[Pride and Prejudice] Becoming Katherine Bennett

In September in Hertfordshire, sunshine and rain alternated one after another. A drizzle that just ended left misty moisture. Catherine opened the window, and the aroma mixed with soil and grass came to her face.

Her eyes looked into the distance, and the green hills covered by green vegetation in her sight were connected with the skyline in the distance. The natural scenery without industrial pollution was refreshing.Smoke curls from the houses above the houses in the village, and the lively voices of people and animals constitute a lively and warm atmosphere.

Catherine stood by the window and stretched, then raised her arms and did a few simple radio exercises to move her back, which was sore from sitting for a long time.

Just as she was wearing a half-length petticoat, endured the waistband, and was struggling to raise her legs on the spot, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Miss, my wife asked you to go downstairs."

It was Hill, their housekeeper.

"I see, tell my wife that I will go down immediately." Catherine replied.

She bid farewell to the scenery in front of her, closed the window and walked back to the desk, put the half-finished manuscript into the drawer, and put away the quill and ink one by one.Then he picked up the long brown skirt that was placed on the back of the chair, put it on the white petticoat, and raised his hair high in front of the mirror. After confirming that he was dressed properly, he walked towards the living room.

It has been half a year since the accident.

Lin Nana gradually changed from being unbelievable to calmly accepting the bizarre incident that she changed from an ordinary girl in Huaguo in the 21st century to Catherine, the fourth daughter of a British gentry family in the late 18th century.

Time is the best medicine, at least this reincarnation is better than the last one.Catherine persuaded herself helplessly.

Lin Nana was an orphan in the original world. Her parents were unknown and she was not adopted. She lived in an orphanage since she was a child. She was admitted to university with her tenacious will and extraordinary efforts. After graduation, she worked in a large company. After several years of hard work Moving bricks, finally reached the level of consumption that is not difficult to drink a cup of Starbucks.

However, because she is an orphan, and she is busy studying and making money, Lin Nana's interpersonal relationship is almost zero, and she has never made a close friend, let alone a relationship. It's her six-figure deposit starting with three.

And her current identity, Catherine, is much better than her original one, living in a family with both parents, four sisters, and a superior family.

The Bennett family is quite prestigious in the local area. Although Mr. Bennett is not an aristocrat, he is a recognized gentleman in the local area and is respected by everyone in Meryton Town.

Their family lived well, and they had a beautiful big house - Longbourne House. There were 6 servants serving in the house, and more servants working on the farm. There was even a carriage in the house.

Catherine learned from Mr. Bennet that he paid 63 pounds for the two dark horses, which were far from tall, and a skilled craftsman's annual salary was only 55 pounds.And that's just the cost of buying a horse.Carriage expenses, post-maintenance, and post-feeding all require continuous expenditures. Owning a horse-drawn carriage now is the same as buying a car in the 90s. It is a symbol of status and wealth.

The rest of the Bennet family were already seated in the drawing room, and Catherine walked in just in time to hear Mr. Bennet say to her second sister, Elizabeth: "Lizzie, I think this hat will be very suitable for you to attend in a few days. Wear it to the dance."

Catherine saw Elizabeth holding up a hat and looking left and right, as if she was considering where to put the newly made fabric flowers.

Seeing Catherine approaching, Elizabeth's eyes lit up: "Kitty, help me take a look."

Kitty was Catherine's nickname, as the family called her.

"You're finally willing to come down, Kitty," Mrs. Bennet said in a high-pitched voice, her tone a bit shrill, "but you're just one more sad person down here, your father won't go to Nedfield Manor Visiting Mr Bingley."

Nedelfil is the most luxurious manor building in the area. It is said that it belongs to an Irish nobleman. The rent is high and it has been vacant.Now that it has been rented out, it has become a hot topic among nearby residents.

Catherine walked quickly to Elizabeth's side, and kept coughing as soon as she sat down.

"Are you still uncomfortable?" Elizabeth's dark eyes were full of worry.

"I'm fine, my throat is a little itchy now and then."

When she came in, the original Catherine was having a high fever and was unconscious for a while.In this era of low medical standards, a minor illness can end a person's life. I don't know if it is because of this fever that she can become Catherine.

Catherine turned her head away and coughed.

"My dear Kitty, don't keep coughing all the time!" Mrs. Bennet rubbed her forehead. "For God's sake, give me a little sympathy for my nerves."

Catherine covered her mouth and whispered back while coughing: "Okay mother, let me tell my throat to make it listen to you. Don't stare at me, I have only one way."

Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth laughed simultaneously.

Elizabeth said: "Dad, I also think this hat is very suitable for the dance in two weeks."

Catherine didn't care too much about the topic of the ball, but she was probably the only one in the living room with this attitude.

Now that letters and face-to-face communication are the main ways of contact, parties, public gatherings, banquets and other gatherings are important ways for people to communicate and entertain, and dances have become the most popular choice. The entire British society, from the king, nobles to country gentry People of all walks of life are keen on the ball. 2

Catherine took Elizabeth's hat, went upstairs to the bedroom after a while, found her newly sewn lace from the wardrobe, and heard a burst of cheers before going downstairs.

"Oh, Mr. Bennett, it is very kind of you!"

"Oh, Dad."

As Catherine went downstairs, Elizabeth came up to share the good news: Mr. Bennett had paid a visit to Mr. Bingley.

Catherine lacked interest.

"What's the matter with you, Kitty, aren't you happy?" Catherine's only sister, Lydia, the youngest and tallest daughter of the Bennett family, looked at her expression and shouted at her.

