Chapter 7 #2
“You care not for my nerves, Mr Bennet. Such flutterings, shuddering, and palpitations. I will go lie down. Hill! HILL! Attend me,” Fanny shrieked.
While Maddie and her nieces, other than Lydia, went to assist Mary in moving, Gardiner followed Bennet back to the study. The former took one of the seats before the desk, while the latter flopped into his comfortable chair.
“You may think me overstepping, but in my opinion, Lydia needs to be sent to a school for wayward girls,” Gardiner reflected.
“We both know that what you have done today, while a good start, will not make any fundamental change. With Lydia only learning from her mother, I can see her ending up ruining herself and with herself, the respectability of her sisters and the very Bennet name.”
“I think you overstate it,” Bennet opined. “Is she badly behaved, selfish, and spoilt? Yes, I own that she is, but she is not out. How much mischief can she make? At some point she will learn of her own insignificance, and then all will be well.”
“My hope is you are not, but I believe you are wrong,” Gardiner responded. “Would it be so bad to send her to school?”
“There is a lot of work involved in finding a school, and if I send her favourite away, I would have no peace from your sister. Come, Gardiner, you know I have the right of it. Fanny would caterwaul from morning to night.”
“So, your peace is worth more to you than your family name?”
Bennet did not respond. He poured a glass of port and opened his book. He had exerted himself this day, which was enough for now.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“William, I do not agree that we should allow Wickham to go unscathed after what he attempted with Anna,” Richard Fitzwilliam asserted, not for the first time. “I would very much like to have a little chat with that despicable seducer. Well, me and my sabre, that is.”
“I told you why I cannot act against him,” Darcy replied.
“And I told you that is nonsensical. Unfortunately, I gave you my word, so I will not hunt him down. He had better pray that our paths do not cross by chance,” Richard averred.
Darcy was not too concerned because there was little chance of Richard’s path intersecting that of Wickham’s.
He was too busy with the command of the school for officers at the Dragoons’ training grounds.
As much as he knew his father was wrong about George Wickham, Darcy could not go against his wishes in that fashion.
If only Father had been able to see the truth.
“When are you joining Bingley at that leased estate in Hertfordshire?” Fitzwilliam asked to speak of something less contentious.
“Bingley and his family will take possession of the estate the Monday prior to Michaelmas; I will join them that Wednesday, two days after. I have no desire to be stuck in a coach with Miss Bingley for a four-to-five-hour carriage ride.”
“In that case, why do you not be more direct with the shrew?”
“I am a gentleman, and gentlemen are never knowingly rude, and I tolerate her because of my friendship with Bingley. I have told him, more than once, that I will never offer for his younger sister, even if she lowers herself to compromise me.”
“You, who are so intolerant of those you deem below you in public, allow the daughter of a tradesman to hang onto your arm possessively. You know she claims an intimacy which is non-existent, do you not? Be careful, William. Just because you will not gratify an entrapment does not mean she will not try to entrap you. The woman is becoming more and more desperate. What is she? One and twenty or more? She will soon be seen as on the shelf.”
“I have given her many hints of my disinterest.”
“And what has that helped? No matter the subtle clues you have displayed, she cannot see them, or she refuses to see them. She will settle for nothing less than Pemberley. Before I forget, you need to call her out on referring to Anna as dear Georgiana. Our ward is too timid to tell her, and none of us have ever given her leave to address Anna so informally. In the absence of your informing Miss Bingley that she may not refer to our ward in that way; she sees tacit approval.”
He did not want to admit it, because even after the almost debacle which stemmed from his employment of Mrs Younge, Darcy still relied very heavily on his own judgements. However, a voice he did not want to hear told him Richard was correct.
“You will be at Matlock House to interview the three candidates your mother has selected for us to interview?” Darcy queried to change the subject again.
“Yes, I must thank Mother on our behalf. She had the characters of all three checked, so we would only see ladies who have genuine references.” Fitzwilliam paused. “I looked at the names and what they submitted. There is one I think ideal, but I will not mention her name until you choose one.”
Although he did not comment on it, Darcy did not miss the not-so-oblique reference to his decision to employ Mrs Younge on his own without confirming her characters. They had ended up being forgeries made by her and her paramour.
“I will be there,” Darcy bit out.
Fitzwilliam took his leave. There was no missing his cousin’s annoyance. Perhaps he should not have reminded William of his failures. Then again, his cousin needed to be humbled somewhat.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Gardiners had not been able to discuss anything of substance because Eddy, who was almost ten, and Bea, who was eight in June past, were with them in the carriage on the ride back to London.
Lilly and Peter, six and three respectively, were in the carriage with Mrs Mulberry, Nurse, and their personal servants.
That evening, they went to bed early to rest from the long travels with the not-so-restful break at Longbourn for less than a full day.
“I cannot say I am surprised at Thomas,” Maddie stated as she cuddled with her husband in their very large, shared bed. “It is a miracle that he did as much as he did.”
“Very true, my love,” Gardiner responded.
He followed his words with a lingering kiss to his wife’s soft lips.
“It was better than nought.” He pulled his beloved wife closer to himself.
“Did you see the way Lydia was expecting Fanny to come and change things back, regardless of what Bennet had said?”
“I did notice that. It is the reason Thomas is a fool not to exert himself to send that girl to school. If only he had insisted she remain with Mrs Mulberry for lessons when she was younger. It was a critical error on Thomas’s part.
No matter what Fanny demands, it is up to him to grant or deny.
Unfortunately, other than brief periods of acting as a true father, like he did with Lydia, at least to a certain extent, he takes the path of least resistance. ”
“It was not hyperbole when I told Bennet I am concerned Lydia will ruin them.”
“Edward, as much as I pray it will not come to pass, I have the same fears. If they have to cast her out, it will kill Fanny. And saddest of all, she will never see that it is her own fault that Lydia is who she is. At least, Kitty is no longer Lydia’s shadow.”
“That, Maddie dearest, was all your doing during the month she was with us. You imbued her with self-confidence she did not have before.”
Maddie blushed with pleasure. She was gratified by the strength Kitty had displayed when she had stood up to and broken with Lydia.
She would never forget the shock on Lydia’s face after her sister had done that which she had said she would.
Sharing a chamber with Mary and being closer to Jane and Lizzy would be very beneficial for Kitty.
“All we can pray is that we motivate Thomas to act before it is too late.”
“Amen to that, Maddie, amen to that.”