Posted on Wednesday, 8 August 2007
It happened at the Christening. He was related to the mother; she to the father. Both had flouted the expectations of their families by attending the celebration.
His wife had died, rather suddenly, not two months before. Though he had loved his vivacious bride when they had married – had, indeed, ruined the expectations of his family in marrying her – he had lost his tender feelings for her some time during their marriage. She had been the mother of his precious children, and had once been his beloved companion, but recent times had separated them in mind and spirit. So he attended the celebration of life, though he most likely should have been in mourning.
Her life had been that of any heiress who thought herself better than others and deserving of a certain life. Only when that which she expected – which she felt her due – was snatched from her grasp did she realize that she was naught but a woman. And though she had been raised to understand the rules of society, she didn’t know the rules of life. So, with her hard-earned lesson in the loss of a spouse, she had decided to improve herself. She read all the books in the estate’s library – though it was not as well-filled as some, it was, nonetheless, enlightening. From the pages of books, she learned lessons of humility, grace, and the importance of family. Despite the near-rift in the family that the wedding had initially caused, she was more than happy to attend the christening party. She was more than willing to let bygones be just that.
The heiress and the widower did not seek each other out purposefully; rather, fate had brought them together. They spoke in the library. They each observed the other members of the party with humor and patience that neither might have displayed a few years earlier.
They were only now ready for each other.
His wit, hardened in disillusionment but tempered by time, was a perfect foil for her new-found optimism. They spent much time together over the month-long party, and by the end of it, each had overcome the previous notions of the other, and was, despite the odds, completely in love.
Where his first wife had been gregarious, his new love was quiet yet somehow strong. Many felt that he was marrying too soon and out of his sphere – again – but were now used to him flouting tradition.
To the shock of his family and hers, they were married less than a month after the summer party. To the further shock of her family, and especially his, she gave birth to a healthy son not ten months later. This heir was followed shortly thereafter by a second son.
The first son inherited Rosings Park.
The second son inherited Longbourn.
Anne and Thomas Bennet enjoyed twenty-three years of happy marriage, much to the stunned amusement of her step-children, the chagrin of his cousin, and the consternation of her mother.