Page 11 of Pride, Prejudice and Prudence

“You asked for me?” Miss Farnsworth enquired, her voice quieter than usual, as she popped her head into the study.

“Indeed, come in, come in,” Mr Bennet instructed. He said no more until a moment later, Hill knocked at the study door and entered on the entreaty by her master.

“Sit down, both of you, I cannot bear to have you towering above me,” Mr Bennet said, and the two women sat down.

“Miss Farnsworth, you have been with our family for some six years. When you joined us as governess, my youngest was but nine years old, and Jane was then the age that Lydia is now. At the time, the girls had a great need of a governess,” Mr Bennet said.

Elizabeth gasped, was he letting Miss Farnsworth go? She saw from the look of dejection on her face that Miss Farnsworth also understood that this was the purpose of this meeting. Elizabeth knew that her parents managed the budgets of Longbourn with great care, and the governess was a drain on their expenses, but could the savings of losing her really be so great? She opened her mouth, readying to protest.

“You have been an excellent governess, and Mrs Bennet and I have nothing but the greatest fondness for you,” Mr Bennet said.

Elizabeth thought that was all well and good, but Miss Farnsworth could not live on affection.

“That being so, we have decided that some changes now need to be made regarding your standing in our household.”

“Standing?” Miss Farnsworth said, speaking for the first time since Mr Bennet had begun his explanation.

“Yes,” Mr Bennet confirmed, “the girls are at a point where they do not need a governess,” he assured, “but they do need a companion.”

“Companion,” Miss Farnsworth repeated with a sigh, which Elizabeth interpreted as relief.

“Yes, this is a matter which we have been meaning to address for some time, but the arrival of our guest has brought the matter to a point,” he confirmed.

“You will move today into the spare room in the family wing,” he said. “And Mrs Hill, there is also another reason I asked for you to be present. My cousin, Mr Collins, although he is a clergyman, he is unknown to us, and we need to be sure that the female staff are also kept safe until we can assess him.

“I will see to it, sir,” Mrs Hill confirmed.

“Miss Farnsworth, your new role will require you to attend events outside of Longbourn, and that being so, a clothing allowance will be provided to you to ensure that you are properly attired for your new position.”

“Oh, how kind,” Miss Farnsworth said, a breathless quality to her voice.

“That is all,” Mr Bennet said, dismissing them to go and move Miss Farnsworth to her new room. Elizabeth gave her father a quick hug and went to tell her sisters the news.

Mr Collins, when he returned downstairs, was met in the parlour by the whole family, including Miss Farnsworth, who was now introduced to him as a companion to his cousins.

Mr Bennet bid him to take a seat, and Mrs Bennet poured his tea and offered him a scone, to which he declined. Mrs Bennet appeared entirely unsure how to deal with this grave presence in their parlour, so it was left entirely to her husband to try to draw him out. He enquired after his journey. Mr Collins confirmed that he had left Kent only the day before and stopped for the night at a comfortable inn. He said that his trip had been uneventful and had allowed him many hours of quiet contemplation.

Mrs Bennet finally managed to stir herself and asked after his parsonage. Mr Collins acknowledged that he had been most advantageously awarded the living of the parish of Hunsford, and then fell back into silence. The family all looked at each other, completely at a loss as to any new topic of conversation.

“Might I?” Mary spoke to the surprise of all her family and the studious attention of their guest. “Might I,” she repeated before continuing, “enquire as to your opinion on the teachings of Reverend Fordyce?”

This query did what nothing else had managed to do: it made a small light enter his eyes and something other than the grave look crossed his face. Although what that look might be, no one could say, for its appearance was so fleeting it might have only been imagined.

When he spoke, he started by looking directly at Mary, as it was she who had asked the question. “Reverend Fordyce was a very devoted minister of the church,” he said, and then paused. Elizabeth waited on tenterhooks for what would come next. As his slow and quiet way of speaking made every word he uttered seem weighty. “His teaching on the proper behaviour of young ladies, as good Christians, is right,” he said, looking at all his female cousins as he paused again. Elizabeth had to admit that she was disappointed. Something about him had made her hope he would not agree with the notoriously strict Reverend. “All ladies should be devout and respectful. However,” he said, his tone unchanged, “we must recall that he was born and grew up in an earlier time and his teachings are perhaps a trifle out of touch with the understandings of the modern church.”

Elizabeth smiled, and as she did she caught her father’s eye, and his face too held a smile.

“How so?” Mary queried.

“He allowed nothing for a lady of intelligence to educate herself in the workings of the world. I believe, as does the church, that women, although largely confined to household works or to caring for family, can also add materially to society. Even if it is merely in advancing their skills in music or artistry. While these skills are not so commonly seen in men, they are still bestowed by Our Lord.”

“Here, here,” her father agreed.

“But what of reading, sir?” Elizabeth asked, wanting now to draw everything of her cousin’s opinions on women out.

“Reading is a most fine use of a woman’s mind and should, with the guidance of her father, be encouraged.”

Chapter 20