William will need help, too. I intend to extract a promise from him that he will not withdraw into himself. I am sure he will deny me nothing, but he may need some prodding, or a kick from Lizzy.
Am I insane to think that one day they would be perfect for one another? Although Lizzy is still five years away from her come out, the revelations at that time will surely send shockwaves through her life. By then, William will have finished at Cambridge and will be able to help her through that transition. I swear I see something there.
‘You may have the right of it, Anne,’ Fanny shook her head as she read Anne’s prognostication. William and Lizzy had become very close, but there was a long way between that and the notion of romantic feelings.
The answer to my above speculation is one you will have in the future. As much as I would love to be there to witness it for myself, it is not to be. I will have to find a way to send you a message from beyond when, as I suspect I will be, I am proved correct.
I want to thank you for your unwavering friendship, not only for me, but for our Priscilla. She gave you a herculean task, and you accepted without a second’s hesitation. If that is not the purest form of love between friends—sisters—that exists, then I know of it not.
The one thing I am looking forward to is being reunited with Priscilla in heaven. What stories I will have to tell her. Do not take this the wrong way Fanny, but my prayer is that it will be many, many years before you join us.
It was my privilege to be accepted as a close friend by you, Fanny. You do nothing by halves, and it was—is—the same in our friendship. Because of the support my three sisters will give Robert, William, and Gigi, when my time comes, I will be able to enter my eternal slumber in peace.
I very much desired to be there for all of the coming outs from Jane on down. You will have to help represent me at Gigi’s coming out, which I am also asking of Elaine and Edith. I will not be there with my daughter when she joins society, but I am confident in the three surrogate mothers who will be there in my stead.
I intend to have Robert promise he will not give up and stop living. William and Gigi will need him more than ever. I will not try to take away from his year of mourning, but after that, I want him to begin to live fully again. All of you, including Frederick, will be integral to making sure my Robert carries on with life with a view to not letting it pass him by.
Let me close by thanking you for gifting me your friendship, your loyalty, and most of all the love of a sister.
Farewell Fanny,
Anne
By the time Fanny completed Anne's letter, the tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Oh Anne, how I miss you,” Fanny lamented aloud. The bond she had shared with Cilla had been deep, and she had never thought she would ever find such a bond with another friend. She was wrong, she had—with all three of her best friends.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After a subdued dinner night, the three ladies who had read their letters from the late Anne Darcy sat on one settee in the drawing room. No one spoke for a time. “Anne has charged us with looking after her family, and by goodness, that is what we will do,” Lady Elaine stated quietly so only her two friends could hear.
“That she has, Elaine. I agree that it will be best for Gigi to be with the Bennets after the initial three-month mourning period is over,” Lady Edith opined. “Fanny, if Cassie wants to, would you allow her to spend some time at Netherfield with Gigi? Cassie is not as close as Kitty and Lydia are to her, but even though she is closer to Jane’s age, she counts Gigi among her best friends.”
“Edith, surely you know there is no need to even ask,” Fanny returned as she took and patted Lady Edith’s hand. “With or without Gigi’s presence, Cassie is welcome anytime we are home, as are any of you. Between the science, maths, music, and singing masters, we will keep all our children occupied, and the more the merrier. Mr. Mercury has said many times that with a few more voices and he will be able to form a choir from his students.”
“If Robert is not up to travelling yet, Reggie and I will transport Gigi to Netherfield. If you prefer, Edith, we will collect Cassie on the way,” Lady Elaine ventured.
“That would be perfect, Elaine,” Lady Edith responded.
“We must have our husbands talk to Robert,” Fanny remembered. “Anne did not want Gigi to feel abandoned by her father, so even during his year of mourning, it will be important for him to be present at Netherfield from time to time.”
“We can always have Frederick issue a royal decree,” Lady Elaine jested.
“It will be important for William to visit on his term breaks and holidays while Gigi is with us,” Fanny pointed out. “Now that there is no longer tension between him and Lizzy, I feel he will enjoy coming to our home to visit Gigi as often as he is able.”
The ladies allowed one another to read their letters from Anne as she had not asked them to keep what she wrote confidential. Not a few tears fell among them. They could each hear Anne’s voice in their heads as they each read each other’s letters.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The five fathers, along with Andrew, Jamey, Richard, and William were in the dining parlour still, each with a snifter of brandy, except Bennet who preferred his port. He would drink brandy or cognac if there was no choice, but when there was, it was port for him.
“I know it has been but a few days, but I still hear my Anne’s voice echoing in the house; I can smell her lavender scent in our chambers,” Robert Darcy stated reflectively as he swirled the golden-brown liquid in the snifter he held.
“It has been thirteen years since my beloved Priscilla died,” the Prince stated pensively, “and I still imagine I see and hear her, and it is not only because of my daught…” At that moment Prince remembered there were four younger men present who had no idea about his daughter. He saw four pairs of eyes staring at him in question, and four others who shook their heads almost imperceptibly.
“Do you have a daughter, Uncle Freddy?” Richard asked as he gave the Prince a questioning look.
“Do you know of a daughter of mine, Richard?” Frederick deflected. “I have often dreamed of my Cilla still being alive along with the son who was buried next to her. In my dreams we have a daughter too, one who looks and sounds just like my late wife. In my melancholy, as I thought of my beloved, I misspoke.”
“No Uncle, I know of no daughter of yours,” Richard answered, but his suspicion was aroused. Andrew, Jamey, and William thought nothing of it, but Richard knew what he heard, and the Prince’s explanation just did not add up.
