Pride And Prejudice, The Sequel

Chapter 1

"Mr Bennett, what say you about this sad business of Lizzy's? " Mrs Bennett asked her husband as they sat down for dinner that night.  With all their five daughters married and four of them advantageously so, the Bennets were the most respectable family in the neighborhood.  Mrs Bennett enjoyed her status immensely,  however,  with Lizzy still childless in her fifth year of marriage,  her high status among the ladies was beginning to dwindle, for Lizzy was by far the richest of her five.

Mr Bennet regarded his wife with a cool indifference, "Lizzy has many businesses but I can find not one of them sad my dear.  Why, she rides ponies and lords over a legion of servants and her dresses are the finest."

"Yes,  pleasant indeed but if she does not beget a son soon, Mr Darcy will not love her anymore, and then she will die of sorrow and we will all be forgotten," Mrs Bennett said in a most sorrowful accent.

"But my dear,  we cannot expect our little Lizzy to achieve a feat we failed to reach ourselves.  What a shame no one died of sorrow when we did not beget a son! "

"I highly wish for her to have a son sir,  but any child would do,  to secure her place as the mistress of Pemberly, she must have a child soon."

"What use are children? Little squealing things they are when young,  and when they grow older,  they become a huge expense, once they drain you of all your income, they leave you suffering with a wife who may be uncommonly foolish,"  Mr Bennet said lightly,  thoroughly enjoying the conversation.

"Children bring honour and inherit Estates Mr Bennett. "

"Our dear Lidya has five and she brings me no honour and that fellow Wickham is a begger with no estates to inherit. "

"Aren't you always pleased when Jane brings her two? Or when Kitty sends dear William to visit? Soon Mary will have a little one too but Lizzy refuses to have children. "

"How can a woman refuse to have children? If she could, I am sure Lizzy would have had ten by now. "

"Lizzy has always been headstrong and insolent, encouraged no doubt by your preference of her over the others. Maybe she tells Mr Darcy not to have his way with her. Lizzy is a lazy girl,  she must be afraid to carry a child inside of her. Impertinent and stupid,  oh,  if only he had married Lidya instead of Lizzy,  we will by now be known as the grandparents of Pemberly. "

"Don't worry my dear,  I will have a talk with Mr Darcy and see if I can teach him a few things on the art of child siring. It is not Lizzy's fault,  I will talk to Darcy, " Mr Bennet said comfortingly, a thin smile playing on his lips.

"You will?"

"Yes,  rest assured of it. "

"But you must tell Lizzy too, Lizzy has to consent to carry a child and stop being selfish. Maybe she wants to keep all those beautiful carriages to herself,  Lizzy must have a child as soon as possible,  tell her that when you next write to her."

"I shall, when I find the right words to write,  I shall indeed, " Mr Bennet said as he stood up to leave, "Now, if you will excuse me,  I need to go to the library and research. "

"Don't forget to write to Lizzy sir."

"I am certain you will remind me when I do. "

As he left for his library,  anxious to escape his wife's intense stupidity,  Mr Bennet felt a sadness overwhelm him.  He cared less if Pemberly had an heir or not,  but he cared greatly for his daughter.  Even though Lizzy had a lively spirit that did not so easily reveal if she was sad,  he knew she must be greatly distressed by her situation.  He saw it in the way she sometimes looked at Jane with her children. 

He had no intent of educating Darcy in any art whatsoever,  or writing to Lizzy with the command that her mother demanded children.  The young couple was already under a lot of strain.  One thing gave him hope though, Darcy still loved Lizzy as he had when he married her,  passionately.  Their happiness together could not be denied, and even if they did not get a child,  he was sure Lizzy will never be miserable,  for who could be miserable, when your husband's eyes lit with inexplicable joy whenever he looked at you?

Not even Mary,  who was newly wedded and carrying a child could have Lizzy's happiness.  His favourite child had succeeded where he had failed, that gave him more happiness than any grandchild that had come forth from Lidya every year.