Chapter I

May 1797

"Mama, why are there forks in the road?" asked an inquisitive six-year-old Lizzy Bennet, after hearing another passenger in the post carriage make a comment that caused her to envision cutlery on the path.

"If there were not, then all roads would lead to the same place," answered Mrs. Bennet, tiredly. Every morning Lizzy would ask hundreds of questions, hoping to gain a better understanding of the world. Each day Mrs. Bennet would try answering each of her daughter's queries. However, by afternoon she would always give up and begin responding, "I do not know." Lizzy supposed it was not Mrs. Bennet's fault that she did not know everything like her father did. Papa never answered "I do not know." He always had something clever or witty to say, though often his answers did not leave Lizzy less confused than her mother's did.

"Papa said all roads lead to Rome. Is that true? Where is Rome?"

"That is an expression, Lizzy?"

"What's a 'spression?" The child asked eagerly.

"It is something people say because it is true, even though it is not exactly true."

"Like when John told his father that he did not break the vase, and that Charlotte did. Charlotte only fell on the vase because John pushed her! He told the truth, but it was not exactly the truth."

"Not quite-" Mrs. Bennet was almost grateful when her youngest child interrupted her, for Lydia's squalls caused Elizabeth to forget her questions; however, they also woke two year old Kitty Bennet, who had been sleeping halfway across Lizzy's lap.

Mrs. Bennet's brother, Edward Gardiner, had recently purchased a new home for himself in London, and he had invited his sister to stay with him for a few weeks to help furnish the home and hire staff. She had readily agreed to the plan, provided that she could bring her two youngest daughters, whom she considered far too young to be long apart from their mother. Mr. Gardiner had happily conceded and had requested that Lizzy come as well, since she amused him. Mrs. Bennet had reluctantly agreed to the request, knowing that her inquisitive young daughter's presence would cause her both pleasure and frustration. Though she could not have foreseen it then, Mrs. Bennet would spend the rest of her life regretting the decision to bring Elizabeth.

As the two small children continued to cry, the carriage's other passenger began to sing softly, "Don't cry, Baby! Don't cry, Baby!" He crooned repeatedly to the tune of Greensleeves. To Elizabeth's astonishment, both her little sisters quieted almost immediately.

"Thank you," Mrs. Bennet told the stranger, who had introduced himself earlier as Stockings. Stockings nodded in return, not wishing to break his song with speech. "I shall have to suggest this song to Daisy." Daisy was one of Longbourn's maids who helped to look after the girls. She had been scheduled to travel with Mrs. Bennet, but she had been indisposed that morning. Rather than changing her plans, Mrs. Bennet had decided to travel without the maid.

Mrs. Bennet had originally been unhappy about traveling with a stranger; however, now she was thankful for the man's presence. She had tried to persuade Mr. Bennet to allow her to take the family carriage to London, but he had insisted that she travel by post. Thus, the family carriage had transported Mrs. Bennet and her daughters to a posting station, and Mr. Gardiner would sent a carriage to meet them in London.

Elizabeth examined Mr. Stockings, whose real name was Percival Winston Cavendish Smith, though no one had called him that since he was about three-years-old, when the young boy had escaped from his home and run into the nearby village wearing only the clothing whose name he now bore. Elizabeth thought Mr. Stockings must be as old as her Papa, but something about his features and expressions made him seem much younger. She also thought he would not mind her asking him the sort of questions her mother called impertinent.

"Mr. Stockings, how old –?" Unfortunately, before Elizabeth could complete her question, the carriage lurched. Almost immediately, it tipped over, causing the passengers to land in a heap. Mrs. Bennet, who landed on the bottom of the heap, suffered a blow to the head which rendered her unconscious, but Lizzy and her sisters were uninjured, and Mr. Stockings suffered only minor bruises.

"Mama! Mama!" Shouted all three of the girls.

"Wake up please, Mama." Elizabeth pleaded to no avail.

"What is wrong with my Mama, Mr. Stockings?"

"I think she is dead," the man replied. Elizabeth understood death, since her Grandmother Bennet had passed away only a few months before. She began to sob.

"What are we to do?" Mr. Stockings was a kind and gentle man, but his mental capacity was probably less than even Elizabeth's. Those who had known him all his life called him 'special' or 'different' while new acquaintances sometimes called him an idiot or said that he 'wasn't quite right in his upper story'. Thus, no one ever requested his opinion or asked his advice, and Elizabeth's question surprised him.

"I suppose we should ask the driver."

Mr. Stockings helped Elizabeth and her sisters to climb out of the overturned carriage, then he extracted himself and walked around to the driver's seat. Like Mrs. Bennet, the driver was unresponsive. Indeed, the poor fellow had indeed perished in the accident. The driver's extensive injuries caused Stockings to blanch, and he hurriedly sought to shelter the young girls from the ghastly view.

"He is dead, too, girls." He did not think to look for the man who had been riding on the back of the carriage. He likely would have thought that man dead as well, for like Mrs. Bennet, he had been rendered unconscious by the accident.

