Author's Note: Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or errors in the story. We are starting to wind down. Thank you to everyone who has pointed out errors; I have fixed them in my original text but have not updated them here yet. I will get to that eventually. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your feedback!

Chapter 33

Mrs Bennet sat staring at her husband in disbelief. "How could you have agreed to all of this?" she demanded, growing angry with her husband for being his usual taciturn self. "You have known this for days and had opportunities to tell me since returning but did not say a word to me."

"If I had told you, I would have only had to listen to you complaining about the situation for days. Now, it is done, there is nothing you can do about it, and you still have Lydia with you. It is not as though you cared that much about the other girls anyway. Perhaps Jane a little more than the others, but you ignored Mary and Kitty." Mr Bennet was already tired of speaking and only wanted his room to himself. There were still a few books left to distract him, and if he were careful, perhaps he could purchase a few more at a second-hand store.

She huffed. "How will we manage to live on so little? Do you have a plan to increase the income of the estate? You have let it decrease in recent years, as you have become reliant on having the money from Elizabeth. What happened to the plan to have Mr Collins marry Mary? She is no longer here to make her marry him; will the Gardiners enforce the contract?"

"There is no contract, nor would your brother have required Mary to marry where she did not wish. We will simply need to learn to get by on less. I suppose I can continue some of the improvements Lizzy had started, but I do not know how much they will actually help. Perhaps, if we just do not send the funds to London to either the Darcys or the Gardiners, they will not miss them. That will allow us to keep more for ourselves. You only have yourself and Lydia to dress now, and since Lydia is desirous of getting married, that will mean one fewer person to be responsible for. There are other places within the household where you can save on expenses; sit down with Mrs Hill and see what can be done."

For the second time that day, Mrs Bennet was stunned into silence. She did not know what to think about all that she had been told that day. Silently, she left her husband's bookroom and went to her own sitting room to think matters over.

Mrs Bennet was not a woman used to introspection. She was much more likely to find a way to blame others around her, and that is what she did. She was in her sitting room for fewer than fifteen minutes when she began to believe herself ill-used and feeling faint, and began calling for Mrs Hill to bring her her salts. As she waited, she shrieked for Lydia to join her, and the two began to form a plan.

"Lydia, we must go to London to meet with Lizzy. She will surely recognize you, her cousin, and will want to take you in and help you make a good match. Since her other cousins have forsaken us, and she sees you have stayed with your parents, she will want to assist you. We will convince her to provide you with all the best clothes and introduce you to the ton."

"La, why would I want any of that? I want to marry an officer who wears a red coat. There are several handsome men in the militia who will do quite well. And now that all my sisters have left us I will have all of their dowries, will I not? Surely I will be a far greater prize with five thousand pounds all to myself?"

"Perhaps you can still marry an officer, but one in the regulars. Now that you have so many more opportunities, you will not want to settle for second best."

Mrs Bennet's words made Lydia pause for only a moment. "No, I believe that Denny or Carter will do quite well. Captain Carter is likely the better choice, though Denny is more handsome. I am certain I can make them both fall in love with me."

"Still, if we go to London and get Lizzy to purchase you fine dresses, they will fall in love with you so much more quickly. Not to mention all the ribbons and lace that Lizzy can purchase for you."

Lydia seemed to consider this. "I suppose I can spare a few days. Perhaps a few days out of their company would help the officers realise how much they would miss me." She thought for another moment. "But we cannot be gone too long. I would not want Mary King or Maria Lucas to take my place."

Mrs Bennet agreed and told her they would remain no longer than a sennight in London, believing that her niece would pay for her daughter's gowns to be expedited. She asked Mrs Hill to begin making the arrangments, including informing the driver of their intention to depart in the morning. "And you must have him discover Lizzy's new address in London. Mr Bennet must have it somewhere in his office."

"I am sorry, madam, but I am afraid that is impossible," the housekeeper replied.

"What do you mean?" Mrs Bennet asked.

"Mr Bennet has forbidden you from using the carriage, especially to travel to London."

"Why?" she demanded.

"My understanding is that you are not welcome there. The Gardiners will no longer recognize you, so you cannot stay with them, and Miss Lizzy, or rather Mrs Darcy, wants nothing to do with you. She would not welcome you in her home."

"But I am the closest thing she has to a mother. I have raised her since she was five or six years old. How can she not want me to visit?"

"You will have to speak to your husband, madam. And in case Mr Bennet has not yet informed you, Mr Hill and I will be leaving here in a fortnight. We have been offered another position and have decided to take it."

"What!" the matron nearly shouted. "You cannot leave me. Who will I hire as a housekeeper if you depart?"

"Madam, your husband informed us that he will no longer be able to afford to keep us at the same salary as we have been receiving. When another position was offered, we could not turn it down. We have a month before we need to arrive at our new posts, we we informed your husband this morning of our desire to depart. He agreed, seeing as he could not afford to keep us on."

