Chapter 3

Jane and Elizabeth returning to Longborne felt rather anticlimactic. After being gone for three months the first thing they noticed was Fanny appeared to be a bit heavier. Jane waited until she and Fanny were alone before asking if she was with child again. Mrs. Bennet did not answer with words, but her Mona Lisa smile was meant to convey a positive response. She waited until she and Lizzy were ensconced in their sleeping chamber before turning to her and swallowing. "If that miserable old harpy is carrying a boy I just might kill her for putting us though all of what we have endured the last three months."

Lizzy found it difficult to form a coherent response to Jane's assertion as a kaleidoscope of disastrous thoughts swirled through her mind. Their mother was pregnant again! What were the chances?

She wrapped her arms around Jane and they held each other for several minutes. Jane eventually managed to whisper. "There is so much we do not know. We must trust that God has led us thus far and he shall lead us home. Let us think in terms of with two children due around the same time doubles the chances of a boy being born."

It turned into a waiting game. Lizzy went about her life as usual, determined to follow her plan through since there was no going back and undoing it. She had been correct when she told Jane she would be able to hide her pregnancy. She remained as small and thin as ever. Even Jane had not been convinced that Lizzy was carrying although she knew that Lizzy's courses had not come, she was thinking more in terms of Lizzy having a phantom pregnancy.

Fanny officially announced her increase as the child she carried quickened. Elizabeth felt a calm descend upon herself with the realization that her own pregnancy was approximately four weeks behind Fanny's. Since she was suffering no ill-effects she did not tell anyone about her plan-in-action to save her sisters from living in the hedgerows.

Lizzy was at the end of her seventh month when the family discovered her secret. She did not actually tell them then; she contracted a bad case of influenza from Mrs. Bennett and the doctor was the one to break the news to Mr. Bennett.

Fanny's case of influenza had not been particularly virulent, but it did cause her to go into labor. When she passed the germs on to Elizabeth it became a near-death experience. Elizabeth, at fifteen, did not have the physical reserves to fight off the flu and carry a child at the same time.

Since Doctor Jones was already at the house attending to Fanny being in labor it was of no consequence for him to check on Elizabeth when Jane pulled him aside and mentioned she was running a fever. The doctor noticed Elizabeth's condition when he was checking her lungs.

Doctor Jones was unflappable under most circumstances. He understood the situation and took the time to speak to Mr. Bennett regarding the situation. Bennett did not receive the news well, but he did direct Jane to pack some clothes and take the other three girls to Aunt Phillips' house and remain in quarantine until he should come for them. He directed her to explain to Aunt that with Fanny delivering twins and Lizzy at death's door he needed help.

Jane did not want to leave Lizzy but with both parents and the doctor telling her to remove the other three girls from the house before they also fell ill with influenza she did.

Elizabeth was feverish but aware when her labor pains began. It was obvious that both Dr Jones and Papa were disappointed with her. Their tone of voice said it all. They were both being acrimonious. It was too much to explain to them the why of her situation. The only thing left to do was get it over with. Listening to the men speak, she knew she had failed. Everything she had done had been for her family and now that would be taken from her also. Her labor was short, intense, and debilitating.

Looking at his favorite daughter lying in her bed caused a major shift in Bennett's perception. Hearing the echoes of Doctor Jones' recriminations broke his heart. Knowing that she had ruined her own future to protect and advance her family had a profound effect on him.

Mr. Bennett might have been ferociously angry with his favorite child but when Fanny rose from her bed and made her way into Lizzy's room he held his peace. She sat down in the chair beside Elizabeth's bed and held her hand while keeping vigil. He watched as Fanny would raise the cup to Lizzy's chapped and broken lips so she could drink.

When he left the room Lizzy clutched at her mother's fingers and begged her to help.

Fanny dipped a rag in the basin of cold water and after wringing it out placed it on Lizzy's forehead. "Hush, darling girl. I can help you, but you must listen to me."

"Yes, Mama." Was all she managed before a strong contraction gripped her, seizing her whole body, and stealing her breath.

"I am going to touch you where the baby comes out." Franny kept up a running commentary of what she was doing as she washed her hands and reached for the small jar of clean lard infused with lavender oil Jane had made to soothe rough skin.

Lizzy's eyes flared open in shock when her mother touched her vaginal area. Then Fanny's voice took her back to theater and she was in William's arms. "We need to relax your cervix muscle. The baby will come faster if we can get you to dilate further." Just thinking of him allowed her to forget the current circumstances. The labor went quickly after that.

