Chapter 8 #2
“No,” Elizabeth said after some thought.
“I do not pretend to know any of the inhabitants of Netherfield well, but based on my admittedly limited information, I think that Mr. Bingley is smitten with you, as any intelligent gentleman should be. I also believe that Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst are social climbers who wish for their brother to marry far higher in Society than the eldest daughter of a country gentleman, no matter how lovely, charming, honorable, and generous she is.”
Jane jerked a trifle and said, “My dear Lizzy, that is unkind.”
“I may be wrong, but I think not. You were speaking to Mr. Bingley for the last half of our visit today, but Miss Bingley deliberately talked on and on about her last time at the Opera House in London and made occasional asides about how dull it must be to be buried here in the country year round.”
“But we have spent time in Town and have visited the Opera,” Jane protested.
“Yes, we have, but I had trouble getting a word in edge wise, so I chose to be quiet.”
Mrs. Bennet stared at Elizabeth with a strange mix of relief and embarrassment.
“You know, I had not thought about it clearly before this, but you are certainly right! As far as the Bingleys are aware, Mr. Bennet is a mere country squire, and they probably also have heard that Longbourn is entailed away, and thus they may assume we are largely penniless. If the Bingleys are social climbers, they will not encourage their brother to pursue Jane based on connections or fortune!”
Jane looked at her stepmother, and then at her stepsister, and said hesitantly, “Is that not exactly what we are? A family of women whose home will be lost when our father dies?”
These last words were said with a slight tremble, and Mrs. Bennet felt a stab of guilt in her very soul.
“Oh Jane,” she said, “I should have … I have been so comfortable here at Longbourn, for so very long. I should have told you and Lizzy the true situation years ago!”
Jane blinked. “What do you mean? Is Longbourn not entailed?”
“It is,” Elizabeth said, reaching out to take her older sister’s hand in her own.
“We will lose Longbourn, but Mamma shared with me only a few days ago that I am a very wealthy heiress. Her first husband’s family left me a fortune of forty thousand pounds which has, over the last two decades, grown to nearly ninety thousand pounds. ”
Jane’s lovely mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. For a full minute, all was silence, before she whispered, “Ninety thousand pounds?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said shyly. “Incredible, I know. I can hardly believe it is true, myself.”
Jane turned wide blue eyes on her stepmother, who said contritely, “I am sorry, dear one. Elizabeth’s paternal grandfather set aside a substantial fortune for his grandchild, whom he assumed would be a male.
Elizabeth’s father died before she was born, and I ran away to Meryton to live with my old nurse so that my father would not gain control over us and Elizabeth’s wealth.
The money was tied up tightly for Elizabeth and has been growing for her entire life, leaving it at its truly immense proportions. ”
Jane shook her head in confusion. “I do not understand. Why have you kept this such a secret, Mamma?”
“Because I was sold into marriage for my connections, and I have never wanted Elizabeth to face similar circumstances. She is an extremely wealthy heiress, and granddaughter of a viscount. Next January she will be one and twenty and in control of her fortune, and I kept thinking there was no harm in waiting to explain the situation to her, but I see that I was wrong. Have you been worried about the future, Jane?”
“I have, yes. I had no idea there was substantial money in the family, and since I have no brothers…”
“I am sorry, Jane,” Mrs. Bennet said. “I did not know you were worrying in such a way. That was very poorly done of me and your father, but he was being respectful of my concerns about Lizzy. For that matter, you have a reasonable fortune of your own. You knew that you inherited your mother’s portion, of course? ”
Jane lifted one eyebrow. “Yes, and I am grateful for five thousand pounds and am aware I am not penniless, but two hundred pounds a year…”
“It is far more than that, Jane,” Mrs. Bennet interrupted. “I urged Mr. Bennet to place the money in the four percents and let it grow. It totals over ten thousand pounds now.”
Jane’s eyes flared wide, and she leaned back against her chair.
“Ten thousand pounds?!” she gasped. “That would provide an income of … four hundred pounds a year?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Bennet said. This conversation had not gone how she expected, not at all, and her conscience was a dagger in her heart. Jane had always been such a calm, serene girl that Mrs. Bennet had never imagined that Miss Bennet was worrying about the future. She should have told her sooner.
“Would that be enough to pay for a Season in London?” Jane asked softly, and now her expression was one of fragile hope.
“A Season?” Elizabeth asked in an astonished tone. “You wish for a Season?”
Jane turned her blue eyes on her stepsister.
“Yes, I wish for a Season above everything, Lizzy. Not that I will be presented at Court, but … oh, I wish to be married, to have my own home, to have children! And you know what it is like here in Meryton; the newcomers at Netherfield are the first eligible gentlemen in the area in many a year!”
“Jane,” Mrs. Bennet said, leaning forward to touch the young lady’s knee. “Do you truly like Mr. Bingley?”
“Oh, yes, most definitely!” Jane replied.
“He is handsome and seems generous and kind. But if you are asking whether part of my attraction to him is due to my circumstances, then yes, without a doubt that is true. I had no idea that there was genuine money in the family, and as I said, I want to find a good husband. But perhaps ten thousand pounds is not enough for a Season…?”
She trailed off and looked first at Mrs. Bennet, and then at Elizabeth. Elizabeth held her gaze and said decidedly, “There is enough money, and we will have a Season.”
Jane’s eyes shone with wonder. “Truly, Lizzy? Truly?”
“You do not mind, do you, Mamma?” Elizabeth asked, turning toward Mrs. Bennet. “With my very considerable fortune, we can afford a Season, and given that we do have distant relatives who are members of the nobility, perhaps…”
“They are more than distant relatives, dear ones,” Mrs. Bennet said, forcing herself to smile and speak cheerfully. “My first cousin is the fifth viscount Langdon. Yes, of course we can arrange for a Season.”
Jane clasped her hands together and her eyes glistened with tears. “Oh, I am so very excited. Thank you! Thank you!”