That really does seem to suggest that A lady's pin money depended upon the fortune she brought into the marriage, doesn't it? Which makes for a very hard question about Lizzy's source of income, since Lizzy only has fifty pounds a year from her parents. Assuming that Mrs B does actually know what she's talking about, though, I suppose it's probable that Lizzy 's marriage settlement cites an amount of money given to her by Darcy himself. I do wonder how one would negotiate such a thing.

The other interesting thing is that in the examples you gave,the lady's pin money is reliant on something that may, or may not, be stable in her lifetime. Money invested in funds, or in rents would be fairly secure, I suppose, but if it came from other sources, such as trade income, then it might disappear very suddenly. So a lady who has in her marriage settlement something like £200.00 per annum, might suddenly find her income drop much below that. I wonder if it could also rise higher, or if the pin money was actually limited by contract?

I'm wondering about other things, too. I suppose it was paid quarterly? That it was paid directly to her, and didn't come through her husband? That she would have a separate bank account for it?