Page 45 of Saving Jane
“But there is no reason why Papa cannot live to be an old man.”
Ignoring Elizabeth’s comment, Mrs Bennet asked, “Will your Mr Darcy be in town this winter?”
“He is not my Mr Darcy, and I believe Miss Darcy said they plan to remain in Derbyshire the entire winter. It will be spring before we meet again.”
“Your aunt believes the man will make an offer for you in the spring,” Mrs Bennet turned to her daughter and reached out to finger the material of her gown. “We shall save the best gowns until spring and convince your father to send you to the Gardiners for another visit. My sister Gardiner and her maid are talented at altering gowns to the latest fashion. Perhaps you can make the match.”
Unable to speak for a moment, Elizabeth stared after her mother as she left to speak to Mrs Hill in the kitchens.
~~}{~~
In an afternoon with the Bennets distributed about the house, Elizabeth found a moment to speak with her uncle and aunt privately.
“Uncle, I am even more concerned for Jane’s future after meeting Mr Collins,” she told them. “I do not know how Jane will find the strength to endure this marriage. He will ruin Longbourn.”
“Have you said such to her?” asked Aunt Gardiner quickly.
Frowning and looking away, Elizabeth said, “No I would not speak thus to my sister.”
“Lizzy, it is not our place to criticize your father for making this engagement. We may advise him but unless something happens to break the entailment, Jane must marry Mr Collins next summer.”
“What would break the Longbourn entailment?”
“If your mother bears a son or Mr Collins dies, that will break the entailment.”
Elizabeth frowned; her mother had gone for almost fifteen years without bearing another child and she was not willing to murder Mr Collins.
“How could we break Jane’s engagement?” she asked after this moment of thought.
“There is a formal agreement in place already,” Mr Gardiner told his niece. “Jane cannot break the engagement without costing your family Longbourn. If Mr Collins breaks the engagement, he would default on the entailment.”
“And how would he break the engagement?”
Mr Gardiner shook his head, “If Mr Collins died or married another lady; that would break the engagement and save Jane.”
“But who would want to marry Mr Collins?”Elizabeth asked.
~~}{~~
Chapter 20.Mr Bennet’s Letters
The Gardiners departed for London before the arrival of the New Year as the atmosphere at Longbourn grew contentious as letter followed letter from Mr Collins with suggestions and demands for changes to the marriage settlement. Each such demand left Mr Bennet in a dark mood for two or more days, and their mother’s comments shrill. To deal with the tension, Elizabeth joined with Jane in placating their mother’s nerves and their father’s mood.
Meanwhile, the courtship between Mary and John Lucas proceeded appropriately with calls and occasional suppers; Kitty remained above stairs whenever Mr Lucas called while Elizabeth or Jane distracted Mrs Bennet with the assistance of Mrs Hill to address matters of menus, sewing, poultry and the pantry.
In the middle of January, the weather signs all predicted the imminent arrival of snow and so the Bennet family and servants prepared. The coachman secured the stable and horses. Tenants carried extra wood into their small houses and checked their supplies of coal, food and drink. Within Longbourn, the maids carried extra buckets of coal into the parlours, Mr Bennet’s study, and the dining room. Despite arguments from Jane, Elizabeth and Mary, Mrs Bennet refused to consider allowing her daughters to sleep with the doors to their rooms open.
“But Mama, the heat from the parlour rises all the way to the attics. If our doors were open, the heat could come into our rooms,” Elizabeth argued.
“Proper folk sleep with their bedroom doors shut Lizzy,” Mrs Bennet retorted. “Now be silent on the matter. I wonder that when you were younger you did as I bid rather than argue with me as Kitty and Lydia...”
Elizabeth and her mother both fell silent thinking of the missing sister–there had been no word from Lydia in the months since her marriage.
The parlour door opened, and Mr Bennet entered, another letter in his hand and Elizabeth noticed her mother fall silent.
“Well, Mrs Bennet, your future son has just made another ridiculous demand for a change in the marriage settlement,” he announced. “The day I allowed you to talk me into this engagement is the day you proved that women are not fit to manage any affairs!”
Elizabeth glanced at Jane and Mary who only tightened their lips and focused on their sewing. Kitty in a corner of the room fell silent to not attract her father’s notice.
