Page 43 of Great Uncle Henry (Pride & Prejudice Vagary)

S omeone knocked on the study door; Bennet huffed.

Thanks to the recent changes in his wife, he had been denied his major source of entertainment.

The only enjoyment left to him was being at peace in his study with his books and port.

Lately, even Lydia had not caused any trouble, which would have amused him.

Of more concern was the fact that in the last few days his wife had stopped indulging their youngest daughter.

He attempted to ignore the interruption and kept on reading without calling out. The person knocked again. He supposed he had to do something; it could not be his wife because she would have marched into the room by now.

It was Fanny who stood patiently outside of the study door.

It had taken her a few days since being at the dower house for her to muster the courage which allowed her to make the decision that she needed to confront her husband.

Since that day she had stopped indulging Lydia.

In fact, much to her youngest’s surprise, she had begun correcting her and not saying yes regardless of the matter.

Fanny had been shocked when she had truly listened to Lydia, who would not turn fifteen until the first day of December, speak of men and how she would flirt with them.

This led Fanny to understand how wrong the way she had attempted to teach her two favourite daughters had been.

Fanny was thankful Jane had rejected the wrongheaded ways she had instructed her to use.

Thank goodness, Jane had decided to seek counsel from Uncle Henry and Lizzy, which led her to follow their advice and not her own mother’s.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she finally heard her husband’s voice after she knocked on the door again.

“Come,” Bennet called out.

Fanny entered as soon as her husband spoke. She did not miss the way his eyebrows shot up, obviously surprised she had waited to be summoned to enter. “Mr Bennet, we need to speak of our youngest daughter,” Fanny began before her husband could speak.

“What has that silly flirt done now?” Bennet hoped it was something which would vex his wife and amuse him.

“Mr Bennet, am I correct to believe you are well aware that Lydia’s behaviour is deficient, yet rather than do something about it, you sit here and smirk?” Fanny demanded.

Bennet was taken aback. Who was this woman, and what had she done with his unintelligent wife?

“Are you telling me that if Lydia ruined herself and the rest of her sisters with her, you would sit back, make sport, and do little else? What sort of man and father are you?” Fanny did not give her sputtering husband a chance to speak.

“You should have demanded Lydia attend the lessons with her sisters.

I am aware that if it was not for Uncle Henry, we would not have had a governess or masters, and none of our daughters would have been educated.

“And yes, I should have never spoilt Lydia the way I have, and I, too, needed to insist Lydia partake in Mrs Bellamy’s lessons.

My reason was that I did not know better, but what was your excuse, Mr Bennet?

As the head of this household, was it not your duty to teach me how to be a gentlewoman?

You knew full well I had not been gently raised.

Is it not the man’s duty to protect and guide his children?

In that too, Mr Bennet, you have failed. ”

“How can you speak to me in this manner?” Bennet blustered. “For your rudeness I will withhold…”

“What? Withhold my pin money? I am now aware you may not do that as the money is not paid by you but rather from the interest on my dowry. That being said, I trust you still have the money you previously withheld in contravention to my settlement. I am sure you did not break the contract and use my money on yourself, did you?”

If Bennet had been previously shocked, now he was flabbergasted.

How did his wife know about her settlement?

The only way is that she must have spoken to Phillips, but how would she know to ask?

The problem was he had spent the money he had withheld on his own interests, which was, in fact, a breach of contract.

There was no choice; he would have to repay the money from estate funds.

“I will have the money that I withheld returned to you in a few days,” Bennet ground out begrudgingly. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes, there is. Lydia needs to be sent to a school which specialises in educating recalcitrant young ladies,” Fanny stated. “Her behaviour is too ingrained for me to effectively change it at home.”

At least for this, he had a semi-legitimate reply. “There are not enough funds for that,” Bennet stated triumphantly.

“If it costs you nothing, will you allow Lydia to go?”

“Yes, if there is not any expense for the estate, you have my permission to send her where you will,” Bennet allowed. As he was sure Fanny would not be able to gain the funds, his last remaining source of entertainment would not be going anywhere.

