by C. J. Hill
“Lydia and Kitty Bennet are not out because their sisters have given up on finding themselves a husband. They are out because Mrs. Bennet does not hold to the societal rule that your father believes in so severely and to the detriment of his daughters. Lord knows, Jane and Elizabeth Bennet will secure themselves a husband as soon as any suitable men present themselves, regardless of their lack of fortune; they are both beautiful and talented girls and would make any man a perfect wife.”
Lady Lucas said all this without any hint of real rancour as Mrs. Bennet was her closest friend and they spent many an afternoon visiting and discussing in detail every little event that should come into their knowledge; indeed, Mrs Bennet was a true fount of information due to her sister, who lived in the village, being married to the local lawyer and so party to some of the most interesting gossip available.
Charlotte withstood the periodic attack on her deficiencies with her usual calm.
“I have said before, Mamma, that Maria should not be held back because of my lack of marriage prospects. I am resigned to the fact that I do not have the beauty nor the charm necessary to beguile any man into a state of love. I am not a romantic; I would not object to marriage as a preservative from want, and would truly like to have my own household, but as for this false and cunningly planned attack on a poor unsuspecting gentleman, who may turn out, by the way, to be married with several noisy children, be old and stout, and a miserly master, I cannot have anything to do with it!
“Let father greet him when he arrives; let Maria come to the next Assembly Rooms dance and present herself to society; let Maria win him over and be married first if it should so occur. I will continue as I am until a reasonable man appears who wants me as I am without artiface; who needs my housekeeping skills rather than my ability to spend his money and embroider a fine seam while speaking three languages!”
Charlotte smiled at her mother who, as always, felt despair at her daughter’s dispassionate and businesslike view on marriage, and frequently brought the matter to both Charlotte’s and her husband’s attention as being one of the highest irregularity and irresponsibility. Really, it would not do if Mrs. Bennet married off one of her daughters before Charlotte; Charlotte was the elder of Jane by at least six years and deserved to be safely married before her.
It was, perhaps, time to increase the pressure upon her husband regarding Maria; she was becoming of age and quite fetching in her own way, and Lady Lucas could see that she would have an easy time finding a suitable match for her. This new tenant of Netherfield might just be the entrée into the marriage circle she had been looking for, with Maria, not Charlotte.
Lady Lucas allowed her eye to drift over her two eldest daughters as they quietly chatted with each other, and assessed in her own mind their faults and failings and which of them she could work upon to make presentable. Charlotte, she knew well enough by now, as she had tried and failed many times to interest her in acceptable men; she was selective and not easily romanced. Indeed, she had scared off one or two interested parties merely because she had been contemptuous of their approaches and found them to be weak-minded, superficial and distinctly conventional. She had informed her mother that she could see no sense in continuing even a conversation with men who were so frustratingly bland, had no particular interests, and would expect her to play piano and needlepoint all day.
After a few more similarly disastrous attempts at social functions, Lady Lucas had decided that it was all too trying and had left Charlotte to her own devices which, fortunately for Lady Lucas, included the tiresome household management, and consoled herself and her motherly desire to see her daughter married with a weekly verbal nagging on the subject.
Maria, on the other hand, had always been much more malleable and eager to please; she should be a far better prospect to work upon. Her looks were not yet fully developed, but certainly no less than Lydia Bennet’s who managed to attract attention wherever she went; of course Lydia Bennet was far coarser and weaker-minded than any of the Lucas girls, Lady Lucas mused happily, and so should come worse off in any social situation with Maria in attendance.
“I believe I shall attend upon our new neighbour directly he comes to Netherfield; it is most agreeable that we have the prospect of such a promising addition to our society,” Sir William announced as he finished his last mouthful.
“Papa, do go and make him welcome in the neighbourhood, even discover what little you can about him but do not hold out any marriage hopes for me – I feel sorry already for the man and I do not yet know him! There is nothing so determined as a parent of a marriageable daughter!”
“Charlotte, do not advise your father – he is aware of his duties and has played it to capacity on many occasions for your benefit, and to no avail. I doubt he will bother to mention you, except in passing, and as his most stubborn and proud daughter who refuses to look upon any man because they are all defective in one way or another. You are too choosy, I declare. You must learn to accept that not everything in life will be to your satisfaction and that sometimes good enough, is enough.”
“Mamma, as well you know and as I have declared many times, it is not the defectiveness of the men that is in question; indeed, I should perhaps enjoy the challenge of redirecting the ideas or behaviour of an ill-finished man. No, it is the deception necessary in ensnaring a man in which I cannot bear to engage. Why should I pretend to be, and to want, certain false things just to impress a suitor? If I am being so corrupt in my presentation of myself, why then should he not engage in the same corruption, leaving us both, at the end of the meeting, impressed by an utter stranger?”
Charlotte looked at her sister and laughed.
“Beware, Maria, of the two faces of courtship; perhaps your suitor shows his true face but just as possibly he does not, just as you will never display all of your defects to him until you are married and you can no longer keep up the pretence! There is no guarantee of happiness in marriage, just as there is no guarantee of truly knowing whom you are marrying until the deed is done, and then it is too late! So you may just as well not even bother trying to discern his temperament – it all goes for naught!”
“Daughter, you have a cynical view of it. Your mother and I have managed to withstand the deceptions, as you call it, of courtship and remained happy with each other these many years. In truth, there were many aspects that we did not know or expect about each other but this only improves our understanding and belief that marriage is a journey which only starts at the altar and ends at the grave. We are constantly learning new things about the other – it is not such a hardship you know!”
Sir William rose from the luncheon table as he uttered this, having heard more than his fill regarding marriage and his wife and daughter's views upon it. It was astonishing how the conversation could develop from his introduction of local gossip at the beginning of the meal into the never-ending topic so dear to women’s hearts. In their opinion, the only good reason for there being a new tenant of Netherfield Park was for him to become married as soon as possible. How the leap was made from merely renting a property to becoming the most eligible bachelor in the vicinity was more than Sir William could believe.
He felt it extremely unlikely that he would mention his daughters to the new neighbour; he was anticipating discovering his neighbour’s business and connections. How much he preferred the company of men; they did not have the same desire for marriage talk. No. Business and hunting and farming were their topics, and none of them seemed any the worse for that either. He marched out of the room and down the hall to his library where he could rest and think in peace.
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