P&P Prelude to Pemberley: To Come Out, or Not To Come Out

Welcome to our Pride & Prejudice prequel! P&P: Prelude to Pemberley tells the story of the 8 months before Pride & Prejudice begins, including what Darcy and Elizabeth were doing and thinking, Georgiana Darcy’s story, the events of Ramsgate, how Mr. Bingley came to lease Netherfield, and much more! Join us on our journey as the Austen Variations authors post the events of 1811 in real time on the date they happened – 214 years in the future.

To Come Out, or Not To Come Out

January 1811

“It is not fair!” Lydia Bennet stomped her foot and folded her arms across her chest. “Why should Maria be allowed out and not me? And Kitty is to take part as well! I shall be alone whilst all my sisters partake in society!”

“You are only fourteen, dearest,” Jane said soothingly, attempting to calm the youngest of the Bennet sisters. “Kitty turned seventeen two weeks ago, and it is right for her to have her come out in Meryton society.”

Lydia shook her head violently. “I do not care what explanation you give! I will be fifteen in June—that is more than old enough to be out amongst our friends. Why should I not have my share of excitement?” Cheeks red with anger, Lydia flopped down onto the settee. “I know Mama agrees with me.”

Elizabeth sighed. Mama was in London and had been for the past week. Uncle Gardiner had received a new shipment of fabrics, and Mrs. Bennet had hastened to town to peruse the lot before he sold it. Papa had not objected—the absence of his wife meant more calm in the house.

Lydia had gone to visit Maria Lucas that morning, only to discover that Lady Lucas intended to allow her second daughter to enter Meryton society. Maria was also fifteen, though she would be sixteen before the end of the year. Lydia had returned home filled with talk of her own entrance into society, declaring to everyone that since Maria would be out, so too should she.

Kitty, the fourth Bennet sister, had not yet had her come out. All the other Bennet sisters had waited until they were seventeen. Kitty reached that age less than a month prior and had decided to wait until the next assembly to make her entrance into society official.

“Lydia, it would not be fair to Kitty if you were to come out, too,” Jane tried again. “Be patient, dearest. When it is your turn, all eyes will be on you—it will be your own special occasion.”

Scoffing, Lydia did not reply. Elizabeth and Jane shared a look and then departed. Their sister could be a petulant beast if she wished; they would have no more part of it.

“Lizzy?” Kitty peered around the doorway of the music room and into the hall. “Lydia will not be allowed, will she?” The poor dear sounded very concerned, and Elizabeth sought to reassure her.

“We have all had to wait until our seventeenth year,” she said soothingly. “I cannot see Papa granting his permission, even if Mama does side with our sister.”

Kitty did not look reassured. “Lydia always gets her way,” she whispered. “If she comes out so soon after me…” She trailed off but said nothing else.

“You have always been friendly with Lydia,” Jane said, bemused. “Is she such a trial?”

“If one does not keep pace, one gets trampled.” Kitty shrugged indifferently. “Lydia and I have shared everything—clothes, bonnets, and more for years. Is it so wrong that I want this one thing that is my own?” Without another word, Kitty returned to the music room.

Elizabeth sighed heavily. “Lydia will be waiting at the door for Mama,” she predicted. “And Mama will see nothing wrong with having five daughters out at once.”

“Do you truly think our mother will allow it?” Jane asked. “None of us came out at such a tender age.”

“None of us were Mama’s favorite, either. Even you, Jane, cannot command Mama’s compliance like Lydia can.”

Mrs. Bennet returned the next day, and as anticipated, Lydia awaited her at the door. “Mama!” she cried, waving as the carriage door opened. “I have been anticipating your arrival all morning! I have the most exciting news! I am to come out soon!”

Mama blinked. “Lydia, I have been in this swaying carriage for half the day. Please, allow me to come inside. There are many things to be unloaded off the carriage, too.”

Elizabeth, having witnessed the scene from inside the vestibule, hoped that Mama’s exhaustion meant she had not heard Lydia pronounce her impending launch on society as if it were a done thing. She greeted her mother as she went in the door, taking her bonnet and gloves and putting them aside. Mama thanked her wearily and climbed the stairs to her chambers.

