Page 24

“She has the body of a woman but is still a child. To be honest she tries to act like a woman but has no idea how ridiculous she sounds.”

Another sigh and grimace.

“And guess who is fully encouraging of this behaviour?”

“Mama?”

“Lydia is a flirtatious, poorly behaved, ill-mannered brat. Yet is constantly excused, lauded even, by our mother who calls her ‘lively’. Kitty has modelled her behaviour after her sister and neither of them will listen to a word of restraint from either Jane or myself. So Mama and Papa have not changed at all, if anything they have got worse. Jane is stuck in a rut, not able to escape from our mother. I feel I have changed but I am not sure and I do not know what it means. And our youngest two sisters are much worse since you left, to the extent that I worry they will ruin themselves and because of that, the rest of us.

“I am sorry to unburden on you like this but I need to talk about it with someone. And you are the only person that I could trust to listen, not judge and hopefully give me some advice.”

Elizabeth ordered fresh tea and both of them took the chance to reset. Elizabeth checked on her uncle and made sure that he too had hot fresh tea. Finally the two of them were back in the parlour, a cup of hot tea to hand.

“When I heard the terrible news about Aunt Gardiner, my response was almost instant. I knew that I had to be there for the family. I did not consider the decision, weigh the benefits versus the costs, there was none of that. Our extended family needed immediate help. I did not plan I just reacted. And here I am two and a half years later. What you have talked about is something that is, fortunately, not as tragic as the death of Aunt Gardiner, but it is no less important. Unfortunately for us, your options are severely limited.

“In an ideal world a visit from Uncle Gardiner would have the most weight, his words would at least be considered. But given the agony that coach travel causes him, that will never happen. So you, we, will not be able to change the behaviour of our parents. You and Jane can only model good manners and behaviour and hope that eventually it will get through to our other sisters. Again, I do not know how else, oh hang on.”

Elizabeth stopped and thought for a moment.

“Aunt Philips.”

“I need a little more Lizzie!”

“Yes, yes, very funny. The last thing I was going to suggest was that you visit Aunt and Uncle Philips every week, but for lessons.”

“Lessons?”

“My thought was to get the two of them to provide additional examples.”

“Sorry Lizzie, but you are not making any sense. Why would I want to get lessons from a solicitor?”

“It is only half an idea, I can see that now. I wondered whether we could shame Mr. and Mrs. Bennet into being more responsible. And it would allow you the chance to subtly mention how poorly Kitty and Lydia are behaving.”

“Oh, I see what you are getting at. Use Aunt Philips to help manage Mama, get her to be the person who tries to get Mama to understand that Kitty and Lydia need better parenting.”

“It seems far-fetched when I hear you say it back to me but I do not know what else to do.”

It was to be a recurring refrain over the following 18 months.

Chapter 6

Elizabeth leaned back in the carriage enjoying the pleasant warmth of the late summer sun. So much had happened over the last two years and it seemed like there had been nothing but one surprise after another, an endless procession of them. And it was one of those surprises that led to Elizabeth sitting in the carriage returning to Longbourn. Her uncle had remarried.

Agatha Mallory was a childless widow, the wife of an officer on a merchantman. When the ship was lost during a storm she had been forced to move in with her married sister. She had known Mr. Gardiner for several years and had started to call on him, reversing the usual courting ritual. She was a kind woman and Elizabeth could see many similar traits to her Aunt Madeline. She had accepted Edward Gardiner’s injuries without a fuss and worked with his nurse and valet to ensure that he was comfortable and that his stumps did not cause him pain or distress. Elizabeth liked her.

But there was to be a new mistress in the house. When Mr. Gardiner announced that the marriage, with the ceremony to be held as soon as the Banns were read, Elizabeth knew that things would change. The marriage was timed so that young Edward, now 17 years of age, could stand up with his father. There had been discussion as to whether Edward would return to school. His 18th birthday was not until the following March but it had been decided that starting his apprenticeship with his father was a better use of his time.

Elizabeth had been acutely aware that young Edward had changed. And in her eyes, not for the better. The two of them were still close, they would always be cousins, but Edward Gardiner now believed that women were useless when it came to business. Elizabeth knew this was something that he had picked up at his all-boys school. What she did not know was whether it was particular or intrinsic to Edward; whether it was something that was seen to be axiomatic, and therefore did not need to be thought about further; or lastly if it was actually part of the curriculum. She had discarded the first and last and sadly concluded that it was the second. The attitude was so pervasive that it passed down to new generations with ease. Her uncle was not perfect but he had invested many, many hours sitting with Elizabeth, listening to her, educating her, helping her understand. And without being falsely modest, Elizabeth knew that she had repaid that investment many times over. And at the same time as young Edward behaved like a ‘normal’ male, he also railed against the attitude of the gentry to those in trade. He did not see the irony in the contradictions between his own behaviour to his cousin and the insults he suffered, veiled or otherwise, from gentlemen customers of the business.

Elizabeth’s two roles for the last four years were suddenly gone. She was no longer mistress of the house on Gracechurch Street and she would no longer be needed as the eyes, ears and legs of her uncle. The realisation that she would need to return to Longbourn followed quickly.

Any kind of honeymoon for the new couple was always going to be difficult but they had a creative solution. A small sloop had been hired and they had sailed down the Thames as far as Chatham. There the ship was turned around and they returned to London. It was not particularly romantic and at times it had been tough on Mr. Gardiner, but it was the first time he had been more than a mile or two from Gracechurch Street since the accident. But upon the couple’s return Elizabeth asked to speak to her uncle.

“I think I will return to Longbourn this summer.”

There was no point dancing about the issue.

“You do not have to leave Lizzie. This has been your home for more than four years.”