Master William Thomas Bennett was born some five hours after Elizabeth's water broke. The last few pushes had exhausted her strength though, and she drifted off in a sea of pain. Lizzy lost consciousness as William took his first breath and announced to the world that his lungs were fully formed even if he was six weeks early. It was another four days before her fever broke and she woke up.

During the long hours while she floated in and out of consciousness she babbled constantly, calling for William and begging him to forgive her for treating him so badly. During that time Fanny found the strength to take care of her new daughter and William and nurse Elizabeth at the same time, mainly because she did not trust anyone else around Elizabeth when she began speaking in her delirium. Fanny was humbled to learn it was her incessant whining about hedgerows that drove Elizabeth to sacrifice her virginity on the Alter of the Hedgerows of Longborne.

A week after William's birth Elizabeth was finally able to sit up in bed and talk. Only after Doctor Jones was satisfied with Elizabeth's explanation of why she forfeited her virtue did he instruct Mr. Bennett that he should go to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips' residence and retrieve his other four daughters. It was high time they were introduced to their new brother and sister.

During Elizabeth's illness Fanny accomplished everything Elizabeth planned for. Fanny's milk came in and she took over the care and feeding of Victoria Lynette and her twin brother Willaim Thomas.

Mrs. Bennet acknowledged the sacrifice Elizabeth had made for them and begged Mr. Bennet to raise the child as his. She cried tears of grief as Mr. Bennet humbly begged her forgiveness for not doing more to take care of her and the girls better. Both parents confessed to each other with tears of remorse running down their faces that they were ashamed of how the two of them neglected their parental duties.

Both Bennet parents cried when Doctor Jones presented Mr. Bennet with fait acompi the third day of Elizabeth's recovery. He filled out the birth certificates to list Mr. Bennet as the father and Francine Gardiner Bennet as the mother. He congratulated Fanny on delivering a fine set of twins and went on with his day.

Mary, Kitty and Lydia were happy to be home with Lizzy. They assured her that they had missed her the whole week they were at Aunt Phillips' house, but they had also been terribly busy with Aunt Phillips teaching them what she had been taught as a girl. Aunt Phillips had sat the girls down the afternoon they arrived and told them that they needed to use their time wisely so while they were visiting they were to pretend they were attending a boarding school.

Jane had caught on to what Aunt Phillips was doing. She was determined to help with whatever lessons Aunt would care to provide. As Aunt sat Kitty and Lydia down and began to explain to them what was expected from them while at school, Jane whispered to Mary that they needed to help Aunt with keeping the younger two entertained so they would not cause undue stress. Since Jane was gifted with most types of needlework she took over the sewing lessons by showing them how to crochet blocks which she planned to sew together for a baby blanket.

Mary, at thirteen, responded positively when Uncle Phillips began to correct her personality in a positive direction. He helped her find her feet while lending help to her sisters. He gently directed her to the New Testament where he introduced the book of James and had her begin guiding the girls in daily devotionals and suitable prayers instead of reading sermons from Fordyce. All four soon made it a part of their day to enter the sanctuary at Meryton Chapel and spend a few minutes in quiet reflection before joining Aunt Phillips in the parlor to work on their lessons.

Kitty and Lydia found their days went faster with the structure Aunt Phillips provided them with. The first day she had led them in directed learning had surprised them because she had pulled out old copybooks and explained that they should have had a solid grounding already for reading and writing. Jane and Mary had joined them on the second day and the four girls found Aunt Phillips had a real gift for teaching. In addition to their reading and writing they enjoyed learning French and German, working on their deportment, and exploring various forms of needlework. They also found it amusing that Uncle Phillips would return to the house when he was not needed at his office so he could spend his free hours with them, teaching art, math and history.

Everyone at Longbourne could agree that life changed for the better after Mrs. Bennet delivered a son. When she gave birth to a second set of twins a year and a half later it was easy to overlook her idiocy prior to the birth of William Thomas Bennet. Samuel Phillip Bennet and Edward Gardiner Bennet were the icing on the cake as far as children went. During the time Fanny was tending to them Jane and Elizabeth stepped up and took care of Vick and Will. Their care continued after Fanny regained her role as mistress of Longbourne.

Jane did not mind caring for Victoria because it gave Elizabeth the chance to tend to William. Elizabeth adored being able to take care of her son. She toted him everywhere and included him in everything. Jane understood the mentality and did the same for Vick. It made life at Longbourne all the sweeter.