“In that case, I suppose I will agree to leave the décor of the house as it is,” Miss Bingley condescended.
Neither her sister nor her brother pointed out it was not her choice. They preferred the relative calm, as it seemed that they had headed off a tantrum. “You may be interested to know that Fitzwilliam and Darcy have agreed to be hosted at Netherfield Park for a month or so, in order to assist me in learning how to manage an estate,” Bingley related. “We will take residence on the seventeenth day of September.”
“How wonderful that Mr Darcy will be with his dear friends. I must go order a new wardrobe. I cannot have him see me in something I have worn before, or worse, is out of fashion,” Miss Bingley gushed, her former pique forgotten.
Even the fact his sister had renewed her wardrobe but two months ago did not prompt Bingley to speak. It was worth the cost to have Caroline happy—for now.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When the coach she was in entered Meryton, Felicity recognised a few of the shops, although most she did not. It was to be expected, as the last time she had been in the town was well over fifty years in the past. The coach turned onto the road she was sure led to Longbourn, but then almost immediately she felt the equipage lean to one side as the driverguided it onto a different lane. Felicity was not sure if her memory was faulty, but she believed it was the way to Purvis Lodge.
Felicity could not imagine why they were headed to another estate and not Longbourn. All she could do was hope her brother would reveal the reason soon enough.
The conveyances passed gate posts and rolled down a relatively short gravel-covered drive. They came to a halt, and those within saw the old man; they all assumed it was Uncle Henry with four younger ladies, each one very pretty. The younger Taylors waited for the step to be placed and a footman—footmen were something novel to them— to open the door.
Felix waited to assist Gammy down. As soon as Felicity’s feet reached the ground, she opened her arms for her younger brother, an old man now, and pulled him into a hug. Those who had arrived and the four sisters waiting with their uncle had their hearts warmed by the tenderness of the reunion.
“This must be a dream! Is the ancient man I see before me my young scamp of a brother?” Felicity asked as tears of joy coursed down her wizened cheeks.
“Fee, I too did not believe I would live to see the day you returned to England. After our father ordered our mother to cease writing to you, I believed it was the end of all contact between us. So many wasted years,” Henry lamented.
“Besides my late Roger, you are the only other one to call me Fee. It is good to hear that form of my name used again. As to the years, from the perspective of my Bennet family, I agree. However, I cannot repine leaving with Roger or being blessed with the family who travelled to England with me.” Felicity looked at her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren lovingly. “Are these your granddaughters?” She inclined her head towards the four beauties.
“They are not. However, what say you we repair inside, and then we can make introductions?” Henry suggested. WithFelicity on his arm, Lizzy holding his other arm, he allowed his great-niece to lead them into the house.
The Taylors, who had never been in England, were a little taken aback that the butler, a wholly new concept to them, and a footman took their outerwear when they entered the house. Where they used to live, when they entered or exited the farmhouse they would take care of those items themselves. Henry Taylor, having heard his mother and late father speak of the customs in England, was not as surprised as his wife and children were.
Once everyone was divested of their outerwear, Henry, with Lizzy guiding him, led the others into the drawing room. It was a tight fit, but everyone found seats. “My sister asked if these four lovely ladies are my grandchildren, and I said they were not, which is true. As I never married or had children, as much as I see them as such, they are my,” Henry looked in the direction of his sister, “ourgreat-nieces and your,” he turned his head towards where he thought he heard the rest of the Taylors, “cousins. From the eldest, allow me to introduce Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, who we call Lizzy, Miss Mary, and Miss Catherine, who we call Kitty. They are three and twenty, twenty, eighteen, and sixteen, respectively. There is one more Bennet sister, Lydia, who is fourteen.”
“Allow me to make known my son, Henry and his wife, Debby. Their children, my grandchildren, are Roger, Elli, Lola, Felix, and Lil. They range in age from five and twenty to eleven. Roger celebrated a birthday on board the ship. I am your great-aunt.” Felicity turned and glared at her brother. “You and I need to speak of all of the costs you have expended for our journey.”
