Chapter 5

With Jane in London and Charlotte in Kent, Elizabeth found little of interest in Hertfordshire. She was busy with estate matters and encouraging her sisters to aid Longbourn's tenants when she would be gone in the spring. Their mother had shown little interest in the matter, but Elizabeth and Jane had learned from their grandmother. The former Mrs. Bennet had spent a considerable amount of time with her oldest grandchildren before her death nearly eight years ago.

She had been the one who taught the girls how to behave as daughters of a gentleman ought to do, though once she passed away, the present Mrs. Bennet had no one to restrain her behaviour in public. The lessons she taught the younger girls were soon lost, and no matter how much Jane and Elizabeth tried to demonstrate otherwise, Kitty and Lydia continued to act childishly.

All three girls would accompany Elizabeth on visits at times, as long as the visits were not made too early or on a day the officers of the militia visited. She was accompanied most often by Mary who was motivated by her desire to do good for others. Mary was fond of reading sermons, and Elizabeth discussed them with her as they walked.

This led to a deepening friendship between Elizabeth and Mary, and soon the discussions of sermons turned into discussions of other matters. Elizabeth was able to speak a little of her altered opinion of the two men who had visited last autumn, and her poor opinion of Mr. Wickham.

"I am not certain why, Mary, but I feel that I would caution you to watch over Kitty and Lydia in my stead while I am gone to Kent," Elizabeth said one morning, only a few days before she was to depart for Kent.

"Is anything in particular bothering you, Lizzy?" Mary asked.

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "Mr. Wickham pays far too much attention to our younger sisters. I worry that he will attempt something with them, and I would prefer that someone is aware of my misgivings. I have attempted to speak to Papa about the officers, but since I have nothing specific with which to accuse any of them, he laughs off my protests."

Mary grimaced. "Papa is not a very good father, is he? Not that Mama is much better, but I have begun to wonder if Papa took a greater interest in his wife and daughters, then we would not be as silly as he claims."

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks.

"Lizzy?" Mary asked, concern evident in her voice.

Elizabeth shook herself out of her thoughts. "I am well, Mary, merely surprised by your observation. I had not really framed it that way myself, but I recall Grandmother shaking her head at our father's inattention. Along with teaching us to help the tenants and how to behave like a lady, I often sat in when Papa and Grandmother discussed the estate. I think Grandmother managed the estate in a similar fashion to what I do now. It has never occurred to me before, but I think both were training me to take it over one day. She knew Papa would never do what was necessary."

"Mama frequently complains about us being cast into the hedgerows if we never marry and was quite vociferous in her laments when you refused Mr. Collins. Are we truly in danger of not having a home when Papa dies?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment. "Mary, I will tell you something, but you must promise never to speak of it to anyone else. Our uncles know, of course, and Papa is aware, though I am not certain he knows all the particulars."

Mary looked at her oddly, but nodded.

"When I took over the estate management, Papa agreed to allow me to invest any additional income we have earned due to my helping with the estate. While it is not a large sum, I have managed to accrue more than four thousand pounds in the last five years. Those funds are invested with our Uncle Gardiner, and they have grown somewhat. I am not sure exactly how much is in the account now, but it will allow us to live comfortably should Papa die before we all marry. I know that our uncles have added to it here and there, and Grandmother did something similar, though I do not know how much she set aside. We may not live as we do now, but we will have enough to keep us out of the hedgerows and to keep us from being too reliant on our uncles' goodwill."

"Why do you not tell Mama?" Mary asked.

"If either Papa or Mama knew of these funds, they would not hesitate to spend them. While Papa is vaguely aware that I have been investing anything the estate earns over the two thousand per annum it earned when Grandmother died, he does not know how much has been put aside each year. Perhaps it is dishonest of me to not be explicit, but both Uncle Phillips and Uncle Gardiner thought this was best."

"How much does Longbourn earn?"

"The estate has never earned just two thousand pounds per annum, though that is what our parents think. When I began assisting, it was making twenty-five hundred each year, and with some improvements suggested by the steward, we have been able to increase that amount to three thousand the last several years."

Mary sighed in relief. "I am glad to know that our situation is not as dire as Mama claims. While I generally believe that it would be wrong to deceive our parents, Papa is at least somewhat aware of the situation and merely allows you to be in charge of matters instead of taking an interest. And you are correct, Mama would want to spend any additional funds on dresses or entertaining, neither of which will assist us in the future."

"Jane is aware that I have set some funds aside and, eventually, I hope to be able to tell Kitty and Lydia, but they are unable to keep it a secret. They would also wish to spend the additional funds if they were aware of them."

