~O~

Revealing Conversations

While Mr Bennet dealt with his wife, and since Mrs Beth Bennet was busy with Jane, Elizabeth and Mary set off to visit the tenants on their own. They were grateful for the opportunity to speak privately as they rode.

'What do you think?' Mary asked.

'This may be uncharitable of me, but I think it was about time that papa evicted that woman,' Elizabeth replied with a grimace.

'Most uncharitable. How could you think so meanly of a mother who refuses to acknowledge her daughters, who never in her life lifted a finger to help anyone other than herself and who would sell her oldest and supposedly favourite daughter to ensure she could continue a life of idleness?'

'Do not forget that she was also concerned about maintaining her status.'

'Yet I cannot help but feel sorry for Jane. We are all accustomed to being the unwanted daughters because we have never known anything else. It must be doubly hard for Jane to be rejected out of hand because her mother might have to restrict her spending on fripperies.'

'Mary, it does you credit to be concerned for Jane, but I find it difficult to feel much sympathy. She rejected our overtures too often.' Elizabeth did not mention how much it had hurt her that Jane had alternated between seeming to be afraid of her and sneering at her for her unfeminine education or behaviour.

'She is still our sister.'

'But because of that woman, she has never acted like a sister.'

'Can you not see that it was not Jane's fault? Not everyone has your courage or stubbornness to stand up to people.'

Elizabeth sighed. 'I suppose she looks and acts too much like her mother for me to be comfortable with her. But if she makes a move to become friends, I shall not reject her. That is the best I can promise.'

In answer, Mary gave her a big smile as she said, 'That is better than I expected. I know it takes you a long time to change your mind. But speaking of changing your mind, now that you had time to think about it, what did you make of Mr Darcy, which you did not tell grandmama?'

'There is nothing to tell. We met him once and you were there.'

'Did you not think him exceedingly handsome?'

Not wanting to admit how much the gentleman had been on her mind since that one meeting, Elizabeth merely said, 'He certainly is tall.'

Since Elizabeth refused to be drawn on the subject, they confined their conversation to the tenants for the rest of the day.

~O~

After leaving the dower house, Phillips accompanied Bennet to the manor where they partook of a restorative drink.

'All I can say is that it was about time you removed her from your house. I have only one concern, how did Jane take it?'

Bennet sighed. 'Badly. Especially as Fanny refused to take Jane with her.'

'Fanny refused…' Phillips was shocked. After considering the information for a minute, he shook his head. 'I should have expected it. That woman is the most selfish creature I have ever encountered, although in this case she may have done Jane a favour. I confess I have always wondered why you did not interfere before?'

'To be honest, in the early days I thought it only proper that Fanny raised Jane. After all, is it not a woman's duty to raise her children, especially daughters? And since she did not do anything else to contribute to the household or the estate, I figured it would give her something useful to do.'

Phillips thought about the comment. When he nodded, Bennet continued. 'Later I thought it would be cruel to separate them. They were each the only one in the house to whom they were close.'

'You are too soft-hearted by far,' Phillips chided.

'She did give me five wonderful daughters. That is quite an achievement, even if she is useless at anything else. And as far as Jane is concerned, I kept hoping she would rebel against the restrictions her mother placed on her. But it never happened.'

'What will you do now?'

'Since being rejected by Fanny has hopefully opened her eyes, we will try to help Jane to become a member of our family.

~O~

Bennet had an opportunity to speak to Jane the next morning, after being advised by his mother to give Jane a day to get over her first shock about the changed circumstances.

After breakfast, Bennet invited Jane to his study. She took a seat at the edge of the armchair by the fireplace which he indicated while he settled comfortably into his own. He watched as Jane kept her eyes lowered and worried the lace trim on her gown with nervous fingers.

Not wasting time with small talk, Bennet opened the conversation by saying simply, 'I am sorry I did not protect you from your mother.'

Jane's eyes flew up to meet her father's gaze. 'Protect me from my mother?' she repeated in confusion. 'She was most assiduous in her care for me. At least until yesterday.'

