Unexpected Friends & Relations

by Jayne Bamber

  “I don’t know. Mr. Rushworth, Mr. Audley, Captain Wentworth. I hope he is wearing his uniform, I do love a man in uniform!”

  Caroline swatted at Lydia. “He retired his commission more than a year ago, Lydia. I would not get your hopes up. Now, you have listed three single gentlemen. The handsome parson, Mr. Tilney, may be invited as well, as I recall he is a friend of your brother Robert’s. That is four single gentlemen at Cranbrook.”

  “Four single gentlemen,” Lydia crooned, throwing herself back against the pillows beside Caroline and wiggling with excitement.

  “And how many single ladies?”

  Lydia considered this for a minute. “I suppose just Harriet and Georgiana, unless there are any other ladies in the neighborhood I am not aware of. I think Mrs. Middleton said something about two Miss Eastons that she liked very well.”

  “Idiot girl,” Caroline snapped, “Mrs. Middleton said that she was disappointed the Miss Eastons should remain in London. You must pay better attention when people are talking. Men are not the only people worth listening to, and ladies often share information better worth hearing!”

  Lydia scowled. “Very well, two single ladies and four single gentlemen. It is not fair! I shall be missing out on my fair share of company! There must indeed be two very lonely gentlemen tonight at Cranbrook with only two ladies to flirt with them.”

  Caroline gave Lydia a knowing smile. “Exactly. That is the first part of my plan. Tell me this – if you were to attend tonight, which of the four gentlemen would you prefer to flirt with?”

  Lydia snorted with laughter. “All of them!”

  “And that would have been your first mistake! What sort of man would favor a lady who flirts with everyone?”

  “The officers camped in Meryton last spring liked me very well indeed, and I daresay I flirted with all of them.”

  Caroline groaned. “Dearest, promise me you will never boast about that to anyone else.”

  “Well, it is true!”

  “Of that, I have no doubt,” Caroline retorted. “But these are not officers, these are gentlemen. Those officers camped in your town, tell me, did any of them form any serious designs on you?”

  “No,” Lydia pouted.

  “And now tell me this, were there any heiresses in Meryton?”

  “Mary King inherited a mighty fortune of ten thousand pounds, and would have run off with Lieutenant Denny, only her uncle carried her away to London.”

  “So, despite your flirtation with many officers, including, I am assuming, this Denny, he preferred Mary King and her ten thousand pounds?”

  Lydia screwed up her face. “It was hardly fair. Such a nasty, freckled thing! I am sure she would have made him miserable, poor man.”

  Caroline took another deep breath, trying to calm her agitation. “Just listen to yourself, Lydia. You have already answered your own question. Despite your flirtation with the officers, at least one of them would have preferred this… unattractive Miss King, because she has a greater fortune than you. Do you begin to understand what I am leading up to?”

  Lydia looked blankly at Caroline for a minute, but began to ponder, and Caroline could almost see Lydia’s tiny brain doing somersaults inside her skull as she reasoned through it. “Georgiana and Harriet both have a much larger dowry even than Mary King… so all the gentlemen at Cranbrook will fancy them over me… even though I am just as pretty and a hundred times livelier and more pretty?”

  “Obviously they must be a more desirable match.”

  “Ugh, I hate them!” Lydia rolled over and groaned into the pillows, flailing her arms and legs like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Caroline waited patiently as Lydia most indecorously vented her frustration and then rolled back over, her petulant rage spent. “If I had a dowry, too, I am sure all the gentlemen should be in love with me!”

  Caroline sighed, drawing her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She looked down at Lydia. “Do you need all the gentlemen to be in love with you? You can only marry one.”

  “Well,” Lydia mused, “there are four gentlemen and only two heiresses.”

  “Exactly. Let that give you some comfort. You might still pick and choose – a little. But no more of this talk of hating Harriet and Georgiana. We have already been over this. You are to become their friend. Need I remind you why?”

  “No,” Lydia groaned.

  “Tell me why you should be their friend.”

  “Because they are rich and well-connected, and if I do not find a husband here in Kent, I may find myself someday in a position to benefit from their friendship. They might put me in the path of other rich men, once they themselves are well settled, and if I compete with them over gentlemen they might fancy, they will not want to be my friend, or help me.”

