Page 5 of The Fee Entail

I thought the sheer effrontery of the suggestion would shock her, but she seemed impossible to discompose.

She let out another grim chuckle.

“And what, pray tell, do you think will induce me to do this? Even should I choose to bear a child with some disconnected male—which should be easy enough since men seem to be mostly indistinguishable from goats—you of all people should understand a son is not guaranteed. The chances of a son are less than half.”

The girl had the effrontery to lecture me on the difficulty of producing sons. However, I had not come this far to quit at the first obstacle.

“You should have the year or two that Collins is likely to live plus ten months. That is two to three years, which should be enough time for two children, if you are anything like your mother. That makes the chances three in four, and you will make the effort.”

She just laughed mirthlessly at what I supposed she thought of as my stupidity.

“You overestimate the reliability of the process. You always were a man who thought you were smarter than you actually are. There is a one-in-five chance with any pregnancy I shall lose it before it even quickens. If I pass that, there is another one-in-thirty I will lose it later before confinement. There is a one-in-ten chance the babe will be stillborn or die in the first month, and a one-in-a-hundred chance I will. Even if we run that entire gauntlet, the odds of a live male child are still only half-and-half.”

She stared like a governess with a particularly thick child, as if she did not expect me to follow.

“All of those are even worse if I have more than one child every two years, and there would be no chance at all of a second child without immediately attaching a wet nurse to the first. That all means my chance of delivering a male heir with two attempted pregnancies over two to three years is probably about even at best, and the chances of either myself or one of the babes dying in the process are not trifling.”

I was impressed with her surprisingly extensive knowledge and quick thinking but steeled my resolve.

“Nevertheless, you will attempt it!”

She sounded even harder, and I thought to keep in mind that she dissuaded her husband with fire irons and branded him, so she may not be a woman to be trifled with.

“And again, why do you think I will help you when you have so spectacularly abused me? What do I care about Longbourn? For that matter, I personally think the hedgerows are exactly where your wife belongs.”

Feeling desperate, I finally played my very last card, though it broke my heart to do so.

“If you do not, I will marry your sisters off to whoever I can find. Do not think Mr Collins is the only less-than-ideal husband in England. I will not have them sitting at Longbourn when and if Wickham comes to claim it.”

That finally broke through her reserve, and she let out a strangled gasp, as I knew she must. I thought I would hate myself for that bit of deception for all the days left to me, but I was not to be stopped at that point. Too much depended on Elizabeth being brought to the point.

I stood with bated breath to see what she would do. I had little recourse if she sent me packing. I had to make her believe I might choose bad husbands, because it was so desperately important for her to try. Oh, marry them off I would, but to the best farmers and merchants I could find; but I could not let her know that.

I saw her thinking furiously for a good ten minutes while I waited as patiently as I could, and she finally came to a decision.

“I will offer you a bargain; in fact, I will generously offer you a choice.”

It was not the time for bargains, and I steeled myself to reply with as much strength as I could.

“You are in no position to make demands! You will not have an income or a place to live when Collins dies.”

“Nevertheless, you will bargain or get back in your carriage! You are fortunate I offer you any choice at all.”

Seeing little recourse if she became stubborn, I finally nodded for her to present her choices.

“Here is the first bargain I will offer.”

She took a deep breath and began in a low voice, practically a snarl.

“Firstly, I will make every possible effort to deliver an heir, and I will keep trying until there is no possibility of success. In exchange, you will reduce your wife’s allowance by three-quarters and dedicate the bulk to my use for living expenses should my first child be born female, starting tomorrow. I will expect the first six months in advance. In addition, you will immediately set aside a two-thousand-pound dowry for the same purpose, in cash. You will sell some or all of your precious books if need be. This must be legally binding, and under Uncle Gardiner’s control. Should I have a second daughter, she will receive the same.”

I wondered where she got the temerity to ask so much for simply doing her duty as a wife and daughter. Raising her had not exactly been free, and her life to date had been remarkably easy, with very little asked of her.

“You ask a great deal!” I snapped, but she was not impressed.

“Not really. I demand the proceeds gained by you sitting in your library drinking port and doing nothing for a year or two, while you agree to me going to great pain and significant risk to my life, at least once, and more likely twice… alone… likely followed by a life of poverty, raising one or two bastards who will be looked down on by society when their origin inevitably becomes known, simply to assuage your greed and laziness. I could just as easily wait for you to die, then sell off every piece of Longbourn that is not nailed down to support myself and my sisters when Mr Collins dies. You are not looking so robust at the moment. Will you even survive the trip back?”

She stared, just daring me to disagree.