As she worked to pull out the uneven stitches, Mrs. Bennet noticed that her older daughters were quiet as Lydia smirked.
“I knew I could get someone to finish the hem for me,” Lydia whispered to Kitty.
Setting her mouth in a firm line, Mrs. Bennet called her youngest child to her side. “This is not suitable stitching; it would pull out and drag across the floor at the next assembly. As soon as I have pulled this out, you can redo it.”
“But Mamma, I don’t want to sew! Make Jane or Mary do it. They are the best seamstresses! Make them sew my gown!”
“Tell Mamma what you are good at Lydia,” Kitty teased. “She would be very interested to know.”
“Hush Kitty!” Lydia scowled. Mrs. Bennet looked up and saw that her three oldest daughters focused on the fashion magazine, as though selecting the pattern for Mary’s new gown while Kitty and Lydia exchanged frowns and mouthed words. Kitty made kissing noises and Lydia threw a ball of yarn at her next sister.
“Of what are you girls fussing?”
“Nothing Mamma,” Lydia said though the look she threatened Kitty made her sister look away and grow silent.
“Lydia.”
“Yes Mamma,” her youngest daughter replied as though nothing had passed between her and her next sister.
“What are you hiding?”
Looking offended, she replied, “I am hiding nothing! I have done nothing wrong.”
Now all four of her sisters stared at the youngest and Mrs. Bennet frowned at her favourite child – not something that Lydia was used to seeing.
“Jane, tell me what Lydia is hiding,” Mrs. Bennet commanded.
“No! Jane! Say nothing!” Lydia shouted. “I shall never forgive you if you say anything!”
Mrs. Bennet rose from her chair and took Lydia by the arm. “Be silent!”
“I shall not!” Lydia cried. “They hate me! They tell lies about me all the time!”
“Child what is wrong with you?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“My sisters are jealous of me! They know I am the prettiest girl and men like me best.”
Mrs. Bennet was unable to speak, not knowing what to think or do about her youngest daughter’s outburst.
Jane stepped close to her mother and whispered into her ear. Suddenly Mrs. Bennet wavered on her feet and Jane helped her mother to a nearby chair while Lydia rose from her seat and fled the room.
“What has Lydia done?” Mary asked Elizabeth.
Kitty leaned close and said, “She and Maria Lucas were kissing Freddie Taylor and Tom Barstow last night at the assembly.”
“When?” Mary asked. “I tried to keep an eye on her all night.”
“We cannot watch Lydia all the time,” Elizabeth replied, appalled to hear what her youngest sister had done. “Now, Mamma will be sick with worry over this.”
“We are ruined! The son of a blacksmith and the son of a shop owner! What shall we do? All of my daughters are ruined!”
Mrs. Bennet’s voice grew louder and louder until Mr. Bennet came to the parlour.
“Cease this caterwauling! How is a man to have time to think with such noises within his house?” he demanded to know. When his wife managed to stop crying, he noted the absence of his youngest daughter and asked his eldest daughter.
“I do not know where Lydia fled Papa, she ran out of the room when...” Jane could not finish the story.
“Tell me,” Mr. Bennet ordered his daughter. Mrs. Bennet began crying quietly as Jane explained Lydia’s actions at the assembly ball the night before.
“And who saw your sister and Miss Lucas kissing these two young men?” Mr. Bennet asked.
Jane blushed. “Everyone in the refreshment room at the time Papa; myself, Lady Lucas, and Mr. Blackstone.”
“The parson saw the public display?” Mr. Bennet asked and when Jane nodded, her father sat down beside his wife and took her hand.
“The parson will preach sermons for the next month on immorality.”
Mrs. Bennet said, “I thought there were a few smirks in town today when Mary and I were shopping for the muslin for her new gown but I did not pay them close attention.”
“Lady Lucas will not say anything to anyone,” Elizabeth said to bolster her mother and sister. “She will take Maria in hand.”
“But Mr. Blackstone will tell a few ladies who will tell everyone in their acquaintance,” Mr. Bennet said. “The whole of Meryton will know that Lydia was kissing young men at the assembly as though she were a...”
“Mr. Bennet!” his wife admonished him.
