“It is,” Bennet confirmed. “Regardless of her blood, she has been a daughter to us all these years, and as such, I could not have done anything less for her. Whether she lives here or with you, it is hers.”
“If I have not said it directly, allow me to now thank you and your family before we continue to discuss the dowry,” Wendell stated. “Had you not cared for her as you did and, heaven forfend, left her with a parish, God only knows whereshe would be today. I am positive she would not have been in such a home. She obviously grew up in a loving home and with a family who loves her. As hard as it is to say, especially given my wrongheaded belief Ellie was not alive, but there is no guarantee she would have still been living had you not taken her in and cared for her in the way you and your family did. For the love and care you have shown my daughter, I will forever be in your debt.”
“You are not in our debt. It was an honour and a privilege to have Lizzy here with us. She saved my mother’s life, so if anyone is in debt, it is us.” Bennet saw the quizzical looks from the men not of his family. “When we arrived home, my mother had given up…” He told all, including how Lizzy had brought his mother back from her deep melancholy and given her a desire to live again.
“We always knew Ellie was a special girl, even in the less than three years she was with us before she was taken,” Wendell stated.
David, her uncle, and cousins all nodded their agreement.
“I do not say this out of a lack of appreciation for what you have done for our girl, but Ellie does not need the dowry you have been generous enough to gift her.” Wendell raised his hand to quell the protest forming on Bennet’s lips. “You may make free to verify this with Gardiner, with whom I, and most of us here, invest. I never touched Ellie’s dowry money, not even when I thought she had been murdered. Cilla would not countenance it, so I left it. Gardiner may correct me if I am wrong, but there is more than forty thousand pounds in her dowry account as of the last time we checked. It is because she has more than enough that I respectfully suggest you take what you would have given Ellie and divide it among your two youngest daughters.”
“Why only the two youngest?” Bennet queried.
“Because if things proceed as they seem to be advancing between Jane and me, Father does not want to seem like he is fishing for a larger dowry for her to bring to a possible union between us,” David interjected.
“Jane wrote that we needed to discuss things. Have you proposed yet?” Bennet asked.
“No, we are courting; however, last night…” David related what had occurred when Jane fainted and his reluctance to release her after she regained consciousness. “It was not in public, but you know that no matter how loyal servants are, there will be talk.”
“Neither my wife nor I would have any of our children forced into an unwanted marriage,” Bennet responded.
“When you speak to Jane…” David saw the raised eyebrows when he used her familiar name, “…Miss Bennet, I am sure you will discover that if we marry, it will be a mutual decision. On that subject, I know Miss Bennet is of age, but I request your permission to address her in private.”
“Granted,” Bennet replied succinctly. He looked back at Wendell. “With regards to the dowry, I accept your reason, and I will withdraw the dowry we bestowed on Lizzy, however, your sensibilities notwithstanding, it will be divided between my threeotherdaughters.”
Wendell acknowledged Bennet’s decision with an inclined head.
Before they could speak further, the butler entered the study to inform his master and the guests that tea was being served in the drawing room.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
During the break for tea, Fanny and Bennet could only marvel at the view of Lizzy sitting between her birth mother and Aunt Elaine on the sofa. The likeness between the three was even more pronounced than before they sat together.
As tea drew to a close, it was decided that the Wendells and Fitzwilliams who had accompanied Jane that morning would make the three-mile journey to Netherfield Park to take up residence there. Lady Catherine, as the acting mistress of the estate, would accompany them to make sure suites were assigned and to answer any questions the housekeeper and butler may have.
“Jane, will you grant me an interview before we depart?” David requested. “I do have your father’s permission to address you.”
“It will be my pleasure to agree to said interview,” Jane responded as she blushed with pleasure. She stood and spoke quietly to her mother, who gave permission to use the summer drawing room. Jane returned to David. “We need to wait a few minutes; Mama has rung for Mrs Hill to have a maid posted outside of the room, and we will have ten minutes alone.”
As keen as he was to address Jane, David waited for five minutes to tick by. It was no time at all, but to him it seemed like aeons. As soon as he saw the last second tick away, David sprang up from his seat and offered Jane his hand.
Jane guided her suitor to the room Mama had indicated. She smiled at Kimberley, who was seated in the hallway next to the door, and then watched as David did not close the door all the way, as would be expected. Jane allowed him to lead her to a settee. She took a seat.
“As much as I am ready to proceed, please know that the last thing I want is to force your hand. I do not want you to feel, as I am sure Ellie did, that you have no choices,” David began.
It did not hurt him in Jane’s estimation that he was determined not to take her choices away from her. “Does Papa know why things may become accelerated?”
“Yes, I did tell him all. His main concern was that you not be forced into anything against your will. That is my aim too.” David paused to gather his thoughts. “I do notbelieve there will be much talk of my somewhat inappropriate behaviour towards you yester-night.”
“I object to that characterisation,” Jane insisted forcefully. “All you did was save me from falling when I fainted.”
“Yes, but rather than place you with one of the ladies, I refused to relinquish your care to another,” David admitted.
“And why was that?” Jane asked slyly.
“I, errr, wanted to make sure you were well and had not hurt yourself when you fainted,” David replied, somewhat uncomfortably.
“Was that the only reason you did not choose to release me?”
