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Published:
2025-04-05
Updated:
2025-04-16
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3/?
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Lydia Bennet’s Fantastic Fling in Brighton (Will Not Be Cut Short)

Summary:

A series of one-shots of the various reasons Lydia Bennet did not leave Brighton early and nearly drive her family into ruin.

Chapter 1: Poverty

Summary:

Mrs. Forster explains the real facts of life.

Chapter Text

“Oh, my dear Lydia, did you see Mrs. Sarah Jones at the assembly last night? Why, I think that was the same gown she wore Friday last and at the musicale on Tuesday! That’s what comes from marrying a poor lieutenant.”

Lydia Bennet and Harriet Forster were sharing a late breakfast, Col. Forster long returned to the barracks, even after the late night. As per their normal habit, the two ladies were gossiping about the many people they saw and spoke with the previous evening.

“Hmph,” Lydia snorted, “I don’t see why she married such a short, freckled thing like Lt. Jones when there are so many handsomer men in the –shire militia.”

“His face is neither here nor there! Do you think my darling colonel would be able to afford these nice lodgings for us if he were a mere lieutenant? Not in the slightest!”

Harriet caught Lydia’s hand and spoke quite in earnest. “My dear, I know you have particular favorites with Denny, Saunderson, and Wickham, but none of them will be able to support you in the manner you’re used to – in the manner you deserve!” Seeing Lydia’s recalcitrant look, she expounded further. “Poor Sarah Jones can’t afford more than a single servant and must attend to much of her own cooking and cleaning. You are a gentlewoman, and quite young and pretty. Don’t settle for anything less than a Captain unless he has strong family prospects.”

At first, Lydia was little inclined to listen to the sage advice of her married friend, but once the thought had been planted, she could not help but to notice the wives and daughters of the various militia officers. More specifically, she noticed the quality of their gowns and jewelry corresponded rather directly to the rank of the officers in question.

Lydia thought of her young childhood; as the youngest of five daughters she very rarely was given her own new clothing items without them having first been passed through one or more of her sisters. Only once they were all out in society did Mama insist on buying them each new dresses periodically – although Papa did not always agree to the expense. (Of course, Lydia had grown so tall and buxom that she could not fit in many of her sisters’ hand-me-downs anymore anyway. Short Lizzy and flat-chested Mary would have to redo Lydia’s old gowns, rather than the other way around!) Even now, Lydia’s pin money almost always ran out before her next allowance, and at home she frequently begged Jane for some of hers when there was a new pretty ribbon or bonnet she couldn’t afford.

It was all very romantic to think of following the drum and living on love alone, but Lydia did so like having pretty things. And very much disliked having to do any sort of housework. Plus, it would be one more thing to lord over Kitty and the others, if she could afford new dresses and bonnets whenever she wished and not only when Papa allowed it.

Thus, after much consideration, Lydia decided that Harriet might be right and a Captain would do very well for her. She had considered even higher ranks (oh, wouldn’t her Mama swoon over that), but most of the Colonels were so old, and the Generals were positively ancient!

To this end, Lydia considered all the men surrounding her. Poor Wickham might be the handsomest man she’d ever met, but he’d lost his prospects to that wicked Mr. Darcy so what good was he now as a husband? Capt. Carter might not be quite so handsome as Wickham, but he was still a jolly fellow and an enthusiastic dancer – plus he was due to inherit an estate from his elderly grandmother. He also puffed up like a peacock when Lydia decided to let him have her first dance instead of any of the others.

(Moreover, Capt. Carter had been Kitty’s favorite when the regiment had been stationed in Meryton, so stealing him away would be just as much fun as winning Lizzy’s favorite, Wickham.)

La, wouldn’t Lydia crow to not only marry first of all her sisters, but to one day be mistress of her own estate where she could arrange everything to her own satisfaction! Surely Brighton was the best place to find a husband!

Chapter 2: Popularity

Summary:

Lydia is boy-crazy, not marriage-crazy.

Chapter Text

Lydia was having the time of her life and never wanted to leave Brighton! It had been very well in Meryton, with the one regiment attending the local assemblies and card parties. She had been the favorite of several of the officers, and had enjoyed alternately flirting with Denny, Saunderson, Chamberlain, and Captain Carter. Even Wickham – when Lizzy wasn’t keeping him all to herself.

In Brighton however, there were dozens of regiments with hundreds of handsome redcoats! Plus, she didn’t have Lizzy there trying to steal Wickham’s attentions, or Kitty trying to steal any of the others. Oh, there were other young women in Brighton of course – the officers had to have enough dance partners – but she’d wager none were so lively as herself!

With so many handsome officers around, it wouldn’t do to restrict her dance card to only the officers from the Meryton regiment. Why dance a second time with Denny when there was a new officer from the –shire militia begging for an introduction? Why restrict herself to her old acquaintances when she had a bevy of new beaus available?

When she’d first come to Brighton, Lydia had secretly harbored a plan to find a husband there as soon as possible. Since Jane hadn’t managed to bring Mr. Bingley up to scratch, Lydia still had a chance to be the first Bennet daughter married. Oh, she could just imagine the surprise when she came home to Longbourn a married woman! Plus, instead of falling last in the line to be presented to new company or to enter for dinner, she would get to precede Jane as the only married daughter.

Staying with Harriet Forster showed the downside to that plan. While Col. Forster was reasonably handsome and pleasant company, whenever he escorted them to balls and assemblies he stayed by Harriet’s side almost the whole night. The only men Harriet ever danced with outside of her husband, were a few of the men from his regiment. (Even then there were a few he had forbidden from dancing with his wife.)

