“And what man would marry you with calluses on your hands and plaster dust in your hair!” Mrs Bennet cried.
“I was not planning to take up the hammer myself, Mama,” Elizabeth said with amusement. “But if I donot see to the repairs, what of the sum that my aunt laid aside for them?”
Mr Bennet gave a little wave of his hand. “I shall write to the solicitor. I am no expert in the matter, but it seems to me that all Agatha has stipulated is that the sum might not be divided, that it is used for your benefit alone.”
“Nonsense!” Mrs Bennet crossed her arms. “It is too unfair. What are your sisters supposed to do?”
“Live in the house with me?” Elizabeth teased.
Her father leant forwards. “It is clearly uninhabitable. I have not seen it, but I should imagine it would fetch a low price, given the apparent neglect. Get what you can out of it; let someone else have the headache of restoration while you enjoy the improved marriage prospects Agatha’s fortune provides.” To his wife, he added, “Raising Lizzy’s prospects will be of benefit to her sisters as well, if perhaps less directly.”
Elizabeth pondered that. She remembered thinking it very dreadful that Mr Darcy had denied his father’s wishes for George Wickham. Of course, that had been all lies, but was she being a hypocrite in even considering denying her aunt’s final directives? Agatha had clearly wanted her, and no one else, to have the house.
“Should I not go and see the place at least? Mama, should you not like the chance of seeing the officers in their new encampment? I know Kitty and Lydia would not object.”
She experienced a flash of relief to think that Mr Wickham would not also be going thither this summer. He was due to be seconded to another regiment; Elizabeth knew not where or why, for she had studiously avoided all conversation with and about him since learning the truth of his character from Mr Darcy.
Her mother gave her a pinched look and shook her head. “Never let it be said that I do not appreciate a man in a uniform, nor a bit of sea air, but I have no desire to travel all that way only to be traipsed around a building site. And I beg you would not put the notion in your sisters’ heads. Lydia is already beside herself that the regiment is leaving. I should never be able to drag her away from them a second time.”
As though summoned by the mention of her name, Lydia appeared in the doorway. “Might we leave now? The party will be over before we get there if we do not make haste!”
Mr Bennet nodded and gestured for Elizabeth and Mrs Bennet to leave and the ladies rose from their seats obligingly. “Yes, yes, off you go. Think long and hard on this, though, Lizzy. You will see that your mother and I are right.”
When her father called her name again, Elizabeth paused at the door and looked back at him. “Yes, Papa?”
“Congratulations, child. It is a great boon, whatever you decide to do with it. Life-changing, really. Agatha could not have bestowed it on a more deserving recipient.”
She thanked him with a sweet smile and left to join her sisters in the carriage.
2
Over the next days, Elizabeth was treated to a thorough discussion of all she would need to do to restore the Brighton property. As promised, her father had written to Aunt Bennet’s solicitor for additional details; the reply had not been encouraging. After listening to her father enumerate the various tasks and concerns she would be required to oversee, she quickly yielded to the influence of parental persuasion, deciding that it was likely best to sell the place. With that in mind, she and her father travelled to London to meet in person with the solicitor and a land agent to begin the arrangements for the sale. As ever, her aunt and uncle Gardiner were more than glad to play host to them while they conducted their affairs.
“I must say that I do not see the wisdom in this scheme,” Mr Gardiner said as they sat around his dinner table. “Once the repairs are made, the house will be worth twice, perhaps thrice what Lizzy could get for it now. She would make back the expenses and far more.”
“That is by the bye,” Mr Bennet said. “She is a woman, and to involve herself with such persons would be unseemly. They would cheat her, to be sure.”
“I cannot agree,” said Mrs Gardiner. “It is the women who have the running of any great estate, is it not? The housekeeper, the mistress; Lizzy is as capable as any of them.”
“Indeed she is,” said Mr Gardiner warmly.
“A woman’s responsibilities within the home are far different from a man’s responsibilities on a property,” Mr Bennet persisted.
“Perhaps, then, you might act on her behalf,” Mrs Gardiner said lightly, though her point nevertheless landed rather heavily on the whole party, for an awkward silence arose.
Mr Bennet frowned self-consciously. “I have no more expertise in these matters than Lizzy. Besides, I cannot be away from Longbourn for such a length of time.”
It was not lost on Elizabeth that his profession of inexperience was at odds with his insistence that he knew best when he was trying to persuade her to give the place up. She thought she knew the reason: her father suspected he would be drawn into the business, and he wanted none of it. She did not blame him for his disinclination to superintend such a vast project; he scarcely seemed to have the inclination to manage Longbourn on most days. She did, however, begin to wonder whether his predisposition towards an easy life, free of complication or exertion, was colouring his opinion on her own involvement.
“Nevertheless,” Mr Gardiner said, “I have reviewed the figures that your sister-in-law supplied, and the sum the property would fetch once completed is substantiallymore than its current valuation.” He named a figure that made the ladies gasp; even Mr Bennet looked taken aback.
Elizabeth put her fork down. “You cannot be in earnest, Uncle? Do you really think it would be so much?”
“Your aunt certainly thought so, and I daresay she was correct, perhaps even conservative. The land agent’s report shows that it is in the very best location, overlooking the sea. Some duke or another is sure to purchase it from you as a wedding gift for his wife,” he said with a little chuckle.
“Or perhaps you will wish to live there yourself,” Mrs Gardiner added. “Only imagine a summer by the sea! Perhaps you will meet the love of your life.”
“Not if she is to spend her days among coarse working men,” Mr Bennet interjected.
