My intellectual property is the storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters. Glorioux-

A/N this story was initially written as the following short Easter story. The story will follow up years later. Much love, be well, happy and safe. Initial rating was T- but it might increase.

An Easter Sunday and Mr. Bennet

This was a special day, the anniversary of the lucky day when his beloved Fanny accepted his proposal, so Mr. Bennet wanted to celebrate it by giving his wife and daughters a special gift.

Mrs. Bennet wanted her daughters to be the prettiest at the Easter Sunday service, knowing nobody looked like them. Jane was eighteen and anxious to find love. Lizzie had recently become a woman, and it was not particularly pleasant these days. Mary wanted to be just like Lizzie and followed her, making her fuzz. Kitty and Lydia wanted to shine and look better than Mariah Lucas, so they 'borrowed' their sisters' belongings. This Easter morning, the Bennet house was a beehive of activity.

He returned to the couch, sat down, and picked up one of his favorite books. He was certain that nobody could ever imagine who he was; to everyone, he was the country gentleman who did not care about much, best that way because it kept his family safe. His mother told him what happened to her family, having to leave England in the late 16th Century after fanatics burned her aunts. He had listened, learned, and liked his life. He had come to Longbourn and found happiness.

He wished he could tell Fanny that she would never have to worry about the future because his mother's dowry was his, plus there was the 'thing' that she would learn about when she was ready. He knew Fanny liked to spend money, so he had put it away for dowries. And if he should pass away, the reserves he kept from her would ensure his beloved Fanny would be protected. He started reading while he waited for Fanny and his girls. His girls were his treasures; how lucky he was.

"Tommy," Fanny Bennet came into the small sitting room where he read an incredibly antique Alchemist book from his secret, hidden library. He closed the book quickly and put it on the table.

"Fanny, my dear, come here. Don't you look lovely? You look like a beautiful spring flower. Close the door and sit here," he pointed at his lap.

She giggled like a young girl; Thomas was the best-looking man she had ever seen. She remembered when he came to look at Longbourn with his married older brother. They went to the Assembly in February. All the young women set their eyes on the blond and handsome young gentleman. By the end of the dance, 16-year-old Fanny decided that the young, serious gentleman was the one for her, and she forgot about the red-coated officers. After he proposed on Easter Day, they married the following Easter week, and Jane was born nine months later. They both liked the marriage bed and had learned together.

"But don't mess my hair or wrinkle my gown. No mischief, just sitting; we need to talk; the girls are fighting. I can't make them stop." Fanny looked at her handsome husband with his wet blond hair, young looks, and freshly shaved face. He was still the best-looking gentleman around. All the ladies said so. "Okay, perhaps one little kiss."

He chuckled, "No, later. I just have a little something for you for today." He laughed when she ran to sit on his lap. Mr. Bennet thought, "Maybe the lap isn't such a good idea." She wore a thin muslin gown, making him wish for more; he should have known.

She felt him under her and kissed him, running her fingers through his hair. As usual, the world around them ceased to exist as their kiss gathered gale strength, so they didn't hear the door open.

"Oh dear, you two! I should not be seeing this," an angry adolescent voice said, bringing them out of their revelry.

Fanny jumped out of her husband's lap, who was unhappy about the interruption. They both saw an angry Lizzie with Mary right behind her.

"I agree. You shouldn't see what is behind closed doors. But my dear, you suppose to knock first." Mr. Bennet lost his patience with Lizzie. While Jane was turning into a pleasant young lady, no longer surly and unpredictable, Lizzie started to behave as Jane had, and there were three more girls after Lizzie. He sighed. "So, what is so urgent you barge without knocking first, as a proper young lady should?" He sounded a bit curt.

Before Lizzie answered, Mr. Bennet decided this was meant to be a good day; what if Lizzie was fighting with a sister over something or other? This was the day, an Easter Sunday, sixteen years ago, when he asked Fanny to be his wife, a day he wanted to celebrate. He had something for them, but there was no need to disclose where the gifts for his beloved Easter beauties came from. He missed Hugh, ahem, not really his brother, who only wrote since his wife didn't like Fanny, a commoner, but if pressed, he could say the money came from Hugh, his 'brother.'

He picked up a box over the small side table. "Mary, please get your sisters."

Fanny grinned. Thomas liked to give her gifts during Easter. He said it was an old tradition to celebrate this Sunday. Lizzie also smiled. She had seen her father smoothing carvings he had made. He studied and read most of the time, but he also liked to carve wood into figurines and work in a small shop with bottles and flasks full of liquids and powders. She would start working with him in a week. He said he would ask her again to make sure. Her bad temper had evaporated for now.

Jane, Kitty, and Lydia ran in with Mary. When Lizzie looked at Lydia, she shook her head angrily, looking at the ribbon adorning Lydia's braid. It was hers. Lydia had taken it without asking first, the reason to see her father since her mother had taken the baby's side. But her father was talking. Regardless, Lydia was a brat, and Kitty had taken a ribbon from Jane, who was also unhappy.

