Mrs Bennet could not remember the last time that Longbourn had been so full. Every guest room was full, and the second parlour had been pressed into use as a temporary bedroom. Yet still the guests that arrived for the wedding had spilled over into Longbourn Village, as well as Meryton and as far as Stevenage and Watford. Mrs Bennet had been embarrassed that they could not put all their guests up at Longbourn, but the house only had ten bedrooms, and they were completely full. There had been nothing for it. Longbourn was the focal meeting point this morning and everyone would adjourn to Netherfield after church for the afternoon celebrations.
Christmas had been a time for quiet reflection on the birth of Christ when Mrs Bennet had been young. She still preferred to keep it that way, but there were many amongst whom the more raucous traditions of Christmas had been kept alive. Her father had always refused to open the door to carol singers or anyone else throughout the whole of the twelve days of Christmas. It was not safe to do so. Now as she thought about the activities and plans that had been made for this afternoon, she thought that the young were trying to bring in a sanitised version of those raucous activities.
The visitors to Longbourn had arrived by nine o’clock and the group walked to church at a quarter to ten. Her daughters were always very quick to head to church. “You must be proud of the girls' piety.” Mrs Phillips told her sister as they walked to Longbourn Church.
“I am indeed.” Mrs Bennet replied and watched as three of her daughters walked arm-in-arm with their husbands to be.
Mrs Phillips watched as a slight sadness crept into her sister’s eyes. “Stop worrying, the Bertrams will be here. I heard that Sir Thomas’s carriage broke an axle and they were delayed for a week. The coach makers could not fix it immediately.”
“Aye, that is true, I just worry for our Mary. She is so serious and the accounts that Mr Bennet had of the young Thomas Bertram were not very encouraging. Did I tell you that Mr Bennet nearly forbade the match? I would have been so distressed if he had, of course.”
“No, I do not recall that you told me this, Sister.”
“Well, the story goes like this. Apparently last year the Bertrams had a lot of family troubles. There are two daughters and two sons. The eldest son, Thomas, of course inherits the baronetcy from his father, along with the plantations in the West Indies. The younger son, Edmund, goes into the church and is to be ordained this coming Easter. Both of Sir Thomas Bertram’s daughters caused a scandal. The elder abandoned her husband, a man with twelve thousand pounds a year and ran off with a scoundrel! Imagine that! She abandons him and his twelve thousand pounds. The marriage of the eldest daughter did not last more than a few months. Meanwhile, the younger daughter eloped with a friend of her eldest brother. It is the eldest son who is to marry Mary and the younger son who is to marry Kitty.”
“That is shocking, but I do not understand why Mr Bennet would refuse to allow Mary to marry young Thomas Bertram? Has not Bennet always stated that the sins of one member of the family should not harm the rest?”
“Why yes, he has and ordinarily that would not be enough for Mr Bennet to withhold his consent. However, it seems that young Thomas was of questionable character himself.”
Mrs Philips gasped. The church was now in view and the two matrons paused in their discussion to let Mrs Long and a few other older ladies pass. “Surely our Mary would not marry a scoundrel?”
“No, she would not. Mary is too pious for her own good, and in that matter, she would not entertain a scoundrel for a marriage partner. Young Thomas has been good for her and opened her mind to other things than simply being pious. However, if he were a true scoundrel, she would not have entertained his marriage proposal. Apparently, he had become involved with a bad crowd that was involved with heavy gambling and drinking. It was those around him who would carouse around more than he, and he had been seeking a way out from them, when he had taken a bad tumble down the stairs while they were staying in Newmarket. It was then that they abandoned him. They cared not whether he lived or died, and that is when he finally found the courage to change his life completely.”
“Sister! That is terrible!”