Fanny glided out of the study without another word.

That same day, she had visited the dower house, based on Mrs Bellamy’s recommendation, she had written to Mrs Hesperia Gilbert, the headmistress of the Dark Hollow School for Girls, which operated all year round.

It was on a former estate in Wiltshire, with the nearest town almost twenty miles distant and the closest neighbour well over ten miles away .

To make sure her husband did not waylay the message when a reply was sent, she had used Purvis Lodge for the return direction.

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

“It is time for us to approach Bennet and offer him something which will allow him to enjoy his indolent life with no responsibilities,” Henry stated.

Henry, Debby, and Roger Taylor were at the dower house along with Jane, Lizzy, and Mary Bennet. Mary and Roger were seated next to one another, as was their wont. Henry and Felicity sat in the comfortable armchairs they preferred.

“I think you should wait a little longer,” Elizabeth opined.

“Since Mama received the acceptance for Lydia to go to school when my father obviously thought it would not come to pass, he has been in a snit.

He is like a young child who has had all of his toys confiscated.

He is not much better than Lydia. No matter how many tantrums and how much she has caterwauled, Lydia leaves on the morrow.

Father refused to escort her, so thank you, Uncle Henry, for the use of one of your coaches and four footmen.

There will be a maid with her as well. The men, however, will have their hands full as I, we, all expect she will attempt to escape any opportunity she has on the way to the school.

“At first, Papa was very missish about it, but in the last day or two, he received a letter, and I believe he sees the opportunity to create mischief.”

“Lizzy, we will defer to your judgement as you live there, unless you disagree with Lizzy’s assessment, Jane and Mary?

” Henry enquired. Both nodded their agreement with Lizzy.

“I do think we need to see that letter. Lizzy, please tell Mr Hill I need that missive. He and his wife have been my eyes and ears in that home for years. I employed them when your father demanded you return to Longbourn for his purely selfish reasons. That way, if your father asks if you have removed something from his study, you will be able to reply honestly. He will never suspect Mr Hill, and if he did, the Hills know their futures are secure.”

“So that was how you knew what was occurring in the house even when Mrs Bellamy or the three ladies you employed were not present?” Elizabeth understood. “The Hills have always cared for our wellbeing.”

“They have, and not only because I paid them,” Henry agreed.

“It will be interesting to see why this letter has restored some of my father’s humour,” Elizabeth said.

“Your father is in bed before ten each night, is he not?” Henry verified.

“Of late, it has been closer to nine,” Mary responded.

“Besides discovering what my cousin is about, are not those Bingleys arriving at your other estate soon?” Taylor wondered.

“The tenants arrive at Netherfield Park in a little more than a fortnight. Their arrival will have no bearing on what we do and when we do it with regards to my Bennet nephew,” Henry replied.

Elizabeth would speak to Mr Hill as soon as she arrived back at the manor house.

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

The under-steward sent from Snowhaven had been employed a fortnight after de Bourgh took over ownership of Rosings Park. Now, a month later, he had learnt much from Fitzwilliam and Darcy, and de Bourgh felt secure enough to tell the two cousins he would join them in Hertfordshire.

Darcy sent a courier with a note to Hurst House on Curzon Street for Bingley. The man had been instructed to hand the note only to Mr Bingley and wait for a verbal reply.

Thanks to Bingley’s atrocious script, by having his courier wait for a verbal message, Darcy would not have to decipher Bingley’s scribbles, blots, and smudges.

The next morning the man returned from London and informed his master that Mr Bingley extended an invitation to Mr de Bourgh and any other friends or family that Darcy chose to invite.

Since Lady Catherine’s removal and the employment of new senior staff and servants, the atmosphere at Rosings Park was much lighter.

Said lady had been seen by doctors in London who all pronounced her ‘stark raving mad’ and recommended she be placed in an asylum.

Lord Matlock had sent her to the one he told his nephew and son about, which was located on the Island of Jersey.