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“Ever more remote.”

Even Mary paused before carrying on.

“I do not think he knows that you explain the ledgers to me and through me to Jane. We know that the estate is slowly atrophying. I am not 16 for another two months but it is Jane and I that perform all the tenant visits. Mama is not interested and Papa does not seem to care. It is difficult to watch when we see how hard you and Uncle Gardiner are working.”

Jane could not even talk about it, and Elizabeth could see that even admitting this much was making Mary uncomfortable, so by unspoken agreement they dropped the subject.

“Enough of Hertfordshire, tell us about life here in London.”

“It is no different than I have talked about before during your visits or I have detailed in my letters. My biggest struggle is in dealing with people, especially men. Most women do not have to deal with men while they are working, rather it is at social occasions or at church. Since I am the legs, ears and eyes of Uncle Gardiner I have more dealings with men. Not that they would consider dealing with me, rather I am around them more. Fortunately Uncle Gardiner has endless patience and I have learned so much while sitting with him. So this tempers my frustration but it still irks me.”

Elizabeth smiled as she thought about all that she had learned in the last year. But also what she would share with her sisters.

“The four visits from the two of you have been incredibly important. They remind me to take a break, and that I am gentle-born. I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet when I am out with the children and when I am acting as hostess for Uncle Gardiner, but I find that being busy the whole time goes against that.”

“I do not understand Lizzie, what do you mean?”

“I find that I am very busy six days of the week, and sometimes on the Sabbath as well. I know that I do not have as hard a life as the servants but I work as long hours as they do.”

“Really?”

“Yes, although it mostly my own fault. I am learning how to run a household, with instruction and assistance from both Mrs. Brewer the housekeeper and Cook as well. I talk to Mrs. Brewer every day and to Cook most mornings. After more than a year I feel more confident of being the Mistress of a house such as this. I do not mean to brag but does Mama go through everything with you Jane?”

Her older sister furrowed her brow as she thought about the question.

“She has taught me, well as I was going to say most things but I am no longer sure. You know Mama has a deserved reputation for setting a good table, so most of my instruction has been around entertaining. We have gone through the various aspects needed to ensure a good evening but there has been less instruction on the day-to-day tasks. Most of those I have picked up from quiet discussions with Mrs. Hill and with the Cook. What else have you learned Lizzie?”

“The three main things I had not considered before, or at least consciously, were a cleaning schedule, dealing with the stables and settling staff pay.”

“Are the not the stables the responsibility of our uncle.”

Mary had her hand to her mouth almost before she had finished.

“Exactly. Normally that would be so, but in this case, I am the one who goes out and inspects the coach, talks to the coachman and the groom and deals with the expenses of maintaining the mews.”

“Was it difficult to learn?”

“I think if the coachman had been surly or awkward then it would have been. Fortunately he understood why I was fulfilling the role and was very helpful. He encouraged me to ask questions, and even told me the things that uncle would have checked upon. Uncle will talk to him occasionally on his Wednesday trip to his office but he has not visited the mews since the accident.”

“I know that Longbourn has a cleaning schedule but I have not discussed this with either Mama or Mrs. Hill. Does it not take care of itself, overseen by Mrs. Brewer?”

“I am sure that it could be, but Mrs. Brewer is explaining to me the different cycles, things that are cleaned weekly or monthly, versus items or rooms that are only cleaned quarterly or even annually. The most poignant one is the master suite. It has been unused since the accident as Uncle Edward now sleeps on the ground floor. Over the course of the year the master suite has stopped being cleaned weekly and everything is now covered in sheets and is only given a light dusting quarterly and will not be cleaned until the spring. There was nothing that was a great surprise but instead it was lots of little things which built my understanding and therefore my confidence.”

“And the pay?”

“I deal with more of the staff than Uncle Gardiner. He had a rough idea of how everyone had done but he wanted me, as effectively the Mistress of the house, to review everything with him. I only changed one person’s pay but again it was another learning experience. When I stop and think about it, the last 18 months have been a constant learning experience. Which ties back to my being constantly busy. The fault is my own, you know what I am like, I love to learn new things. Women in our society lead such circumscribed lives that I take every opportunity presented to me. Even if it leaves me exhausted every evening when I retire to bed.”

Mary and Jane looked at each other with worried expressions.

“Are you pushing yourself too hard Lizzie?”

Elizabeth scoffed at them.

“No! I am not yet 18, I am young and healthy, I am fine.”

Mary looked at Jane. The oldest sister was going to ask the harder questions.

“Do you ever think you will return to Longbourn?”