several books, and return to Netherfield when the subject of his wayward thoughts stepped into the lending library, "Good morning Henry, Agatha. I hope that all is well with both of you this morning?"

"Oh yes, your ladyship," the elderly man answered first, bowing. "We've had several regular customers and one stranger so far this morning."

The beautiful lady sighed, "Henry, how often must I remind you that I am not 'your ladyship,' but simply Miss Bennet. My sister Jane is married to a Scottish laird, so she holds that title, and my sister Catherine's husband was recently knighted for his contribution to controlling the seas, so she also holds that title. But I am merely a miss, despite my advancing years."

The younger girl who was helping in the shop giggled and replied, "You'll never get my grandfather to call you any different, Miss Bennet. You run a big estate better than anyone before you, and you employ so many people. Please don't mind his stubbornness."

Darcy was shocked to realize that this... this young beauty was the "spinster of Longbourn"! He must have jerked or reacted too strongly, because a pair of green, twinkling eyes turned his way. "Greetings, Sir. I hope that you have found a book or two to your liking? Between my father and I we collected and read a vast variety, so there should be something for almost everyone."

Mr. Darcy stood, remembering that he was a gentleman and that this was a lady, "Pardon me for not rising. My name is Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Pemberley in Derbyshire."

The beautiful woman tilted her head for a moment in though, then smiled widely, "Ah yes! I know the place. Some years ago I took a holiday to the Peak District with my aunt and uncle. My aunt was born in the village of Lambton and so wanted to visit her old haunts again. While there we took a tour of your estate... I have never seen a place where nature has done so much, or where man has done so little to disturb it with awkward taste..." She trailed off and her smile fell a little, as it that memory had prompted another less pleasant one. Then she seemed to rally, "Be it ever so humble, I welcome you to Longbourn. It is not as magnificent, but it has been in my family for seven generations."

Darcy nodded, "I was impressed from the time that I crossed over into your estate. The tenant farms are productive, their homes well-maintained, and the home farm is quite remarkable with all of the flowers, herbs, and berry fields."

This seemed to greatly please Miss Bennet. She rewarded his compliment with an enchanting smile which made Darcy wonder how such a beauty could have failed to be married off yet. She answered, "Should you ever desire a tour of the estate of village, please let me know. It cannot compare to your estate, but I am exceedingly proud of it."

Darcy, holding the beautiful woman's fine eyes, answered that he would like that very much.

When Elizabeth excused herself that morning it was to catch her breath and to regain her equilibrium. She had never met a man like this one and had never had one make such an impact on her senses. Truthfully, at eight and twenty, she had abandoned all hope of ever meeting a man that stirred such feelings within her. She had to leave lest she made a fool of herself!

Longbourn Village, the following day

Elizabeth took great pleasure in strolling though Longbourn village that next afternoon, showing off the still-rooms, shops, and small manufactories where people were making the various products that her estate sent to market all over the surrounding area. The wagons carrying fresh flowers always departed right before dawn, but the production of jellies, elixirs, cordials, and the like continued on all day. It had always pleased her before, but now she felt a special thrill in explaining everything to this tall, handsome, and almost overpowering man.

Darcy, for his part, rewarded Miss Elizabeth Bennet's undivided attention by praising all that she had accomplished and by being suitably impressed by it all. He also placed a rather large order for many of her products to be sent to both Darcy House in London and Pemberley in Derbyshire.

Over the following weeks Darcy did his best to guide the indolent and obviously reluctant young Charles Bingley in all of the many and various tasks of estate management. He even took the man on tours of Longbourn to show him what a well-managed estate should look like. Unfortunately the boy was more interested in the beautiful mistress of Longbourn than in learning anything about her estate. For her part she was largely unimpressed with the puppyish boy and focused instead on Mr. Darcy.

Eventually Darcy was spending more time in the lending library of Longbourn than he was at Netherfield. After one serious heart-to-heart discussion with Bingley, it was decided that land ownership and estate management would never be the right fit. The Bingleys and the Hursts abandoned the estate and departed, leaving Darcy to assume the lease. He sent a letter to his married sister, who brought her two children down so that she could play temporary hostess while her brother finally wooed a worthy woman.

Lady Georgiana Carston loved Elizabeth Bennet right away and absolutely supported her brother's courtship. She and her husband had sufficient properties of their own for their own sons and she had been pushing her brother for years to get married and begat an heir. Now, instead of settling for some woman of the Ton, her brother had found the perfect match for himself!

Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam gravitated toward each other as if they had always been meant to be together. Two people who had never found a match suddenly found the only person that either would ever wish to marry. After a whirlwind courtship that lasted only four months, Elizabeth Bennet finally set aside her family name to become Mrs. Darcy. Fitzwilliam purchased Netherfield Park as a wedding present for his wife and added it to Longbourn, thus making it the largest estate in the area. The couple usually spent their winters at Longbourn and their summers at Pemberley. They had little or nothing to do with London.

Despite their late marriage, they eventually had six children who loved both estates and became deeply involved in the enterprises of each. When the children came of age the couple were quite happy to turn over the operation of both estates to their industrious and ambitious children. By that time some of the products coming out of both estates were even known to be used in the Royal Palace, so the family had reason to be proud.

Once finally shed of the crushing responsibilities that had characterized both of their early years, Fitzwilliam Darcy took his beloved Elizabeth on their own Grand Tour. The year-long holiday turned into a latter-years lifestyle and the handsome old couple saw all of the places that they had always longed to visit in their youth, but never could.

On another note: the family home of Longbourn was moved to Netherfield Park after the purchase, whereupon the entirety of Longbourn Manor was made into what might now be described as a community center for the workers. The individual rooms were used to house young, single ladies who worked for the enterprise. The common rooms were used for lessons, lectures, musicals, and the like. And the lending library was expanded and improved. Wherever the Darcys, old and young alike, journeyed they would purchase books for themselves and also purchase books to ship to the library.

Many of the servants, workers, and farmers of the area gained enough education at the former Longbourn manor to allow them to achieve higher stations in life. Some even went on to attend colleges or universities, often using scholarships provided by the Darcy family.


AN: Hope that you enjoyed. I wanted to write a later-marriage story where neither Darcy nor Elizabeth were married and neither of their spouses had to die.

To the Guest reviewer from the previous chapter concerning taking a boat from Portsmouth to London. In my only European ship cruise (many decades ago) I flew to London, boarded a pleasant ferry to travel the Thames out to the Channel, then down to Portsmouth, whereupon I boarded a cruise ship which took us into the Mediterranean. I finally flew home from Greece. I suppose that was in my mind when I wrote what I wrote, so I did not think to indicate the necessary route in between. Thanks for pointing out the omission. If you read it again, I hope that it makes better sense.