“As my wife pointed out, anyone, other than one living in a delusion like you, can see that Henry is my son. It was due to your ancestor—who, by the by, used to be a Bennet before he was disowned by my great-grandfather—that the entail came into being. The only reason a Collins ever had a chance of being the heir presumptive to this estate was an error my great-grandfather made in writing the entail. Regardless of what your uneducated patroness said, the entail is no more. The only one in effect is the new one I have written, which makes sure a Collins willneverbe master of Longbourn.”
Just when Collins did not think things could get worse, he heard the clearing of a voice behind him. When he turned, he saw four couples of varying ages, three men close to his own age, a man dressed as a high-ranking clergyman, and behind him, the two men who had come to learn from him at Hunsford. He shook his head in confusion What were those two doing here, and from whence did these people come?
“Mr Collins, do you think the Church of England should allow a man to minister to others when that man prays for the demise of another for any reason, never mind purely avaricious ones? Also, how can you permit Lady Catherine de Bourgh to write your sermons? Not only that, but you read them on Sundays, and they are anything but a Christian message. If that is not all bad enough, rather than keep your parishioners’ confidences secret, you tell all to Lady Catherine. I strip you of the living forthwith and defrock you. You will never be a spiritual guide to anyone again.”
“How dare you?” Collins screeched.
“Oh my, have I been remiss in making the introductions again?” Bennet asked, trying to maintain a straight face. “First, my wife’s parents, Their Graces, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire; next to them are Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam, the Earl and Countess of Matlock; then there we have Lord and Lady Smythe, the Earl and Countess of Granville—the Countess is my wife’s younger sister; next to them are Lord and Lady Cavendish, the Marquess and Marchioness of Hartington; the Marquess is my wife’s brother; next I present Lord Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale—my Jane’s husband, and finally the Honourable Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy.” Bennet scratched his chin and made like he was deep in contemplation. “Hmmm, did I miss someone? I know you met these two gentlemen in Hunsford when they were investigating you. Oh yes, I did in fact forget one person. Allow me to correct that omission now. This is none other than His Grace, Charles Manners-Sutton, The Most Reverend Willowmere, by Divine Providence, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.”
The Archbishop! Collins felt his world go black as he fainted dead away.
“I think the former clergyman just realised that you, Your Grace, are one of the few men in the church who can both remove him from his living and defrock him,” Andrew opined.
The Archbishop turned towards Matlock. “We have been friends for many years, Matlock. Since our time at Cambridge together in actual fact. However, I cannot ever allow one like your sister to have any authority over anything connected with the church. What my two investigators have reported to me is further beyond the pale than any other case they have examined for the church.”
“You will hear no argument from me, my friend. In fact, we will be visiting Catherine soon, and we will put things torights at Rosings Park. I guarantee you she will never interfere in the running of that parish, or any other parish, again,” Matlock vowed.
Bennet told Biggs to wave a bottle of salts under the former parson’s nose.
As Collins regained his senses, he prayed it had all been a bad dream, but no, everyone was still present, including the Archbishop and his two investigators. Why had he been so free with them about everything, including his prayers that his cousin would leave the mortal world as soon as may be? He still refused to accept that what he had been told about Longbourn being the birthright of the Collinses was not factual, all the evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.
“You are to leave my estate and never return. If you do, I will set my guards and dogs on you, and then you will be arrested,” Bennet told Collins. He nodded to Biggs and Johns to approach his cousin.
“This is my estate!” Collins screamed. “I want all of you…” A very large hand clamped over Collins’s mouth.
At an unspoken command from his mistress, Johns had used his hand to cause the raving man to be silent. He and Biggs lifted him and removed him from the drawing room with orders to lock the man in the windowless room adjacent to the wine cellar.
“He is clearly deranged,” Devonshire observed. No one in the room disagreed with him. “I think he needs to be committed to Bedlam.” There was general agreement on that.
