“The other guest will arrive some days after Aunt Elaine and Matlock, and I have a feeling Collins will not know whose boots to lick first once he meets all of you,” Bennet replied. “I trust it will be short work to disabuse him of his delusions of grandeur and send him on his way. We,” Bennet looked at his wife lovingly, “will not tolerate him in this house longer than absolutely necessary.”
Before anyone could reply, Mr Hill announced Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy stepped into the room after the butler withdrew. He was no longer surprised at the obvious wealth of the Bennets, which he had been aware of since they had alluded to the size of their house at the assembly. His ride up the drive and his first view of the house had confirmed what he had believed.
Darcy bowed to those in the room. “Welcome,Cousin Liam,” Becca said after her curtsy. “It is good to see you again.”
“I am not intruding, am I?” he enquired humbly.
“Not at all,” Bennet drawled. “After all, we invited you to visit whenever you chose to do so, and we did tell you that more family would arrive today.”
It took a few minutes to greet all of the family members present. Seeing the Duchess, Cousin Becca, and Cousin Elizabeth together in the same room only highlighted how much the latter looked like her mother, Aunt Elaine, and grandmother.
“Have you managed to discourage Mr Bingley from his dishonourable chase of my eldest granddaughter?” Beth enquired after Darcy took a seat close to Lizzy.
“I attempted once again to point that out to my friend. Unfortunately, he follows his younger sister’s directives, and she has ordered him to make Cousin Jane his wife. Additionally, based on a conversation I inadvertently overheard, she has set her cap at Cousin Henry,” Darcy revealed. “As much as I am pleased that she is no longer hunting me as her marital prey, I would not wish that experience on anyone, especially not a member of my own family.”
Anna looked at her daughters and daughter-in-law. “It seems we are going to have to deal with her and have her run out of London. We will speak to Elaine when she, Reggie, and Rich arrive in a few days. She will not want to be excluded from excising this blight on society.”
“Whatever happens to her will affect Bingley. My warnings that she would ruin the Bingley name one day have been ignored, and I will not step in to try to mitigate the damage,” Darcy pledged.
“It seems that the two local clergymen will be receiving an influx of capital to their charitable coffers sooner rather than later,” Elizabeth remarked.
When Darcy’s questioning look was seen, Bennet explained what they did with forfeited funds if they ever had to evict a tenant from Netherfield Park. “Becca, what say you, after the Bingleys are removed, we take on no more tenants. We do not need the income, and we certainly can live without the bother that comes with some tenants,” Bennet suggested.
“I agree wholeheartedly,” Becca nodded emphatically.
“When the Fitzwilliams and my sister arrive, may I please accept your generous offer to reside at Longbourn?” Darcy requested. The reply was swift and positive. As much as he wanted to be away from the debacle the Bingley’s were making, he was certain that he would come to know Cousin Elizabeth far better with all of the time they would be in company together.
The lady he was interested in was impressed by Cousin Liam’s humility. She saw no trace of improper pride in him, and as such, she was pleased he would be a guest in her home. She was not averse to getting to know him better.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Why did you not insist that we join Mr Darcy in travelling to Longbourn?” Miss Bingley demanded of her brother. “You could have been charming Miss Bennet, and I would have been making friends with them!”
“Caroline, you heard what Darcy said,” Bingley whined. “He was the only one invited, and he refused to take any of us with him.”
“As was proper,” Hurst interpolated. “It is most improper for one who is invited to bring those not specifically included in the invitation with him or her.” Hurst looked at his brother-in-law pointedly. How many invitations had Bingley received where he had included his sister in the party, rather than suffer her tantrum?
Bingley looked away. It was not that he was unaware that such behaviour was unacceptable; he just could not stand up to Caroline.
“What is it to you, and what do you know?” Miss Bingley screeched. “Louisa, how can you allow your drunkard of a husband to interfere in Bingley family business?”
“I happen to agree with Harold,” Mrs Hurst stated softly.
“And as you correctly said, it is Bingley business. Thankfully we are Hursts, so if you ruin the Bingley name, we will not be tainted by association,” Hurst returned firmly. “If you think that Miss Bennet will ever accept your brother as her suitor or you as a friend, then you are far more delusional than I ever believed. If the Bennets are family to the Devonshire dukedom, you are plotting your own ruin. As such, we will not remain here to watch the disaster you will cause. Louisa and I will return to London and Hurst House. You will not drag us down with you.” Hurst stood and led his wife out of the drawing room.
Bingley wanted to say something to the Hursts to stop them, but he was more than aware that had he done so, it would have resulted in a tantrum of epic proportions from his younger sister.
“Good riddance to them,” Miss Bingley sneered. “When I…we reach the first circles, we will not know the Hursts,” Miss Bingley spat out nastily.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Early Saturday morning, the fifth day of October 1811, the ship bearing Lord Andrew Fitzwilliam reached the mouth of the Thames, and the last leg to reach London. The ship had passed Dover the previous day, and this glorious morning, they had reached Southend On Sea and the mouth of the river.
Andrew had wanted to arrive in London that day but had to be patient thanks to the distance of roughly five and forty miles to London. According to the first officer, who was also the navigator, they were averaging one to two knots on the Thames, and would have to anchor for some hours at night, which meant they would arrive at the dock in a little less than two days. After the church service conducted by the third officer who had taken his orders some years earlier, Andrew had stood along the ship’s rail and extended his hand as if he could touch the land of his birth as the ship sailed ever closer to London.
Sunday night Andrew hardly slept with the anticipation of reaching the quay where the ship would dock mid-morning on Monday. It was a little past ten in the morning on Monday when Andrew began to identify London landmarks. He knew they were close when he saw the dome of St Paul’s rising above the haze which hung over the city.
He had to exercise all of his self-control not to jump over the side and swim to the dock while the crew manoeuvred the ship. Eventually, in what seemed like an eternity to him, which in reality, was about a half hour, the ship’s crew in concert with the men on the quay, had the ship secured with the thick ropes.
