It’s a Happy Ending for ‘The Other Bennet Sister’
I shall now do what I should have done some weeks ago and ask, Miss Bennet, would you consider accepting my hand in marriage?
It’s the finale of The Other Bennet Sister, and we don’t want to see Mary Bennet go, even if it’s to begin a happy marriage, design a non-polluting steam engine, revolutionize women’s education, or ascend the Matterhorn. (Thankfully, a Christmas special is in the works!)
But as the finale begins, Mary is going through a difficult time. She has written three times to Tom Hayward at his London address, and each time her letter has been returned with a notice that no forwarding address is available. Accepting Tom is no longer part of her life, or her future, Mary toughs it out, forbidding herself to wallow in misery, grateful to the Gardiners for their support and hospitality, and determined to pursue her calling as a governess.
What she doesn’t expect is to come downstairs and find her mother, Mrs. Bennet, taking tea with the Gardiners. Mr. Gardiner carefully emphasizes it will only be a short visit, during which Mrs. Bennet has an appointment with a specialist for her nerves. Mr. Darcy was insistent that she leave Pemberley for London. (You bet he was.) But now Mrs. Bennet is on a mission to get Mary married off. Mary assures her mother that she’s happy as she is, and that her mother has done so well, securing partners for four of her five daughters! But Mrs. Bennet won’t be dissuaded, insisting she has arranged for Mary to meet several suitors.
(How? What did she do? Post flyers? Advertise in a newspaper? Throw nets over unsuspecting gentlemen?)
