“I am, Gigi. We always planned to make the true connection known; it is just a little sooner than I expected. But as we will be away from Town until January, I hope that by then something new will fix the Ton’s attention.” She squeezed Gigi’s hand and nodded that she truly did agree that this was the right course forward.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The day of the funeral was bitingly cold; the night before there had been a light dusting of snow, which was exceedingly early for Hertfordshire. Mr Pierce’s service was brief at St Alfred’s, the church packed to full capacity with the visiting and local men. After the final prayer of the service, Oscar Bingley’s body was moved for the last time, and he was lowered into the grave where he would slumber for eternity.
The Gardiners had arrived barely an hour before the funeral. He would have hated to miss the service. Oscar Bingley had become much more than a partner in business; he was a friend who Edward would miss. Now was not the time to discuss the future of their business ventures, but at some point, he would need to talk to Oscar’s brother, Paul Bingley, about their future endeavours.
Franklin Lucas gave his condolences to Charles Bingley and his family then excused himself. He would keep his word and refused to make Lady Elizabeth or any of her family uneasy with his presence at Netherfield. The men all climbed into the waiting carriages and made their way to the Bingley estate where the women were awaiting them.
Martha was most thankful to be surrounded by all of the support that she had. In addition to her friends from the neighbourhood, her mother, sisters, and sister-in-law were very attentive to her needs. As Martha sat with her mother next to her, she was well pleased that she had insisted that her surviving parent, now seventy, come live with her rather than alone in the house where she had grown up.
Her siblings had supported Martha in her request and had promised to visit as much as possible. As they pointed out to her, they had her company in Scarborough for many years, so they could not begrudge Martha wanting their mother with her, and had expected the request to come.
Some three hours after the service and internment, it was just family who remained at Netherfield, and they sat around in groups discussing the lost Bingley patriarch. Before the group residing at Bennington Fields departed, Charles announced that the solicitor would be at Netherfield on the coming Monday to read his father’s last will and testament.
Chapter8
To counteract the lie Franklin Lucas had started, the truth of who Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam had been born to, was announced at the end of the church services at both Longbourn’s church and St Alfred in Meryton. The ladies who knew the truth immediately went to work to countermand the intimation of why Lady Elizabeth would not be returning to live with her birth family.
Franklin Lucas made sure that he told every man he had talked to at the Royal Crown Inn the night of his attempted revenge that he had not been honest about the reason she was not with the Bennets. A number of the men he had lied to would have liked to hit Franklin, but after seeing the bruises on his face and the missing teeth, they surmised that he had already paid the price for his misdeeds. Once the true reason was widely known, it squelched any repeating of the lie, and there were none who did not understand that Mr Bennet had put his daughter’s welfare and needs ahead of his own in making the hard decision.
When it was disclosed how many times the two families had been close to one another without meeting face to face before the connection was discovered, the citizens of Meryton were astonished. They were further astounded when they learned that Mr Bennet had been regularly playing and losing chess matches by mail with his lost daughter for almost two years. One person was heard to say that someone should write a novel about all of the happenings, but it would be so unbelievable that it would have to be considered a work of fiction.
It was at this point that Mr Pierce and his wife were entertaining guests who had been with them for a sennight. Mr George Austen, his wife Cassandra, and one of their daughters. Austen was a fellow clergyman and had been a friend of Longbourn’s rector for many years. Mr Austen held a living in Steventon, Hampshire. MissJane Austen felt a kinship to Lady Elizabeth when she found out the young lady was given free and unfettered access to read and study what she wished, like Miss Austen’s own father allowed herself. She had just started writing, and as was her wont she took note of some of the names of the people she met in her notebook, which was her constant companion. For some reason, the people felt easy talking to her, and when she was seen taking notes many laughed as they agreed she could use them in her literature at some point. The Austens departed Monday morning as Mr Austen was required back at his parish.
