Governess

Governess

1 March 1812 Gracechurch Street

My Dearest Jane,

I thank you for your letter. I was beside myself with either laughter or mortification (but mostly the latter) at your descriptions of our mother’s latest escapades. I am quite relieved to learn that she now curses me only hourly. I understand she has not relented enough to invite me back to Longbourn, and I would not be inclined to accept anyway; but I am certain the reduction in noise must make your day somewhat more pleasant. I suspect she is simply saving her venom for a later date, but that thought is uncharitable so I would ask you to disregard it.

Your call from Mr Miller sounds somewhat promising, although since we have known him since our hair was down, and he has never seemed like much of a suitor before, I caution you not to encourage him overly much. Perhaps he has grown and matured, but I fear you may be settling, and I would beg you not to. If you wish to meet eligible suitors, join me in town. I know you dislike the idea, but Aunt and Uncle extend the offer quite happily, and I do believe you could stand some time away from Longbourn.

I thank you for the reports of Charlotte’s wedding. Added to Mary’s letter, I almost feel like I was there. Did you ever imagine that Charlotte would wed in Meryton without me in attendance? I am certain she was quite satisfied to have you stand up with her, and whilst I was sorry to miss Charlotte’s wedding, I do not repine the loss of Mr Collins’s nuptials in the least. The very idea keeps me up at night sometimes.

I must also state categorically that I am most happy to have escaped the debacle of Mrs Bennet’s comments on the matter, since Mary saw fit to give me a nearly verbatim rendition of some of the things she said. I must say I commended Mary on the wit of some of her comments, and I realise yours were nowhere near as bad as the actual words, but that is to be expected and applauded.

Since my last letter, I have decided on a course of action that you will not approve, but I am quite fixed on it and shall not be moved. Mrs Hewes, Aunt Gardiner’s governess, has asked for three month’s leave. Her sister is near her confinement and having a difficult time. Aunt Gardiner, of course, granted her request, and I asked to take up the office of governess for the next three months. Aunt Gardiner will pay me the stipend Mrs Hewes would receive, and it shall be the first money I ever actually earned through my own labour.

I know this will come as a shock to you, but I do this not out of a desire to assist Aunt Gardiner, though you know I would do anything for her, but I do it for the experience, as I am not at present very sanguine about my prospects for genteel marriage.

Your outlook has always been promising, and I believe all you need do is join me in town for a few months, and the deed would be done. Your beauty, your wit, and your charm will have suitors lining up, and I have no doubt of your success. Now that you have put the perfidious Mr Bingley behind you, it can be easily done. Perhaps you should plan to visit over the summer or later in the year during the season.

I, on the other hand, also rely on my beauty, wit, and charm—and therein lies the problem. My beauty was not even sufficient to make the last new so-called gentleman to enter the neighbourhood hold his silence. The mere idea of a dance with me practically gave him the vapours, with the resulting slight we all remember so well. My wit and charm are also, as you well know, not to the taste of most gentlemen. Add my well-earned reputation as a bluestocking, and I am quite the odd duck. If you then include my current thorough disenchantment with the male sex in general, and our tiny portions that will no doubt be entirely consumed by our mother if none of us marry well; it becomes obvious I may need to prepare for employment.

Perhaps this will be unnecessary if one of us marries well, but I feel the need to be prepared; as I have not the slightest intention of living with our mother when Father passes. Of course, based on the previous several months, I probably will not wish to live with her ever again. Earning a living is good enough for ninety-eight Englishmen out of one hundred, so I can certainly endure it as well as the next woman.

With that in mind, I shall take up the office. Aunt will do her best with her admittedly busy days to teach me some of the skills I need in a professional capacity, but she will afford me no special treatment. I will be the governess, exactly as I would in another house. With four sisters and having taken care of my cousins many times, I doubt it will be all that difficult. Aunt Gardiner is the most sensible woman I know, and she cautions me that I would need to learn considerably more to be effective at the trade.

So, the next time you meet another Caroline Bingley, you will be able to boast of yet one more relation in trade. I am certain she will be proud to know you.

Your active sister, Elizabeth