"What will we do?" Neither Mr. Stockings nor Elizabeth ever considered simply waiting for help to arrive.

"If we go to London, my brother will help us."

"Do you know the way?"

"This is the London road. It must take us to London," Stockings reasoned.

"Uncle Gardiner is to meet us at Smithfield Market."

"My brother said he would meet me there as well."

"Then I guess we had better go," replied Elizabeth, taking a sister's hand in each of hers.

The four then set off plodding slowly along the road. Before long the barely toddling Lydia grew weary, and Elizabeth deigned to carry her for a short time. However, Elizabeth was not strong enough to bear her sister's weight for long, so Mr. Stockings took the baby in his arms. Soon she was joined by her slightly older sister, for Catherine Bennet quickly tired also. Fortunately, Mr. Stockings was a fit man, and carrying the two small girls did not phase him.

The road on which these travelers walked was well-traveled; thus, before long the group heard the sound of a carriage rattling down the road. When Mr. Stockings heard the approaching equipage, he hoped it might bear someone who would offer help. However, Elizabeth imagined an entirely different scenario, and her speculations soon turned Mr. Stockings' hope to fear.

"What if it is a highwayman?" asked the alarmed six-year-old. Had her companion been more sensible, he would have reasoned that even if a highwayman might be brave enough to attack in broad daylight, he likely would not have bothered a bedraggled looking man with three small girls, whose appearance did not bespeak wealth.

A thousand possible terrors flashed through Stockings' mind, and he replied, "I will keep you safe, but we must hide!" He then dashed behind a large shrubbery, calling for Elizabeth to follow. When the carriage was safely past, the companions emerged from their hiding place to resume their journey. After that mad dash, Stockings and Lizzy agreed that they should conceal themselves whenever they heard a carriage or wagon until they reached the vicinity of London where the crowds would provide some protection. While this decision protected them from the dubious threat presented by highwaymen, it prevented them from obtaining the help they should otherwise have received.

While they walked, Elizabeth entertained Stockings with vivid descriptions of her life at Longbourn. She spoke so quickly that he sometimes had difficulty understanding her, but he did not try to slow her speech. When she asked questions, he rarely knew the answers, but he tried to imagine answers, and often had questions of his own.

"Why is the grass green, Mr. Stockings?"

"I am not sure why, but I think that is because the sun is yellow and the sky is blue. Yellow and blue make green. Do you know what makes the sun yellow?"

"Papa says the sun is not truly yellow, but white. He says if the sun was actually yellow that it could not make rainbows. He says that rainbows happen when the water in the sky separates the light."

"But doesn't God put rainbows in the sky?" Lizzy nodded.

"If I were Noah, I would not have brought rats on the ark."

"Even if God told you to?" asked Stockings in amazement.

"Probably. I suppose God would not like that. I am not very good."

"It is hard to be good, Miss Elizabeth."

"Why are things that we buy called goods?" Elizabeth then asked. Stockings proceeded to answer, and the conversation continued in a similar manner.

Stockings arrived at Smithfield Market with his three charges just as night began to fall. Stockings' brother, who had expected him to arrive about noon, left instructions for Stockings to travel to his home by hackney. There was no message from Mr. Gardiner for his nieces, nor was there any sign that gentleman had arrived at the market. Since he obviously could not abandon the three girls, Stockings took them to his brother's home.

By the time the hackney arrived at the home of Mr. David Smith, all three girls were soundly sleeping, so Stockings carried them into the home one at a time. Mr. Smith looked at his brother in astonishment.

"Where have you been Stockings? And who are all these children? You know we haven't the room for them." This was true. The David Smith's lived in a small home with barely enough room for the family. Stockings would sleep on a mat in the kitchen while he resided there.

"I am sorry, David. They are orphan girls." Stockings did not mean to deceive his brother. When his own mother died, he had become an orphan; thus, he assumed the Bennet girls, whose mother he believed dead, were now orphans as well. He did not understand that the term implied the loss of both parents.

"And why are they with you?"

"They were traveling to stay with their uncle who is a gardener who works in Cheapside. He was supposed to meet them at Smithfield Market, but he was not there. There was no message left for them." Now David believed that the girls had been entrusted into his brother's care intentionally. He also supposed this uncle must be the only living relation the children had, for who would entrust the care of three little girls to a poor gardener if they had another choice.

"Perhaps their uncle has decided he cannot keep them. In any case, we have no room for the girls here. I will take them to the church. Reverend Smalley will know what to do." Stockings once again carried the Bennet girls, this time to his brother's modest equipage. He felt as though he were abandoning the girls as his brother drove away, but there was not sufficient room for him to join them in the gig.

The reverend upon hearing Mr. David Smith's account of the girls' history, agreed to keep them for the night and to take them the next day to an orphanage he often visited.