On Monday morning, the fifth of December, there was a full-page royal announcement that informed all that the birth family of Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam had been found. The Bennets of Longbourn, who, the information listed, had been on their land for many generations and were members of the first circles in their own right. The only mention of Lady Elizabeth’s birth mother was that she had died in childbirth not long after her daughter had been taken from the family.
In a related article, it was revealed that the late Earl of Matlock’s murderer, one Sam Hodges, was in fact the kidnapper. It was reported that he had thought his victim was dead until he discovered that she was alive and that the murder of the late Earl was part of a second kidnapping plot which had gone bad thanks to the intervention of Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. The article went on to say that the reporter had received confirmation from both families that Lady Elizabeth would remain a Fitzwilliam as they were the family that she had grown up with, but that she was in connection with the Bennets and both families were glad the decade-plus mystery had culminated in such a conclusion.
With the combination of the royal announcement and the article, sympathy for the Fitzwilliams, the Bennets, and especially Lady Elizabeth, soared. As this was not the first time that the Bennets had been mentioned with favour by the Royals, members of the Ton were practically salivating for a chance to make a connection with the family. All who were readying themselves for the families to be in Town for the rest of the Little Season or the Season next year were, in the end, destined to be disappointed.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mr Lloyd Wrightfield, the late Mr Bingley’s solicitor, arrived at Netherfield promptly at the time he said he would. The solicitor read the will in such a dry monotone it threatened to put some to sleep. There were no surprises, as Charles had previously discovered a copy of his father’s will in his father’s safe. At the end, Mr Wrightfield had one codicil that was not in the copy that Charles had read. His father had left the untouched dowry that would have been Caroline’s to Louisa. As he had turned the money over to Gardiners and Associates to invest for him, there was a little over twenty thousand pounds in the fund.
After a brief word with Harold, Louisa announced that the money would be used as Mary’s dowry, and the decision was roundly praised by the family members present. Once the lawyer’s duty had been discharged, he took his leave. When the family started to disperse, Charles quietly asked his Uncle Paul to hold back.“What say you, we send a note to Mr Gardiner to meet on the morrow in the morning to discuss our partnership going forward?” Charles proposed.
“That meets my approval,” his Uncle Paul replied.“Will you take a more active role as your father did?”
“I think that I will. My intention is to try to follow in my father’s footsteps at the works near Tattersalls. He was happy and proud that that particular location now accounts for almost half of the orders from all three of our branches, so I will be running the estate as well as giving time to the business,” Charles agreed. Paul Bingley grinned, truly proud of the man that his nephew had become.
“Have you learnt all you need to about running an estate yet?” Paul Bingley asked his nephew, concerned that he might be taking on more than he was able to deal with.
“No. I myself know little about estate management; however, my friend Darcy has his parent’s permission to remain here and teach me. His father has been training him since he was a lad, and in the last few years he has taken over the running of their satellite estates. The largest of them, Riverdale in Shropshire, is about the same size as Netherfield, so I feel confident that I will learn much from him,” Bingley reassured his uncle.
“That makes me rest easier, knowing that you have his assistance. I did not want you to be overwhelmed by all of your new responsibilities as head of your branch of the Bingley family. Your father would have been proud of you, Charles, as am I.” His Uncle Paul’s approbation meant much to the nephew.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“How long will you be away, Will?” Alex asked.
“I am not sure, Alex; it depends on how long it takes me to teach my friend,” Will responded, as he tousled his younger brother’s sandy blonde hair.
“Is there no one else that can teach him?” Georgiana wanted to know.
“If you are here, how will we debate?” Elizabeth asked anxiously. She knew full well that was not the only reason that she did not want to be parted from her cousin.
“Firstly, you will be here until after your sister’s, I mean your cousin’s, wedding, then your birth family will travel north with the rest of you for a month. Mayhap you will be too busy showing everyone around Snowhaven and Pemberley to even notice my absence!” Will pointed out.
