The entire town was in mourning with so many lost. Several large funerals were held, and the Bishop of Sussex travelled toEastbourne from the cathedral in Chichester to conduct them himself. Every lady in Eastbourne wore black, whether they had lost family or not. It was agreed by the entire community that there would be no evening engagements, but that ladies would continue to call upon one another, for they were all mourning, and otherwise there would be no calls or condoling at all.
Job Tyler had appeared immediately in the village once his son’s heroism became known, and it was immediately apparent that the man intended to cash in on his son’s fame. It did not last long. Though the town was grateful to Tom Tyler, and showed it, they paid him very little attention when his father was present in the village, as they were used to doing in the past. Job Tyler’s nature had been apparent to all for many years. In the absence of any sufficiently grand rewards, Job Tyler turned again to poaching. He needed some ready coin, and when he stole four brace of pheasant, three of snipe, from Sir and Lady Gordon’s land, Croucher and Richard were ready to do something about the man, at Georgiana Darcy’s special request.
Sir Gordon could not act as magistrate in this matter, and so Richard and Croucher ensured that this time, no mercy was shown to Job Tyler. So many times had the man been let go because he had such a large family to feed, but they pointed out to the judge that the man did not feed his family anyway. His son, a strapping boy with a good pair of leather boots, had already distinguished himself as a hero of the invasion, and already provided better for the family with hardly any effort at all. Job Tyler was sentenced to transportation. He would never return from Australia, freeing his wife and children from his cruel and controlling ways. The town of Eastbourne thanked Tom Tyler for his service the night of the invasion with the gift of a small three bedroom cottage near the edge of the village, one of the brand new constructions built to replace what had burned. Tom gratefully accepted gifts of cloth, blankets, furniture, andcrockery for his family without consulting his mother, who, being so used to obeying Job, said nothing, for she did not know how to fight.
Two weeks after the invasion,a grand carriage bearing the crest of Matlock pulled into the crescent in front of Bourne House, accompanied by an enormous party of armed guards and more than two dozen officers. When thecomtedisappeared, Anne had been afraid that her mother would not go through with her operation, but a delivery had been made to the surgeon of the sedative, with instructions on how to use it, and two deliveries, one per week, with several little bottles of elixir each had also been made to Bourne House. Lady Catherine was careful once the family returned to Bourne House, to eat well and preserve her strength.
Lord Matlock had come hence to be close when his sister had her procedure, and to condole with the residents of Eastbourne who had lost so much because a man had wanted revenge on him so badly. It had not been made public, everything that Spaulding had said in the cave, but Matlock recalled the incident from years ago keenly. It had not pleased him to make the decision that he had made at the time, but he had done what he thought was best. Seeing now the consequences of that choice pained him greatly. He met with the mayor, with the magistrate, and attended a special memorial with the residents of the town for those who were lost.
He was most impressed by the stories of Elizabeth, William Bennet, and Tom Tyler. These three people were from what one might consider unremarkable origins. One a young lady unschooled in the ways of the world and of war, the next aclergyman, well meaning, but unsure of himself as a gentleman, the last a mere child, a poor squatter’s son, half starved and illiterate. The three of them had shown bravery far and beyond what could ever possibly have been expected of them. Elizabeth’s quick thinking had set in motion the rescue of his own family, and the salvation of the town. Mr William Bennet’s determination and bravery had not only prevented the landing of three more frigates filled with men, but saved the life of Matlock’s second son, and the sheer nerve and outstanding courage of Tom Tyler had warned the entire south coast of the impending danger, mobilising naval fleets and military operations across the southern end of the country, as well as waking the town, and giving the residents enough warning that they might fight back.
Lord Matlock spoke to many townspeople about the good intentions, willingness, and intelligence of Tom Tyler, and decided that a cottage was insufficient reward for such a highly individual and clever boy. When Matlock interviewed Tom and asked him what he would do if he were rich, Tom answered that he would build a school in Eastbourne which all of the children could attend. Well pleased with the boy’s response, Lord Matlock rewarded Tom with twenty-five thousand pounds from his own purse, to be kept in the percents until the boy was twenty five years of age. Arrangements were made for Tom to be tutored by the local vicar, along with his younger brother and sister. Arrangements for the other siblings would be considered as the children grew old enough. The mayor was made responsible for the administration of the interest of Tom’s fortune, ensuring that the Tylers were respectably housed, but that no funds were wasted.
