The Heiress

by Ldibo

Mr. Bennet had been married twice in his lifetime. His first marriage was not of his own choosing, and it was an unhappy one. His second marriage brought him much happiness, and he was deeply devoted to his wife. When Mr. Bennet passed away, to Jane's surprise, he chose Elizabeth as the heiress of Longbourn. This is a story about deception,betrayal and love. Unedited story. E&D J&B

30. Chapter 30

Next chapter: Jane's thoughts and conversation with Bingley at Mr. Bennet's funeral...

Part III

2nd December 1811

At the appointed time, a small carriage stopped at the Longbourn gate, and a serious-looking, middle-aged man alighted. Although she had only seen him twice, Mrs. Bennet recognized him immediately. It was Mr. Stern; Thomas' solicitor.

After the introductions, Mrs. Bennet, her daughters, Jane and Mr. Carey joined Mr. Stern in Mr. Bennet's former bookroom to read Mr. Bennet's will.

The £10,000 that Mrs. Bennet had contributed to the marriage had been increased to £20,000. It was stipulated that half of that money was Mrs. Bennet's and the other half was divided equally between Mary and Kitty. With the funds Kitty and Mary had inherited from their maternal and paternal grandmothers and their parents' marriage contract, they both had a dowry of 12,000 pounds.

At first, Jane was surprised that Lizzy was excluded from the money in the marriage contract, but what surprised her even more was when Mr. Stern stated that Lizzy was the heiress of Longbourn. Despite knowing her father had always favoured Elizabeth, she never thought he would go so far as to choose her as the heiress of Longbourn.

The situation seemed unfair to Jane, she had always believed that she would inherit the family estate, as the eldest daughter of Thomas Bennet. But Mr. Stern's words shattered her dreams. Furthermore, her father had not included her in his will.

Jane protested vehemently, "I cannot believe this! It simply cannot be true! I am the eldest daughter of Thomas Bennet and therefore, I must be the Heiress of Longbourn."

Mr. Stern shook his head and replied, "I am sorry, Miss Bennet, but there is no mistake. Mr. Bennet's wishes are clear in his will, and it states the Heiress of Longbourn is Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

"But I am his firstborn daughter! It is my right to inherit Longbourn!"

Before Mrs. Bennet or Lizzy could respond, Mr. Stern added, "Miss Bennet, please calm down. Mr. Bennet had the right to bequeath Longbourn to whomever he wanted, and he chose your sister as his heiress." He paused, "You had received 7,000 pounds that belonged to your mother when you turned 21, but Mrs. Bennet and her daughters inherit the rest of Mr. Bennet's money."

"I don't understand. I am his daughter, too!"

"That money corresponds to Mrs. Bennet's settlement. You are not her daughter."

She found the situation deeply unfair. In her anger and frustration, Jane vowed to challenge her father's will, "I am sure you are wrong! I am going to ask my uncle, Mr. Phillips to read my father's will…"

Mr. Stern shrugged his shoulders and responded, "Your uncle can read it, or any solicitor you want. However, I warn you, the heiress of Longbourn is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and nothing can change that fact."

Jane was furious as she stormed out of her father's bookroom. She was afraid Bingley would not marry her if she was not a heiress.

Mrs. Bennet and Lizzy called her, but Jane did not respond and left for her uncle's house.

For a few moments, a deep and uncomfortable silence reigned in the bookroom. Mrs. Bennet and Lizzy sighed sadly. While they expected Jane to be disappointed, her reaction was even worse than they had expected. They both knew that they had to talk to Jane that same day. Lizzy wanted to tell Jane the truth, but Mrs. Bennet preferred to convince her that the reason her father chose Lizzy was because she had better qualifications to be the mistress of Longbourn.