Prudence and Practicality: A Backstory to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Chapter One

 "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."