Lydia was very glad she did not have to follow such restrictions and could dance and flirt with whomever she wished. She even set a goal for herself to never sit down a dance and to never repeat the same partner twice during an event if she could help it.

Why at the last ball Lydia danced once with Col. Standish who was the third son of a duke! Wouldn’t Kitty be wild with envy when she heard. La, Mama would surely tell all the neighbors how she, little Lydia, hobnobbed with a duke’s son. Not that she needed to dance with him again; he was a bit dull, and so old – probably past 30!

But there were many more men like him – and younger and handsomer ones too – and Lydia wanted to dance with all of them. Oh, she’d probably pick one to marry eventually, but with so many choices surrounding her, why settle down with just one man when she could instead flirt with dozens?

Chapter 3: Prophecy

Summary:

A fortune teller knows all.

Chapter Text

The fortune teller was just supposed to be a lark. She and Harriet had decided to visit the woman on a whim after they saw the sign covered in mystical symbols. Lydia expected to be told that her future contained someone “tall, dark, and handsome,” which she might then use to tease Wickham about obviously being her fated love.

That was not what she was told.

At least her fortune was more exciting than Harriet’s, whose prediction involved an abundant fruit orchard or some such thing. The fortune teller said that meant that Harriet would be blessed with a large family. Plus, since there were cherry trees present, that indicated a high chance of twins. Lydia was utterly uninterested in having one baby any time soon, let alone multiple ones! But Harriet seemed very pleased and over dinner told Colonel Forster about their expedition in high spirits. The Colonel, while skeptical at the idea of fortune telling, did seem quite delighted with the specific fortune told. The two then decided to retire early that night, leaving Lydia quite alone to ponder her own fortune.

The fortune teller said she had seen Lydia in front of a strong creature with tawny hair. After much mystical hemming and hawing, the creature was declared to be a lion, that Lydia appeared to be taming. It was a very exciting, if rather unexpected, prophecy, but the fortune teller refused to give any further clarification beyond, “You will know when your future has found you.”

Now Lydia would very much like to meet and tame a real lion; that sounded absolutely thrilling and like the fun sort of thing that no one would believe when she wrote home about it. Unfortunately, she doubted there were any in the vicinity. Plus, Harriet’s prophetic images had not been literal like that, unless her friend planned to start planting fruit trees!

Suddenly Lydia sat up from the lounging position on her bed – wasn’t there a novel she’d read once with Kitty where the hero’s hair was described as a “tawny mane”? Ooh, now taming a man sounded even more fun! It was true that most of Lydia’s favorites in the -shire Regiment were dark-haired, but there was a whole townful of soldiers in Brighton. Or perhaps her “lion” might be a foreigner, or a soldier in the India campaign who might even show her a real lion someday!

Unfortunately, despite the many, many soldiers in Brighton, most of them were either attached to domestic regiments or those previously serving or about to serve in France or Spain. Lydia didn’t think they had any lions there. After a week of fruitless searching, the lack of an immediate answer led her to abandon the whole idea as foolishness. What did some two-bit fortune teller know about Lydia Bennet anyway?

The very next night, Lydia met Colonel Reynolds. He literally ran into her at a ball, and while she smiled flirtatiously up at him expecting to be offered a dance as compensation for his clumsiness, he simply nodded at her and walked away. Such rudeness was not to borne! Lydia swore then and there that she would make him dance with her one way or another. He would wish he’d asked her the first time.

It took another two weeks before she succeeded in her quest. While his excellent dancing belied his earlier clumsiness in bumping into her, Lydia probably would have considered him too stiff and proper if she hadn’t spent so much time and effort arranging for this dance to happen.

After they returned back to their lodgings that evening, Lydia still riding the high of her triumph, Harriet leaned over to giggle, “I see you’ve finally tamed your lion!”

Lydia stared at her in astonishment. “I finally forced that man to dance after he was so rude to me, if that’s what you mean.”

“You hadn’t heard then?” Harriet’s eyes glimmered with the shine of juicy gossip. “Colonel Lionel Reynolds leads one of the regiments in India. He’s such a fearless commander that his men started calling him ‘the Lion of India.’ I’ve heard he will not be staying in England for very long however, before returning there. So, you had best work quickly if you wish to secure him.”

So, work quickly, Lydia did. She flirted with him outrageously until his stern lips turned up at the corners. She found ways to make him laugh, which softened the forbidding look in his eyes. In the face of such determined pursuit, the colonel tried to dissuade her that he was too old, too set in his ways, and his place in India too far away. But Lydia could be quite stubborn when she set her mind on something, and she had quite set her mind on him. (Plus, thirty was not that old, his ways were already changing against his will, and Lydia was quite excited by the prospect of traveling thousands of miles away from her home.)

In the end, Colonel Reynolds was still much too proper to consent to the “adventure” of an elopement, but he did agree to a special license so that he could bring his young wife back with him to India before the end of the month. Lydia was quite thrilled to find this an even greater adventure. She even had the opportunity to see a real lion! Plus, tigers and elephants and monkeys and all sorts of creatures. She couldn’t say she really tamed any of those creatures, except perhaps the monkey which sometimes deigned to come down and eat out of her hand and sometimes threw things instead.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Lydia Reynolds soon acquired the epithet of “the Lioness” for her indomitable nature, as well as her ability to bring a smile to the face of her strict husband. As for Lydia, she was quite content that the one tawny-haired creature worth taming was her dearest Lionel. (At least until her several wild and golden-haired children entered the world.)