Chapter 7
Sitting Room
Gardiners’ House
Gracechurch Street
That Evening
Longbourn was not marked with domestic tranquility, and as such, the scene that Mr. Bennet had interrupted the previous evening in the Gardiner sitting room had been unfamiliar to him.
He could not find it in himself to care, although he was vaguely aware that his brother-in-law Gardiner was often busy well into the evening at the warehouse or in his study, hard at work with the paperwork of the day.
The sitting room was an oasis, a haven away from the hustle and bustle of his work.
Into this atmosphere of peace, Mr. Bennet had swept like a discombobulating wave.
The serenity had shattered like cracked crystal ware, leaving a tension of fear and frustration in its place.
Anxiety radiated from the Gardiners like heat from the sun, but all Bennet felt was a smoldering fury.
He and Gardiner had spent all day going from one boarding house to another, with not so much as a hint of the presence of his wayward daughter.
Now, his pen scratched roughly at the paper spread out across the small corner desk, as he added yet another name to his list of boarding houses in London.
To his left, Mrs. Gardiner sat on the couch, preparing tea for them all, while as for Gardiner, he was standing with one arm on the mantel, gazing worriedly into the fire.
“We should return to The Golden Pelican tomorrow,” Gardiner said suddenly.
“I already spoke to the proprietor,” Bennet said irritably as he wrote down the name of another boarding house.
“Did you give anyone money?”
Bennet lifted his head and frowned. “Bribe anyone? No.”
“Not a bribe, precisely. The servants are likely busy people. If I hand out coins, perhaps I can encourage someone to remember something.”
“You can if you wish,” Bennet said with a weary sigh, and then his jaw tightened. “I should return to Longbourn. Elizabeth has made her bed by running away from the safety of her home and a thoroughly eligible offer.”
“Thomas Bennet,” Mrs. Gardiner said as she added a lump of sugar to his tea, “you are solely at fault for this mess. Elizabeth is an intelligent, honorable, generous young lady, and I am confident that you did more than tell her she needed to marry Mr. Collins to make her flee.”
He flushed red at these words and rose to his feet. “I did nothing wrong. It was entirely reasonable to expect Elizabeth to protect herself and her mother and sisters by marrying Mr. Collins so that Longbourn would stay in the family. I had no idea that she would run away in such a foolish way.”
“You said that you would lock her in the attic and feed her only bread and water until she agreed,” a new voice said coldly.
They all turned in shock toward the doorway, and Mrs. Gardiner was on her feet in a second. “Jane! Whatever are you doing here?”
“I have business here with Father,” Jane said, her usually placid face stiff with anger.
“Mr. Bingley has asked for my hand in marriage, and we came together to speak to Father on the subject. But sir, I am disgusted that you would prevaricate in such a way about your response to Lizzy. I have never seen you so angry, and you threatened to punish her with every tool at your disposal.”
Bennet’s face, formerly red, turned pale, and he shook his head. “I did not mean that. I was just … Jane, you and your sisters and mother will lose your home when I die. I am merely concerned about you.”
Jane stepped forward, her usually gentle blue eyes blazing.
“If you are so concerned about us, why have you not saved money during the last three and twenty years? Longbourn makes two thousand pounds a year, and every penny is spent. Every penny! You buy books and sit in your library, and you make no effort to curb our mother’s spendthrift ways.
If you had put aside three hundred pounds a year, or even two hundred, and invested it wisely, we would have some savings for when you pass on, and Elizabeth would not be the sacrificial lamb of the family. ”
Bennet found that he had literally backed himself against a wall. Jane had always been the calm, serene, gentle daughter.
“Your mother does not listen when I ask her to spend less,” he said feebly.
“You are the master of Longbourn,” Jane said indignantly. “If you can force your daughter into an unwanted marriage, you can force Mamma to stop being extravagant!”
For a moment, Bennet felt a twinge of genuine shame, but his pride quickly asserted itself.
“For many years, I assumed your mother would birth a son,” he said with narrowed eyes. “By the time we were certain that Lydia was our last child, we were both too set in our ways. Jane, this is the only way.”
“No, it is not. Did you not hear what I said? Mr. Bingley is here, waiting in the drawing room, and he has asked for my hand in marriage. He is a wealthy man and will gladly support my mother and sisters.”
