Page 2 of The Next Mrs Bennet
“W hat do you mean I am not the mistress of the estate?” Fanny screeched after she returned from the church with her new husband.
“You were made aware of the terms of the settlement and insisted on marrying me anyway. If you think you are able to work on me to change things to which both your father and I agreed, then you are sorely mistaken,” Bennet told his new wife without emotion. “You forced this marriage on me, one I never desired. In fact, Madam, you are the last woman in the world I would have chosen to marry. If you had more than fluff between your ears upon seeing the terms I demanded in the marriage contract, you would have cried off, which is what I had hoped you would do.”
“Can you not see that you have the best woman in Meryton as your wife? As my mother always told me, I could not be so beautiful for no reason.” Fanny forced some tears, as that had always gotten her what she desired in the past. “Surely you will not be so cruel as to enforce those draconian terms, will you?” Fanny sobbed.
“Your false tears will gain you nothing here. And yes, seeing that you are now my property, I will enforce every single clause in the settlement, as is my right. You will be given the smallest chamber; you will not be the mistress of my estate—even if my honoured mother should be called home to God— your pin money will be five pounds per quarter, and you will not be allowed to leave the estate or receive callers here without my expressed permission,” Bennet recited the main points in the settlement. “You may be aesthetically pleasing, but you have no character or intelligence. Whoever told you that beauty is all you need to catch a husband was lying to you.”
For the first time since she executed her plan to entrap Mr Bennet, Fanny began to doubt that things would go the way she had planned. How could she lord her position as the wife of a landed gentleman over her friends if she could not go to them, nor could they come to her? “What of my sister? Surely you will not be so vindictive as to keep her away from me?” she pleaded.
Part of her motivation for the entrapment when she had put her plan in motion was to make sure that she was the first of the three Gardiner siblings to marry. Fanny could not allow plain Hattie to marry before herself, the acknowledged beauty of the family.
“You may call it what you will, but I will enforce the contract!” Bennet barked. “Your sister was complicit in your disgusting plan to force me into a marriage with a woman who disgusts me, so, yes, you will not be allowed to call on her, and she will be barred from setting foot on Bennet land. If you have not already begun to learn that I will not bend or be diverted from my path, you will soon enough.” Bennet paused. “As distasteful as I find it, I must lie with you because my estate is entailed to the male line. Therefore, I must beget a son. As soon as we suspect you are with child, I will cease coming to you. Also, before I forget, unless you are summoned to join my mother and me for meals or to sit in the drawing room, you will remain in your chamber and take your meals on a tray. And no, you will not have a maid assigned to you.”
Fanny stood, her mouth hanging open. Not only was she not to be mistress of the estate or be allowed to see anyone, but she would effectively be a broodmare locked in her stable. Why, oh why did she not cry off? The only hope she had was that Edward would come from London and fight on her behalf. Yes, he would make sure his little sister did not suffer under her brute of a husband’s ruthless rules. Her ruminations were disturbed when the housekeeper came to lead her to her gaol cell.
Bennet joined his mother in the drawing room. She had been the only witness at the Longbourn Village Church during the ceremony. Bennet had not allowed anyone named Gardiner, especially the sister who had helped entrap him, to attend. There had, of course, been no wedding breakfast, as there was nought to celebrate. Beth could see that her son was troubled.
“Thomas, I know you do not like acting in a way which could be construed as cruel, but the woman made her own bed, and now she must lie in it. You offered her a way out, and it is not like she was not aware of the restrictions under which she would live if she did not refuse to marry you,” Beth consoled her son.
“Even with all of that, it was not easy for me to remain strong, Mother,” Bennet admitted.
“I do understand that, Son. Do not forget that you are tied to a supremely selfish being who cares nothing for anyone’s feelings other than her own. She is so used to manipulating her weak-willed sister, and I believe her father, that I am sure she married you believing she would be able to get her way as she has in the past.”
“In that she will be sorely disappointed. In time I may relax some restrictions as far as her movement around the house, but no more than that,” Bennet decided determinedly.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Edward Gardiner had not been able to leave his post sooner, and now he had three days to visit his home before he was required to return to Mr Bingley’s business in London.
“It is good you are come, Brother,” Hattie said as soon as she saw Edward. “You must intercede. Fanny is married to a man who will not allow her to see anyone, not even me.” Hattie wrung her hands and looked away from her brother’s searching stare.
“Father wrote that she is to marry, or is married to, Mr Bennet of Longbourn. How did that come about? Did I not hear Fanny whinging about his disinterest in her? What changed? And if it was his choice, why would he be cruel?” Edward asked.
Hattie looked everywhere except at her brother. “She trapped him, with my help,” she mumbled.
