Page 1 of Gold and Good Sense

Prologue

Collin Bennet watched the wedding ceremony with a great deal of distaste. He had warned his older brother, Thomas, that Francine Gardiner, better known as Fanny, would not make a suitable mistress for Longbourn several times, but each time it had resulted in a vicious argument.

When their last argument had actually come to blows, Collin decided to back down permanently. Apparently, Thomas was too far gone to listen to reason.

Though he had given up trying to change Thomas’ mind, Collin was far from approving of Miss Gardiner. At only eighteen, she was little more than a spoiled child. Collin was certain that the cheerfulness that Thomas was so enamored with would only last as long as her will was not crossed.

Additionally, she had absolutely no accomplishments and barely any intelligence, nor did she see the need for them. She was therefore entirely unsuitable to raise and educate whatever children the couple would be blessed with.

Whenever Collin had tried to point out these faults to his older brother, however, Thomas chalked it up to pride. He sneered at Collin for having too much pride in his status as a landed gentleman and not enough liberality to see the merit in someone like Miss Gardiner who was everything beautiful and lovely even if her father was a merchant.

As he watched, Collin did not let his thoughts or feelings show on his face. He had no intention of betraying his disapproval to anyone. The new Mrs. Bennet’s position in society depended heavily on her receiving whatever support her new family could give her, and Thomas’ happiness depended heavily on Mrs. Bennet’s happiness.

Still, such loyalty could only go so far.

Collin refused to stay in the neighborhood and watch as Longbourn fell to ruin under Thomas’ lax hand and Fanny’s spending, which was certain to be extravagant.

A fortnight ago, he had begun making plans to leave the country, and those plans were nearly complete. His ship would leave from Portsmouth in a week.

Eventually, the ceremony came to an end, and it was time for the wedding breakfast, which was far more interesting than the ceremony had been. The Gardiners’ home wasn’t large enough to host the kind of celebration the new Mrs. Bennet insisted upon, so they had rented the assembly rooms in Meryton. Everyone from the neighborhood with any status whatsoever had been invited to the breakfast.

At one point, Mr. Goulding turned to Collin and said, “Your late mother would have been so pleased to welcome such a lovely daughter-in-law to the family, don’t you think?”

Collin thought nothing of the sort. His mother had been quite observant and unusually canny. He couldn’t say his thoughts aloud, however. “I am certain Father would have liked her,” he said, instead of agreeing.

It was true. His father never looked closely at the personalities of ladies. Ladies were ornaments and comforts, not people to be listened to or respected. He wasn’t unkind. He was just neglectful. He never knew or appreciated the jewel of a woman he married.

But Collin did. He had always respected his mother far more than his father, while Thomas had very much taken after their father.

Perhaps that was why he was so adamant in his intention to marry this particular lady. She was most definitely an ornament, and Collin was certain she would be a comfort to Thomas in some ways. However, none of that would last long. Of that he was also certain.

Mrs. Bennet was radiant in her joy at being the center of attention at her wedding breakfast for three hours straight, and Thomas was clearly happy to see her in such a state. Eventually, however, even Thomas’ patience ran out, and the happy couple left to spend their wedding night at Longbourn. Tomorrow, they would depart for Brighton to enjoy a month-long wedding journey.

It was only after his brother had left the wedding breakfast that Collin realized he had made a critical mistake.

He had been putting off the onerous task of announcing his departure, looking for the right time, but he had never found it. Despite what Thomas thought, Collin had no desire to dim his brother’s joy, so he hadn’t yet disclosed that he would be leaving.

And now it was too late.

He couldn’t possibly interrupt the happy couple today to tell them, but after today, they wouldn’t be here, and he couldn’t delay his departure. His berth was paid for, and there wouldn’t be another ship sailing to that part of North America for at least two weeks.

As Collin left the assembly hall, he shook his head ruefully at his stupidity. He had prided himself on his intelligence in recognizing that Thomas was making a mistake. He had been so certain of his course, that leaving England would leave Thomas free to live how he wanted.

And all the while, he was forgetting something so important.

Well, there was nothing for it but to leave a letter with Mrs. Hampton, the housekeeper at Longbourn. She would make certain Thomas received it upon his return, and that would be that.

August 12, 1788

Dear Thomas,

I am a fool, a complete and utter idiot, and I apologize most profusely for it. I neglected to tell you something very important, and now it is too late to do so in person.

After our last fight, it began to dawn on me that you will probably be happier if I am not living in the neighborhood to interfere in your life. With this in mind, I have purchased a ticket on the next ship to North Carolina, one of the former colonies. I have heard that the weather there is rather similar to what we have here in Hertfordshire, as is the landscape, so I thought I might be less homesick there. My ship sails a week from today, so by the time you return from your wedding journey, I will be gone three weeks or more.

I will be taking my five thousand pounds that our father left me and purchasing enough land there to support myself with. Since the price of land in the former colonies is much lower than here in England, I expect I will be able to be quite comfortable, but if the venture fails, I will just sell out and move to one of the cities in the north.

Though it won’t be easy or quick to communicate by letter, I do hope to hear from you sometime. I shall miss you, Brother, but I wish you all the luck in the world.