Page 55 of Regrets

“She was alone for some time with the butcher’s son; do you remember him?” Jane asked, in a gentle voice.

“Oh, yes, Luke! We heard something about that. He was very handsome, was he not, Kitty? And then he left to live with an uncle or something.” Lydia said.

“Go on, Jane,” Kitty whispered. “Rebecca was alone with him; then what?”

“Then he took her virtue and she became with child,” Jane said, in a rush.

“Took her virtue – but what does that even mean?” Lydia asked, crossly. “I hear that phrase a good deal, but I cannot quite understand what is being taken and how!”

Jane sighed and looked down as she spoke, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. “Kitty, Lydia, do you recall when Papa paid for a stud horse, a stallion, to come and cover Daisy?”

“Yes! Oh, that was terrible! Poor Daisy!” Kitty said. “We were not supposed to watch, but we did, from Mary’s bedroom window!”

“And then she had a foal,” Lydia said, slowly. “Are you trying to tell me, Jane Frances Bennet, that this is what happens between men and women? I do not believe it.”

“The mechanics are somewhat different, as I understand it,” Jane said. “But in essence yes. The male approaches the female and – and well, he penetrates her and she–she–“

Jane looked to Elizabeth for help.

Elizabeth nodded and continued, speaking softly and slowly, “The male has an organ similar to what you saw on that stud horse, and he inserts it into the female, and there is then a good chance that she will become with child.”

“But why does he do that?” Kitty whispered, her face sheet-white.

“Apparently it is very pleasurable for the male,” Jane murmured.

“But for the female?” Lydia asked, her face very troubled.

“I am given to understand that for women, it hurts the first few times, but can become pleasurable over time. But, in any case, a husband expects his wife to come to him intact; he wants to be the first,” Elizabeth said.

Kitty and Lydia were silent with shock for several minutes. Finally, Kitty said, her voice shaking, “So Luke did that to poor Rebecca and she had a child?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, grimly.

More silence followed as Kitty and Lydia stared at one another. Lydia said, wonderingly, “This is why we are not supposed to be alone with gentlemen?”

“Not just with gentlemen, but with any man,” Jane corrected her. “Luke was hardly a gentleman, remember.”

“So all men are dangerous?” Lydia asked.

“No; all men are potentially dangerous,” Jane corrected her. “I believe that most gentlemen would never do such a thing to a young lady. But you cannot know if a man would or would not, so it is best to never be in a circumstance that would allow him to do so.”

“I had no idea,” Kitty said, blankly. “None at all. Why are we not told this?”

“I think all young ladies should be told this the moment they are able to become with child,” Elizabeth said. “But society believes that young ladies are too delicate and fragile to be trusted with such information.”

“But ignorance could lead to terrible things!” Lydia cried.

“I am in complete agreement with you, Lydia,” Elizabeth said. Then she added, humorously, “Perhaps for the first time ever.”

“What happened to Rebecca’s child?” Kitty asked.

“I do not know,” Elizabeth said. “I suppose someone adopted it.”

“Will Mama be angry that you told us this?” Lydia asked.

“Honestly, I think she will be relieved that she need not do so. I remember that she was very embarrassed when she broached the subject with me and Jane,” Elizabeth said.

Lydia suddenly gasped and put a hand to her mouth.