Page 6 of Saving Jane
“And exactly what do you mean by more?” Mr Bennet asked as his wife sat her teacup of spirits on the table beside the sofa.
Lydia sighed. “I am doing nothing wrong–I just want to have some fun. I have felt ill in the morning every day this week and wanted to enjoy myself last evening.”
As she considered her youngest child’s words, Mrs Bennet grew concerned, attemptedto rise but then fainted back into the chair.
~~}{~~
Chapter 2.Lydia’s Unexpected Visitor
When Mrs Bennet was able to climb the stairs to her room, Jane and Elizabeth helped their mother into her night gown and put her to bed. A small teacup of whisky by her bedside was consumed as Mrs Bennet continued to cry. Downstairs, Mr Bennet send Mr Hill to Meryton with the carriage to bring Mr Phillips back to Longbourn.
“And I particularly do not want Mrs Phillips to attend me this afternoon!” he insisted. “If she asks to return with you, tell them both to remain at home and I shall find another attorney!”
The youngest daughter grew bored with the tension and conversations flowing around her even if the primary subject of discussion was her situation. Turning to Kitty, Lydia said, “Shall we walk into Meryton? Perhaps we can find...”
“Lydia, you will go to your room and remain there until I send one of your sisters for you,” Mr Bennet said.
“Papa, I don’t want...”
“Lydia,” Mr Bennet’s voice was low but evidently full of his anger for all his daughters fell silent. “Go to your room this instant. If you set foot out of the room until I send for you, I shall thrash you with a stick until you cannot stand.”
Frightened, the girl fled up the stairs to her room while Mary and Kitty remained at the table. After a few minutes, Mary picked up Lydia’s dress and finished the hem. Kitty was too scared to do anything but move over and sit beside Mary who spoke quietly of the size of stitches and the quality of cloth for different types of gowns.
Elizabeth and Jane returned to the parlour and told their father that they had put their mother to bed. Now Mr Bennet gathered his four oldest daughters together and spoke plainly to them.
“From your sister’s words, I fear she is increasing. The sickness in the morning is an early sign of a child growing inside the mother.”
“A baby!” Kitty exclaimed. “Is Lydia to marry?”
“I shall have to speak to Lydia to determine the father’s name. My only hope is that he is single and eligible to marry her. Lizzy, how much money do I have in the strong box?”
“Almost thirty pounds sir,” Elizabeth replied. “We have another twenty pounds in Mrs Hill’s purse but that is to pay the butcher...”
“Yes, I know–the household accounts until February.”
“Why do you need thirty pounds Papa?” asked Kitty.
He frowned but answered honestly, “I may have to pay some man to marry Lydia.” Jane, Mary and Elizabeth exchanged looks but Kitty looked confused. Mr Bennet sounded aggravated when he moved in front of Elizabeth and said, “Lizzy, write the necessary letter to get one hundred pounds from my accounts. I shall sell one of my horses to raise another fifty pounds.”
“Yes Papa.”
Mr Bennet looked out the window for a sign of the carriage but there was none, so he took Jane upstairs to speak to Lydia. Once they were gone, Elizabeth began writing the letter for her father. She paused when she heard Kitty say, “Mary, why are you crying?”
Looking up, Elizabeth saw that the middle sister had tears flowing down her cheeks as she finished the hem of the gown. “Lydia has ruined all our chances for marriages here in Hertfordshire. No family will unite with ours now.”
“But why?” Kitty asked. “No one has ever said that we should not have fun. Mamma always encourages us to take every opportunity to enjoy ourselves.”
“Lydia has lain with some man outside of marriage,” Mary replied. “She is ruined for all time as the wife of any respectable man.”
“And as her sisters, we are tainted by the brush of association,” Elizabeth realized. “Mamma is correct–we are all ruined.”
Now Kitty began to cry quietly as she helped Mary fold the gown that she had hemmed for Lydia. Elizabeth found her own tears rolling down her cheeks to dot the paper of the letter she wrote for her father. When Mr Bennet and Jane returned, they were both quiet and Jane’s cheeks were bright red.
“Your sister does not understand she is increasing–she believes she has a stomach ailment,” Mr Bennet told his other children. “But if she is increasing, the father could be either young man mentioned earlier.”
The four sisters were shocked into silence, and no one spoke again until Mr Hill arrived with Mr Phillips. Shown into the parlour, Mr Phillips was smiling until he saw the face of his brother Bennet and the tears on the faces of four of his nieces.
“Good God, what is the matter?” he exclaimed.
