Chapter 1
Elizabeth Bennet walked down Main Street in Meryton, tagging along behind her two youngest sisters, Lydia and Kitty. They were returning home after ordering new gowns at the dressmaker’s, which would hopefully be ready in time for the assembly in three weeks.
Her sisters were greeted pleasantly and cheerfully by those who passed them, while Elizabeth was simply acknowledged. The reason for this was simple, and it was something Elizabeth had to deal with her whole life.
She was an illegitimate child.
She had come to live with her father when she was four years old, though no one would tell her where she lived before that or even who her mother was.
When she was young, she remembered crying a great deal over the fact that her sisters had friends and she did not. Papa would comfort her as best he could and would often cheer her up with a treat or a present, the most effective of which was always a new book.
Books became Elizabeth’s best comfort. She didn’t need friends in order to read. She didn’t need sisters or a mother to help her learn. She could do it by herself.
As she grew up and came to understand what it meant to be an illegitimate child, she couldn’t even blame her mother or even her sisters for treating her the way they did. She was a constant reminder that Mr. Bennet had failed to uphold his marriage vows.
Only one of Elizabeth’s sisters treated her the same as she treated her other sisters. That was Jane, the oldest. Jane was universally kind to everyone, but she seemed to have a great deal of pity for “poor Elizabeth,” so she tried to treat her as well as she could.
Kitty and Lydia took their cues from their mother, who treated Elizabeth with tolerance. She didn’t complain when Mr. Bennet singled Elizabeth out for a gift or to receive specific education, but she also didn’t speak to her very much either.
That was what Elizabeth’s younger two sisters did as well. They acknowledged her existence, but they didn’t pay her much attention.
As they walked down the street, heading for the country lane that would take them home, a window sash nearby opened and a voice called out, “Lydia, Kitty! You will never guess. Such news!”
The three sisters turned toward the voice.
It was Mrs. Phillips. Mrs. Phillips was Mrs. Bennet’s sister, making her the aunt of Elizabeth’s sisters.
However, she resented Elizabeth’s existence far more than Mrs. Bennet did, and simply refused to acknowledge her existence, not allowing Elizabeth to call her Aunt Phillips or even to speak to her.
“What news?” asked Lydia. At age fifteen, she was energetic and easily excitable, and she practically skipped over to Mrs. Phillips’ window.
“You know how the Watsons have been having trouble finding anyone to lease Netherfield?” said Mrs. Phillips.
“Yes,” said Kitty. At age seventeen, she was a little calmer than Lydia, but the two of them were still thick as thieves. “It has been vacant for over a year now.”
“Well, I just heard from the butcher’s wife that the place has been let,” said Mrs. Phillips.
“A man came down from London in a chaise and four to see it just a couple days ago, and he signed the lease just this morning. A young man! Of large fortune! Can you imagine girls? What if he falls in love with one of you?”
“Oh, I hope he falls in love with me,” said Lydia. “It would be such a good joke if I were the first to be married even though I am the youngest.”
“If he falls in love with anyone, it will be Jane,” said Kitty. “She is five miles prettier than anyone else.”
“If prettiness were enough to attract a husband, she would already be married by now,” said Lydia. “Mama always says that young men like liveliness and good cheer. While Jane is most definitely cheerful, she isn’t particularly lively.”
The three of them chatted for a bit, speculating far beyond what was known about this new tenant.
Elizabeth thought it was a silly exercise.
Why would they wish to marry some gentleman when they didn’t even know anything about him?
Perhaps he was violent or a drunkard. Perhaps he was ugly or a gambler. Would they still wish to marry him?
Eventually the three stopped talking and the sisters were once more on their way home.
When they arrived home, they went into the parlor to sit with their mother, Jane, and Mary. Once Elizabeth sat down, however, Mary gave her a venomous look and got up to leave the room.
Elizabeth sighed.
Mary, who was Kitty’s senior by a single year and Elizabeth’s junior by two, had grown increasingly antagonistic toward Elizabeth ever since she began a more sincere study of the Bible and of various religious texts.
She took everything she read literally and earnestly.
Since Elizabeth was conceived in sin, Mary considered her to be the living embodiment of evil.
She had even said so out loud just a couple of months ago.
As she grew in her dislike of Elizabeth, she had even grown in her disrespect for her father, but that at least was tempered by the commandment that she was to honor her parents. So, she did not outright shun him the way she did with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth picked up her latest embroidery project, a reticule that she was embroidering with flowers, and began sewing as the conversation flowed around her. After an hour or so, she laid it aside and went to her room to read. She did not wish to keep Mary from the rest of the family for too long.
~~~~~
Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Elizabeth was mostly preoccupied with the books she had recently received from Uncle Brandon.
Uncle Brandon was not really her uncle. Rather, he was a close friend of her father’s. He visited Longbourn about twice a year, and he always brought presents for Elizabeth and her sisters every time he came.
Over the years, he seemed to take pity on Elizabeth’s situation, and he tended to send additional presents just for her in between his visits. These usually took the form of books or other educational materials, such as sheet music or painting supplies.
It was because of Uncle Brandon’s gifts that Elizabeth had learned both French and Italian.
It was also because of him that she had attempted to learn to sketch and paint despite being absolutely horrible at it.
Not wishing to disappoint the man who had done so much for her, Elizabeth persevered, and she could now sketch a creditable tree, though sketching faces and painting anything were still completely beyond her.
Elizabeth thought of Uncle Brandon as something of a godfather, though he did not officially fill that position. Still, she always looked forward to his gifts for the new knowledge and experiences they would bring.
In his most recent package, he had sent a couple of histories as well as a copy of Plato’s Republic which had been translated into English.
The histories were interesting and easy enough to understand, but the philosophy book was much harder.
She spent weeks poring over it, trying to understand all that it was attempting to convey.
All the while, her sisters and her mother could speak of little other than the new neighbor, Mr. Bingley, who had taken up residence at Netherfield. Papa had visited him, but he had little to say about him other than that he seemed friendly enough.
The most exciting event of those three weeks was when Mr. Bingley returned Papa’s visit. The ladies of the house did not get a chance to meet him, but at least they were able to catch a glimpse of him from an upstairs window as he left.
From that little glimpse, it was learned that Mr. Bingley seemed to have a trim and athletic figure and blond, curly hair, and he wore a blue coat. Elizabeth was absolutely astonished at the hours of conversation these few small facts spawned.
Eventually, the night of the assembly arrived in mid-October.
It was something every young lady in the neighborhood had been looking forward to for more than a month.
Though she did not expect to dance more than half the dances, Elizabeth was still looking forward to it simply for the joy of being out of the house and doing something other than reading and sewing.
She styled her dark brown hair, which was so different from the blond and light brown hair of the rest of her family, as elegantly as she could. She studded it with a set of pearl-tipped hairpins that had been a gift from Uncle Brandon on her sixteenth birthday.
She was not entirely pleased with her looks, since they contrasted so greatly with the blond hair and blue eyes which Mrs. Bennet praised so highly. Still, she was confident that she was as pretty as she could be. So, she went downstairs to wait for the rest of her family to be ready.