Bingley returned to his work while Darcy made his way to the library to write the letter to his sister which was sorely needed.
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“Mistress, it seems this letter fell behind the sideboard and was only now discovered when the footmen moved it in order to clean behind it,” the Butler stated apologetically as he proffered Mrs Gardiner the salver.
Madeline recognised the hand as that of her brother-in-law. She broke the seal and began to read.
31 October 1810
Longbourn
Madeline,
Be not alarmed on receiving this letter by the apprehension of its containing any demand that Lizzy and Mary return to this estate, which I know would be disgusting to you.
My intention in writing to you is to request your assistance. You may be aware that I put both Kitty and Lydia back in, and I am endeavouring to take up the mantle of my responsibilities, like I should have since the day I married Gardiner’s sister. One of the things I have decided is my youngest two need a companion, butone who is able to teach them, almost as a governess would.
It would be easy to blame my wife for their bad behaviour, lack of accomplishments, and little or no education, but the truth is I am the one who is culpable .
I cannot fix what happened to Jane. All I can do is to be better for my family as we go forward. That is the reason I would like to employ a lady like the one I described above. My youngest daughters have been informed and understand it is for their benefit this is being done. Hence, it is my belief they are open to being educated and will not balk and try and escape their lessons.
There has been an immeasurable change of our family, but I believe Jane would have approved that some good is to come from her passing. Yes, I am well aware it should not have taken the death of my eldest daughter to wake me from my self-imposed malaise.
As far as Lizzy goes, I understand her need to be away. I was about to countermand Fanny’s banishment when I noted it was what Lizzy wanted. Until she is ready to hear my apologies, I will wait to make them.
With thanks, your brother,
Thomas Bennet
It impressed Madeline that it seemed that the changes Thomas was making were not superficial, and were not only for the short term. As such, she had no objection in assisting him to find someone who would fit the requirements he listed. First, she needed to dispatch an express to let her brother-in-law know why she had not responded to date and her positive reaction to his request.
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Until the express from Gracechurch Street arrived, Bennet had suspected the Gardiners had ignored his request due to their anger with him. Hence, it was with great relief he read the letter from Madeline .
He was about to begin the search on his own before themost welcome missive arrived with the explanation of why the response had been delayed. Bennet was grateful Maddie would assist him as she had access to a much greater pool of potential candidates than he did.
His sister-in-law would have begun the search by the time he read the missive. He reread the portion which mentioned his two eldest daughters.
Lizzy and Mary are as well as can be expected. They are distracted from their sadness by the children, but when they are not busy, there is no missing how much they mourn Janey.
Your decision to allow them to come to Edward and me in London was a wise one which I believe will allow for a reconciliation when Lizzy is ready for it.
Your daughters will soon travel north to spend some time with my brother and sister-in-law in Derbyshire. Please let me know if you agree to allow Kitty and Lydia to accompany us…
Bennet would of course give his approval. He missed Lizzy greatly, to a lesser extent Mary as well. To his shame, he admitted he did not know Mary just like he had not known his youngest two before he had begun to work with them. He had to admit that both Kitty and Lydia were far more intelligent than he had ever given them credit for.
He could already tell that Kitty not only enjoyed art, but she had a natural talent for drawing. Lydia was interested in history and had asked him to teach her to play chess. Not expecting much, Bennet had agreed, only to find that Lydia took to the game almost as quickly as Lizzy had. To his chagrin, he acknowledged how much he had missed by cutting himself off from his family. Yes, he had to learn from his errors, but the time for looking back was past. He had to concentrate on the path ahead and do whatever he could to improve his daughters’ futures.
When he thought about his wife, he knew sheappreciated his presence for the first few calls, which were few and far between, from ladies of the area. As hard as it had been for Fanny, she had not tried to excuse what she had done and had accepted her role in the tragedy which followed. Like he had predicted, his wife’s owning her errors had taken the wind out of the ladies’ sails.
Helping his wife improve herself would be more difficult than his youngest daughters, but Bennet was determined to hold true to his course.
Chapter 21
Not wanting to pressure her nieces with regards to their father, Madeline did not show them the letter but did relate the request for her to seek some candidates who could act as companion and governess in one person for Kitty and Lydia. Both older Bennet sisters were impressed their father was taking action and not just paying lip service to making changes.
Aunt Madeline related how she had requested that Kitty and Lydia be allowed to join the Gardiners when they travelled to Lambert Hills. She expressed the opinion that permission would not be denied. No mention was made of their mother by their aunt, and neither Elizabeth nor Mary asked about her.