Seeing Mary smile at being included in this secret pleased Elizabeth. She had not spent much time with her younger sister over the years, and felt she had grown closer to Mary over the last few weeks. Mary had even read a few books at Elizabeth's suggestion, and they had discussed them on their walks.

A few days after this conversation, Elizabeth departed for Kent, travelling with Sir William Lucas and his daughter, Maria. They stopped in London for a night, where Elizabeth was pleased to see her sister. There, she heard the news that Mr. Bingley had written to Mr. Gardiner, requesting to visit. Since Miss Bingley had never bothered to return the visit paid in January, Mr. Gardiner was deliberately making the younger gentleman wait a few days to see how he would act before he replied.

"His letter claimed his sister never told him of his being in town. I admit only to you, my dear sister, that I am uncertain how I would wish to receive him if he does come. Though I do not know the whole story, I feel that Miss Bingley is behind this. The letter he sent mentioned that it was Mr. Darcy who suggested he write to my uncle first, rather than arriving unannounced. I think that speaks well of that gentleman, does it not?" Jane said once the sisters were in bed that night.

"It does," Elizabeth said, surprised to hear this. It was actually rather considerate of Mr. Darcy to suggest that his friend wait to visit after the pain his sister had caused. She felt a twinge as she recalled her dream and wondered if that was an omen of some sort. Was it possible the dream had changed as a result of actions taken by either Elizabeth or Mr. Darcy in their time apart?

That night, Elizabeth dreamt of encountering Mr. Darcy in Kent. The dream was hazy, and she viewed the encounter from a distance, but for a movement, her eyes fixed on Mr. Darcy's face. In that moment, she saw in his eyes the same look that she had noticed in her dreams of his proposal. What if she actually saw Mr. Darcy in Kent? How would she react when they met again?

The next morning, the party from Hertfordshire continued on to Kent. Elizabeth was quiet and was frequently lost in thought, though it was unnoticed as Sir William always had plenty to say to fill the silence.

Though Elizabeth was pleased to see Charlotte again, seeing her cousin again was less than ideal. Within the first half hour, he had managed to point out Elizabeth's poor decision in refusing him several times. He seemed unaware that these comments injured his wife, but Elizabeth could not say anything to comfort her friend without making her feel worse.

Once everyone was settled and Mr. Collins was showing off his garden outside, Elizabeth and Charlotte had the chance to sit down and talk. Charlotte expressed that she was content in her marriage and delighted to finally have a chance to manage her own home. Mr. Collins spent much of his time out of doors, visiting Lady Catherine daily, and writing his sermons in his study that faced the front of the house. Charlotte visited the other parishioners weekly and spent a considerable amount of time sewing in her own parlour when she was not required elsewhere.

Elizabeth concluded that marriage to Mr. Collins precisely suited her friend, and that she had learned to direct him well, keeping him occupied in ways that allowed the time to pass with very little of it spent together.

Sir William remained in Hunsford for only a few days before returning to Hertfordshire, pleased at the match his daughter made.

As Easter approached, so did the anticipation of Lady Catherine's nephews visiting. Elizabeth felt a bit anxious, as she now knew for certain the confrontation in her dream occurred at the parsonage, which she had recognised immediately on her arrival. She wondered how she would feel when she saw Mr. Darcy again.

A few days later, she received her answer.

Although he was notcertain that Elizabeth would, in fact, be in residence at the parsonage during his visit, he hoped she would be. As he and his cousin rode in the carriage toward Kent, he could think of little else than how he would act if he saw her again.

Bingley had still not called on Miss Bennet, but surely Elizabeth could not hold that against him. He had tried, but when Mr. Gardiner replied to Bingley's letter, nearly a week after it was sent, Bingley was too busy with his sister to pay a call. Mr. Gardiner and Bingley had exchanged another round of letters, but when Darcy departed for Kent, they had still not settled on an agreeable time to visit. He could not understand his friend's reasoning; had it been Elizabeth, Darcy would have done everything he could to see her.

That was the primary thought in his head as the carriage journeyed toward Rosings. He was a little concerned how he would court Elizabeth while at his aunt's home, but then he remembered her propensity to walk. Maybe he could devise a plan to meet her along one of the paths surrounding Rosings.

Darcy was anxious to see her and speak to her. Over the last several months, he had dreamt of her often. Lately, the dream had shifted from their argument to a less tense meeting. It was not the declaration of love he would wish for, but now in his dreams she was greeting him with at least a modicum of pleasure. Once more, he pondered the purpose of his dreams—were they a prediction of the future, or a warning of what might be?