“Caroline, you lied, you tried to rule over them, and you were very unpleasant. Your siblings wanted nothing to do withthatperson. It will take some time to rebuild the bridges of trust you destroyed in the past, but if you make genuine changes, then I believe that Lulu and Charles will welcome you back into their lives with open arms.” Hildebrand paused and looked her niece squarely in the eyes. “In the past, they have both experienced you saying you will change only to get worse. You need to give them time to see your genuine contrition and changes to the way you behave. Once they trust you again, you will see they will be happy to have their little sister back. That applies to Angela and my sons as well. If they see you making the effort, they will forgive you.”
“I have much to work on and repair. If it is all the same to you, Aunt Hildebrand, I am very tired. I will go rest in my bedchamber. If you are willing to assist me, are you sanguine with me doing what I need to try and do to begin the necessary changes in the morning?” Caroline enquired humbly.
“Of course, I will, and so will Uncle John. As long as we see this is genuine, we will stand by you; but the hard work, and it will be difficult, will have to be done by you,” Hildebrand replied.
Caroline did something else she had not done since she was a little girl. She kissed her aunt’s cheek before leaving the parlour.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
May – July 1808
A few days after the engagement was announced, the three families resident at Netherfield Park, along with Charles Bingley, had removed to London. Much to Kitty and Lydia’s disappointment, Lizzy, Mary, and Anna had rejoined their parents.
While in London, Edith, Lady Elaine, Lady Anne, and Aunt Maddie had first accompanied Jane to her Uncle Edward’s warehouse to select fabrics not yet available to any shops in London. With that done, they made for the modiste to order the clothing Jane would need to complete her trousseau. After all, Kent’s climate was milder than Staffordshire and the northern counties. Then there were the many shops for all the items which could not be purchased from the modiste.
Unlike Lizzy, Jane was not one to complain about shopping, although after three days with her mother and aunts, she had come close to doing so. The saving grace was seeing Richard at Holder House as soon as she returned from another marathon shopping expedition.
With the bulk of the shopping thankfully completed, other than the fittings, Jane was able to relax. A sennight after arriving in London, Richard conducted a tour of his house in Berkeley Square for Jane. His mother and hers, as well as her next two younger sisters, joined the tour. Jane had found very little that needed changing, which, given what she had heard about Mrs de Bourgh’s tastes, was a pleasant surprise.
Richard had explained that thankfully his late Uncle Lewis had barred his wife from turning the formerly named de Bourgh house into an ostentatious and gaudy, as he had called it, courtesan’s house. Jane met the senior staff and a good cross-section of the servants. She was more than satisfied with what she found, and assured the housekeeper and butler that she was not one who would dismiss anyone just to put her stamp on the house. Below-stairs word rapidly spread that the new mistress was everything a lady should be, and she would not be replacing anyone without serious cause to do so.
A day after the tour of Fitzwilliam House, Bingley had called on Fitzwilliam and looked as if he had seen a ghost. He had received a letter from Scarborough detailing the setdown his aunt had issued to Caroline, but that was not the surprising part. That distinction was held by the resultant change in his younger sister.
His aunt had told him she had written to Louisa and Hurst at Winsdale as well. Bingley asked Fitzwilliam if it was ungenerous of him not to trust this change in his sister.
Fitzwilliam had stoically responded that only time would tell if it was genuine.
Bingley hoped, more than believed, that his sister was making real changes and had left her aspirations to climb the lofty ladder of society behind her. He decided to be cautious in his optimism and also knew he needed to write to his older sister and glean her perspective on this supposed and surprising change.
The next week, the Carringtons joined Fitzwilliam in travelling to Rosings Park. Jane had seen the estate a few times since Richard became the master, but this time, it was to be toured as the soon-to-be mistress.
Since Fitzwilliam had removed any trace of Catherine de Bourgh from the house shortly after the estate became his property, none of her bad taste remained. He had sent the chair she thought was her throne with her to the dower house. After her commitment at Bedlam, the wood from the chair had become kindling and the padding and upholstery given to any tenants who had a use for it. Thanks to his mother and Aunt Anne, the mansion had been redecorated with an understated elegance, and comfortable furniture was then purchased. In the end, the changes had cost Fitzwilliam almost nothing, as Gardiner had auctioned off all the unwanted items. It seemed there were many who shared Mrs de Bourgh’s bad taste and classlessness, because the funds, even after the commission, were not much less than the cost of the new items.
The only thing Jane decided she wanted to change was the mistress’s chambers. When his mother and aunt had directed the redecorating, they had not done anything with those chambers except remove all useless overly ornate décor and furniture in the suite. Hence, Jane had a blank canvas to do with what she chose.
Before they returned to London, Fitzwilliam introduced Hunsford’s new rector and his wife to Jane. The previous parson had retired after Easter past, and after seeing a half dozen men, Fitzwilliam had chosen Mr Kidmann to have the living in his advowson. Unlike many other landowners with livings in their gift, Fitzwilliam would not sell it and had only been interested in the best man to serve the parishioners, and that is what he had done. Jane and Mrs Kidmann struck up an immediate rapport which boded well for working together for the good of the parish.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On their return to London, Fitzwilliam made his way to his solicitor to draft the wedding settlement. He was still in shock that Jane had close to seventy thousand pounds, thanks to her father and birthfather both having had Gardiner manage the funds they had set aside for dowries. If that was not enough, if they had a second son who did not object to changing his last name to Bennet-Fitzwilliam, Longbourn would be his. Just like he had told Holder he would, Fitzwilliam had his solicitor add clauses into the contract which left the money with Jane.
As Holder had predicted, Jane had rather strenuously objected to those clauses and had only agreed to the money being set aside for their daughters and any sons who did not have an estate of his own. The principal would not be touched, but the dividends, which were significant, could be used for any reason agreed to by husband and wife.
Once Jane was sanguine with the settlement after she looked over the numbers to make sure there were no errors, then, and only then, were the copies signed by Holder and Fitzwilliam.
The last of the fittings were accomplished, which included gowns for Lizzy and Mary. The former had been convinced to order one gown because she was to be Jane’s maid of honour. Mary needed one, because she would serve as a bridesmaid. Jane wanted both of her Carrington-Bennet sisters near her when she married.
With that done, there were no more tasks left to accomplish in Town.
By the time the Carringtons, Fitzwilliams, and Darcys set out for Holder Heights, it was already late in June, less than two months until the wedding.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Almost the day they arrived at Holder Heights; Edith sat with her housekeeper to tell her about the upcoming wedding. Mrs Steveton was very happy for Miss Jane—which was how the housekeeper thought of her—and she, the cooks, the chef, and the maids would do anything they could to make the wedding an event to remember.
The first Sunday after the families arrived at Holder Heights, Mr Clayburn began to call the banns at St Mildred’s in Holder while Mr Kidmann did the same at St Cuthbert’s in Hunsford. As there was more than enough time, neither the Fitzwilliams nor the Carringtons saw the need to apply for a licence.
Like he had at Netherfield Park, Richard slept in the dower house at Holder Heights. He was joined there by William and then Bingley, who arrived a fortnight before the wedding.