“Yes, it is indeed. Apparently after the eldest Miss Bertram was found and young Thomas recovered, the family left Mansfield to take a tour of the coasts of Kent. The young Mr Bertrams went no further than Ramsgate when they met our girls and their friends. Our Mary saw something in the reforming Mr Thomas Bertram that nobody else did. She convinced Mr Bennet to give his consent to the marriage. Without her convincing, I do not think Mr Bennet would have entertained the young whelp. I just worry that Mary is going to have her heart broken by him.” Mr Bennet interrupted them at this point and ushered them into the church. The service was about to begin. Mr Bennet did not like Mrs Bennet discussing her future son-in-law in the middle of the thoroughfare like that, it was hard enough on Mary that her and Kitty’s betrotheds were absent while their sisters’ betrotheds were showering them with gifts and attention.
Mrs Bennet usually enjoyed the Christmas services, and she rarely missed them. The last time she could remember missing a Christmas service was twenty-three years ago when she had given birth to Jane. Today her mind wandered as she contemplated her five daughters and their uniqueness as they each sat on the verge of their new lives as wives, and hopefully, mothers.
Jane had grown up to be a beautiful young woman, yet Mrs Bennet had been afraid for her. Beauty could be a trap as well as a blessing. Jane had attempted to apply herself to the same lessons that Mr Bennet would later give to Elizabeth, but she seemed to be unable to understand the things that Elizabeth would grasp instantly. Elizabeth was two years younger than Jane, but in intelligence she was the superior of all the girls. Mrs Bennet knew that on the surface it appeared that Jane and Lydia were her favourites and that she neglected her other girls, but in truth it was Jane and Lydia that as they grew up needed the extra support and bolstering. Without the seeming bias towards them, Mrs Bennet knew that they would both suffer in comparison to their sisters, whose intelligence and personalities sparkled in everything they did. It was fortunate that the current fashion in society was for girls to pretend that they were ignorant and vain, so that the common accomplishments of sewing and netting a purse were all they needed to have good chance to marry a young man of fortune. Jane had been a worry for she had not spoken a word until she was four, but she had then spoken with almost perfect precision in her sentences, and she had shown an aversion to being touched. Her insistence on order and aversion to anything that ‘felt funny’ in her mouth had left Mrs Bennet at her wits end as to how to cope with her firstborn. Mrs Bennet had spent many hours with her mother and sister, in Meryton, crying and worrying about her eldest daughter, who appeared so closed off from the world.
The problems with her nerves had begun when she had been expecting Elizabeth. The strain of Jane’s unusualness was beginning to take a toll on Mrs Bennet’s health. Everything had begun to seem like it was an insurmountable challenge. Mrs Bennet soon began to put everything into a routine, and the slightest variation from her routine would send her spiralling to a nervous panic. Palpations, and insomnia were but two of the symptoms that she would suffer. Elizabeth was a blessed relief for she was almost entirely Jane’s opposite in every way. Where Jane was withdrawn and awkward, Elizabeth was bright and precocious. Where Jane was fussy and shied away from everything, Elizabeth was hungry to experience all that life had to offer. For the first few years of her life Elizabeth had been unsure of her elder sister; the two were so different that Elizabeth could not understand Jane. However, around the age of five Elizabeth had seemed to take to Jane, protecting her elder sister and aiding her to come out of her shell. Soon Jane had begun to flourish. Mrs Bennet had broken the rules of society when she brought Elizabeth out into society. Usually girls did not come out until they were fifteen at the very least, however, Jane had refused to enter society without her sister Elizabeth by her side. Rather than waste the opportunity for
Jane to attract a nice young man, Mrs Bennet had brought Elizabeth out two years too early. Elizabeth had coped well, and the two sisters had stayed close to each other, with Elizabeth often making up for Jane’s social deficiencies. Mrs Bennet had had no worries that Elizabeth would make a fine match one of these days, just as long as she did not allow her loyalties to her sister Jane to interfere with gaining a young man of her own.
Mary and Catherine were very similar in their personalities. Both were quiet and unassuming. The only worries Mrs Bennet had about these two of her daughters had been that they would be too influenced by the men that they chose to marry. However, now as Mrs Bennet surveyed her children, she knew without a doubt that each one had chosen wisely and each one had chosen a man that would suit them exactly.
