Fanny was asking Lady Lucas how Charlotte was getting along in Kent when Bennet cleared his throat. “Mrs Bennet, you need to read this before I make an official announcement.” He stood and walked to his wife, handing her the missive. He waited while she read.
“Oh, my goodness,” was all Fanny managed.
“It is my pleasure and honour to tell you that Jane is engaged to a man she met while at Lake Windermere with Lizzy and the Gardiners,” Bennet announced.
“You have our congratulations,” Lady Lucas stated. “Do we know him?”
“No, he is not local,” Fanny replied. She saw Lady Lucas waiting for more so Fanny looked at Thomas. He nodded. Sheremembered that the letter told of the announcement having been sent to the papers. “He is the older brother of that nice colonel you hosted some time back.”
“But Colonel Fitzwilliam told us that he has one brother, and he is a…viscount! Will Jane be a countess one day?” Lady Lucas demanded.
“His name is Lord Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale,” Bennet revealed.
Although they were happy for Jane Bennet, who was one of the sweetest girls in the area, Sir William and Lady Lucas, who had always been so proud they were the only titled people in the neighbourhood, understood that a knight was nothing to a viscount and future peer.
“When will they be home?” Sir William managed after he recovered his voice.
“According to Jane’s letter, she and Lizzy will arrive here by the second to last Friday of the month,” Fanny revealed. “They are meeting Jane’s future in-laws and visiting with some of Maddie’s friends in Derbyshire before travelling south.”
Bennet had to school his face when he saw how hard Fanny was fighting to keep from exclaiming about the other news before Lucas and his wife left.
As soon as they heard the Lucas carriage depart, Fanny rounded on her husband. “Surely, Jane is jesting. How can it be? Lizzy and Mr Darcy? I know he assisted with that horrid Mr Wickham, but did she not hate him?”
“Do you not remember that Mr Darcy apologised to Lizzy, and they began again? He begged our pardon as well before he escorted the miscreant’s remains to Derbyshire. Before either of us gets worked up about what may be, let us wait for our daughters to return. Lizzy is a sensible girl; she will not do anything against herinclination,” Bennet soothed.
“Well, I know that!” Fanny shook her head. It would be hard, but she would wait to hear from Lizzy.
“I must say, I have not enjoyed the lack of noise in this house. Our four eldest cannot arrive soon enough. Lydia will be home by the end of September; the house will be back to normal.” Bennet knew things would never be as they were, but it would be their new state of being.
“I cannot but agree with you, Thomas,” Fanny said with a smile.
Chapter 27
Come Tuesday morning, Sir William Lucas could not account for the reason that a chaise and four, with a coat of arms emblazoned on the doors, came to a halt in his drive at Lucas Lodge. The knight was seated in his small study with its lone window looking out over the drive. He did not move from his chair, as he knew he would be summoned if need be.
Imagine his surprise when he saw Mr Fitzwilliam, the former colonel and one-time guest at his estate, step out of the coach. That was nothing to the shock Sir William received when the man leant into the conveyance and handed out his widowed daughter.
Seeing this, his vaunted reputation for hospitality did not spur him to move. Rather, he stood there staring; trying to solve the puzzle before him. As he kept watching, his mouth hanging open, a footman assisted another lady from the coach. From her dress, Sir William could tell she was a maid. That told him that propriety had been observed, and his widowed daughter had not ridden alone with a single man.
As he concentrated on Charlotte, he was happy to see she had thrown off her half-mourning clothes. Then, Sir William saw a look of contentment on her countenance, one he had not seen on her since before her short but disastrous marriage to Collins. More than anything else, seeing the joy radiating from his daughter finally removed the lead from Sir William’s feet.
Exiting his study, he saw the heads of his wife and youngest daughter looking out into the hall.
“William, were you expecting guests?” Lady Lucas enquired.
“I was not,” Sir William averred. “It is Charlotte, Sarah, my dear. Will you not join me in welcoming her home?”
“Indeed, I will,” Lady Lucas agreed.
With Maria trailing behind, the Lucas parents reached the front door in time to see the housekeeper accepting Mr Fitzwilliam’s and Charlotte’s outerwear, such as it was in the summer.
“Charlotte, we had no word of your coming home,” Lady Lucas stated. Her suspicions were raised when the former colonel offered her eldest daughter his arm. She knew from letters received from her daughter that Mr Fitzwilliam was now the master of Rosings Park. She was not imagining things when it appeared to her that the man was looking at Charlotte with great warmth. Could it be that after her hasty decision of accepting the late Mr Collins, which had proved to be a great mistake, Charlotte had come to the attention of not only a good man but a very wealthy one as well?
“Prior to certain events of yestermorning, I had no idea I would be at Lucas Lodge today, and sending a message was not practical as we would have arrived at the same time,” Charlotte stated cryptically.
“What events?” Lady Lucas began to ask when her husband placed his hand on her arm.
“Come, Sarah, let us all retire to the sitting room. I am sure Charlotte will reveal the purpose in her coming,” Sir William suggested.
