Page 55 of Her Favourite Daughter

“Welcome to Leeds House,” Lady Amelia said. She offered her arm to Bethie, and with her daughter next to her, she led the way up the marble steps leading to the double front doors where the butler and housekeeper stood.

Elizabeth’s siblings could not help but stare at the four-storey mansion before them. This belongs to Lizzy?” James managed.

“It will when she reaches her majority,” Lady Amelia said over her shoulder.

Thanks to the additional footmen from Osborne House combined with the men who had arrived with the convoy, there were more than enough men to swarm over the conveyances and unlash all the trunks, and begin to carry them into the house.

“Welcome, Your Graces,” Ronson, the butler, stated as he bowed and his wife gave a deep curtsey. He and the housekeeper kept their features schooled when they noted how similar Lady Bethany looked to her mother. The two had been in their posts for close to thirty years and had served when the home was named Winchester House before the late duke had it demolished and rebuilt. The dowager duchess’s daughter reminded the pair of the day they had first met the then Lady Amelia Darcy when she had come to tour the house before her marriage. Had they not known better, they would have thought that Lady Bethany was that same fresh-faced lady they had met all those years ago.

They followed the butler and housekeeper into the cavernous entrance hall. The ceiling was at least three stories high and arched like a dome. There were two rather large chandeliers suspended on long, sturdy chains. The floor was Italian marble in a light beige shade. There was a long hallway leading back into the house, and not far from the entrance was the grand staircase. The stairs were made of the same type of marble as the floor, except it was a lighter shade, so light that one could barely detect the veins of beige and gold within. The marble on the bannisters was also lighter in colour than the floor.

Amelia was pleased to see faces she knew from Osborne House among the two rows of waiting servants. The maids all curtsied, and the few footmen who were not assisting with the trunks bowed. The senior staff stood aside, and Amelia led Bethie so they stood before the line of servants. Many eyes widened when the servants saw how closely mother and daughter resembled one another.

“It is my pleasure to present my daughter, Lady Bethany Osborne, the suo jure Duchess of Leeds, to you. On behalf of her and me, I thank you for greeting us today,” Lady Amelia addressed the servants. “As I am sure you are all aware, my daughter was kidnapped many years ago, and she and I have only recently been reunited. She lived for many years as Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a gentleman. As such, when you hear the Bennets and others address my daughter as Elizabeth, Lizzy, or,” Amelia looked at Charlotte Lucas warmly, “Eliza, you will know why. No matter what name she answers to, she is my daughter and, in a few short years, will be the mistress of this house.” She nodded to Bethie to say a few words.

“I join with Mother to thank you all for the warm welcome. I intend to learn all your names soon enough, even those of you who will return to Osborne House once Mr and Mrs Ronson have employed everyone we need here. As there is much for me to learn about my duties, it will take me time, so I ask your forgiveness if I make some errors along the way.” Elizabeth smiled as she spoke.

After a nod from Lady Amelia, the Ronsons dismissed the servants to return to their duties.

“I requested that Mrs Ronson place all the Bennets and Collinses on the family floor. Mr and Miss Bingley, and the Hursts will be situated on the guest floor. With William Collins and Miss Bingley being engaged, I felt it was prudent they be placed on separate floors,” Lady Amelia explained. “If you will all follow Mrs Ronson and me, we will show you to your suites.”

As Caroline Bingley walked up the marble stairs to the second floor, which was the one reserved for family, she felt a certain level of awe. She realised that had she followed the path her mother had wanted to set her on and then met Lady Amelia, she would have been insufferable and fawned over her. If she had been that way and somehow discovered Lizzy to be the missing duchess, Caroline would have done anything and everything in her power to use the connection to climb in society. She was very thankful that was not the person she had become.

She imagined that had she behaved like that person, people like the Osbornes, Fitzwilliams, and Darcys would have not wanted to be in her company. Even worse, she would not be engaged and about to marry, in less than a month, the man she loved. The person her late mother had attempted to mould Caroline into would not have looked at a parson’s son with anything but haughty disgust.

Caroline could only thank God in her daily prayers that He had directed her life to a different path. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Lady Amelia speak.

“As you can see, the stairs end here,” Lady Amelia explained. “The two floors of guest suites and chambers have two staircases which begin on the floor below us, where rooms we use during the day are located. Those stairs bypass this floor. I thought that the Bingleys and Hursts should see how the house is organised if they need to reach the family floor. If you four will follow the maid with Mrs Ronson, she will lead you to your suites.” Amelia waited until the maid began to lead the four she mentioned down to the first floor.

“Bethie, by rights you should have the mistress’s chambers; however, knowing how close you, Jane, and Charlotte are, I had Mrs Ronson place you in one of the large suites which had an additional bedchamber with a door in common. That way, if Bethie and Jane take the bedchambers on either side of the sitting room, Charlotte would be next to you with a door connecting to one of the suite’s bedchambers. However, if you prefer, Bethie, you may have the mistress’s suite, and Jane and Charlotte would share a suite.”

Elizabeth appreciated that Mother gave her choices rather than presenting the arrangements as a fait accompli. She looked at Jane and Charlotte, both of whom shrugged their shoulders, telling her they would be happy with whatever option she chose. “Unless Charlotte objects, I would like to share the suite with Jane as long as Charlotte is close by.” She looked at the two she mentioned. “What do you think?”

“I have no objections,” Jane replied.

“Neither do I,” Charlotte added. “It is perfect we are all close together; you know we will need you to make sure we do not get lost.”

An harumph from Elizabeth was met with giggles and chuckles.

Fanny and Bennet were assigned the next suite, even though they would only use one bedchamber. Next were James and William Collins. Opposite them were Beth and Penelope. The Collins parents were put in a suite opposite the Bennet parents, while last, but not least, Mary was in the suite next to James and William. She was sharing the suite with Mrs Taylor, the governess and companion.

Jane and Elizabeth were slightly awed when they walked into their suite. It was not that it was furnished with gaudy, ostentatious furniture. It was not. Rather, it was the size of the rooms. Their bedchambers were more than three times as large as their chambers at Longbourn even after that house had been renovated. The enormous four-poster beds were far larger as well. The private sitting room between their chambers was huge. It was furnished with a sofa, a settee, three wingback chairs, bookcases, a sideboard, and a table and chairs at which to enjoy meals if they chose to do so.

“Of all this, I am to be the mistress!” Elizabeth exclaimed just after Charlotte had joined them in the sitting room.

“Do not forget there are a few estates as well,” Jane teased.

“Eliza, you are not one to be intimidated, so I am sure you will not be cowed by your new duties,” Charlotte opined. “Have either of you been into your bathing room yet?”

It did not take long for the newly arrived residents to discover that footmen and maids employed at Leeds House were never required to lug heavy pails of water up and down stairs. This was due to Elizabeth’s late father having ordered pipes to be run from a system of cisterns and boilers to each and every bathing room when the house was rebuilt. The same pipes carried heated and cold water to the kitchens and sculleries.

If that was not enough, they soon discovered that the house was fitted with flushing chamber pots.

Once they had washed and changed, everyone met in the main drawing room on the first floor. As she made her way, Elizabeth asked any servant she encountered for their name. They would soon find out that the new suo jure duchess never forgot a name after hearing it once.

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“What do you mean that none of the waifs are able to watch Leeds House?” Karen Younge demanded of her twin brother.