Dear Sir, Dear Madam: A Pride and Prejudice Novella by Mary Lydon Simonsen

Author:Mary Lydon Simonsen [Simonsen, Mary Lydon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

Dear Miss Elizabeth,

I hardly know how to respond to your letter, but respond I must. First, I plead ignorance of the fact that Longbourn was entailed away from the Bennet family to the benefit of Mr. Collins. If you think I was privy to such information as a result of my friendship with Mr. Bingley, I can assure you that the situation was never discussed. Similar constraints exist in the Fitzwilliam family as the daughters of my cousin, the Earl of Stepton, cannot inherit, and Colonel Fitzwilliam is at present the heir to Briarwood, the ancestral home of the Fitzwilliams, all of which is beside the point. In your particular situation, the entail exists, and as such, I better understand your mother’s sense of urgency in seeing her daughters well married. Perhaps less robust efforts on her part might very well produce the desired results.

Lizzy let out a prolonged sigh. “Dear, oh dear! Mr. Darcy, you made a good start of it by acknowledging Mama’s actions were a result of a genuine concern for the welfare of her daughters. Unfortunately, you kept writing.”

In my previous letter, I addressed the matter of the relationship that existed between your sister and Charles Bingley. Let me again state that I did not believe that your sister was indifferent because I wished it to be so. My advice to Bingley was based exclusively on my observations of how Miss Bennet acted when in Bingley’s company. However, you have assured me that her affection is genuine, and I must yield to your superior knowledge of your sister.

But my objections to such a union were not exclusively based on your sister’s reticence. I must share with you a brief history of Bingley with regard to his romantic pursuits and the many Rosalines in this particular Romeo’s past. The first summer of our acquaintance, Bingley fell in love (his words) with a lovely and charming young woman of excellent family from Buckinghamshire. Despite his youth (he was but twenty), he was prepared to make her an offer of marriage. I counseled against making such a life-altering decision in haste. Instead, I suggested he wait at least a year before asking for her hand. That anniversary was never reached as Bingley fell in love (again, his words) with the lady’s friend, and so it went through a series of flirtations right up to the time of our arrival in Hertfordshire. When I saw Bingley with your sister, I did notice a regard quite unlike anything I had before witnessed, but I was equally sure that his feelings would not stand the test of time. Obviously, I was wrong as Bingley remains in London brooding. It is my intention, when next in town, to visit Bingley and withdraw all objections to any possible union between your sister and him. To be honest, I am sorry I said anything at all. From this point on, I shall remain silent on all matters as they pertain to affairs of the heart.

Lizzy did not know what to make of that paragraph.

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