Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Longbourn
Meryton, Hertfordshire
“Mr Jones, sir.” Mrs Hill curtsied as she announced the local apothecary to Mr Bennet’s study.
“Lizzy, you may stay.” Bennet stood and shook the man’s hand. “Jones, how is my wife?”
Elizabeth resumed her place after she curtsied to the apothecary and awaited what he said anxiously.
In the last three years, she had lost a mother, gained a stepmother when her father remarried, and a new infant brother.
While Lucas Bennet was a robust little chap, his coming had weakened his mother, and six months later, Charlotte Bennet had not recovered.
“Mrs Bennet is stronger than her body allows just now, Bennet. All she needs is the right conditions to recover,” Mr Jones said to Mr Bennet.
“What more can I do, Jones?”
“I recommend taking her to the seaside for the summer. I have never considered Bath to be beneficial to anyone.” Jones nodded.
“I never understood why ladies must go away for their health,” Mr Bennet grumbled. “One might think that the air in Hertfordshire was as poisonous as the East End.”
“It is more the effort encouraged by travel, in my opinion, Bennet. Though it is certain that sea air is particularly beneficial for many conditions,” Mr Jones explained.
“At home, ladies are cossetted and kept in bed when they are unwell. When they go to the seaside for their health, they get out, they walk on the seashore, they take in the sun, go sea bathing, eat more adventurously while on holiday, and these activities rebuild their strength.”
“It sounds like quite a bit of trouble that could mostly be undertaken at home, with the right inducement,” said Mr Bennet. Seeing his daughter frown, he continued. “But we shall expend the effort anyway. There must be some quiet coastal village that might be suitable.”
“Not a quiet place, Mr Bennet,” Jones corrected.
“That would defeat the purpose. You need not go somewhere expensive like Brighton, but an established seaside resort is what you want. A place with ample gardens and sights to take in. And assembly rooms with new acquaintances. I am not suggesting that Mrs Bennet will be equal to dancing the night away at assemblies, but as she begins to exert herself more, her strength will return to her slowly, and she will have more energy for her old activities.”
“I can easily imagine Charlotte improving while experiencing the seaside. It is quite sensible!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“You must encourage her to eat with a robust appetite, Bennet,” Mr Jones cautioned.
“Of course, no man wants a stout wife so early in marriage, but ladies over worry about the return of their figures after bearing children, and weaken themselves further. She must eat a healthy variety of foods. And should she fall ill with anything else while she is away, you must not allow her to be bled, no matter the circumstances. You know how I view the practice, and as weak as she is, it would finish her off.”
“Very well, Jones. I thank you. You must send me your bill before we depart. I will write to you to inform you as to how she does.” Bennet stood to ring for Mrs Hill.
“That is good of you, Bennet. Or even Miss Lizzy might drop a line if you find yourself too busy with Mrs Bennet.” Mr Jones grinned at Elizabeth. Mr Bennet’s penchant for being a terrible correspondent was notorious in the village.
Mrs Hill entered and showed Mr Jones out, and before Mr Bennet or Elizabeth could speak on the plan, they were interrupted by a familiar fury that often swept through the house since Mr Bennet’s second wedding.
“Well, Bennet, I hope you have some plan. What did Mr Jones say?” Lady Lucas bustled in, having just left Charlotte upstairs in her bedchamber. “As usual, they tell the women nothing of their own health, we have to wait to hear it from our husbands. The indignity is quite shocking.”
“As you say, Lady Lucas. The world is already so unfair that I could never visit the dishonour of being the last to know of her own health upon my wife. I must visit her and speak privately with her now.”
Elizabeth shook her head as her father escaped with an effort not to laugh at his wife’s mother. She took the opportunity to escape as her father had before Lady Lucas built up a dander.
That night, Charlotte joined them at dinner for the first time since Lucas was born, and there was a great deal of high-spirited discussion.
“What Mr Bennet says about the effort expended upon travel and a holiday helping to make me strong makes a great deal of sense, so I am determined to start right away.” Charlotte smiled at her husband.
“I think that I have allowed my mother to coddle me far too much since my confinement. I am unused to the lack of activity. Whoever thought that rest might make one weak?”
“Whatever we can do to help, Charlotte, you know we are very happy to do.” Jane was happy to see her stepmother and old friend back at her place at the table.
“I have decided that I must see if I am even well enough to dine at the table in my own house before I undertake any journey.” Charlotte served herself from a bowl of asparagus before passing it to Elizabeth.
“Well, are we going somewhere, or not?” Lydia demanded, then appeared chastened as her stepmother glanced at her sharply.
The two youngest Bennet daughters had, upon their father’s second marriage, quickly found their sister Mary assigned to their education.
The fact that Charlotte could, and without hesitation–would make their lives very dull indeed if they did not obey–had eventually improved their address somewhat.
Jane had devoted most of her time to teaching them to act like ladies, and though they found it silly, they liked sewing for the poor basket for days on end and helping Mrs Hill polish the silver even less.
“We shall go to Ramsgate, our whole household,” Mr Bennet informed them.
“I have heard enough of the place from my brother Gardiner. And I have had another idea. Mrs Gardiner is to be confined again soon, as you all know, and has felt quite ill throughout her experience this time. Her husband is worried that being confined in the heat of summer in London cannot be good for her. I had a letter from him only a few days ago. I shall invite the Gardiners to come and stay at Longbourn while we are away. By the time our adventure in Ramsgate is concluded, they ought to be ready to return to London, or nearly.”
“That would be quite fortunate, for then I might be certain that my mother will not redecorate my dining room while I am in Ramsgate.” Since Charlotte’s wedding, her mother had been forceful about advising her daughter regarding her household.
