Chapter 4
They waited eagerly for dinner, but before the time came, Tom came to their parlour, again bowing in that funny fashion. Then he smiled, aware of his clumsiness, which made the young ladies like him even more. “Mr Thomas is kindly asking you to come to his apartment.”
They did not wait for a second invitation. Elizabeth knocked at her father’s door, and they hurried to their uncle’s rooms, using the garden entrance, as they did not yet dare use the direct passage through their own hall.
The room they found was slightly different from the one they had prepared.
There were masks, swords, rifles, pottery and many other unknown objects deposited on tables and leaning against the walls, waiting for a place to be displayed.
The girls discovered each item with astonishment, eager to understand its use or purpose.
Uncle Thomas gave them ample explanations: a Bedouin sword, ceremonial masks from the Fulani people, unusual pottery from Morocco, and a plate with a bell-shaped cover.
“This is the pot they use to prepare one of their native dishes; both the pot and the meal are called a tagine. If my niece Jenny permits it, one day I shall cook.”
“Uncle Thomas!” ‘Niece Jenny’ answered, rolling her eyes in a manner her daughters had never witnessed before. “You are at home here. But how do you know how to cook?”
“My dear, a man living alone upon a savage continent must develop unexpected skills.”
Mr Bennet, who knew his wife exceedingly well, saw an expression upon her face that alarmed him.
Mrs Bennet no longer had only five daughters to marry off but five young ladies and an uncle.
He felt a little sorry for the man, but suspected that someone who had fought wild beasts in Africa would know how to defend himself against his ‘niece Jenny’.
Or perhaps not. Mr Bennet regarded the matter with the usual cynicism he employed when observing the world around him.
His uncle had once been a free man, accustomed to vast spaces and master of his own destiny, yet he had abandoned it all to come to Longbourn.
If, in consequence, he was subjected to a little discomfort, it was scarcely more than he deserved.
His eyes caught Elizabeth observing him, and he had the feeling that his daughter knew what he was thinking, the result of endless conversations they had enjoyed since she was perhaps eight years old, and of the countless hours she had spent studying under his watchful eye.
Elizabeth was a free spirit, perhaps the only member of the family who matched Uncle Thomas’s love of adventure.
In a way, he was sorry she had been born a woman.
He could easily imagine a son with Elizabeth’s character leaving home at twenty and wandering the world in search of danger and discovery.
He hoped that his dear girl would one day find a husband capable of appreciating her uniqueness and allowing her to fly as far as a woman’s condition permitted.
His uncle’s voice brought him back to earth. “Now, my dears, I have some gifts for you!”
It was the moment that everybody had hoped for.
First, he presented Mrs Bennet with an ornate jewellery box of red velvet with an intricate silver lid.
She opened it slowly and discovered an exquisite string of pearls.
They were so beautiful that she remained seated with the box in her hands, scarcely daring to touch them.
She had seen pearls before, but never any of such beauty.
“Let me put them around your neck, dear niece,” Thomas said, and Mrs Bennet rose immediately.
“For the last four years I lived in a village in the kingdom of Benin. I introduced the villagers to pearl hunting, which had not previously been one of their occupations. I even brought diving suits from France, made of leather, which allowed them to descend to sixty feet. Air was pumped from the surface by means of manual pumps. In that way, they were able to harvest far more mussels and discover many more pearls.”
“Fascinating,” Elizabeth said to her uncle.
“Yes, and when I left, these pearls were their gift of gratitude to me, so I stopped in Morocco and had this necklace made for your mother. The box combines Bedouin craftsmanship with a modern jewellery case. But for my great-nieces, I have genuine Bedouin art and some fabrics from Benin.”
Under the amazed eyes of the family, Thomas Bennet took from an ancient chest with massive iron padlocks silver necklaces and bracelets with intricate patterns that resembled embroidery.
They received fabrics for dresses and pelisses in stunning colours: red, green, yellow, and a vibrant purple.
With the room full of beautiful objects, the elders sat and watched the young ladies’ enchantment.
They imagined gowns and matching necklaces for each of them, whilst the bracelets they already wore chimed softly with the rhythm of their excitement.
“This is the best day of my life!” Lydia declared, curtseying to her great-uncle.
“I want to know so many things about all these,” Elizabeth said, indicating the jewellery and fabrics. “What kind of people created such beauties?”
“Yes, Uncle, please!” Mary cried, caught up in the general joy.
“Ladies, ladies, we have all the time in the world. Now you must allow Uncle Thomas an hour’s rest before dinner.”
“Ladies, you have forgotten your father; my poor nephew has not yet received his present!”
It was true. Eager to examine their gifts, they had entirely forgotten Mr Bennet.
“My nephew has a chest full of precious books. On my instructions, Tom has already carried it into your library!”
∞∞∞
Mrs Bennet found her husband in the library, surrounded by the incredible gifts he had received.
“Every book in here is a treasure!” he said with the excitement of a schoolboy.
“I do not intend to interrupt you; it is obvious how much pleasure you take in your books,” she said, though she clearly wished to speak with him.
“No, stay,” he cried in a jubilant mood. “Let me admire your pearls.”
Even to an inexperienced eye, the pearls were magnificent.
“They must have cost a fortune!” Mrs Bennet said. “Do you think he has money?” she asked, not in her usual spirit of gossip but from a genuine curiosity inspired by the richness of the gifts they had received.
“Indeed, the pearls must be worth a fortune, but you heard the man. They were a gift. He did not purchase them, and the fabrics and jewellery for the girls cannot have cost a great deal.”
“I feel strange wearing such wealth around my neck.” Mrs Bennet touched the pearls lovingly. “It is comforting to know that, in difficult times, we possess something valuable enough to sell.”
Mr Bennet’s glance made his wife blush. It reminded her of a time when admiration had been easier to read in his eyes.
“They are yours, my dear, a present entirely worthy of your beauty.”
“Mr Bennet! What a thing to say!” she replied, though his words pleased her greatly.
“I merely mean that it is pleasant to be reminded that we are not selfish people after all, and that we care deeply for one another.”
“Yes, but this has happened chiefly because of your generosity and devotion to your family, Mr Bennet.”
“So you now admit that our expenditure proved not only useful but pleasant?”
Mrs Bennet said nothing. She merely smiled, a little embarrassed.
“Then we are agreed. Life has not changed so very much, and we may return to our usual habits.”
With that, Mr Bennet selected a precious volume from the chest and disappeared happily into his own world.