He took her hand and sighed, “My dear, we were wrong to let her out into society so young. Now she is ruined.”
Mrs. Bennet began crying again and Elizabeth asked, “Father, I know she shouldn’t have kissed those boys but how is she ruined? It was just a kiss.”
“Good young women do not kiss anyone except their fiancé after the engagement is announced,” Mary replied. “And perhaps...”
“No Mary, say no more,” Mr. Bennet ordered. After a moment’s thought, he looked at his eldest daughters. “Jane, Mary and Kitty, find Lydia and bring her here to the parlour. Elizabeth, find Mrs. Hill, tell her to bring a pot of tea and some spirits to the parlour and then to keep all the maids in the kitchen until we are done.”
“Yes Papa,” the girls agreed and scattered through the house to find Lydia. Elizabeth returned with the pot of tea and the spirits first. She was shocked as her father gave his wife a small cup of whiskey and he poured the tea for himself.
Jane and Mary brought Lydia to the parlour and Elizabeth hurried upstairs to find Kitty who was staring out the window at the road.
“Come Kitty, Papa wants to speak to us all.”
Sighing with great exaggeration, Kitty replied, “Lydia will get another lecture and new bonnet. Mamma always buys Lydia a new bonnet after Father lectures her.”
Once Elizabeth closed the parlour door, Mr. Bennet stood up and moved in front of the window. Elizabeth knew that he did this to keep his daughters from seeing his face and knowing who he was looking at while he talked to them.
“Lydia, your mother and I have heard that you were kissing two boys at the assembly ball last evening. You were seen by Lady Lucas, and by the parson, Mr. Blackstone.”
“It was just a couple kisses,” Lydia said. “We did not have the chance to do more.”
“And exactly what do you mean by more?” Mr. Bennet asked as his wife sat her tea cup 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.”
Mrs. Bennet suddenly screamed once and fainted.
++**++
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 tea cup 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.
“Oh Papa, I don’t want...”
“Lydia,” Mr. Bennet’s voice was low but evidently full of his anger for all of 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 and 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 of our chances for marriages here in Hertfordshire. No family will unite with ours now.”
“By 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.
Mr. Bennet took a deep breath before he could speak, “Lydia has an unexpected visitor coming in the spring. The father could be either Freddie Taylor or Tom Barstow.”
Mr. Phillips dropped into a chair and after a long minute looked around the room before he asked, “And my sister?”
“She has taken to her bed. It will be two weeks or more before she comes below stairs again. Tell me what you can of the two boys – can we work on them to make one marry Lydia.”
Mr. Phillips sat silent for a long moment, glanced at his nieces and said, “Brother, we should have this conversation in the library away from their ears.”
“No, I want them to hear of our entire family’s ruin first hand.”
Phillips frowned but then said, “Sir William Lucas and his son John called on me this morning. We called on Mr. Taylor just after the noon hour to force the marriage of his son Freddie to Maria Lucas. They are to marry by special license tomorrow in East Bourn and then settle with Mr. Taylor at the livery stable.”
Mr. Bennet sat down while Mr. Phillips was speaking and buried his face in his hands.
“Barstow has only been here two seasons and his shop is worthless. Lydia will starve,” Mr. Bennet replied instantly. “I must find her a husband in another county who needs a wife and will forgive an early child.”
“That should be fairly simple if you give her to a farmer. They lose their wives in child birth frequently and need a new one to keep house.”
“A farmer?” asked Kitty. “Lydia will not like...”
“Hush Kitty!” Jane ordered.
“How much of a bribe is necessary?” Mr. Bennet asked.
Mr. Phillips considered his conversations and correspondence with other attorneys for a moment. “For one hundred I can find her a farmer who will take her and the child. For two hundred, I can find a shop owner in a town who will take her. If you guarantee her share of her mother’s estate and a special license, the man will keep her too and not sell her at the hiring fair.”
“Sell her?” Elizabeth exclaimed. “What do you mean?”
Mr. Phillips looked away but when Mr. Bennet nodded, he explained the custom to his nieces. “In some counties to the north, farmers and workers sell their wives and children to other men. The man only needs to take his wife to the fair with a halter around her neck. Men make offers for her and the husband sells her and any children he doesn’t want to feed through the winter.”
