Chapter 3
Kitty Bennet breathed a sigh of relief upon returning home to Longbourn on the day of her uncle’s funeral.
The last week, while very interesting, had been rather uncomfortable.
Aunt Phillips’ home was a great deal smaller than Longbourn, and she only had one spare bedroom.
That in itself was no problem. At least Kitty had the bedroom all to herself just like at home.
The bed, however, had been incredibly uncomfortable.
The mattress was so old that no amount of airing could make it smell fresh. The room itself was somehow both stuffy and freezing, since it had no fireplace and the window hadn’t been opened in donkey’s years.
Any time Kitty considered going back home to Longbourn, however, two things had stopped her.
The first was that Aunt Phillips lived on the main thoroughfare in Meryton.
As such, her home was a hub of gossip. Anything and everything that happened in the town or its neighborhood was bound to be heard first in Aunt Phillips’ parlor.
The second thing was that Kitty knew that if she returned home, she would be asked to take her turn caring for her dying uncle.
What did she care about a decrepit old man she had never met and barely knew anything about?
All she had ever heard of him was that he went away to America before Jane was born.
Kitty was not unkind, at least not to people she knew, however she absolutely refused to make herself miserable for the sake of a sick stranger.
At least now, Uncle Bennet was gone. She could behave prettily and pretend to mourn with the family as long as they didn’t expect her to do so for more than a day or two.
And in exchange, she would have her elegant bedroom and her very comfortable bed instead of that dusty, musty room at Aunt Phillips’.
When she walked into the parlor, she greeted her sisters, Jane and Elizabeth. They were both doing some kind of needlework on black material, and Kitty was suddenly struck with the horrifying thought that she might have to go into true mourning.
“Welcome home, Kitty,” said Jane.
“Yes. Welcome back,” said Elizabeth. “Did you enjoy your time with Aunt Phillips?”
“Oh, it was wonderful,” said Kitty, deliberately leaving out the uncomfortable bits.
She was hoping to make her sisters jealous over her adventure that they had not shared.
“Aunt had so many visitors every day and so much news. She even threw a card party this past Wednesday night. It was a shame you could not attend.”
“I was sorry to miss it,” said Jane. “But taking care of our uncle was of much greater importance. After all, our only chance to ever know the man was this past week. He was very interesting to speak with when he could talk. It was truly a shame you did not get the chance to know him.”
“It’s true,” said Elizabeth. “He told me a most hilarious tale of how his chickens developed a strange disease where their feathers kept coming out. Only, he could never find where the feathers had fallen. It turned out, two of the neighborhood boys had been sneaking into his chicken coop and stealing the feathers right off the chickens.”
“What would they want with a bunch of chicken feathers?” asked Kitty with her nose wrinkled.
“He didn’t say, but I got the impression it was more mischief making than anything else,” said Elizabeth. “When he caught them, they claimed they were just trying to help by plucking the chickens before they were killed so he wouldn’t have to pluck them afterward.”
Kitty wrinkled her nose. Who cared about a bunch of chickens thousands of miles away?
“Have Mama and Lydia returned?” she asked to change the subject.
“Not yet, though they should be home mid-day tomorrow,” said Jane. “Mama wrote yesterday to say that she did not wish to return until all the fever had been cleaned and aired out of the house.”
“She also mentioned finishing up a few shopping trips,” said Elizabeth. “I shouldn’t be surprised if she comes home with yards and yards of cloth and ribbons and a hundred new ideas for gowns.”
“Oh, I do hope so,” said Kitty. “I only wish she had taken me with her. I am so jealous of Lydia. She was allowed to go to London even though she isn’t even old enough to enjoy it. By the way, what are you two sewing? I do hope we won’t have to go into mourning.”
“I am working on an armband for Papa,” said Elizabeth.
“I have been hemming a stack of black handkerchiefs,” said Jane. “Papa said it isn’t necessary for us to mourn a man we never knew, but I thought it might be nice to show some respect by carrying black handkerchiefs.”
“That was kind of you,” said Kitty with relief that she wouldn’t be required to wear black. She could easily carry around a black handkerchief with no inconvenience whatsoever.
