In May upcoming, Charlotte would be six and twenty. Before Frank began to call on her, given the dearth of young men in the neighbourhood and thanks to the war with the Corsican Tyrant—as Eliza called him—coupled with the fact that her family never travelled outside of the area of Meryton, Charlotte had been convinced that by the time she was theage she was now, she would be well and truly on the shelf. Thankfully, that was not the case. She was no longer a burden to her family. Had she still been, Charlotte could have imagined being desperate enough to accept any offer made for her, regardless of compatibility.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Nurse brought Lawrence to her.
“The little mite jus’ woke up from ‘is nap,” Nurse reported. “I believe ‘e needs ‘is mama to feed ‘im. ‘E is changed and dry.”
Charlotte reached out and took her precious son from Nurse. As soon as his hazel eyes alighted on her, Lawrence began to coo. “Thank you, Nurse,” Charlotte said as she held her son. Even before Nurse left the parlour, pulling the door closed behind her, Charlotte had her son at her breast.
She loved her mother, but she had rejected the advice about leaving her son’s feeding to a wet nurse. God had given every woman the ability to feed their own children, so Charlotte refused to reject His gifts. In addition, she was certain that the time she fed Lawrence bonded them even closer. She looked down contentedly as her son suckled happily.
She hoped for more children. Unlike what Mama had told her before the wedding, the act of making them was neither a chore nor was it unpleasant. She would not complain, however, if it was another year or so before she became with child again.
A few minutes after she moved her son to her other breast, he smiled up at her. That told Charlotte he was sated—for now. She placed a cloth over her shoulder and then after covering herself, she rested him on her shoulder patting his back until he emitted a series of belches.
As was her wont, Charlotte did not ring for Nurse tocome take Lawrence after she had fed him. Rather, she held him on her lap and bounced him up and down. Her son squealed with delight, his arms flailing about wildly.
Yes, God had been very good to her and Frank.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Like Jane had when she was eighteen, Elizabeth had come out into the local society a year earlier, shortly after she turned eighteen.
Neither of the eldest Bennet sisters had felt an attraction to a member of the opposite sex. They also felt no pressure to marry the first man who came along. Papa had explained that they each had a dowry of more than five and twenty thousand pounds, even though he only let it be known that they had two thousand pounds each, and as such, even if they never married, they would be well taken care of. He also told them that he would never force them to gratify a compromise, if anyone was dishonourable enough to attempt such. That was not a serious concern thanks to the protection of John Biggs, Brian Johns, and their men whenever any of the sisters left the manor house.
As all five Bennet sisters had vowed they would only marry for the deepest love and respect, knowing that they had no imperative to marry, allowed them to look to fulfil that aim.
When Jane was nineteen, the tenant who was leasing Netherfield Park, a man closer to forty years than thirty, had been attracted to her. Jane had not been at all interested in him, but the man did not take the hints. So it was when he arrived at Longbourn with some poetry he wrote, and requested a private interview with Miss Bennet, he had been shown to the master’s study. Bennet had not minced his words when he spoke, plainly telling the man to cease importuning his daughter and never return. Bennet threatened to set Biggs and Johns on the man if he ever approached his daughter again.The man had lost all of his colour, and in his haste, the rejected suitor had left the page with his verses on Bennet’s desk. Within a sennight, he had left Netherfield Park.
Later that day, Bennet had read the worst poetry ever written to his daughters for their mutual amusement.
In July of the current year, Mary would turn eighteen and have her local coming out as well. She was more serious, but she was no less beautiful than her older sisters. She was very close to Jane and Lizzy and knew that they would be there to support her at her first ball as she was somewhat nervous about making her debut.
Approaching the ages of sixteen and fourteen respectively, Kate and Lydia were in no hurry to enter society. Mrs Dudley was no longer their governess. Like Miss Jones, she was a companion to the girls.
Chapter 11
July 1811
Charles Bingley waited for Darcy at White’s, where they had agreed to meet. As expected, his friend arrived at the time he said he would. Bingley stood and extended his hand, which his friend took and shook.
“The private room is ready for us,” Bingley stated. He knew that his friend was an intensely private man. Whatever they discussed had to be away from others.
“Lead on Macduff.” Darcy smiled. He knew he was misquoting the line fromMacbeth, which was ‘lay on, Macduff’, but it sounded better to him in this form. He followed his friend into the private parlour where they usually met. The men in this club were inveterate gossips, leading Darcy to never say anything of note in front of an audience.
As soon as they entered, a footman followed carrying a tray with steaming cups of coffee. Even if others in the club imbibed spirits at any time of the day, it was not something to which either Darcy or Bingley prescribed.
“You asked to see me?” Darcy queried once the footman had exited and pulled the door closed securely.
“Indeed,” Bingley confirmed. “Do you remember some months ago; I was wondering how to experience living on an estate to see if it is something which appeals to me? You had mentioned the possibility of my leasing one for a while.”
“Yes, I do. What of it?” Darcy returned.
“I had my man of business seek estates within forty miles of London, and he discovered one which is barely twenty miles from Town. He and I travelled to view and tour the estate a sennight past. It is called Netherfield Park, near the market town of Meryton in Hertfordshire. The town reminds me of Lambton near your estate; except the estate I viewed is but two miles west of the town.”
“It sounds like it is like one of the thousands of market towns dotted across the realm. Go on, sorry if I interrupted your train of thought.”
“Not at all. We met the landlord’s agent at the estate and inspected the manor house and rode about the fields. All is well kept, and it was easy to see that all needed maintenance had been carried out. It is a decent sized house, nothing to Pemberley’s of course. Even better, it is fully furnished. I signed a one-year lease as that should give me enough of a feel for estate management to see if it is something for me.” Bingley paused. “Lulu…my older sister will be perfectly happy there, but Caroline, although it will fall on deaf ears, will whinge that it is not near Pemberley. The fact she has never been to your estate is neither here nor there. She will be in residence, so if you want to cry off assisting me to learn the ropes, I will understand.”
“I will not break my word to you. A few days after you take up residence, I will arrive. Who will be the mistress of the estate?” Darcy enquired. “By the by, does Miss Caroline understand that I will never offer for her?”
