A Fortune of Gold and Good Sense (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Prologue

Collin Bennet watched the wedding ceremony with a great deal of distaste. He had warned his older brother, Thomas, that Francine Gardiner, better known as Fanny, would not make a suitable mistress for Longbourn several times, but each time it had resulted in a vicious argument.

When their last argument had actually come to blows, Collin decided to back down permanently. Apparently, Thomas was too far gone to listen to reason.

Though he had given up trying to change Thomas’ mind, Collin was far from approving of Miss Gardiner. At only eighteen, she was little more than a spoiled child. Collin was certain that the cheerfulness that Thomas was so enamored with would only last as long as her will was not crossed.

Additionally, she had absolutely no accomplishments and barely any intelligence, nor did she see the need for them. She was therefore entirely unsuitable to raise and educate whatever children the couple would be blessed with.

Whenever Collin had tried to point out these faults to his older brother, however, Thomas chalked it up to pride.

He sneered at Collin for having too much pride in his status as a landed gentleman and not enough liberality to see the merit in someone like Miss Gardiner who was everything beautiful and lovely even if her father was a merchant.

As he watched, Collin did not let his thoughts or feelings show on his face.

He had no intention of betraying his disapproval to anyone.

The new Mrs. Bennet’s position in society depended heavily on her receiving whatever support her new family could give her, and Thomas’ happiness depended heavily on Mrs. Bennet’s happiness.

Still, such loyalty could only go so far.

Collin refused to stay in the neighborhood and watch as Longbourn fell to ruin under Thomas’ lax hand and Fanny’s spending, which was certain to be extravagant.

A fortnight ago, he had begun making plans to leave the country, and those plans were nearly complete. His ship would leave from Portsmouth in a week.

Eventually, the ceremony came to an end, and it was time for the wedding breakfast, which was far more interesting than the ceremony had been.

The Gardiners’ home wasn’t large enough to host the kind of celebration the new Mrs. Bennet insisted upon, so they had rented the assembly rooms in Meryton.

Everyone from the neighborhood with any status whatsoever had been invited to the breakfast.

At one point, Mr. Goulding turned to Collin and said, “Your late mother would have been so pleased to welcome such a lovely daughter-in-law to the family, don’t you think?”

Collin thought nothing of the sort. His mother had been quite observant and unusually canny. He couldn’t say his thoughts aloud, however. “I am certain Father would have liked her,” he said, instead of agreeing.

It was true. His father never looked closely at the personalities of ladies. Ladies were ornaments and comforts, not people to be listened to or respected. He wasn’t unkind. He was just neglectful. He never knew or appreciated the jewel of a woman he married.

But Collin did. He had always respected his mother far more than his father, while Thomas had very much taken after their father.

Perhaps that was why he was so adamant in his intention to marry this particular lady. She was most definitely an ornament, and Collin was certain she would be a comfort to Thomas in some ways. However, none of that would last long. Of that he was also certain.

Mrs. Bennet was radiant in her joy at being the center of attention at her wedding breakfast for three hours straight, and Thomas was clearly happy to see her in such a state.

Eventually, however, even Thomas’ patience ran out, and the happy couple left to spend their wedding night at Longbourn.

Tomorrow, they would depart for Brighton to enjoy a month-long wedding journey.

It was only after his brother had left the wedding breakfast that Collin realized he had made a critical mistake.

He had been putting off the onerous task of announcing his departure, looking for the right time, but he had never found it. Despite what Thomas thought, Collin had no desire to dim his brother’s joy, so he hadn’t yet disclosed that he would be leaving.

And now it was too late.

He couldn’t possibly interrupt the happy couple today to tell them, but after today, they wouldn’t be here, and he couldn’t delay his departure. His berth was paid for, and there wouldn’t be another ship sailing to that part of North America for at least two weeks.

As Collin left the assembly hall, he shook his head ruefully at his stupidity. He had prided himself on his intelligence in recognizing that Thomas was making a mistake. He had been so certain of his course, that leaving England would leave Thomas free to live how he wanted.

And all the while, he was forgetting something so important.

Well, there was nothing for it but to leave a letter with Mrs. Hampton, the housekeeper at Longbourn. She would make certain Thomas received it upon his return, and that would be that.

August 12, 1788

Dear Thomas,

I am a fool, a complete and utter idiot, and I apologize most profusely for it. I neglected to tell you something very important, and now it is too late to do so in person.

After our last fight, it began to dawn on me that you will probably be happier if I am not living in the neighborhood to interfere in your life.

With this in mind, I have purchased a ticket on the next ship to North Carolina, one of the former colonies.

I have heard that the weather there is rather similar to what we have here in Hertfordshire, as is the landscape, so I thought I might be less homesick there.

My ship sails a week from today, so by the time you return from your wedding journey, I will be gone three weeks or more.

