Good evening fellow jane austin addicts. (also those non addicts;)

so i wanted to be really productive in lockdown, but unfortunately i have not been as focused as i thought. i blame the kids. im hoping everyone is staying safe and keeping happy.

this story is a really light hearted what if mrs bennet birthed the so wished for son. very little angst, cuz i figured who needs it right now! Its not as edgy or controversial as my usual style. also might be a bit slower.

hopefully you will enjoy it. :) as always, comments welcome but blind insults are not helpful..

Chapter 1 - Vindication in the form of a son.

Mr Thomas Bennet fell headlong for the newly out, charming, and lively Miss Francine Gardiner.

Miss Gardiner was not a gentleman's daughter; however, she was the daughter of a respectable attorney, one of the few professions considered gentlemanly. She had a respectable dowry and her sister was established with the successor of the law office in Meryton.

Mr Bennet did not particularly like town, and so did not think to venture there for a bride. He had no need for a society miss that would forever be wishing to journey to town for the season.

He was vastly content with being well thought of in his little town. He had completed time at Oxford and retained some correspondents with people from various parts of the kingdom. He was looked up to as one of the more scholarly gentlemen in the area and that suited him well.

It did not occur to him that Miss Gardiner was neither well read nor scholarly. Who looks for those things in a wife after all?

He settled happily into his life at Longborn, the principal house in their little town. Mrs Bennet acclimatised her to the role of gentleman's wife well. She visited with the four and twenty families in her circle and was perfectly content when she fell with child within the first four months of her marriage.

She declared that it must be a boy, for she was violently ill for the first six months of the pregnancy. She also became exceptionally large, and she would have suffered the assumption that she was further along than she thought. She was vastly glad she had not fallen with child in the first month or the gossip would have been more spiteful.

When she birthed twins, at the time she had said she would, she was vindicated in her insistence on her dates. She may not be well read, but she had known her duty and had read around the topic as much as she was able to.

Jane was born first, a beautiful baby girl. She was swiftly followed by Henry, who's presence near made Mrs Bennet swoon with relief. She had birthed a boy. An heir for the estate. Her vindication in her role as gentleman's wife would have been heard far and wide, had she not been confined as was proper.

Another girl, Elizabeth, followed within a twelve month before Mrs Bennet began to dissuade her husband from her room. Mr Bennet took the hint and no further children came for a few years. A young man cannot be expected to forgo the marriage bed completely and a further girl, Lydia, followed five years later. Lydia was the darling of her mother.

Jane and Henry formed at bond like only twins can do, Elizabeth became the favourite of her father, for her mind was quicker and more inquisitive than the others. Lydia, or so it seemed to Mrs Bennet, was solely for her.

And so, the Bennet family grew up. Jane and Henry, both equally sweet tempered, blond haired blue eyed and beautiful. They could often speak to each other without others hearing a word and they were as near to inseparable as two separate people could be.

Henry, being a boy, had more of a mischievous streak than his twin sister and so would turn to Elizabeth when in need of a daring exploit. She was close to both Jane and Henry and of course enjoyed the attention of their father. Mr Bennet grew tired of attempting to dissuade Elizabeth and Jane from joining Henry's lessons. Jane did not wish to be parted from her brother for a whole day and Elizabeth wished to learn. So it was that both the eldest Bennet girls were allowed to sit in. Jane would often practice her embroidery or other ladylike pursuits, but Elizabeth soaked the lessons up like a sponge.

Of course, Henry had to go away to Harrow and also to Oxford. Elizabeth would have joined him there but was sadly not allowed. Jane missed her brother but used the time to strength her bond with her closest sister. Both Elizabeth and Jane tried to spend time with their younger sister. Lydia did not make this easy as she had become quite spoiled in her first ten years of life. Having had the sole attention of her mother for the time that the three eldest were in lessons with Mr Bennet, she did not take kindly to her older sisters suddenly interfering in her fun and correcting her behaviour.

They both tried to appeal to their mother and their father. Their mother saw nothing wrong in her favourite daughters' behaviour and their father wanted only peace having dedicated the last ten years of his life to educating his children. He was relieved by his son's attendance at school and was quite glad to claim his library as his own once more. Embroiling himself in the affairs of the ladies of the house was not on his agenda.

So it was, in the autumn of 1811, that Mr Bennet had his son home from Oxford, fresh from his time at university. Eager to start learning the ropes of Longborn. A tour of his friends estates over the summer had replaced his desire to see Europe (not possible thanks to Napoleon and the uncertainty of conflict abroad) and Mr Bennet was more than happy to begin to hand over the running of things.

Mrs Bennet had allowed her youngest daughter out, against the advice of her older daughters, and whilst her son was away. Henry would have, no doubt, supported his sisters however by the time he had returned home Lydia was out and it was hard to convince anyone to force her back in again.

So it was, the Bennet family, once again all under one roof. Henry was excited to start taking up the mantle, Mr Bennet relieved to have his son home and quite prepared to hand over the reins. Jane was excited to have her brother home, and Elizabeth scarcely less so. Both had been happy to spend their time with their uncle Gardiner in London, as well as with their friends and neighbours. The addition of their brother brought excitement to their home. Mrs Bennet was happy to have the son and heir home and exceedingly keen to begin looking for a wife for him.

For every gentleman, in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.