Page 41 of Fortuitous Encounters
“That seems a bit heartless, even for the two of you.”
“He should know better than to make a bet he cannot win.”
“He's a boy.”
“Maybe he learned a valuable lesson in life. He will be a man soon enough and should know better than to be so foolish.”
“What do you plan to do with it?”
“I was going to sell it to a man in Northern Scotland.”
“Did you change your mind?”
“Yes, I found someone even farther away in Canada.”
“You really do not like Bennet, do you.”
“No, Mama. I never have.”
“I fail to see why. He has never done anything so very terrible… well, bad enough, but only marginally worse than other boys.”
“He has been doing terrible things to me all my life. I cannot abide that boy.”
“His father will not be pleased he lost a valuable horse.”
“That is his problem. Maybe his father will finally beat some sense into him. The boy cannot get much worse.”
“His mother will not be pleased he is such a poor sportsman.”
“Really, Mama. He lost against a Meryton woman. Even making the wager is a sign of poor sense, but it is not as if he lost against a man. He should know better. Did Aunt Elizabeth teach him nothing?”
“You are heartless, Benita.”
~
“I hear you lost a horse to Benita, son.”
“Yes, Papa. I am sorry.”
“That was the best horse in the stable.”
“I know, but a bet's a bet.”
“Once she bested you there was no choice.”
“No, there was not.”
“Why do you keep at it? You know she is way smarter. You will never win.”
“She has always bothered me, Papa. Ever since she pushed me into the mill pond, I've been trying to get retribution. We can barely tolerate each other enough to survive family gatherings, and I just want to beat her, just once.”
“Seems a hopeless business.”
“I know, Papa. I just cannot help it. If I best her just once I shall be content.”
“Winning one bet of hundreds would not seem to be reaching very high.”
“She is a Bennet!”
