“You can be under no misapprehension that I admit you here at Rosings Park by choice, Mary Bennet. I am guardedly aware of the perils of acquainting myself so intimately with the likes of your family.” A brief but distinctly unsettling silence followed, then she went on, “I concede it goes in your favor that you have not the slightest sign of the arts of enticement that your contemptible sister displays. No, your ungarnished appearance is of encouragement to me now I take the trouble of observing it closer. It gives me pain to admit it, but my own dear daughter comes to mind. She has her own frailties, which I daresay render her a less desirable catch for a brutish type of man.You have little to boast of in the way of beauty, although in your case such an ill-favored appearance can certainly be put down to your poor line of descent.”
Mary’s spirits were lifted by what she deemed to be inverse flattery, for rather than seize upon the offense intended by Lady Catherine’s remarks, she elected to view the opinions offered appreciatively. So long had Mary been accustomed to viewing herself as plain; she was wholly and miserably aware that her commonplace looks appeared more so in light of all her sisters’ more becoming features. She always dressed modestly for fear that highly fashioned garments would throw her plainness into stark relief. Now, in the light of what she chose to read into Lady Catherine’s observations, she could consider her modest presentation a virtue, a quality that at last afforded her a measure of superiority over her sisters.To be plain was not necessarily a shortcoming.
Lady Catherine continued to address Mary in a patronizing manner but her tone soon softened. She had, despite her dedication to finding anyone with the name of Bennet unbearable, found nothing significant to dislike about the unaffected demure young woman other than her unfortunate family.
That same afternoon Mary became acquainted with Anne de Bourgh who she had heard described as a “cross, disagreeable looking thing” by Lizzy. Between Anne and Mary there appeared to be no underlying feelings of threat or unease, as both could seem pallid and inspirited, favoring the pursuit of serious reflection and theological debate.As a result of these and other common interests a firm rapport developed with a rapidity that astounded those who observed it; though quite why the swift development of a friendship should be thought astonishing in a world where the instantaneous nature of love affairs, proposals, and marriage was readily accepted is a question that may well remain unanswered.
Eventually, when Lady Catherine was unable to deny the delight Anne took in the friendship, she began to recognize the advantages of her daughter having a devoted companion who was near to her own age and gave her consent to the acquaintance with limited reluctance. Mrs. Jenkinson, who had previously attended Anne and Lady Catherine, graciously obliged to let Mary take her place and it was settled that she would dedicate herself to Rosings Park and Lady Catherine in any way that would prove favorable to her mistress.
Later, having suffered the indignity of making a formal request to Mr. Bennet to propose that Mary attend her daughter’s needs Lady Catherine managed, but not without being properly impressed by the humility she was showing, to swallow some of her pride. But this was not without a final and most definite assurance to Mary that she still thought very little of her family. “Mary Bennet, I am not in the habit of expressing gratitude to those so far beneath me as yourself. There is rarely if ever an occasion when such indebtedness should arise. However, I am fair in my judgments and I have noted that my dear Anne takes a liking to your morals and company and I myself, if my unstinting devotion to my daughter is to be sustained, must acknowledge this. I am, as you must by now realize, inordinately attentive to Anne’s every need. It is this consideration that leads me to accept you… despite your low connections.” Looking at Mary guardedly, she went on,“Although you probably would not bear detailed scrutiny, the examination I have made of your character thus far causes me less displeasure than I expected. I suppose I must be accepting of the relationship. I am prepared to take you on as a companion to Anne,” she said. “And should you prove so loyal to her as Mrs. Jenkinson has to us all here at Rosings I shall have no cause for regret.” She observed Mary closely and continued,“Take heed of this advice though, Miss Mary Bennet, should ever an inkling of resemblance to the improprieties of your family members ever manifest in your personality you will feel the withdrawal of the benefit of my attentions most sharply.”
