Anyone who knew Edward Gardiner would agree that he had nothing in common with his sisters. One of the main reasons was that his father, an educated man, had paid much attention to his education since he was a child. At 17, Edward went to London to complete his studies and work with a widowed uncle, Mr. Paul Gardiner, who had an importing and exporting company.

In 1793, when Edward was 23 years old, Paul Gardiner died of a heart attack. Since he had no children, Edward was his only heir. At that time, the company had an annual income of £800.

Later that year, he was in Hatchards looking for a book when he came across Victoria Harrison, accompanied by a very pretty young lady. Since they had seen each other a few times in Meryton and were acquainted, they greeted each other politely. Victoria introduced him to her cousin, Miss Madeleine Thompson. For a few minutes, they talked about trivial matters. Then Edward told them he had recently received a shipment of silks and fabrics. He still had them in his warehouse and invited them to see them.

Madeleine had just come of age; her father was a parish priest in Lambton, and her mother had died when she was a child. She was intelligent and educated, but she had a small dowry. During the few minutes she conversed with Mr. Gardiner, he struck her as a handsome and educated gentleman.

In fact, Victoria and Madeleine went to the warehouse, and Edward, who was very impressed with Madeleine, accompanied them on the tour. He even advised them on which were the best silks.

After that, Mr. Harrison - convinced the future of England was trade - decided to invest a small sum of money in Edward Gardiner's company.

During the three months the Harrisons and Madeleine were in London, Mr. Gardiner took every opportunity to get to know Miss Thompson better. Before she returned to Derbyshire, he asked her permission to court her, and Madeleine gladly accepted. They married early in 1794 in Lambton, and then moved to London.

Despite the distance, Victoria and Madeleine continued to have an excellent relationship; they wrote to each other often and met every year when the Harrisons came to London. In 1794, Victoria, after miscarrying twice, gave birth to her first and only child, the heir of Greystone. The Gardiners travelled to Derbyshire and were godparents to Gabriel Harrison.

Mr Bennet, who had a good relationship with the Harrisons, was pleased with the birth of their son. The previous year (1793), Mary Bennet was born. As Fanny was pregnant again and very nervous, he was unable to travel to Derbyshire. A few months later, Kitty Bennet was born.

Elizabeth was only four years old when her cousin was born. She remembered little about her aunt but was intrigued to see her again and meet her little cousin.

Besides, Elizabeth didn't feel loved by her stepmother, who complained about everything. Her father told her she had to behave because Mrs. Bennet was expecting another child.

Mrs. Bennet became resentful because Mr. Bennet devoted much of his attention to Elizabeth instead of herself.

Mrs. Bennet was particularly fond of her daughter Jane, a beautiful and sweet girl. She often told Elizabeth that she would never be able to match Jane's beauty and goodness. Fortunately, despite the dysfunctional family, the two girls were good friends from an early age and remained friends for many years.

Longbourn, 1796–1798

After 18 hours, the midwife and the apothecary came out of Mrs. Bennet's room and said, "Mr. Bennet, if you wish, you may come and meet your daughter. Mrs. Bennet lost a lot of blood during childbirth; she is very weak and needs to rest to recover. It is very important that Mrs. Bennet eats well and drinks sufficiently. Let's hope there is no infection and she survives." The apothecary paused, and the midwife added, "Do you have a wet nurse? Mrs. Bennet is in no condition to feed her daughter. If your wife survives, it is not advisable for you to try for another child for at least one or two years."

Mr. Bennet nodded and asked Mrs. Hill to fetch the young woman who was going to feed the little baby girl crying uncontrollably in the corner of the room. Thomas did not even look at his newborn daughter; he had wanted this child to be a boy instead of a girl, and he was disappointed he might not have an heir in the future.

Fanny Bennet eventually survived childbirth, but her relationship with her husband completely deteriorated further as she became an even more nervous and intolerant woman. Thomas, according to the midwife's instructions, completely stopped visiting her. After a year passed, he did not want to resume his marital rights. They only saw each other at dinner, and sometimes he chose to eat in his office to avoid her. He was living in a hell of his own making.

His daughters were growing up supervised solely by Fanny, since she had determined they did not need a governess. Mr. Bennet, to avoid an argument, let his wife take care of the education of his daughters, and dedicated himself exclusively to raising his favorite daughter, his Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth was seven, Mr. Bennet took her to "Greystone" for the first time. Elizabeth was delighted with her aunt and uncle, especially her aunt Victoria. The feeling was reciprocated, as Elizabeth was a very curious and vivacious girl and resembled her dear sister, Marianne.