“I wish I knew,” her father admitted.
“I do as well,” Aunt Anne added.“She was always hard to live with, a bully even, but she never showed any evil until after she married and left Snowhaven.”
Lizzy was about to leave the sitting room when she had a thought.“What will happen if my other family finds me?” she asked with concern,“They would not force me to never see any of you again would they?”
Lizzy had touched on a recurring nightmare for her mother. Elaine swallowed her fear and looked her daughter in the eye,“If they love you as I suspect that they do, I do not believe that they would force you to abandon us, Lizzy.” Lady Elaine hoped more than believed that what she said would be the truth if that occurrence ever came to pass. Her daughter cogitated for a few moments and kissed and hugged her parents, aunt, and uncle. She hugged her brothers and two cousins and smiled again, happy with the answer her mother had given her.
As a little girl was wont to do, Lizzy decided she knew enough and wanted to go play with Gigi so that the two of them could go visit Fairy, who was now a resident of the Pemberley stables. The family was pleased that the news of her being discarded in the way that she was did not seem to upset her terribly. And outwardly it had not, but it would be many years before Elizabeth would reconcile what happened to her to get satisfaction.
The four parents had discussed the theory a number of times over the years since she joined the family, that someone had wanted to get rid of Lizzy and that it was not just a simple kidnapping. A kidnapper would not have discarded the object of ransom, as was done in Lizzy’s case. She had asked why, and they had answered honestly, that they did not know; thankfully, she did not ask them for theiropinionsof why.
After Elizabeth had changed into a riding habit, she met Gigi, Andrew, William, Richard, and Anne at the side entrance of the house closest to the stables. Astraea was waiting for her as Fairy was for Gigi. William had recently been gifted a stallion who was still young but well trained that he had named Zeus. Andrew and Richard had left their horses at Snowhaven but were quite happy to ride any one of the many fine mounts in the Darcy stables.
With Biggs, Johns, and two grooms following at a discreet distance, the six cousins set out for a leisurely ride. With Georgie on her pony, they would not go beyond a trot for this ride. They exited the park and turned toward the sheep shearing sheds. Off to the side of the path, hidden in some boulders was George Wickham. He would have loved to do something to try to spook the brat’s horse, but he did not ignore the presence of the huge brutes and grooms following the group of those he so hated.
He should have been riding with that group if his true father had recognised him as was his due. George did not care much for school, but he did care that he would no longer receive the same schooling advantages as that prig, William. He had to be satisfied with the school for children of tenants and servants, and he knew that he was far better than that! The fourteen-year-old young Wickham kept himself hidden, for it would not suit his purposes to be seen watching the Darcy and Fitzwilliam children.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As the three Bingley ladies walked along the main street in Meryton, they could not fathom why they were not being treated with the deference they felt they deserved. Not only that, but people would look at them and then seem to laugh at them or make comments and point at them. The three had no idea that had they been themselves and not put-on airs and graces and pretended to be that which they were not, they would have been accepted by one and all.
As they were passing the milliner’s shop, they passed Mrs Long, expecting her to fawn over them since they were so much above her and were willing to recognise her. They were quickly and rudely disabused by the notion. The lady curtsied, and the question that followed mortified the women who had done everything they could to hide their roots.
“Mrs Bingley, Miss Bingley, Miss Caroline, how do you do today?” Mrs Long asked politely and then before they could respond she continued,“How is your husband’s business doing? What is it? Oh yes, the Bingley Carriage Works in Scarborough.” Then to really turn the knife she added,“I must have misunderstood about your being part of the landed gentry when your family is really in trade.” As the three women stood spluttering in mortification, Mrs Long cheerily took her leave of them, and went on her way.
To make matters much worse, there was a fairly large group of ladies within earshot—all of whom were looking at the social climbers and tittering at them. As quickly as their legs could carry them, Mrs Bingley and her daughters returned to where their conveyance was waiting and told the driver to make all haste to take them back to Netherfield.
