It was also written in the settlement that Mrs. Bennet and any unmarried daughters would have the right to live at Longbourn until death or marriage. The penalty for reneging on that clause was the loss of Longbourn.
In less than a sennight, she would become the man’s wife. Why had she tried to trap Mr. Darcy when Mr. Bingley had been falling in love with her? Now she was about to be united with surely the most ridiculous man in the Kingdom.
Jane was sure Charlotte Lucas would have written to Elizabeth by now. How amused her former sister must be that she, whose beauty had been praised to the skies, was to marry Collins in a matter of days.
As much as her mother and the two youngest Bennets railed against the injustice of it, they did not go out, nor did anyone come to visit them. They were completely isolated. At least with Jane moving to a new home, she had hopes of finding some society who did not know about the Bennets’ disgrace.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the Thursday after her arrival, the Gardiners felt it was time to talk with Elizabeth. The three sat in the study. “Lizzy, your father, that is Mr. Bennet,” Gardiner corrected himself, seeing Elizabeth’s look of distaste when he used the appellation ‘father,’ “sent an express to me in which he legally and irrevocably gave up all parental rights to you and transferred them to me. I filed the paperwork on Monday, or my solicitor did, with the Court and it is done. The Bennets of Longbourn have no say over your life. As of Monday, Maddie and I are legally your parents.”
Elizabeth shed tears, but they were tears of joy, not sadness. “I do not want to be called Bennet any longer. Would you agree for me to take the name Gardiner?” Elizabeth asked, hopefully.
“Of course, Lizzy, we would be most pleased. As we are already your legal guardians, it is merely a matter of signing a form and it will be done,” Gardiner informed his former niece and new daughter. “You realise you still have four siblings, do you not?”
“Of course I do,” Elizabeth smiled. It was the first time the Gardiners saw a genuine smile that reached her eyes, since she had come to live with them. “I know you will not want me to work, but I do not want to be a burden. To accomplish my goal, I will need your help to find a position as a governess or companion.” Then Elizabeth paused and handed her uncle some banknotes to add to her investment fund. “I thought I only had ten pounds, but when I opened the lining of the dress there was one hundred and sixty pounds instead.”
“Lizzy, you are a dear girl,” Gardiner stated with a smile. “Even without what I am about to disclose to you, do you not know your Aunt and I are well off? We earn more than five thousand pounds per annum, and unlike Mr. Bennet I am not married to a spendthrift.”
“But I…” Gardiner raised his hand and Elizabeth ceased talking.
“It seems I did not report your wealth accurately…by design.” Gardiner proceeded to explain the truth of his niece’s fortune. When he was done, the normally unflappable Elizabeth was in a state of shock.
“How would I spend such a sum in two lifetimes?” Elizabeth asked as the surprise began to wear off.
“Do you understand with an income of three thousand pounds a year, or greater, you have no need to work, Lizzy?” Madeline reiterated.
“Yes, I do understand that; I am just flabbergasted. Surely you can take back the money you added and I will still have a good portion?” Elizabeth suggested.
“As I stated, we have more than enough,” Gardiner retorted. “Surely you would not try to return that which gave us so much pleasure to gift to you?”
Elizabeth raised her hands in surrender. “Lizzy, there is something I wanted to ask you,” Madeline stated. “You know I am on some charitable committees…” Aunt Maddie explained Lady Matlock’s request and her desire for Elizabeth to meet her daughter and niece.
For a moment some of her old prejudices almost intruded and Elizabeth was about to refuse. Then, she recalled two lying manipulators had fuelled her dislike of Mr. Darcy; she added to that her own wilful blindness. In addition, there was the information about Mr. Darcy Charlotte had informed her of. It was time to look at things anew without any prejudices.
She realised it would be foolish to refuse to acquire some friends closer to her own age in London. “It would please me to meet Lady Tiffany and Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth informed her aunt.
“Come, Lizzy, it is time to acquaint your new brothers and sisters with the fact they have gained an older sister, one who happens to excel at telling stories and playing with them,” Aunt Maddie informed Elizabeth.
“Before we go, what am I to call you? I still think of you as Aunt and Uncle even though you are my parents now,” Elizabeth wondered.
“What you call us, is up to you,” Gardiner replied. “Aunt and Uncle work for us, and if you ever want to change that form of address, that will be your choice.”
“We will see what the future brings,” Elizabeth stated. “I am ready; let us go inform my brothers and sisters.”
To say the four younger Gardiner children were excited would be a great understatement. At three, May was not sure what she was so excited about, but she took her lead from her older siblings.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Why did you allow Mr. Darcy to travel to Pemberley without securing an invitation for us to visit my—his home?” Miss Bingley whined.
“Caroline, you are delusional. Before he left, Darcy informed me he will no longer recognise you or permit you in any of his homes again. He and I tried to tell you how he felt about you, but you chose to ignore our words; now I am afraid you must live with the consequences,” Bingley explained to his sister who was seething with fury by the time he was done talking.
“What nonsense is this! I am sure this is all because he holds a tendre for that hoyden Miss Eliza. Just wait until he hears how far she has fallen,” Miss Bingley spat out.
“What nonsense are you spouting now?” Bingley asked, exasperated.
“Eliza refused to marry that stinking parson cousin of hers. She was banished from that pitiful estate of theirs and now lives with her tradesman uncle, and works in his store as a shopgirl,” Miss Bingley sneered.
