“Fanny, how could you even think that a possibility? Like you, I love her as a father should love his daughter, but there is something we must do, regardless of Priscilla’s wishes. As she knew I would, I must contact the Prince.” Bennet held up his hand to stem the protest forming in Fanny’s throat. “Lizzy is a royal, not a cousin, but a Princess! If we wait until she is eighteen as Priscilla wanted and the Prince is angry with us, we could be charged with treason. Thismustbe done. We will have to rely on his love for Priscilla to induce him to follow her wishes. That way we are covered legally, and we will have the Prince’s royal sanction.”
“But what if he takes her away, Thomas?” Fanny asked in a panic at the thought of losing Lizzy.
“It is a chance we must take, Fanny. Surely you can see that we cannot risk the welfare of all of us, including our four daughters of your body, if we do not do this,” Bennet asserted.
“As much as I hate to own it, Thomas, you have the right of it. How will you go about it?” Fanny asked. Her insides were roiling at the possibility of losing Lizzy, but she understood it was the only course open to them.
“I will write to him at York House. From bits I have read inThe Times, I believe that is his primary residence. You know they separated, do you not?” Bennet asked and Fanny nodded. As Bennet picked up his quill and pulled a fresh sheet of parchment from the stack on the corner of his desk, Fanny went to seek her daughters, for she felt an uncontrollable urge to hug Elizabeth. After her long hug, Fanny sat down and wrote letters to both Elaine Fitzwilliam and Anne Darcy.
After his letter had been dispatched by express to York House, Bennet rode to the cemetery at St. Alfred’s to visit his son and offer a prayer for his eternal salvation.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As it happened, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, was on the continent in negotiations for a treaty for the King when the letter from Thomas Bennet arrived at York House on St. James Square in London.
He arrived at his town house a fortnight later. On the following day he sat in his study with his private secretary sorting through correspondence. His secretary asked his master if he knew a Thomas Bennet, and at first the Duke demurred, but just before the man threw the missive into the fire the Duke grabbed his arm.
He remembered, just in time, the man was the husband of his Cilla’s best friend and correctly surmised there must be a good reason for the man to be writing to him out of the blue. It might have something to do with Priscilla.
That very morning, the Duke ordered his coach be made ready, and along with a contingent of the royal guard, he departed for Netherfield Park.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Both Anne and Elaine responded to Fanny’s letters and asked if she needed their company. Fanny had thanked them from the bottom of her heart but had refused their offer, saying that as yet they had no response from the Prince. There was no telling when, or even if, they would hear from him.
She was about to hie to the study to ask her husband if mayhap he should seek a personal audience with the Prince when she heard the sound of riders and a coach in the drive. Her husband heard it as well and joined her at the entrance to the house.
There was no mistaking the royal guards’ uniforms or the royal standard on the coach’s door. Biggs placed a step, opened the coach door, then stood to the side, his back ramrod straight as the Prince alighted from the conveyance.
“Welcome to Netherfield, your Royal Highness,” Bennet intoned as he and his wife bowed and curtsied deeply.
“Come now, Bennet, you used to call me Oatland; there is no need for formality,” Frederick said amiably.
“That is before I was aware you were the King’s second son,” Bennet retorted.
“As it is my prerogative, please call me York,” the Prince commanded.
“Please follow me into the study,” Bennet invited.
Once the three were ensconced within, the Prince refused refreshment, impatient to know the reason for the urgent request he attend the Bennets at Netherfield. He was not surprised to have surmised that his generous Cilla would have bequeathed the estate to the Bennets.
“I am about to give you a letter from Priscilla written before she died. She wanted it to wait for another thirteen years, but when I found out the facts of the matter the day I posted my letter to you, I decided you must be made aware of the facts now,” Bennet stated as he handed the confused prince a letter from his late former wife.
For a while, the Prince simply held the letter, staring at the penmanship which could be none other than written in his late wife’s hand, trying to feel her presence. When he felt ready, he broke the seal and started to read.
27 February 1790
Netherfield Park
My one and only, Frederick,
Let me open this letter by telling you how ardently I love you, and that even in death it will never change. If you are reading this, Frederick, then the worst has happened, and I am no longer living in this world without you. Know that when God brings you home to His kingdom, I will be waiting to be reunited with you.
If you are being handed this letter, then ourdaughter, Elizabeth Sarah, is now eighteen. Yes, we have a child. Before you become angry with the Bennets, I ask you in the name of the infinite love we shared to listen to my reasons. I am confident that you will agree with my decision once I give you my reasoning.
“I have a daughter?” The Prince asked wondrously, returning to his reading when they both nodded that he did.
The reason my sister Fanny will not have contacted you about yourdaughterbeforesheis eighteen is that I intend that Fanny vow to me she will honour my wishes for the following reasons: First, you told me how you and your brothers and sisters were raised, and second, how many times did we comment that Fanny and Thomas were the best of parents?
