Chapter 1 May Day
The three Bennet sisters left Mrs. Talbot’s house after paying a visit to the elderly woman and her granddaughter, Miss Mary King. Mrs. Talbot had been poorly, and they had brought her a jar of medicinal honey to soothe her cough.
Once they reached the road, Jane looked toward Meryton.
“Come, Lizzy. Let us stop in Meryton on our way home. We must collect the post, and I promised Hill I would purchase the cloth for the kitchen towels.”
Lydia ran ahead, and by the time Jane and Elizabeth arrived, their sister stood laughing with several officers of the Derbyshire militia.
“Lizzy, I do not like how forward our sister has become in the company of those men. She is but fifteen.”
Elizabeth frowned. “I have told Papa how badly she conducts herself, but he says the officers will pay her no attention, for everyone knows we are poor. A woman without a dowry holds little interest for men in want of money.”
She considered her sister’s behavior and then added, “She is no fit candidate for marriage, but because she is pretty and appears much nearer eighteen than fifteen, some man may decide to use her for his own amusement, and then we shall all be ruined.”
“Let us hurry, Lizzy.” Jane hastened her pace, and when they stood within speaking distance, she called, “Come, Lydia. Papa awaits us.”
Lydia pulled a face. “I shall join you when you have finished your errands, Jane.”
Elizabeth approached Lydia, curtsied to the three officers, and took her by the elbow. “You will excuse us. We have errands to complete, and our father awaits us at home.”
Then, raising her brows and glaring at her sister, she said, “Come, Lydia.”
The girl tried to pull away, and Elizabeth tightened her hold. She leaned close to Lydia's ear. “You will come along as befits a gentleman's daughter, and you will cease arguing.”
“Lizzy, you are the greatest spoil sport. I need to find Wicky, for he goes to London on Friday and means to visit Vauxhall Gardens and the theater. I want to go to the theater.”
“Come along. Perhaps if you conduct yourself well, Papa will take you to the theater the next time we go. I shall ask him to include you especially, though you are still very young.”
With a mixture of persuasion and threats, Elizabeth led her sister into the haberdashery, and together they helped Jane select cloth suitable for dish towels.
* * *
Upon their return to Longbourn, Lydia hurried inside to carry her complaints against Elizabeth to Mamma, while Elizabeth went to her father's study to inform him of Lydia's improper conduct.
In the end, Mrs. Bennet scolded Elizabeth for ordering her sister about, and Mr. Bennet merely rolled his eyes.
Vexed, Elizabeth left her father's study and, after dinner, retired to her room to escape the commotion raised by her younger sisters and her mother. She had received a letter from her Aunt Gardiner, and she opened it now and settled down to read.
Excerpt of Aunt Madeline’s letter
Gracechurch Street, London
April 27, 1811
. . . I can have one of you girls to visit this summer.
Your uncle believes we should invite Jane, for she approaches two and twenty and has no marriage prospects in Meryton, but I would prefer your company, for you are very good with little Edward.
Baby Aimee still nurses during the night, and Nurse cannot keep pace with both children during the day while I rest. However, I shall leave the choice to the two of you.
If Jane wishes to go husband hunting, she shall be most welcome.
Elizabeth slipped on her shoes and went to Jane's bedchamber. She tapped upon the door and entered at Jane's invitation.
“Have you had a chance to read your letter? What does Aunt Maddie say?”
“She invites one of us to London, Jane.” Elizabeth handed her the missive. “I think it would be best if you go.”
“I am highly gratified by this invitation, Lizzy. I shall gladly help with little Edward. He is the sweetest boy, and if my uncle can introduce me to a gentleman who seeks a wife, I shall be much beholden to him.”
Elizabeth rose. “Come then, sister. Let us go down and ask Papa. If one of us makes a suitable marriage, perhaps we shall be spared the hedgerows.”
* * *
May 1, 1811
“Lydia! What are you doing, girl? Do you not know better than to bring hawthorn into the house?”
“Take those branches out. Take them out. Out, I say! Out, this minute!”
Lydia stood in the hall and whined, “But Mamma, the blossoms are so pretty, and Lady Lucas says we are sure to have a wedding this year if I bring in the hawthorn.”
