Chapter 8
Though it took longer than he had originally hoped, Thomas Bennet was eventually able to find a suitable and respectable companion for his girls who could read and write both Latin and Greek. The difficulty caused his return home to be delayed by a couple of days.
When he and his two eldest daughters finally entered Longbourn, he was surprised to find the house much quieter than he had expected. There was no sound of piano coming from the back of the house and no chatter coming from the parlor.
Oddly, instead of it being a relief, the silence was disconcerting. For a brief moment, he wondered if perhaps everyone was gone shopping in Meryton or gone visiting friends.
Mrs. Hill came into the hallway to greet them. As she took their outer wrappers, Thomas said, “I have hired a couple of companions for my girls as well as a couple of ladies’ maids, Anna and Millie. Is there space to house them here, or will I need to open up the dower house?”
“The two guest rooms will be suitable for the companions,” said Mrs. Hill, “though it will make it so that we don’t have any room for unexpected guests.
As for the maids, if they don’t mind, I think we could house them in the nursery.
All the servants’ quarters are full. At least they will be, assuming you hire the footmen I found for you. ”
“We will be full to bursting,” said Thomas, “but I think it is necessary. See that it is done. The companions and maids are in a second carriage, and they should not be too far behind me.”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “I shall see to it.”
She curtseyed and moved off to put their cloaks away, but Thomas stopped her. “The house is rather quiet. Is Mrs. Bennet out visiting?”
“No, sir,” said Mrs. Hill. “Mrs. Bennet and Miss Lydia are in the parlor, and Miss Mary is studying in her room. Miss Kitty has been ill since yesterday morning, so she is also in her room.”
“Kitty is ill?” asked Jane, concern lacing her voice and expression.
“She is, Miss,” said Mrs. Hill. “She sent word through Mrs. Bennet that she was not feeling well and did not wish to be disturbed yesterday morning. Since then, the only one who has seen her is her mother.”
“My wife is the one taking care of her?” asked Thomas.
Such a willingness to do extra work was very unlike the Fanny Bennet he knew, and a bit of unnamed fear began to twist in his stomach.
“Yes, sir,” said Mrs. Hill. “I offered to help, but Mrs. Bennet said Kitty had a fever, and she didn’t want it to spread.”
Thomas’ fear grew. If Kitty truly had a fever, Mrs. Bennet would not have gone anywhere near her. He distinctly remembered how she had fled the house just to avoid being near Collin when he was ill.
“I see,” said Thomas. “Then I should check on her just to be certain she is not in a state that will require a doctor.” He turned to Elizabeth and Jane. “You may greet your mother and Lydia in the parlor.”
“Yes, Papa,” said Jane.
Without looking back, Thomas mounted the stairs two at a time, his fear prompting him to greater exertion than was typically his habit. Within moments, he was standing in front of Kitty’s door. When his knock brought no answer, he entered the room.
There was no one there. The bed was rumpled as though someone had slept there, but Kitty was not within. “Kitty,” he called on the off chance she was using the chamber pot behind the screen, but there was no answer and no sound of movement.
His fear rose even higher, but his reason remained. Just to be certain he hadn’t missed something, he checked behind the screen. She was not there.
Thomas left the room. As he reached the downstairs hallway, Lady Esther, Mrs. Jamison, and the two new maids were entering.
“Welcome to Longbourn,” he said as Mrs. Hill came into the hall from the back of the house.
“I am afraid something rather urgent requires my attention immediately, but my housekeeper, Mrs. Hill, will see to your accommodations. If I am not available once you are settled, Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth can introduce you to Mrs. Bennet and my other daughters.”
He turned to walk away, but Lady Esther stopped him in his tracks by saying, “I do hope it is nothing too serious.”
Thomas resisted the urge to sigh. If it was what he suspected, it was very serious indeed. All he said was, “As do I.”
As the new residents of Longbourn were escorted upstairs, Mr. Bennet entered the parlor. “Mrs. Bennet,” he said, “may I have a private word with you?”
“What on Earth?” she cried. “No greeting or anything, not even for your dear Lydia?”
Thomas fixed her with his firmest, steeliest gaze. “As you well know, there are more urgent matters to attend to.”
His heart sank when she fidgeted and looked away, obviously knowing exactly what he was referring to and confirming his suspicions. “Very well, Mr. Bennet,” she said.
As the two of them left the parlor, he heard Elizabeth ask Lydia, “Do you know what he is referring to?”
He did not hear Lydia’s answer before the parlor door closed behind them.
Once he and his wife were in his study with the door closed, he turned to Mrs. Bennet and demanded, “Where is Kitty?”
“She is ill,” said Mrs. Bennet. “As I told the servants, she has a fever and should not be seen by anyone but me so that the fever doesn’t spread.”