Early the next morning, Elizabeth woke to the sounds of her sisters' cries. Both Lydia and Kitty called repeatedly for their mother. Finding herself in an unknown place, Lizzy crept quietly out of bed and down the stairs. She found Mr. Smalley seated at the kitchen table eating eggs and toast. He quickly offered some food to his young guest. She accepted eagerly, and quickly devoured her breakfast. Only after she had eaten did she remember that her little sisters also needed to be fed.

"Where are we, sir?"

"This is my home."

"Where is Mr. Stockings?"

"He is staying with his brother, but there was no room for you there."

"Will Papa come to get my sisters and I soon?" The minister felt sorry for the little girl, who must not yet understand death.

"My child, you are an orphan now. Your mother and father are dead. They cannot come for you. You and your sisters will have to live in an orphanage." Lizzy began sobbing madly. She wondered how her father had died, but she wondered even more what would happen to her sisters.

"What will happen to my sisters?"

"They will go to the orphanage, too," Mr. Smalley responded, unaware the girl had two more sisters back in Hertfordshire. Lizzy sighed in relief; she would not worry too much now that she knew Jane would be with her.

Once all three girls had finished their breakfast, the housekeeper cleaned the three girls as well as she could. Then Mr. Smalley hired a hack-chaise to transport himself and the children to the orphanage.

Because of the previous day's accident, Elizabeth became suddenly frightened when it was time to board the carriage. To calm her, the driver suggest she ride up front beside him. The minister could see no harm in it, so he readily consented.

"What is your name, little one?" The driver asked after their journey began.

"Elizabeth Bennet, sir, but mostly people call me Lizzy."

"And how old are you?"

"Six."

"And what do you like to do?"

"I like to read and I like to play outside with Jane."

"You can read?"

"Yes sir. Sometimes I need a little help with big words. Papa was helping me read Robinson Crusoe before..." Elizabeth's voice trailed off.

"That is amazing!"

"It is?" voiced a surprised Elizabeth.

"Yes, my child. What did your father do?"

"He helped to run Longbourn." The driver assumed that girl's father must have been a steward, when in fact her father was the heir. Her grandfather was old and nearly feeble; thus, Elizabeth's father was master in all but name.

To Elizabeth's great misfortune, the driver did not ask Elizabeth more questions about her family. If he had, he would certainly have realized that she and her sisters had plenty of living relatives who might shelter them, and therefore, that they did not belong in an orphanage. Instead, he asked more questions about her interests and abilities.

By the time they arrived at the orphanage, the hack driver had decided that he and his wife should adopt the bright little girl. Mr. Smalley saw no reason to object to the plan, so after unloading Lydia and Catherine from the carriage, he paid the driver and bade Elizabeth good-bye.

"Where are we going? Why am I not going with my sisters?"

"You are going to come to my home and be my little girl."

"But what about my sisters?"

"Each of them will go to a different home."

"We are not going to be together?"

"They might be together for a little while, but they will eventually be separated."

"Oh." Elizabeth made no attempt to disguise her dismay. She felt that she could not bear the loss of Jane, especially without having an opportunity to say good-bye.

Elizabeth continued to ride with the hack driver through the day, as he transported people from place to place. Then at dinner time, he brought her to his home, fully expecting his wife to be as delighted with Elizabeth as he was.

The driver happened to be completely wrong in his expectations, as his wife coolly demanded, "Who is this?" as soon as he led Elizabeth into his home.

"She is an orphan girl. I thought we could adopt her."

"You thought what?"

"I know you have always wanted children. We have been married these five years and not been blessed with any. Little Elizabeth here is especially charming."

"Husband, I had not meant to tell you so soon, but I believe I am expecting. I have no desire to raise someone else's child. We will soon have one of our own."

"We will!" exclaimed the husband. "I shall take Elizabeth to the orphanage tomorrow then. I hope you do not mind keeping her for one night."

"Can you not take her back now?" his wife pleaded. She did not wish to entertain the strange child.

"I suppose I can."

When they were once again seated on the carriage box, the driver apologized to Elizabeth. Elizabeth assured him she did not mind. She expected to soon have a pleasant reunion with her sisters.

About five minutes into their journey, a man hailed the hack-chaise asking for a ride. The driver initially refused, explaining that he had to take Elizabeth to the orphanage. This provoked the gentleman's curiosity, causing him to ask the girl's history. He became particularly interested when he learned that Elizabeth could read, write and do sums. Such a child would be useful to him, for he owned a haberdashery.

"Would you allow me to take the child instead? I should like to adopt her." Because the driver had been so taken with the child himself, he did not question the gentleman's motives. Moreover, he was pleased not to have to waste time transporting the child to the orphanage, so he readily agreed.

Thus, Elizabeth Bennet soon found herself transferred into the care of a Mr. Lewis Clipper a haberdasher from Derby. Mr. Clipper had traveled to town to meet a new supplier and purchase goods. He had finished his business and saw no reason to linger after deciding to adopt Elizabeth. Therefore, less than a week after the life-altering carriage accident, Elizabeth was living in the apartment above Clipper's haberdashery in Derby with the store's owner and his widowed sister. That apartment would be her home for the next seven years.