Chapter 3
“She is too young to come out,” said Mr. Bennet gravely.
“Oh, Mr. Bennet! Must you be so tiresome? She is fifteen! That is plenty old enough.”
“I agree with Bennet, sister,” added Mr. Gardiner. “Lizzy is full young to come out. Jane is not even out yet and she is two years older!”
“And whose fault is that?” cried Mrs. Bennet. “I wished her to come out when she turned seventeen, but Mr. Bennet insisted her soulmate was at university and she had no hope of meeting him, so what point was there to her coming out.”
Thomas Bennet rolled his eyes.
“I must agree with my brother, Fanny,” said Mr. Gardiner.
“If Jane were wishing to come out, it would be another matter, but as it is, she is content to remain home with her sisters. It is not as if she has no society. She attends dinners here at Longbourn and has friends in the neighborhood. She is hardly desperate for company.”
“There is more to coming out than hunting for a husband,” huffed Mrs. Bennet.
Mr. Bennet raised his brows. “Is there now? I had never thought to hear you say as much.”
“Let us speak rationally,” added Mrs. Gardiner. “I agree that Lizzy is full young to be out. What think you of next year, Fanny? She will be sixteen and Jane eighteen. The two of them could come out together.”
Fanny looked intrigued.
“No one will mind a sixteen-year-old girl coming out in Hertfordshire society,” put in Mr. Gardiner.
“They could attend assemblies and practice their dancing and begin working on their hostessing skills. They should begin taking on some of the duties of managing Longbourn. They will need the knowledge later, after all.”
Mrs. Bennet appeared nearly convinced now. But to wait an entire year? Jane would be eighteen! Fanny had been engaged to Mr. Bennet at eighteen!
“I would be happy to host both girls in Town for a season when Lizzy is seventeen. And with any luck, Jane’s soulmate will be out of university by then.
I think a year of practice in Hertfordshire will be just the thing to prepare them.
” Mrs. Gardiner smiled, knowing she had dangled a particularly juicy carrot in front of her sister.
“That sounds like an excellent plan,” said Mr. Bennet. “Do you not think so, Fanny?”
Mrs. Bennet sighed. “Very well. Lizzy and Jane will come out in Meryton next year. But they must have a proper Season in Town! You must not be stingy with your pockets, Mr. Bennet.”
He could only laugh at his wife. “I will begin saving now, my dear.”
Mrs. Bennet nodded and shifted in her chair, like a satisfied hen on a roost full of eggs. “Very well.”
One Year Later
Longbourn, 1807
Since Elizabeth had decided on her mark herself, there was no way to know how old her intended soul mate might be. He could be younger than herself, or only a year older. He could be three and twenty or five and twenty. He could be thirty! He could even be forty. Horrifying thought.
Elizabeth had been entirely certain that a mark was what she wanted, but now, three years later and faced with the prospect of meeting the man she had bound herself to, potentially against his own will, she felt more than a little unsure.
What if he was angry? What if he resented her interference in his life’s plans? What if he were already married?
It was a daunting prospect.
In spite of her feelings, she went along with the preparations for the coming out their mother was planning.
Mrs. Bennet had decided the girls would attend October’s assembly as their first foray into Hertfordshire society, and the day before, she would host a grand dinner for all her friends and neighbors.
For the occasion, Jane had a light blue gown made up, though she had requested green.
Her mother maintained the blue brought out her eyes and Jane was overruled.
Elizabeth was in a pale pink dress, a color she was fond enough of, but her mother insisted that the back be low enough to show the top portion of Elizabeth’s mark.
Elizabeth was appalled. She had spent the last three years covering up her mark.
It was personal and private, not an oddity for gawking eyes.
But Mrs. Bennet insisted that Elizabeth would never meet her match if she did not make it known that she was marked, and one could hardly argue that logic.
She pushed her mother into compromising and only showing the uppermost corner of the mark.
Any gentleman looking for his match would see it and request more information if he bore something similar.