"My girls, all of them," he stood up, "I wanted to celebrate my wife and daughters this year. You all know I'm not much for words." He waited until they all had a comment or two before continuing. "So I decided to give you all a present to always remember me by. Eggs represent new life and rebirth, something to think about. My mother used to color eggs for Easter, as she did as a young girl in Russia. You would have liked her. First, the one for Mrs. Bennet, here, my dear, around nineteen years ago, you accepted to be my wife," he gave her a small parcel tied with a velvet ribbon. The sisters all sighed. How romantic.

She unwrapped it, and her eyes opened, "My dear, this is so beautiful. When and where on earth did you get it?"

Gold Eggs - The Gifts

He smiled, "Let me keep my secrets. Otherwise, I won't be able to surprise you next time. Let me help you with a thin ring of inlaid colored enamel. It hung from a delicate gold chain.

Lizzie looked at the egg carefully. It was rather familiar, nearly like the carvings her father had recently made, but this was gold, or was it? "Is it gold or paste? " Lizzie asked.

"Gold, my dear, no tinsel or paste; it is a keepsake." Her father's eyes twinkled, knowing his daughter's mind. Lizzie's sisters gave her a dirty look, and Mary did too. Jane clicked her tongue for insulting her father.

Mrs. Bennet ran to the wall mirror to admire the pendant; it was unusual yet beautiful. Then, she walked back and kissed her husband's cheek. "Thanks, my dear." The daughters giggled.

One by one, they opened their gifts, a smaller replica of their mother's. Each pendant had an enamel ring in the middle, in a different shade of blue, red, or green.

They kissed their father and started to admire each other's pendants. Lizzie narrowed her eyes, looking at her father, who covered the book he had been reading with another book, when he saw her examining the table. Lizzie decided to check the book later, thinking he was hiding something. She was certain her father had carved and painted the eggs during the last weeks. The chains, she knew, her father had inherited some of his mother's jewelry, several pendants with chains, and a few more baubles; however, a jeweler had made these eggs; they were not the wood carvings her father was making.

Lizzie went to her father last. She thanked him and said, "Thank you, my pendant is lovely. Though I must say, it looks much like…" she stopped talking, seeing him reach inside the box where he had stored the gift parcels. He pulled out a basket with small eggs carved in wood, with a painted narrow band around the middle in different colors. Lizzie raised her eyebrows; she thought the box had been empty before. Her father winked at Lizzie before she said anything else. So, rudely, she reached for the books on the table. One of the books, the one under, had gold leaf symbols.

Her father chuckled, annoying her. To her surprise, one was a philosophy book by Plato, and the other was about the Indies. The book at the bottom wasn't the same as he had before. Perhaps she had seen wrong.

"My girls, please choose one of the carvings I made for you. Now, finish getting ready so we can go to church." He held his wife's hand, still smiling. He was happy with the life he had chosen. He was sorry he could not share everything, but it was the only way to make sure that his beloved daughters were safe.

"My dear, what are we eating today?" He asked Fanny, and she ran her house well.

"Today, we will have a lamb roast with roasted potatoes, peas, and pudding for dessert. The pudding is fitting, I think so, looking at my gift. And thanks, today my daughters will look truly special. I cannot wait to see Bessie Lucas's face. She is always flaunting all she has, but I have better. You might not be Sir Bennet, but you are the best. Thanks, my darling." She whispered while the sisters admired the unusual eggs' engravings. "Tommy, I also have a gift for you. My brother brought me a new silk nightgown made in India, and I saved it for tonight."

He grinned and sighed, "I also cannot wait to unwrap my gift, that is," and liked seeing his wife blush bright red; this was indeed a good day.

Lizzie huffed, "What gift?" She was still annoyed at her mother and her father's improper kiss and wondered why her mother was blushing.

"Mine, now let's finish getting ready," Mrs. Bennet answered quickly. She was very happy. She had the most handsome husband, and her daughters were the prettiest, wearing such fine pendants. Now, if she could have a son, maybe tonight they could make one.

Mr. Bennet walked by Lizzie, "May I, let me, it is a bit tangled." He pointed at her chain.

Lizzie twisted her lips, looking sullen, and nodded.

When he touched the pendant, Lizzie felt a current of joy. Her bad attitude was gone, and she couldn't remember her suspicions. She was happy to be with the sisters she loved. "My pendant is lovely, thank you, Father. I like the egg you carved; I saw you doing it." She smiled brightly.

He smiled, "I know, whenever you wish. We will start in a week, and I will teach you as my mother taught me. Now let's go." He knew how lucky he was; he had a big treasure, five daughters and his Fanny, whose 'gift' he would unwrap tonight. If she could know how valuable their daughters were, she would quit worrying about having a son.