26. Intermezzo 2

Intermezzo 2

Twenty five years earlier

Thomas Bennet sat anxiously in his carriage, wringing his hands in his lap. The short journey into Meryton seemed longer than he had ever remembered it. After a month and a half in London, he was anxious to arrive at his destination. This was no ordinary social call. Today I will ask Miss Fanny Gardiner to be my wife! He smiled in satisfaction, leaning back in his coach. My dear Fanny, I cannot wait to see your face!

She is so beautiful and lively, and I am so dull. I wonder how she could possibly care for me. I know her sisters say she only cares for my fortune, but they are the fortune seekers, not her. She is all that is good and sweet and winsome and… He laughed to himself. Listen to me! I am worse than a school girl! At five and twenty, one should have better sense!

The carriage lurched to a stop, and he bounded from its confines, up the steps to the Gardiners' door. The housekeeper led him in to the parlor where Mrs. Gardiner sat.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Gardiner," he bowed impatiently, his eyes searching.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bennet." She rose to meet him, the relief in her voice worried him.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but is something wrong? You seem troubled."

Sadly, she nodded. "It is not me, sir, but my youngest daughter. Miss Gardiner is out in the garden. She is very distraught, but will not speak to me of it. "

"Perhaps I might be of some comfort to her," he suggested cautiously. I know it is improper to suggest such a thing, but if she is truly distressed…

"I confess I hoped that you might consider it." Mrs. Gardiner led him to a window that overlooked the garden. "There she is. I believe that she might welcome your company. I will stay here. If you promise to stay in view of these windows, I can chaperone you from here."

Fanny…Miss Gardiner must be truly beside herself if her mother is willing to allow me such freedom. "That is indeed good of you, ma'am." He hurried out the door into the garden.

He only took a few steps onto the gravel path before he heard Fanny's violent sobs. His heart tightened in his chest. Moments later, he was on his knees before her. "Miss Gardiner…" he began softly.

She glanced down at him, her eyes red, and flowing with tears. She tried to speak, but could only cover her face with her hands and sob once more.

"Fanny! Please, what is wrong? What has happened?" he demanded, boldly pulling her hands from her face. Tell me, my love.

"No! No!" she exclaimed, pulling away from him. "You must go!" I cannot bear to have him turn me away!

His heart turned to ice in his chest. This cannot be! "I will not go anywhere without an explanation, Miss Gardiner." His voice was soft, but determined.

She stared at him, the pain in her eyes heart-rendingly clear. "My sister was right. You should have nothing to do with me. I… I am… I am ruined!" Sobs overtook her once more.

"What are you talking about! What has happened?" he demanded once more, a sick feeling overtaking him. Dear Lord what has happened?

"I cannot, I cannot speak…"

"You can and you will, Fanny Gardiner. I will not leave without a full accounting of your claim." His words were stern, but the gentleness with which he held her hands spoke volumes of his tenderness.

She cried for long minutes before she could speak again. "I am ruined, Mr. Bennet. You are a gentleman. You cannot wish to keep company with such a woman as I." Her strained voice was barely above a whisper.

"What has happened? What are you saying?" Coldness crept across his face. "Is there another…" I cannot believe such a thing!

"No! Oh no! Mr. Bennet… Thomas…no…" I love you! You must believe I would never betray you!

"Then what!" He squeezed her hands hard.

Summoning her courage, she faced him, "While you were gone, my father…we had a guest…my uncle…"

No! Not that man! Anger replaced fear in Thomas's eyes.

"At dinner, he paid me every compliment and I thanked him for it. But Mr. Bennet, you must believe me, I did not… I did not…" She turned away to weep once more.

"No, Fanny, please, do not tell me…he did not!"

Swallowing hard, she nodded, though she could not face him. "He came to my chambers late at night. I did not want him there! I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth with his hand. I tried to fight him, but…but…"

"Oh, no, Fanny!" He could not restrain himself. Wrapping his long arms around her, he pulled her into his shoulder. "My precious Fanny. I am so sorry." Grief seized his chest in a painful pang that took his breath away.

