Chapter 4
Mr. Bennet reclined on a settee in his library, his leg raised on a stool.
Mr. Jones had examined him and declared it a clean fracture.
He had set the bone and bandaged it, but Mr. Bennet was off his foot for the next few months.
Sarah’s letter lay in his hand as he tried to compose a response.
Harcourt, Sarah’s first husband, had been a dear friend and his death had affected him much more than he had expressed.
He was ashamed to recall how he had allowed his wife to mistreat his sister.
Mrs. Bennet had never been openly cruel in deed, but her words had cut a deep wound.
Sarah had worked hard to justify her place in her own brother’s home and then seized the first opportunity to escape Longbourn.
Frederick Hardwicke had been unknown to him.
Harcourt had met him during his sojourn in town when away from the sea and struck up a friendship.
He had been a regular guest at Sarah’s dinner table after her marriage, and had been the executor of Harcourt’s will.
Sarah had esteemed him, but he was sure she had never considered marriage with him until the day he arrived at Longbourn asking her to be his wife.
Thomas had been surprised at how quickly the whole ceremony had taken place, realising for the first time how spectacularly he had failed in shielding his sister from his wife’s pettiness.
Hardwicke had been a decent man, master of an estate worth some three thousand a year.
He hoped for his sister’s sake that her husband had made adequate provisions for her.
Though he was determined to provide for her if needed, Mrs. Bennet would be intolerable.
He sighed, thinking that the immediate problem was his injured leg.
He was desperate to console his sister in her grief but was confined to the infernal couch.
He thought of asking his brother Gardiner for assistance in the matter but was hesitant.
Gardiner would not deny him in such a situation but his myriad of responsibilities would not allow him a longer sojourn in Hampshire.
Then again, Sarah may not be comfortable in the presence of Mrs. Bennet’s brother no matter how decent he may be.
He rubbed his forehead, trying to think and then something struck him.
Lizzy was in Kent and could travel to Hampshire.
Sarah had always had a soft spot for her nieces and should be happy enough to receive her.
His second daughter was intelligent and industrious, and if he sent the carriage to her, the travel would be smooth enough.
Thus decided, he summoned his man and asked him to make arrangements.
“Mr. Bennet, what nonsense is this I hear? How can you decide to send the carriage away? How are we to travel?” Mrs. Bennet entered his study that evening complaining incessantly. She had heard from the servants as to the plans her husband was making and was incensed.
“Do be quiet, Madam. My sister has lost her husband and I find myself unable to travel in her time of need. Any assistance that I can provide will be given.”
“You have no care in the world for your own wife and daughters,” Mrs. Bennet wailed.
“I understand only too well how thoughtless and selfish my wife and youngest daughter can be. If you cannot visit the milliners or your sister Philips for a few months, it will be no hardship.”
Before Mrs. Bennet could have responded to the unjustness of it all, Mr. Bennet interrupted her and continued, “The household will be in three months of mourning for my brother. There will be no visits from those militia officers.”
“That hardly seems necessary. The girls did not even know him,” Mrs. Bennet argued.
“The girls did not know him because you made Sarah feel unwelcome in this house, but no more. They will realise their responsibility and you will behave with the required decorum. And Mrs. Bennet, if I see that my instructions are not followed, I will make sure to cut all connection with your sister Philips. Do I make myself clear?” Mr. Bennet finished with a heretofore unheard firmness.
Mrs. Bennet was too enraged to argue, understanding that she would not be able to have her way this time, pursed her lips and with a disdainful look towards her husband left the library.
Muttering to herself about ungrateful family and difficult husbands, she summoned the housekeeper into the parlour and gave the instructions regarding the mourning.
“Mama, this is unfair. Why are we not to have the officers because some old man died?”
Lydia pouted as Kitty also nodded in agreement.
“I know it is most unfair, but your father is determined to make us all suffer for no fault of ours,” Mrs. Bennet petulantly responded.
“How come we never see Aunt Sarah?” Mary asked, perplexed at the discord this unknown relative was creating.
“I am sure she will be here within days, what with your father’s idea of sending his carriage. She was always an ungrateful girl. Had she married Mr. Collins, as was her duty we would not be in such a situation at all,” Mrs. Bennet grumbled.
“Mr. Collins, how could he have proposed to her? He must have been a young boy when she married,” Kitty questioned with a frown.
“How droll you can be, Kitty. Mama is obviously talking about old Mr. Collins, the father of the man we know,” Lydia flippantly responded.
“But how would her marrying Mr. Collins have changed anything? She would have been a widow much earlier and would not have much fortune,” Mary asked.
“Stop asking useless questions, Mary. Nobody cares about my poor nerves and least of all your father. I am sure he will be pleased when we are thrown into the hedgerows by the present Mr. Collins. Well, that Sarah better make her own way for I will not be supporting her after that.”
Just then a footman arrived with a note from Mr. Bennet asking for his family’s presence in the library.
“Mrs. Bennet, girls, I want you to understand that Mr. Hardwicke’s death is a very serious matter.
I do not want any frivolous comments in the house.
Since I cannot go to Hampshire, I have asked Lizzy to go to her aunt’s aid.
Once the will is read and we understand the situation more clearly, I will ask my dear sister and her daughter to come to Longbourn.
” As Mrs. Bennet attempted to protest, her husband raised his hand to stop her.
“I do not want any arguments. As long as I am alive, Longbourn will be my sister’s home just as it is for all of you. I expect everyone to be kind and welcoming towards her and her daughter.”
“Well, she may come here and do whatever she pleases, but I am not going to give up my room or share with anyone,” Lydia responded with a scowl.
“You will do whatever is needed, Lydia or you will be back in the nursery. Also I do not want to hear that any of you girls are walking to Meryton or mingling with the neighbours during our mourning. I will not hesitate to send you back to the nursery if you do not conduct yourselves with proper decorum.”
At the defiant look from his youngest daughter, Mr. Bennet stared at her and repeated, “Do I make myself clear or would you prefer that I start enforcing the rules by withdrawing your allowance?”
Lydia was horrified at her father’s threat and immediately agreed to all that was asked.
Thus, the next morning an express was sent to Elizabeth to go to her aunt and to Sarah to expect her niece in her brother’s stead.
The Bennets’ coach, with a maid, made its way to Kent to be at Elizabeth’s disposal.