Page 28 of What if Jane was married?

Book 1 Chapter 10

Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Stonehaven, stood next to his younger brother.

“It is a small wedding. I would have thought there would have been more guests.”

It had been a recurring comment for weeks in the run up to the wedding day. Even now, after the ceremony it was still notable.

“Anne knows no one, she has been kept isolated down in Kent all her life. And many of Lady Catherine’s contemporaries are no longer alive. And of the few that remain some are no longer able to travel. And while there are plenty here to see Darcy married it is not as if he is the most social of souls. I have been busy at Horseguards and have not had a chance to talk with our parents. How are they taking it?”

“Surprised, resigned, worried, I think they are the three most common emotions. And father has had more than enough of the crowing of his elder sister. She will be despatched back to Rosings post haste.”

“I can understand the surprise and resignation, but why are they worried?”

“We should not be having this conversation here. Tonight, in my rooms.”

The two settled their smiles on their faces and circulated, presenting well as the sons of the Earl and Countess, and acting as good hosts.

“Speaking bluntly, and not to be repeated outside these walls, mother is extremely worried that Anne will not survive childbirth. Father when he was in his cups one night was not sure she would survive the marriage bed, which is an image I do not wish to consider. Anne has been ill ever since she caught that fever when she was eight. What is that? More than 20 years ago. Darcy is relying on her to produce the heir to Pemberley. It seems unlikely.

“Again, this is not to be mentioned even to our parents, but what if she cannot carry an heir but survives. It is almost exactly a century since Queen Anne died. How many still births, miscarriages, early deaths of any surviving children did she suffer? And her death and selection of the Hanoverians plunged the country into 40 years of bloodshed. Now the consequences of Darcy’s wedding resulting in no heir are not quite that dramatic but Darcy could end up with no children and stuck with a wife he does not love.”

“He does not love Anne?”

“Be serious Richard. Have you had any conversation with Anne in the last 20 years where Lady Catherine has not interrupted in the first minute. She is my cousin and I love her in a familial sense but she is the last person I would consider marrying. Even although she is my cousin, I know nothing about her, and whether she has any opinions about anything. Georgiana is quiet and shy but I know more about her despite being more than a decade Anne’s junior.

Elizabeth stood at Jane’s side at the funeral wake for her husband.

Sir Francis, 4th Baronet Oliphant, had succeeded to the title upon the death of his older brother. He had only mourned his brother for six months before returning to society. This was seen as inappropriately short and had not been well received by all those sitting on the sidelines waiting to judge. That he had then died in a drunken curricle race was seen as divine punishment for his lack of respect and decorum.

It took several days for Mulberry House to finally be free of any and all who had come to intrude on the young widow. But at long last it was just the two of them. They were walking in the garden despite it not being the warmest of autumn days.

“Why are we in the garden Jane when there is a roaring fire in the parlour?”

“I have come to realise how much servants hear within a house. We have always known that. I have my suspicions about the butler and whether he was spying for his master. I do know that the servants’ stairs and passages do not squeak or groan. And I mean at all. Anyone can stand at the servant door and unless the door is opened it would be unknown. We are walking and talking here today so that I can tell you this. If there is something particularly sensitive you wish to discuss then it can only be talked about out here. Even here in the garden we only talk when walking on the paths between the roses, no one can hide and listen from the trees or bushes. Well they can but they will hear nothing.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose in surprise but she said nothing.

“The reason we are here is twofold. The first is, unlike my late husband, I will be scrupulous in observing mourning for a full year. I will extend it to half-mourning for an additional six months. There will be no comments made about the mother of the 5th Baronet Oliphant. That is despite the fact that within the safety of my heart I will not mourn him for one minute of one day. I have two beautiful children who do not really know their father and I am glad this is the case. And obviously the child to be born in three months will never even have vague memories of his or her father. But regardless of my personal distaste Mulberry House will observe a year of full mourning for the former Baronet.

“The second thing I wish to impart is much more personal. Forgive this sounding immodest but I am only 25 years old and a wealthy widow. But I will never give up my freedom again to another man. The reason I am telling you this is so that you know you have a home here for as long as you want. The rest of your life if necessary. I know that you are disappointed and frustrated at the prospect of finding a man that you can respect and love. And I can give you no advice on that matter.

