by C. J. Hill
Prudence
and
Practicality
A back-story to Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice
C. J. Hill
Copyright © 2012 Catherine J. Hill
The right of Catherine J. Hill to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
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Cover image courtesy of vintageprintables
Table of Contents
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
XXXII
XXXIII
XXXIV
XXXV
XXXVI
XXXVII
With apologies to Jane Austen whose endearing characters and events have been the inspiration for this novel.
“Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.”
Pride and Prejudice
I
“My dear!” exclaimed Sir William to his wife and assorted children at luncheon one chilly September Thursday. “I almost forgot to mention, what with all the commotion regarding the new governess arriving for the children - I heard from Mr. Tripp, who farms on the Netherfield property, that it would appear someone has taken an interest in renting Netherfield Park at last!”
“And who might this someone be?” languidly enquired Lady Lucas, exhausted from her duties as employer of the aforementioned governess and all that it had entailed this morning. Really, it was so inconvenient having to keep replacing staff on account of them being unable to control the children. Governesses appeared to be made of rather poor stuff these days. Perhaps it was time to retain a tutor for the younger boys, she reflected; a male figure would stand for none of their nonsense and beat the insolence out of them.
“Tripp was not able to see the interested party for himself, but his wife, who is friends with the cook there, said that the servants had been told to expect a small party from the North and that they would arrive some time after Michaelmas and stay for the year, if not longer. His concern mainly appeared to centre upon the nature of the gentleman and how his stewardship would affect the tithes due from the tenant farmers.”
“Yes, yes, but who could he be? I’ll warrant it must be a young man in search of an estate worthy of his fortune but I know of none such from the North. I wonder if he is single or married? Sir William, you must visit him as soon as may be and discover if he is single and, if he is, place our girls at an advantage; for you know that he will be the object of all the families in the area. His fortune must be a sizeable one to afford such a property as Netherfield.”
“Indeed, my dear, but I am far more interested in making acquaintances equal to my standing. There are not many in this area who can boast of an entrée into the Court of St. James or to have connections in the London trade circles as I do.
“I hope he is a man of commerce and good sense, and not another idle aristocrat with naught on his mind and even less in it.”
“Maybe, father,” interrupted his eldest daughter, Charlotte, with a twinkle in her eye, “it would behove him to be single, of good fortune, have acute business sense, and favourable, pleasant manners and appearance, and also be amenable to marriage! Then he would surely please every person in Meryton and beyond; until he makes his choice which, of course, he must. Then he shall be reviled by all who are discarded and live to rue the day he ever approached even the perimeter of the Netherfield Estate! I do hope he has a strong constitution to withstand all the attention he will attract, and, later, the jibes that will be thrown upon him.”
Charlotte laughed heartily at her vision of the poor, as yet unknown, gentleman being importuned by all, and surely ensnared by one of the many families around about that had daughters of eligible age, perfectly unaware of the commotion his tenancy was already causing before he had even slept a night in his newly-acquired country seat.
“You might well laugh, young lady,” Lady Lucas snapped at her twenty-seven year old daughter, “but you should have found a husband before now and I hope that your father will press your case most firmly when he welcomes our new neighbour. I despair of you finding a husband when you bury yourself so deeply in this household and its affairs. You must seize this opportunity of this new neighbour and our early warning of his arrival, and hope that something can be made of it. Otherwise, I shall insist that Maria be brought out and let her have her chance in society as she deserves.”
“Ohh, yes, Mamma!! Please may I go to the next Assembly? I should so like to dance and see society; Lydia and Kitty Bennet both are out and they tell me such wonderful stories about the balls and assemblies that I should rather like to experience them for myself. It seems most unfair that they should have all the advantages and I have none.”
“Lydia and Kitty Bennet are not out because their sisters have given up 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 embroid
er 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. Charlotte, she knew well enough by now; 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 seemed to manage 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.