'Too assiduous, in my opinion. Even though you spent most of your time in her company, you must have realised that there is more to the world than what she taught you. Especially as my mother and Mrs Taylor attempted to teach you.'

Bennet waited until Jane nodded and hesitatingly said, 'Mama always said that no man wants a woman who rambled on about subjects which are the domain of men.'

'I would have loved to have a wife who could hold an intelligent conversation. I probably should not tell you this, but I was taken in by her beauty and at the time she declared herself willing to learn about my interests and matters of the estate. That willingness stopped as soon as we said our vows.'

'But she was correct about beauty.'

'Up to a point. Beauty will attract attention. Unfortunately, I was too young to discern your mother's lies and I have regretted my choice virtually every day since. That choice has made two people most unhappy. Although there were five days during my marriage when I was delighted… the days when you and your sisters were born.'

Seeing the disbelieving look, even though she did not say anything, Bennet added, 'I fell in love with each and every one of you the moment I met you.'

'Mama always said the others should have been boys.'

'None of you had a choice about your sex. Yes, I would have liked to have a son to carry on the family name and to take over the estate when I am gone. But I could accept that was not to be and I ended up with five wonderful daughters.'

Bennet tried to reach out to take Jane's hand but stopped when she flinched. 'I do not know what Fanny told you about your family to make you afraid of us, but I can promise you that none of us would deliberately hurt you.'

Jane refused to meet his eyes as she remembered how her mother had often pulled her away from her sisters and had chided, 'Get away from those horrible girls and their unnatural tastes.'

She said that my sisters were hoydens who would never be able to marry because of their education and if I spent any time with them, they would contaminate me. She also said that unless I marry well, we would starve in the hedgerows.'

'But did you not listen when I told your mother over and over that she would always have a comfortable home in the dower house?'

'Mama always said the dower house was a hovel which was as good as the hedgerows.'

Bennet grimaced and shook his head in frustration about his wife's wrongheadedness which had caused her supposedly favourite daughter so much grief. 'You have seen the dower house.' Jane nodded. 'If you do not find a husband to your liking, that is the level of so-called poverty you can expect. I love all my daughters, and I have ensured that all of you can have a comfortable life.'

That statement at last gained him a tremulous smile from Jane. 'I should like that very much. Thank you, papa.'

'In the meantime, I do not want you to be alone in the mistress' suite. There are two bedrooms free in the family wing, and I think it is time for you to be part of the family. Your grandmother and Mrs Taylor each occupy a suite with two bedrooms on their own. You have a choice. With whom would you prefer to share a suite. They both said you would be welcome.'

Jane considered the offer. She was uncertain about moving to a different room than the one she had occupied all her life. Yet even one night on her own had taught her that she preferred to have some company. When she thought about her options, she felt rather intimidated by her grandmother. Since Mrs Taylor was of a similar age as her mother, she was the more comfortable option.

Bennet waited patiently while Jane made her decision. 'I would prefer to share with Mrs Taylor.'

'Excellent choice. I am certain you will find her to be admirable company.' He also hoped that over time the lady would be able to draw out Jane and induce her to widen her interests.

~O~

Later that day, Jane wandered into the small family sitting room where Elizabeth and Mary were busy with some sewing. With their hands busy they were free to chat.

As Jane opened the door, she overhead a comment by Elizabeth who expressed her pleasure at their Fanny's absence. 'The level of sensible conversation is in inverse ratio to the level of noise in this house since that woman left,' she quipped.

A lifetime spent with her mother caused Jane to exclaim, 'Why do you hate mama?'

Elizabeth looked up and saw Jane standing in the doorway. Discomposed that Jane had overheard her remark, but unwilling to back down, she said, 'I do not hate her.'

'But she always said you did.'

'I am afraid it is much worse than that,' Elizabeth replied with a sigh and a grimace.

Jane shrank back despite the calm with which Elizabeth mad that statement. 'Oh?' She swallowed convulsively. 'What can be worse than hate?'