Mrs. Bennet was very happy: "Oh, Kitty, Mr. Bingley is a bachelor with an annual income of four or five thousand pounds!"

This supplement made Catherine finally understand everyone's point.

As the Misses of the Bennet family who have no inheritance of land and only an inheritance of one thousand pounds, what could make people happier than a golden bachelor?

It's unlucky to say the least.Catherine traveled through time before she had time to enjoy the money she saved in her previous life, thinking that being born into a middle-class family this time would not be so miserable. Who would have thought that the situation had not improved much, and she still had to worry about money.

Marriage, marrying a husband who can promote or maintain social status and wealth, is the most important and only important thing for every young lady after her birth.And a dowry of [-] pounds is almost nonexistent in this era of being well-matched.

Catherine was also happy to see them cheering and jumping, and she prayed secretly that Mr. Bingley, a gentleman with an annual income of five thousand pounds, would not care too much about their poverty and marry a sister.

In the cheerful atmosphere of the room, the only relatively calm Mr. Bennett waved to Catherine, signaling her to follow him.

Catherine's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately forgot about the rich Mr. Bingley, and quickly followed Mr. Bennett to the study.

She closed the door, declined the kindness of "Do you need some tea" from Mrs. Bennett who came over and sat down in the comfortable red chair in front of the desk.

Longbourn House is a standard British gentry residence. It has several rooms such as bedroom, lounge, dining room and study room. The guest's place.

The study is about five hundred feet long, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows with maroon curtains, a dark brown Turkish carpet on the floor, black walnut wood panels on the walls, brass lamps hanging from the ceiling, illuminated by candles. inside the house.

Mr. Bennett attaches great importance to the study room, and all the decorations in the house cost a lot of thought and a lot of money. He seldom lets others in, but now he brings Catherine into the study room. The rest of the Bennett family are very curious.

But no matter how they guessed, they would never think of what Mr. Bennet and Catherine were talking about.

After Catherine sat down, Mr. Bennett took out a letter from the drawer and handed it to her: "I just arrived this morning. Because it wrote my name, I thought it was mine, so I read it first."

Catherine looked at Mr. Bennet expectantly, but she soon found that there was no joy or anger on his face, so she quickly took the letter and opened it eagerly.

The person who wrote the letter used a beautiful Roman font, but Catherine was not in the mood to appreciate the beauty of the font, and all her thoughts were firmly attracted by the content of the letter.

Mr. Bennett learned:

I was extremely shocked by the book "Return of Blood", not only by the twists and turns and richness of the content, but also by your writing style. No one has ever expressed such a story in such a natural, novel and concise way. Can't wait for the next chapter.If you don't mind meeting and talking with me, I suggest you meet at my publishing house in London on September 9th at the address attached.I will be waiting for you at the press all day.

Regards to you.

Horatio Gordon worships

in West London

September [-]

Seeing the contents of the letter, Catherine, who had been rejected twice and whose wish could finally come true, felt suffocated, and her hands holding the letter were trembling with excitement.

"Congratulations, Kitty." Mr. Bennett was expressionless. He already knew the result, and he didn't want to spoil his daughter's surprise by revealing his mood in advance.At this moment, Catherine had already read the letter, and he smiled with joy.

"Thank you, Dad, thank you." Tears welled up in Catherine's eyes, and her mood was surging like ocean waves.

"Thank me, it's your own ability." Mr. Bennett and Catherine's father-daughter relationship is not close, and he raised his hand to cover his face with a book, and continued, "I heard from Hill that the candles in your room are going to be late. It's late to go out, and you deserve it."

"I'm very happy if you don't mind me wasting pounds." Catherine raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She was immersed in joy, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

All along, Mr. Bennett was actually a selfish father in her heart.This is the conclusion Catherine made after learning about the current inheritance regulations and the income of the Bennett family.

The wealth of the Bennett family mainly comes from the products of the land of Longburn Manor. At the price level of two pennies enough for a person's whole day's food expenses, two thousand pounds is equivalent to the purchasing power of 21 pounds in the 30st century. Any society is a great wealth. 4

But the money had nothing to do with the Miss Bennetts.

Today, the United Kingdom implements the "Law of Westminster" in 1285, which promulgated the system of limited inheritance of real estate, which is a supplement to the system of primogeniture. 5

As the name suggests, the eldest son inheritance system means that the eldest son of the family inherits all the family property, and the other sons generally do not get a dime, let alone the daughters.The limited inheritance of real estate stipulates that all real estate with limited inheritance must not be sold, and must be passed on to the male heir designated in the will to prevent prodigal sons who sell their ancestral property. 6

Mr. Bennett has no sons, and the Longbourne Manor is a limited inheritance. According to the law, the manor will belong to his distant nephew in the future.His wife and five daughters are likely to face being kicked out of the estate and sleeping rough after his death.

This is why Catherine thinks Mr. Bennett is selfish.

The limited inheritance of land refers only to land and estates, and does not include money or other wealth saved by Mr. Bennett during his lifetime.

However, this gentleman has never considered for several daughters. He has maintained extravagant expenses with an annual income of [-] pounds without any investment or savings. He also stated in his will that each daughter only has [-] pounds. heritage.

It must be known that Mrs. Bennet's father was only an attorney in the legal profession, not even a lawyer, and he gave Mrs. Bennet an inheritance of 7 pounds when his annual income was less than [-] pounds. [-]

In comparison, Mr. Bennett was a bit indifferent.