Chapter 17

F or a few moments, no one spoke, not even Fanny who was still in shock over the way her husband had shouted at her. Elizabeth took the time to consider her words carefully.

"Lizzy?" Bennet prompted.

‘ If I am to honour Janey, then I must remain respectful and keep to the spirit of the fifth commandment. My dearest sister would never countenance my being rude to our parents, so as hard as it may be for me, I need to control my anger at Mother and Father, and the words I use to address that which I need to, ' Elizabeth told herself silently .

"Jane died from pneumonia; she was killed by a combination of misguided matchmaking, inaction, and by Miss Bingley's callous treatment when she arrived at Netherfield Park." Elizabeth began aloud. She saw the look on her mother's countenance and the protest which was forming on her lips. "Do you know that Mr Bingley planned to propose to Jane the day after the dinner with the officers? Rather than check you over the years, my father has been amused by your antics. Are you aware the three suitors Jane had before Mr Bingley were driven away by what you consider helping things along , which caused the opposite?"

"Mr Bennet, how can you sit by and allow Miss Lizzy to speak to me in this fashion. I am her mother, and I demand to be respected," Fanny insisted.

"Tell me one thing Lizzy has said so far which is not true?" Bennet asked .

Fanny opened her mouth to refute what her husband said. When she could not, she closed it again. Then she thought she remembered something to contradict him, only to realise she could not and once again she remained mute. She went back to her old, oft use excuse for the men not offering for Jane. "Miss Lizzy drove them away with her bluestocking talk, always pulling their attention away from Jane."

"Really Mother? Why do you not ask Father about that? He knows, as I do, because Messrs Farrington, Wilson, and Joden spoke to your husband before withdrawing from the field. You do not have to take my word for it, he heard it from the horses' mouths," Elizabeth stated forthrightly.

"I am afraid I am unable to refute what Lizzy said," Bennet admitted, "All three said something similar."

"What was that?" Fanny asked, not nearly as confident as she was previously.

"They were driven away by your brand of matchmaking. None of them could countenance joining a family of which you are a member. To my shame, rather than tell you and help you correct yourself, I told Jane it was not a bad thing to be crossed in love and enjoyed the sport you made for me," Bennet owned. "That Farrington fellow was enamoured of Jane, and she of him, but he felt he could not ask Jane to break from all of her family, except for Lizzy, if he was to marry her. Jane had not as strong feelings for either Wilson or Joden, but we will never know what may have been because they did not last as long as Farrington."

"Then how is it Mr Bingley was to offer for Jane if I am so terrible?" Fanny asked looking for sympathy.

"He loved Janey so much he was to offer in spite of your so called matchmaking." Elizabeth took a deep breath as tears formed in her eyes. "Do you know that hours before Jane was taken by God, Mr Bingley proposed to her? She left the mortal world knowing the man she loved returned her love in full measure. It is why he will mourn as though he had lost a wife." Elizabeth paused to dry her eyes. She took three deep breaths. "It may not be my place to say this, but even without knowing Mr Bingley was on the cusp of proposing to Janey, no loving parent should have allowed their daughter, one they knew was susceptible to cold related illnesses and weak lungs, to ride out in the rain.

"Do you know, Mother, even had Jane survived, she would not have been able to spend any time in Mr Bingley's company? Other than when she was ready to come downstairs, and that would have been on the way home, she would not have seen him."

Seeing her mother was about to protest about how wrong she was, Elizabeth forged ahead. "I realise as you were not gently born, you are not aware of all of the rules of propriety. Unfortunately, you rejected the lessons late Grandmama Beth attempted to teach you. In turn, Father laughed and teased rather than correcting you; so it is not entirely your fault you do not know what is acceptable and not in gentle society. A single man is barred from visiting the bedchamber of a single woman, especially when she is in her night attire. Before you say no one would have known, you are wrong—servants talk. Had Janey allowed it, which she would not have thanks to her firm moral compass, she would have been the subject of gossip. Then she and all of us by extension would have been unmarriageable."

"Mrs Bennet, allow our daughter to have her say before you begin to whinge," Bennet commanded when he saw his wife about to explode. With a sour look on her face, Fanny held her peace.

