If the Duke predeceases his Duchess, then Her Grace, Lady Elizabeth Rose, Duchess of Hertfordshire and Marchioness of Hertford Heights is the sole beneficiary of all of the Duke’s unentailed houses, estates, business interests, and fortune. The only estate and income thereof which is entailed to the dukedom is Falconwood which is in both Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.Likewise, Hertfordshire House is the only house that is tied to the dukedom.
In the case the eventuality in clause viii above comes to pass before the Duchess attains the age of 21, Mr. Edward Gardiner of London and Mr. Frank Philips of Meryton will be the Duchess’s guardians until such time as she either remarries or reaches her majority, whichever occurs first.
Unless agreed to by both the Duke and Duchess, or in the event one of them predeceases the other, clause viii is held inviolate and supersedes any last Will and Testament of Lord Archibald Winston Chamberlain, the Duke of Hertfordshire and Marquess of Hertford Heights even if said will is dated after the day the marriage settlement was signed.
If a son is born after the Duke’s death, he would inherit all entailed property plus whatever Her Grace conveys him from the unentailed properties and fortune.
If a daughter and no son is born and the Duke is not living to produce a male heir, then as laid out in the patents of the dukedom, the title will be bestowed on said daughter’s first-born male child.
“This means Miss Lizzy is rich beyond our wildest dreams and all of our concerns are over,” Fanny asserted.
“Mrs. Bennet, are you addlepated?” Bennet managed to say derisively. “The Duchess hates us. She had these clausesadded to ensure if her husband passed before her, we would receive nothing.”
“HOW COULD YOU AGREE TO SUCH A THING?” Fanny screamed. She launched into a vitriol and expletive-laced tirade aimed at her useless husband.
To assist in drowning out the sound of his wife’s voice, Bennet unstopped a new bottle of whiskey and while his wife berated him, he drained the entirety of the bottle’s contents. No sooner had he put the bottle down when he began to be violently sick as what he had just guzzled down came back up.
He suddenly had trouble breathing as his dulled responses did not protect his ability to draw breath and swallow. Much of what remained in his mouth ran down his throat and ended up blocking his ability to breathe.
Fanny was still screeching when she noticed her husband was slumped over his desk in a pool of his vomit and was not moving. She promptly fainted at the view before her.
The Hills entered the study and found the mistress lying on the floor, fainted dead away. While Mrs. Hill opened the bottle of salts, which was always in her pocket, Mr. Hill went to check on the master; he found no signs of life.
Hill dispatched the single footman to first go to Mr. Jones and request he attend Longbourn post-haste. Next, the lad was to go to Mr. Long who was the substitute magistrate while Sir William was away. Lastly, Mr. Philips’s clerk would have to be told as there was a record on file which told how to contact the heir to Longbourn.
He was thankful it was his wife who had escorted the mistress to her chambers. Although she was in a daze, it was only a matter of time before the caterwauling would commence.
Chapter 28
After Philips related the special clauses Elizabeth had demanded to be added to her settlement, there was silence from those who had been told.
“Lizzy, do you have any idea how wealthy you are?” Gardiner asked once he recovered the power of speech.
“Not really. I knowhesettled a large amount on me, but according to the younger Mr. Wickham, everything he agreed to was done believing he would murder me before any of the clauses would be enforced,” Elizabeth responded.
“That makes the one about the guardianship of your sisters very risky,” Madeline pointed out.
“When I demanded that specific clause, I knew not what he planned to do once he had an heir, and being that I am fifty years younger than he was, I never imagined a scenario where he would have survived me,” Elizabeth explained. “With the advantage of the knowledge I have now, I can see why he agreed to all of what I demanded without hesitation.”
