“No, Bingley, it is not just this, though thank you on behalf of the family on the Bennet side. Would you join Gardiner, Phillips, and me in my brother’s study?” Bennet invited. At first Bingley was nervous but saw that Bennet was grinning, not the look of one who was about to deliver bad news, though it could be reminiscent of the news. He suddenly woke up to the fact that his landlord had said Phillips. He looked up and saw his friend walking toward him with Gardiner while Hattie was already bending his wife’s ear. Bennet waited for him, and they entered the study together.
Once the men were seated and Gardiner had poured them two fingers of his best French brandy, Bennet spoke first.“Have you found a suitable estate to purchase yet, Bingley?”
“We have seen a few, but none that had attracted our notice for a second look. If I am to uproot my wife and son, then it has to be something far better than Netherfield. I gave up asking you to sell to me some years ago,” Bingley replied, as he took a healthy sip of the brown liquid.
“That was because I no longer owned Netherfield.” Bennet grinned as he saw his friend’s confusion.“I deeded it to Jane,” he explained.
“So, Jane is our landlady now?” Bingley surmised.
“Technically yes, and without revealing personal information, my prospective son-in-law happens to be quite wealthy, so neither he nor Jane desire to keep Netherfield. In fact, my daughter has designated me her agent and directed me to sell the estate to a worthy buyer. Would you be interested…” Bennet was cut off.
“Yes, absolutely yes!” Bingley exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat in his excitement at never having to quit Netherfield and to gain his impossible dream.
“And that is the main reason why we are included in this meeting of the minds,” Gardiner indicated to himself and his brother, Phillips.“What is the market value, Phillips?”
“With the land that was annexed to Longbourn, it is worth a little more than eighty thousand pounds,” Phillips replied.
Bingley was about to accept the price when Bennet lifted his hand.“Based on my instruction of how to disburse the proceeds, it is better for me if it were easily divisible by a factor of three, so what say you to five and seventy thousand pounds, old friend?” Bennet offered.
“Sold!” Bingley insisted. He could not wait to inform his wife, as it had been a long time that they had known that Netherfield Park was the only estate at which they would be truly happy. Phillips drew up an Intent to Purchase agreement with the final price. As soon as Bingley transferred the funds, Netherfield would be his. He was sorry that the Bank of England was already closed for the day, but he would present himself first thing in the morning and have the money deposited in the account Bennet had designated.
When the men returned to the drawing room just before dinner was announced, Bingley quietly approached Jane and thanked her sincerely for selling him her estate. She took much pleasure from the look of joy on Mr Bingley’s face. She was also gratified that she had been able to increase William, John, and Kitty’s portions.
Once they were seated, she leaned toward her betrothed, seated to her right,“It is done; Netherfield is sold.”
“Did Mr Bingley purchase it, as you and your father suspected he would?” He asked, and Jane nodded her head in reply. There was no missing the joy on Mr Bingley’s face, nor the fact that he was bursting to share the momentous news with his wife.
As she was enjoying the meal, Elizabeth thought back on how good it had felt when Jane hugged her the instant that she had been recognised as her long-lost sister. Each time they had greeted one another since that first lingering hug, either on arrival or departure, they hugged. It just felt right to Elizabeth, especially since she had recognised that Jane was the angel of her dreams over the years.
When Uncle Thomas had told of how he had felt something was wrong after the miscreant Wickham tried to murder her, she was amazed. However, when Jane told her of the dreams that she had, while at the same time Elizabeth was calling for her during her fever, Elizabeth had been shocked beyond belief. When she thought about it later, it explained why after so long of a separation, there seemed to be such a strong bond between her and Jane. For the while, she would be called cousin, but in Elizabeth’s heart she felt the bonds of sisterhood as strongly as if she had been with Jane for the entirety of her life. To her great relief when she looked at her sister, Jane invariably turned and met her eyes and they shared smiles that proved they were both there together, to their relief.
After dinner, separation of the sexes was eschewed, and the ladies were beseeched to provide music, and by design of the Darcy and Fitzwilliam families, Elizabeth was the final performer. Her newly reunited family all sat in awe and surprise as she played her first song, a Scottish ballad. Her final piece, an aria in Italian, was the one she genuinely enjoyed, and as her contralto voice swelled in song, there was absolute silence. After the song was completed, there was further silence for some seconds before the thunderous applause broke out. Even those who had heard her sing before had never heard her sing so well.
Bennet could hear that her Italian pronunciation and inflection was perfect.“Lizzy, do you speak Italian as well?” He asked.
“I do, Uncle Thomas, and a few others as well,” she answered humbly.
“That is brown, Lizzy,” Richard added.“Afew! My sister has mastered most of the languages of which I am aware or have but heard of!”
“That may be because you have not heard of many languages, Richard,” Will shot at his cousin.
“I would be careful if I were you, Will, unless you want to be pummelled again,” Richard retorted in jest.
“Just how many languages are you fluent in, my dear?” Bennet asked, admiring the easy banter between the Fitzwilliams and Darcys.
“Nine,” Elizabeth returned softly.
“Nine! Good Lord, what are they? I know of English and Italian so far.” Bennet already knew that his second daughter was gifted, but as each additional layer as revealed to him, he was astounded all over again.
“French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew,” Elizabeth admitted.
“Why Hebrew?” Bennet enquired.
“I have some old copies of bibles in my library in that language and our Lizzy decided that she wanted to be able to study them, so she learnt how to read it, then for good measure talk and read it,” George Darcy offered.
“I hear that library of yours calling me,” Bennet quipped. He turned back toward Elizabeth.“Are there any more hidden talents you have omitted to share, niece of mine?”
“Not that I can think of, Uncle Thomas,” Elizabeth returned, still somewhat embarrassed at her accomplishments being a topic of discussion.“I suppose I am good at riding; I do love to ride Saturn and she is such a good horse.”