  “Very good. And besides their fortunes, what other difference is there between you, and Georgiana and Harriet?”

  Lydia shrugged.

  Caroline slapped Lydia on the wrist, causing her to recoil with a grimace. “You know this, you are not a simpleton.”

  Lydia rolled her eyes. “They are devoted to their studies and desire to improve themselves and grow accomplished,” she said, mimicking Caroline’s voice.

  “Correct. Lady Catherine told me that she is even bringing tutors from London to Kent for Harriet’s continued improvement. If you can prove that you can be civil to Harriet and Georgiana, and not repeat your unseemly behavior from the garden party, which I ought to throttle you for, perhaps Harriet might even be amenable to letting you join in her lessons.”

  “You want me to take lessons while I am here in Kent? Should I not be pursuing the gentlemen?”

  “No, indeed! You should be giving them reason to pursue you!”

  “I see. Play hard to get, eh?”

  “You must show yourself to be demure yet alluring – not forward and overbearing. Beyond that, show them that you are actually interested in improving yourself, and becoming the sort of woman any husband would be proud of. And of course, if you do form a genuine friendship with Harriet and Georgiana, so much the better.”

  “Fine, but I think the hardest thing in the world that they should be at Cranbrook tonight, flirting with all the gentlemen and I am stuck here.”

  “Do you still not understand? Lydia, where is my husband?”

  Lydia shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Scotland?”

  “Yes. My husband chose to remain in Scotland even though I came to London more than two months ago. I have come to his family’s estate as a visitor, and still my husband remains in Scotland. I will tell you candidly, if you swear not to repeat it, that it is not business that detains him. My husband has no affection for me.”

  “I knew it,” Lydia cried, laughing for a moment before Caroline’s severe look made her fall silent. “Oh – I am sorry, Caroline. I don’t know why he should have no affection for you, it is not like you are cruel and terrifying.”

  “I am only cruel and terrifying to you, I am sure,” Caroline retorted. “The material point is that my husband does not desire my company. Shall I tell you why?”

  “I am certain you shall, whether I like it or not.”

  “Yes, I shall,” Caroline said smoothly, resisting the urge to kick Lydia off the bed. “I do not love my husband, nor did I ever. I made the foolish mistake of setting my cap at men who did not care for me, men who preferred other women over me, though I was too foolish and blind to see it. I would spare you that mistake, and hope you can achieve a better marriage than I, one based on genuine affection, as well as financial security.”

  Lydia stared blankly at her, still not understanding, and Caroline threw her hands up with impatience. “I pursued men who did not love me,” Caroline cried. “If you do the same, you shall end up like me, with a husband who does not even want to be in the same country as you! Or, in your case, you may simply remain unmarried still. So, you will wait. You will let the gentlemen make the first move. There are four of them, and only three young
ladies here. Georgiana and Harriet cannot catch them all.”

  Lydia wrinkled her nose. “I am to settle for their scraps?”

  “That is a rather coarse way to look at it, Lydia. Only think of it this way – you are making a more informed decision before you set your cap at anybody. I know just how it shall be tonight. Let them all get the feel for one another tonight. You shall see the gentlemen tomorrow when they dine here at Rosings, and I urge you to be more of an observer than a participant in the company, just for now. Watch the gentlemen, and see if you can figure out whom they might prefer. Perhaps one amongst them might actually be mourning your absence this evening. You might amuse yourself by puzzling out if they have already fixed on one of the other girls as their object, and discovering which of the gentlemen Harriet and Georgiana may like. You needn’t think of it as a competition, Lydia, and I would urge you not to interfere with any of the gentlemen Harriet and Georgiana might take a fancy to. The choice between you and one of them is an obvious one, and the outcome will only disappoint you. However, if Harriet and Georgiana see that you are not a threat to them, they are more likely to offer you their friendship. Surely you must see that.”

  “I suppose,” Lydia said.

