Twixt Two Equal Armies Read Online Free Page B

possible and even a bit longer than that, if you please, were met with a wry smile and distinct amusement in her lively and intelligent eyes. Mr Bennet’s protests, she was very candidly told, were not to be heeded. Elizabeth was much better off with her aunt where she would be far less trouble and might possibly come to realise and regret her shameful treatment of her mother in the midst of the harsh and grim weather they must surely be suffering from at this time of the year. Life in Hertfordshire at the moment was perfect, and Mrs Bennet intended to enjoy it as a just reward for all her struggles. Mrs Tournier had no qualms in allowing her the right to do so. Especially since it meant Elizabeth’s removal to their home was one part of it. It could be said a letter had seldom been sent and received with equal, yet quite opposite pleasure in both sender and recipient. The receiving of Mrs Bennet’s letters was an expense Mrs Tournier would be loath to forego but perhaps not entirely for the reasons her sister-in-law imagined.
    Notwithstanding the excellent news contained in this particular letter, what Mrs Tournier was so fond of in her sister’s infrequent letters was that there was no art about them. They perfectly mirrored their authoress’ tone and personality, not to mention were most informative about the wealth and prospects of her future son-in-law and his impressive connections and Mrs Tournier, however much she was glad the writer was not there in person to deliver her news and opinions, appreciated that. They were so very different from her brother’s letters. Mr Bennet was a most unreliable and frequently exasperating correspondent, because though Mrs Tournier felt no regrets in leaving the place of her birth and girlhood, she did retain an affection for it and, more importantly, for her nieces. Her brother could never be relied upon to be as candid about the goings on in Meryton and at Longbourn as his wife was certain to be.
    The most welcome letters from Hertfordshire were, of course, those from her niece, Elizabeth. Mrs Tournier gratefully acknowledged that her sister-in-law’s candidness and her brother’s wit were perfectly married in Elizabeth’s letters and she took great joy in keeping up a regular correspondence with her. As few others of her family would, Elizabeth Bennet confessed to great curiosity about her aunt’s life and exploits, but even more readily she confessed to being very fond of her. Whereas Mrs Tournier’s previous life as the wife of a French Revolutionary, exiled when the movement turned violent and bloody, and now a purveyor and collaborator with various periodicals and publications of the intellectual circles in Edinburgh, was not generally talked about within the Bennet family, Elizabeth almost defiantly kept up a warm and close relationship with her aunt. And, perhaps even more importantly, with her cousin Holly.
    When Mrs Tournier was widowed eight years previously, she had chosen to stay on at the small cottage called Rosefarm where the family had made their home after their flight from Paris at the Jacobins’ rise to power. First it had been insisted upon by the Pembrokes, who originally provided the little family with a refuge from a rootless existence in exile. The terms and rent were very generous, and if at first grief held Mrs Tournier and Holly close to where Jean-Baptiste Tournier had lived and worked, it soon became apparent that economy would continue to do so. Additionally, she was obliged to work for an income, and as much as she hated the necessity, it was evident that her daughter must contribute as well. This her daughter did through teaching at a respected seminary for young girls in Edinburgh. Hockdown School was respected but uninspiring. Elizabeth’s visit would be a treat Holly well deserved, and probably desperately needed.
    Mrs Tournier let her hands smooth the sheet of paper in front of her while looking out at the darkening October evening.