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CHAPTER 1

Visitors to Longbourn

JUNE 1806

F or much of the last decade and a half, Thomas Bennet had found enjoyment in laughing at his increasingly ridiculous wife and his silly daughters.

The eldest two, Jane and Lizzy, had flourished under the influence of their grandmother, his mother, but the youngest three had not been old enough to benefit from her wisdom and example before she died.

He regretted it, but he was powerless to do anything to change the situation.

After all, they were all daughters, and despite Lizzy’s quickness and love of learning, he had little to do with their upbringing.

Had there been a son, he would have paid more attention to them all, but when the last babe came—another girl—he had turned to his books for comfort.

He listened to the noise descending the stairs.

His two most sensible daughters were presently in London.

Elizabeth was soon to turn fifteen, and Mrs. Bennet had insisted she and Jane visit their aunt and uncle to purchase a few new dresses to prepare for Elizabeth’s entry into their local society.

When Jane turned fifteen, Mrs. Bennet had insisted she be “out” and had decided that when each child attained that age, she would follow.

Unwilling to argue since there were few men in the local area with whom to concern himself, he had given in to her pronouncement.

Bennet believed the extravagance of new dresses from London to be unnecessary; still, he permitted them to go to Edward Gardiner, his wife’s younger brother.

Where the sister was nervous and silly, the brother was confident and sensible.

A genial man—a helpful trait for a tradesman to have—the man had a knack for investing that left him rather well off.

His warehouses were full to bursting.

His wife, the daughter of a clergyman, was well able to assist Jane and Elizabeth in choosing suitable gowns according to their tastes while providing a genteel example for the girls.

Frequently, Gardiner encouraged his brother Bennet to invest with him.

However, other than turning over one hundred pounds for each daughter at their birth, Bennet had not availed himself of the offer.

He was, by nature, an indolent man, and to do more would mean limiting his own purchase of books or else dealing with the fuss his wife was sure to create if he suggested she restrain her spending.

Since he had little desire to do either, he opted to do nothing and pray that others would be there to care for his daughters and wife in the event of his death.

However, today he was to enjoy the company of friends, two gentlemen from his university days.

They were to come for a brief visit, stopping at Longbourn as they travelled north from London.

His wife and youngest daughters were above stairs; he could hear his wife’s shrill voice even behind the closed door of his study.

The younger girls were still full young to be in company: Mary was thirteen, Kitty, as she was known in the family, had recently turned eleven, and Lydia was nine.

Before her death, his mother had encouraged him to take the younger girls in hand, but he had not, and soon the money that might have been used for this purpose was claimed by his wife for some reason or another .

He considered them as silly and ignorant as other girls, taking after his wife.

The youngest girls, Kitty and Lydia, had few interests outside of fashion.

The idea of flirting and courtship intrigued them already because Mrs. Bennet had filled their heads that the ultimate goal of their lives was to capture a wealthy husband.

Her primary concern in life was to ensure all her daughters married well so they could care for her.

Mary attempted to appear as more, studying the scripture and other religious texts with a tendency to moralise.

To Bennet, however, all of this was a source of amusement.

He neglected his wife and daughters, preferring to sit in his study with his books as company.

He did enough on the estate to ensure that their income did not decline and spent some time training his second daughter to assist him.

This was done more to free up his own time for his reading since Lizzy enjoyed walking and talking to the tenants; however, he did not allow her to implement any of her suggestions for improving the estate.

In the midst of these musings, his friends were announced.

“Mr. George Darcy, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Mr. James Livesay are here to see you, sir,” the housekeeper said as she showed the gentlemen in.

“Darcy, Livesay, how pleased I am to see you! Darcy, is this young man your son? It is hard to believe either of us is old enough to have already raised a child to adulthood.”

Bennet invited his guests to take a seat wherever they could find one amid the chaos of his study.

For the next several minutes, the three old school chums caught up, while the younger Darcy sat quietly, observing and listening.

Although they exchanged letters with some regularity—Darcy and Livesay far more often than Bennet—there was still much to discuss: their estates, their children, and the politics of the day.

