“You both did very well. Please tell Jim to bring my wayward daughter to the drawing room and then you may retire for the night,” Bennet instructed. Once the Hills had departed the drawing room, Bennet turned to his second to youngest daughter. “I…we are all very proud of you, Kitty.”
Kitty glowed with pleasure. Since the changes her parents had begun to implement at Longbourn, it had not taken Kitty long to learn positive attention was far more gratifying than the negative kind she had received with her coughing and blindly following Lydia around.
Lydia, always far more forceful than Kitty, had railed against her next older sister calling her a traitor, and many, many other things far worse. As she was resolved to follow her own path and not Lydia’s any longer, nothing Lydia had said caused Kitty to waiver from her chosen course.
“I hate you all!” Lydia blurted out when led into the drawing room. “All I wanted was some fun with the officers.” She stood defiantly, her arms akimbo staring unflinchingly at her parents.
“SOME FUN!” Bennet thundered.
The defiance deserted Lydia. She had never seen her father so angry before and it scared her. Mayhap she had pushed things too far this time.
“A child,” Bennet began and glared at his youngest menacingly when she was about to protest his use of the word child. “As I was saying, achild, running into the night, unchaperoned, to go to see officers. If you had not been caught you would have beenruined, and by extension, your sisters would have partaken in your shame.”
“Lydia,” Fanny shook her head sadly, “I am so sorry I ever spoke of Colonel Millar and his regiment to you. It is that I am sure which set you on this dangerous obsession with officers.” Fanny paused. “You like fine clothing, do you not?”
“You know I do!” Lydia bit out.
“What about ribbons, fripperies, bonnets, balls, and the rest?” Fanny pushed.
“All of that!” Lydia returned, some of her prior defiance rearing its head.
“Then please explain how you will haveanyof that if you were shackled to a Lieutenant who barely earns two pounds a month? Out of that, he would have to live, how much do you think would be left for you? You would have no pin money,maybeone dress a year would be more than you would receive, and if you went to one ball every year or two, I would be surprised,” Fanny informed her youngest.
Lydia stood her mouth opening and closing, but no sound issuing forth. “B-but I would still have an allowance from Papa,” Lydia claimed in a much subdued voice.
“No you would not. If you ruined yourself and were forced to marry, to save the rest of my daughters from the stain of your behaviour, you would be cast out from the family,” Bennet told his horrified daughter. “Even if you married honourably, at that point your husband would be responsible for you and your needs. If you marry imprudently to a man who is unable to provide for you as needed, then Lydia, you will have no one to turn to in order to correct your error.”
By now, all of Lydia’s confidence in her prior position was gone and tears were streaming down her face as the picture of her suffering ruin could be vividly imagined.
“Everything we are doing is in service of yournothaving to suffer such a fate,” Fanny took over. “Your father used the word child because that is what you are. Are you tall and have a womanly body? Yes, you are and you do. However, marriage is final and you having this irrational desire to marry before your older sisters is nonsensical. Do you think you would be happy in a style of living far below the one we enjoy?”
Lydia shook her head tearfully.
“Then why do you want to marry so young?” Fanny prodded.
Before she answered Lydia took her father’s proffered handkerchief and dried her eyes. “It was unfair my older sisters get to do things before me. I wanted to do something before them,” Lydia explained childishly.
“Lydia dear, that is the natural order of things,” Fanny stated gently. “My biggest mistake was pushing you girls out at fifteen.” Fanny looked at each of her daughters in turn. “Regardless of how you look externally, no girl of that age is ready for the rigours of society and possible marriage. Why do you think that seventeen sometimes, and mostly eighteen is the age accepted by almost all in society as an appropriate age for a girl to come out. You were taught about the fun aspects of being out, but I am afraid the responsibilities were not imparted to you as they should have been.”
“For my part I should have never agreed to allowing you girls being pushed out at such a young age,” Bennet agreed. “Before you ask me why you and Kitty are back in when your older three sisters were all out at fifteen think on this. The past cannot be changed, but that does not mean we ignore current wrongs because of the past. Also, all three of them had far more maturity at fifteen than you have demonstrated.”
“Lyddie, do you know how we envy you,” Jane spoke for her next two youngest sisters.
“You envy me?” Lydia responded incredulously.
“For two reasons,” Elizabeth explained. “All three of us would have loved to have until eighteen before we came out,” she smiled at their father, “even if Papa said we were more mature. In addition, we would have enjoyed having a governess to teach us accomplishments.”
The Bennet parents looked ashamed as Elizabeth spoke, knowing it was the poor decisions they had made which had denied their daughters a much better education.
What her parents had said began to sink in, but Lizzy telling her that she, Jane, and Mary were sad they did not have the same education which she and Kitty were about to receive went the furthest to convince Lydia the time to change was at hand.
“Lydia, until we know you are willing to behave with propriety and decorum, you will remain in the schoolroom. The duration of that stay will be governed by your behaviour,” Bennet pronounced. “A good start will be an apology to the Hills and Jim the next time you see them.”
“Yes, Papa.” Lydia averred succinctly. “Mama and Papa, I beg your pardon for the way I have been behaving.” Lydia wished everyone a goodnight and took herself up to the schoolroom.
There was no huffing, screeching, stamping of feet, or slammed doors. It seemed progress had been made that night.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