Elizabeth also planned to keep a thick shawl on hand at all times, but her mother did not need to know that.
Longbourn was bursting at the seams for Mrs. Bennet’s dinner, and at the assembly the following evening, neither Jane nor Elizabeth sat out a single dance.
Mrs. Bennet ferried them to every party and dinner in the neighborhood throughout the winter, no matter how tired they were, and she was sure to speak of their marks to anyone who would listen.
It was mortifying for the girls—and highly amusing for Fate, who appreciated the assistance, little as it was needed—but at least they knew their matches were not in Meryton society. They would have met the gentlemen by now if they were to be found in Hertfordshire.
In spring of 1809, Jane and Elizabeth went to London to stay with the Gardiners.
Mrs. Bennet was certain at least one of them would come home engaged.
They were both marked after all, and with such rich, detailed images.
She was certain both their husbands were gentlemen, as they each had a grand house in their mark, and Elizabeth’s had a garden and an entire forest!
It must be for a man of property. But Mrs. Bennet was also practical, and she was not against a merchant who had amassed the funds to purchase an estate.
She was not so finicky about money—as long as it was plentiful, she was not overly concerned with its provenance.
Their Season in London was more of the same, though on a larger scale.
Mrs. Gardiner was considerably more discreet than Mrs. Bennet, and the parties they attended were elegant and filled with interesting people.
Well, Elizabeth thought they were interesting.
Jane was rather intimidated by the wealthy tradesmen her uncle associated with.
At each gathering, she was likely to find the most soft-spoken, slightly impoverished gentleman of the lower gentry present.
She would speak to him for the majority of the evening.
He would then leave the gathering half in love with her while she was simply relieved it was all over.
“Did you enjoy yourself this evening?” Elizabeth asked as she ran the brush through Jane’s golden tresses.
Jane sighed. “Well enough. I will be happy when the Season is over though.”
“Is it too much?” asked Elizabeth, surprise in her voice. She was having a delightful time, but Jane was not as sociable as she was.
“Not exactly. It is only,” she hesitated.
“Only what?”
“I do not enjoy the gentlemen’s attentions.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I understand. Do you think it is the mark? Aunt said we would likely have no interest in gentlemen who were not our soulmates.”
“It could be. Or perhaps I have become too accustomed to life in our small village.”
“Do you like attending parties in Meryton?”
“Yes. But I know everyone there, and they know me. There are no questions about my mark or my status. Everyone knows I am the eldest daughter of Longbourn. I do not receive so much attention.” She reached up and took Elizabeth’s hand.
“I am so glad you are here with me, Lizzy. I do not know what I would do without you.”
Elizabeth smiled and kissed the top of her sister’s head, setting the brush on the dressing table. “I too am glad we came out together. I am especially glad Mama did not put us out at fifteen as she wished to!”
Jane moved to the bed and slipped under the covers. “You seem comfortable in society. How are you enjoying the Season?”
“I am enjoying it very well.” She smiled slyly. “Though I am not half as pretty as you, so I receive only half the attention.”
“You are perfectly lovely and you know it, Elizabeth Rose Bennet. Do not fish for compliments.”
Elizabeth laughed and Jane joined her. “I am more sociable than you so I am enjoying myself, but truly Jane, if you were not quite so stunning, the gentlemen wouldn’t pay you as much attention and you might enjoy yourself more.”
“Are you suggesting I make myself ugly before our next outing?” asked Jane in a teasing voice.
Elizabeth propped herself up on one elbow and looked at her sister with all the earnestness a seventeen-year-old girl could muster.
“Of course not. But if you truly wish to dissuade attention, you could wear less beautiful gowns. You could arrange your hair in a less flattering style. You could smile less.”
“You are serious?” Jane sat up on the bed, her expression conflicted.
“It is merely a suggestion for warding off unwanted attention. I am by no means stating that I wish you to do such a thing. I am merely saying it is one method of dissuading gentlemen you do not wish to encourage.”
