Page 1

Book 1 Chapter 1

Mary entered Elizabeth’s bedroom.

“How is Jane?”

Rather than immediately answer Elizabeth considered the simple question.

“You know she is the most loyal of us, the one who never says anything negative, will always emphasise the positive? She has been that way her whole life. My sense from the reading of her latest letter is that she is struggling to maintain that outlook. She is materially comfortable, but at what cost? We thought her husband was a good man, but now I am not so sure. Look at this, is that blotch a tear stain?”

Elizabeth showed the letter to her sister.

“She is trying to be the loyal wife, at least as far as I can decipher from her comments. Yet she does not appear happy. You know she always talked about marrying ‘for the deepest love’. I do not think her marriage to Mr. Oliphant is that, or anything close to it.”

“She says that in her letter?”

Mary sounded shocked.

“No Mary, that was why I said I was deciphering, interpreting even, the words in her letter.”

“Is that not dangerous Lizzie? You could be completely wrong? You do have a tendency to leap to judgement.”

“Oh, I know that. Which is why I am only going to talk to you about my suspicions. Not even Charlotte is going to get to hear about them.”

Mary understood, and was more than a little pleased that her sister was confiding in her, and her alone.

“I presume it is not obvious.”

“Your comment about me being completely wrong is not without merit. There are no words, there are no equivalents of a deep sigh, or a long pause, they are not possible in a letter. I first was aware of it because I decided to read all her letters, going back to the first one when she arrived at Mulberry House outside Chipping Ongar. There was a sense of optimism in those first few letters, she had escaped Longbourn and had the chance to be her own Mistress rather than having to follow the inconsistent demands of our mother.

“But that optimism is no longer evident. She knew she was not marrying for the deepest love as she hoped, and that is why I talked about her being unable to criticise, especially our parents. You were here more than I was, you saw what it was like. Why do you think that I was sent off to the Gardiners in London? Mama wanted Jane married and Mr. Oliphant was in a comfortable position. Even although he was the second son he had received his mother’s portion in full, was more than comfortable and with that inheritance was looking for an estate. And a wife. He was the perfect candidate as far as our mother was concerned. And then she found out that his older brother, Sir George Oliphant Bart., was childless and seriously ill. Suddenly it was not Mrs. Oliphant that Jane was going to become but Lady Oliphant.

“I do not think it is fair to Jane to say that she caved to the pressure, but she was not given either the time or any peace to make her own decision. The one thing we can all be sure of is the lack of peace and quiet here at Longbourn.”

Mary had said nothing, she was not that dissimilar to her oldest sister. But in her heart, she knew Elizabeth was right.

“Lizzie, let me ask you this. What more can we expect? Five daughters, an estate entailed away from the female line and no dowries for any of us, except one fifth of Mama’s portion that will pass to each of us on her death. We should be amazed, and grateful, that there was a gentleman who was prepared to overlook all that and still marry Jane.”

Mary’s words took the wind completely out of Elizabeth’s sails. The most beautiful of the Bennet sisters had been able to overcome all these handicaps, and the presence of their parents! She was the Mistress of a small estate about 35 miles away in the western part of Essex. Not an insurmountable distance and therefore there was a chance to visit occasionally. Elizabeth was sad that this was the best that Jane could ever have aspired to. And it was more than a little worrying that Jane was the most beautiful, the one with the mildest temperament, and with a kindness that went hand in hand with her calmness.

That left herself, judgemental and not someone to suffer fools gladly, a trait she had developed for the outside world since she had to do exactly that at Longbourn. Mary, kind and pious, currently a slave to the work of the Rev Fordyce, who she quoted with tedious regularity. Elizabeth did not know if it was the Reverend’s words or Mary’s delivery that was tedious but the impact on the listeners was in no doubt. Lydia was loud, brash, her mother’s favourite and possessing of a bosom that was without constraint. Coming into a very obvious female figure at a young age had done her no favours. Unlike many of the men who loitered about her, ready to do her any favour she demanded. Elizabeth was worried that Lydia was going to ruin the prospects for the rest of the family if she was not brought under regulation. And that left poor old Kitty, older than the youngest Bennet, but a follower. Not as loud, not as womanly, Kitty was many things, all of them able to be summarised in one word; not. Sadly, and most importantly, she was not Lydia and her personality was subsumed in the noise and favouritism of the latter.

“I am sorry Mary, I have done all the talking. You came to see me? Was there something in particular you wished to talk about?”

Even Mary had to take a second to remember why she came to Elizabeth’s bedroom.

“Oh, I remember. Mrs. Goulding stopped by after you had come up here to read Jane’s letter.”

“I did not hear her arrive, and it is quiet downstairs.”

“She did not stay for more than five minutes. She has the latest gossip and does not want anyone else to get the credit for spreading it far and wide.”

Elizabeth had to laugh.

“You make it sound like she is a cart full of manure being spread across the fields.”

“Lizzie! You cannot say that about one of our mother’s friends.”

“I am sorry Mary, forgive me. My mood is affected by Jane’s letter. I do know better.”