The five men introduced themselves to one another while Fitzwilliam relieved the one Medford twin of Wickham.
“Should we have this miscreant arrested?” The older Medford twin inquired.
“He would hang for the amount in your purses. We will have him sent down, and my father will punish him. The loss of Darcy patronage will be a big blow to him,” William stated. He turned to Bingley. “We thank you for your assistance. Will you call on us once we have dealt with that.” William cocked his head to a shaking Wickham. He turned towards his former friend. “It is a good thing your father is not alive to see what you have become.”
With that and with Fitzwilliam holding a death grip on one of Wickham’s upper arms, the five men marched him to the offices of the Dean of Trinity College.
The dean agreed that the constable would not be called, but George Wickham was sent down, before being transported to Pemberley to face Mr Darcy.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A fortnight later, the new group of friends, which included Richard Fitzwilliam, William Darcy, Charles Bingley, and the Medford twins, were enjoying beverages in the sitting room attached to the suite belonging to the first two.
“My father wrote,” William reported. “He did as he threatened and has withdrawn all support for Wickham, including a recommendation to one of the livings in Pemberley’s gift if that bastard ever took orders. He was given fifty pounds and sent on his way. Father writes that if Wicky runs up debts in the Darcy name or approaches any of us, he will be charged, tried, and hung for theft of well over the amount needed to make it a hanging offence. I hope that is the last we will see of him.”
On the next term break, Charles Bingley was invited to Pemberley with William Darcy, as the two had become rather close. Richard Fitzwilliam, another new friend Charles had made, would be with them. As much as he would have liked to introduce his friends to his father and Lulu, he would not allow Caroline near them, especially not Darcy.
Chapter 9
January 1806
It was sad news to all of the Bennet sisters when Bennet told them that their Uncle Frank had come to Longbourn to report that their Aunt Hattie had passed away from a very bad case of influenza on the twentieth day of January.
Bennet had known that in early January, like her late mother before her, Hattie had had what she had termeda trifling cold, but instead of getting better, it only got worse. Now, he had to face his daughters, who all loved their aunt, to tell them they would never see her again. He girded his loins for the questions he was sure they would ask.
Before he stood from sitting in his chair behind his desk in the study, Bennet could not help but think of his girls, the lights of his life. Jane had turned eighteen nine days before Hattie’s death. Because his sister-in-law had not been well enough to attend Jane’s celebration, Jane and her sisters had gone to visit their aunt at her home. Bennet remembered how happy Hattie was to see Jane on the day of her significant birthday.
Now Hattie, who had been so very much looking forward to watching Jane’s debut into local society at the spring assembly in March, would not be able to watch her oldest niece dance the first two dances with her father and Uncle Frank respectively. Except as Phillips would be in mourning, Bennet would do the honours on his own. Bennetwas aware that Hattie loved his girls with the whole of her heart which had made it easy to excuse her foibles.
Lizzy would be sixteen in March, something for which he was not fully prepared. His girls were all becoming young ladies. Mary would be fifteen in July; Kate twelve in September; and Lyddie would be ten in June.
The youngest two were closest to Hattie of all of his daughters which meant that her loss would be felt most keenly by them. The older three would be very sad, but not like how Kate and Lyddie would feel about Hattie’s loss. At least, the Gardiners would arrive in the next day or two. Thankfully, the frigid winter meant that there was no hurry to commit Hattie’s mortal remains to the earth with speed as had been the case when her younger sister had lost her life.
Like Hattie, Maddie had become a mother figure to his daughters. The bond was stronger with the three eldest as they had been able to visit Gracechurch Street for more years than Kate and Lyddie. All five of his daughters loved the four Gardiner cousins fiercely. Lilly was seven, Eddy recently five, Peter was almost 3, and May was one.
Bennet hoped Gardiner and Maddie would bring the children as it would help distract his daughters from their grief. He was aware that he was procrastinating. He rang for Hill. “Have Mrs Dudley bring the two youngest to the drawing room, and also make sure the eldest three and Miss Jones are present as well,” Bennet instructed.
Hill bowed and went to carry out the master’s orders.
Bennet had employed several men and a woman at Longbourn. A companion, Miss Anita Jones, the almost forty-year-old spinster sister of the town’s medical man was needed as his daughters matured and no longer took lessons from the governess. At the same time, Bennet had found former military men to act as footmen guards. He felt they wereneeded as his daughters’ dowries were becoming substantial, and he would do what he needed to protect them. Gardiner had used his contacts—namely one Major Fitzwilliam who was an investor—to find eight men who were led by two of the largest men Bennet had ever met. One was aptly named John Biggs and the other Brian Johns. Even though it was put out in public that the Bennet sisters only had two thousand pounds each, Bennet would not take chances with their security.
His ruminations were interrupted when there was a knock on his door, and Hill opened the door. “All seven ladies are in the drawing room,” the retainer reported.
Knowing it was time to make the unpleasant notification, Bennet stood and made his way to the room where his daughters and the other two ladies were. He should have known that Lizzy would be able to read his sombre look. She was a very intuitive young lady.
“Papa, what is it? You look sad,” Elizabeth said.
Bennet sat down in the wingback chair he always used in the drawing room. “I wish Lizzy was wrong, but I am afraid she is correct,” he began. He did not miss the looks of concern or the way the three eldest sitting on a couch held one another’s hands. On the settee, Lyddie was holding one of Mrs Dudley’s hands on one side, and Kate was holding hers on the other side. “You all know that Aunt Hattie has been ill since the beginning of this month. I am afraid that rather than improving, her cold worsened. Early this morning, she went to her final reward. She had been sleeping, so she felt no pain.”
The reactions were as he had expected. The younger two girls were sobbing uncontrollably while Mrs Dudley, with Miss Jones’s assistance, tried to calm them. The older three were very sad and were crying, just not as volubly as their younger sisters.
“Did nothing that was done to try to cure Aunt Hattiehelp?” Elizabeth asked as she dried her tears.
“Unfortunately, not,” Miss Jones replied. “My brother told me that by the time your aunt sought his care, he detected that the infection had reached her lungs. He is very frustrated that so many lose their lives to things that he believes will be preventable in the future.”
“Will our young cousins accompany Aunt Maddie and Uncle Edward?” Mary asked.
“I am not sure, but I suspect they will,” Bennet responded.
