i'm rereading the penderwicks and am once again reminded that jeffrey and batty don't make sense together because of the age gap/sibling relationship but also the fact that batty isn't amy — she's beth. and beth doesn't have any romantic relationships, which makes so much sense since batty is literally the baby of the family for the first 3 books. if jeanne's plan was to always pair her books' versions of laurie (jeffrey) and amy together, then he ended up with the wrong sister.
instead, jane is the penderwick girl whose characterization is closest to amy's; jane is the one who is deeply passionate about her craft throughout the books, is determined to succeed above all else, and will do anything to ensure that she can (i.e. waitressing even though she hates it). she has amy's determination and her sometimes naive and childish outlook on life. and it's insinuated in the first book that jane liked jeffrey and didn't realize ("he didn't have tawny eyes and auburn hair, but jane all of a sudden understood that brown hair and green eyes could be nice"). she was jealous of skye visiting jeffrey in the second book, and skye herself even said that jane would have appreciated him if he liked her instead.
hinting at a relationship between jeffrey and jane in the last book would make sense based on their ages (they're only one year apart), and the fact that they both share deep passion for their respective art (music for jeffrey and writing for jane) and would have been compatible together, despite coming out of left field — just like amy and laurie.
