Page 4 of The Talented Daughters of Longbourn

The spread was as generous with variety and complexity as it consistently was.

Elizabeth surveyed the assembled dishes thoughtfully, silently contrasting them to what was served at her aunt and uncle’s house.

There was no want or privation at the younger Mr. Bennet’s table, but Charlotte’s natural frugality did not lend itself to unnecessarily elaborate dishes or waste.

Elizabeth knew that Charlotte’s outlook was superior.

Longbourn was far from impecunious, at two thousand pounds per annum, but Mrs. Bennet was undeniably extravagant.

Given that Mr. Bennet would die soon, and the estate, which was entailed away from the female line, would pass on to her uncle Josiah, it was most unfortunate that her mother was not more sensible regarding clothes, food, figurines, knickknacks, and wax candles .

A burst of laughter from further down the table drew her attention, and she looked over to her next younger sister and asked, “Have you learned any new pieces, Mary?”

“I am working on a section of Mozart’s Piano Sonata Number Eight,” her sister replied. “It is in a minor key and thus difficult.”

“I will not attempt it, then,” Elizabeth said cheerfully. She enjoyed playing the pianoforte, but did not have Mary’s dedication or skill.

“Do you wish to work with Mr. Turnball this week?”

Elizabeth grimaced and answered, “No, for he would be terribly disappointed in me. You know that Uncle Josiah does not own a pianoforte, and therefore I am dreadfully rusty. I will make some time to practice in the coming days, and perhaps I will dare to meet with Mr. Turnball next week.”

Mary laughed. “You know he is not like that, Lizzy; he will not scold you.”

“Yes, he is a charming and kindly man.”

“Indeed he is,” Mary replied, and Elizabeth, noting her sister’s flushed countenance, could not help but smile.

Mr. Turnball, who served as curate in a nearby parish, earned extra money to supplement his meager income by providing music lessons.

The man was in his twenties and a gifted musician, and he and Mary were becoming more than friends.

Given Mr. Turnball’s poverty, Mrs. Bennet had not bothered to throw her daughters in his direction, and Elizabeth was rather of the opinion that her mother had no idea of the burgeoning love between her third daughter and the young curate.

But Elizabeth knew that Mr. Turnball was next in line for a valuable living in Kent, and that the current holder of that living was an elderly gentleman in his sixties.

She also believed that love and respect were vital for a successful marriage.

She was hopeful that Mary and her admirer would make a match of it, and soon.

“Now girls!” Mrs. Bennet cried out, drawing the attention of her daughters, “after dinner we must determine exactly what you will wear at the assembly tomorrow night. Lady Lucas tells me that Mr. Bingley will be there with a large party of gentlemen from London! If I could see one of you married to Mr. Bingley and mistress of Netherfield, and the others equally well married, I would have nothing left to wish for!”

“Well, I do not think Mr. Bingley is anything special,” Lydia said with a toss of her blonde head. “He does not even wear a red coat!”

“He is rich, Miss Lydia,” Mrs. Bennet declared, “and given that none of you are boys, and that Longbourn will go to your Uncle Josiah when your father dies, you need to marry well!”

“But surely Uncle Josiah and Aunt Charlotte will allow us to stay here?” Kitty asked fearfully.

“Of course they will,” Elizabeth said quickly. “Indeed, Uncle Josiah assured me that we will always have a home at Longbourn.”

“He says that, yes,” Mrs. Bennet said darkly, “but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say. When your father passes on – not that he will any time soon, because the Bennets have always been long lived – but when he does, well, Charlotte may insist that your uncle cast us into the hedgerows.”

Kitty was now pale, and Jane said indignantly, “Charlotte would never do that, Mamma!”

“You may think that, my dear,” her mother said ominously, “but you know what happened to my Cousin Amelia’s husband’s aunt’s step-daughter!

She was the second wife of a Mr. Dashwood and bore him three daughters.

When her husband died, the entire estate went to the son born to his first wife, and the young man, urged by his greedy wife, threw his stepmother and her daughters out of the house. ”

“Charlotte is not greedy, nor is she cruel,” Elizabeth said sternly. “You need have no fear on that score, Mamma. ”

“Well, even if we do stay here, I daresay you will not much like it, Kitty,” her mother continued resentfully.

“Yes, you will have a roof over your heads, and clothes on your bodies, and food to eat, but you know what Charlotte is like; she works in the kitchen baking pies and the like, and will expect you to do the same! I declare that my servants know how to do their own work. And Charlotte’s dresses!

I know that Josiah does not have significant earnings, but I would be ashamed to be seen in those dowdy gowns! ”

Jane and Elizabeth exchanged glances. Yes, Mrs. Bennet, daughter of a solicitor, would never dream of helping with the cooking, baking or dusting, nor had she trained her daughters in those skills.

This was unfortunate because Mrs. Bennet’s marriage settlement was only five thousand pounds, which was not enough to support Mrs. Bennet and her five daughters in the style to which they were accustomed.

It was just as well that the Bennet girls had a source of income that Mrs. Bennet knew nothing about.