“And how well has it worked for the Lucases? Foolish girl! Lady Lucas does not know of what she speaks.”
Mrs. Bennet caught Lydia by the arm and proceeded to usher her toward the door, but Lydia stumbled on the edge of the rug and dropped the branches on the floor.
Mrs. Bennet stooped to help the girl gather them, scolding all the while.
“Look at the mess you have made, with leaves and petals scattered about!”
“But if the hawthorn brings us good luck and we have a wedding, or perhaps even two, would that not be a fine joke, Mamma?”
In the study, Elizabeth raised her eyes from her notebook and met her father’s. “Papa, it sounds as though Lydia and Mamma are at it again.”
He reached across the desk and took her notebook. “Never mind the noise, Lizzy. They will soon settle it among themselves. Now, then, I believe you should draw a star beside Arbor Low, Lizzy. With its extensive earthworks, it is the most spectacular of the Derbyshire sites.”
She handed him the quill. He drew a star beside the name.
“Lizzy, I will take you and the family to see it, for it is a treasure from antiquity. You will help me plan the journey, and we shall travel to the Peak District and perhaps even to the Lakes.”
They both faced the door as Mrs. Bennet’s voice rose from elsewhere in the house.
Mr. Bennet returned the notebook. “Go, Lizzy, and see what you can do to restore the peace.”
She rose to do as bidden. Upon reaching the staircase, she waited for Jane, who was descending.
Elizabeth laughed when she saw the mess her sister had made. Leaves and petals were strewn across the floor around Lydia and her mother.
“Lydia, hawthorn is thought to be a fairy tree. If you bring the flowering branches into the house, the fairies will come in too.”
Mrs. Bennet nudged her daughter on the shoulder and pointed toward the door. “Take those branches away, for they carry the smell of death!”
“I do not know what you can mean, Mamma. They smell sweet.”
“Take them out, for now you have invited misfortune into our house.”
“Where shall I take them?”
“Take them back to the tree where you cut them. Go now!” Mrs. Bennet gestured to Elizabeth.
“Go with your sister and make certain she returns those branches to the tree where she cut them.”
“Yes, Mamma.”
“I shall go with you, Lizzy,” Jane said, laughing. “Come, let us fetch our bonnets and gloves.”
Mr. Bennet stepped out of his study. “What is this about fairies, Lizzy? Have you become a believer?”
Elizabeth laughed. “You know what they say, Papa. Beltane is the season of the fairies, when the veil between the two worlds is believed to grow unusually thin.”
He chuckled, stooped to retrieve a branch from beneath his foot, and held it out to Lydia. “Here you are, my girl. Remove these from the house before your mother suffers a nervous fit.”
He returned to his study.
When they reached the lone hawthorn, Lydia laid the flowering branches at the foot of the trunk, and the three sisters paused to admire the tree laden with white blossoms.
* * *
That evening, Elizabeth sat at her desk, bent over a letter, when Jane entered.
“Are you replying to Aunt Maddie?”
“Yes.”
“I am excited to go, Lizzy. There are no eligible gentlemen left in Meryton.” Jane picked up the letter of invitation and read it again.
“They have all gone off to university or to fight in the Peninsula. Unless we go to London, we are unlikely to wed. You must go, Jane, and pray our uncle finds you a match.”
A look of mischief crossed Jane’s face. “And spare us from ruin should Lydia continue in this manner.”
Jane bent over Aunt Madeline’s letter, drew something in one corner, and handed it to Elizabeth with a wink.
Elizabeth examined the sketch. “Hawthorn blossoms?”
Jane laughed. “Did not Lydia say hawthorn blossoms signify a wedding or two?” Jane arched a brow. “Perhaps I shall find a husband in London this Season.”
“You sound very certain of your success.”
“Save Aunt Maddie’s letter, Lizzy. When I find my husband in London this Season, you shall owe me a new pair of gloves.”
“A pair of gloves? Whatever for? I made no wager with you, Jane dear.”
“No, but I saw the doubt on your face.”
“Very well. If you find yourself a husband while in London, I shall buy you a pair of gloves.”
Elizabeth tucked the letter from their beloved aunt between the blank pages at the back of her notebook and slipped the notebook into her desk drawer.