Chapter 21
The day following Fanny Bennet’s arrest, after meeting with the Gardiners at Netherfield Park, Mr. Phillips invited Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner to meet with him at his office. Bennet had not expected to be welcomed as a brother, but he was not prepared for the frosty reception he encountered.
“Let us keep strictly to the reason we are here,” Gardiner stated after a terse greeting to Bennet. “The one thing we agree on is you are not a fit parent, and with Fanny out of the house, the inadequate attention Mary and Kitty receive will become non-existent.”
“I know my own limitations and am willing to sign whatever I need to.” Bennet turned to Phillips.
“Your wife is one of the few who Lydia obeys. If you are willing to take her, it will be a long road to rid her, partially or entirely, of the bad habits my wife engrained in her. Contrary to my usual assertion about the silliest girls in the realm, the truth is all three of the younger girls are intelligent—mayhap not as much as Lizzy, but they are not deficient. As you know Lydia is boisterous, but I believe if one were to redirect her energy to positive activities and behaviours, she might turn out well in the end.”
“Let me ask you something, Bennet. If you understood and saw these things, why did you not do something about it? What made you hide in your library and allow Fanny to rule the roost?” Gardiner asked pointedly.
“Seeking peace was my main goal. Knowing has never been my problem, it is doing that has been too much effort for me,” Bennet stated.
“I recognise I am indolent and did not do my duty to my family. For me it is too late, but not for my daughters. If I am not mistaken, Lizzy has bloomed in a loving and accepting family like yours, Gardiner.” Gardiner allowed it was so.
“It is my belief if Mary and Kitty live in that environment, it will not be long until they are unrecognisable as the girls they are today.”
“Hattie and I spoke. As you know, we have always wanted a child and we are willing to accept Lydia into our household, but under the same terms as Lizzy was sent to my Brother Gardiner. You will make it irrevocable,” Phillips stated firmly.
“Maddie and I will take Mary and Kitty, but only if they want to come. We will not force them,” Gardiner informed Bennet. “Have them sent to Netherfield this afternoon at three. Lizzy will meet with them as well. If they decide to live with us, they will not be returning to Longbourn.”
“I have three documents prepared, one for each girl. If Mary and Kitty choose to stay with the Gardiners, then I will deliver the documents to Netherfield Park, if not, they will be consigned to the fire,” Phillips informed the other two men.
Bennet signed all three, Phillips one, and Gardiner two.
As Phillips was the named guardian in one document, his head clerk notarised the document pertaining to Lydia.
When Bennet departed the law offices, only two of his daughters remained under his protection; he suspected the number would be naught by that afternoon. He did not go to the gaol to visit his wife.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Jane Collins had just returned from visiting some parishioners when an express arrived from her father. When she read her mother was in gaol pending an examination by doctors who would evaluate her for Bedlam, Jane was not overly surprised.
It was sad any human being could end up in such straits, but Jane could not force herself to have sympathy for the woman. Jane now knew her mother had taught her all the wrong lessons, then abandoned her as soon as she was no longer of use.
She understood it was her Christian duty to forgive, and that she had done. Forgiving her parents on the one hand and wanting to see them again or feel sympathy for the situation of their own making on the other hand, were very different things.
As a footnote, her father wrote the Gardiners had purchased Netherfield Park and were now in residence there with their five children. She understood from her father’s message Lizzy was no longer named Bennet—at least that was one thing she had in common with the sister she had wronged so terribly.
Mr. Collins had reiterated how important it was for her to report anything the parishioners said about his esteemed patroness, or anything else they told her in confidence, to him.
Jane felt no guilt about lying to his face and telling him she had heard nothing but respect expressed for the great lady.
Her friendship with Anne de Bourgh was proceeding anon. Mrs. Jenkinson facilitated meetings between them of which neither Anne’s mother nor Jane’s husband were aware. During a recent meeting, Jane shared what she had written to the Bishop of Kent.
The next time they met, Anne gave Jane a letter to the Bishop to post the next time she was in Hunsford.