Three weeks after the invasion, Lady Catherine de Bourgh had her procedure. It was carried out in a room at Bourne House that had been specially prepared. Her family and the entireparty waited downstairs. Anne wept much of the time, which exhausted the poor girl, for it took hours. When the surgeons finally appeared to say that Lady Catherine had tolerated the procedure without going into any medical distress, and that though she would be in considerable pain when she woke, that the surgeons were hopeful that she would heal quickly and without infection.
It was hoped that the tumour would not return for years, if at all. Anne broke down and wept again with relief.
CHAPTER 56
On the first of September, Mr Darcy handed Elizabeth and Lydia Bennet down from his carriage in front of Longbourn, followed by his sister. Mary, Jane, and William had returned to Meryton with the Bingleys a fortnight after Lady Catherine’s operation, when it was apparent that the lady would make a full recovery. Lord and Lady Matlock returned to London on the same day; Lord Matlock needed to return to the capital after such a long absence, and also after such an event on home shores. There would be new hostilities between England and France after this, and the foreign secretary was needed without further delay. Elizabeth, Lydia, Georgiana, and Priscilla had remained in Eastbourne with Lady Catherine for another month, then accompanied her back to Rosings Park with Anne, and stayed with them for another week.
The Woodhouses stayed in Eastbourne until Lady Catherine and her guests left the village, then travelled to London, despite the heat at the end of the summer, to visit Miss Woodhouse’s sister. Elizabeth and Darcy had no more of Miss Woodhouse’s opinions of Darcy’s matrimonial prospects once Priscilla, Anne, and Georgiana cornered her and informed her that if she did not wish for tales of her lies and false illness to be spread allover London, that she would learn to mind her business and be respectful of the Bennets and their relations. Emma and Elizabeth would never become what Elizabeth considered close, but Elizabeth was resigned to seeing her occasionally, both in Highbury, while visiting Charlotte, and also possibly in the company of Lady Catherine, for that lady and Mr Woodhouse seemed to be becoming inseparable.
Mary and Mrs Bennet had their way. Mrs Bennet was beside herself in her determination to have not a double, but a triple wedding! The neighbourhood had never seen such a spectacle, and though Jane was still insistent in her refusal not to steal Mary’s special day, Mary and William were very vocal about the notion only increasing their joy and that of their family and friends. William was able to convince Bingley and Darcy of the merits of such an idea, and the other men persuaded their ladies to agree. None of them wished to wait very long, in any case.
Elizabeth had avoided returning to Meryton for as long as possible in an effort to avoid the wedding preparations and the endless fittings her mother would demand of her. She, Jane, and Mary managed to have their wedding gowns completed in Eastbourne, and so now there were only the endless rounds of visits their mother would insist upon to their neighbours before the wedding, which was to be held in just over a fortnight. The novelty of William Bennet, the hero, had begun to lose its shine in Meryton, but the arrival of Elizabeth and Darcy brought renewed interest in the tales of the invasion, and Mrs Bennet meant to enjoy the attention for all that it was worth.
The day after their arrival, a delivery was made to Longbourn. Elizabeth entered the hall to find her father accepting three parcels from a man who was familiar to her.
“Denomme!” she cried. “Whatever are you doing here?”
“A wedding gift for themademoiselles,” the servant answered. He declined to stay long enough to take a meal inthe kitchen, nor even allow the ladies to open the gifts and send letters of thanks. “I will convey your thanks to thecomte,” Denomme promised, and departed.
An hour later, Elizabeth, Mary, and Jane were in the drawing room in the company of their beaux and their family as they simultaneously opened the boxes. Everyone gasped at the sight of the jewels inside. Each box held a positively enormous pendant on a gold chain, and a pair of matching cufflinks. Each stone was a solitary jewel the size of a large chicken’s egg, set in simple gold. Each was a different shape. The one addressed to Mary was a heart shaped garnet. Jane’s was an oval sapphire. Elizabeth’s was an emerald cut citrine. The jewels in the cufflinks matched the pendants perfectly, and were as large as the pad of a man’s thumb.