“I do not wish to encourage any of them!”
Elizabeth gave her a look.
Jane sighed. “Very well. I will consider your idea.”
When Mrs. Gardiner saw Jane come downstairs for a dinner party the following evening, she was more than a little surprised.
Jane was wearing one of Elizabeth’s gowns.
It was too short, a problem she had remedied with a lace-edged petticoat, and the yellow hue made her look positively ill.
It looked well on Elizabeth’s warmer skin and dark hair, but with Jane’s paler complexion and light hair, the combination was less appealing.
She had a fichu tucked into the bodice that came up to her collarbone and her hair was pulled back tightly from her face in an unflattering style.
“Jane, dear, are you well?” asked Mrs. Gardiner.
“Yes, aunt. Quite well.”
Mrs. Gardiner raised her brows but said nothing.
When Elizabeth came down a few minutes later, Mrs. Gardiner turned to her younger niece expectantly, thinking Elizabeth would mention something about her sister wearing her gown. But no comment was forthcoming. Instead, Elizabeth looked over Jane appraisingly and smiled.
Mrs. Gardiner was immediately suspicious. “Girls, what is going on?”
“Whatever do you mean, Aunt?” said Elizabeth innocently.
“I think you know exactly what I mean, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth flushed, not wishing to antagonize her aunt. “We only thought we would make Jane a little less attractive.”
“You what?”
“So the gentlemen would pay less attention to her,” Elizabeth stumbled on, her face red and her eyes darting between her aunt and her sister who refused to look up from the floor.
“Have the gentlemen been harassing you, Jane?” asked Mrs. Gardiner.
“No, aunt. I merely wish not to speak to quite so many of them.”
Mrs. Gardiner pursed her lips. “I see. I would be remiss in allowing you to leave the house like that, and your mother would never let me hear the end of it if she were to find out.” She exhaled heavily.
“Let us go upstairs and repair your appearance as quickly as we may. We still have twenty minutes before we must leave.”
Elizabeth and Jane both looked crestfallen that their plan had been thwarted. Mrs. Gardiner stifled her laugh as she followed them up the stairs.
“You know, girls,” she said once they were safely in the guest chamber, “there is more than one way to dissuade a gentleman’s attention. You do not have to make yourself less attractive to gain peace at dinner.”
“Would you teach me how?” asked Jane, her expression pathetically hopeful.
Mrs. Gardiner patter her niece’s hand. “Of course I shall, my dear. But first, let us deal with this hair.”
Mrs. Gardiner was generous with her advice and soon enough, Jane was enjoying herself and had become adept at deflecting unwanted attention.
Elizabeth had no such difficulties. She did not have Jane’s beauty or more mature figure to draw suitors to her, but her eyes were bright and her smile genuine, and she was prepared to please and be pleased.
She always had a dance partner and lively conversation at dinner, and so far, she had only wished to avoid one gentleman’s attention, and he was easily dispatched.
As they had expected, none of the men present at any of the gatherings they attended sported a matching mark.
It was rare to meet one’s match as soon as one began looking for them.
Mrs. Gardiner assured them their matches would come along at the right time and that in the meantime, they should simply enjoy themselves and not think about it overmuch. It was advice they were happy to take.
The girls had been told that most marked ladies find they have no interest in men who are not their soulmate. They might think a gentleman charming or attractive, but her heart would remain untouched. To their combined surprise, the girls’ lack of romantic interest led to a wonderful Season.
Gentlemen knew the Bennets had no marital designs on them, and the ladies knew the men would not be drawn to any lady but their fated mates.
Most of their uncle’s friends were marked—lower gentry and successful businessmen like himself—and it was easily determined whether or not their marks matched.
It was a refreshingly honest way to make friends.
Both Jane and Elizabeth were happy to return home with promises to correspond with half a dozen ladies and the sincere friendship of twice as many gentlemen.