Page 2 of A Most Favourable Match

“I don’t know why anyone would want to go to London, except perhaps to visit the bigger libraries,” remarked Mary in rather superior tones, much to the disgust of the two youngest girls. “Balls are foolish events in my opinion, and given far too much importance in the lives of the young.”

“What else does Jane say, Mother?” Elizabeth pressed, choosing not to answer her mother’s familiar personal accusations and keen to preserve family harmony if she could. “Was Lord Grantchester’s friend Lord Keeble at the ball, too? They are both very amiable gentlemen and showed us great courtesy in London this summer.”

Mrs Bennet turned over the page and gave a little scream that made Elizabeth and Mary turn their heads sharply and Lydia and Kitty jump from their seats. Even Mr Bennet looked genuinely concerned for a moment.

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked, moving to sit besideher mother. “May I see?”

“It is wonderful!” answered Mrs Bennet, her fingers trembling but her eyes glowing as she held the letter before her face. “Oh, how often I have dreamed of such a thing. Jane is to be married!”

“Married?!” Elizabeth exclaimed, frowning. Nothing that had passed earlier in the summer could have allowed her to foresee such a turn. “Married to whom?”

“Oh, just listen to this, Lizzy. ‘After the Morgan ball, Lord Grantchester was so kind as to honour me with his addresses. I have accepted him, and he will write to Father straight away to request his blessing, although we do not plan to marry until next summer.’ There! What do you say to that?”

“It is a surprise, but Lord Grantchester is a good man,” Elizabeth said slowly, trying to gather her disparate thoughts. “I did not see that he was thinking along such lines while I was there. I thought him only a good-hearted man who appreciated Jane’s pleasant company and graceful dancing.”

“Jane is so very beautiful and such a sweet girl besides. How could any man not wish to marry her, earl or not?” Mrs Bennet asked herself and the room in general. “Just think, Mr Bennet, a countess… Jane is to be a countess! Can you believe it?”

“Is she indeed, my dear?” murmured Mr Bennet, barely stirring from his armchair and doing an excellent job of hiding any excitement he might feel himself. “Well, I suppose that is what must happen when a young lady marries an earl. I daresay that one ofthese other letters must be from our future son-in-law, mustn’t it? Well, well, well…”

Without any great urgency, he shuffled the other unopened envelopes in his hand.

“You must open it at once, Mr Bennet!” declared his wife, rising from the sofa and hurrying to his side. “You must answer quickly. Do not delay, Mr Bennet! Oh, my poor nerves!”

“There, there, my dear. Another minute or two should not hurt. Hmmm, it must be this one, I think. You see the rather grand crest in the wax seal? It comes from London too. Yes, I dare say this is from Lord Grantchester.”

In a leisurely manner that had his anxious wife biting her nails and Elizabeth shaking her head ruefully at his teasing, Mr Bennet finally broke the seal on the letter and opened it up.

“There we are,” he pronounced with satisfaction. “As we surmised. John Tellington, Earl of Grantchester begs pardon for writing without introduction etc… etc… He has reached an understanding with our esteemed daughter, Miss Jane Bennet, to whom he was introduced in London etc… He humbly asks permission to take Miss Bennet’s hand in marriage and hopes that I will write back directly with my approval and instructions, etc…”

“How very correctly Lord Grantchester writes of the matter,” said Mrs Bennet admiringly. “A very upright young man, I am sure.”

“True, true. He does cover all the formalities,doesn’t he? Unnecessarily, however, since Jane is past one-and-twenty and may marry as she pleases. As you like to remind us, it is not as though I might withhold any great fortune to exercise influence, Mrs Bennet.”

“I do not say that!” Mrs Bennet exclaimed hotly. “What can you possibly mean, Mr Bennet? You must write back and tell him we approve completely and they might marry as soon as is convenient for him. I can’t imagine where Jane’s talk of waiting a whole year came from.”

“Well, perhaps his family does not approve,” Mr Bennet suggested lightly. “Jane has neither title nor fortune, after all. They might have hoped at least for one of the two. I know I would in their place.”

“Why must you vex me so, Mr Bennet?” Mrs Bennet protested. “No one could help but approve of Jane once they have met her. Write back straight away and give Lord Grantchester every assurance and encouragement you can. Otherwise, he may meet someone else, and it will be all off.”

“Will we get new dresses for the wedding, Mother?” Lydia demanded excitedly as a new idea presented itself. “Shoes too, and bonnets. We must surely, if we are to be bridesmaids. A countess must have many bridesmaids, do not you think?”

“It will be a very grand wedding, I am sure,” Mrs Bennet replied, returning to the letter but with more than half an eye on the glorious occasion ahead. “Jane will look magnificent and the church shall be full of nobility – how wonderful! I should like to have the wedding here where Lady Lucas might see too, but perhapsLord Grantchester prefers London, or his own estate.”

“Dresses and nobility and grand estates are all very well, but I should more like to know what manner of man this John Tellington might be,” Mr Bennet put in thoughtfully. His earlier jesting and teasing were quite gone, replaced with an air of seriousness amounting almost to gravity. “You have met him, Lizzy. What impression did you have?”

“What manner of man?” laughed Mrs Bennet. “He is the Earl of Grantchester, Mr Bennet. What peculiar questions you ask!”

Elizabeth paused for thought and then answered her father as best she could. “Lord Grantchester is around seven-and-twenty and seems to be of good health, strong body, and sound character,” she began.

“There, you see!” interjected Mrs Bennet, to the mild consternation of both Elizabeth and her father. “How could it be otherwise with an earl?”

“He has many friends and is well-liked by everyone around theton,” Elizabeth continued, ignoring her mother’s mild twittering. “I don’t mean that Lord Grantchester is a frivolous and superficial man. Indeed, he has some very good friends to whom he shows great loyalty. Still, I gather that society hostesses are fond of him since he can always be relied upon for good manners, dancing, and amiability.”

Mr Bennet nodded, reflecting on this intelligence calmly, while his wife began to look impatient. Lydia and Kitty were much cheered by the sound of a brother-in-law who could be counted on at a ball and began toswing one another about the room, all the while humming a country dance tune.

“What of his fortune, Lizzy? What of his estate? Has he siblings?” Mrs Bennet inquired.

“I believe he is very rich, Mother,” Elizabeth told her. “Grantchester Abbey is a very great estate. I overheard one lady telling her daughter that he was the richest man in Leicestershire, although I cannot claim to know anything of that county. He has two sisters, both married and very fond of their brother, from the little I saw of them.”