“Like a cow?” asked Mary offended and outraged.
“Does the church allow this?” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“Generally, these people are common law husband and wife without benefit of a church service,” her uncle explained. “Your father and the other landowners here in Hertfordshire do not allow their tenants to sell their wives in this manner and encourage all ‘marriages’ to occur in the church.”
“But many of the great landowners do not bother with such things,” Mr. Bennet said. “Parliament does not debate these things because the powerful men do not care for things to change.”
Elizabeth came to Jane and the two sisters spoke quietly for a moment before the second daughter turned to her father and uncle. “Father, Jane and I have almost one hundred pounds saved from our allowances and gifts. Can we add that to Lydia’s dowry?”
“I have saved twenty pounds and will add it,” Mary said.
Kitty blushed. “I have only received an allowance for this past year and I have not saved any money.”
“Thank you girls, but keep your money. With this expense, there will be no allowances or pen money next year. And I shall have to sell another of my horses.”
“Father, may I say something?” Elizabeth asked. When her father nodded, she turned to Mr. Phillips and said, “Uncle, write to our Uncle Gardiner. He may know of a tavern keeper in need of a wife. That situation would satisfy Lydia more.”
“We cannot be choosey,” Mr. Bennet said. “She must be wed with all haste.”
“I shall write letters this tonight and send them express in the morning,” Mr. Phillips said.
++**++
The following morning while Mr. Bennet and his daughters gathered around the dining room table to break their fast, Mr. Bennet was amazed at how Lydia, of all his daughters, was the least affected by the events of the previous day. Mrs. Bennet remained above stairs and Jane directed the servants through their morning.
“Jane, I know you will care for your mother and see to the house. Elizabeth and Mary, I want you to take Kitty in hand and see to her improvement with sewing and manners.”
“And what shall I do Papa?” asked Lydia.
“My child, I hope we have a husband for you very soon,”
Lydia’s face brightened. “A husband – I shall be the first of my sisters to mar
ry! Will he be handsome and rich?”
“I do not know Lydia,” Mr. Bennet replied. “He will just have to be breathing and willing to take you and your child.”
Lydia made a face. “I would like a handsome husband but I don’t care for a babe. Who will look after a child for me? Will I have a wet nurse for the baby?”
“You may have a farmer for a husband Lydia. Or a shopkeeper,” Mr. Bennet replied. “I have to find some man to take you before you begin to show.”
“A farmer! No! I will not marry a farmer!” Lydia insisted vehemently. “I would have to work like the tenant wives and they are all are old and tired all the time. Oh Father you are cruel to say that you will marry me to a farmer!”
++**++
Late in the day, just before supper, Elizabeth stepped into the room that Kitty had shared with Lydia where a battle between the sisters occurred as Lydia tried to claim several of Kitty’s gowns.
“If I have to marry, I need your gowns! I shall be poor and never have a new gown again!” Lydia argued.
“But my green gown is almost new, I cannot give it to you as well as the pink,” Kitty said.
“Lydia, shame on you!” Elizabeth scolded. “Jane has given you three of her best gowns. You do not need Kitty’s gowns.”
“Besides, you’ll be big as a house by spring and won’t be able to wear any of them!” Kitty teased.
“I shall not! I shall starve myself!”
“Catherine Bennet! Apologize and follow me, Mary and I will speak with you!” Elizabeth scolded Kitty.
“Who placed you over me Lizzy?” Kitty asked.
“Papa did or have you already forgotten?” Elizabeth replied before she left the room.
Lydia giggled. “I think I might be better off marrying a farmer than living under Lizzy’s thumb!”
Kitty giggled as well until she took time to think on Lydia’s words. When she went to find Elizabeth and Mary, Kitty left Lydia behind, sitting on their bed and humming a tune.
++**++
Mr. Phillips found three different farmers in nearby counties in want of a wife but Mr. Bennet wanted Lydia moved a good distance from Hertfordshire. The sisters were confined to the house except for walks on the grounds and fields of Longbourn. They were not allowed to walk into Meryton and their Aunt Phillips was their only source of news.
Saving Jane Page 2
