Page 7 of A Rational Man (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

A nd you did nothing whatever to entice the man, Mary! Are you determined to remain an old maid?”

“Mama, you know that I am no good at conversation,” Mary replied, quietly.

“Then how do you expect to catch a husband? You will not do so on your looks, that much is certain.”

“Mama, this is unfair,” Jane put in. “We are, each of us, who we are, for better or for worse.”

“Cold comfort your philosophy will be, Jane, when we are living in squalor somewhere!” Mrs. Bennet’s voice was laced with bitterness.

“Come away, Mary,” her elder sister said, putting an arm around her and leading her upstairs.

“I do not know what she expects of me,” poor Mary said, sniffling as she sat on her bed.

“She sat me next to Mr. Darcy even though she knows how shy I am, and then she had me play for him, though he is doubtless accustomed to far finer performances than mine. I felt completely mortified the entire night. But she is right, Jane! What will become of me? Of all of us?”

“You are not to worry, Mary. One of us will marry well; I am certain of it.”

“It is likely to be you, Jane.”

“And in that case, you have nothing to fear, for I will always take care of you.”

“Oh, Jane, you are everything that is good! But I would so like to have a home and children of my own!”

“Of course you would, and I have every faith that you shall, Mary.”

Mary turned to face her sister. “Did you think him handsome, Jane?”

“Mr. Darcy?”

“Yes.”

“Quite handsome, indeed! But not very sociable, I fear, since he is not fond of dancing.”

“And too good-looking for me, of course. I always hoped to be a clergyman’s wife, Jane.”

“You would be perfect as a clergyman’s wife, Mary!” said loyal Jane.

“But Mr. James is already married…”

“And with a child, let us not forget,” Jane added, smiling.

“So there is no hope for me there. And we never go anywhere or meet anyone; does Papa not understand our situation?”

Jane could not answer; she and her sisters had had this conversation many times over the years, and they were no closer to an answer now than they were when they first understood the position that the entail on their father’s estate put them in.

Longbourn was entailed to male heirs only, and thus it could no longer be their home when Papa passed on.

“There is Mama’s money,” Jane said, hesitantly.

“Only four thousand pounds! We have done these calculations again and again, Jane, and the numbers do not lie. We would not starve if we all lived together under one roof, but it would not be a life that any of us would wish for.”

Jane put her arms around Mary and the two sisters sat together, giving each other silent comfort.

***

Dear Lizzy,

You will recall that I wrote and told you that we were expecting a Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune.

We now understand that Mr. Bingley broke his leg – of all the bad luck!

– and he sent his man of business to sign the lease and take the keys.

This has been a great disappointment to all the young ladies of the neighbourhood, as you may well imagine.

In any case, the man of business, a Mr. Darcy, came for dinner last night.

He is a tall, handsome man, and would catch the eye of many a female, but of course he is not wealthy enough for me, Kitty, or Lydia (according to Mama) and so has been assigned to Mary.

Mama sat the two beside each other at dinner; his manners were perfect, and he did attempt to converse with his dinner partner, but Mary stared at her plate a good deal of the time.

Poor Mary! She knows that she is not socially adept, and Mama’s constant reiteration of that fact just makes everything worse.

Come home, Lizzy! We all miss you dreadfully!

All my love,

Your Jane