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That evening the Bennets and the Longs dined at Lucas Lodge. As usual, Mrs. Long had some interesting news to share. Mr. Palmer, the new apothecary, had set himself up with a carriage to get about the countryside.

“And the new officer has arrived. Mrs. Trent saw him getting out of the stagecoach just a few hours ago, and she told me that he is exceedingly handsome and smiles a great deal.”

After breakfast the next morning, Kitty and Lydia were particularly eager to hurry away to Meryton.

“I cannot wait to see this handsome new officer,” Lydia said.

“I hope he is in need of a wife,” Kitty said.

“I wouldn’t count on him being able to afford one,” Mr. Bennet said.

“He can’t,” Mrs. Bennet said. “Mrs. Long told me last week that he is extremely poor.”

“They always are,” Kitty grumbled.

She was even more discontent upon returning a few hours later with the news that Mr. Wickham was single, and also the most handsome and charming of the officers by far.

The rest of the family met him at a card party the following evening.

He was very open and remarkably cheerful about his circumstances, which Elizabeth thought admirable.

Although he might have simply comprehended that, thanks to his friend’s lack of discretion and Mrs. Long’s propensity for spreading information, his poverty was already well known throughout the neighbourhood and it was no use putting up a front.

“Well, it is refreshing to meet such an honest man,” Mr. Bennet declared on the way home. “I have never met anyone so willing to speak of his poverty.”

“I was very much impressed by his cheerful acceptance of misfortune,” Mrs. Bennet said.

“It is indeed unfortunate for such a charming man to be so ineligible. If only Mr. Wickham had not been cheated out of his inheritance, I would be happy for him to marry any one of you. Except for Jane and Lizzy, of course, since they are already suited. And a colonel is a much better catch for Lydia than a lieutenant. And I am certain that Mr. Darcy is perfect for Mary. And I do think it will be best for you to marry Mr. Collins, Kitty.”

“I would much rather marry Mr. Wickham. Why do I get all the bad luck? I suppose all the officers in Brighton will be poor as well.”

“They probably will,” Mrs. Bennet gloomily agreed. “But Mr. Collins has a good income and excellent prospects.”

“You never listen to me. I already said that I don’t want him.”

“You can have Mr. Darcy if you like,” Mary said. “I don’t want him.”

“Neither do I. He sounds as boring as Mr. Madison.”

“I have too many difficult daughters,” Mrs. Bennet cried. “You are obviously the best choice for Mr. Darcy, Mary. And if you just give Mr. Collins a chance, Kitty, you may find yourself liking him a great deal.”

“I doubt it.”

“If you will not have him, then someone else will soon snap him up.”

“I do not care if they do.”

“Why must you be so wilfully set against him? You need a husband, and Mr. Collins will do extremely well. And if you do not marry him, we will not be able to keep Longbourn in the family.”

“Then so it will be,” Mr. Bennet said with unusual firmness. “Kitty may marry whom she chooses, and she doesn’t want Mr. Collins, so let us not hear anything more about him, Mrs. Bennet.”

“But this may be her only chance of getting a husband.”

Mr. Bennet held up his hand. “Not another word. I must insist upon it.”

“Fine,” she snapped, looking at him in astonishment. “I think it foolish to pass up this olive branch, but I suppose it could be useful having one daughter remain at home.”

“It isn’t fair,” Kitty cried. “Lydia should be the one to remain, for I am older.”

“But I am prettier,” Lydia countered. “It would be a sad waste for me to be unmarried.”

The ensuing quarrel lasted until they reached home, where Jane and Elizabeth hurried upstairs.

“I heartily wish the regiment had been quartered elsewhere,” Elizabeth said. “The officers have unsettled our family dreadfully, and Lydia is behaving worse than ever in her effort to be noticed by them. And now we have Mr. Wickham. Why couldn’t he have found some other occupation?”

“Mr. Wickham? What has he done to annoy you?”

“Did you not see him being such a bad influence on Lydia this evening?”

“No.”

“He was encouraging her to flirt excessively. Even more than any of the other officers do. And he is rather annoying.”

“I thought him pleasant.”

“So did I at first. He gave the impression of being cheerful, good-natured, and resilient in the face of adversity. I thought I was about to add another exceptionally agreeable person to the growing list of my acquaintance. But then he sat next to me when we were playing cards and spoke at length of his sufferings.”

“He does seem greatly affected by them.”

“They affected me as well. One moment I was having a tolerable evening, and the next I was listening to him rant about being deprived of the easy life which should have been his lot. I began to wonder if the godfather’s evil son was justifiably fed up with Mr. Wickham.”

“It was very wrong of him to withhold an inheritance.”

“If he did. The more Mr. Wickham spoke, the more I suspected a lack of truthfulness. There was so much exaggeration in his speech. But perhaps that was just because he sensed that he was failing to gain my sympathy. I should simply have told him that it died along with his subject as it was done to death.”

Jane looked warily at her. “Perhaps you should avoid sitting near him when the officers take tea with us tomorrow.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I am in quite a mood, aren’t I?

Poor Mr. Wickham. I ought to appreciate a man whom Mama cannot recommend to us.

But he was exceedingly tedious. However, one excellent thing has come out of this evening.

I was delighted to hear Papa say that Kitty may choose her own husband.

It is a relief to know that he doesn’t want her pressured into an unhappy marriage. ”

“Yes I was pleased by that as well.”

“I am assuming the same applies to all of us—that we may accept or reject any possible suitors according to our own preference, and he will support our choices. Not every young lady is so fortunate, and I am grateful for having such a liberal minded father. All I need now is some unwanted suitors, so that I may assert my independence by way of rejecting them.”

“It is good to know that we are free to do so, but it would pain me to reject anyone.”

“And me, to be honest. It must be most unpleasant for a respectable man to be rejected in such an intimate request. I would very much dislike causing that sort of pain. However, I will say that such a situation is more the fault of the gentleman than the lady. He is the one with the power of choosing to make an offer. I think there is an accompanying responsibility to consider that choice thoroughly. If his offer is unwelcome, then there were probably signs of the lady’s indifference which he failed to comprehend, thus causing them both discomfort. ”

“But she might be too polite to openly demonstrate her indifference.”

“I still think he ought to be able to perceive it in little details of her manner and speech. But perhaps I expect too much. I will allow that his decision is a weighty one. I suppose it is only fair to make allowances for a man who inadvertently mistakes the lady’s feelings under that burden.

The poor man’s mind is probably addled.”

***

Mrs. Bennet was staring bleakly into the darkness.

Why must her husband be so difficult? She had only been making a suggestion.

It was not as though she was trying to force Kitty into marriage.

Indeed, she was well aware that none of her daughters could be compelled when she couldn’t even encourage one of them to look favourably upon Mr. Collins.

All these years the entail had been hanging over their heads, and now that the heir wanted to make amends, no one was interested in accepting his olive branch.

Then there was Mary refusing to acknowledge Mr. Darcy’s suitability, and Elizabeth showing no signs of missing Mr. Madison while he was away. Even Jane was being difficult, insisting that Mr. Bingley was nothing more than just a friend. What if she had discouraged him by giving him that impression?

Except for Lydia, Mrs. Bennet had never known girls so unwilling to turn their minds to marriage as her own daughters. They needed help getting themselves husbands.

Would they even marry at all? Or would they be lying awake in another twenty or thirty years wishing they had not been so stubborn. Although they frequently aggravated her, Mrs. Bennet did not wish regret upon them.