As the conversation wound on, George Darcy glanced around, laughing inwardly at the stacks of books strewn about his library.

“It seems little has changed, Bennet. You still fill every available surface with your books. Now that Fitzwilliam is grown, he will begin to assume some of the responsibility for the estate. That will give me more time for reading. But you, Bennet, you have daughters, no son, so how do you find the time to read all these?”

Bennet chuckled at his friend.

“I may not have a son, but my Lizzy is quite adept at visiting the tenants and learning their concerns. While she may not be able to do all your son does, she is of much assistance to me.”

“I thought your oldest daughter was Jane,” Livesay said, confusion evident on his brow.

“Jane is the eldest at seventeen. She and Lizzy are in London to purchase new dresses with my sister by marriage. Lizzy will soon celebrate her fifteenth birthday, and my wife has decreed that all the girls will be out at that age. She is eager for them to capture gentlemen to marry.”

He laughed and did not notice the frowns that crossed the faces of all three of his guests.

“Surely, Bennet, you are not encouraging this behaviour in your wife!” Darcy cried.

“Do you recall how you felt when you were ‘captured’ against your will? You married a woman who is not a gentlewoman, and I knew your mother well enough to know she would have attempted to guide and teach her. And you, Bennet, you are too intelligent to allow such frivolous behaviour in your wife, even one who might have been unwanted.”

Bennet scowled at the evident disapproval from his friend.

“It is the business of women to train daughters. The eldest two, Jane and Lizzy, had the benefit of my mother’s instruction prior to her death and have spent time in London with my brother and his wife. You know the Gardiners, do you not, George? Madeline once lived in Lambton. Her father had the living there.”

Darcy nodded.

“I do know Gardiner and have invested some funds with him. He told me he has tried to convince you to do so as well, but you refuse. Bennet, I know your estate is entailed along the male line, so what are you doing to prepare for your daughters’ futures? It may be none of my business, but I know you, my friend, and you were always one to bury your head in the sand instead of facing what was coming.”

Scowling again, Bennet went on the defensive.

“My grandfather put an entail on this estate, and the woman who trapped me into marriage has borne five daughters. Five! None of whom can inherit due to that blasted entail. What am I supposed to do? The cousin who will inherit is a fool!”

“Ensure they are well provided for and properly trained so they might make decent matches,” Livesay answered, his voice demonstrating their lack of empathy for his friend in this situation.

He and Darcy had discussed what they expected to find when they arrived and, to his disappointment, it was worse than they had expected.

“Do what any loving father would do for their daughters, regardless of how many he has or the status of his estate. Or even of his feelings towards his wife. None of those reasons should have a bearing on your duty to your family.”

Bennet scoffed.

“You each have a son to ensure your legacy continues. I do not. As I said, a fool will inherit in my stead, and, from what I know of my cousin, he will run the estate into the ground.”

George Darcy stepped forward, his voice sharp and unyielding.

“And we each have daughters to raise without their mothers. Do not act as though you are the only one who has endured loss or difficulties. I lost my Anne five years ago, and every day I wrestle with how to best raise Georgiana who is near the age of your youngest daughter. I have done everything possible to ensure her support, supplying her with a nurse and governess, yet I still worry about whether it is enough. Livesay here—” he gestured towards him— “lost his wife more than a decade ago and has since raised his two sons and three daughters on his own. You are not alone in your suffering. ”

Darcy’s tone grew harsher as he continued, his gaze fixed intently on Bennet.

“Tell me, do you ever leave your study? This daughter who aids you—you said she is fourteen? How much of her childhood have you sacrificed because you refuse to face the world beyond these walls?” He reproached his friend in a deliberate attempt to jolt his friend out of his obvious despondency.

“She is nearly fifteen,” Bennet defended himself, refusing to meet his friends’ eyes.

Darcy’s eyes narrowed, his voice cutting like frost. “She aids you with your estate? Pray, tell me, Bennet, how does a fourteen-year-old girl manage to assist with the responsibilities of an estate such as yours? What tasks have you placed upon her young shoulders? Is she, practically still a child, left to handle all that you cannot be bothered to do yourself? Even Fitzwilliam here has had my support as he learnt, and he is a university graduate and a man. In addition, unlike you, we have competent stewards to assist us with our duties.”

