Uncommonly Intelligent Chapter 3: The Unexamined Life, a pride and prejudice fanfic

Chapter 3: The Unexamined Life

Not much of what Lady Rutherford had told Mr. Bennet about her situation at Netherfield had been true. She did not have several underutilized and unhappy tutors for Clarence. Clarence had only one tutor, and that tutor was very happy indeed, because Lady Rutherford paid him well, in addition to providing free room and board in a luxurious mansion. Like all mothers, she had hoped that Clarence would be gifted, but it turned out that he was fairly bright, but no more than that. Since he had just turned eight, a single (but excellent) tutor in general subjects was all he required.

She had deliberately lied because she wanted Mr. Bennet to believe without question that Lizzy and Jane would receive a much better education at Netherfield than he could provide. And she was convinced that that much, at least, was true. She thought that even if Bennet finally got off his... chair, and hired a governess, he would not put much effort into evaluating her qualifications, nor would he pay a premium salary, and so she would likely be of inferior quality. Since she could not tell Mr. Bennet to his face that she didn't trust his competence, she had elected to instead pretend that she had an excess of tutors.

However, she was determined to hire another tutor of the first rank for the Bennet girls as soon as possible, and she did have masters who made weekly visits to Netherfield for her own education, so she felt no guilt for her deception, nor would it be a deception for long. It would not be easy to find another tutor who met her standards and who was also willing to live in Hertfordshire, for although London was an easy journey, it was not practical for a daily commute. But she subscribed to the philosophy that if you had a problem that could be solved with money, and you had enough money, then you didn't really have a problem.

So while she hoped to have a new and highly qualified tutor ensconced in Netherfield within a month, she resolved to tutor Lizzy and Jane herself until he arrived. She had helped her younger siblings with their letters and numbers when she was a child, and she had not only helped Clarence but had been with him during almost all of his lessons when he was learning his letters and numbers, to the unspoken annoyance of his tutor. She also had dozens of primers and workbooks she had bought for Clarence.

Still, she was nervous, especially about teaching both girls concurrently. Jane and Lizzy were, of course, too young to realize that anything was odd about them learning the same material with a nearly three-year age gap between them. They lived in the same house; they ate the same food; they played with the same playmates; in fact, they did almost everything together. Why shouldn't they take their lessons together?

But the fact remained that Lizzy was barely three. Lady Rutherford had tried to make Mr. Bennet think that Lizzy was her primary concern, but in truth she had used Lizzy as a ploy to help Jane. Jane was the one who was starting her lessons shamefully late thanks to the neglect of her father, and Jane was the one who was among Clarence's favorite playmates. Before yesterday, she hadn't paid much attention to Lizzy; she was just Jane's shadow. And from her reading, she knew that a remarkable memory did not always denote high intelligence; there were many examples of people with remarkable memories who were otherwise normal, or sometimes even less than normal, in other respects.

She told herself that she was worrying needlessly. According to Charlotte, Lizzy had learned numbers very easily. She had a large vocabulary and excellent diction for her age. And even if it turned out that she was too young to learn her letters, she could simply play while Jane was taught. She seemed happy to be in Jane's company no matter what they were doing.

All of her anxieties were soon put to rest. Lizzy and Jane both learned at a rapid pace, and seemed to enjoy their lessons. And Lady Rutherford had been tutoring them for less than a fortnight before her letters seeking aid in locating a tutor had resulted in the discovery that the man tutoring her nephew Gerald was seeking a new position, because Gerald would shortly be leaving for Eton. Gerald's mother, whose opinion Lady Rutherford respected, praised the man to the skies, and said that he was more than willing to work at Netherfield. The man would arrive in a week, and she decided to meet with Bennet before then, so that she would not inadvertently contradict Bennet's wishes when she told the tutor what she expected. She hoped to persuade Bennet to her way of thinking regarding education.

And so just short of three weeks after her first meeting with Mr. Bennet, Lady Rutherford called on him again.