Lydia pouted, crossing her arms and frowning. “I hope you do not think that Mama will deny me,” she said to her sister, turning her nose up into the air. “I will have my come out this summer!” She flounced away, leaving a concerned Elizabeth behind.

She went in search of Jane, hoping that they might mitigate the situation before it became any worse. The sisters went to their father’s study, knocking lightly on the door and entering as bid. Elizabeth breathed in the scent of books, relishing the feeling of calm that washed over her whenever she entered this particular room.

“My two most sensible daughters, come to call upon their papa.” Mr. Bennet grinned humorously, putting his pen aside and leaning back in his chair. He crossed his hands over his stomach. “Tell me, what has prompted this unexpected pleasure. I heard your mama arrive just now—did she bring half of all the fabric in London with her?”

“I confess, I did not take notice of what our mother purchased.” Elizabeth sat and Jane followed. “We come for another purpose. Lydia means to persuade Mama that she should come out this summer.”

Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrows. “And you protest?” he asked in amusement.

“Indubitably!” Elizabeth cried. “She is only fourteen and one of the most unprepared ladies I have ever encountered. Lydia has no sense of propriety or decorum—she eschews many basic tenets of society because she finds them nonsensical or dull! Papa, it is bad enough that there are four of us out. Having the younger sisters out before the elder are married might be tolerated here, but it is not the done thing elsewhere.”

“Are you afraid she will steal some beaux from you and Jane?” Mr. Bennet chuckled. “You have both had many seasons to attract gentlemen in Meryton. It would hardly be considered stealing if one found Lydia to be a better match than her elder sisters.”

Jane sucked in a breath, and Elizabeth glanced at her sister in concern. Though Jane hid it well, the tightness around her eyes spoke of the hurt their father’s words had inflicted.

“Besides all that,” Mr. Bennet continued, “the sooner Lydia marries, the sooner Longbourn quiets down.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. “Then you will not object if—when—Mama presents the idea?”

Shaking his head, Mr. Bennet picked up his quill. “I promise to consider the matter fully. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a great many things to do before I can pick up my book again.”

Dejected, Elizabeth stood. Jane followed and they left the room, closing the door quietly behind them. “Papa will be no help,” she said, frustrated.

“Perhaps if we find Mama before Lydia does…” Jane offered up weakly.

“If our sister has not been to Mama’s chambers already, I shall eat my bonnet. Come on. We may as well make the attempt.”

Elizabeth and Jane climbed the stairs to the mistress’s chambers, knocking lightly and entering when admitted. Mrs. Bennet sat in her favorite chair, a stack of letters in her lap.

“Hello girls!” she said cheerily. “My, you must have all missed me greatly! First Kitty wishing to know if she might have a new gown for her come out, and now you two! Sit with me and I shall tell you all about the new fabrics your uncle acquired.”

Elizabeth almost let out an audible sigh of relief. Lydia had not yet come. “Jane and I wished to speak with you about another matter,” she hedged. “Our youngest sister wishes to have her come out this summer—when she turns fifteen.”

Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands happily, the stack of letters in her lap sliding down her skirts. “Oh, how wonderful that would be! All five daughters out at once! Why, we must go to your father at once and secure the funds. There is a lovely bolt of fabric perfectly suited to Lydia complexion, and—”

“Mama,” Jane said firmly, taking her mother by the hand, “we do not think it is wise for Lydia to come out. All of us waited until we reached our seventeenth year for good reason. My sister is at a trying age, and it would not do to leave her open to ridicule because she is unprepared for society.”

Mrs. Bennet frowned. “Who says she is ill-prepared? I suppose it was that nosey Mrs. Long. I can see no reason why Lydia might not come out. Why should she have to wait for her share of the fun when her sisters have not the inclination or the means to marry quickly?” She scooped up the sliding stack of letters and set it on a side table. “Do you remember that gentleman that courted you when you were fifteen, Jane?” she asked.