“What did you always say back at Longbourn all these years ago? You would never marry and would spend all your days as a beloved aunt who taught my children to play the piano most ill. I have a piano and children, all they need now is the aunt to move in.”

Elizabeth Bennet hugged her older sister as if she was the last boat on a sinking ship. When she returned to London it was merely to pack. She was forever grateful to her aunt and uncle but Gracechurch Street was no longer her home. She left London and Gracechurch Street and remained with Jane for the rest of her days.

In less than a year the three Bennet sisters no longer lived with their aunt and uncle. Two were married and the third was happy to be a spinster for the rest of her life.

Bingley emigrated to Canada. He released his sister’s dowry to his brother-by-marriage Hurst and left, never to return. Louisa and Henry Hurst had no patience for her now that she was living with them all the time. A marriage was arranged within six months and Caroline Montgomery was off to rural Wales to see out the rest of her days. Neither of the Hursts missed her toxic personality and they only saw her once in the rest of their lives. No one missed her presence in London.

Theodore and Mary Ascot-Thomas had seven children, five of whom survived childhood and lived a frugal but devout life. They were materially poor, not helped by having so many children, but they did not care. And they were assisted by Catherine Carter and her husband. Complications in the birth of their only child, a son, meant that she could bear no more children. They did not lavish vast sums on their nieces and nephews but it was still sufficient for Mary’s five children to be comfortable. The two families were close for many generations.

Sadly, but inevitably, Anne Darcy died in childbirth, delivering a stillborn boy. It was the latest blow to Fitzwilliam Darcy and even though there was little love in his marriage, he took it badly. Despite having Anne de Bourgh forced upon him by Lady Catherine using the lie of a childhood engagement, she immediately proceeded to blame Darcy for the death of her daughter. For a year it appeared that all her machinations had come good. And yet the weak link in all her plans was her own daughter. She made the mistake of making a scene at Mrs. Darcy’s funeral and Darcy was ruthless in his response to her. Rosings Park was closed up and Lady Catherine despatched to the Dower House. He informed the local magistrate, in front of the Earl and the Viscount, that if Lady Catherine ever entered Rosings Park again then he would have her arraigned for trespass and demand that she be transported to Van Diemen Land. The Earl was outraged but knew that Darcy was serious. He returned to Pemberley and was not seen in London for a decade.

It was not until 1825, with Darcy 41 years old, that he finally re-entered society. His second wife was sold off by her family. Her father made a deal with the devil and betrothed his daughter to the silent and emotionally repressed man that was Fitzwilliam Darcy. There was no love, there was very little like, but she did her duty and bore him three children. The traditional heir and spare with a single daughter sandwiched between them. They both locked their bedroom doors to the other on the birth of the second son. Cressida Darcy lived a materially happy life, wanting for nothing. Other than happiness in her marriage.

Thomas and Fanny Bennet had little enough in common when they married. After nearly 30 years there was nothing left between them. They lived separate lives in the manor house of Longbourn. Trips to Meryton to sit with her sister took up much of her time. That and infrequent visits to her daughters. When Bennet succumbed to the excesses of years of port drinking Fanny Bennet left Longbourn as the mistress for the last time. She lived the rest of her life with her sister Martha Philips in Meryton.

In her place came Sir William and Lady Collins.

How on earth did the most ridiculous man in the kingdom end up as a knight? William Collins was not the only man who admired Lydia Bennet’s figure. No one could ever explain why the Prince Regent’s carriage, complete with his military escort, was in the village of Hunsford. But it was, and the man lived up to his reputation.

By the time she was the mistress of the Prince Regent she was not just Mrs. Lydia Collins, she was also a mother, and the birth of her child had resulted in a figure even more lush. Lydia Collins was not a Royal mistress for her sparkling wit. The affair only lasted 18 months but the frequency of their coupling had the normal outcome. Collins was ‘rewarded’ for acknowledging the royal bastard as his own with a knighthood and a small stipend for the rest of his life. He had learned at the feet of Lady Catherine and always pandered to the distinction of rank. He could not have been cuckolded by someone with more distinction.