The Carringtons had heard of children getting lost in the park, but never had they imagined stumbling across some who had obviously been abandoned. Given the time of the morning and the flattened vegetation around them, it was clear that they had been here overnight.
Edith approached the crying girls. The two older ones looked rather frightened, and the volume of crying increased, which caused the babe to also increase the volume of noise. She crouched down to be as non-threatening as she could.“My name is Edith; the man is my husband, Paul, and that is Jamey, our son.” She inclined her head to the boy.“The man is Peters; he works for us.” She paused seeing that the older two girls were now sniffling instead of sobbing.“Why are you here?”
“Mamma tell us we getsupwise; she not came back,” Jane managed before crying harder once more.
“What are your names, dears?” Edith asked gently.
“I Janey, sheWizzy, and I hold Mawy. Whewe Papa? Whewe Nuwce? No Mamma?”
Three girls. At that instant, Lady Edith Carrington made a decision, and she dared her husband to gainsay her.“Paul, we are taking these girls home; you can see the two older ones, Jane and Elizabeth, are dressed like they are gently born, and Jane mentioned a nursemaid. We will find a wet nurse as soon as may be; in the meantime, I will drip milk into Mary’s mouth from a cloth.”
Holder knew that look in his wife’s eye. Even had he wanted to refuse her, he could not.
“Paul, take Mary,” Edith commanded. She saw Jane flinch and the fear on her face.“Jane dear, you and Lizzy will come with us, too. We will look after you and try to find Mamma and Papa.”
Feeling like she could trust this kind lady, Jane allowed the man to take Mary from her arms. When the lady reached her hands out, she stood and took one, and Lizzy took the other. She watched as the other man took the valise and rolled up the blanket.
It was not a long walk to Holder House. If the staff and servants were shocked to see the family return with two little girls and a babe, none showed it.
“Mrs Fenster, please notify the nursery staff they will have three more with them and that Miss Mary needs to have her napkin changed as soon as possible. Misses Jane and Elizabeth must be bathed and fed forthwith.” Edith turned to the butler.“Mr Fenster, send out as many men as needed. Miss Mary needs a wet nurse as soon as may be. We will pay very well for someone at such short notice.” She turned back to her housekeeper.“Until that lady arrives, have Cook prepare some milk, only lukewarm. As soon as it is ready and Miss Mary is changed and dry, I will require a cloth so I may drip milk into her mouth. I have no idea when the poor dear ate last, as she seems a little lethargic to me.”
The housekeeper nodded to a maid who took Miss Mary from the mistress and made her way up to the nursery.
Only once she had issued her orders was Edith able to relax a little. She did not miss how the two girls held her hands tighter as if from fear when two nursemaids approached. She crouched again.“Jane and Lizzy, at your home you had nursemaids, did you not?”
Both girls nodded.
The affirmative reply firmed Edith’s opinion that the girls had been gently born.“That is what these two kind ladies are. They will take you to the nursery, wash you, put you in something clean, and feed you. Would you like to eat?” Edith asked both gently and kindly.
Again, there were two nods. Tentatively at first, Jane took the nursemaid’s hand while the other one lifted Elizabeth up. Elizabeth rested her head on the woman’s shoulder, and her thumb was inserted into her mouth for comfort.
“What sort of mother abandons her daughters in the park in that way? It is pure evil!” Edith exclaimed once the girls were up the stairs and out of earshot.“She never deserves to see these girls again.” Her protective motherly instincts had been aroused. If she ever had the displeasure of meeting the mother, she would issue her a set-down for the ages.
“I agree about the mother, but when Jane spoke of her father, it was with warmth. We need to do everything we are able to in order to locate their family,” Holder stated. He had not missed the way his love had looked at the girls; thelonging for more children she had tamped down over the years was plain to see.“In the meanwhile, I have instructed Fenster to post a footman near where the girls were, just in case the mother regrets what she has done and comes back looking for her daughters.” Holder placed his one finger on his wife’s lips as he saw a protest about to explode from her.“Yes, my darling wife, I know; she does not deserve them, but my honour demands that I do no less.”
As much as she wanted to rail about the girls ever going back to the despicable mother, Edith knew that her husband was correct. She simply nodded. After her husband kissed her cheek, she made her way up to the nursery.
Chapter7
Regret was not one of the feelings Fanny Bennet had when she woke at the coaching inn the next morning.
She was not at the same one where the hackney had left her. To make sure no one could find her, she took the precaution of asking for a ride from an older couple who had stopped briefly. She told them she needed to get closer to Hertfordshire as she was on her way home to tend to her son who was ill. As she had not entered the inn, no one there would recognise her.
Yes, Fanny was mean of understanding, but she was cunning, especially when her own comfort was at stake. That self-preservation was why she had written to Clem Collins and ingratiated herself to him.
She woke earlier than was her preference, feeling refreshed and much lighter than she had since her useless husband had decided to die and make her face the possibility of living in the hedgerows. Today, she would reach Longbourn, and once Clem saw that she was unencumbered byhisdaughters, they could move forward and marry. That would allow her to assume the position of mistress of Longbourn that should have been hers since the day she married that cruel man.
The post coach was to depart at seven that morning. Even though it had cost more money, Fanny purchased a ticket to St Albans knowing that there was a stop at the Red Lion Inn in Meryton. She would alight there, and no one would be the wiser.
In all of her thoughts of how much better her life would be, she had not given a thought to how she would explain her leaving with her daughters and returning without them.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Little Mary must have been starving given how she sucked the edge of the cloth Edith allowed to touch her lips. By the time the babe seemed sated, almost all of the milk in the bowl was gone. She placed Mary over her shoulder and gently patted her back until the girl emitted a healthy belch. With that done, Edith handed Mary to one of the nursemaids so that the napkin could be changed before putting the babe in a cradle so she would be able to sleep.
After being bathed Jane and Lizzy were being dried off in front of a crackling fire—even though the days had been warm, Edith did not want the girls to get chilled before they were dressed. Edith had instructed the housekeeper to send someone to a shop which sold clothes for babes and young children to purchase a selection of gowns for Mary and dresses, frocks, slippers, and a host of other items for Jane and Lizzy. As much as she knew that Paul was right about seeking the girls’family, in her heart they were her girls already. Edith knew she would not relinquish them to anyone who could not prove their love and good intentions for the three sisters. Shesmiled as she remembered how Jamey had not understood why he was sent to Papa and was not allowed to remain in the nursery. When they were his sisters, then that would change.
As of yet, there was no clothing for little girls in the house except for some of Edith’s own childhood dresses, which were in a trunk in the attics. Mr Fenster had sent two footmen to retrieve the trunk she had described. It had arrived while the girls were in the bath. Unfortunately, the items in the trunk had not been preserved properly. Hence, a few of Jamey’s gowns would suffice until the new clothing arrived.
