Page 29 of Great Uncle Henry (Pride & Prejudice Vagary)

A t first, Fanny was beside herself with worry.

Since Thomas had told her that the heir was on his way, Fanny had remained abed, her nerves all but making her unable to rise from her bed.

These Taylors that Thomas told her about would soon arrive in England, and when her husband passed away, it was her husband’s aunt’s son who would throw her from Longbourn, not Uncle Henry.

It was, according to her husband, Uncle Henry’s fault that the heir had been discovered. So even if it were not he who would be the one to directly deprive her of her home, he was still the cause of discovering the one who would put her into the hedgerows.

Fanny fretted in her bed, pretending she was having an attack of her nerves with all of the attendant spasms and flutterings as she went over what Thomas had told her.

He had mentioned that the heir had two sons, one named Roger, if she remembered, who was about the same age as Jane, and there was also a younger one. She knew not his name or age.

Suddenly inspiration hit her. She sat up in her bed, her nerves and the attendant symptoms forgotten. She insistently rang her bell for Hill.

“You rang, Mrs Bennet,” Hill stated as she bobbed a curtsy.

“Mrs Hill, have Jane attend me immediately, if not sooner,” Fanny commanded as she fluttered her silk square excitedly. “Send my maid to me.” Fanny climbed out of her bed and waited for her maid, who arrived moments later. Fanny ordered her to assist in dressing her.

There was a knock on the door. “Tilly, tell Miss Bennet I will see her in my sitting room as soon as I am dressed,” Fanny commanded.

The maid bobbed a curtsy and went to relay the message to Miss Jane.

As she finished dressing and placed a new lace mobcap on her head, Fanny was sure that her plan would not fail.

Jane could not be so pretty for no reason.

Things would go as she planned, and she would never lose her home or her place as mistress.

As soon as she was ready, Fanny entered her sitting room.

“Mama, Mrs Hill said it was urgent that I see you,” Jane stated when her mother sat down.

“Yes, Jane, that is correct. I know how to save us from the hedgerows. You heard that the heir and his sons are on their way from America. When your father is disobliging enough to go to his final reward, this Mr Taylor will be able to throw me…us into the hedgerows.”

“Mama, Lizzy told me that would not happen…” Jane began to say.

“What does that girl know?” Fanny spat out. “I know how it will be unless you do as I say. You would not disobey your mother, would you?”

“No, Mama, I will not.”

“I am told that the heir has a son about your age. You will use all of the stratagems I have taught you and make yourself attractive to the son. He will not be able to resist your beauty, especially if you flirt with him in the way I have instructed you. You will need to make sure you wear your low-cut dresses with lots of lace when the Taylors arrive. Have I not always told you that you could not be so beautiful for no reason? It is time to use that beauty and save me…us.”

Jane was warring with herself internally.

On the one hand, she wanted to follow the fifth commandment of honouring one’s mother and father.

However, on the other hand, what her mother was telling her to do went against everything she believed in, against the core of her character.

Added to that Lizzy had told her on more than one occasion that neither their mother nor any unmarried Bennet daughters would ever be thrown into the hedgerows.

According to Lizzy, who was not in the habit of prevaricating, Mama’s worries were all a figment of her imagination and an imagined scenario about which she liked to pontificate.

When had Lizzy ever lied to her? Never. Juxtaposed to that was how often what Mama spoke of as if it was fact had been proved wrong.

“Mama, I cannot make any promises, and I will not behave against my nature. If this second or third cousin and I should suit each other, then something may happen. I will not, however, use any wiles or arts and allurements to trap him.”

Fanny sat with her mouth hanging open. This was Miss Lizzy’s fault.

Jane would have never stood up to her if not for her wilful sister, who had learnt to be so from Uncle Henry, who had in turn caused all these problems. She soothed herself as she was convinced she would be able to work on her because Jane had always been biddable.

Fanny was certain that by the time that the Taylors arrived, she would be able to convince Jane to behave as she desired her to do.

Without berating Jane for not agreeing with her, Fanny dismissed her firstborn.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Jane found Lizzy in the stables about to mount Aphrodite and ride out. “Lizzy, may I ride with you?” Jane requested.

