“Leave her with us; we will decide something before we depart,” Bennet told the coachman. The man bowed and left the room.
By now, the sugar water had arrived, and Fanny was allowing the girl to sip a little at a time. She looked closely at her. She was very beautiful. She had the most fascinating emerald-green eyes and lovely wavy raven-coloured tresses. It was then that Fanny noticed the stitching on the girl’s night gown in red thread. “Thomas, I am sure she is gently born; look at the quality of her night gown, even if it is rather filthy. And see here, someone took the time to embroider these letters onto the garment. Two E’s and a larger W. Could that be her name?”
Slowly Ellie began to relax. The lady holding her and helping her sip the sweet water sounded very nice, and she was being very gentle with her. The water with the sweets in it tasted ever so good.
“Fanny, I was thinking. Given the situation, we cannot go back to every inn along the way. I agree that this mite is gently born; hence, we will not turn her over to the parish and have her in some poorhouse for foundlings.” Bennet cogitated for a minute more. “When we reach Longbourn, we will write out a description of her and ask Smithers to stop at every inn we did on the way south. There he can enquire if anyone is looking for a girl by this description. In addition, I will write a letter to my former patron and request he use his connections to discover if anyone is missing a daughter. What do you say that until she is claimed, she lives with us at Longbourn?”
“We can only hope her family recovers her soon. She seems to be a very good girl, but I can only imagine how I would feel if Jane were lost and we knew not where she was. For now, I will ask Miss Weasley to bathe her and put her into one of Jane’s warm night gowns. I know it will be too big, but we will make do, and have it altered, until we reach Meryton and can order her some things that will fit. I will wait until she has had enough sugar water. We know not how long she was under the seat, but I believe she will want to eat after the bath.”
Although she did not know who these people were, or where her family was, or why they had given her away, Ellie could feel she was safe. The lady with golden blonde hair, similar to Aunty Annie, was very nice to her. She did not feel thirsty anymore, and her hunger pains had reduced greatly. Now the kind lady was speaking of a bath and food afterwards.
Both were things Ellie desired. She loved getting dirty, but just as much, she enjoyed a bath to clean off all of the dirt and grime afterwards. The lady offered her some more of the sweet water, and she shook her head.
“You do not need any more water now?” Fanny verified. The pretty little thing nodded her head in confirmation. She wanted to ask a name and some more questions, but Fanny did not want to pressure the girl. She was very petite, but Fanny guessed she was at least two. When she made to take the little one off her lap, Fanny felt her tense up. “You may keep holding my hand. We will walk into the other chamber where my Janie is, and you will have a bath. Do you agree?”
Ellie nodded her head. She did not know why, but she had not wanted to speak yet. One thing she did know was she would never hide away again. The last time she did, she had lost her family; except she could not remember hiding. Also, she would use her proper name. Could it be that her family did not want Ellie anymore? There was something with faeries and pixies just beyond her memories.
“Mama, who is this girl?” Jane asked when she saw someone holding her mama’s hand.
“We do not know her name yet. We will ask her after the bath,” Fanny replied.
“Lizbet,” Ellie said quietly, barely above a whisper.
“Is your name Elizabeth?” Fanny asked gently. She watched as the little one nodded her head.
“Well then, Elizabeth, this is Jane, and the lady with her is our governess, Miss Weasley.” Fanny asked the governess to join her on one side of the room while the girls stared at one another. She gave a very quick explanation and asked that the little one be bathed.
Jane was intrigued by the pretty girl with the very interesting coloured eyes. She had never before seen that eye colour. She decided it would be good to have a friend with whom to play, so she marched up to Elizabeth, threw her arms around her, and hugged her.
Elizabeth began to cry. She missed Mama, Papa, and her brothers, but she had obviously done something to make them send her away to this family. She did not verbalise her feelings and allowed the governess to lead her to the bathtub, which had just been filled.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Fanny was called back into the other bedchamber by Jane on behalf of the governess.
“Mrs Bennet, look at her back below her left shoulder. She has a rather distinctive birthmark.” Miss Weasley pointed out the crescent moon shape on Elizabeth’s back. “When Mr Bennet writes her description, he should mention a birthmark without a location or shape. That way you will know if it is truly her parents, if they come to claim her.”
“I agree. Thank you, Miss Weasley.” Fanny turned to return to her husband.
The mistress left, and the governess continued bathing the sprite. She had such thick, lustrous hair when it was washed. Nothing like her own Welsh straight red hair. Also, the girl seemed to relish the filth being washed from her body. She decided to ask one or two unobtrusive questions. “How old are you, Miss Elizabeth?” she asked while she was drying the girl.
“Two, but I be free,” she held up three fingers, “soon.”
“Do you know your papa’s name?” Miss Weasley was not surprised by the shaking of the little girl’s head, but by asking the question, she caused the girl to burst into tears. That was the end of the questioning.
As Fanny had suspected, when she saw Elizabeth in one of Jane’s nightgowns, it was far too long on her. They had a maid create a new hem so that the girl would not trip when she walked. When the food arrived, Fanny was delighted by the pleasure Elizabeth took in eating.
After the meal Jane and Elizabeth climbed into one of the two beds in the chamber. The latter was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Fanny asked Miss Weasley to make notes if the little one spoke in her sleep.
Chapter 3
Before they continued on to Hertfordshire the next morning, Bennet rented a horse from the inn and rode to the churches in the area. None of the rectors had heard about a family missing a daughter, and theirs was a small shire, so news of that kind was sure to be spread quickly.
Bennet returned to the inn and joined his family, little Elizabeth, and the governess for the morning meal. It was later than he had wanted to depart, but when he spoke to Smithers, the coachman was confident they would reach Longbourn before dark. Pursuant to the agreement with his wife, the girl would come with them and remain at Longbourn until her birth family claimed her.
Knowing they would depart early, Fanny had not allowed the filthy nightgown to be washed, as it would not have been dry in time. That would be done at Longbourn.