  Caroline gave a sigh of relief at Lydia’s apparent acceptance. “Remember, my dear, these four gentlemen are not your only prospects by any means. I would urge you to value your friendship with Georgiana and Harriet over your chances at making a match here in Kent, for their friendship will prove valuable for many years to come. And once they have seen how kindly you have attended me tonight,” she said with a little laugh, “they may begin to improve their opinion of you. And, of course, you will apologize for your untoward remarks to Harriet and Georgiana at the garden party.”

  “Apologize?” Lydia grimaced.

  “Apologize,” Caroline repeated, “or I shall remain ill for quite some time!”

  “Fine, I will apologize, and pretend I find their stupid music lessons infinitely fascinating, but I think it the hardest thing in the world that I should let them have first pick of the gentlemen!”

  “Well, it cannot be helped. Do not despair, dear Lydia. If you mean to marry soon, I shall do everything in my power to help you accomplish it. But you must do your part as diligently as possible, and heed my advice at all times.”

  “Hmm,” Lydia grumbled. “Lydia Wentworth.... Lydia Audley....” She leaned back against the pillows and dissolved in giggles.

  ***

  The morning after their arrival at Rosings, Georgiana was preparing to walk to the dower house when she was unexpectedly approached by a rather subdued Lydia Bennet. “Good morning, Sister,” Lydia said brightly.

  “Good morning. Is Mrs. Sutton feeling much recovered?”

  “She took her breakfast upstairs, and means to rest a while, in the hope that she might join us for dinner tonight. I understand the gentlemen from Cranbrook will be coming here?”

  Georgiana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How single-minded Lydia was! “Yes, I believe so. I understand Robert and Kate are expecting their friends, the Crawfords, to arrive this afternoon, and so we will be a rather large party tonight. I am sure you must be looking forward to it.”

  “Indeed I am, Georgiana. Although, I must own, there are two people in particular whom I look forward to growing better acquainted with.”

  “Mr. Audley and Mr. Tilney,” Georgiana guessed.

  “No, silly,” Lydia said. “I meant you and Miss Harriet. Oh, I know I owe you both an apology, and I truly am sorry for being awful to you before. If you are going to the dower house, I will come with you, and apologize to Harriet, too.”

  Georgiana could not help but feel some suspicion – Mrs. Sutton must have put her up to this. However, she knew she should give the younger girl a second chance. Lydia was still young yet, and not beyond the hope of reclamation. She wished, rather than believed, that her overtures would prove sincere.

  “I am just walking to the dower house now, but I do not know if Harriet can receive visitors – that is, I am joining her for her music lesson,” Georgiana said.

  “What fun! Might I sit in? I took some music lessons while I was in London, and I believe Caroline is hoping I might participate in the lessons while I am here – if it is not any trouble.”

  Georgiana regarded Lydia with no little astonishment. “You want to join our lesson? We must ask Lady Catherine’s permission, of course.”

  “Of course, of course,” Lydia said. “Only let me go and get my pelisse.”

  Georgiana waited, and Lydia returned a moment later wearing a very smart new pink pelisse. “There now, I am ready. Oh, I do hope Lady Catherine lets me stay.”

  The two girls made their way outside and set off down the narrow track that led to the dower house. “I suppose I should thank you,” Georgiana began after a moment of uncomfortable silence. “It was very good of you to apologize for your remarks at the garden party. It was very distressing.”

  “Of course,” Lydia replied smoothly. “I was out of humor that day, after having been excluded from Lizzy’s dinner party. And if you can keep a secret,” she said, leaning in to confide, “I will own I was rather jealous when first I heard Harriet’s history. Imagine, such a grand inheritance! I wish somebody would give me fifty thousand pounds!”

  Georgiana smiled gently, still a little unsettled by Lydia’s sudden pleasant honesty. “What about all the gossip? You told Harriet she was sure to be much talked of – would you wish for such a thing, yourself?”

  Lydia shrugged. “I did not know that I would care. If I had all the money in the world, I suppose I should not mind anything.”

  Georgiana laughed at the girl’s naïveté. “I am sure it would bother you, just a little. Poor Harriet is so terribly anxious. She is not a naturally shy person, I think, but a bit of a fish out of water at present. Your apology will mean the world to her, though. I wonder whatever inspired it?”