“And you are surprised he will not allow you to see her? Hattie, how could you? You know Fanny manipulates you easily, but I never thought you would assist her with something so dishonourable,” Edward shook his head. “Father wrote that Mr Bennet demanded the terms of the settlement be disclosed to Fanny so she could cry off, and afterward she still wanted to marry him, is that not so?”
With her head down, and her eyes pointed to the floor, Hattie nodded.
“Fanny decided her own fate. Let me guess, she thought she would get her way like she is used to doing with you and Father, did she not?” Hattie nodded again. “You have done her no favours by always giving in to her. Do you not see where this has led our sister?”
“But on her deathbed, Mama made me promise I would always make sure Fanny was happy,” Hattie wailed.
“And our late mother made the same mistake of indulging Fanny’s every whim, and you interpreted your vow to keep doing the same. Rather than help Fanny, the gross overindulgence has done her harm! Do you think that you and father have assisted her by giving into her?” Edward paused as he thought of something. “Did either of you think of the consequences to Father’s law practice by doing this?”
She had not thought she could feel worse, but now Hattie did. “How can this influence Papa’s business?” she asked without lifting her eyes to look at her brother.
“The Bennets of Longbourn were long-time clients. Thanks to Father supporting Fanny and forcing her on Mr Bennet, they have already left the practice.” Edward saw Hattie was about to protest. He lifted his hand to stay her words. “Yes, Fanny chose to go through with the wedding, but Father could have stepped in, and he did not. Like you, he enables her bad behaviour. Now that the Bennets have taken their business elsewhere, and word gets out, how long do you think it will be before many others follow them? Fanny, with your help, may be the instrument of putting Father out of business. Have you considered how Phillips will react to what you have done? His prospects are tied to Father’s.”
By now Hattie was crying in earnest. “What have we done?” she sobbed. “Will I lose Frank because of this?”
“That is a discussion you will need to have with him. In the meanwhile, I intend to make for Longbourn and apologise on behalf of the family. Whether or not it will mitigate the repercussions which have begun and those I believe are coming, is not sure,” Edward stated. He made his way into his father’s office.
“I have already lost the business of four landowners other than the Bennets,” Gardiner bemoaned when he saw his son.
As hard as it was to berate his sire, Edward told his father how, in his opinion, he had erred. By the end of their discussion, the older Gardiner had his head in his hands.
“Like Hattie, I made a promise to my Jane before she was taken from us. You have the right of it, Son. I have done Fanny no favours. I suspected the truth of the matter, but I saw a way to be rid of Fanny and not have her bad behaviour be my responsibility any longer.” Gardiner cogitated for some minutes. “I think the only way to save this practise is for me to leave, and that means turning it over to Phillips. It will cost Hattie her betrothal though; he was disgusted when he found out the truth from Bennet. However, he could not break the engagement unless Hattie did. I will convince her it is for the best.”
“That is a heavy cost, Father,” Edward mused. He told his father what he intended to do if the Bennets would hear him.
“It is, but it was my weakness that allowed Fanny to marry Bennet when I knew it was wrong. Who else should feel the effects if not myself? I should have publicly censured both of my daughters for their behaviour rather than stand by and enable them. Now it is too late and Fanny is effectively trapped in a prison of her own design.” Gardiner sat behind his desk; his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Send Hattie and Phillips in to see me on your way out.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Fanny thought she would go insane, trapped in her small bedchamber for most of the day, every day the same as the one before. As her husband had told her he would, he had come to her the night of their wedding and a few nights thereafter. He would knock once, enter the chamber, do the deed, and leave immediately after, never enquiring after her pain or discomfort.
Thank goodness she had not gifted her virtue to the officer she was sweet on a year previously. She had allowed him many liberties, but not that. After the first time, her husband had checked the bed for the signs that she had been a maiden. He had told her in no uncertain terms that if she was not, he would not have rested until he gained an annulment.
As she was seated on the one chair in her inadequate quarters, she looked out of the window and saw a trap which looked like her father’s pull up to the front of the house. She stood and pressed her face to the warm glass excitedly. It was not her father, but Edward. He had come to save her!
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“A Mr Edward Gardiner to see you, Sir,” Hill intoned when he entered his master’s study.
His first inclination was to have Hill send the brother away and tell him not to darken his land again, but Bennet stopped himself. He remembered the Gardiner son as an intelligent and affable fellow who was a few years younger than himself. “First ask my mother to join me and then show him in,” Bennet allowed.
When Edward was shown into the study, he bowed to both Bennets within. If he was surprised to see the older Mrs Bennet seated off to one side, he hid that fact admirably.
“If you are here to plead your sister’s case, then I am afraid you will be wasting your time,” Bennet declared.
“That is the exact opposite of the purpose of my call, Mrs and Mr Bennet. I am here to apologise on behalf of my name for the infamous way you were entrapped by my sister, who was aided in it by our older sister, and to a lesser extent, our father. I know, it changes nothing, but I wanted you to know there is one Gardiner who does not agree with anything leading up to you being forced into a marriage with one to whom you do not want to be married,” Edward stated, still standing.