Lydia was the only one who was still a concern. George Wickham did not seem suited to settling down, nor did he seem suited in personality to Lydia. It was a closely guarded secret that Lydia’s ignorance and impatience was not by choice. As a young child, Lydia had struggled to learn even the simplest of things. It had taken her the longest to learn her alphabet and how to read. After many tears and outbursts of anger, she had eventually managed to learn to read and write and to do rudimentary arithmetic. Elizabeth’s habit of long walks had begun as a way of soothing the distressed Lydia. Elizabeth would take Lydia on a long walk that would use up the frustrated child’s energy and make learning fun. Gradually Lydia calmed down, but she would never have the same intelligence of any of her sisters. Mrs Bennet wondered if George Wickham would have the patience that his choice of bride would require. Not only did Mrs Bennet have a surprise at what she observed in the church, but it would set her mind at rest. Mr Wickham had ingenuously maneuvered it that he and Lydia shared a single prayer book, and he kept the book not only at the right page, but he was always a step ahead. Mrs Bennet had to admire him, under the guise of a betrothed besotted with Lydia, he had managed to make sure that strangers would not realise that Lydia could not keep up.
Chapter 2 – 26th December 1812
Two Turtle Doves
“Emma!” The surprise and wonder on Elizabeth’s face as Mr and Mrs George Knightley stood in the vestibule of Longbourn made the trouble of the journey worthwhile. “I thought by your last letter that you would not be able to visit at this time?”
“OH, LIZZY. MY FATHER has always been difficult, but he was being particularly difficult about my wedding. I do not know why it is that he has taken so violently against weddings.”
“Come, Emma, you know that it is the change that he dislikes.” Mr Knightley stated. “Miss Elizabeth, you must understand that Emma’s father dislikes anything that removes him from the comfort of his hearth and changes the number of people that are around him.”
“I understand. There are those who dislike changes of any sort.” Elizabeth answered.
“Indeed, they do.” Mrs Bennet cut in, “I myself of course suffer from terrible nerves whenever there is to be a change. I really do not know what I shall do after the wedding, when all of you girls go and make your lives with your husbands.”
“Mama, you will carry on as you did before. You will visit with Mrs Long and Lady Lucas, as well as our aunt and your other friends. You will see us all regularly.” Elizabeth reminded her mother.
“True, but the house will be so quiet.” Mrs Bennet replied with worry.
“Miss Elizabeth, you have written so much about the beauties of Hertfordshire, that I am longing to see some of those beauties first-hand now.” Mr Knightley said, attempting to change the subject.
“So, you shall. I promise.” Elizabeth said. “We could begin by a trip to Oakham Mount tomorrow.”
“Lizzy, we should wait until after the wedding. There’s a myth that if new brides go to Oakham Mount then something magical happens.” Mary added.
“Magical how?” Elizabeth queried. Mary was the last one who anyone expected to talk about anything magical. She was far more apt to condemn anything that she had no explanation for. For Mary anything unexplainable was witchcraft, which was a mortal sin.
“I do not know the particulars. There are very few who have seen the sight, and those who have all had conflicting stories to tell.” Mary replied.
Lydia snorted, “I heard that the last couple who experienced the strange happenings around Oakham Mount went mad. Aunt Phillips told the tale with such relish a few years ago.”
“You should not give credence to all that Aunt Phillips tells us Lydia. I too have heard some of her outlandish tales.” Elizabeth replied.
“Although it is not true that the couple went mad, for I met them just last week, the rumours are true as to there being something magical about Oakham Mount. I have collected a few eyewitness statements.”
“So that’s what you are doing when you are talking with people in the ballroom, Mary! No wonder you never have anyone to dance with!” Lydia said.