II
Sir William was as good as his word as, within the week following Michaelmas, he had made the acquaintance of Mr. Bingley of Netherfield Park in just the right amount. He paid his respects as soon as he saw smoke arising from the three tall chimneys of the Hall, and Mr. Bingley returned the honour by calling at Lucas Lodge the third day thereafter.
“But what kind of man is he?” demanded his wife after Sir William returned from his first call. To which Sir William merely informed her,
“He is a polite, elegant young man, who apparently is not married as he mentioned he would be bringing his sister down from London in order for her to oversee the house for him. Unfortunately, I also understand that he is not a man of business but his character is most gentlemanlike and I believe he will be a pleasant neighbour.”
“Oh, did you hear that, my dear Charlotte! A young, unmarried man with undoubtedly a fine fortune and charming manners too. It is unfortunate about the sister being unattached but perhaps she is an older lady. How exciting to be sure! When do you expect him to return your call my dear? He must stay to tea when he does.”
“I expect it within the next day or so, unless he has to attend to a more pressing engagement. He may be delayed due to his return to London which he mentioned; I am not sure when that was engaged for.”
Sir William retreated to his library leaving, he knew, a wasps’ nest of inquiry and speculation in his wake.
Lady Lucas was unable to suppress her excitement at being, she was almost certain, amongst the first in the village to have intelligence of the new tenant of Netherfield, including his name, and she lost no time in preparing herself for an outing to Meryton to visit Mrs. Long, an indefatigable gossip who was usually the one first with the news pertinent to all the inhabitants. It was Mrs. Long who had spread the news about Netherfield being let again, but, of course, Lady Lucas had advance information of that as well, thanks to her husband. How Mrs. Long would be jealous of even the small amount of knowledge that Sir William had passed out now!
After she had regaled Mrs. Long and caused her much jealousy, Lady Lucas decided that she would also pay a visit to her friend, Mrs. Bennet, and inform her of the new developments; another lady who would be just as delighted to know even the smallest snippet about their new neighbour. And to thi
nk, they would soon be having Mr. Bingley, the name was firmly impressed upon her mind, to tea at Lucas Lodge and then, perhaps, to dinner! With a distinct and unusual sprightliness in her step, Lady Lucas passed out onto the road that led into Meryton.
Charlotte, who was in the kitchen garden with the gardener choosing the vegetables to be planted for the Winter, looked up and waved as her mother passed by on the other side of the wall.
“It must certainly be something of significance for her mother to be out and about so early in the morning,” she mused. Then she remembered the news from her father, and, smiling to herself at her mother’s remarkable recovery of spirits, returned her attention to the discussion with the gardener. She could not begrudge her mother’s renewed health brought about by the unexpected joy of being in possession of superior knowledge.
Later in the week as the household tasks had been allocated and completed, Charlotte decided to pay a visit to her friend Elizabeth Bennet, a person who, she was sure, would have several amusing things to say about the excitement over the already-famous Mr. Bingley of Netherfield Park.
As she passed along the lane into the village, Charlotte could see through the trees the tall chimneys of that impressive building and imagined the hive of activity that must be going on within the walls now that there was finally a master in it once again.
“How long had it been left vacant?” she mused as she was turned away from the view where the road dipped below the level of the hedgerows. Rather longer than two years, perhaps, after the previous owner had left for warmer climes due to his ill-health. He had been a reclusive sort of fellow, not much seen in the village and certainly not of the entertaining sort.
Charlotte could remember only going into that house once at Christmas for a formal entertainment with punch and cake; a very dull affair with everyone on their best behaviour while desultorily discussing farming, country life in general, and the inclement weather. It had occurred to Charlotte, even then, that the house would benefit from a younger owner or tenant who would bring it back to life and make an effort to embrace and entertain the neighbours, not only on festive occasions but throughout the rest of the year too. For what was the use of such a large house if it had four times as many servants as owners, only two rooms were in regular use and the outside was being left to rack and ruin?