On hearing one of the last things he had expected to hear from a Gardiner, Bennet indicated for the man to be seated on one of the two chairs before his desk. “Although you bear no culpability in what was done, your words are greatly appreciated. I do need to ask, is this an attempt by your father to regain his lost clients?” Bennet queried suspiciously.
“Not at all…” Edward gave a brief synopsis of his conversations with his older sister and father and also the consequences which would be felt by the two.
“Where will your father and older sister go if Mr Phillips agrees to assume the law offices?” Beth enquired. “Your younger sister’s selfishness has been very costly for the Bennets and Gardiners alike.”
“I assume London, there are large firms of solicitors there who are always looking for more qualified men, but I know not,” Edward replied.
There was a knock on the study door, and when summoned to enter, Hill did so. “Master, your wife is demanding to see her brother, something about him setting everything to rights.”
“If you will allow it, I would like the chance to relate to my sister what I think of her actions, in your presence of course,” Edward requested.
Bennet looked to his mother, who nodded. “Bring her hither,” he commanded.
“I knew how it would be,” Fanny gushed as soon as she swept into the study and saw her brother. “You are here to save me from this cruel brute, are you not?”
“No, Fanny, I most certainly am not!” Edward held up his hand when his sister was about to begin her litany of complaints. “Do you know or care that your dishonourable scheme to entrap Mr Bennet is costing Father his law offices in Meryton? Does it bother you that Hattie is, as we speak, releasing Phillips from their engagement because of her part in this travesty? Unfortunately, I do not believe anything like that concerns you because you, Sister, are the single most selfish being I have ever had the displeasure to know. What have you to say for yourself, Fanny? Do not attempt to defend the indefensible to me!”
Edward was not here to save her, only to censure her. What had she done which was so very wrong? She had married the man she had chosen to be her husband and before Hattie. Fanny ignored the fact that she was not living the life she had imagined, and the price that her actions were costing her father and sister. How could the latter worry her when it was not happening to her?
“You have always been jealous of me…” Fanny began to say. She stopped when her brother gave a derisive bark of laughter.
“Pray tell me, of what have I to be jealous? That you are a selfish, vapid, unintelligent, nasty woman? That you find yourself living under, very justified I dare say, severe restrictions? No, Fanny, I have never been envious of you, and even less so now. You have brought all of this down on your own head. Worse than that, your father and sister are now paying a heavy price as well. After today, I will not know you. Fanny; you have no honour,” Edward pronounced sadly.
Fanny stood frozen. This could not be happening to her! Had her mother not told her that only good things would be hers because of her beauty? She had believed that, but that was not what was occurring.
Bennet rang for Mrs Hill, who guided the stupefied woman back up to her bedchamber.
Bennet stood and extended his hand to Edward Gardiner, who was his brother-in-law after all. “I thank you for coming to see us today. It is pleasing that there is one Gardiner with whom it is a pleasure to be acquainted.” The two men shook hands.
“I thank you for your indulgence in seeing me,” Edward said sincerely. He bowed to the two Bennets and took his leave.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
His older sister’s wailing was heard as soon as Edward returned to his father’s house. It seemed Phillips had accepted her offer to release him based on her assistance in entrapping Bennet. It did not take long before Edward was apprised of the facts. As Phillips built the practice, he would make payments to Elias Gardiner until the agreed-upon sum for the structure and practice was paid. He and Hattie would not make for London as Edward had surmised, but rather to the south.
Gardiner related that he had a friend with law offices in Devonshire, and he was looking for another solicitor. A letter had been dispatched.
“I will call on all of the lost clients, beginning with the Bennets, and inform them of the changes,” Phillips declared. “If I am successful in convincing Bennet to remain as a client, I am hopeful once word spreads throughout the area, we will not lose more clients and the four others will return.” He looked at the man who would no longer be his brother-in-law. “I am sorry Hattie got hurt in all of this.”
“Phillips, you are blameless. My sister is not a child, and she made her bad decisions on her own. She is to blame for her own heartache,” Edward assured the man who had become his friend over the last few years.
In keeping with his prior schedule, Edward Gardiner left for London. A little more than a sennight later, a letter with an offer for employment was received from Devonshire. Three days after that, Gardiner and his eldest daughter began the journey in a rented carriage with a cart following, containing their belongings.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
By mid-September, Fanny Bennet reported that her courses, which had been as regular as could be since she first had them, had been missed. That news allowed Bennet to stop the distasteful duty he performed a few times each week from his wedding onwards.
Fanny felt the quickening two and one-half months later. On his mother’s recommendation to reduce stress while she was with child, Fanny was permitted to move around the house, and as long as she was escorted, she could walk in the park.