Thus was Mary’s position at Rosings Park settled upon and secured with none doubting the conditions which had been laid out so succinctly. She had scant contact with Longbourn and wrote more to Mr. Collins than she did her immediate family, choosing to correspond with the clergyman with the purpose of her own religious advancement in mind. In every conceivable way Mary Bennet was loyal to Lady Catherine and intended, wholeheartedly, to show that one Bennet girl at least could be trusted to employ her time in a worthwhile way. Mary was no reprobate; she was rarely tempted to break rules or conventions but her continuing contact with Mr. Collins was a matter on which she chose to remain silent.
Jane and her dear Mr. Bingley were as mesmerized with each other as ever. From their first moving to Netherfield Park after their marriage, they decided to investigate the possibility of purchasing a fine estate not thirty miles from Elizabeth and Darcy at Pemberley. One happy consequence of this would be the endurance of fewer visits from Mrs. Bennet. The woman’s manners and intrusions tested even Charles Bingley’s placid nature. Mr. Bingley’s sister Caroline could do little to relieve her undisclosed grief at Darcy’s marriage. How she had scorned Eliza Bennet. In keeping with young women of her kind she was quite comfortable with recollections of how she had asserted herself in her efforts to fuel dislike of Elizabeth in Darcy. That Caroline Bingley’s social accomplishments were refined goes some way to explain how she could, whilst harboring feelings of utter disdain and envy, adopt an attitude of sincerity towards Elizabeth. Few considered Caroline genuine but she gave such a convincing performance that she was accepted at Pemberley, occupying her time by paying a great deal of attention to Darcy’s sister Georgiana who now resided there.
Bingley’s other sister, Mrs. Hurst, was no longer inseparable from Caroline as had been her previous form.This had little to do with choice, for she would much rather have engaged herself with Caroline in the shared entertainment of belittling Elizabeth. Mrs. Hurst’s absence from Pemberley had nothing to do with her not wanting to be there and everything to do with Mr. Hurst’s self-induced ailments.The results of his indulgence kept her retained at Netherfield.There she felt, with acute bitterness, that an ill husband proved an insurmountable obstacle to the enjoyment of life. The inevitable demise brought about by too much wine and too little fresh air did not seem to take effect rapidly enough to be thought convenient.
There are others to be considered here, pitied perhaps. Although not bitter or jealous or shot through with malice like some poor creatures, there are those for whom the marriage of sisters brings an emptiness. Alone at Longbourn, Kitty Bennet was obliged to take the full force of her mother’s excitability. This was gravely frustrating for her as she had already spent some weeks at Pemberley and knew too well that there was much to be missed.There, her manners and character had improved, this advance was partially accounted for by Kitty’s being in such fine company although it must be acknowledged that her detachment from her wayward sister Lydia also played a part in this favorable development.
So it was with true suffering that she returned to Longbourn in order that her mother could demand attention and receive it as and when she so desired. Mr. Bennet now imposed a strict and unsociable regime for Kitty who was stricken by the isolation she felt; the situation was worsened by his adamant convictions that the girl should enjoy no balls or assemblies until her responsibility in character had been proven. She felt overwhelmingly aggrieved that her character was forever to be judged by her sister Lydia’s shocking conduct but could see no immediate way to appease her father. With the regiment gone from Meryton she no longer felt she had even t
he remotest chance of securing an officer for a husband, or even for an afternoon’s distraction.
“God has been very good to us,” Mrs. Bennet said, when three daughters were married the same year. Her boundless pride, gloating, and superiority consumed her. Jane and Lizzy’s situations in marriage had long been her favorite talking point, but of late her inclination was to elaborate upon Mary’s acceptance at Rosings Park. Kitty was vexed to hear of Mary being so highly praised, although she had not married, and Kitty privately believed that she never would, her residency at Rosings Park and the potential of such an association seemed to raise her to an unduly high pinnacle in her mother’s estimations. Mrs. Bennet, in keeping with her selective view of things, would not concede that the position of companion was generally considered very lowly indeed.