Since Charlotte’s confinement, Lady Lucas had immersed herself in nearly every detail of the management of Longbourn, even though Charlotte had told her numerous times that Jane was more than capable, and had four sisters who knew Longbourn well to assist her.
“What will we do in Ramsgate, Papa?” Kitty asked seriously.
“You and Lydia will have a great deal to occupy yourselves, and I expect you to make your visit educational as well as pleasurable. There are some texts about the area in my library. You may peruse them with Mary,” Bennet answered his fourth daughter.
“There is a theatre in Ramsgate, and assembly rooms. You may all go sea bathing if you desire. The shops will certainly be well worth visiting, and there are thousands of officers, training manoeuvres, and military embarkations1 often. I am certain it will be quite the spectacle.”
“Officers?” Lydia squealed. “I shall marry a man in a red coat, and be the first of my sisters to wed!”
“Officers are for marching on parade and being observed from a distance only, Lydia Bennet,” Charlotte told her sternly.
“They have no money at all, and can barely even afford their uniforms, let alone wives. If any of you ever approaches me with the intention of introducing me to an officer you wish to marry, let him be at least a colonel, or a naval captain. And do not be less than twenty years of age, or you will be quite unsuited to such a position. In which case, Kitty and Lydia will have no reason to acquaint themselves with any officer at all on this visit.”
“Mama would let us–” Lydia began before she was interrupted sharply by her father.
“Your mama is not here.” Thomas Bennet’s face clouded in displeasure as his two youngest cringed at the anger in his voice.
“Though we miss her, we will not undertake to compare the mother you lost to the stepmother you now have, who is doing her very best for you. It is no simple task to take on the support and care of so many young women who are grown up, or nearly so. You will accord Charlotte with the respect and civility I should always have demanded of you, not only because she is entitled to it, but because you deserve to grow up with proper manners, Lydia. Do not cheat yourself of the delights of being a proper lady.”
“Propriety is no trifling adornment, but the very foundation upon which a lady rests her character,” Mary admonished her sister, who rolled her eyes, but quieted before she spoke again a moment later.
“Will we be allowed to do anything while we are in Ramsgate?” Lydia asked her father with more effort at civility.
“You will not be considered out, Lydia, nor you, Kitty. Not in a place like Ramsgate. It is hardly like attending an assembly in Meryton where you have known every other person there all your life,” her father answered her.
“You might dine with us if we entertain guests at home, assuming we make friends there, but you should not expect to accompany your sisters when we go out at night.”
“But you will not suffer for amusement, Lydia,” Charlotte promised.
“Perhaps there will be no balls for you, but there are always many young ladies visiting the seaside resorts for a bit of social polish before they make their debuts. I pray that I will be well enough to purchase a subscription to the assembly rooms, and if I am not, your father will. Very young ladies may stroll the rooms during the day with their guardians and meet others their age, and you will take in so many sights that you will not have time to complain.”
“Papa will escort us to the assembly rooms?” Lizzy teased. “Surely you jest.”
“I am confident that your Papa will do his duty,” Charlotte said, then turned across the table to Jane.
“Jane, I think this will be a good opportunity for you and Eliza, and you as well, Mary. We do not meet many gentlemen here in Meryton. But there will be many people in Ramsgate, and you should make as many new connexions as you can. Even if you do not find husbands, you might make friends who will invite you to their homes, and you may meet gentlemen in that manner.”
“Of course, Charlotte,” Jane agreed. “You are perfectly right. I have spent so much time mourning for my mother and helping you with Lucas that I have neglected my own future.”
“That sounds unlike you, Jane.” Kitty sounded curious.
“There is no point hiding that I am twenty-three years old, with no money and no prospects, Kitty.” Jane was firm.
“If Mama had not left us, I am sure I would have met someone by now, probably while travelling or visiting with my aunt and uncle. But if I am not to become a burden upon Charlotte and Lucas, I must go to new places and meet new people. We all must, if we hope to be married, as I still do.”
“It is impossible that you should be a burden to me or your brother, at least not for many years yet. You must always consider Longbourn your home, Jane. But I know you wish for your own establishment.” Charlotte took a sip of her wine.
“Helping you care for Lucas has made me see how much I would like to be a mother.” Jane was candid. “If I am ever to be a mother, first I must be married.”
They had all been more unguarded with their feelings since the new Mrs Bennet took her place at the table.
Anything they might have let slip in front of their own mother would have been repeated at length to the entire village, no matter how personal.
Charlotte, however, had always been a friend to the young ladies, and she encouraged them to continue to consider her their friend and ally.
Even Mr Bennet, impressed by the good sense and improved relations his new wife inspired among his daughters, used far less sarcasm when conversing with his family.
He was also more inclined to encourage his daughters, and he could see that it had done his three youngest a great deal of good.
Elizabeth noticed that Charlotte was beginning to look ill. “Charlotte, are you tired? You are suddenly very pale. We must not forget that though we go to Ramsgate, you are not well yet. Would you like me to accompany you upstairs?”
“If you are quite finished, Eliza, that would be wonderful.” Charlotte looked fatigued. “I am so grateful you noticed. I suddenly feel quite tired. I am not used to eating so much.”
Elizabeth looked at her friend’s plate. Charlotte had, in fact, eaten very little. Elizabeth resolved to do everything she could to assist her friend to recover her strength in Ramsgate. After all…young Lucas needed his mother to be healthy and strong.
1 Ramsgate, being a garrison town, was well known for frequent military embarkations, when ships filled with soldiers would depart for the continent. These were popular spectacles for tourists.