Page 19 of Gold and Good Sense

The young man didn’t seem to care about this exchange. He explained, “I have a few gambling debts that are becoming troublesome. If they would just take payments over time, it would be no trouble, but they have been insisting on payment in full. I couldn’t wait the few months you would have required.”

“But…” said Kitty with much less enthusiasm than before. “You said you didn’t know about my fortune, and even when I told you of it, you didn’t seem to care.”

Mr. Goulding shrugged his shoulders and said, “I lied.”

Thomas felt a little bit sorry for his daughter, as he could see how much distress Mr. Goulding’s reply caused her, but his sympathy was short-lived. After all, she was the one who had made such a poor decision in agreeing to this plan, going against all common sense and every rule of propriety she had ever learned.

“And how much are these debts of honor?” asked Thomas.

“One thousand pounds or thereabouts,” said Mr. Goulding. “My allowance from my parents is only five hundred pounds per year, so it simply isn’t possible to pay it all off at once.”

“If you didn’t have that much money, what possessed you to wager that much?” asked Thomas.

“It wasn’t all one single wager,” said Mr. Goulding as if the idea was ludicrous. “The debt built up over time, and I didn’t realize it before it was too late.”

“And once you have my daughter’s dowry, I assume you will return to the gambling tables and waste it all in a few years,” said Thomas.

Mr. Goulding shrugged. “I hope not,” he said, “but one can never tell what the threat of complete and utter boredom will do to a man.”

“I suggest you simply find a different hobby,” said Thomas. It was useless advice, however. Thomas was well aware that if another hobby had interested Mr. Goulding, he would not now be in debt.

“I will keep that in mind, sir,” said Mr. Goulding.

“I see,” said Thomas. “If that is the case, then I am not particularly inclined to promote this match.”

Mr. Goulding’s lip curled in a slight sneer. “You have no choice. If you do nothing Kitty and all her sisters will be ruined.”

“Perhaps…perhaps not,” said Thomas. “I could always send Kitty to another town and set her up as a widow there. I could even find her another man to marry, if she wanted.” He glanced at Kitty as he said, “After all, it is clear you do not actually love her.”

“But he does! He must!” cried Kitty, but even her naiveté was beginning to show cracks. She sounded as though she didn’t quite believe what she was saying.

Mr. Goulding put his arm around Kitty’s shoulders to comfort her, or at least to prevent her from making more noise. “Of course I do,” he said. Though Thomas noted the insincerity in his voice, he wasn’t certain Kitty would.

The smile that grew on her face indicated that she believed him. Thomas rolled his eyes. At least this proved that the young man could be worked on through his greed.

“I propose this,” said Thomas. “In the marriage contract, I will sign over eight thousand pounds of Kitty’s fortune to be paid directly to you and for you to do whatever you wish with. The rest of her money, however, will be kept in trust. The interest of it will be her pin money, and she must collect that money in person each quarter.”

“That sounds reasonable,” said Mr. Goulding. “It will set me up quite nicely, and it will give Kitty a bit of spending money so that she won’t have to keep asking me for more.”

Thomas just barely prevented himself from smiling grimly at the phrase “a bit.” He said, “If I find out that you are taking her money without her permission or that you are bullying her into giving it to you, I and my brother Phillips will be seeking legal redress on her behalf. Do you understand?”

Mr. Goulding waved his warning away. “Of course, of course. It is only reasonable that you would wish to protect your daughter.”

There was little more discussion, at least not for Thomas. He was forced to listen to Mr. Goulding speak with Kitty for a great many hours. At least the young man had more patience with her nonsense than Thomas ever did. Even so, there were times when Thomas clearly saw Mr. Goulding roll his eyes or grimace when Kitty said something particularly pointless.

Thomas wondered if he was truly doing the right thing for his daughter by allowing this marriage to take place, but he pushed down his objections. The alternative was to send her far away or find someone else who would take her. Neither situation would be any better than this. At least this way, since Alan Goulding would either settle near Meryton or London, Thomas would be able to watch over the couple to ensure the marriage contract was honored.

About five miles before reaching Meryton, they stopped so that Thomas could send an express to Elizabeth explaining that the couple had been found and that he was working on arranging a quick marriage. He also expressed the hope that he would be home again within two or three days.

Once the horses were rested and the letter sent, the group resumed their journey. As they traveled, they passed right by Meryton without stopping. When Kitty asked why they couldn’t at least stop and tell their family where they were going, Thomas explained as patiently as he could that Kitty couldn’t possibly show her face there before she was actually married.

For the first time, Kitty blushed as she hesitantly agreed. Thomas was pleased that she seemed to have at least a little awareness of the poor choice she had made.

They finally reached London late the following day, two days after he had left Longbourn. The first thing he did once they were all settled in an inn was send for a solicitor.

It was late in the day, so he didn’t hold out much hope that one could be found before tomorrow. Fortunately, however, one of the solicitors from the firm which had handled Collin’s fortune arrived within an hour.

They took notes of the stipulations of the marriage contract and promised to have it written up by midday tomorrow.