“But what are we to do?”
Mr. Bennet raised his head. He looked at his second daughter. “I am afraid the burden will fall on your shoulders, my Lizzy.”
“Me?! But what can I do?” Elizabeth’s voice shook.
“Everyone is talking about the wealthy young man who is coming to Netherfield Park,” Mr. Bennet said. He stared at his daughter, hoping that he did not need to finish his thought.
But she only stared back at him, uncomprehending.
He sighed. “Elizabeth, you must marry him. With Jane in London, you are undoubtedly the prettiest young woman in the neighborhood. You have the ability to make any man fall in love with you, if you would but make the effort.”
Her voice was almost too soft to be heard as she answered. “But, Papa, I always thought…”
“To marry for love. I know. Dear, dear Lizzy, I hope you will fall in love with this man. But either way, I need – nay, your entire family needs! – you to marry him.”
“But what if Jane finds someone in London?”
“Should I bet my family’s welfare on that? No; I must make every possible effort to secure the family fortunes, and that means that you must participate.”
Elizabeth could bear no more. In one quick motion, she leapt to her feet and ran out of the room; in doing so, she all but ran into her mother, who was just outside the study door.
“Lizzy, what on earth –“
“Not now, Mama!” Elizabeth sprinted up the stairs to her room and slammed the door behind her so hard that the house shook.
Mrs. Bennet stared after her daughter in astonishment. What on earth was the matter with the child? She went to her husband’s study and accosted him. “What did you say to Lizzy?”
Mr. Bennet was struggling to speak. He had known all along that Elizabeth would not take this news well, but he had hoped that they could at least discuss it rationally. He had not expected her to be quite so…well, so emotional about it.
He took a deep breath. “The fact is, Mrs. Bennet, that we have no more money. I know not how we will manage until the next harvest. It is up to Elizabeth to marry well, and as quickly as may be. Mr. Bingley is our only hope! We must pray that he will make an offer to Lizzy and then be willing to give us three thousand pounds immediately, so that we may pay our debts and survive until the next harvest.”
“My brother –“
“Henry has already loaned me a good deal of money, none of which I have been able to pay back. And now he is hosting Jane for the entire winter.”
Mrs. Bennet gazed at her husband. “But – no savings? None at all?”
Exasperated, Mr. Bennet said, “Fanny, do you recall me asking you to stop giving dinner parties? Do you rememberwhen I said that the girls had enough clothes for now and must not buy new ones? Have you forgotten my request that we use tallow candles instead of beeswax? Does any of this sound familiar?”
“Jane needed clothing for London, Thomas! And – I did not think that we – you did not tell me how bad it was!”
“Would it have mattered if I had told you that we were on the edge of ruin? You would have taken to your bed, complaining of your nerves, and honestly, Fanny, quite honestly, my nerves are not doing so well just now, either.” His voice broke.
“Oh, Thomas!” Mrs. Bennet burst into tears. She rose and started toward the door, but stopped, turned around and ran to her husband instead. The two clung together.
Chapter Two
Elizabeth paced back and forth in her room for several minutes. Then she fell down on the bed, face first. Her eyes were dry; hearing her father’s words and learning her fate put her in a state of shock that was too deep for tears.
The words were seared into her mind; again and again, she heard ‘Your family needs you to marry him.’
Him! Who was thishimthat she was supposed to enchant into offering for her as soon as possible? Nothing was known about him, nothing at all, only that he was wealthy!
She could not think in this small room! The walls were closing in on her, making her feel trapped!
She ran downstairs and out the door, out into the air. She ran and ran, as fast and far as she could; when she could run no more, she finally stopped, sucking in great gulps of air.
Moving slowly now, she turned around and started back toward Longbourn. It was cold, so very cold. She had not stopped to bring her cloak.
