Bennet stared at the book, for all the world immersed in its contents.
“And now, if you do not mind, I would have the use of my library at your earliest convenience.”
That Thing You Do
“Lizzy, I need you to do that thing you do so well.”
“What is that, Jane?”
“Talk to Mr Jameson for me.”
Elizabeth stared at Jane in consternation. “You must be more specific. The gentleman has called on you for 7 weeks. I like and respect him very much, and his situation is felicitous. You are doing well. What in the world could I possibly talk to him about?”
The ladies sat comfortably ensconced in the Gardiners’ drawing room in Cheapside, after a good breakfast, a romp with the Gardiner children, and an hour on the lawn in the warm March sunshine.
Jane lowered her gaze. “I do not know how to say this, Lizzy. You remember the rage cannonball you fired when that other so-called gentleman left me in Meryton?”
Not liking the direction, Elizabeth quietly said, “I suppose. Our parents are still recovering. Do you regret it?”
“Of course not! It was exactly what I needed to do at the time, and it produced the correct result.”
“What are you saying? Speak plainly, Jane.”
“After I chastised our parents within an inch of their lives, I felthappy… truly happy. Complete. I was… I cannot say what… perhaps vindicated. In a way, it made the whole situation easy. I had been a good girl who did as I was told, always did my best, always… well, you understand. That rage meant I could blame all the world’s problems on our parents.”
Elizabeth took her hand. “And now?”
“Now I realise that, at 22, I have nevertrulytaken responsibility for my actions. I enjoyed 5 minutes as a wolf after a lifetime as a sheep.”
Elizabeth frowned and spoke heatedly. “You are the only one who kept us sane in that household. You were the eldest, the peacemaker, the better part of all our characters. You have never said an unkind word in your life. We all depended on you—probably to an unfair extent, and to our own detriment.”
“And yet what did that gain us? Being the peacemaker in the family did nothing but allow Lydia and Kitty to run rampant, because I, and you in later years, always smoothed things over. Ignoring our mother’s worst suggestions and working to minimise the damage her gossip created merely encouraged her, like a spoilt child who was never disciplined. I think all this has done more harm than good.”
Alarm, perhaps even anger, rose in Elizabeth. “Your deportment and behaviour were set in stone when you were a small child. Perhapsnowyou should be thinking about it, but punishing yourself for the way you lived the rest of your life is unfair and unhelpful. Kitty and Lydia arefine now. Your set-down was a reckoning for them, and they are both growing into admirable young ladies—slowly and unevenly, mind you—but relentlessly. I will assert that you said just the right thing at just the right time, and there can be no two opinions on the subject.”
“But there can be! That phrase is overused. There could be dozens of opinions.”
“I will admit precisely 2:mineandwrong.”
Jane gave a little laugh, and Elizabeth was happy to see her humour restored just a little.
“Let us return to my point. There is another in our family with a talent for saying just the right thing at just the right time.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean Mary and William’sincredibly successfulmarriage. During the preparations for the wedding, we saw her fall in love with her husband right before our eyes, yes?”
“Of course, but I cannot pretend good intent or special knowledge of what might have happened. I do not count it among my proudest moments. Imanipulatedthe poor man. I treated him ill and disrespectfully from the moment he arrived until his proposal. It is a testament to his fundamental good character that he does not hold it against me. I would if I were him.”
“So, if I asked our brother his opinion of your actions, he would agree that you did the wrong thing, but it coincidentally worked out as it ought, so all is forgiven?”
“It is not a subject I would discuss.”
Jane poked Elizabeth’s knee until her sister raised her eyes.
“With respect to William at least, I am nowhere near as timid. They visited London in February, and I asked him directly, in plain English.”
“You did not!”
