“Indeed, and if I do not try to catch him, she will haveLydia do so. In that case, although she does not know Mr Bingley’s name, I am to make sure I secure a proposal from the man who will take up residence at Netherfield Park in a few months,” Jane reported.
“Unless Roger decides to join the army, Lydia will not look at him twice,” Kitty scoffed.
“I would agree with you, but I am sure the prospect of marrying before any of her older sisters will be enough incentive for Lydia to fall in with Mama’s plans,” Elizabeth opined. “Our cousins are looking forward to meeting Lydia so that they can be amused. Like me, most of them dearly like to laugh.”
“Now that Sir William called at Purvis Lodge, what say you we ride to Lucas Lodge with the cousins later today or tomorrow so they can meet Charlotte, Maria, and the Lucas brothers?” Mary suggested.
“I am surprised you want to introduce Roger to other ladies in the neighbourhood,” Jane teased.
“Why should I care who Roger meets?” Mary asked as her cheeks bloomed the colour of deep scarlet. “He is my cousin, no more than that.” Mary noticed the knowing looks on her sisters’ countenances and decided to ignore them. “I am sure he is not interested in me beyond my being his cousin.” At the moment she said the words, her traitorous heart whispered that she wished for more. She told herself that she had known Roger for less than a sennight, so Mary tried to convince herself it was nothing but an infatuation she felt for her handsome cousin.
Elizabeth gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head which Jane and Kitty understood was a signal to cease teasing Mary.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Bennet was looking forward to being entertained when the Taylors arrived to meet his family in a short while. He wassure that besides his wife trying to push Jane and Lydia at one of his cousin’s sons the Taylors would not be well educated. Having grown up in the wilds of the former colonies and the American frontier, that could not possibly be.
As such, Bennet was waiting in the drive with his wife and daughters when the carriages carrying Uncle Henry, the heir presumptive, and his family stopped before the manor house.
“But Mama, none of them are wearing scarlet coats,” Lydia whinged when she saw who alighted from the conveyances. “You know I want to marry an officer… Ow!”
Fanny tried to school her features when she pinched her daughter. “Do not say another word on the subject, or I will pinch you again, and even harder,” she hissed next to Lydia’s ear. “You will do as I instructed.”
It was surprising Jane was not standing with his wife. Rather, she stood with her next three younger sisters. Bennet could not fathom why it was so; he had been positive Fanny would push Jane forward as soon as may be. Instead, it seemed she would only promote Lydia. That would be amusing, but not as much as if she had been pushing two daughters at the Taylor sons as possible matrimonial options.
“Is not my Lydia a pretty girl, and so lively…” Fanny began as she pasted a smile on her face.
“Perhaps we may repair indoors so introductions can be made,” Henry suggested as he interjected before his niece could embarrass herself more than she just had.
His uncle had just spoilt his entertainment, but Bennet knew there was no way to not do as Uncle Henry had said. He nodded and led the way indoors. He could see that his Aunt Felicity looked very much like his late grandmother based on the portrait which hung in the hall. Bennet could only guess at who the rest were. He was not well pleased that there had not been more to laugh at before they entered the house. He wassure the lack of education and intelligence would soon become apparent.
In the drawing room, Henry nodded to Lizzy to make the introductions. Given his limitations with his sight, he felt it was prudent.
Elizabeth did as Uncle Henry requested. She turned to her great-aunt. “Aunt Felicity, what is it like to be back in the home where you were born? After all, it has been more than fifty years since you and your late husband left the shores of England.”
“It is not something I ever thought I would do in my life,” Felicity owned. “I can never repine my leaving with my late Roger, but it is good for my family to see where I was raised.”
“What a pity you left England so that my cousin and his sons were not able to receive a proper education,” Bennet smirked.
“On the contrary,Cousin, like I did, my eldest son graduated from Yale University in thestateof Connecticut. Granted, it is not as old as Oxford, which I understand was founded in 1096, or Cambridge in 1209, but Yale began in 1701 and is considered one of the best universities in the United States. We put no less value on education than you do in this country,” Taylor responded evenly. “Felix is only fifteen, so he was two years away from beginning at Yale. Before we left to come to England, Felix had been enrolled at the Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut. By the by, that school came into existence in 1660.”
‘Damn!’ Bennet thought. ‘I had counted on my cousin and his sons not being educated. Where is the sport to be found now?’ Aloud he just grunted. So all would not be lost; he could only hope that Fanny and Lydia would put on a performance soon enough.
“Would not my Lydia be perfect as a wife for Roger?” Fanny cooed.
“Ma and Pa, why is that lady tryin’ to have a girl younger than me marry Roger?” Felix asked.
“Because she would be perfect…” Fanny tried to say before she was cut off.
“Everything Henry told me about you is true,” Felicity stated firmly. “Why would you think that anyone would take an uneducated, spoilt, uncouth child who should be in the nursery as his wife?”
“She is pretty and lively; what more would anyone need?” Fanny could not understand why no one would agree with her. “Lydia, go greet your intended.”
“Not so hasty, if you please. I am by no means done. To all the objections I have already mentioned, I have still another to add. I am no stranger to the particulars of your youngest daughter’s infamous flirting, which she began when she was barely thirteen. I know it all; that the only way anyone would marry her would be in a patched-up business, at the expense of your brothers. And is such a girl to be my grandson’s wife? Do you imagine we would want someone like her in our family? Heaven and earth! What are you thinking?” Felicity interrogated.
“I have to gain some protection from the hedgerows! As soon as Thomas dies, I will be thrown out,” Fanny wailed. “Uncle Henry would have done so, and now your son will before Thomas’s body is cold in his grave. If Lydia marries the heir, I would remain here.”
“You do realise that if my Henry survives your husband, I will be mistress of this house, and after that whoever Roger marries will fill that role. You, Mrs Bennet, will cease to be the mistress the day your husband bites the dust.” Debby saw that Mrs Bennet was confused by her colloquialism from the land of her birth. “That means when he dies.”
