Chapter 2
Eighteen-year-old Jane Bennet knew nothing about how to manage an estate, nor was she adept at dealing with the steward who treated her like a fine china doll instead of a living, breathing, person with a mind of her own.
Some of her concerns were alleviated by the fact that Uncle Gardiner and his family came to live at Longbourn shortly after Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s death. Uncle Gardiner didn’t know any more than Jane how to manage an estate, but at least he was a man, and the steward treated him with respect. Because of this, he was able to learn a great deal, and he passed on all this new information to Jane.
Jane learned a great deal in that first year about how to manage an estate, but she also learned a few tricks to gaining more respect.
The first trick she learned was to adjust her appearance. Her fine clothes and delicately styled hair gave off the impression that she was someone who needed help with everything, and in a way that was accurate. The clothes Jane was used to wearing could not be put on without the help of a maid, because the buttons went all the way down the back, and her hairstyles also often needed assistance.
Once she realized this was an issue, Jane began making adjustments. The easiest change to make was to her hairstyle. She began wearing simple buns with no fringe and no decorations. They weren’t quite the same as the braided buns worn by farmer’s wives and shopkeepers, but they gave off a similar impression. She also began gradually changing her day dresses to be more severe and with less adornment.
Naturally, she only dressed so plainly during the day. When she changed for dinner, she had finer dresses and styled her hair much the same way as her sisters.
Another trick Jane learned in that first year was to speak loudly, firmly, and at a lower pitch when she wanted to be heard and understood. This was quite difficult for Jane, who was by nature rather mild and submissive. Her voice had always been soft and rather high pitched. Uncle Gardiner, who made his living by forcing people to respect him, taught her to lower her voice and speak with more authority.
Aunt Gardiner was particularly helpful to Jane in that first year. By that time, she had been married to Mr. Gardiner for eight years and, she had learned how to garner respect from almost any class or gender. She helped Jane learn to balance being feminine with being respected.
A year after Mr. and Mrs. Bennet passed away, Mr. Gardiner was required to move back to London. He had tried to manage his business remotely with only occasional trips to visit in person, but it had not worked out very well.
Before he left, Mr. Gardiner did two things to ensure the safety and well-being of his nieces. The first was that he fired the steward. Despite a year in her company, Longbourn’s steward had not learned to respect Jane’s ability to know her own mind. Mr. Gardiner did not trust the man with the safety or stability of Longbourn as long as he had that attitude.
The second thing he did was to hire an additional footman for the ladies’ protection. One of his tasks was to accompany Jane when she went round to collect the rents or to interact in any way with the tenants. David, the new footman, was the son of a blacksmith and had been trained to that profession. He was over six feet tall with thick, muscular arms. Additionally, he was an effective boxer and fighter. Young David required fifty percent more pay than a typical footman because of the career he was giving up, but both Mr. Gardiner and Jane always felt it was worth it.
The last major change was made through a joint decision between Uncle Gardiner and Jane.
Uncle Gardiner was the guardian for all five of his nieces, however, Jane felt responsible for her sisters as well. Additionally, she knew the coffers of Longbourn were much more able to support her sisters than Mr. Gardiner’s income, especially since it had declined in the last year while he was at Longbourn.
Thus, Jane suggested that she pay to send Lydia and Kitty off to school. She also requested that Elizabeth and Mary be allowed to stay at Longbourn. Uncle Gardiner agreed, but he had a few conditions to add. First, he agreed to split the cost of the younger girls’ education with Jane. Second, Elizabeth and Mary could stay behind on the condition that a companion be hired for the older three Bennets.
The companion’s purpose was two-fold. First, an older matron in the home would lend respectability to the young unmarried ladies. Second, the right companion could help Mary and Elizabeth polish their social skills.
When Aunt and Uncle Gardiner left Longbourn with their two children in tow, they also took with them Kitty and Lydia, ages 14 and 12 respectively, and dropped them off at a ladies’ seminary in London.
Three weeks later, Mrs. Wilson arrived on the recommendation of Uncle Gardiner. Jane interviewed her as a final precaution, but since the middle-aged lady seemed completely respectable and kind, she was hired on the spot.
With so many fewer mouths to feed, Jane thought it might be time to begin to economize. She had already saved some money over the last year with the guidance of Uncle Gardiner, but Jane was determined to increase her sisters’ dowries to an amount more appropriate to their station. So, she began to examine the budget in earnest
In early spring, 1808, shortly after Mrs. Wilson had joined the household, Jane and Elizabeth sat down in the study that used to be Mr. Bennet’s bookroom but was now Jane’s office.
“Lizzy,” said Jane, “I asked you in here to see if you could help me figure out where we can safely save money in the household budget. I feel like there should be quite a bit of room to economize without compromising comfort simply because there are fewer people in the house now.”
Elizabeth seemed surprised. “I am certain you are correct, Jane, but I don’t see why you need my help. You and Uncle Gardiner have managed quite well in the past year, and you know much more about budgeting than I.”
“That may be so,” responded Jane, “but another mind on this problem would be helpful if only to ensure that I don’t cut out everyone’s comforts in my zeal to save money.”
“Why would you need to be so zealous?” asked Elizabeth. “I didn’t think we were in debt. What would you be using the extra money for?”