“She is not ill,” said Thomas. “She is not in her room at all. Her bed isn’t even made. Now, I will ask you again. Where is she? And this time you had best tell the full story. You will not like the consequences should you test my patience further.”
For once in their many married years, Mrs. Bennet actually seemed cowed in his presence. “She has eloped,” she said.
The knot of fear which had settled in his stomach twisted further until it was a solid lump that could not be removed or even budged. “When and with whom?” he demanded.
“Yesterday morning with Alan Goulding,” said Mrs. Bennet.
“And why did they not wait just another day to speak with me?” he asked.
Mrs. Bennet finally raised a defiant eye to him and said, “Because you were foolish enough to insist that there would be no marriage discussions or even courtship for a few months at least. Your restrictions are what made Kitty so desperate. If you had not said such a thing, Mr. Goulding would even now be asking you for her hand instead of whisking my dear girl all the way to Scotland.”
For probably the first time in his life, Thomas actually considered Fanny’s words.
She had a point, but it was far from the entire story.
While Kitty might have been desperate enough to not wish to wait a few months, Mr. Goulding should have had more sense.
The only reasons he could think that they would be in such a hurry were if she were already with child or if he truly was a fortune hunter.
There was only one way to discover the truth. He must track them down, even though the odds of catching them before they reached Scotland were slim. “We will apportion blame after Kitty has been found,” he said. “Now, when did she leave?”
Fortunately, Mrs. Bennet made no further efforts at obfuscation. “Yesterday morning before sunrise,” she said.
“Are you certain they headed for Scotland?” he asked.
“No other course of action makes sense,” she said. “Since Kitty is underage, she cannot marry in England without your permission.”
Thomas sighed. “Very well,” he said. “I will make preparations to immediately head north, and I will send riders ahead of me as well as sending someone on the road south in case they were foolish enough to head for London.”
“I don’t know why you are even bothering,” said Mrs. Bennet. “Since they have more than a full day’s head start, you can’t possibly catch up to them.”
“And whose fault is it that they have such a head start?” demanded Thomas. He was almost shouting. “If you had sent me an express as soon as you found Kitty gone, I might have caught up with them yesterday.”
She looked down and to the side, and her lips pressed together in irritation. “I am not the one who pushed our daughter into this position. Rather, I am the one who was trying to help her,” she said resentfully.
“Help her!” he cried. “You have ruined her!”
Mrs. Bennet raised her head and faced him once more, a defiant expression on her face, but she said nothing.
He realized that there was no point in continuing this conversation.
“I will take my leave as soon as I can,” he said, “but there is one thing I must tell you before I go. Perhaps then you will understand the reason for my restrictions. Our daughters’ dowries are not ten thousand pounds as I had hinted.
Rather, they now have sixty thousand pounds each.
“To help them learn the manners required of such a fortune, I have hired two companions for them, one of whom is a dowager countess. I have also hired two ladies’ maids to help them as their wardrobes inevitably expand.
“Since I will need to leave as quickly as possible, Jane and Elizabeth can introduce you to our new arrivals. You will treat the companions as equals, not servants. They are here to help even if their advice sounds different to your understanding.”
Mrs. Bennet’s face only showed blank surprise. “Sixty thousand…” she said.
He should have known her mind would get stuck there. She probably hadn’t heard anything else he said.
“Yes. Sixty thousand,” he said. “Now, I must take my leave.”
He got up and left the room. After crossing the hall, he stuck his head into the parlor. Lady Esther and Mrs. Jamison had joined Jane, Elizabeth, and Lydia there. “Elizabeth, may I speak to you for a moment?”
Once Elizabeth was in the hall, he said, “I have told your mother about your fortunes, so there is no need to keep it a secret any longer. However, I am afraid I must ask you to keep a different secret for as long as you can.”
“What is it, Papa?” she asked.
“Kitty has run off to Scotland with Alan Goulding,” said Thomas.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. He continued, “Your mother has been telling everyone that Kitty is ill with a fever. If you could help her keep up that pretense as long as possible, I would be grateful. I don’t expect it will last much longer than another day, but do your best. In the meantime, I must make an effort to follow them to ensure they actually do get married. ”
By the time he was done speaking, Elizabeth’s surprise had faded and firmness had taken its place. “I will do my best, Papa,” she said. “I do hope you can catch up to them.”
Thomas squeezed her hand. Then, without a word, he left to see what could be done about riders and transportation.
In less than an hour, he had sent one rider south toward London to ask at inns along the way if Kitty or Mr. Goulding had been seen. He had also sent two riders north to do the same. As for himself, he was once again ensconced in his coach and on the road.
Thomas’ mouth twisted sourly. He hated traveling.