Chapter One
September 1806
Hertfordshire
“Come, girls! Let us go out into the gardens.” Millie, the nursery maid, held Kitty and Lydia’s hands. Both girls seemed to shrink as another shout echoed from upstairs.
“Is Mama going to be well?” Mary asked hesitantly, wringing her hands as Jane and Elizabeth grabbed bonnets and hurriedly tied the ribbons under their younger sisters’ chins.
“Bringing a wee babe into the world is a miraculous thing, dear Mary.” Millie released Kitty’s hand and brushed a finger over the third Bennet daughter’s cheek. “Your mama has done it five times before.”
Elizabeth could not help but notice the maid did not fully answer Mary’s query. But the reply calmed the girl, and soon enough they were outside in the sunshine.
It was September, and the warm days would fade before too long. Elizabeth loved the outdoors and loathed the forced confinement winter would bring. She and Jane joined hands with Mary as they strolled around the house to the little wilderness. There were still flowers aplenty, and Millie quickly tasked Kitty and Lydia with making her a crown out of the blossoms.
“‘Tis good practise,” she said wisely. “Someday, you will have bonnets to trim.”
The girls giggled and agreed, running to and fro collecting all manner of blooms.
Seventeen-year-old Jane sat on a bench, her calm demeanor betrayed by her hands, which were tightly clenched in her lap. The eldest Bennet daughter wore her bonnet and gloves—the picture of a perfect lady. Having been out in society since her fifteenth birthday, she was well-versed in the requirements of a young woman and strove to be an example to her younger sisters whenever possible.
Elizabeth had turned fifteen just a week prior. Mrs Bennet had assured her daughter of a grand celebration in her honour, though they must delay given her present confinement. Elizabeth had agreed; in truth, she thought fifteen too young to be ‘out’ and relished the chance to be a child for a while longer.
Mary, at fourteen, was everything prim and proper. She strove to emulate Jane, though she had lately taken an unhealthy interest in sermons. Her moralizing was mocked by Kitty and Lydia, and at times, their father. Rather than wilt at this criticism, Mary had resolved to put herself above it all and clung to her dusty books harder than ever. Now, she sat beside Jane, pulling one such tome from her pocket. Their sister, upon noting it, gently began a conversation, forcing Mary to put it away or risk being impolite.
I ought to make more effort, Elizabeth mused. Jane should not be the only sister to befriend Mary. Indeed, if left unchecked, the middle and most often overlooked sister might become unbearable.
She watched Millie with the two youngest for some time before growing restless. Elizabeth paced for a time before resolving to take a stroll.
“Millie.” Elizabeth skipped to the edge of the blanket that had been spread for the girls to sit on. “I wish to walk down the lane—possibly to the top of the mount. Have you any objection?”
Millie looked uncertain, biting her lip for a moment before nodding hesitantly. “You have walked the path before. Be careful and return quickly.”
Elizabeth turned to her sisters. “Jane, Mary, would either of you care to join me?” Kitty and Lydia had not so much as glanced up as she put forth her petition so she did not bother to issue them an invitation. Both her sisters shook their heads, bent together in conversation.
Elizabeth’s mind wandered to her mother. She had been confined to the mistress’s chambers for several days now, though the true chaos had not started until two nights prior. Papa had sequestered himself in his study yet again. Mr Bennet had grown increasingly distant from the time of Elizabeth’s tenth birthday until they discovered Mrs Bennet was expecting again. Lydia was nine when the announcement came.
The baby was a welcome surprise. Mr Bennet had been thrilled, telling everyone who would listen that he could tell this one was his heir. “We are very blessed,” he boasted. “Providence has favoured us—Longbourn will not fall to my cousin.”
The dreaded entail… It had shaped the Bennets’ lives for as long as Elizabeth could remember. Mama’s nerves had worsened with every girl child, and after Lydia the midwife had told them that there would be no more children. Mrs Bennet sank into a deep melancholy, unwilling to leave her bed for weeks after her daughter’s birth. Mr Bennet’s disappointment knew no bounds, and he remained locked in his study until his wife was churched.
Whilst the master of the estate became more apathetic, Mrs Bennet became determined. She lavished attention on her daughters, badgering her husband to hire a governess to help educate them and prepare themfor the marriage mart. Mr Bennet had pushed back, but his wife had won the day.
Unfortunately, Miss Gertrude Lane, their governess of the last eight years, was currently in Surrey, helping her sister with her lying in. Mrs Bennet had insisted she go and that the girls would be well cared for by the maids.
Elizabeth’s aunt—her mother’s sister, Mrs Philips, had intended to be there in Miss Lane's stead. Sadly, the lady had gone on holiday with her husband, and then Mrs Bennet’s pains had started weeks early…
She shuddered. The maids whispered behind their hands, falling silent whenever a member of the household approached. Elizabeth could see the concern written on their faces.
“It is too soon.”
“The babe will not survive.”
And then that day, just before they left the house: “The mistress is not well. She will not live to see her little one take a breath.”
After that, Millie had rushed them all to the little wilderness, intent on keeping the girls’ minds on other things.
“I am not a child,” Elizabeth said aloud, kicking a stone out of her path. She sighed and came to a stop. There was a fork in the path. The left took her towards the lane that would eventually connect to the Great North Road. The right would take her to Oakham Mount. She had never been allowed to venture down the first path…not alone, anyhow.
