~O~
Into the Hedgerows
Fanny Bennet returned to her home with Jane in high spirits, having spent a pleasurable day amongst their neighbours, gloating about Jane's success with Mr Bingley.
At dinner she barely paused to eat or even for breath as she regaled her family with the envy the other mothers had displayed when confronted by her excellent news. 'You should have heard Mrs Long,' Fanny crowed. 'She was so eaten up with jealousy, she even had the nerve to suggest that Mr Bingley would lose interest in Jane like all her previous beaux.'
'We can tell that you had a wonderful time, but it is considered bad manners to gloat over one's fortune to the detriment of someone else,' Mr Bennet managed to stem her flow of words at last.
Fanny grumbled but finally caught up on consuming her meal. Her family took the opportunity to converse about various articles which had caught their interest in the newspaper.
Jane heaved a discreet sigh of relief. While she had thought Mr Bingley charming, and they had danced two sets at the assembly, it still might come to nothing. Her mother claiming her marriage a foregone conclusion had embarrassed her. Yet she could not think of a way to stop the one person in the family who had always wanted the best for her, without hurting her.
~O~
The family met again for their morning meal, discussing their plans for the day.
The younger girls, with the assistance of Mrs Taylor would start planning the gift boxes for their tenants for Christmas. Mrs Bennet and the two older girls discussed the tenants they were going to visit to start preparing for winter, now that the harvest was finished.
Fanny Bennet announced that she and Jane would remain at home to receive visitors. 'After all, it has been two days since the assembly, and I am sure that Mr Bingley must be anxious to see Jane again.'
Sporting a dreamy look Fanny declared, 'Just think, once Jane marries Mr Bingley, I shall never have to fear starving in the hedgerows again.'
Hearing that comment, Bennet slapped his hand on the table, making the crockery rattle and causing his ladies to startle. He growled, 'Mrs Bennet, for the last time, you will not starve in the hedgerows as you will have the dower house to live in. But the other night I warned you what would happen if you ignored my order to refrain from mentioning your ridiculous charge again. I am tired of you carrying on in this manner. Therefore, you shall remove to the dower house… today.'
After a moment of stunned silence, Fanny wailed, 'You cannot do that. I am your wife. I am the mistress of Longbourn.'
'As my wife you must obey me as you swore during our wedding ceremony. I have the right to decide where and how you shall live. And as for your claim to be the mistress of Longbourn, you have never made the slightest effort to act in that capacity.'
'But –' Fanny started to protest but Bennet held up his hand to silence her.
He called to a footman, 'Please inform Mrs Hill that Mrs Fanny is moving to the dower house. Have all her possessions packed and transported to her new abode.'
The footman nodded briskly and attended to his orders with dispatch. Once he was in the hall, he indulged in a grin, thinking of Mrs Hill's pleasure to receive these orders at last.
The dining room witnessed pandemonium. 'Papa, you cannot be so cruel as to throw us from our home,' cried Jane as she looked from one to the other of her parents.
Bennet reassured his daughter, 'Jane, you have done nothing to displease me. You may remain here for as long as you like. But if you choose to go with your mother, I will not stop you.'
Before Jane could speak, Fanny interjected, 'Jane, you must remain. I cannot afford to support you on the pittance of an allowance which I receive.'
Everyone at the table just stared at the selfish woman until Jane jumped up and ran out of the dining room with tears streaming down her face.
Mrs Beth Bennet threw her serviette on the table as she addressed her daughter-in-law, 'You are the most selfish creature known to man. I shall be glad to see the back of you at last.' She too left the room, in search of Jane.
Fanny huffed, 'She is just jealous of me for having taken her place.'
Bennet gave her a disgusted look. 'Madam, I suggest you see to your packing. I want you out of this house before nightfall.'
~O~
Mrs Bennet found her granddaughter huddled on her bed in her room.
She entered, gently closing the door behind her and sat next to Jane, gathering the girl to her. 'Jane, no matter what your mother says, you do not have to fear becoming homeless under any circumstances. Your father is providing for you, the same as he is for all your sisters, as well as your mother even though she does not deserve it.'
'But mama is terrified of the hedgerows.'
'We have time while your mother's things are being packed. Get dressed for outside and I will show you those hedgerows.'
'But mama objects to me going outside, because my skin might get coarse like a farmer.'
'A few minutes' walk while wearing a bonnet will not change your complexion, especially as the sun is quite weak at this time of year.'
Jane reluctantly prepared for the outdoors and soon they set off on the short walk to the dower house which was situated about half-way between the manor and Meryton.
As they stopped in front of the dower house, Jane looked around and frowned in consternation. She saw a neat, white-washed two storey building, solidly built and with good sized windows framed by shutters. Nearby was another structure. Based on the size of the doors and the attached yard, she assumed it was a carriage house.
Jane was pulled from her shock by Mrs Bennet, who asked, 'Would you like to see inside?'
The young woman could only nod and her grandmother ushered her inside. There were two good sized reception rooms, one to each side of the entry, with a kitchen and a scullery stretching across the back of the cottage. Upstairs were three bedrooms as well as all the amenities to which Jane had become accustomed in her home.
As they descended to the groundfloor, Jane noticed that another stair led to the attic, which probably housed the staff quarters, and one down to the cellar where the storerooms were located.
