“Please, Papa, we do not have to go back. I spoke from anger, even while I tried to honour Janey by not releasing my vitriol on you both,” Elizabeth interjected. “In moving forward, it could be that a good memory will be unpardonable.”
“What did you say of us that we did not deserve? Our behaviour, or in my case, my lack of action, to your sister at the time had merited the severest reproofs. It was unpardonable. I cannot think of it without abhorrence,” Bennet shook his head. “And it was my responsibility. As I was about to say, regardless of what your mother demanded of Jane, it was for me to step in and exert myself, like I should have since your mother and I married. Rather than face my faults, I hid from them and all of you suffered for it, none more so than Jane.”
“I pray every night, every day that Jane will forgive me,” Fanny stated mournfully. “Everything you said about me in your father’s study the day before you and Mary left Longbourn was accurate. I allowed myself to be driven by my irrational fears of the hedgerows.”
“I never did anything to allay those fears, rather I played into them and used them for my own sick amusement. Between us, we did not make this house a home for our daughters,” Bennet insisted. “My biggest regret is that it took the death of a most wonderful daughter to shock me out of my apathy.”
“I will freely admit, Papa, I was sceptical of your words when we spoke in the study that day. It was not until Uncle Edward told me what steps you were taking that it made me see it was time to let go of my anger at you. You were not just paying lip service, and then Charlotte told me of all of the changes at Longbourn, including the steps Mama had been taking to amend her character. It seems to me we are all readyto move on. If she were here,” Elizabeth let out a single sob, “Janey would be the first one to tell us to look to the future and not to the past. From my perspective, we have all taken lessons from what happened, and it is time to only remember the many parts of Janey’s story which gives each of us pleasure.”
“Before we move on, Lizzy and Mary, you must allow me to beg your pardons for the horrendous way I have treated you in the past, especially you, Lizzy,” Fanny begged. “You are both flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood, and there was never any reason to behave as I did towards both, or either, of you. Worst of all was my attempt to shift the blame for what happened to Jane from myself to you. Lizzy, can you ever forgive me for that?” Tears were coursing down Fanny’s cheeks.
Elizabeth stood, also crying quietly. So did Fanny, the two met in the centre of the room. “Of course, I forgive you, Mama,” Elizabeth gave a watery smile. “Even had I not desired to, and I very much do, Janey would have haunted me had I not.”
Mary stood and joined her sister and mother. “And you have my unreserved pardon as well, Mama,” Mary added.
“In addition,” Fanny turned to her two youngest daughters, “I did neither of you any favours with my encouraging you to flirt outrageously and eschewing education. I cannot but be pleased that Camile…Mrs Perkins was employed by your father and is teaching us as she is.”
Catherine and Lydia granted their mother their pardons without delay.
Fanny and her daughters all made their way up to their chambers to wash their faces, and in the case of the newly arrived sisters, to change. By the time they all returned to the drawing room, the Gardiners, minus their youngest who was napping in the nursery, and Mrs Perkins were also present.
Elizabeth and Mary finally met the miracle worker whohad effected such a change in their mother and younger sisters.
Chapter 31
Not that anyone thought he would not have, but Sir William heartily approved of Mr Parker’s application for a courtship with his eldest daughter. As much as she had been against Charlotte being away from Lucas Lodge for Christmastide, Lady Lucas now thought it had been the best decision ever made to allow her eldest daughter to travel north in December.
Not only did her daughter have a suitor, but the man held three livings giving him an annual income of almost two thousand pounds. Better still, Mr Parker cared not whether Charlotte had a small dowry, or no dowry.
The day Parker came to speak to Sir William, he and his sister had been invited to remain for dinner. They had, of course, accepted and sent a note to Mrs Hurst to inform her they would be away from Netherfield Park that evening. It was at that meal that the two Parkers met the rest of the Lucases: two brothers, Franklin and John, and the youngest, Maria. Notwithstanding a five year age difference, the latter and Diana Parker got along very well. Both were a little shy and quiet.
The next day, Friday, Lady Lucas called on her good friend, Fanny Bennet. She had hoped some jealousy would have been displayed by her friend and sometime rival. Instead, she had to content herself with Fanny’s sincere wishes for Charlotte’s and Mr Parker’s courtship to reach the expected conclusion.
While their mothers spoke, Charlotte sat with the two eldest Bennet sisters, and Maria joined Catherine and Lydia. “Do you realise how many things had to occur for me to meet Mr Parker?” Charlotte marvelled. Her face changed as she realised that the precipitating event was the death of her good friend.
Elizabeth noticed the change and immediately understood the cause. “Charlotte, none of us would ever think you are in any way pleased Janey passed away just because it started a chain of events which led to your meeting Mr Parker. Likewise, Mary met Colonel Fitzwilliam and I was drawn closer to Mr Darcy. I like to think of it as Janey’s hand making sure that all of those who are left behind, who she loved dearly, will be happy,” Elizabeth said firmly. “I see her hand in the changes to Papa, Mama, Catherine, and Lydia as well. Would we have all been infinitely more pleased had she not been called home? Absolutely, yes. As has been told many times, it is not for us to question His plan, and who are we to say this is not exactly what He intended?”
“I could not agree with Lizzy more. To see meaning in Jane’s loss, especially many positive changes, allows me to reconcile myself to her passing, and assists me greatly in my grieving her,” Mary added.
“Thank you for your understanding, it was only after I said what I did that I heard how it could have been interpreted,” a relieved Charlotte told her friends.
“How long will your Mr Parker remain in Hertfordshire?” Elizabeth enquired.
“He told me he would stay as long as necessary,” Charlotte blushed. “Thankfully he has a sympathetic patron, and in addition, he trusts the curates unreservedly so he is sure all of the duties will be performed without any expectation of problems.” She paused to collect herself and decided a change of subject was in order. “Is not this Monday coming the day when the case for the simple recovery will be heard in court?”
“It is. Can you believe that this distant cousin of ourshas not responded to the court? Well, he has not directly responded to the court himself,” Elizabeth smiled.
“What are you not telling us?” Mary asked.
“Papa told me he was notified by Uncle Frank, who had heard from the barrister in London, that Mr Collins’s patroness wrote a letterdemandingthe court dismiss the action. It created much amusement among their Lordships who turned the letter over to the man representing Papa,” Elizabeth shared. “If I thought our distant cousin was a dunderhead, that pales in comparison to this Lady Catherine who wrote the letter on his behalf.”
While they were speaking, the three had not noted the arrival of some of the Netherfield Park party. “What has our aunt done now?” Georgiana asked as she approached the three ladies to greet them. As she did, Mrs Annesley went to sit next to Mrs Perkins. The two had been friends for some years already.
“Your aunt?” Elizabeth verified with arched eyebrows.
“Yes, unfortunately, we have to own Lady Catherine de Bourgh is aunt to the three of us,” Darcy confirmed. “She is my late honoured mother’s older sister and sister to Richard’s father. She proves the old axiom that you cannot choose your relatives. I suppose every family has one or two they are embarrassed to claim as their own. I repeat Giana’s question, what has ourdearaunt done now?”
Elizabeth gave a succinct report of their dubious connection to the Darcys’ and Fitzwilliam’s aunt. She briefly related what her father was pursuing and why, which explained his absence. He would be in court on Monday and did not travel on the Sabbath unless there was no choice. After the telling, Giana excused herself and went to join the two youngest Bennets.