Anne told Jane she had confirmed everything Jane had written and in addition that Mr. Collins had not been appointed to the living legally, as he was appointed after her birthday when she had turned three and twenty.
It was the date that Anne became the owner and legal mistress of Rosings Park.
Without explaining what she meant, Anne told Jane not to worry.
If she were ever left homeless when—Anne said when, not if—her husband was defrocked for his transgressions against church law, Jane would not be left to fend for herself.
Anne told Jane that around Easter of this year all would be put to rights, without going into detail.
Jane was once again being called an angel, but now it was not because of her looks or a put on serene countenance. Those in need of assistance in the parish thought her heaven-sent. She went as far as to dole out her meagre pin money to those who needed it more.
If a lady of the house was sick, Jane would care for her children, clean, cook—whatever was needed was done. As much as her husband was reviled by those in the area, Jane Collins was loved.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Just before three, the Bennet carriage brought Mary and Kitty to Netherfield Park. “Lizzy!” Both girls yelled in unison as the first person they saw when the door was opened by one they still considered their sister.
Both had tried to write to Lizzy, but their mother burnt their letters and punished them for disobeying her. “Mary, Kitty! It is so good to see you after almost three months.” Elizabeth opened her arms and her younger sisters hugged her back with gusto.
“We did not think you would want to see us again,” Mary admitted.
“I do not hold you accountable for the actions of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and the former Jane Bennet. I hope you have realised none of them are people on which to model your behaviour,” Elizabeth assured them.
The Gardiners led the three into the drawing room, where it was just the five of them. Madeline Gardiner called for tea and after cake was consumed and tea drunk, Gardiner looked at the two Bennet sisters.
“Did your father inform you of the purpose of today’s visit, girls?” Gardiner asked kindly.
“No,” Kitty spoke for the first time. “He just told us we would be able to choose a better life than the one we have had up until now.”
“You girls know what is about to happen to your mother, do you not?” Madeline asked gently.
“Papa has not said much except Mama is in the town gaol. Lydia has not made any sense since she returned from Netherfield Park babbling about Bedlam,” Mary informed the Gardiners.
“There is no way to know why, but we believe, and your father agrees, that your mother has gone insane. It is sad, but she will need to be committed to an institution like Bedlam,” Gardiner explained.
“I will not allow my sister to go to the public part of Bedlam if the doctors recommend she be assigned there. Regardless of the way she treated Lizzy, I do not want her to be viewed like a wild animal at a menagerie.”
“I have always harboured such a suspicion. Her talk of Lizzy choosing to be born a girl and cursing her so Mama would not birth a son made me wonder,” Mary shared.
“There were many signs that we all dismissed. Many of them we simply explained away as her selfishness,” Madeline opined.
“The reason you are here today is to ask if you would like to live with us,” Gardiner broached the core reason the two sisters were present.
“With your mother no longer living in the home, your father has admitted he will not be able to protect and look after you as he should. Would you like to talk to Lizzy first before you decide? Know we will not force a choice on you; it is up to you.”
Mary and Kitty were shocked into silence, so they simply nodded. Gardiner and Madeline stood and exited the drawing room, closing the door quietly behind them.
“It is a shock, but I can understand it. Remember, I did not have a choice,” Elizabeth opened.
“Let me tell you something. Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Collins did not intend it, but they did me the greatest of favours.
I will not lie to you—it took me time to be able to see that, but I have never been happier than I am with Mother and Father.
Sorry, you know them as Aunt Maddie and Uncle Edward.
“There are no favourites in this household. Every one of their children are loved and valued equally regardless of if they are children of Mother’s body or not.
You will never hear your aunt and uncle denigrate any of their children; they do not make anyone feel less than because they are different looking or do not resemble them.
” Elizabeth paused and let her words sink in.
“You mean Aunt Gardiner would never tell me I am plain and nothing to her other daughters?” Mary asked softly as a few tears escaped before she could stop them.