Page 4 of Sweet on Mr Darcy

“Officers?” Lydia squealed. “I shall marry a man in a red coat, and be the first of my sisters to wed!”

“Officers are for marching on parade and being observed from a distance only, Lydia Bennet,” Charlotte told her sternly. “They have no money at all, and can barely even afford their uniforms, let alone wives. If any of you ever approaches me with the intention of introducing me to an officer you wish to marry, let him be at least a colonel, or a naval captain. And do not be less than twenty years of age, or you will be quite unsuited to such a position. In which case, Kitty and Lydia will have no reason to acquaint themselves with any officer at all on this visit.”

“Mama would let us–” Lydia began before she was interrupted sharply by her father.

“Your mama is not here.” Thomas Bennet’s face clouded in displeasure as his two youngest cringed at the anger in his voice. “Though we miss her, we will not undertake to compare the mother you lost to the stepmother you now have, who is doing her very best for you. It is no simple task to take on the support and care of so many young women who are grown up, or nearly so. You will accord Charlotte with the respect and civility I should always have demanded of you, not only because she is entitled to it, but because you deserve to grow up with proper manners, Lydia. Do not cheat yourself of the delights of being a proper lady.”

“Propriety is no trifling adornment, but the very foundation upon which a lady rests her character,” Mary admonished her sister, who rolled her eyes, but quieted before she spoke again a moment later.

“Will we be allowed to do anything while we are in Ramsgate?” Lydia asked her father with more effort at civility.

“You will not be considered out, Lydia, nor you, Kitty. Not in a place like Ramsgate. It is hardly like attending an assembly in Meryton where you have known every other person there all your life,” her father answered her. “You might dine with us if we entertain guests at home, assuming we make friends there, but you should not expect to accompany your sisters when we go out at night.”

“But you will not suffer for amusement, Lydia,” Charlotte promised. “Perhaps there will be no balls for you, but there are always many young ladies visiting the seaside resorts for a bit of social polish before they make their debuts. I pray that I will be well enough to purchase a subscription to the assembly rooms, and if I am not, your father will. Very young ladies may stroll the rooms during the day with their guardians and meet others their age, and you will take in so many sights that you will not have time to complain.”

“Papa will escort us to the assembly rooms?” Lizzy teased. “Surely you jest.”

“I am confident that your Papa will do his duty,” Charlotte said, then turned across the table to Jane. “Jane, I think this will be a good opportunity for you and Eliza, and you as well, Mary. We do not meet many gentlemen here in Meryton. But there will be many people in Ramsgate, and you should make as many new connexions as you can. Even if you do not find husbands, you might make friends who will invite you to their homes, and you may meet gentlemen in that manner.”

“Of course, Charlotte,” Jane agreed. “You are perfectly right. I have spent so much time mourning for my mother and helping you with Lucas that I have neglected my own future.”

“That sounds unlike you, Jane.” Kitty sounded curious.

“There is no point hiding that I am twenty-three years old, with no money and no prospects, Kitty.” Jane was firm. “If Mama had not left us, I am sure I would have met someone by now, probably while travelling or visiting with my aunt and uncle. But if I am not to become a burden upon Charlotte and Lucas, I must go to new places and meet new people. We all must, if we hope to be married, as I still do.”

“It is impossible that you should be a burden to me or your brother, at least not for many years yet. You must always consider Longbourn your home, Jane. But I know you wish for your own establishment.” Charlotte took a sip of her wine.

“Helping you care for Lucas has made me see how much I would like to be a mother.” Jane was candid. “If I am ever to be a mother, first I must be married.”

They had all been more unguarded with their feelings since the new Mrs Bennet took her place at the table. Anything they might have let slip in front of their own mother would have been repeated at length to the entire village, no matter how personal. Charlotte, however, had always been a friend to the young ladies, and she encouraged them to continue to consider her their friend and ally. Even Mr Bennet, impressed by the good sense and improved relations his new wife inspired among his daughters, used far less sarcasm when conversing with his family. He was also more inclined to encourage his daughters, and he could see that it had done his three youngest a great deal of good.

Elizabeth noticed that Charlotte was beginning to look ill. “Charlotte, are you tired? You are suddenly very pale. We must not forget that though we go to Ramsgate, you are not well yet. Would you like me to accompany you upstairs?”

“If you are quite finished, Eliza, that would be wonderful.” Charlotte looked fatigued. “I am so grateful you noticed. I suddenly feel quite tired. I am not used to eating so much.”

Elizabeth looked at her friend’s plate. Charlotte had, in fact, eaten very little. Elizabeth resolved to do everything she could to assist her friend to recover her strength in Ramsgate. After all…young Lucas needed his mother to be healthy and strong.

1 Ramsgate, being a garrison town, was well known for frequent military embarkations, when ships filled with soldiers would depart for the continent. These were popular spectacles for tourists.

Chapter Three

Saturday 6 June 1812

Longbourn

Meryton, Hertfordshire

“Why Nathaniel Gardiner, you have grown more than six inches!” Elizabeth exclaimed as her cousins tumbled down from her uncle’s carriage.

Edward Gardiner handed down his heavy and ungainly wife as greetings were exchanged. “I cannot express how grateful we are for the invitation, Bennet.”

“It is just as convenient for us to have you stay while we are gone.” Bennet turned to the house. “Come in. Charlotte awaits you in the drawing room if you would like a cup of tea, Madeleine.”

There were a great many exclamations and everyone excitedly spoke over one another as greetings were exchanged again in the parlour with Charlotte, and the children were herded upstairs by Lydia and Kitty.

“How are you, Charlotte?” Mrs Gardiner asked. She liked the new Mrs Bennet and had invited her to address her informally when Charlotte had been kind enough to invite the Gardiners for Christmas the first year after Mrs Bennet had died. It was a gesture that meant the world to Mrs Gardiner and her husband, and whatever Fanny Bennet might have thought of the matter, the Gardiners regarded Charlotte as family.

“I still struggle to recover my strength,” Charlotte admitted. “I am eager to be off on Monday. Then perhaps I can recover, without my mother hindering me.”