With happy feelings of release Mr. Bennet took satisfaction from the situations of all his daughters. The relief on his finances that their positions afforded him was particularly valued. He had been no stranger to self reproach and had bitterly regretted not beginning, early in marriage, to make provisions for his family, but, as he so often recalled, in an attempt to justify his apathy, he had expected to have sons, or one son at least. That his wife had not obliged him in this expectation had not been his fault and he very kindly concluded that it was not entirely hers either. Bad fortune must be responsible for a house bursting with females.
When daughters came swift and fast there was no real cause for regret on Mr. Bennet’s part for he loved all of them despite their silliness. It would be untrue to say that he loved them all equally, as he perhaps should have done; he did not, nor could he. His little Lizzy held the greater share of his affections. This unequaled love was due, not to defects in the father, but to merits in the child. However much Mr. Bennet lacked sense he had sensibility in abundance. Oh, the joy of having Lizzy settled and set so well.The relief! Enough to allow him the opportunity of journeys by carriage to Pemberley.There he enjoyed everything with full relish, but most particularly his wife’s absence. Although they were not cruel, Elizabeth and Darcy were very properly impressed, in the early days of their union, by the fact that they had a considerable amount of recovering to do from the furor that had surrounded them. Tranquility was impossible with Mrs. Bennet near, she was not a woman most suited to inspiring calm in others. So, she awaited her invitation to Pemberley with a mix of conviction that it would come and anxiety, for she privately feared that it would not.
CHAPTER 2
“Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you. My mind was more agreeably engaged. I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.”
Though she would claim to enjoy many amusements, Mrs. Bennet was never easier than when immodestly entertaining others with tales of her married daughters. One afternoon she set about diverting her sister Mrs. Phillips. “Of course Jane is excessively well catered for at Netherfield my dear and every attention is paid to her by all of Bingley’s family.You know, I have always said that Jane has about her such an air of elegance that none could dislike her.” She rubbed her hands together. “I can only describe it as the style of a person worth the attention of a man who has five thousand a year. Yes indeed, I knew all along that Jane at least would marry well.”
Mrs. Phillips, whose appetite for gossip matched her sister’s, replied with a smile. “Then your pleasure must have been twofold at the news of Elizabeth’s unexpected alliance to Mr. Darcy?”
Mrs. Bennet always felt a degree of discomfort when forced to admit that this particular love affair had been a surprise to her, feeling it showed a neglectful streak in her own personality that she had not detected the growth of their passion. When the subject arose, as it invariably did, she would allude to being far more knowledgeable and informed than her restricted view of life had allowed her to be.
“Oh yes, my dear sister, you are quite right, but there was nothing in the affair that was unexpected for me. I was aware all along of even the finest developments. You know I have a particularly close bond with Lizzy and Mr. Darcy could scarce conceal his obsession with her, well, not from her own mother he could not, no matter how accomplished his manners.”
“But you allowed no one else to be party to your suppositions despite their importance, not even Mr. Bennet?”
Mrs. Bennet gave her sister a knowing look. “I can only say that my own exemplary manner of behavior prevented my exposing particulars of my daughter’s budding liaison. I feared that sudden baring of a matter so delicate may have endangered the feelings of those concerned. I was not about to announce it! What are you thinking? They are both proud sorts you know and it is my belief that where a man has ten thousand a year it is worth all the caution in the world.That is in part why I always took such trouble to be agreeable to the man. Though as you know, sister, I am as good a judge of character as can be found and would have liked him very well if he had not had any claim to wealth at all.There was the little matter of the poor opinions others had of him but of course, this meant nothing to me. No, I was always very well pleased about the arrangement and I only wish I could have included Mr. Bennet in the secret when I first had suspicions about it, but my husband knows so little of romance that the notion may well have been lost on him.”