"Now I am ruined!" She sobbed painfully into his coat.

"No, no you are not. It was not your fault, and I will not let that change anything. I met with my solicitor in London to have settlement papers drawn up. I came here with the intention of asking you for your hand in marriage. I love you, Miss Gardiner, and I want you to be my wife." He stared lovingly into her eyes ignoring the tightness in his throat.

"You do not understand!" she countered in a voice bordering on hysteria. "I…I…fear that…I am with child!" She fell prostrate on the bench.

Another man's child! She carries another man's child. But it is not her fault. She smiles too much, but that does not make her a public woman. I know her uncle's reputation. He is the worst sort of man. I cannot doubt what she has told me.

Can I be father to another man's child? He chewed his lip pensively. If I cannot, I cannot have Fanny. I do not want to imagine a future without her. That is far too bleak. Nor can I subject her to what her life would become as the mother of such a babe.

Moving to the end of the bench to speak into her ear, he began, "Listen to me, Miss Gardiner, I beseech you. I have heard all you have told me, and I understand. But it does not change my desires."

Stunned, she pushed herself up to stare wide-eyed into his face.

Boldly, he brushed tears from her cheek. "I have no doubt that you are not at fault, my dear, dear Miss Gardiner. I love you too much, and cannot fancy a life without you, whatever that means. If there is a child, I will call it my own, as long as that means you will be my wife. May I have your hand?"

"Are you certain?"

He nodded somberly. "Totally certain."

"Oh, Thomas!" A weary smile burst forth. "Yes, yes I want nothing more than to be Mrs. Bennet. I just believed…I thought you would not…"

Throwing propriety to the winds, he pulled her into his arms for another embrace. From the window, her mother watched, relieved. Though her daughter had told her nothing, Mrs. Gardiner knew her husband's brother and sadly suspected what had happened. He is a good man and will make her the best of husbands.

One month later Thomas Bennet arrived at the Gardiners' home to much the same scene as the night he had proposed. Fanny was in the garden weeping, her mother fretted in the sitting room and her father was closeted in his bookroom.

As before, he raced to her side, the sounds of her soft weeping filling his ears. She has been ill for days and has not received my calls. Now this? What could have happened?

"Miss Gardiner?" he asked softly, "why do you weep? Are you still unwell?"

"No, sir," she whispered, not looking at him.

"You must tell me, what is wrong?" he pleaded, taking her hand. His heart froze when she turned to look at him and he saw the expression she wore.

"You have no more need to protect me, Mr. Bennet. My reputation will remain untarnished. I have…I have lost the…the…" her voice broke. "You are free, Mr. Bennet. You are far too good a man for the likes of me."

A sudden anger welled up. "That is enough! Has your sister, Mrs. Phillips, been here tormenting you?"

Silently, Fanny nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I swear, when we are married, that harridan will not be permitted in our home!" he growled with uncharacteristic venom. "I have had enough of her constant berating and belittling of you! Why do you persist in paying attention to what she says?"

"I…I…I do not know."

"Oh, my dearest Fanny, too many people have spoken to you so. I know your mother and brother are the only ones who have been gentle with you. But I will see to it that when you are my wife you will never again…"

"Your wife?" She blinked, her brow knit.

"Of course you will be my wife. That pearl ring you wear, is that not why I gave it to you?" He laughed softly, rubbing his thumb across the ring.

"You would still? Even though…" she could not finish the thought.

"Of course. I cannot consider a future that does not include you as my wife. Come, let us go inside, your mother is nearly beside herself. Let your maid help you tidy up, then you can tell me the final plans for our wedding."

Eight years later, the mistress of Longbourn sat in her parlor, watching the drive in front of her house. Mr. Bennet would be returning from town soon. Upstairs the girls were playing quietly with the nursery maid. Everything around her was in order. She sighed contentedly. Her husband was respected in the community, her neighbors sought her company, they dined with four and twenty families in the area. The dire words that her father had spoken over her at her marriage to Mr. Bennet had not come to pass. She was not his ruination.