"As I said, sending Jane out on Nellie was unconscionable. I do not accuse you of trying to harm her, but of not considering the strong possibility she would be ill, or worse. We all know it was the worst possible outcome which occurred," Elizabeth continued. "As hard as it is for me to say this, Janey bears a tiny part of the blame for what happened. She could have refused to ride, but she put her desire to please Mother ahead of her own safety. Then again, what child does not want to please a parent, regardless of how often she is rejected by said parent." Elizabeth looked at her mother pointedly. Fanny sniffed and looked away.

Turning to her father, Elizabeth looked at him for some moments to bring her anger under regulation so she did not say something she would regret. When ready, she spoke again. "However, neither Mother nor Jane, nor for that matter myself, had the absolute power to stop Jane from riding rather than sending her in the carriage. As you well know, the laws of our country give the male head of the house complete authority over his wife and daughters, even his sons to a lesser extent. Tell me I am wrong, Father. You could see it would rain before Janey reached Netherfield Park, but rather than order the use of the carriage you opted for entertainment."

"As much as I would like to tell you what you intimated is incorrect, it is not," Bennet admitted. "I did not believe it would start to rain so soon after Jane departed, I thought it might rain just as she arrived there. I could tell Mr Bingley was well on his way to reaching an understanding with Jane, but I was having too much fun, watching my wife's inept matchmaking."

"At least since the disaster of losing Janey, you seem to be trying to make an effort to rein in Kitty and Lydia before they have a chance to ruin us. But my question, Father, is why only now? Why did it take the death of my dearest sister to wake you up to the fact you had a responsibility to protect your family? You have not made Jane's passing all about you, but you, Mother," Elizabeth turned to face her mother again, "have. Rather than comfort your remaining daughters, you have hidden away. Yes, the ladies of the neighbourhood are angry with you, but what did you expect when word of what you, both of you, did spread in the area? Before you accuse me, I have not said a word to anyone not intimately acquainted with the goings on, but you forget the servants' network—and servants talk. Staff and servants at both Netherfield Park and Longbourn are aware of what occurred, and that was before Uncle Phillips told Aunt Hattie about it all. How long after your sister discovering the facts do you think it was before word reached every house in the area?"

Fanny looked away. She knew what her daughter said was all true. Had her own sister not taken her to task for ordering Jane out on Nellie? "I hope that horse has been destroyed," she stated to attempt to divert attention away from herself. "If that horse had not been so slow…"

"Mrs Bennet, you well know Nellie is old and slow. It is not the horse's fault, so no one will be harming Nellie." Bennet paused as he cogitated for a moment or two. "Elizabeth has said nothing here which is not accurate. Is it the place of a child to remonstrate with her parents, no, it is not." Bennet did not miss the smug look on his wife's countenance. "However, in this case, it was needed. Lizzy has the right of it, I had the power to countermand your order and should have done so. Instead I valued my peace and quiet over doing what I knew was the right thing to do. Things have to change in this family, and I mean more than just my putting our youngest two back in."

"How can you put my girl in?" Fanny screeched. "How will she catch a man? We agreed when a daughter comes out is for the mother to decide."

"No, Mrs Bennet, you badgered me and I capitulated. No girl of fifteen, or even seventeen for that matter, should be on the marriage mart. As Lizzy pointed out, I am the authority in this house, and I have put them back in. Until I feel they are ready, they will remain in. Do not attempt to test my will, you will not enjoy the results."

Somehow Elizabeth had remained calm. No matter what she was feeling inside, she had spoken in an even manner, as respectfully as she was able to, and not allowed her roiling anger to show on her face .

Anger burned inside of Fanny. She did not like the look of resolve on her husband's face, so she turned her ire on her daughter. It was all her fault, it always was. "I am still the mistress of this house, am I not?"

"You are," Bennet agreed.

"In that case, I want Miss Lizzy out of my house," Fanny insisted. "She has caused all of these problems."

Before Bennet could tell his wife that she would be sent away from the house before he would banish Lizzy, his daughter spoke. "I will willingly go. I feel far too much anger to see both of you every day knowing the tragedy the two of you caused. I ask only one thing, Father."

It was easy to see Lizzy was resolved, and Bennet knew his daughter would not waver once she made a decision. He could order her to remain, and she would, until her majority in early March, and then he would never see her again. Bennet would allow her to get away, and hope the anger would bleed out of her, for the chance of a future reconciliation.

"What is it you desire?" Bennet asked resignedly.