"But I need you here. I cannot possibly run Longbourn without you. Surely you would not mind the decrease in pay so much since you are so desperately needed here."

"No, madam, my husband and I know what we are worth. The new position not only pays us more but we have been promised a cottage in a few years when we decide we are ready to retire. We would not have that at Longbourn," Mrs Hill persisted.

"Fine, then leave now. Do not bother to remain. Do not take anything that does not belong to you, and I will have someone check to ensure that all my jewellery is where it belongs."

"Miss Jane and Miss Mary packed up much of your jewellery. Some was purchased with money that rightfully belonged to Miss Lizzy, I mean, Mrs Darcy. It will be given to her, and she will decide what to do with those pieces."

Mrs Bennet spluttered in her rage. Without waiting to be dismissed, the housekeeper left the mistress's room and headed to her own rooms. Her trunks were already packed, as were her husbands, and she informed him of what the mistress said. "We are departing immediately. Mrs Bennet was none too pleased to learn we had accepted a position elsewhere, and I dare not tell her where we were to go. The wagon is still waiting?"

Her husband smiled. "It is. We will make our way north to Briarwood. The housekeeper and butler will remain for a month or two to teach us our duties, but then we will be left in charge. I truly do not know what will happen at Longbourn now, as neither Mrs Bennet nor Miss Lydia have any idea how to run this household or any other."

Mrs Hill chuckled. "The mistress truly believed she'd be able to convince Miss Lizzy to purchase them new clothes after the way she had treated the girl. Should we inform Mr Bennet we are departing?"

"No. I doubt he will miss us, and the mistress told you to leave, right?"

"She did. Is anyone else accompanying us?"

"No, but I gave references to several who thought they would be seeking a new position soon. I do not trust Mr or Mrs Bennet to do the same, and I doubt the estate will have enough to pay any servants any time soon. I ensured everyone was paid a quarter ahead."

"You are a good man, Mr Hill. At least we can be certain they'll be taken care of. How long do you think they'll last?"

He merely shrugged, and the two departed to board the carriage that would carry them and their belongings north.

When Mrs Bennet stopped blustering, she nearly called for her housekeeper again before recalling that she had most likely departed by now. She scowled at this fact and instead called for Lydia.

"What?" she demanded petulantly when she showed up at her mother's door. "I was about to walk into Meryton."

"Not by yourself," Mrs Bennet said in a rare show of protectiveness. "I will walk to town with you. We will pay a visit to my sister and see what can be done about finding a new housekeeper."

"Why do we need a new housekeeper?" Lydia inquired.

"The Hills have been offered a position elsewhere and left to take it. It was most inconsiderate of them. Your father has been most vexing about the whole situation with the girls and with Lizzy. Do you know he knew they were to depart and did not say a word? I am so glad you chose to remain with me, Lydia?"

"I stayed so I could marry an officer. I will be the first of my sisters married, and they will all come home to see me wed. They will be quite envious of me, especially Kitty," she crowed. "We will invite all the officers to the wedding, and they will form a guard of honour as we depart the church. It will be so wonderful."

"But then you will have to go away from me, Lyddie. You should not be in such a rush to leave me, my dear girl. Imagine all the ribbons and dresses I can purchase for you now. With your sisters gone away, I can spend all my money on buying pretty things for you."

"But Mama, you have always said how important it is for us all to find husbands and marry as soon as may be. Why should you tell me differently now?"

"Oh, Lydia, I would hate to lose you so soon after all the rest of my daughters. I always knew you and Jane would marry and leave me someday, but I thought I would have Mary or Kitty still at home to keep me company. If you marry and go away, then it will only be your father and I at home. I am not certain how I will stand that."

"La, Mama, but someday I will have to leave. You would not want me to be an old maid, would you? If I marry Captain Carter or Mr Denny, though I think the captain will be a better husband, even if Mr Denny is the more handsome of the two, I would still be nearby. I would come to visit you every day."

Mrs Bennet was not certain about this and knew it would not be the same to have a married daughter visit her as it would be to have an unmarried one living with her. Still, Lydia was determined, and she wanted her baby girl to have the very best she could.

Soon they arrived in Meryton and went straight to the dressmakers to have new clothing made for Lydia. Since there would be no trip to town, at least not for now, Mrs Bennet was determined to purchase a few things to make Lydia stand out from the rest of the girls in their small village.

Hearing, "I am sorry, Mrs Bennet, but you will need to pay for all items in cash before you order," came as quite a shock to the matron when the dressmaker refused even to consider making a new dress for Lydia. They heard several similar comments in each of the shops they entered, and both ladies were rather confused, so they decided to pay a call to Mrs Phillips to find out what they could from her.

A/N - sorry for the delay in this chapter. The next will hopefully be coming very soon, but RL has gotten in the way a bit. Mrs Bennet will soon begin to feel the pain of what she's done, and Mr Bennet is already figuring it out.