“If I were to guess, something snapped inside of him when he finally realised that everything his father and grandfather before him told him was not true. He had, inmy opinion, constructed his whole identity around Longbourn being this mythical birthright of his,” Becca postulated.
Not a half hour later, Jane and Andrew said their farewells and departed to be together at Netherfield Park.
Chapter 25
Everyone in the family travelled to London to begin the preparations for Mary’s coming out ball.
A bound and gagged Collins was with them, but not in a place of honour as he would have expected was due him. Rather, he was in the old Bennet carriage seated next to Biggs with Johns on the opposite bench. The days in the cellar had done nothing to kill the delusion that he was the master of Longbourn. If anything, the mania had taken a stronger hold of his being.
The Bennet carriage did not follow any of the others to their various houses. Instead, it made a stop at the London rooms of the Duke of Devonshire’s physician. On arrival, three doctors examined Collins. It did not take them long to certify him insane and commit him to the care of those who ran St Mary Bethlehem Hospital. Bound and gagged once again, which was judged essential after his ravings, Collins was bundled back into the old Bennet conveyance in the company of the two huge men for little more than ten miles to Bromley and Bedlam.
While the insane former parson was being consigned to his new home, the Bennets, as they usually did when in London, joined Devonshire and Lady Anna at Devonshire House on Piccadilly Square. It was less than a mile to Grosvenor Square, where Matlock, Hartington, and Darcy Houses were located. Granville House, on Portman Square, was only a half mile or so from there. It was also where Hilldale House was located,although with Jane and Andrew in Eastbourne, they would only arrive at their home the day before Mary’s presentation.
Things were no longer the same at Devonshire House with regards to the suites the Bennets occupied. Before she was married, Jane shared a suite with Lizzy. The second bedchamber in the suite, which used to be occupied by her eldest sister, was now to house Mary. Ellie would have shared a suite with Henry, but that too had changed. Rather, Giana, Felicity, and Harriet were to arrive on the morrow and the four girls planned to share a suite between them, two in each bedchamber.
Other than Jane, the only other Bennet sibling not present was Tommy. As soon as Collins was dealt with, Tommy had departed Longbourn to commence his final year at Eton. Seeing that he had not had his levée yet and was not considered out in society, Tommy would not be in London for Mary’s presentation or her ball. Had he been at Devonshire House, he would have remained upstairs with Ellie, Giana, Felicity, Harriet, and Ian. For the younger girls, being able to watch all of the guests arrive and later discuss the ensembles would be heaven. Had the two boys been present, they would have sequestered themselves away from the female inanities.
At least Tommy was not alone at Eton. He had made many friends in the years he had studied there, and now he would not be without any family as well. Cousin Ian was there to commence his first year—a year earlier than originally planned, and as he was younger than Tommy, he too would remain at school and not attend the festivities in London. Like Henry had done for him when he was first at Eton, Tommy would watch over Ian and assist him when or if needed.
Sitting in her bedchamber, Elizabeth was staring out of the window absentmindedly. Yes, she was missing Janey, but she found that she was longing far more to be in the companyof another. Since his move to Longbourn, not a day had gone by when she was not in Liam’s company for most or part of the day.
The more time she was in his company, the deeper her feelings for him became. She did not know if she was in love with him yet—after all, she had nothing to compare her feelings to, having never been in love before—but her heart cried out to him when they were apart. She had debated asking Mama about her feelings, but she had decided that it was too soon to be having that particular conversation with her mother.
She wished Janey was available to confide in, but she was not. Things had changed—as they should—when Janey had married Andrew. He was now the one whom Jane would speak to about anything, good or bad. Elizabeth knew she could not be selfish. She missed seeing Jane every day, but she would never begrudge Janey the bliss she had found with Andy.
As she looked out of the window, staring at nothing in particular, Elizabeth wondered if Liam was the one who would complete her heart. She was beginning to pray that he was in fact the man with whom she would find her forever felicity.
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