"If Mary decides to join me, you allow her to do so, and give authority for both of us to Uncle Edward in writing. Also, if either or both Kitty and Lydia desire to come visit us, they will be allowed to visit. If you are not willing to continue as you are now, if you change your mind about superintending their education, you will transfer their guardianship to Uncle Edward. None of us know what the future will hold, whether I will ever live at Longbourn again, but my hope is I can move past the anger I feel since Janey has been taken from us."

"I will never agree to my Lydia spending time in your company once you are out of my house," Fanny spat.

"Let me be rightly understood. First, it is my house and second, it is my decision not yours. If I do not see your influence on the two youngest change and improve, then it will not be Lizzy who is banished from this house," Bennet warned his wife. "Lizzy, is there any more?" Elizabeth shook her head. "Then Mrs Bennet before you go, know that your days of hiding away from the world in your chambers are over. If you want to be the mistress here, then as of the morrow, you will take up your proper duties. Now you may leave."

Seeing his daughter about to follow his wife, Bennet called out. "Lizzy, please remain for a few minutes."

Elizabeth stopped and turned to face her father, looking at him expectantly, before exiting the study.

"Lizzy, I am truly sorry about what my lack of doing my duty has cost us. I will miss you, but I understand your need to be away from here. Please remember regardless of what your mother says, you will always have a home here," Bennet told his daughter.

"Thank you, Father." Elizabeth nodded before exiting the study and closing the door behind her.

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

"Well?" Aunt Maddie asked when Elizabeth entered the drawing room.

"Before I tell you, we need to have Mary join us," Elizabeth revealed. She rang the bell and when Mrs Hill answered it, Elizabeth requested that someone summon Mary.

"Are you well, Lizzy?" Mary asked concernedly as soon as she entered the drawing room. "I did not hear much screaming from upstairs."

Once the door was closed and Mary took a seat next to her, Elizabeth related the substance of the meeting in the study. "So, you see Mary, it is your choice whether you wish to join me. I will never hold it against you should you desire to remain at Longbourn. For my part, even had I not felt I needed some time and space, with our mother ordering me out, and with our father negating the order, she would have delivered a thousand cuts when she thought Father was not aware. Such a situation would not have been good for any of us in the house, not even for Mother."

"I will remain with you, Lizzy," Mary decided. "That is, as long as Aunt Maddie and Uncle Edward have room for me as well."

"That is not an issue, Mary dear," Madeline assured her. "We have two spare chambers. You may each have your own, or you may continue sharing as you are here. You can teach the girls to play the pianoforte, if you are willing."

"I would love to teach my cousins," Mary enthused.

"Will it not be a great imposition with two more mouths to feed? There is also the limited space in your house," Elizabeth verified .

"It will be our pleasure. Maddie and I are thinking of something, but until we know if it is a possibility, we will say nothing to you. We would hate to build your hopes only to dash them later," Gardiner replied. "If we were able to have you and Janey with us for three months at a time in the past, this will be no hardship on us in the least. You know your aunt and I would not tell you that which we do not mean."

"No, I suppose you would not. Is there room for us and the cousins in the carriage?" Elizabeth verified.

"Do you not remember we used two carriages?" Madeline pointed out. "Yes, we have more than enough room for you and your trunks. I suggest you speak to Sarah and go pack."

Once their nieces were thus occupied, the Gardiner parents paid a visit to Fanny's bedchamber. Her husband's command that she was no longer to sequester herself in her room from the next morning notwithstanding, it is where she had gone from the study to sooth her bruised feelings.

"So that ungrateful child is to live with you," Fanny sniffed. "At least I will not have to see her. "

"I am ashamed of you, Fanny," Gardiner intoned. "If you think your reception from your friends was frosty before, I would hate to see what it will be when they discover you banished one of your four remaining daughters from your home because she pointed out what you know—that you are wrong and should never have ordered Jane to ride."

"Sister, do you know Mary will be with us as well?" Madeline asked.

Although she was about to denigrate Mary's looks, Fanny arrested herself. The last thing she needed was more gossip about herself to be made known. "I suppose if you are willing to put up with them, so be it. All of this trouble was caused unnecessarily."

"Fanny, if you want to see who is most to blame, I suggest you look in your mirror. I can see it is a waste of time to reason with you," Gardiner shook his head. "You refuse to see your faults or do anything to correct them. Be careful, Fanny, before you lose all of those who love you."

Without waiting for a response, the Gardiners left Fanny's bedchamber.