A strange carriage rolled up the drive, directly toward the house. Who could that be? It has no crest, and I have never seen it before. She hurried to the window to watch for who would disembark. Edith? What is she doing in a strange carriage? What would she be bringing someone here for? Fanny's eyes grew wide as she recognized the man and woman who followed her sister. Percy and Melissa? When did they return from the continent? I did not know they are come back! What are they doing here? Mr. Bennet declared they were not welcome at Longbourn. What am I to do?

Too soon, Mr. Hall, the butler, announced the guests and ushered them into the parlor.

"Sister, brother, I did not realize you were back," Fanny stammered uncertainly. "Edith, you did not tell me."

"We have been back nearly a month now, in London." Percy Rawls replied matter-of-factly.

"We have only just arrived in Meryton. Edith insisted we come to see you, as we have never seen Longbourn," Melissa, the eldest Gardiner sister added. "She has told me you have five daughters! Five!"

"Yes, I do," Fanny declared, blushing at her sister's tone. "They are fine, dear girls. My youngest, Lydia just began walking. I will have the nursery maid bring them down directly." She scurried away nervously, desperately wanting to be free of her company. Mr. Bennet does not want them here! But how can I dismiss them? What am I to do? I do not wish to hurt their feelings? Oh where are you, Mr. Bennet?

Fanny returned shortly with the girls and their nursery maid in tow. "These are my daughters. Children, this is your Aunt and Uncle Rawls. They have been on the continent all these years. That is why you have never met them. They are only just come back."

"We are pleased to meet you," seven year-old Jane offered softly at the urging of the nurse. Awkwardly, she tried to curtsey.

"I am Lizzy," the precocious five and a half year-old pressed forward to offer her own curtsey.

Kitty and Mary hid behind their nurse's skirts while Lydia struggled to free herself from the young woman's arms.

"They are fine girls, are they not?" Fanny suggested, a little timidly.

"Have you only one nursery maid for all five?" Rawls demanded, a touch of scorn in his voice.

"Why yes, they are good children and have no need…"

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Really, Fanny, I would have thought better of you. Your oldest should be under the care of a governess by now, learning all those accomplishments she will need in order to save her family."

"Save them? Save them from what?" the young mother demanded, alarmed. "Patsy, please return the girls to the nursery."

Bobbing her own curtsey, the nursery maid ushered the girls out.

"Now what is it you believe my Jane must save her family from?" Fanny demanded angrily.

"Why, the entail, dear. Have you forgotten that Longbourn is entailed away from your daughters," Melissa's saccharine voice dripped venom. "Or did Edith tell me wrongly in her letters?"

Fanny's hear raced, her breath coming short. "It is true."

"So if anything happens to your dear, foolish Mr. Bennet, you will be thrown out into the hedgerows, my dear, unless your girls make good matches." Mellissa gracefully slid onto the couch beside her youngest sister. "Have you not wondered why God has not given you a son?"

"Melissa!" Edith Phillips snapped. "You have gone too far!"

"Hold your tongue, woman!" Rawls commanded, glaring at Edith.

"You are being punished for what you have done." Condescendingly, the eldest sister laid her arm over Fanny's shoulders.

"What have I done?" Mrs. Bennet whispered hoarsely, her stomach knotted miserably.

"We all know what you have done, Fanny. There is no need to pretend. The maid kept the bloody sheets…"

A low moan escaped her lips as Fanny doubled over in great, heaving sobs.

"We have all seen the evidence of your low morals. That is why you have only girls," Rawls pronounced judgmentally. "Sadly, you are not a fit mother for them."

"How can you say such a thing!" Edith argued again. "They are fine, sweet girls! She has raised them…"

"To be loose women like herself!" Percy hissed, taking a threatening step toward Fanny. "She is a liar and a public woman. Had Bennet known, he would never have taken the …"

"Mr. Rawls! Stop it, you cannot say such things!" Mrs. Phillips jumped between Mr. Rawls and her younger sister.