“He was not courting me, Mama.” Jane’s cheeks flushed pink, and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

“He wrote you some lovely poetry,” Mrs. Bennet declared. “I have it from Mr. Gardiner that he has lately married. He inherited from an old uncle—an estate worth fifteen hundred a year. That could have been you, Jane, if only you had returned his attention.”

“What has that to do with Lydia?” Elizabeth asked. She felt exasperated; Mama’s wandering thoughts rarely made sense.

“Jane, you are my most beautiful daughter,” Mrs. Bennet continued, ignoring Elizabeth. “Lydia is my most lively. One of you will be this family’s salvation. There has not been an opportunity for you to secure a local gentleman. Perhaps they want for a girl with more exuberance.”

Jane shook her head. “Mama, it would not be fair for Kitty,” she said haltingly. “My sister has waited her turn. Lydia ought to as well.”

“Oh, hang Kitty! She is nothing to my Lydia. Besides, they have celebrated together for so long. Their come out can be the same.”

It was the very thing Kitty feared. Elizabeth had watched her two youngest sisters for the last year. Lydia had grown steadily wilder, and Kitty followed along. Jane had shared Elizabeth’s hopes that once Kitty came out, she would settle down. Once away from Lydia’s poor example, surely Kitty would mature and come into herself.

Mrs. Bennet huffed. “If you have nothing more to say,” she said, “I must see to this correspondence.” Mama effectively dismissed them, pulling the stack of letters into her lap once more.

Sighing, the two sisters departed, this time separating outside their mother’s rooms and going to their own chambers.

Dinner that night proved to be a great spectacle. Lydia began the meal announcing that she wished to come out, citing Maria Lucas’s own launch on society as reason enough for it to be allowed.

“It is not fair!” Kitty cried when Mama immediately agreed. “I never get to have anything of my own. Now you say I am to share this important event with Lydia!”

“Ha, ha,” Lydia taunted her sister. “You would not do well, anyhow. I am prettier, livelier, and taller than you.”

Kitty’s eyes filled with tears, and she turned to their father. “Tell her she cannot come out!” she cried. “It is not fair! This is supposed to be a time that is about me. Lydia gets whatever she wants! Can I not have what I want?”

The cacophony went on for some time. Jane and Elizabeth shared heavy looks whilst Mary consumed her soup without comment. Finally, Mr. Bennet had had enough.

“Cease this dreadful display, I beg you!” he cried.

“Please, Papa, may I come out?” Lydia begged in her sweetest voice.

“I will not make the decision in haste! Whether Lydia comes out in the summer will not be decided today, and that is final! Now, everyone eat your dinner quietly.” Mr. Bennet leveled them all with a serious look and then returned to his meal.

Kitty gasped. Her eyes filled with tears and her lip quivered. Hastily, she pushed back from the table and raced from the room. Elizabeth could hear her sobs in the hall, fading as she rushed to her chambers. Though she reacted as though Lydia’s come out was a done thing, it was understandable. Lydia’s desires were rarely refused

“Mama, I shall need all new clothes,” Lydia said, ignoring her sister’s distress and speaking as though all had been decided. “Nothing I have is proper for a lady newly out.”

“Certainly, my dear!” Mrs. Bennet smiled broadly. “All my girls will have new things, and we will ensure you have a few more gowns.”

“And I suppose Kitty will get nothing?” An uncharacteristically sarcastic quip from Mary caught Elizabeth by surprise, but when she turned to look at her sister, Mary acted as if she had said nothing.

Mama ignored her third child as she always did, and they were forced to spend the rest of the meal subject to Mrs. Bennet and Lydia’s ‘unofficial’ plans for the youngest Bennet’s come out in June.

Jane attempted to comfort Kitty later that evening, only to be rebuffed. Lydia, who shared a room with her elder sister, took every opportunity to flaunt her superiority.

“You know Papa will agree,” she said loftily. “He always does.”

Eventually, the two youngest sisters settled back into their usual behavior, with Kitty following Lydia, parroting her in all the worst ways. Resigned to it all, Elizabeth resolved to make the best of it.

Read all the scenes in Prelude to Pemberley here!