Page 9 of Gold and Good Sense

She was proven correct when Papa said, “Additionally, I need to confess to a small deception. When I said your fortunes were somewhat more than ten thousand each, that was true though misleading. In fact, your uncle left behind him more than three hundred thousand pounds. After a generous bequest for his manservant, Rydley, you each have a fortune of nearly sixty thousand pounds.”

Elizabeth sensed Jane freeze next to her in shock, and Elizabeth felt it nearly impossible to think how to respond. Eventually, she said, “While that is shocking, indeed, it doesn’t explain why you would need me to accompany you to London. I am not of age as Jane is.”

Papa sighed and said, “I would like to keep this information as secret as possible. If your mother ever hears of it, she will shout it from the rooftops in a voice loud enough to be heard in the heart of London. We will then be set upon by every fortune hunter in the nation.”

Papa looked out the window as if he couldn’t bear to look at them as he admitted, “I am not ready to deal with that sort of thing. You girls will need both footmen and companions for protection as well as new maids to handle what will certainly be a growing wardrobe. All of this will take time and a great deal of exertion, though I am determined to do it simply to keep you all safe.”

“Since it is impossible for me to remain unaware of the state of the matter, you are asking me to keep it secret from our mother and sisters,” said Jane.

“Exactly,” said Papa. “Additionally, I am telling you, Elizabeth, so that Jane does not have to carry the burden of this secret alone.”

“Oh, thank you, Papa,” said Jane feelingly. “I don’t think I could have borne it all on my own.”

It made sense. The weight of such knowledge would have subdued Jane immensely if she did not have someone to discuss it with. Elizabeth reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand.

“What will this mean for our futures?” asked Elizabeth. “I understand what you mean by needing to hire extra servants, but will this house hold that many more people? Additionally, I would not be particularly happy if my activities were significantly curtailed, and I am certain Kitty and Lydia will outright rebel if you try to keep them at home all the time.”

“We can use either the dower house or one of the cottages to house additional servants if necessary,” said Papa. “As for curtailing your activities, I would hope I don’t have to. In fact, I was quite serious about taking everyone to the seaside this summer. I will only ask that when any of you goes out, you take two footmen with you. The details can wait until later, though.”

“With the rest of the family ignorant of the true situation, I can’t see that it would hurt to wait a bit,” said Elizabeth. “I assume we will be looking for footmen and companions while we are in London?”

“Two companions and two ladies’ maids,” said Papa. “I am certain I can easily find footmen in this neighborhood, but it would be far more difficult to find qualified candidates for the other two positions.”

“Papa, when you look for companions, do you think it would be possible to find someone who can teach Latin and possibly Greek?” asked Jane.

Papa’s eyebrows rose in clear surprise. “Have you an interest in those languages?” he asked.

Jane blushed and stared at her hands. “In fact, I do,” she said. “And I’m certain Mary does as well.”

“Why did you not ask sooner?” asked Papa.

Elizabeth wished to ask that as well. Papa had never been begrudging when it came to hiring masters and tutors for anything his daughters wished to learn.

“I did not think it particularly ladylike,” said Jane. “I was certain that if I tried, Mama would chide me endlessly for it.”

“While that may be true, having a great deal of money of your own will not change that aspect of your mother,” said Papa. “In fact, it is entirely possible that she will object even more strongly now.”

“The difference, however, is that now I know that even if I cannot find a man who admires me even if I know Latin or Greek, I will still have a home and all the comforts of life. So, it matters a great deal less to me,” said Jane.

“I never knew,” said Elizabeth. “Do you have aspirations to spend your days studying the way Mary does?”

“No, not in the least,” said Jane. “I only have an interest in languages. Since much of English and other European languages stems from Latin and to a lesser extent Greek, I thought it might help me understand those languages better if I knew the ancient languages they came from.”

“Very well,” said Papa. “I will look for one companion who has more esoteric abilities and another who has musical abilities. Between the two of them, all of you girls should have a chaperone who can accompany you into any social situation and who can teach you when you are at home.”

“Thank you, Papa,” said Jane.

He nodded then said, “Now as for our journey to London, we will be leaving at nine tomorrow. I wish to get to the city with enough time to accomplish a few things before nightfall. I expect we will be there for at least a fortnight, since it will likely take some time to find suitable servants.”

“Will we be staying with Uncle Gardiner?” asked Elizabeth.

“I don’t think he has room for all of us,” replied Papa. “Besides, we will get more respect from the kind of companions I hope to hire if we have a more fashionable address. We will go to an inn in Mayfair, first. From there, I will determine if we need to take a house or if we should stay at the inn.”

“I will be sorry not to see Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, but you are correct,” said Jane.

“We will still see them,” said Elizabeth. “I am certain we will find a few hours to make the journey from Mayfair to Cheapside at some point while we are in London.”

“Of course,” said Papa.