Angrily, he pushed the offending woman away and she fell awkwardly to the floor with a thin scream.

"Stop it!" Fanny jumped up.

"We know what you are Fanny," Rawls pressed, his wife rising to hem her sister in between them. "But your girls do not have to suffer your same fate."

"The Lord has not given us children," Melissa whispered softly. "But that is so that we can provide a decent home and upbringing for yours. I can raise them to be ladies, as my own daughters. They will make fine matches. I can introduce them to the Ton, they will have all the advantages that an accomplished woman can give them."

"You cannot have my girls!" Fanny stamped her foot furiously. "Get out of my house! Get out! Mr. Bennet has never welcomed you here and would not want you to stay! Get out!"

"Not without those girls! You cannot raise them, Fanny. You are no better than a common whore!" Rawls snapped back.

Without thinking, Fanny whirled on him, slapping him as hard as she could. His head snapped back and he stumbled, catching his heel in the carpet. The heavy-set man tumbled backward, striking the back of his head against the fire irons. He lay still upon the floor.

"What have you done!" Melissa flew to her husband's side. "He's dead! He's dead! You have killed him!"

Edith flew from the room to find the butler. "Send for the doctor now!" she ordered.

Mr. Bennet suddenly burst into the house, in the midst of the chaos. "What is going on in my home?" he demanded.

"Mr. Rawls is dead!" Edith cried, pointing toward the parlor.

"Get the doctor," Bennet nodded at the butler, who had still not moved. Turning back to his sister-in-law, "You brought that miserable toad into my house?"

"They just arrived. They had not met the girls! They had not seen Longbourn!" Mrs. Phillips stammered.

Pushing her aside, he rushed in to the parlor to see Rawls on the floor, his wife kneeling beside him and Fanny standing in the middle of the room, pale and trembling.

"I…I…killed him…" she whispered, a lost look on her face.

"No, you did not. You have not the strength to do such a thing," Bennet whispered in her ear, wrapping her in his arms.

"She did! She did! She killed him," Melissa argued from her place on the floor.

"No. I can see that the carpet is bunched. He tripped and fell. Fanny had nothing to do with it." He ushered his wife out of the room. Mr. Hall waited anxiously outside the room. "Call for Mr. Phillips to attend his wife and sister. I will take Mrs. Bennet upstairs. I want both her sisters removed from Longbourn as soon as possible."

"Yes sir. Is Mrs. Bennet well?" Hall asked, with genuine concern.

"I will see to her. Send Hill upstairs as soon as she is available." Carefully, Thomas guided his wife up the stairs and into her rooms. Gentle hands helped her sit on the edge of her bed. "Now Fanny, tell me what happened." His voice was firm, he knew she needed his strength to draw her from her shock.

"They came. I knew you did not want them here, but I did not know how to turn them away. I did not wish to hurt their feelings," she began numbly, but her face crumbled. "They wanted to take the girls! They said I was an unfit mother, that God was punishing me by giving me only daughters!"

"I have never heard something so absurd!" Bennet hissed. "Our girls are not a punishment! They are my delight! How could they claim such a thing?"

"They know!" Fanny began to sob. "He said I was nothing but a common whore!" She fell into her pillows, her cries wracking her body.

"Oh Fanny! My dear, sweet wife!" He laid his hand on her back, rubbing comfortingly. "I promise you, none of those words will leave this house. I will not hear such things spoken against you or the girls. You will never hear such words again, my love. Do not believe a word that was said." He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I must go downstairs to deal with the doctor, but do not fear, dear Fanny. I promise you, I will take care of you."

He rose and left the room, finding Hill waiting at the door. "How is she, sir?" the concerned housekeeper whispered.

"Stay with her, be gentle with her. I fear they broke her heart today. She does not deserve this. Do whatever she needs. All I want is to see her well again."

Nodding, Hill slipped into the mistress' chambers. Setting his features into a grim expression, Thomas Bennet descended the stairs.