Page 2 of Gold and Good Sense

Your Brother Always,

Collin

~~~~~

Thomas Bennet was quite irritated by the time he returned to Longbourn from his wedding journey. The reality of having a wife was nothing like what he had dreamed of. Mrs. Bennet’s cheerfulness was not as constant as he had thought. In fact, when she was discontented, she made him aware of it far more easily than she had shared her joy. Fortunately, with all the entertainment in Brighton, she wasn’t discontented often.

What was far more unpleasant, however, was that her conversation was fundamentally boring. When they went out, she spoke incessantly of all the things she wanted to buy or how she wanted to change her dress or bonnet with a new ribbon or flowers. It was fundamentally uninteresting.

When he had tried to introduce a more interesting subject like how seashells were made or what kinds of seaweed could be found in the area, she had nothing to say.

He had known that she wasn’t particularly erudite, so none of this should have come as a surprise, but what was surprising was that their marital activities weren’t nearly as pleasant as he had expected. While she was beautiful to look at, she was always stiff and cold in his arms. She willingly did what he asked, but it was clear she took no pleasure in it.

In truth, Thomas was quite happy to be home again, where he would have the company of more than just his silly wife. Collin would be there, and he was always a pleasure to talk with. His other gentlemen neighbors would also be good company.

Once he had cleaned off the dust of the road, he made his way to his bookroom and breathed a sigh of relief as he settled into his favorite leather armchair. With the smell of leather, paper, and ink surrounding him and the feel of a book in his hand, he finally felt as though he were truly home.

He didn’t get to enjoy it for long. Mrs. Hampton entered shortly after he had settled and said, “I have a letter from your brother. He left it with me before he went away.”

“He left?” asked Thomas. “Did he decide to go live in London?” That didn’t sound like Collin. His brother detested the city. In fact, Thomas was of the firm belief that if Collin hadn’t been born a gentleman, he would have been happy being a farmer.

“I do not know,” said Mrs. Hampton. “He only said he was moving away, and he asked me to give you this letter.”

“Very well,” said Thomas. He took the letter and read it.

When he was done reading it, Thomas laid it on his lap and simply stared off into the distance.

Collin was gone.

Thomas had not realized how much he was depending on his brother for sensible conversation until the prospect was no longer an option. He had assumed Collin would be a frequent guest for dinner at Longbourn, thereby relieving Thomas of the tedium of Mrs. Bennet’s incessant gossip. Instead, Thomas would have no buffer whatsoever to defend himself from her random chatter.

Without Collin, Thomas would have to bestir himself to attend social functions more often, possibly even spending some nights at the pub.

He sighed and even groaned a bit. Married life truly was nothing like he had imagined.

Collin had tried to warn him. In fact, he was the only one who had warned him. Not even the married men Thomas had always looked up to, men who should have known what a millstone Fanny would be, had ever told him anything other than what a lovely girl she was.

She was that. She was beautiful, in fact, especially when she smiled or laughed. It was only that she had absolutely no other desirable qualities, at least not for Thomas.

With another sigh, Thomas pulled himself out of his chair and headed for his desk to write a reply to Collin. It was only when the letter was complete that Thomas realized he didn’t know where to send it.

Collin had left no address other than saying that he would settle in North Carolina.

Thomas placed the letter in a drawer. Hopefully, Collin would write again once he was settled to share his address.

~~~~~

Collin Bennet settled in Cabarrus County. He purchased a large farm and hired a handful of laborers to run it for him, making himself into more of an overseer than a farmer.

It was the life he had always dreamed of. He had plenty of work when he wanted it and responsibility to give his life purpose, but he also had plenty of time to relax and enjoy life.

Once he was settled, he sent a letter to his brother at Longbourn to inform him of his address. What he did not know was that the ship which carried his letter sank before reaching England’s shores.

When Collin did not hear back from Thomas even after a year, Collin concluded that his brother must not have forgiven him for insulting his wife.

Three years after his arrival in North Carolina, Collin married Miss Emilia Evans. Collin decided to try once again to win his brother’s forgiveness, so he wrote with the news of his marriage. This letter unfortunately went astray even before arriving at the port in Wilmington.

When Collin still received no response from England, he gave up, assuming that Thomas simply did not wish to keep the connection.