An Appearance of Goodness

Chapter One

It was a bright and sunny day when the good news reached Mrs. Bennet, hot as it often was during the summer. Life in the country could be boring at times; though, with 5 daughters, one would think a woman would have ample entertainment. Yet, Mrs. Bennet craved excitement, finding her daughters often too dull and ordinary, her husband's humor too dry. This news she heard while at the hairdresser was sure to liven things up around their small community.

When Mr. Bennet arrived home that evening, his wife had all but worked herself into a lather at the possibilities. Somehow, she was able to contain herself until he was through the door and had settled onto the couch, about to turn on the TV for a few minutes before dinner.

"Robert!" Mr. Bennet looked up at his wife's excited voice. "I've just heard the most wonderful news. Netherfield has finally been sold!" This information would have been understandably exciting, had Mrs. Bennet been a real estate agent who had just landed a big sale. That was not the case, however.

Not waiting for a response, she barreled on, "Mrs. Long has told me all about it. A young man, from Atlanta, very rich and apparently very handsome! Isn't it just so perfect for the girls?" She collapsed onto the couch next to her husband, fanning herself, apparently overwhelmed at the thought.

"For the girls? What do they have to do with it?" Mr. Bennet had an idea but was interested in seeing his wife's thought process. She was always sure to provide some entertainment to his equally as dull life.

Some of the aforementioned girls had wandered into the room upon hearing the commotion, wondering what all the fuss was about. "He will marry one of them, of course!" Mrs. Bennet was rewarded for this statement by the serious of shocked and incredulous sounds that came from her growing audience. Mrs. Bennet was not to be deterred by her daughters' indignation, however. "A single man with so much money must be on the hunt for a wife!" She proclaimed with authority. "Why else would he come out to the country and buy a house? He must have heard something of our charms and temptations!"

Lizzie couldn't help but smile at that, noting how little charm her younger sisters held at that moment, sprawled across the living room in their shorts and t-shirts, trying to escape the oppressive heat that settled in everywhere, even the air-conditioned rooms inside their large but cramped house. "Oh yes, and who better to marry this stranger but one of us," she joked, sharing an affectionate eye-roll with her father.

"So, that is his master plan, then, to settle in and marry one of the natives?" Mr. Bennet asked, enjoying this diversion for the moment.

Fixing him with a sharp look, his wife scowled. "Master plan? You act as if he is going to storm the White House! But, he might just fall in love with one of them. Would that be so bad?" Mrs. Bennet was getting tired of her husband's cynicism, at least where she and her daughters' lively hoods were at stake. "That's why you have to visit him."

That alarmed Mr. Bennet. "Visit him?" The idea of socializing with a complete stranger was abhorrent to him, even if it would benefit his daughters.

"Well, I can't very well go visit him on my own, can I? What would he think, a respectable woman coming to his house as soon as he's all right and settled?"

Mr. Bennet smiled at the thought. "No, we wouldn't want that. The poor kid might fall in love with you, for all we know!" The girls laughed at that, thinking about the ridiculous notion of a young, rich, handsome man falling in love with their mother. "Ah, I have just the thing!" He continued, ignoring the glare his wife shot him. "We should send the girls. He's sure to fall in love with the first one he lays eyes on, much like a baby duck."

This spurred another round of giggles from the girls. Mrs. Bennet had had enough of her husband's quips for the moment. Thankfully, the phone rang just then, giving her a viable excuse to extract herself from the conversation. The rest of the family could hear her wailing down the hall, through the open door to the kitchen. "Yes, Laura, I've heard the news. You won't believe what my husband said!" She glared at her husband through the doorway before promptly closing the door, drowning out further conversation.

Once Mrs. Bennet latched on to something, she wasn't likely to let it go. The next day, Jane and Lizzy were sitting in the sunroom reading quietly when their mother stomped in and flounced down on a chair. "Your father," she began as if they were picking up a conversation they had left off moments before. The girls knew through years of experience that a tirade was coming whenever she started out that way. "Is the most irritating man on the face of God's green earth." She paused, making sure that her daughters were paying attention.

"I'm sure he is just teasing you, mama," Jane said, setting aside her book obediently, "Of course he will go and say hello to our new neighbor, just as he would any newcomers to the area." Her mother huffed at that, not believing a word of her explanation.

Mr. Bennet appeared in the doorway behind his wife, smiling as his wife spoke. "No, Jane, you heard your father, he said it himself. And you know he is as stubborn as a mule." Mrs. Bennet crossed her arms petulantly.

Coming into the room, Mr. Bennet sat down across from his wife. Lizzie finally put her book down, too, realizing that she was not going to get any more reading done for the time being. "You're right, dear. How about this, I will send this Mr. Bingley a note. I'll tell him I have 5 daughters, all ripe for the picking. We could make a catalog of it, even, just like JC Penny's. We'll be sure to tell him that they're all very silly, though Lizzie has a bit more going on upstairs than the rest." With that, he smiled and winked at his second daughter, who grinned back.

They could hear a cry of offense coming through the open door to the study, where the rest of the girls had gathered to listen in on the conversation. "Then again," Mr. Bennet said after a moment's consideration, "he might prefer a stupid wife. He wouldn't be the first to make that choice."

Lizzie felt her father was being needlessly cruel. She needn't have worried; the insult, like most, flew over her mother's head. "Why do you find such humor in my despair?" Mrs. Bennet cried, getting up and waltzing out of the room with a flourish.

"Difficulties are often sent to test our faith and may even turn out to be blessings in disguise." All eyes swiveled to Mary, who was standing in the doorway wearing a serious expression. She was dressed in a long black skirt and white button-up blouse, which looked absolutely stifling in the summer heat.

Poking her head around her dour sister, Lydia frowned. "I hope your games don't keep mom from making dinner. I'm starving!" She pulled back into the study and called after her mother, "Mom! When're we eating?"

It was an embarrassing but not uncommon display in the Bennet house. Mary had recently decided to take up religion, choosing a small Holiness church that suited her restrained personality. There was no end to the shocking and slightly ridiculous things she said at the most inopportune times.

After dinner, which was made by Lizzie and Jane, since their mother was far too indisposed to cook, the two oldest sisters lay outside on the trampoline, looking at the stars. "It would be nice, though, to find a man who could love me despite our ridiculous family," Lizzie sighed out of the blue.

"Yeah?" Jane sat up, not even realizing her sister considered such things.

Lizzie sat up too, brushing the pollen off her back and out of her hair. "But any man like that would probably be crazy, too, and I could never love someone who belonged in the looney bin." She stood up, jumping a few times before falling back onto her back and rolling off the trampoline.

Climbing down after her, Jane followed her sister back towards the house. "I just want a marriage where we can respect each other. Without that, no one can be happy," she said sadly, thinking of one marriage in particular.

"As we see proven every day," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "But I guess beggars can't be choosers."

Jane shook her head dismissively. "Things aren't so bad, Lizzie. I'm sure all of us will find someone."

They stopped to sit on the small back porch, choosing to finish their conversation in private before going back into the crowded house, where it seemed even the walls had ears. "With the house willed to our cousin and such limited job prospects, at least one of us needs to marry up. We don't have much, except our charm and sense of humor, really. And since you're ten times prettier than any of us, and at least twice as charming, I'm afraid it will fall on you to marry rich and provide for the rest of us into our old age." Lizzie smiled at her sister to soften the joke but could tell Jane didn't appreciate her talking in such a way.

"I don't know about you, Liz, but I plan on marrying for love." And with that, she stood up and went into the house, leaving her sister to contemplate what she meant.