4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
January 1792 Longbourn, Hertfordshire Mr. Bennet
T homas ordered all sources of alcohol removed from the house the morning after his hasty marriage. Drink had done him no favors. Now, trapped in a marriage he had drunkenly agreed to, he resolved to make the best of it. Perhaps this new Mrs. Bennet would prove to be a worthy mistress of Longbourn and an acceptable substitute for Olivia.
It did not take long for Thomas to realize he had made a grave error. Mrs. Fanny Bennet, formerly Mrs. Younge, had married at just fifteen. Her first husband, Mr. Albert Younge, had been a promising solicitor in Derbyshire. They had lived in Lambton for the duration of their marriage and had one child together, a girl named Jane Francis. Mr. Younge had died in a carriage accident six months prior. His elder brother had resolved against helping his sister-in-law and niece, instead sending them back to Meryton on the post coach with only a trunk of belongings between them.
Mrs. Younge might have lived well on her dowry. It had been ten thousand pounds upon her marriage, but only five thousand remained. Mr. Gardiner was mum on where half the amount had gone, and despite being pressed for more information from the now sober Mr. Bennet, he kept his lips sealed.
The new Mrs. Bennet had, within the first week of living at Longbourn, ordered all signs of Olivia to be packed into trunks and moved to the attics. Still floundering from his egregious error, Mr. Bennet had not protested. Little Miss Younge's arrival had caused an uproar, too. Mrs. Bennet refused to have her dear child too far from her and had taken over the largest of the remaining family rooms for Jane. A new nursemaid solely for the girl’s use had been procured.
With no other recourse than to make this marriage work, Mr. Bennet tried to come to know his wife. Too soon, he learned she was an empty-headed lady, with no thoughts other than finery and fripperies between her ears. Though she was a beauty, Fanny Bennet held no substance. Any attempts to suggest the improvement of her mind were met with scorn and laughter.
“What need have I for books, Mr. Bennet?” she laughed shrilly. “I have caught two husbands now without having read a single one.”
More trouble arrived near the end of the month. Mavery’s carriage drew to a stop outside Longbourn, and he entered the library without waiting to be announced.
“Bennet,” he greeted sharply, eliciting a sardonic grin.
“Mavery,” Bennet returned. “How do you do?”
“Married, Bennet?” Mavery snapped. “How could you? Olivia has not been gone a half year!”
“Believe me, sir, I have already learned to regret it. Sit, and I shall tell you everything.” Thomas explained the situation over the next half an hour, detailing his drunken state and lack of memory surrounding the agreement with Mr. Gardiner. “So, you see, my friend, I have been well and truly caught. And it is my fault, for my intoxication prevented me from stopping it.”
Mavery shook his head sadly. “I am sorry for it, Thomas. You might have found love again. Is there a chance—”
“No,” he snapped, cutting his brother-in-law off. “Mrs. Fanny Bennet is a vapid, foolish woman with no sense whatsoever. I could not have made a poorer choice.”
“Will the girls be well?”
Thomas shrugged. “She does not see them in the nursery. Molly is in the nursery all day. Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Potts bring all matters surrounding my children directly to me. Her own child is in a room in the family quarters.”
“Allow nothing untoward to happen to my nieces,” Mavery warned.
“I promise I shall look after them,” Bennet replied. “It is good that their futures are secure. Mrs. Bennet brings only a paltry dowry with her. But maybe there is a silver lining—perhaps with her I might bear a son.”
“Would that make it all worth it?” Mavery asked.
“Hardly. She refuses to make any attempt to better herself. She is the daughter of a tradesman. How could I expect anything else?”
Mavery smiled wryly. “Give it time. Our agreement still stands. The girls—and by extension, you— are to come to Elm Grove in the summer.”
“And will you include my wife and stepchild in that?”
His friend considered. “I would be willing to have them on a trial basis. If it goes well, they can come again. If not, well…” he trailed off, but Thomas understood.
“It will be so,” Bennet agreed. "Meanwhile, I shall make the most of my situation.”
“I see you are sober, at least.” Mavery raised his cup of tea to his friend. “That much I cannot repine.”
“Yes, and I doubt I shall ever touch a drink again,” Bennet mused. “It is that confounded liquid that put me in this mess.”
“You cannot blame the drink alone for this disaster,” Mavery cautioned. “At least you have acknowledged your part in the fiasco. Had you listened to me and sobered up upon my last visit, you would not now be facing a lifetime attached to a woman not of your choosing.”
“No one could ever replace Olivia,” Thomas said seriously. “Had I been in my right mind in December, I would have understood that and refused Mr. Gardiner’s proposition. It is not fair to any woman to be placed in a position where she must fill Olivia’s shoes. No other lady could compare.”