Darcy leant forward, his words laced with both incredulity and disdain.

“When your father was alive, you boasted that this estate brought in three thousand a year. Is that still true, or has your neglect eroded even that?”

Bennet frowned, his tone sour.

“It is less. Last year, the estate brought in only two thousand. It has brought in that amount for the last several years.”

Livesay’s expression darkened, his voice sharp.

“How have you lost a third of the estate’s income? A poor season or two I could understand, but last year should have been a prosperous one. I must echo my friend’s question—when was the last time you stepped out of your study to see to your responsibilities?”

Bennet leant back in his chair, the weight of the conversation pressing down on him.

“Not as often as I should,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Lizzy manages most of the visits to the tenants now and tells me what they say. ”

“Who accompanies her if you do not go and there is not a steward?” Mr. Darcy asked pointedly.

“She has traipsed through these fields since she was a child and likely knows them better than many of our servants and tenants,” Bennet said, waving the question away.

The younger Darcy, who had been quietly observing the exchange between the older gentlemen, suddenly looked aghast. “She visits the tenants alone?” he blurted out, his voice filled with disbelief.

“Does she not have a steward or at least a footman to accompany her when she visits your tenants? Even at Pemberley, where I know every tenant and servant personally, I would never encourage Georgiana to visit them alone. My mother certainly would never have attempted such a thing.”

The elder Darcy fixed Bennet with a hard gaze.

“You place her in a dangerous position, Bennet. Do you not care for your daughter’s safety?”

“Longbourn is not Pemberley,” Bennet snapped at the younger man.

“Our estate is smaller, and I know my tenants well. None of them would harm her or allow her to be injured. Besides, Lizzy is fiercely independent and has roamed these fields since she was a mere toddler. Were I to restrict her to the house, she would sneak out a window.”

When the younger Darcy bristled at this, his father placed his hand on his arm and turned to his friend.

“My son was raised understanding a gentleman’s duty to the women in his life. You are correct: Pemberley is not Longbourn, and the tenants there are spread further apart. The countryside is also different, but still, I am astounded that the daughter you claim as your favourite is allowed to roam freely. Even at Pemberley, safe as it is, there have been an instance or two of someone from outside who came in intending to do harm.”

“Enough, gentlemen. Surely you did not come only to lambaste me for my poor parenting and stewardship.” He cast a wary glance at the two men, their apparent disapproval pressing heavily upon him.

Although he had not seen either of them in years and their communication had been limited to letters, he had long admired their character and principles—making their reproach all the more stinging.

Sensing the tension, the gentlemen allowed the conversation to meander into safer waters, discussing news of mutual acquaintances and exchanging light hearted anecdotes.

Yet it was not long before the topic turned back to the estate.

“Come, Bennet,” Darcy said with an encouraging smile.

“We have much to catch up on, but it would do us all some good to stretch our legs before we spend the next few days confined to a carriage. Fitzwilliam and I are bound for Pemberley, and from there, Livesay has another day or two before reaching Greenfield Manor in Lancashire.”

Bennet nodded though his enthusiasm seemed muted.

“Ah, yes, Greenfield Manor. My Lizzy is enamoured with the idea of travel and would revel in seeing either of your estates. Alas, I can no longer abide long journeys in a carriage.”

“You know you would always be welcome,” Livesay replied.

The invitation had been extended many times over the years without the other man’s acceptance.

A brief look passed between the three men; each understood Bennet would never leave Longbourn for such a visit, regardless of how often they asked.

Bennet cleared his throat and gestured towards the door.

“Well then, let us prepare for our ride. I will have Hill show you to your rooms so you might change into something more suitable for riding. I shall do the same.” He paused, glancing between the two men.

“I assume you brought your own horses?”

“Of course,” Darcy said, standing.

“I have been eager to see the state of your lands, Bennet. The fresh air and ride will do us good.”