~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Other than Tammy and Hattie, the rest of the friends returned to their homes that evening. Those two would not leave their friend alone to sit vigil on her own during the long night that was to come.
Andrew was shown into the study at Gardiner house where Bennet, Gardiner, and Phillips were waiting for him, and sat in the available chair.“Before I get to the subject that I wanted to talk to you about, I need to ask; how is Elizabeth feeling about the prospect of being at Longbourn again, or would you be more comfortable at Bennington Fields?” Bennet asked.“I will tell you now, we have informed our closest friends, and our housekeeper and butler, so they do not think that Lizzy is the spectre of my late mother come to haunt them.”
Andrew was actually relieved that the friends had been informed. The last thing Lizzy needed was a bunch of strangers staring at her.
“The subject was canvassed with her, and she has no objection to us being hosted at Longbourn as she has no bad memories associated with the house. The people who caused the trauma of rending her from you are no longer alive, and so the evil is buried in the past,” Andrew responded.
“I told you that it would not be an issue, Bennet,” Phillips said smugly.
“It did not mean that I did not have to ask the question,” Bennet shot back.
“Gentlemen, could we return to the matter at hand?” Gardiner rebuked his brothers.
“Yes, I want to transfer Lizzy’s dowry for you to add to hers, if you’re willing,” Bennet informed Andrew bluntly.
“She already has a dowry of fifty thousand,” Andrew said.
“That is from your family, this will be from her birth family. When she was a babe, I established a dowry of five and twenty thousand pounds for Lizzy to match Jane’s. Thanks to Edward here,” he indicated over his shoulder to where Gardiner stood,“it has more than doubled and stands at just under five and fifty thousand pounds,” Bennet stated. Andrew almost smiled when he saw the determined look he had seen before, now in no doubt of where Lizzy got her stubbornness.
“Then on behalf of Lizzy, I thank you, Uncle Thomas,” Andrew said graciously.
Phillips presented papers for Andrew to sign, then presented Andrew with a draft for the full amount. Andrew promised he would deposit the funds in the morning, prior to their departure for Meryton.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Just after sunup, the sombre convoy departed Gracechurch Street. The undertaker’s coach led the two Bingley family carriages, which were followed by the Bennet, Gardiner, and Phillips’conveyances. Three hours later, after a stop at the Bank of England to deposit the funds into Lizzy’s dowry account, the Fitzwilliams and Darcys too headed toward Hertfordshire.
Chapter6
Elizabeth felt her excitement growing as the carriage traversed the town of Meryton. She recognised nothing, but each turn of the carriage’s wheel brought her closer to the place where she had been born. Uncle Thomas had explained that the house was nothing like when she had lived there; it had been rebuilt and enlarged a few times over what it had been then, but it was still the place where she entered the world, and she could not wait to see it.
Georgiana and Anne were seated on either side of her, Andrew and Marie opposite. Her mother was riding with the Darcys on the last leg of the short trip from town. Marie was knitting and Andrew looked like he was sleeping. True, his eyes were closed, but he was very much awake.
He was missing his late father, especially today of all days as he would have loved to have seen where his beloved daughter had begun her life. He thought back to the afternoon before they were informed of Mr Bingley’s death when he and Marie, along with Perry and Lady Rose, had met with the De Melvilles and Ashbys. Once he had disclosed the true relationship to the Bennets, no one had been overly surprised. When they read the notice, both had suspected that there was more to it than the‘long-lost relatives’mentioned in the announcement.
Lady Rose suggested that she be authorised to disclose the truth of the connections to her cousins. After discussing the pros and cons, Andrew and Marie had given their permission, agreeing that the Queen would be unhappy to hear this news from the papers or a third-party source.
The decision had proved to be the correct one. The following day while everyone was condoling with the Bingleys, Lady Rose had met with her cousin at Buckingham House. The Queen had expressed her full-throated support if and when needed and had been most appreciative that she had been informed before it became general knowledge. The Queen had also sent a note to the Bennets congratulating them on the betrothal of their one daughter to her cousin Perry and for being reunited with their daughter, Lady Elizabeth.
Lady Rose had reported that the Queen had been most impressed with the way that Mr Bennet had approached the situation, particularly his unwillingness to uproot his daughter’s life a second time. Andrew’s reverie was broken as the vehicle came to a halt under the portico of a large and new looking manor house. From the servant’s carriage came a series of indignant‘woofs’from Aggie who thought she should be included in everything that her mistress did. Thankfully, the Bennets had no problem with Aggie accompanying the family into Longbourn and had given permission for her to sleep in her normal place, on the mat next to Elizabeth’s bed. James and Tom were vastly pleased that Aggie was at Longbourn as they had already fallen in love with their cousin’s enormous hound.
Elizabeth felt her heart quicken as the Bennets all stood to welcome her to her birth home. The coach with her mother and the remaining four Darcys was right behind them, so by the time Andrew handed her out, they had all alighted from their conveyance.
“Welcome to Longbourn siste…er…I mean Cousin Lizzy,” Kitty welcomed her, first though stumbling over the relationship.
“Thank you, Kitty,” Elizabeth took her hands,“I know this is all very confusing, but the salient point is that we are family.”
“Hear hear,” Bennet seconded his second daughter’s sentiment.“I welcome all of you to our home. Let us go inside; I am sure everyone would like to refresh themselves after travelling.” There was a chorus of agreement and Tammy led the guests into the house while one of the footmen took Aggie for a walk to stretch her legs. As they gained the entrance hall, there was a gasp off to the side.
“Oh, she is so beautiful. She is the very image of your mother, Master,” blurted out a tearful Mrs Hill, and her husband stood next to her, his eyes suspiciously moist.
“Everyone, this is Mrs Hill our housekeeper who has been at her post since before Jane was born,” Tammy made the introduction.“Next to her is Mr Hill, our butler.”
“Please pardon me, Lady Elizabeth,” Mrs Hill’s embarrassment at her outburst was obvious. Before she could complete what it was she wanted to say, the beauty who looked as if she had jumped out of the portrait in the gallery, ruby-encrusted cross and all, approached the housekeeper and took her hands.
“Nothing to pardon, Mrs Hill. I am just as excited to see Longbourn and everyone here, likely even more so. It is exceptionally good to meet someone else who knew me as a babe.” Elizabeth put the nervous woman at ease.
