“You are,” Bennet agreed.
“In that case, I want Miss Lizzy out of my house,” Fanny insisted. “She has caused all of these problems.”
Before Bennet could tell his wife that she would be sent away from the house before he would banish Lizzy, his daughter spoke. “I will willingly go. I feel far too much anger to see both of you every day knowing the tragedy the two of you caused. I ask only one thing, Father.”
It was easy to see Lizzy was resolved, and Bennet knew his daughter would not waver once she made a decision. He could order her to remain, and she would, until her majority in early March, and then he would never see her again. Bennet would allow her to get away, and hope the anger would bleed out of her, for the chance of a future reconciliation.
“What is it you desire?” Bennet asked resignedly.
“If Mary decides to join me, you allow her to do so, and give authority for both of us to Uncle Edward in writing. Also, if either or both Kitty and Lydia desire to come visit us, they will be allowed to visit. If you are not willing to continue as you are now, if you change your mind about superintending their education, you will transfer their guardianship to Uncle Edward. None of us know what the future will hold, whether I will ever live at Longbourn again, but my hope is I can move past the anger I feel since Janey has been taken from us.”
“I will never agree to my Lydia spending time in your company once you are out of my house,” Fanny spat.
“Let me be rightly understood. First, it is my house and second, it is my decision not yours. If I do not see yourinfluence on the two youngest change and improve, then it will not be Lizzy who is banished from this house,” Bennet warned his wife. “Lizzy, is there any more?” Elizabeth shook her head. “Then Mrs Bennet before you go, know that your days of hiding away from the world in your chambers are over. If you want to be the mistress here, then as of the morrow, you will take up your proper duties. Now you may leave.”
Seeing his daughter about to follow his wife, Bennet called out. “Lizzy, please remain for a few minutes.”
Elizabeth stopped and turned to face her father, looking at him expectantly, before exiting the study.
“Lizzy, I am truly sorry about what my lack of doing my duty has cost us. I will miss you, but I understand your need to be away from here. Please remember regardless of what your mother says, you will always have a home here,” Bennet told his daughter.
“Thank you, Father.” Elizabeth nodded before exiting the study and closing the door behind her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Well?” Aunt Maddie asked when Elizabeth entered the drawing room.
“Before I tell you, we need to have Mary join us,” Elizabeth revealed. She rang the bell and when Mrs Hill answered it, Elizabeth requested that someone summon Mary.
“Are you well, Lizzy?” Mary asked concernedly as soon as she entered the drawing room. “I did not hear much screaming from upstairs.”
Once the door was closed and Mary took a seat next to her, Elizabeth related the substance of the meeting in the study. “So, you see Mary, it is your choice whether you wish to join me. I will never hold it against you should you desire to remain at Longbourn. For my part, even had I not felt I needed some time and space, with our mother ordering me out, and with our father negating the order, she would have delivered athousand cuts when she thought Father was not aware. Such a situation would not have been good for any of us in the house, not even for Mother.”
“I will remain with you, Lizzy,” Mary decided. “That is, as long as Aunt Maddie and Uncle Edward have room for me as well.”
“That is not an issue, Mary dear,” Madeline assured her. “We have two spare chambers. You may each have your own, or you may continue sharing as you are here. You can teach the girls to play the pianoforte, if you are willing.”
“I would love to teach my cousins,” Mary enthused.
“Will it not be a great imposition with two more mouths to feed? There is also the limited space in your house,” Elizabeth verified .
“It will be our pleasure. Maddie and I are thinking of something, but until we know if it is a possibility, we will say nothing to you. We would hate to build your hopes only to dash them later,” Gardiner replied. “If we were able to have you and Janey with us for three months at a time in the past, this will be no hardship on us in the least. You know your aunt and I would not tell you that which we do not mean.”
“No, I suppose you would not. Is there room for us and the cousins in the carriage?” Elizabeth verified.
“Do you not remember we used two carriages?” Madeline pointed out. “Yes, we have more than enough room for you and your trunks. I suggest you speak to Sarah and go pack.”
Once their nieces were thus occupied, the Gardiner parents paid a visit to Fanny’s bedchamber. Her husband’s command that she was no longer to sequester herself in her room from the next morning notwithstanding, it is where she had gone from the study to sooth her bruised feelings.
“So that ungrateful child is to live with you,” Fanny sniffed. “At least I will not have to see her.”
“I am ashamed of you, Fanny,” Gardiner intoned. “If you think your reception from your friends was frosty before, I would hate to see what it will be when they discover you banished one of your four remaining daughters from your home because she pointed out what you know—that you are wrong and should never have ordered Jane to ride.”
“Sister, do you know Mary will be with us as well?” Madeline asked.
Although she was about to denigrate Mary’s looks, Fanny arrested herself. The last thing she needed was more gossip about herself to be made known. “I suppose if you are willing to put up with them, so be it. All of this trouble was caused unnecessarily.”
“Fanny, if you want to see who is most to blame, I suggest you look in your mirror. I can see it is a waste of time to reason with you,” Gardiner shook his head. “You refuse to see your faults or do anything to correct them. Be careful, Fanny, before you lose all of those who love you.”