The family was hushed as they all stared at the incredible gifts with wonder. “Why on earth would thecomtesend you such gifts?” Mr Bennet demanded.
“He is a strange creature,” Darcy answered. “He claims to make them himself, through alchemy, of course.”
“He had a funny habit of choosing what he considered to bethe perfect jewelfor each lady of his acquaintance,” Elizabeth said. “One night during a dance, he amused me by speculating the perfect jewels for the ladies in the room. He told me that mine was citrine.”
None in Meryton really knew who the Count of St Germain was. Her father had read several accounts of the man’s previous detentions in London, but otherwise, the good people of the quiet country village had never heard of such a person, other than his name being mentioned many times in the tales of the attempted invasion of Eastbourne. As far as their neighbours were concerned, he was an important visiting French nobleman, perhaps an emigre from the revolution, and the Bennets had been otherwise taken in by fantastical tales as to the rest.
The wedding breakfast was to be held at Netherfield, due to the size. Mrs Bennet had been in close contact with Lady Matlock and Lady Catherine, and though it was not meant to be a great society event, it would not do for the foreign secretary’s nephew to marry, and not have certain nobles who were close to the family invited. Darcy and Bingley had refused Elizabeth and Jane’s dowries, doubling the size of Kitty’s and Lydia’s.
Mrs Bennet had spent a fortune on the arrangements, and Bennet had quietly humoured her. It was true that the Bennets’ consequence had grown considerably the last ten months, and since they were not having three weddings, he allowed the breakfast to be three times as grand. His daughter was to be related to the foreign secretary, he would not allow it to appear as if her family were poor, even if he would be obligated to curb his wife’s spending immediately after the event. It had helped that Darcy and Bingley had persuaded him that the necessary wardrobes that Elizabeth and Jane needed would be so grand that it only made sense for their husbands to assume that expense, so hehadsaved a fortune on clothes.
Darcy, Bingley, and Bennet had made the wedding present of Bartholomew, the pony, and the little trap to Mary and William shortly before the wedding. The couple was overwhelmed by such gifts, particularly after Sir Henry had renovated the parsonage for them. Mr Bingley promised care for Bartholomew and the pony in Netherfield’s stable for the duration of his lease, which was very nearly over, but Sir Henry informed them that his nephew would be leaving the militia and coming to take up learning how to manage the estate, and that the horse and pony could continue to lodge there until they took up their place at Longbourn.
After the wedding breakfast, Elizabeth and Darcy would travel to London for a week, then to Pemberley for the harvest. When the harvest was complete, they would take a small journeyto a small cottage in Hampshire that Darcy's parents had used often when they wished to holiday alone together.
Jane and Bingley would go to his house in Grosvenor Square for a week, then to Scarborough for a month alone in a snug cottage – Bingley believed Darcy’s idea was capital – and another month visiting Bingley’s relatives. Louisa would close Netherfield for them, and open the Great House at Stoke. When the couple returned, they would live there for a year under lease while they decided whether to purchase or find a different estate further north. Caroline and the Hursts would travel to Bingley’s House in London, where they would participate in the upcoming season, where Caroline was very much looking forward to participating in society, while on her best behaviour, of course. Their months in town would give Jane and Charles some space in which to get used to each other, and their new situation.
Mary and William had declined all offers for visits to snug cottages. Their weeks in Eastbourne had been enough. Mr and Mrs Gardiner were to visit Longbourn for a week with their children, and the young couple would travel to London in their trap and stay in the Gardiners’ House in Gracechurch Street for that time, before returning to Meryton and taking up the work of their parish together.
CHAPTER 57
The day of the wedding, the village was alive with excitement. Last minute deliveries were made to both Netherfield and Longbourn all morning. The servants had barely slept the night before with the excitement of making everything perfect for this most special day for the eldest Miss Bennets. Elizabeth was caught sneaking down the stairs for her morning walk shortly after dawn, and plunged instead into a steaming bath scented with sweet orange oils, where she was left to soak for a half hour before Hill and Betsey were upon her, scrubbing her from head to toe as if she had just been rescued from a life in the East End of London.