She settled down in one of the chairs and continued chatting with her sisters, sharing all the news she had learned while staying with Aunt Phillips. All the while her sisters continued industriously sewing.
~~~~~
The next day, after Mama and Lydia returned home, Papa surprisingly gathered the whole family in the drawing room, saying that he had some news to share. Kitty was curious to know what would prompt their usually reticent father to step forward in such a way.
She didn’t have to wait long. Once everyone was seated, Papa said, “I wanted to discuss Collin’s will with you all.”
“If I remember correctly, he only had five thousand pounds when he ran off to America,” said Mama. “If he didn’t fritter it away, it will make a fine addition to our girls’ dowries.”
Papa actually chuckled, though Kitty could see nothing funny about Mama’s statement. She thought her mother was quite correct.
“He did not waste it, I assure you,” said Papa. He then went on to tell some long tale of how Uncle Bennet had found gold on his land. He ended with, “Now, his good fortune belongs to you. Each of you girls will receive an equal portion of his wealth.”
Mama was the first to respond. “Oh, my girls,” she cried. “How rich you will be. What rich husbands you will attract now that you have such fine dowries. Tell me, husband, how much will our daughters receive? I imagine if he found gold, he must have been quite wealthy indeed.”
Papa looked at her in that calculating way he had. Kitty couldn’t imagine what he was thinking. Eventually, he said, “They will receive somewhat more than ten thousand pounds each.”
“Ooh. That’s even better than I imagined,” said Mama.
She turned to her daughters and said, “Now none of you will have trouble attracting a husband, and we shall all be secure for all our days. I worried there for a little bit about what would happen to Longbourn now that the heir has passed, but now it doesn’t matter.
It will all go to that annoying cousin of Mr. Bennet’s, but we will still be comfortable, will we not, girls? ”
“I do hope I attract a husband first,” said Lydia.
“While I am the youngest and not yet out, I am sure I shall be quite the most popular young lady once I am.” She glanced at Jane and said, “Though Jane will probably get married first. With both her beauty and a large dowry, there is no way she will be passed over as she has been so far.”
Kitty noticed that Jane stared down at her hands and did not respond.
“Don’t worry, Lydia, my love,” said Mama. “Once you are out in a few months, I am certain you shall have no shortage of suitors.”
“I do believe that is enough discussion of suitors and husbands,” said Papa with some asperity.
“I must insist that none of you be in a hurry to marry. Just continue to live your lives as you have until I have settled all the financial and legal affairs associated with this inheritance. If you can all behave yourselves prettily, perhaps we can all go to the seaside this summer as a reward.”
Kitty could tell it pained Papa to say such a thing. He did not like traveling, so for him to actually offer to take them anywhere must mean it was important. Even so, Kitty could not imagine her mother ever letting go of the subject of marrying her girls off, especially now that they were rich.
“In the meantime,” he continued, “I will need to go to London to speak with Collin’s solicitors to arrange the transfer of the funds and to set up individual accounts for each of you. I will likely be gone a couple of weeks.”
“Oh, Mr. Bennet, why must you rush off just when we have such good news?” asked Mama. “I am certain my brother Phillips can take care of any little legal matter for you.”
“Phillips has been of enormous service to me over the years,” said Papa. “However, this is something I must take care of in person. Now, if there are no more questions, I must speak privately with Jane and Elizabeth.”
No one raised any objections, so Papa and Kitty’s two eldest sisters left the room.
Once they were gone, Mama said, “Now my dears, it is a good thing I acquired a great deal of good cloth in London. We must have a new gown made for each of you immediately so that you can look the part of elegant heiresses.”
“For my part, I would rather decline,” said Mary. “I believe it is considered rather vulgar to flaunt one’s wealth so openly.”
Before Mama could attempt to convince Mary, Lydia said, “Why must you always be such a wet blanket, Mary? You always take the fun out of everything. Even if you don’t wish to look pretty, the rest of us certainly do.”
“Well, I have said my piece,” said Mary. “Mama, may I be excused to go practice the piano.”
Mama hesitated, but then she gave in. “Very well. Go run off to the music room, if you insist.” Once Mary was gone, Mama, Kitty, and Lydia settled in for a long and detailed chat about what gowns they would like to have made and when the earliest chance of showing them off might be.