A muffled cry sounded just outside the door, which stood open a crack. “I believe our conversation has been less than private,” Mavery remarked shrewdly.
“Yes, Fanny has a bad habit of listening at doors.” Thomas rolled his eyes and frowned. “I have caught her doing so several times as I conducted business affairs.”
“Then it was only a matter of time until she heard something she did not like.” Mavery sipped his tea thoughtfully. “I dislike it, Bennet. What if she turns on your children?”
“If that occurs, we shall act.” Bennet put his own cup down somewhat forcefully, the china rattling from the motion. “I will not tolerate any abuse toward my girls.”
Mavery departed the next day with only the barest of civilities extended toward Mrs. Fanny Bennet. Thomas thought privately that his brother-in-law resented the woman who had taken his sister’s place as mistress of Longbourn, and he understood the sentiment. He, too, resented Fanny. She was the antithesis of Olivia in every sense, from her appearance to her lack of intelligent discourse. Now bound to a woman inferior to him in every respect, including status, Thomas lamented his marriage to his former equal.
As months passed, his resentment festered and grew. The summer visit to Elm Grove did not help. Mrs. Bennet complained about the carriage the entire way. They hired another carriage to transport the children and their nursery maids, and she demanded that only Jane ride in the first one with them.
“Jane is old enough to hold still and behave,” she reasoned. She had rambled endlessly on the journey, making it difficult for Bennet to concentrate on his book. And when they arrived at Elm Grove, her lack of refinement showed as she praised the fashionable and opulent surroundings. She loudly changed the subject whenever anyone mentioned Olivia.
After a month of Mrs. Bennet’s unreasonable demands at all hours, Mavery asked Bennet to take her and Miss Younge back to Longbourn. “Her presence is upsetting my mother,” he confided. “It would be best to cut the visit short this year.”
Bennet agreed, but refused to allow his daughters to remain without him. At the end of June, the entire party left Elm Grove and made their way back to Longbourn. The tedious journey further poisoned Bennet against traveling, and he sequestered himself in his study for a week after in an attempt to recover.
Around that time, a letter came from Lady Catherine. Mavery had written to all Olivia’s friends informing them of her passing.
Dear Sir,
It has come to my attention that you have married again. For shame! Olivia not dead in the ground for a six month and you have wed again. I care not for the circumstances that led you to this folly—there are no excuses to account for your disgraceful behavior. My dear friend’s memory, sullied in such a manner!
Be not alarmed that the entirety of this missive will contain my disdain, though I will not hesitate to make my sentiments known. What manner of woman will be mother to my goddaughter and her sister? Does Miss Mary even have godparents? You must see that she does, sir, if you have not. I shall be godmother to both if necessary.
I intend to do my duty to Olivia, and care for her daughters as if they were my own. Elizabeth is of an age with my Anne. They will be the best of friends, I am certain. Pray, let us arrange a visit to Rosings Park. Your wife and her spawn will remain at Longbourn. You and your girls will come alone. Sir Lewis is in agreement.
Pray, write to me soon with acceptable dates for travel.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Bennet might have laughed at the lady’s audacity at one time, but now he allowed her recriminations to flow over him, letting the guilt for his impetuous actions sink in. Olivia had cherished her friendship with Lady Catherine. It had been all he could bear to visit Elm Grove. How was he to visit Rosings Park as well? Lady Catherine would talk endlessly about Olivia, making the pain fresh again. He glanced again at the letter—the lady had a daughter near Elizabeth's age. What was her name? Scanning the missive, he found the name: Anne.
He wrote to the lady, declining a visit. My heart cannot bear it, he wrote. My wife treasured her relationship with you, and to hear you speak so tenderly of her wounds me and reminds me of what I have lost. Please, allow me to grieve. I shall not prevent you from contacting my girls. They will need good examples in their life, for their stepmother has not the knowledge of proper deportment to teach them correctly.
Lady Catherine sent letters for two years. And then, Sir Lewis died unexpectedly, throwing her life into turmoil. It would be many years before she wrote again.
Still disgusted with the arrangement he now found himself in, Mr. Bennet refused to come to his wife’s bed for almost a year and a half. When he finally felt equal to attempting to conceive an heir, Mrs. Bennet fell with child almost immediately.
Before the end of 1794, Fanny bore a girl, calling her Catherine Amelia. The baby cried constantly, so very unlike Mary and Elizabeth had been at that age. Less than two years later, Mrs. Bennet bore another child, a girl she named Lydia Marie. When it became clear that no more children were forthcoming, Mr. Bennet stopped visiting his wife’s bed and threw his entire focus into educating his and Olivia’s children.