  “I was rather lonely last night,” Lydia said. “Of course, Caroline is always excellent company, but rather severe upon me, at times. How I longed to be with you all at Cranbrook! Of course, I did wish for my share of the gentlemen’s company – you know me well enough to know how much I enjoy a little flirtation, but I really began to think what a fine thing it must be to have friends my own age. I hope you and Harriet will be my friends, and I shall die if you exclude me from all of your fun!”

  Georgiana raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I do not know that I would call music lessons fun, but if you really do wish to join us, I am sure you will be most welcome. From what I hear, Lady Catherine is aware of your need for improvement.”

  “Lord,” Lydia cried. “She is really a rather terrifying woman, your aunt. I was most angry last summer, when she chose Kate as her companion over me, but the more I see of Lady Catherine, the more I wonder how she and Kate could have got on at all. I am sure I would have spent the whole summer frightened out of my wits.”

  This time Georgiana gave a genuine laugh. “Imagine growing up with her! I know she is trying to do better now, with Harriet, but when I was a girl, I too was rather terrified of Aunt Catherine. It is a perfectly natural response, I assure you.”

  Lydia grinned at her. “Why should you be afraid of Lady Catherine? You are quite perfect!”

  “No one is quite perfect in Aunt Catherine’s estimation – well, perhaps Harriet is. Though she certainly wants some polishing through lessons, Aunt Catherine thinks the world of her. It is rather sweet. You have not had much opportunity, I think, to observe them together, but you shall see what I mean.”

  “What a fine joke if Lady Catherine should take a fancy to me, after all,” Lydia laughed. “I hear she quite dotes on Kate!”

  “She certainly does. I think,” Georgiana said with a significant look at Lydia, “that it was Kate’s desire to improve herself, when she came to Rosings, that endeared her to Aunt Catherine. My aunt is very fond of making herself useful to others. Perhaps if you show some willingnes
s to be improved, she might work her magic on you, even as Mrs. Sutton seems to be doing.”

  “Lord! Caroline is almost as severe as Lady Catherine!”

  “And yet you seem to be getting on very well together,” Georgiana mused. She recalled her promise to Elizabeth that she would write with news of Lydia’s progress, and decided it was a fine thing indeed that Lydia should show an interest in attending Harriet’s lessons, as Georgiana might keep a closer eye on her, and possibly even have good tidings to share with Elizabeth. Could it be possible that Lydia would really change for the better?

  Before long, the two girls arrived at the dower house. Lady Catherine initially seemed rather put out that Lydia would impose on Harriet’s lesson, but in the end she allowed it, as Lydia put on quite a show in apologizing to Harriet for her previous petulance, and went rather heavy on the flattery.

  Though Georgiana still distrusted Lydia’s motives, she began to think that any motivation that would lead Lydia to seek to improve herself must necessarily be a good thing. After all, she could hardly do any worse. The music master was not so optimistic about Lydia’s first attempt on the pianoforte, though she was pronounced to be just as good a singer as Harriet. Harriet had progressed further in her lessons on the pianoforte, and was a more promising pupil in that regard. When Lydia appeared discouraged by this, Georgiana encouraged Lydia to continue attending the music lessons, and the French lessons as well. Harriet, who was moved by Lydia’s apology, begged Lady Catherine to allow Lydia’s inclusion, and of course her mother could not refuse her.

  Georgiana endeavored to keep an eye on her new friend as they all assembled at dinner that night, though she eventually grew distracted, upon the discovery that the Crawfords had brought with them a mutual friend of Sam Sutton’s, one John Willoughby.

  Lydia’s interest in the newcomer was evident, though, surprisingly, she was rather subdued that evening, and did not put herself forward as much as she had always been wont to do.

  For his part, Mr. Willoughby seemed to have eyes only for Georgiana, and after hearing her perform at the pianoforte, at the behest of all her relations, he seemed resolved to attach himself to her for the rest of the evening. Georgiana was delighted at her apparent conquest. She had taken pains to avoid the grasping Henry Audley. Mr. Rushworth, though civil, clearly favored Harriet. Mr. Tilney seemed intent on recommending himself to everybody, while Captain Wentworth seemed interested in recommending himself to no one.