“I am so pleased that you have decided to live with me, Mama,” Martha kissed her mother’s cheek.
“How much longer can you stay with us, Louisa?” Charles asked,“I know that Grandmama Beckett would be happy if you never left, and you know that all three of you are welcome for as long as you desire to stay with us.”
“Well, brother, you do have very good brandy and food,” Hurst ribbed.“It is up to my lovely wife as we have no fixed engagements for the foreseeable future.”
“It would warm my heart to stay with Mama, Charles, and our Grandmother for an extended stay,” Louisa responded.
“Then it is settled!” Charles exclaimed.“You will stay as long as you wish.”
“If I may, I would like to accompany you and Darcy when he starts teaching you about estate management. It will put me in good stead for one day in the distant future when I inherit Winsdale,” Hurst requested.
“There would be no objection from me, brother, and I am fairly sure that Darcy will not object either. I will put the request to him the next time I see him. He will move to Netherfield after the wedding next month,” Charles shared.
“We are very glad that it will not be the two of you in this big house alone,” Henrietta Bingley stated.“We will miss all of you, but it will make it somewhat easier to leave you.”
“Do not forget our friends from the neighbourhood,” Martha reminded her sister-in-law.
“That is true, you have had a steady stream here to support you, especially your five friends from the board that you serve on,” Henrietta stated.
“When I am ready, I suppose that I will go back to working with the board and the various projects it has planned. It will keep me busy,” Martha said.
The truth was that Martha had been deeply touched at the outpouring of genuine love and sympathy from the neighbourhood, and not just from the families of her five best friends. She knew that it would be hard, and, like her friend Elaine Fitzwilliam, she had decided on two years of mourning for her husband while her children had followed the Fitzwilliam children in choosing to mourn their father for a year.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As Franklin approached Longbourn he grew nervous, not at the rectitude of his mission but at the way that the Earl would receive him. He could not blame Lord Andrew or any of his family for the way that they had reacted to his request. Now with a full understanding and hindsight, he knew that if anyone had tried to treat his sister in such a way, his reactions would not have been any less than that of Lady Elizabeth’s family, including the Lieutenant-Colonel who had cost him two of his teeth. Though truthfully, he was not certain he could be as effective.
He was shown into Mr Bennet’s study, where the Earl was seated behind the desk. After a bow, he sat down when his Lordship waved him to do so.“You wanted an interview with me, Mr Lucas. The floor is yours,” Andrew said coldly.
“You have my thanks for even agreeing to see me, your Lordship. I know that my behaviour was beyond the pale, and no matter my imagined justifications there was nothing that could make what I wanted to do, what I did do, right or proper. I am as disappointed in myself as are my parents and everyone else.” Franklin took a deep breath before carrying on.“If you decide that I am not to deliver my apology in person, I will understand and honour your wish to never approach Lady Elizabeth. In fact, if I know that we are to attend the same event, I will absent myself from the said event. In that case, I beseech you to convey my deepest contrition. Neither your sister nor Miss Bennet before her deserved my attentions, which were misguided attempts to right the wrongs from Oxford.
“As Mr Bennet correctly pointed out, I have to confront those who actually hurt me, rather than to misdirect my anger toward those who have never done anything to deserve it.”
Andrew could see that the man sitting opposite him was genuine in his declarations, that he genuinely wanted to correct his mistakes and was offering sincere contrition for his actions against Miss Bennet and his plans for his sister. Bearing in mind Elizabeth’s agreement if he considered the proffered apology to be sincere, he made a decision.
“I believe that you are in earnest, Mr Lucas and, as you are, my sister will hear your apology. As I am sure you are aware, there will be a number of us in the room with her, and I do not want you to attempt to get close to her. Do you understand and accept my terms?” Andrew demanded.
“Yes, your Lordship, I absolutely accept your terms,” Franklin said, while looking Andrew in the eye.
“Please wait for me here,” Andrew instructed as he stood and exited the study.
“Well?” Elizabeth asked as her big brother entered the parlour.
“In my humble opinion, Sprite,” he smiled at his sister,“he is sincere. However, it is still your decision, so if you do not want him to address you directly, I will tell him to put his apology in writing, which I will read before you do.”
“No, Andrew, I do not want to change my mind. I believe it will be good for me to hear from Mr Lucas in person; besides all of you,” she looked to her family,“will remain here with me to draw strength from, if needed.”
“If that is your decision, we will have him summoned.” Andrew nodded once at the door. Biggs, who had been standing station in the hall, was asked to bring the young man in the office to the parlour in five minutes.
Elizabeth was seated on a settee with her mother on one side and Andrew on the other. Father Bennet was next to his wife standing behind Elizabeth. The rest of the family sat on either side of her in a wall of protection. At the appointed time, Biggs showed Franklin into the parlour.
“Lady Elizabeth, I thank you for your condescension in agreeing to hear my apology today.” He said without hesitation and Elizabeth gave a slight nod of her head.“There is no reason nor excuse for my intended behaviour towards you. It was abhorrent, and I swear that I will never behave in such a fashion again, your Ladyship.” Franklin made the right decision in not trying to offer justifications for his unjustifiable behaviour.“If I may, I believe I owe your cousin, Miss Bennet, an apology as well.
“Jane is not my cousin, she is my sister,” Elizabeth stated in a clear voice.
“Miss Bennet, I lied to you at your coming out ball. I did resent your choice, though, for all of the wrong reasons. I was trying to fix my own problems in the wrong way, I should never have tried to use either you or Lady Elizabeth to do so.” Franklin held his breath as he waited for the responses.
“For myself, it is easy to forgive you, Mr Lucas,” Jane told him.“However, if you had hurt my sister Elizabeth after all that she has endured, I would haveneverbeen able to grant you forgiveness. I hope that you are able to move forward and be satisfied with your life, and one day find a lady you love absolutely and who loves you in return.” Franklin inclined his head in thanks.