I will be taking my five thousand pounds that our father left me and purchasing enough land there to support myself with.

Since the price of land in the former colonies is much lower than here in England, I expect I will be able to be quite comfortable, but if the venture fails, I will just sell out and move to one of the cities in the north.

Though it won’t be easy or quick to communicate by letter, I do hope to hear from you sometime. I shall miss you, Brother, but I wish you all the luck in the world.

Your Brother Always,

Collin

~~~~~

Thomas Bennet was quite irritated by the time he returned to Longbourn from his wedding journey.

The reality of having a wife was nothing like what he had dreamed of.

Mrs. Bennet’s cheerfulness was not as constant as he had thought.

In fact, when she was discontented, she made him aware of it far more easily than she had shared her joy.

Fortunately, with all the entertainment in Brighton, she wasn’t discontented often.

What was far more unpleasant, however, was that her conversation was fundamentally boring. When they went out, she spoke incessantly of all the things she wanted to buy or how she wanted to change her dress or bonnet with a new ribbon or flowers. It was fundamentally uninteresting.

When he had tried to introduce a more interesting subject like how seashells were made or what kinds of seaweed could be found in the area, she had nothing to say.

He had known that she wasn’t particularly erudite, so none of this should have come as a surprise, but what was surprising was that their marital activities weren’t nearly as pleasant as he had expected.

While she was beautiful to look at, she was always stiff and cold in his arms. She willingly did what he asked, but it was clear she took no pleasure in it.

In truth, Thomas was quite happy to be home again, where he would have the company of more than just his silly wife. Collin would be there, and he was always a pleasure to talk with. His other gentlemen neighbors would also be good company.

Once he had cleaned off the dust of the road, he made his way to his bookroom and breathed a sigh of relief as he settled into his favorite leather armchair. With the smell of leather, paper, and ink surrounding him and the feel of a book in his hand, he finally felt as though he were truly home.

He didn’t get to enjoy it for long. Mrs. Hampton entered shortly after he had settled and said, “I have a letter from your brother. He left it with me before he went away.”

“He left?” asked Thomas. “Did he decide to go live in London?” That didn’t sound like Collin. His brother detested the city. In fact, Thomas was of the firm belief that if Collin hadn’t been born a gentleman, he would have been happy being a farmer.

“I do not know,” said Mrs. Hampton. “He only said he was moving away, and he asked me to give you this letter.”

“Very well,” said Thomas. He took the letter and read it.

When he was done reading it, Thomas laid it on his lap and simply stared off into the distance.

Collin was gone.

Thomas had not realized how much he was depending on his brother for sensible conversation until the prospect was no longer an option.

He had assumed Collin would be a frequent guest for dinner at Longbourn, thereby relieving Thomas of the tedium of Mrs. Bennet’s incessant gossip.

Instead, Thomas would have no buffer whatsoever to defend himself from her random chatter.

Without Collin, Thomas would have to bestir himself to attend social functions more often, possibly even spending some nights at the pub.

He sighed and even groaned a bit. Married life truly was nothing like he had imagined.

Collin had tried to warn him. In fact, he was the only one who had warned him. Not even the married men Thomas had always looked up to, men who should have known what a millstone Fanny would be, had ever told him anything other than what a lovely girl she was.

She was that. She was beautiful, in fact, especially when she smiled or laughed. It was only that she had absolutely no other desirable qualities, at least not for Thomas.

With another sigh, Thomas pulled himself out of his chair and headed for his desk to write a reply to Collin. It was only when the letter was complete that Thomas realized he didn’t know where to send it.

Collin had left no address other than saying that he would settle in North Carolina.

Thomas placed the letter in a drawer. Hopefully, Collin would write again once he was settled to share his address.

~~~~~

Collin Bennet settled in Cabarrus County. He purchased a large farm and hired a handful of laborers to run it for him, making himself into more of an overseer than a farmer.

It was the life he had always dreamed of. He had plenty of work when he wanted it and responsibility to give his life purpose, but he also had plenty of time to relax and enjoy life.

Once he was settled, he sent a letter to his brother at Longbourn to inform him of his address. What he did not know was that the ship which carried his letter sank before reaching England’s shores.

When Collin did not hear back from Thomas even after a year, Collin concluded that his brother must not have forgiven him for insulting his wife.

Three years after his arrival in North Carolina, Collin married Miss Emilia Evans. Collin decided to try once again to win his brother’s forgiveness, so he wrote with the news of his marriage. This letter unfortunately went astray even before arriving at the port in Wilmington.

When Collin still received no response from England, he gave up, assuming that Thomas simply did not wish to keep the connection.

Though he never truly stopped missing England’s rolling hills or his brother’s cynical humor, Collin went on to build an entirely happy, and surprisingly prosperous, life with Emilia and their son, Bertram.