Longbourn, Hertfordshire, July, 1794

"Lady Rutherford, how nice to see you again. May I offer you tea?"

"I accept with gratitude. I believe that we have much to discuss, and my throat tends to get dry when I speak at length."

Mr. Bennet lifted an eyebrow. "Nothing dire, I trust?" he said as he nodded to Mrs. Hill, who left to get the tea.

"No indeed. Your daughters have been perfect dears, and both have surpassed my expectations in regard to intelligence."

"Both? You believe Jane a prodigy as well?"

"No, Jane is very intelligent, but not extraordinary, at least from what I have seen so far. Obviously, with children this young, it is impossible to predict how they will turn out. But it is a very good sign that she is learning to read so quickly." She noticed that Bennet had the grace to blush at this. He knows she should have learned to read long before now, she thought.

She continued, "Although Jane is younger than Clarence, I hope that it will not be long before she catches up with him and can join him in his lessons. I believe that she is bright enough that they will do very well together. And although I have not yet reserved a chapel, it helps that he thinks Jane is very pretty," she said lightly, thinking the duke would no more allow Clarence to marry Jane than a milkmaid, but it can't hurt to put the idea into Bennet's head. She was unaware that her efforts were superfluous, for Mrs. Bennet had talked of little else for the past three weeks.

Bennet chuckled. "Jane has looked like an angel from the moment she was born. I thank God that she got her looks from her mother." He considered himself a model of humility for this self-deprecating remark, as well as for not adding that he also thanked God that she got her brains from her father.

"Lizzy is also very pretty, in her way," said Lady Rutherford.

"Oh, I quite agree. It is just that Lizzy's beauty becomes more obvious as you get to know her, while Jane's is immediately apparent to a total stranger."

"Yes, that is a good way to put it." She straightened. "But it is not Lizzy's beauty that I came to discuss."

Bennet also sobered. "Well, then. How is she doing in her lessons?"

"Rather too well, if that is possible. I believe it would be best to separate her from Jane going forward."

"What do you mean? The girls are devoted to one another. I will not agree to anything that will make them unhappy."

"Please, Mr. Bennet, let me explain. I don't mean I want to keep them apart for any extended period. I only mean that I think it would be best for them to be tutored separately. They would not be apart for more than an hour at a time, but Lizzy is progressing at such a rate that it would be a disservice to her to keep her at the pace the other children are learning, and it also might be disturbing for Jane and Clarence to see that she outstrips them at half their age."

"She is learning that rapidly?" He paused when Mrs. Hill brought in the tea. After she efficiently served them and left, Bennet said, "You were about to tell me of Lizzy's progress?"

"A few weeks ago, she did not know the alphabet. She is now able to read the same primers as Clarence uses, and he has had over three years of instruction. I shouldn't be surprised if she is reading Shakespeare before she is four."

Bennet leaned back into his chair. "Really? I had no idea."

Lady Rutherford thought that it was no wonder, given how little attention he paid to his children. It was a sad situation indeed when what was obvious to her after observing Lizzy for a few hours, was unknown to the father who had lived with her for three years. But she dare not antagonize this man, for what she planned for Lizzy could not be done without his cooperation. She needed to be conciliatory.

"No one could have expected it. It was just a lucky chance I saw her display her memory at my son's party." Lady Rutherford squared her shoulders, and said, "But now that we know, I am sure that you will want to help her reach her full potential.

"Mr. Bennet, after my Clarence was born, my love for him convinced me that he was gifted, and so I read some books on the education of gifted children during his infancy.

"I found one author who had some very modern ideas that make a great deal of sense to me. He believes that children should not be forced to learn a rigid curriculum, but rather encouraged to play at whatever they want, and to determine in that matter where their interests lie. I was thinking that I might have Lizzy sit in on my own sessions with my masters, and see if anything strikes a chord with her. I was also thinking I might contact the author of that book, and perhaps bring him to Netherfield."

