“She is a dear, dear girl,” Elizabeth declared. “And I am everything grateful to have a ready-made sister for me at Pemberley.”
“You will miss your own sisters a good deal, I think, but you must invite them to Pemberley. Or to Darcy House, in London; they would enjoy that, I think.”
“I most certainly shall! But have you noticed your younger son’s interest?” Elizabeth nodded toward the sofa, where the Colonel was engaged in earnest conversation with Lydia.
“Do you really think…? Oh, heavens!!” The Countess was so distressed that Elizabeth had to bite her lip hard to keep from laughing.
***
Later that night, at Netherfield, the Countess accosted the Colonel. “Tell me that you are not developing a tendré for Miss Lydia!”
“What? Me? Of course not!”
“Good, as she is completely unsuitable! She has no dowry and no connections!”
“No connections? Her sister will be Mrs. Darcy,” the Colonel mused, a twinkle in his eye. “As to dowry, I understand from Miss Elizabeth that she will have one-third of Mrs. Bennet’s four thousand pounds, as Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth have no need of a dowry; if my math is accurate, this amounts to one thousand three hundred pounds. In addition, Mr. Bennet is now committed to saving for his three youngest daughters’ dowries, so…”
“Good heavens, Richard! It concerns me that you have enough interest in the girl to have discovered all this!”
The Colonel shrugged. “You said yourself that she is a pretty thing. And you also said that she now understood completely what had made her do such a thing as run off with a scoundrel, so her future behaviour is likely to be impeccable. Does that not make her rather unique?”
“It does, but you could do far better.”
The Colonel chose not to pursue the subject; he was in no position to marry a young lady without a substantial dowry. The opportunity to tease his mother had simply been irresistible.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
December 1812
Word soon went ‘round Meryton that Lydia Bennet was back home. Those who had whispered certain suspicions to one another came to see for themselves, and were almost disappointed to see Lydia Bennet, looking much as she always had, sitting with her sisters. She was clad entirely in black, down to her black gloves. Though she seemed less lively than before, this was attributed to her dear Mama’s unexpected demise.
“They stare at me, Lizzy; I cannot like it,” she complained after one such visit.
“Well, you have been gone for a long time, Lydia. You left for Brighton in May, and it is now December. There are those who like to count on their fingers.”
“You mean our neighbours might have thought I had gone off to have a child?” Lydia was shocked.
“It happens, you know.”
Lydia recalled Edith’s discussion of Jenna, the maid who had been dismissed for having “one in the oven,” as Edith had phrased it. “Lizzy, I will never have anything to do with a man, ever, for as long as I live.”
Elizabeth eyed her younger sister with some amusement. “I suspect that will not be the case, Lydia.”
“I mean it, Lizzy; it is nothing but trouble!”
“We shall see; meanwhile, are you enjoying your lessons with Papa?”
“Surprisingly, yes; he says my French is execrable, but that I have a head for mathematics, which he will soon put to good use. I am not certain what that means.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I can tell you exactly what it means! He will have you balance the ledgers for the estate. Papa is certainly well-educated, but he hates doing the books. He always seems to be off a shilling somewhere.”
“I think I would not mind,” Lydia said, thoughtfully. “I should like to be useful. It is only right that I contribute to the family’s well-being.”
“Papa will be glad to hear it.”
***
Now that Lydia had returned, wedding plans were being made in earnest. Jane and Elizabeth could not decide which of their three younger sisters should stand up with them, so they asked all three. They would be in half-mourning at the time of the wedding, so lighter shades of gray and lavender would be permitted. Kitty was kept busy sketching possible gowns for all five girls.