“I would like to increase the dowries for you and my other sisters. Right now, you each have equal shares of Mama’s five thousand pounds, but considering you were raised on an estate that brings in two thousand pounds, you should have dowries of between four and six thousand. I am certain I can’t raise that much money in the short time I have, but I would like to increase them as much as I can. Even if I can only manage three thousand each, that is much more respectable than what you have.”
Elizabeth said, “Jane, that is not your responsibility. That was our parents’ responsibility, which they failed to uphold, but just because they failed does not mean you must attempt it. Longbourn is yours now, even if it’s not official for another two years. You should just do what you like with it.”
Jane smiled. “You may be right Elizabeth, but it just so happens that what I would like to do is save up dowries for my sisters. I honestly can’t think of anything I would like more than that. I am hoping that by making the attempt, I can provide a small independence for any of our sisters who do not marry, thereby removing the pressure to marry simply for the sake of security.”
Jane remembered all the pressure Mrs. Bennet had put on her shoulders for that very reason, and she didn’t want any of her sisters to feel that way.
“Well, if that is what you wish, I will be happy to help,” said Elizabeth.
The two sisters dove right into the budget and immediately found some categories that were easy to economize. The food budget would naturally get somewhat smaller since there were fewer mouths to feed, and they could reduce it even further by being a bit more dependent on their own garden for vegetables and fruits.
The coal bill and cost of candles would also naturally decrease, because fewer rooms would be in use, though even empty rooms needed a fire lit occasionally to prevent it from getting damp.
They also realized they could let a few of the servants go. They really didn’t need quite that many with only a third of the people left in the house as there had been. Jane didn’t wish to make them suddenly unemployed, though, so she resolved to find them good positions in the neighborhood where possible.
There were economies they could make in their dress without sacrificing their status, but the biggest savings came from the simple fact that they would not be doing much entertaining. It would not be proper for a group of unmarried ladies to throw a dinner party that included gentlemen, so they would be limited to simply inviting their female neighbors for tea.
When the sisters were done, they had reduced Longbourn’s annual budget by seven hundred fifty pounds per year without sacrificing any real comfort or status. Elizabeth thought they could have done more, but Jane was reluctant to make anyone even the slightest bit uncomfortable, so Elizabeth didn’t push. It was Jane’s money, after all.
When they were done, Elizabeth asked, “You really don’t mind spending so much money giving shelter, food, and clothing to your sisters even though we are legally Uncle Gardiner’s responsibility?”
Jane replied, “Legality has nothing to do with it. Longbourn is your home, and it always will be for as long as you need it. It is only right that its income provides you with what you need.” Jane gave her sister a big hug, and they headed back to the drawing room where Mrs. Wilson and Mary were sitting.
As the next three years passed, Mrs. Wilson turned out to be an excellent companion, offering friendly conversation and company. She was happy to offer advice when asked for it, but she was never pushy. She had the most influence on Mary, who had been far too prone to live her life solely by the principles she found in scripture and in religious texts.
Mrs. Wilson quickly realized that the reason Mary found comfort in such literature was that the young lady desperately wished that the world and everyone in it was easier to understand. She sought understanding through that literature which she believed to be the highest authority, and she came away with the belief that everything and everyone was either right or wrong, good or evil.
Mrs. Wilson countered such thinking by gradually introducing Mary to more vague ideas and principles that could not be universally applied, such as questions about how to deal with a starving child who stole a loaf of bread. She also gradually helped Mary to have more patience and forgiveness when it came to others’ weaknesses and foibles.
Mary took these ideas and began to search for books that explored them further. She began to develop a love for philosophy, and in her search for greater understanding of history’s greatest philosophers, she began to teach herself Latin and Greek. Since philosophy was not one of Mrs. Wilson’s strong subjects, Mary studied on her own, and in the process developed a very unique way of looking at humanity and the world in which she lived.
By the time Mary had turned eighteen, she was, in appearance, much the same as her two older sisters, though her face and complexion were not quite as vibrant as Elizabeth’s nor as perfect as Jane’s. In behavior, she was still mostly quiet and serious, but she had become more comfortable around people and their imperfections, though she was still not entirely comfortable at large social gatherings.
As Mary was improving, so too were Kitty and Lydia. They had been sent to the same school, but since they were two years apart, they were not constantly together. Thus, they had each made many other friends. They learned manners, accomplishments, and decorum both from their teachers and their friends.
Kitty discovered she had a talent for the harp, though she was terrible at the pianoforte. Lydia discovered a surprising passion for painting. Most days, it was the only thing that could get the young lady to sit still, though she gradually learned to be a bit more sedate.
Kitty and Lydia came home to Longbourn each summer, and each time their sisters were surprised at how much they had grown and improved.
The summer of 1811, just after Kitty had turned seventeen and Mary had turned eighteen, Kitty was taken out of school, and she came out into her local society, the area around a town called Meryton which was only a mile from Longbourn. Lydia, at age fifteen, was deemed a bit too young for such a step, so despite complaints, she was sent back to school when the summer was over.
The most significant event in the three years following Uncle Gardiner’s departure, however, came at the end of December, 1810. Jane turned twenty-one and came into full ownership of Longbourn. She was also made co-guardian of her sisters at that time as well, as a way of legitimizing her position as caretaker for them.