“We shall, Sister. I promise I will explain all,” Henry vowed. “Before you ask, there is a good reason we did not bring you to Longbourn. As you may have guessed, this is Purvis Lodge. Your family will stay here as long as they desire. The only drawback is it is not the most spacious of houses.One thing will help if you, Fee, agree to reside with me at Longbourn’s dower house. There is more than enough space for you and for others to visit you when they so desire.” Henry turned to the four Bennet sisters. “Will you take your cousins, other than Roger, to see the estate? I am sure they will be interested in the horses in the stables.”
Elizabeth did not miss how her newly met cousins reacted with pleasure to talk of horses. “Of course, we will,” she stated. The Bennet sisters stood and led the four youngest Taylors from the drawing room.
“Everything I am about to tell you is known to Lizzy, and portions of it are known to her three sisters you met here today. Let us discuss Longbourn first. Fee, our nephew, Thomas, is the most selfish and indolent man I have ever met…” Henry related all, especially the way Thomas used the worry over the entail and her future to vex his wife. He related an accurate picture of Fanny, her lack of intelligence, penchant for gossiping, and her matchmaking ways. “My hope is that I can get Thomas to agree to take this estate, which has a competent steward, and allow my nephew, Henry, to become the master of Longbourn before Thomas’s demise. All of you will move to Longbourn if he agrees. The manor house is roughly twice as large as this one.”
“I think I will take you up on your offer and live in the dower house with you,” Felicity decided.
“Gammy, why move? How will we see you each day?” Roger pondered.
“Riding across the fields, it is a ride of less than two miles. The dower house has more than enough bedchambers, so, like your Bennet cousins, well, the ones you met today, any of you who would like to spend a night or more with us will be very welcome,” Henry explained. “The entrance to the estate of Longbourn is less than a half mile from here. If things go according to plan, yourGammy, as you call her, could live in the manor house with you, or she would be less than two milesaway.”
“Henry, whose estate is this?” Felicity asked pointedly.
“Mine. That is the next thing I need to tell you,” Henry replied. “Fee, you were already in the Americas when I left for India in 1765. There I found my fortune; beyond anything I had ever imagined…” The more Henry told, the more the mouths of the Taylors who were present fell open. “So, I hope you can see what I laid out to get you here was a drop in the bucket. For the reasons I told you about our nephew and his wife, not only is he not my heir, but they know nothing of my fortune. I would like to keep this information private. Especially as Lizzy is my heir, and word of my fortune would bring fortune hunters flocking like ants to spilled honey. Each of the Bennet sisters you met today have been dowered…” Henry related all regarding the dowries and the protections to secure the funds from their parents and other fortune hunters. He explained all about Lydia and why she would receive no more than five thousand pounds unless she began to mature and behave with propriety.
“Is our youngest Bennet great-niece truly that bad?” Felicity verified.
“Worse,” Henry confirmed. He was not surprised, but neither of the Taylor men asked why they were not his heir, and there were no questions about whether they would inherit anything from Henry. “In the next fortnight, Gardiner, who is Fanny Bennet’s brother and a business partner of mine, will visit along with my London solicitor. I intend to dower the three Taylor girls with the same amount as Jane, Mary, and Kitty. Roger, you will have a healthy legacy, and Felix will have the same as his sisters or one of my estates and a legacy.”
“Uncle Henry, as much as I appreciate it, we do not expect anything from you. I have a reasonable amount left from the sale of my farm, so we are comfortably well off,” Taylor objected.
“Which is all the more reason I will make the changes I intend to make. By the by, I recommend you invest with Gardiner as much as you feel comfortable doing. He is able to return between eight and twelve percent on a consistent basis,” Henry responded. He grinned at his sister. “Do you think our late father would be impressed? You did very well in the Americas and have returned with your family to save his beloved estate, and I did alittlebetter than he predicted I would in India.”
“If I understand correctly, if my cousin, Thomas Bennet, agrees to move to this estate and we take Longbourn, Roger and I can break the entail as he is already past his majority?” Taylor verified.
“You should speak to Phillips to confirm. That is Frank Phillips, the solicitor in Meryton, and married to Fanny’s older sister. He will keep what information we entrust to him confidential, and he will advise you on the legalities, but I believe that, yes, as you stated the facts, they are correct. Given my Bennet nephew’s selfishness, do not mention your intention to break the entail when we speak to him. To that, I suggest we allow you to settle in the neighbourhood for a while first and establish yourselves here. In a few months, we will approach Thomas together,” Henry proposed.