“But we will lose Longbourn,” Bennet said stubbornly. “There have been Bennets at Longbourn for two hundred years, and I am determined that my grandson through Lizzy will carry on our family’s legacy, even if not the family name.”
Jane was now red with fury, and Mrs. Gardiner, alarmed, said, “It is obvious that emotions are high at the moment, so perhaps we should… oh Jane, Mr. Bingley is waiting in the drawing room? Would you … that is, would you be kind enough to introduce him to me and your uncle?”
Jane took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then she said, “Yes, of course. My dear aunt and uncle, I apologize for this scene. It was unfair to you.”
“We can speak more of this later, but as Madeline said, we should meet Mr. Bingley,” Mr. Gardiner said. “Bennet, are you coming?”
“Let me finish planning tomorrow’s search for Elizabeth,” Bennet replied.
He watched his eldest daughter and her aunt and uncle depart with a most peculiar feeling in his chest. The door closed behind them with a soft click, and he turned to stare into the fire across the room, now dying down into embers.
He let his thoughts drift for a moment, trying to analyze that odd hollowness in his core.
He was not used to being confused by his own emotions, as they were so often simple, uncomplicated things such as exasperation or sardonic amusement or comfortable, lethargic calm.
Rebellious daughters were a new and confounding development, and with that, Bennet thought, he had identified that empty ache.
Stunned, shocked amazement, well-mixed with fury, that was what it was.
It was not that Elizabeth’s defiance was altogether unexpected, even if Bennet had not anticipated that his second daughter would act so drastically.
But then again, Elizabeth had always thought herself too clever by half.
No, it was Jane’s rebellion that so rocked him.
Jane had ever been the quiet one, the sweet and gentle one, the kindly peacemaker.
It was nigh inconceivable that she had turned against him!
It was not particularly surprising that Elizabeth had proven wayward and refused to do her duty.
It was considerably more surprising that Jane, who could only benefit by her sister’s marriage to their cousin, should take her part.
As for Bingley, bah. Any man could appear pleasant in company and whisper sweet words to a pretty woman.
Mr. Bennet was keenly aware of this truth.
Jane, ever too trusting, obviously believed Bingley to be a good man who would not only support her, but her mother and sisters as well.
But appearances could be deceiving, after all.
Bingley might not prove to be as generous as Jane hoped.
No, it was imperative that one of the Bennet girls marry the heir of Longbourn, and Mr. Collins had selected Elizabeth, so Elizabeth it must be.
That way, if Bingley proved to be less open-handed than Jane anticipated, the financial security of the rest of the women was assured.
No matter what, there would be someone with the Bennet bloodline at Longbourn.
***
Study
Darcy House
The Next Morning
Saturday, 30th November 1811
Papers sat in neat stacks across the solid oak desktop in the study at Darcy House, letters to be answered and blank sheets to be filled, while ink and knife sat neatly in the corner.
Darcy himself sat bent over the single sheet pulled in front of him, pen held correctly in his fingers, the letter from his steward spread out and ready to be referenced at need.
It was a familiar scene, for Darcy was a diligent master, and all was in readiness, except for Darcy's own mind.
His thoughts stubbornly refused to remain focused on the matter of a field back at Pemberley, which was being contested between two tenant families after the death of old Mr. Ripton.
His mind veering off back to Half Moon Street and the neat house there and, more to the point, the young lady ensconced there in the charming little sitting room.
How lovely 'Miss Wantage' had looked, he thought with a smile.
He approved very much of her name change, despite how odd it felt in his mouth; it would not do at all for Bennet to find her and force her into marriage with a sycophantic dullard.
He had visited partly to determine whether she was comfortable and happy, and he was pleased and impressed by her calm and cheer.
It would not have been surprising if the awkwardness of her situation had rendered her ill at ease, but he had found the circumstances to be quite to the contrary.
He had noticed before that Elizabeth Bennet possessed the unusual ability of being perfectly at home anywhere she was.
She gloried in long walks rather than being daunted by them, shone like a star at the Meryton assemblies and Netherfield ball, and had even faced travel in a common stagecoach with at least outward equanimity.