Chapter One
There was a letter from Jane at Elizabeth’s place at the breakfast table. Smiling in anticipation, she tore it open.
Dearest Lizzy,
Aunt Madeleine bought me the most beautiful blue dress in the world!
I am to wear it to a dinner next week at the home of Lord and Lady Stanford!
Evidently, Lord Stanford invests a good deal of money with Uncle Gardiner, and thus the Gardiners are frequent guests in their home, despite being of a lower social class.
Their eldest son, the Honourable Michael Stanford, is home from his travels abroad, and will be at the dinner. Aunt Madeleine told me that the Stanfords are eager for their eldest son to marry and set up his nursery. I do not know why, but I have a very good feeling about this!
You know we always swore to marry for love, not money, and I certainly would not marry a man I did not care for, regardless of his consequence in the world, but it could happen that one could fall in love with the eldest son of a baron, could it not?
But do not tell Mama about this! You know she will immediately come to London to advise me on lowering my bodice!
I will write again after the dinner!
All my love,
Jane
It was impossible for Elizabeth to imagine this Honourable doing anything other than falling in love with Jane at first sight! She smiled at the idea.
She looked up upon hearing her father’s voice. “Lizzy, may I see you in my study after breakfast?”
“Of course, Papa.”
“Take your time.” Mr. Bennet thought there was no need to rush into a conversation that he was dreading.
But Elizabeth was as prompt as ever, and it was not half an hour before he heard her familiar tap on the study door.
“Come in, Lizzy.”
She perched on her usual chair, her hair twirled up on top of her head, her dark eyes sparkling with joie de vivre. “I had a letter from Jane this morning; she is so enjoying her time in London!”
“I am glad she has been able to go,” Mr. Bennet replied.
But his tone was mechanical, and Elizabeth knew at once that something was amiss. “What is wrong, Papa?”
“What is wrong is that I have been a fool!” Mr. Bennet rose from his chair and paced about the room in agitation.
“Papa! Please, tell me!”
“There is no more money, Lizzy; that is the plain truth of it.”
Elizabeth was shocked. She drew her legs up under her skirts and hugged herself tightly. “No more money?” she whispered. “But why?“
“The weather. No savings. Accounts in arrears. The Johnsons and Laffertys gone, leaving the largest tenant farms empty. Your mother…” There was no need to elaborate on Mrs. Bennet’s extravagant dinner parties and the money spent on gowns for five daughters.
Then he added, “We need three thousand pounds to clear our debts.” He dropped back down in his chair, dropped his arms onto the desk and buried his head in them.
“Three thousand pounds!” Elizabeth was horrified at the amount. She scrambled to think of a solution. “What of Uncle Henry?”
Mr. Bennet muttered into his arms. “He has already made two loans to me that I have not repaid. I cannot ask more of him.”
“But what are we to do?”
Mr. Bennet raised his head. He looked at his second daughter. “I am afraid the burden will fall on your shoulders, my Lizzy.”
“Me?! But what can I do?” Elizabeth’s voice shook.
“Everyone is talking about the wealthy young man who is coming to Netherfield Park,” Mr. Bennet said. He stared at his daughter, hoping that he did not need to finish his thought.
But she only stared back at him, uncomprehending.
He sighed. “Elizabeth, you must marry him. With Jane in London, you are undoubtedly the prettiest young woman in the neighborhood. You have the ability to make any man fall in love with you, if you would but make the effort.”
Her voice was almost too soft to be heard as she answered. “But, Papa, I always thought…”
“To marry for love. I know. Dear, dear Lizzy, I hope you will fall in love with this man. But either way, I need – nay, your entire family needs! – you to marry him.”
“But what if Jane finds someone in London?”
“Should I bet my family’s welfare on that? No; I must make every possible effort to secure the family fortunes, and that means that you must participate.”
Elizabeth could bear no more. In one quick motion, she leapt to her feet and ran out of the room; in doing so, she all but ran into her mother, who was just outside the study door.
“Lizzy, what on earth –“
“Not now, Mama!” Elizabeth sprinted up the stairs to her room and slammed the door behind her so hard that the house shook.
Mrs. Bennet stared after her daughter in astonishment. What on earth was the matter with the child? She went to her husband’s study and accosted him. “What did you say to Lizzy?”
Mr. Bennet was struggling to speak. He had known all along that Elizabeth would not take this news well, but he had hoped that they could at least discuss it rationally. He had not expected her to be quite so…well, so emotional about it.
He took a deep breath. “The fact is, Mrs. Bennet, that we have no more money. I know not how we will manage until the next harvest. It is up to Elizabeth to marry well, and as quickly as may be. Mr. Bingley is our only hope! We must pray that he will make an offer to Lizzy and then be willing to give us three thousand pounds immediately, so that we may pay our debts and survive until the next harvest.”
“My brother –“
“Henry has already loaned me a good deal of money, none of which I have been able to pay back. And now he is hosting Jane for the entire winter.”
Mrs. Bennet gazed at her husband. “But – no savings? None at all?”
Exasperated, Mr. Bennet said, “Fanny, do you recall me asking you to stop giving dinner parties? Do you remember when I said that the girls had enough clothes for now and must not buy new ones? Have you forgotten my request that we use tallow candles instead of beeswax? Does any of this sound familiar?”
“Jane needed clothing for London, Thomas! And – I did not think that we – you did not tell me how bad it was!”
“Would it have mattered if I had told you that we were on the edge of ruin? You would have taken to your bed, complaining of your nerves, and honestly, Fanny, quite honestly, my nerves are not doing so well just now, either.” His voice broke.
“Oh, Thomas!” Mrs. Bennet burst into tears. She rose and started toward the door, but stopped, turned around and ran to her husband instead. The two clung together.