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In Mary’s experience, it was that precise attitude that led people who needed the most help to not receive any help whatsoever. At her young age, she could do little on her own, but she had spent a small portion of her pocket money on some fabric to make a dress for the youngest daughter.

Two days later, an invitation arrived for Mary and Mr. Bennet to dine at Braydon Hall. Though Mary had not been nervous before, suddenly the idea of going to dinner with only her papa to accompany her specifically to be assessed as to her suitability to be a wife made her quite anxious.

Mama questioned them both extensively as to why only the two of them had been invited, but Papa gave no answers.

Mary followed his lead and claimed ignorance.

Though she didn’t like to lie, she assuaged her conscience by reminding herself that she did not know much, and she certainly did not know if the whole experience would result in anything.

The more Mary thought about it, the more she was convinced that Miss Lucas would be a better choice anyway.

Charlotte Lucas was eight years older than Mary, though still a perfectly acceptable age for marriage, and she was far more capable at nearly everything than Mary was.

She was a good friend to Elizabeth and the two of them were among the most popular ladies in the area. Everyone liked and respected them.

Mary, on the other hand, was only good at two things: playing piano and studying scripture.

Even there, she was not nearly as good at the piano as she wished.

In the end, she calmed her own nervousness by reminding herself what she had always known.

No man in his right mind would want her as a wife. So, it would all end in nothing.

On the night of Mr. Allen’s dinner, Mary and Papa took the Bennet carriage to Braydon Hall.

Mr. Allen’s home was more than two miles outside of Meryton on the exact opposite side of the town from Longbourn, making the journey almost four miles.

For most of the journey, Mary sat in silence with her father, but her nervousness made itself plain by the way her hands twisted round each other.

She began to worry that she might tear her gloves before she even arrived at their destination, but she could not stop herself.

The oddest thing about it was that she didn’t even know what she was nervous about. She did not know if she wanted the evening to be a success or a failure.

In the last couple of minutes of the journey, Papa finally spoke. “I can see you are nervous,” he said. “Do you want to marry Mr. Allen that much?”

With his comment, Mary finally managed to force her hands to be still.

“I have never met the man. While I know he has a great fortune, that is of little consequence to me. I honestly do not know if I want to marry him or not. What is making me nervous, I suppose, is the idea of being judged solely on the events of this one evening. I know I do not give a particularly good first impression.”

Papa reached across and patted Mary’s hands, which though still were now folded together on her lap.

“Do not distress yourself, my dear. You need not pretend to be anything other than what you are. If he likes you, you will have a decision to make, but as of right now, there is nothing that is set in stone.”

Papa’s words did not truly calm Mary down. While it did relieve some of her concerns over whether she could make a good impression, it reminded her of what she had effectively forgotten, that this could all end in a wedding that would change her life and the lives of her sisters.

Nevertheless, to please her father, she exerted herself to at least appear calmer. “Thank you, Papa,” she said. She tried to hide the hint of sarcasm that attempted to wrap itself around her words. She was not entirely certain she succeeded.

With one final pat to her hands, he leaned back in his seat.

Not long afterward, Braydon Hall came into view.

Mary had never seen it before, but she felt rather awestruck.

It was larger than any other home in the neighborhood, more than twice the size of Longbourn.

Oddly, Mary’s first thought was wondering how expensive it would be to heat the whole house.

The carriage drew to a halt under a portico that stretched out from the front of the house. Though it was not raining at the moment, Mary imagined that such a thing could be quite handy, given how often it rained in England.

They were greeted at the door by an older lady, who Mary assumed was the housekeeper, and were shown into a drawing room. Miss Lucas and Sir William were already there, but their host was not yet present. Mary went to sit next to Miss Lucas. “Good evening,” she said.

“Good evening, Miss Mary,” replied the older lady.

Mary did not know how to start a conversation.

Miss Lucas was Elizabeth’s friend, but Mary barely knew her.

Mary had only been out for a few months, and her natural awkwardness meant that she had not yet made any friends of the other young ladies in their neighborhood.

After a while, Miss Lucas said, “I hope you had a pleasant journey here. It is a bit of a drive, is it not?”

“Yes,” said Mary. “It is a bit warm today, but Papa was kind enough to allow the top of the carriage to be put down. He hesitated at first, because he said we would get dirty from the dust, but in the end comfort won out.”

Miss Lucas looked her up and down and smiled a bit. “Not to worry, Miss Mary. You show no hint of dust whatsoever.”

After Mary thanked her, another brief silence descended between them. Then, Mary gathered her courage and asked what she really wished to know. “Are you hoping that Mr. Allen will choose you?”

Miss Lucas looked genuinely surprised. “Of course,” she answered quickly. “He is the wealthiest man in the neighborhood, and everyone knows he treated his first wife remarkably well. Why would I not wish for such an excellent match?”

“I don’t know,” said Mary. She looked back down at her hands.

“Are you as insistent on a love match as Elizabeth and Jane?” asked Miss Lucas.

Before Mary could answer, she continued.

“I love them both as dear friends, but I find their idealism entirely impractical. There are so few gentlemen in our sphere that it seems likely that if they haven’t met someone they could love by now, they aren’t going to, especially Jane.

She has been out for four years now, after all. ”

Mary shook her head. “I am not so impractical as that,” she said. “All I ask is that I can respect my husband, which will make it easier to submit to him as we are instructed to in the scriptures.”

Miss Lucas almost snorted in disbelief. “You can’t tell me that his wealth has nothing to do with it,” she said.

Mary shrugged her shoulders. “Believe what you will. I find such excessive wealth as is displayed in this overly large home to be a little disconcerting. The only thing that mitigates it is that I know the late Mrs. Allen had many charities that she created which used some of the excess funds to help those who have no opportunity to improve their own lives.”

“I have heard of those,” said Miss Lucas. “I understand she started a little school for the children on the estate to teach them basic arithmetic and how to read. I never understood it myself. It seems to me that their parents should be able to teach them anything they need to know.”

“But if the children can only ever learn what the parents know, then they can never become anything other than what the parents are,” said Mary, feeling her passion on the subject rising within her.

“Not every son of a farmer can become a farmer for himself. There is simply not enough land in all of England for that to be practical. So, children sometimes need to be educated beyond what is easy and convenient. Otherwise, they end up heading for the city and working in factories, if they are even so fortunate as to find any work at all.”

Again, Miss Lucas shrugged. “I see nothing wrong with that. We need factory workers almost as much as we need farmers. Where do you think that muslin you’re wearing comes from?”

Mary knew she was not eloquent enough to carry her argument. If she were Elizabeth she could come up with some clever way to make her point, but she was just plain Mary. She decided to change the subject. “Speaking of muslin,” she said, “I do like the dress you are wearing this evening.”

Miss Lucas seemed content to allow the subject to shift to that of clothing and fashion as they waited for their host to join them.