Mrs. Bennet spent many a happy hour idling to her sister, who had heard all this news ten times over at least but nevertheless took delight in relishing it as if for the first time. Enjoyment of Mrs. Bennet’s re-told tales was natural, for with each portrayal some little detail or other would have altered, an opinion, an account, a verbatim quote, all minor matters such as these were guaranteed to have changed, sometimes beyond recognition.
“I expect by now you must have word of a request to wait on them at Pemberley,” said Mrs. Phillips. And, knowing full well the negativity of the answer, yet anticipating the enjoyment her sister’s contradiction would provide, she went on, “You have regaled me abundantly with such stories of your visits to Netherfield Park, but I still hear nothing of Darcy’s estate, when is your visit to take place?”
Mrs. Bennet flushed and retorted sharply, “The unfortunate positioning of Pemberley prevents my visit, you of all people will appreciate that with my delicate constitution I was not ready to withstand the rigors of extensive travel to Derbyshire. In winter! My nerves alone may not have held up. No, sister, I am afraid that Pemberley will have to be patient and expect my attention once I am in full health again, for as you know, I have been very ill of late.”
“But now that spring is upon us you will be better set for such a journey.” Mrs. Phillips concealed a wry smile for she was indeed well aware of her sister’s nervous condition and how it was selectively adapted to suit the occasion. How sly of her to twist the realities to imply that she was refusing to visit when it was widely known that her summons had not yet arrived.
Mrs. Bennet countered her humiliation with further news of Netherfield and of Mary’s situation at Rosings Park. Although she was adept at speaking at length on subjects she knew little of, she felt Mrs. Phillip’s scrutiny acutely and decided that a hushed approach to matters of Pemberley would suffice for the moment. She mentioned Wickham and Lydia only in passing, the degree of her eagerness regarding that union had paled once she had the glory of Jane and Lizzy’s marriages to bask in.
Of the gravest of her daughters she went on to confide,“Mary’s opinions have always fatigued me, but she is in ideal company at Rosings. It is most suited to her because she is as serious and studious a girl as you could wish to meet.”After a while she looked around, as if afraid of eavesdroppers and whispered, “That girl is as miserable and unaffected by merriment as I daresay poor Anne de Bourgh is. Now there is a creature who, I am led to believe, is the only other girl alive plainer than Mary herself.”
Mrs. Phillips, whose vulgarity usually matched her sister’s, nevertheless viewed the criticism of her poor niece dimly. “I must speak kindly on Mary’s behalf, Fanny.You ar
e not complimentary to your daughter. After all, it is not every woman’s salvation to procure a husband by beguiling him. Mary, if given the chance of marriage, will suit a studious type of man I imagine.”
Mrs. Bennet did not take well to being corrected and she certainly did not appreciate her harshness towards Mary being emphasized and was therefore obliged to feign an attack of the palpitations. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Phillips said her goodbyes and set off for Meryton. Her express purpose was to savor her connection to the Bennet girls’ good fortune by repeating her sister’s tales firsthand to her own acquaintances.
Only those fortunate enough to be in the favorable situation of being within the walls of Pemberley would have been in a position to satisfy Mrs. Bennet’s curiosity. Elizabeth, in keeping with Jane, was attended to with such reverence and care that she scarcely recognized herself. All in the employ of Mr. Darcy welcomed her and accepted her as their mistress without the slightest difficulty. Their affection for their master and Elizabeth’s innate charm meant that their feelings towards her would be warm. Despite the responsibilities of being the mistress of a large estate, Lizzy wrote frequently to Jane. Long letters, sometimes, writing as fast as she could, which was never as fast as her thoughts came, Elizabeth would quite forget herself and note, with frustration, that her hand had sprawled, that she had left wasteful gaps between lines and generally penned an altogether untidy epistle. The mixture of eagerness to convey everything to Jane and the hitherto unknown situation of being able to afford good paper in good quantities meant that efforts to discipline her hand were often abandoned.
Mr. Darcy's Decision: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Page 2