Mary ignored what Lydia had said, but all in the room felt awkward and nobody knew quite how to move the conversation forward. Emma looked into the fire and allowed her thoughts to wander. Yet again she remembered her father’s words after the wedding. Those cruel words that took away some of the joy of her wedding day. Nothing had prepared her to hear those words, though she had always known her father to be selfish and cantankerous. Mr Knightley must have noticed her distraction but other than taking her hand in his, he said nothing. They would do their talking in private. If Elizabeth was on her own, then Emma would have opened her heart to her friend, but Emma did not trust any of Elizabeth’s sisters. Not even Jane, who Elizabeth saw as being so sweet and was Elizabeth’s confidante. There was something in Jane that made Emma uncomfortable, but what it was she did not know. As for Elizabeth’s other sisters, Emma knew that they were all not to be trusted. Mary was overly judgemental and the youngest two, Catherine and Lydia, were nothing more than useless gossips. Gossips that would not think twice about spreading any piece of ‘news’ that they found out. It mattered not whether that news was true.
“EMMA!” Elizabeth’s sharp call made Emma jump. “If you are not too tired then we thought that a walk into Meryton would be the thing for this afternoon.”
“We are not too tired, we arrived in Stevenage two days ago and spent Christmas day quietly. I would be happy to walk into Meryton with you and your sisters.” Emma replied.
“Oh, my Lord. I forgot to ask you about whether or not you were to be staying here.” Mrs Bennet exclaimed as she entered the parlour. “Organising this wedding has taken so much out of me, that I am forgetting important things. Please excuse my lapse in manners. There is no excuse.” Mrs Bennet would have rambled on apologising over and over.
Emma interrupted her. “Mrs Bennet, thank you for your concern, but we are staying in Stevenage. Your offer and interest are very kind, yet we must decline your generous hospitality.”
The relief on the matriarch’s face was clear, but her words were gracious. The group moved out of the parlour and back to the hallway, where there was a flurry of bonnets and pelisses. The moment the group of young women stepped out of the front door it was clear to Emma why they wished to walk to Meryton now. Three young men now joined the group that Emma could only presume to be some of the young ladies' betrotheds. She was proved correct as Elizabeth introduced the young men to her and Mr Knightley.
Emma soon got bored listening to the conversation that Mr Darcy and Mr Knightley were soon engrossed in. What could be so interesting about crop yields and field rotations, Emma would never understand. Her intelligence and interests went in a completely different direction. She understood the concepts and the need for them, but she only gave scant mind to them as her father was the one who had seen to such tedious things at Hartfield.
It was not until the group arrived at Meryton that Emma was able to move Elizabeth away from the group. She wished to talk about her father’s cruel words. Elizabeth was the only one who would understand. Elizabeth was the only one, other than her husband, who knew
how her father had constantly tried to manipulate her into staying single. “Lizzy, I simply must talk to you.”
“What is it, Emma? You look concerned.” Elizabeth replied. She looked around the marketplace. Fortunately, there was nobody who was within earshot so she pulled Emma over to a bench and they sat down so as to be able to talk quietly and see if anyone approached.
“Lizzy, you know how my father has over the past ten years, consistently tried to convince me that staying single was the best thing and that I should not even entertain the idea of getting married?”
“Yes, I believe that you espoused that idea for a while.”
“I did. It was much easier to say I would not get married when I did not know what it was to fall in love or to want to marry. We should have married back in the spring, but my father kept putting up this objection or that and we kept postponing in order to accommodate him. Eventually we realised we had to just go ahead and marry despite my father’s complaints. Yet what my father said the other day when we were married, was beyond distressing. He hates change, but his words were just cruel.” Emma’s tears flowed freely and she could not carry on. Eventually she gained enough control to carry on, “Oh, Lizzy, he said ‘Emma, you have gone against my express wishes and married. I want to know nothing of your joys and your children. From this day on, you and I will be as strangers.”
“What?!” Shock suffused Elizabeth’s face. How could a father be so cruel? What would make him say such a thing.
“Knightley thinks that it was just the fact that my father hates change and that once we get back to Hartfield next week my father will have forgiven me, and that we will all live together as one big family. I am not so sure. He has been writing to Isabella a lot, and when she and John came down from London, they arrived much earlier than they needed to. They sat for hours whispering together. If it were not for John, and my nieces and nephews then I would have been very lonely indeed. My father has been withdrawing from me for months. I don’t know what to do. I fear that I shall find that Hartfield is no longer my home when I return.”
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