Unable to speak until they exited the cottage and had gone as far as the gate which marked the boundary of the substantial garden, Jane turned back to take in what she had seen. 'This is the dower house where my mother will live?' she asked for confirmation.
'It is,' Mrs Bennet replied succinctly, even as she noticed Jane had switched from mama to mother. 'Your father will also send a gig, a horse, and a groom to look after both, as well as drive your mother when she wishes to go visiting.'
'Why was mother so set against living here? It is a wonderfully cosy place. I should be delighted to live in such a house.'
'She liked the status of living in the manor.'
Jane refused to speak the word, but she could not help but wonder about her mother's continual demands that she must marry well for them to have a home. Did the lady truly only care to maintain her status as the lady of the manor? She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she almost missed her grandmother's comment, 'If you wish for such a home, you shall have it.'
When they arrived back at the manor, Mrs Bennet gave Jane a quick hug until the young woman stiffened. 'Remember that you are my granddaughter too. If you need to speak to someone, I am here for you.'
That night, Jane tried to come to terms with the revelations of the day.
~O~
While Jane explored her mother's new abode, the family and the servants had to endure the protests and wailing of Fanny Bennet as her possessions were being packed up.
She attempted to stop the packing by grabbing what had been placed into a trunk and throwing it onto the floor. In frustration, Mrs Hill called on Mr Bennet to assist.
Bennet stalked into his wife's dressing room where she was creating chaos. A quick look located a silk scarf. Since Fanny was not accustomed to her husband laying a hand on her, she was unprepared as he quickly grasped her wrists and secured them behind her back with the scarf. A second scarf tied her ankles as she belatedly attempted to fight back by kicking at everyone.
As he picked her up and unceremoniously dumped her on her bed, she screamed, 'You cannot do that to me!'
'I warned you, but you refused to listen. Now you have to deal with the consequences of your actions,' Bennet said grimly. He turned to the nearest footman. 'If she screams too much, feel free to gag her. Just make sure you do not suffocate her.'
For several minutes Fanny was too stunned to protest further. When she started cursing the staff who were happily busy packing her things, the footman approached with a handkerchief. Seeing the determined look in the man's eyes, Fanny clamped her mouth shut.
While she was quiet, her mind was not. She was thinking furiously.
How could this have happened? Especially now when she felt so very close to gain her heart's desire. Mr Bingley was a most amiable young man who would be able to give her and Jane the kind of life she always wished to live. The kind of life she had imagined she would gain before marrying Mr Bennet.
Surely it would have been only a matter of weeks before Mr Bingley had completely fallen in love with her beautiful Jane, and they could have been married before Christmas. But how was she supposed to achieve this when she was stuck in some cottage.
~O~
Fanny Bennet suffered the final indignity once all her belongings had been packed and removed.
Since it was quite cool outside, Bennet rolled his wife in a blanket before he slung her over his shoulder and carried her to the cart waiting outside into which he deposited her body. Fanny was reluctant to create even more of a spectacle by screaming in public, for which everyone was grateful.
On arriving at the dower house, Bennet carried her inside, where he released her. Before she had a chance to berate him, Bennet called, 'You can come in now.'
Upon which Mr Phillips entered the room. 'Good afternoon, sister. I see that you have irritated your husband to the point that he wants nothing more to do with you.'
As Fanny opened her lips to complain, Bennet said, 'Your brother is here to witness what I have to tell you, and he has a document which we will explain to you and which I expect you to sign to acknowledge you have understood it.'
He nodded towards Phillips. 'The document he has prepared states that this is your new home. I advise you to take good care of it because I will not provide you with another. If you were to destroy it, you would truly need to sleep in the hedgerows because you will never again set foot in my house again.'
'Are you saying that I will be stuck in this hovel for the rest of my life?'
'Exactly.'
'What happens if you die.'
'I will be dead, and you will continue to live in this house.'
'What if there should be an accident and the house catches fire?'
'You had better hope that does not happen because in that case you have to move into the carriage house, and I am not sure Tom would want to share his room with you.'
'But why do you want me to sign this document?'
'I want to have proof that everything was explained to you, and you understand that if you destroy the house, that you will not get another.'
'I will not sign this,' exclaimed Fanny, crossing her arms over her ample chest.
Bennet shrugged carelessly. 'I suppose that I could get Tom to switch places with you.'
'You would banish me to the carriage house?' Fanny's voice rose into the upper registers.
Both men flinched at the noise, but neither backed down. Bennet simply said, 'It is your choice,' and placed the document on the table where a pen and ink stood ready to use.
Phillips calmly commented, 'You should count yourself lucky that Bennet has been so patient and generous with you. Most men would have beaten you within an inch of your life for your behaviour – and they would have been within their rights to do so.'
Fanny Bennet, looking angrily between the two men, snatched up the pen and signed the document. Phillips took the pen from her hand and witnessed the signature.
Fanny stepped up to Bennet and snapped, 'I should never have married you.'
Bennet looked down on her. 'I have thought exactly that every day for the last three and twenty years. Goodbye.'
He collected the contract whereupon he and Phillips left the building.
~O~
~O~
~O~
A Most Attentive Father (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2024