'I am completely indifferent to her. To me she is merely a casual acquaintance with whom I have been forced to share meals for the last dozen years or so. During those time I have done my best to ignore her ridiculous chatter.'

Jane ignored the insult to her mother's conversation and focused on the rest of the statement. 'How can indifferent be worse?'

'If you hate someone, it means you feel something for them. That their existence has some importance. At best, when I had to listen to her speak, I felt a slight irritation. You know, the way you might feel when it is raining, and you cannot leave the house to attend to something you wished to do.'

Jane frowned, vaguely grateful that her mother could not see her and chide her about wrinkles, but she focused on her question. 'That still does not answer why mother thought you hate her.'

'Perhaps she was afraid that I would chide her for being a bad mother to me and my younger sisters. Or perhaps she was afraid that I would upbraid her for her ignorance. I cannot say as I cannot understand how her mind works. If you wish an answer rather than suppositions, you will have to ask her.'

Jane reluctantly accepted the answer. While she wondered what to say next, Mary relieved her of the of the need to find a topic. 'Would you care to help us. We are sewing clothes for the tenant children for Christmas.'

'I do not know how to sew.'

Mary indicated the seat next to herself and when Jane sat, she showed her sister how she was hemming the dress she was finishing. After a couple of minutes, she passed the garment and the need to Jane. 'It is your turn.'

While Jane very slowly and carefully stitched the hem, Mary started another garment. As they sewed Elizabeth regaled her sisters with a story she had just finished reading. Jane kept glancing at her sisters but since neither was inclined to become violent or even unpleasant, she slowly relaxed.

It would take years for the rift to heal, but at least they had taken the first step.

~O~

Fanny Bennet took advantage of the gig her husband had put at her disposal to go into Meryton to visit her sister.

As soon as she entered Mrs Phillips' parlour Fanny wailed, 'Sister, I have been cursed with the cruellest of husbands. He has thrown me from his home to starve in the Hedgerows.'

Fanny attempted to throw herself into her sister's arms, but Martha Phillips grasped her shoulders instead so that Fanny was forced to face her.

'If you are trying to claim that a large cottage with two reception rooms and three bedrooms constitutes the hedgerows, I should be most happy with such circumstances.'

'How…?'

'My husband informed me of your change in circumstances, and I have to say that your husband exceeded my expectations.'

'For cruelty,' Fanny finished the sentence for her sister.

'No, for patience.'

'What?!'

'Indeed. If it had been me in his position, I would have evicted you at least a decade ago.'

'How can you say such a thing?'

'It is the simple truth. You never lifted a finger to contribute to the wellbeing of your family or the estate which paid for all the luxuries you demanded. And yet you claimed to be the mistress of Longbourn when everyone knows that you are nothing but a parasite.'

Fanny accused her sister, 'You are just jealous that thanks to my beauty I managed to snare a rich husband, while you had to settle for papa's head clerk.' She huffed and added, 'Even though to my disgust I learnt that he is not as rich as I had thought.'

Martha Phillips pushed her sister away from her. 'First of all, I am very happy to have married such a wonderful man as my husband. Unlike you, I am not greedy or mercenary.

'But I should warn you, word of your expulsion has gone out, and the fact that you rejected Jane because of your greed. I expect that you will find scant welcome with our neighbours who only tolerated you because you were a part of the Bennet family.'

Fanny Bennet stared at her sister in horror. She had expected sympathy and support from her sister, not the tongue lashing she had received. 'But why?' she gasped.

'Because they are respected whereas you are not.' Martha Phillips opened the door in a clear gesture that she wanted her sister to leave. 'You made your bed, now you must lie in it. Goodbye, Fanny.'

Fanny Bennet left in a daze and returned to her new home to consider her sister's words. True to her nature, she convinced herself that her sister was wrong. For several days she spent her time attempting to visit her neighbours one by one only to find that she was not welcome.

~O~

A Most Attentive Father (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2024