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There was no maternal hug. Kitty did wrap Elizabeth in an embrace and appeared sad that she was going. Lydia merely said ‘bye Lizzie’ and was gone. When Elizabeth turned round Jane was staring at her.

“You are leaving?”

“Yes Jane I am.”

“When will you return?”

“I do not believe that I will be returning to Longbourn.”

“Never?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“No Jane, I do not think so. Mother and father thought it best that I live with Uncle Gardiner.”

“You are leaving today?”

“Yes I am.”

“You will not be here for Charlotte’s wedding in three weeks.”

Elizabeth was intrigued that this was Jane’s concern.

“No.”

The hug that followed was heart-wrenching for Elizabeth. It was awkward, clear to both parties that they felt they had to hold it for longer than either were comfortable with, and the perfect coda to a sisterly bond that had been strained to the point that it was meaningless.

When the carriage arrived Elizabeth had the coachmen come to the kitchen to warm up. They let the horses rest despite her impatience to be gone. She took the time to spend her last two hours with Mary. But the end was quick. Her trunk, together with the bags of Claire and Robert, were loaded promptly, and Elizabeth stepped into her father’s study.

“The carriage is ready. Goodbye Papa.”

With a kiss to his forehead Elizabeth Bennet left Longbourn. There were no tears but it was a silent journey to London.

Chapter 15

Elizabeth’s recounting of her 14 weeks in Hertfordshire was all over the place. There some aspects she deliberately did not talk about, there were aspects she just forgot to mention and the whole thing was pretty disjointed. And of course it was a summary. At the end she looked over at her uncle. His look was not ‘I told you so’, more of a resigned ‘this is not unexpected’.

“I know that cannot have been easy for you. I am not going to endlessly review each and every event. It does not change the outcome. So, let me be clear with you. You are not my daughter but you are part of my family. You will have a place in this home for as long as you want, as long as you need.”

Elizabeth was blinking away tears as she stood before awkwardly hugging her seated uncle.

“Thank you Uncle Edward.”

She reseated herself and dabbed at her eyes with her lace handkerchief. After a moment she was able to talk.

“I understand not going back over every event, but can you give me your thoughts on the time as a whole?”

“You were not the only person who thought about family when you came to assist me back in ’07. It was not immediate but your actions made me consider our extended family. Paul and Martha, your aunt and uncle Philips, live modestly but comfortably. Without going into any of the details, I know that my sister will be taken care of if something should happen to your uncle. But again, they live a modest life and with no children there will be no issues for Martha as a widow. They are almost too easy.

“All of the generation before them are gone. Each of the Philips, Gardiner and Bennet grandparents are all dead, although there are extended cousins. It is unfortunate that Madeline’s parents are both still alive. That sounds terrible. Not that they are still alive rather that it is impossible for the children to meet their grandparents. They are too old to travel and I cannot travel two miles without discomfort, never mind for three or four days. Now that I mention it, I will see if young Edward will make the trip this summer. It would be good for him and for them.

“Anyway, that just leaves your parents. And as you have talked about, and clearly thought about even more, I too have been conflicted about them. They live a comfortable life, and for 20 years have done little to assist their children preparing to maintain that lifestyle. Salvation for the Bennets will come through the daughters marrying well, or me financially assisting my sister and any unmarried children. I left my family home at 14 years of age and worked practically non-stop for nearly 20 years, before my accident. And in the last five years, with your help for most of it, I have worked even harder. The loss of my legs made me work even harder to prove myself. When I finished my apprenticeship I received my inheritance early, £5,000 to start my business. The same £5,000 that your mother received as a dowry the previous year, and again the same amount my other sister had received, although a large part of that was the share of my father’s business when Philips was made a partner.

“I will not let my sister ‘starve in the hedgerows’ as she is constantly worrying about. But I struggle with resentment when I know that she expects me to save her. As a woman I know that she has no control over Longbourn and that she cannot overrule her husband. But I do not understand how they can both ignore the issue that a country solicitor saved £10,000 of cash and built a small business worth another £5,000 and yet the five daughters of the second largest estate in the area have no dowry other than a share of their mother’s portion upon her death. Which could be 30, 40, even 50 years in the future.

“My reason for being so indiscreet is so that you can let go of any residual guilt. You are not alone in having conflicted feelings about family members. The Mr. Collins issue is complicated, not least by the timing of his arrival, so soon after your return. If you had stayed here until Christmas then there is a fair chance that Mary would be engaged to him. For many in society marriage is a business transaction and therefore women have little expectation for love. But there is a difference between not being happy and being extremely unhappy. The only thing I would ask you to consider is letting go of any animosity towards Charlotte Lucas. She acted ‘normally’; for her to have also turned down Mr. Collins could have resulted in her being banished.”

“Like me.”