“You know I would always welcome your company, but I am riding to the dower house to read to Uncle Henry for a while. You have never been willing to visit him there before,” Elizabeth pointed out .

“I would like to come; I think I have some apologies to make,” Jane replied.

The sisters waited while Nellie was saddled. As soon as Jane mounted, they made the short ride to Uncle Henry’s house. A groom held each horse next to the mounting block as first Elizabeth and then Jane dismounted.

Jane’s mouth fell open when she saw the structure.

She now realised that this was no peasant’s hovel as Mama always claimed.

It was a large building, and from what she could see, well maintained.

As she followed Lizzy into the house, Jane felt great shame.

How many times had Lizzy begged Jane to come see the house so she could make a judgement for herself?

Until Mama’s demands earlier, Jane had always felt she would be disloyal to Mama to visit this house and Uncle Henry with Lizzy.

What a fool she had been for so many years.

Her shame deepened when Jane followed Lizzy inside, and she saw how nice the house was.

From what she could see, Uncle Henry had not spared any expense when he had the house rebuilt, because there was no doubt that was what had occurred.

If Mama were not so stubborn, she would see this house was more comfortable than the manor house.

“Good morning, Lizzy, my dear,” Henry welcomed. He cocked his head. He could no longer see anything but shapes, however, his hearing told him that Lizzy was not alone. “I thought Mary and Kitty were busy today. Did one of them change their plans and join you?”

“No indeed, Uncle Henry, neither of my two younger sisters are with me. It is, in fact, Jane,” Elizabeth revealed.

There was no missing the way Uncle Henry’s eyebrows shot up at the news.

“Now that is a surprise, but a pleasant one. I am happy to see any of my great-nieces, although ‘seeing’ is a rather loose term these days. Welcome, Jane.” Henry paused.

“Excuse me if I am blunt, but at the age of two and seventy, I do not always have time for the niceties of polite discourse. Do not think I am not pleased you have come to visit me; I am, but why now, after so many years of not wanting to be in my company more than absolutely necessary?”

“This morning Mama…” Jane related the orders she had received from her mother.

“I realised that no matter what the fifth commandment says, I could never behave in the way Mama was demanding, as it goes against everything in which I believe. Though I did not attend my lessons as I should have, I remember everything Mrs Bellamy taught us about propriety. The scales fell from my eyes, and I can see that following Mama has not been the best way.”

“As you surmise, your mother will never be thrown into those hedgerows she loves to whinge about. At the very worst , she will live in this house. From what you have seen, is this the hovel your mother claims it is?” Henry responded.

Jane shook her head. She started when Lizzy touched her arm and pointed to her eyes.

She forgot that Lizzy had told her Uncle Henry could no longer see very much at all.

“No, Uncle Henry, from what I have seen, this house is more comfortable than the house Mama resides in now.” Jane paused as some tears began to fall.

“I was such a silly goose that I did not listen to Lizzy and lost so many years in which I would have come to know you.” Jane cogitated for a few moments.

“Wait, does Papa know the truth that Mama will always have a very comfortable home to live in?”

“Yes, he does,” Elizabeth replied succinctly.

“Papa prefers to have Mama upset about her future for his own entertainment. In truth he has not seen the house himself, but he knows it was renovated. The few things he has told her; he only did because Uncle Henry forced his hand. It would have been very easy for Papa to bring Mama here and command her to tour the house. He did not because it would have calmed Mama down. However, even if she saw this house, Mama would still lament that she would no longer be the mistress of Longbourn one day. ”

“I am sure part of Fanny’s calculus in ordering you to marry my great-nephew is that she thinks when you become mistress, you will be tractable, leaving her to run the house.

She forgets that my nephew’s wife will be the one in charge when the day comes that your father is called home,” Henry opined.

Thinking back to their conversation, Jane remembered at least twice when Mama had said ‘me’ and remembered herself and changed it to ‘us ’ .

How had she been so blind for so many years?

Jane knew the answer. She always wanted to see the best, so questioning Mama’s words and opinions would have made Jane think about things she was not ready to consider.

“Lizzy, take your sister to see the rest of the house. I will be here when you return,” Henry suggested.