By the time they alighted at the manor house, the mortification had morphed into anger. They stormed into the house after practically throwing their outerwear at the butler and footman, just stopping themselves from berating the two for no reason. When they stalked into the drawing room where father and son were sitting, it was not hard for Mr Bingley to see that they were in a huff and he had a good idea why, having spoken to Mr Bennet after his visit with the Longs.
“What vexes you so, Mrs Bingley?” he asked nonchalantly.
“These imbeciles in this little, nowhere town do not respect their betters!” Caroline interjected before his wife could respond. His other daughter and wife nodded their agreement with Caroline’s assessment.
“Were they disrespectful to a peer of the realm? Or mayhap a royal?” he smirked, knowing full well to whom they were referring.
“Do not be so obtuse, Mr Bingley,” his wife said with asperity.“Caroline meant that they did not giveusour due deference.
“You mean they have found out that you have been lying about our rank,” Mr Bingley corrected, having had enough sport with his wife and daughters. All three looked like beached perches, their mouths flapping open and closed though no sound emitted.
“O-of w-what d-do you talk of, Mr Bingley,” Martha asked as she tried to affect an air of innocence her daughters immediately attempted to emulate.
“What do you take me for, Mrs Bingley?” Oscar asked pointedly,“A simpleton? Did you think that you could go around telling one and all that you are part of the landed gentry and only leasing here while our manor house is being rebuilt on the grandest scale? All of the landed gentry, regardless of their wealth, areaboveusand the tradesmen are our equals!” Mrs Bingley and Louisa were embarrassed that their lies had been revealed, while Caroline seethed that her father would not back their proclamations.
When no defence was forthcoming, Mr Bingley told his wife and daughters that they would be restricted to the manor house and park for three months, with the exception of Louisa when she returned to the seminary. He added that there would be no allowance money during the period of restriction, and at some point in its duration he would arrange for his wife and daughters to apologise to those that they had lied to.
Caroline was furious that her mother and sister just sat meekly accepting the unjust punishment. She told herself that in a few years she would be in a position to do something, this was not to be borne.
Chapter 10
End of August 1798
Mr Bingley was an enormously proud father as he conveyed his son to Eton for his first year at the start of his gentleman’s education. His son would be the first in the family to be so educated. With a wry smile he thought about the fact that it would be somewhat more pleasant at home as he had also dropped off Louisa at Miss Pettigrew’s Seminary for Young Ladies before he continued with Charles to Eton. The town of Eton was in Berkshire, not far from Windsor and relatively close to Town.
The new boys at Eton were placed with a boy who was year ahead of them to help them acclimate. By the luck of the draw, Master Charles Bingley was told that his roommate would arrive a little later that day, a Master Fitzwilliam Darcy from Derbyshire. The lodging was in the town itself, as he and most attendees wereOppidans. Only the seventy King’s Scholars, those recipients of the coveted scholarship to study at and attend Eton, lived on the college campus. The rest, like Charles Bingley, paid their own fees and lived in the houses. The house that young Bingley was in had six bed chambers, a common room, a dining parlour, and a study room. Five of the chambers were occupied by two boys and one was reserved for the house captain, a Richard Fitzwilliam. House captains were all in their final year at the august learning institution.
It soon became evident to both Bingley men that sons of tradesmen were an exceedingly small minority among the attendees. Most were sons of members of the Ton from wealthy and long established non-titled families all the way up to some who were sons of dukes. The house captain was the son of an Earl, and they had heard someone address one of the young men in the neighbouring chamber as Lord Westmore. He was in fact a viscount, the son and heir of the Earl and Countess of Jersey. The two Bingley’s joked that had the sisters or Mrs Bingley been present, they would not have been able to decide who to ingratiate themselves with first.
Once all of Charles’s belongings had been moved in, Mr Bingley took Charles to the college itself where they visited the main office to verify all of his son’s paperwork was in order and that the payment for his first year had been received. After everything was confirmed to be in order, the two wandered about the school in awe of being within the hallowed halls so many members of the Ton, past and present, had walked.