As much as he appreciated what Lady Rutherford was doing for his daughters, Bennet could not overcome a lifetime of indulging his sarcastic wit. He made his face grave and said, "I am sorry to inform you, Lady Rutherford, that the author of those principles has passed away."

"Oh! You know of him?"

"I flatter myself that I know a great deal about him."

"But his book was published just a few years ago, and he was a young man! How did he die?"

"I don't know which book you read, or who wrote it, but the man from whom he copied his 'modern ideas' died from drinking hemlock. Over two thousand years ago."

"Two thousand...," and then Lady Rutherford made the connection. "You are saying Socrates is the author of those principles?"

"According to Plato, yes. In the seventh book of The Republic, he quotes Socrates saying almost exactly what you just said."

Lady Rutherford felt her face heating. Trust Bennet to mock me while I am trying to help his daughters. "I see," she said. "I suppose it is true that there is nothing new under the sun. And before you ask, I do know the age of that particular maxim."*

Bennet chuckled and said, "Yes, I believe that Solomon had the right of it."

He smiled at Lady Rutherford, but that woman was not smiling. Instead, she rose to her feet and said, "Well, Mr. Bennet, I thank you for saving me some time and money. Unless you have more questions, I will take my leave." Not waiting for a response, she turned toward the door.

Surprised at the abrupt end to their discussion, Bennet scrambled to his feet, but she was already out the door, which had naturally been left ajar for propriety, before he could get to it. "Er, yes, Lady Rutherford," he said to her back, "I hope to see you again soon."

Lady Rutherford was accosted by Mrs. Bennet, who had obviously been lurking nearby and most probably eavesdropping, almost as soon as she left Mr. Bennet's study, but she had had enough of the senior Bennets for one day. Before Mrs. Bennet could get started, she said, "I apologize, Mrs. Bennet, but I lost track of the time and I must get back to Netherfield immediately for an important appointment. Good day to you," and she nodded and strode to the front door so quickly that her footman barely had time to open it, leaving Mrs. Bennet gaping like a trout.

Bennet looked at Lady Rutherford's untouched cup of tea and wondered what had happened. She had seemed quite easy and amiable, but then abruptly left just when the discussion was getting interesting. And her expression... he knew that look. It was the look Fanny often had when he teased her.

He had always assumed that it denoted confusion, as his literary or historical references sailed over her head. But nothing had sailed over Lady Rutherford's head. She had understood the reference to Socrates immediately. No, she was irate that he was making sport of her, when she was trying to help his daughters. His old friend Haskell had sometimes cautioned him that his wit was too barbed, but Bennet had thought it harmless fun.

Now he realized that while Fanny may not have recognized the source of his quotations, she understood that he was mocking her, and she was hurt by it. It made his banter cruel, rather than clever. No wonder there was no affection between them.

No, that was only half of it. The other half was his resentment for her tricking him into a marriage with a totally unsuitable woman. And that was foolish. It had been nearly seven years, and she was now pregnant with their fourth child. It was a bit late to petition for an annulment. He could either try to make the best of it, or spend the rest of his life mired in bitterness and self-pity.

Perhaps it was time to forgive and forget the way she had tricked him into their marriage. And perhaps she was not unintelligent, but merely uneducated. After all, if Jane and Lizzy were as intelligent as Lady Rutherford thought, Fanny could not be completely stupid. And although he invariably scored over her in their verbal exchanges, he had to be honest and admit that in the one battle of wits that had really mattered, it had been Fanny who had triumphed.

He could try to be a better husband to Fanny. And he needed to apologize to Lady Rutherford. If by some great fortune he hadn't ruined everything, and she sent her carriage for his daughters tomorrow, he would accompany them to Netherfield. If no carriage was sent, he would take his own and ask to see her. But one way or another, he needed to apologize.

*"There is nothing new under the sun" is from Ecclesiastes 1:9, reputedly written by Solomon, who is better known as the co-writer of the rock standard Turn!Turn!Turn!