Chapter 19
After the Countess, who insisted Charlotte should call her Mother Elaine, verified the Lucas family would be alone at Lucas Lodge for Christmastide, she extended an invitation to them, which had been accepted gratefully.
Elizabeth could not think of anyone who deserved the love and happiness Charlotte was enjoying more than her best friend.
She and Charlotte were sleeping at her parents’ house but spent almost every day at Matlock House.
On the days they were not there, Richard escorted Tiffany and Giana to visit Gracechurch Street.
Elizabeth thought not at all about her former family, except she worried about Mary and Kitty.
Both had always been lost due to all the attention Jane and Lydia used to garner.
Even her attempt to follow and emulate Lydia, did not earn Kitty any approbation from her mother.
Elizabeth was sure that all of the attention Mrs. Bennet used to lavish on Jane, was now directed to Lydia.
She wasted no thought at all on her birth parents.
Thoughts of Elizabeth’s former sister, Jane, only arose when she wondered how it would be when she saw Jane at Rosings Park for Easter. She and her parents would join the party traveling into Kent to claim the estate from Lady Catherine, thus putting an end to her reign of terror in Westerham.
She had never been happier in her life. She was surrounded by a loving family, the best of friends, and had complete acceptance for who she was.
During the relatively short time Elizabeth had been a Gardiner, her self-esteem had been repaired fully.
She no longer suffered her birth mother’s voice constantly berating and denigrating her.
Fanny Bennet had unintentionally done her the greatest of favours the day she banished her from Longbourn and the Bennet family.
Elizabeth smiled as she thought about how the Bennets would react when they found out who the new owners of Netherfield Park were—her mother and father.
After about a week of being a Gardiner, Elizabeth had switched from ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ to ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ when addressing the Gardiners.
She would not use Mama and Papa, as those appellations reminded her of her Bennet birth parents.
Other than the proximity of Longbourn to Netherfield Park, the estate’s location was ideal for Gardiner. His children would be raised in the country and he would be able to travel to London in three or four hours when needed.
The sale had been completed quietly, with Uncle Phillips acting as the agent.
Aunt Hattie had been asked not to disclose the identity of the new owners of Netherfield Park, for obvious reasons.
An unintended benefit fell to Mr. Bingley.
Any unused lease funds he had paid were returned to him after the sale was closed.
As a family, they discussed whether or not Mrs. Bennet would arrive, uninvited, once she heard who the new owner of Netherfield Park was, and they decided her arriving at their new home was as certain as the sun rising each morning.
If she attempted to enter uninvited, that action would lead to the consequence of her being turned over to the authorities for trespassing, as she had received her final warning when she invaded Gracechurch Street.
Charlotte pointed out to Eliza how much of a welcome she would receive in Meryton. She also assured her friend if Mrs. Bennet tried to approach her in the town, she would have more people willing to help her ward off the unwanted woman than would be necessary.
Richard entered the drawing room, snapping Elizabeth out of her reverie. He held a letter in his hand. “It is from William,” Richard informed those seated in the drawing room.
“What does he say?” Georgiana asked.
“Here, Giana, read it aloud, there is nothing that needs to remain private within,” Richard stated as he handed his ward the letter.
18 December 1810
Pemberley
Richard,
I wish you and my cousin-to-be happy and I welcome Miss Lucas to the family. It is a great thing that you have found love and are ready to settle down as an old married man. Miss Lucas must be a saint to put up with you.
Elizabeth added a sense of humour to the other positives she had begun to attribute to Mr. Darcy.
Thank you for the honour of requesting I stand up with you. It will be my pleasure to do so and, no, I very much intend to be at your wedding, unless God has other plans for me, I will be there.
Please convey my repeated apologies to your parents that I am unable to be with all of you in London. On that front, once the late Mrs. Black’s body was recovered, clearing the rubble was done speedily.
Rebuilding has already commenced. As he has four children, the cottage will be larger, with two additional bedchambers. We refurbished an unused cottage in the north village and Mr. Black and his children are now living much closer to their farm.
Pemberley will provide everything needed to furnish the new cottage after it is built. In addition, the family will receive new clothing and anything else that is needed.
Elizabeth added charitable and a good, caring master and landlord to her growing list.
You have all told me so much about Miss Gardiner I very much look forward to finally meeting the lady who has done so much for Giana, and who has become so close to my youngest Fitzwilliam cousin.
To that end, I will arrive on the Wednesday before your wedding. If you will ask your father-in-law-to-be if he would be willing to reserve a room at the local inn for me, I would be in your, and his, debt.
I look forward to seeing you in a little over two months.
Regards,
William
“Lizzy, William will be so surprised when he meets the fantastical Miss Gardiner,” Tiffany teased.
“Richard, when you reply to his letter, or Giana when you write again, tell Mr. Darcy that Netherfield Park now belongs to the Gardiners and he will be welcome to reside there when he comes for the wedding, as all of you will be,” Elizabeth offered.
The Gardiners planned to move in after Twelfth Night, so there would be ample time to ready Netherfield Park to receive visitors well before the wedding. They were sure they would have to repel an attempted intrusion by Mrs. Bennet soon after their move.
“Please convey our appreciation to your mother, Lizzy,” Lady Elaine requested.
“It will be my pleasure, Aunt Elaine,” Elizabeth returned. “Mother and Father have written to Lady Lucas and offered to hold a betrothal ball a few days before the wedding. They also volunteered to host the wedding breakfast at our house, since it has so much more space.”
“It is almost certain my mother will accept the help. We will know for sure when they arrive at Matlock House on Friday,” Charlotte reported.
“Are you nervous about moving back to the neighbourhood you grew up in, Lizzy?” Tiffany asked.
“At first I was. I felt trepidation, but Charlotte helped me to see that there is no need to feel that way,” Elizabeth stated evenly.
Not long after, Elizabeth and Charlotte returned to Gracechurch Street.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Mr. Bennet, I heard one of the servants say Netherfield Park has been sold. Do we know anything about the new owners? Do they perhaps have any sons who could marry my Lydia?” Mrs. Bennet prattled on.
“Did you forget no one in the neighbourhood will receive us? Your memory is as short as that of a gadfly. Do you not wail daily about the injustice of our situation?” Bennet asked incredulously. He knew his wife was deficient in intelligence, but he did not think she was delusional as well.
“Why do you try to vex me, Mr. Bennet?” Fanny shot back. “I have not forgotten what that ungrateful, disobedient girl has caused us. The new people will not know of our misfortune and I will gain them as friends before anyone has a chance to blacken our name to them.”
Bennet merely shook his head. He had a good idea who the new master and mistress of Netherfield Park were—he remembered Gardiner always said he would buy an estate close to Town, notwithstanding his wife’s affinity for Derbyshire.
“In that case, Mrs. Bennet, feel free to introduce yourself,” Bennet stated sarcastically.
As usual, his wife did not understand sarcasm.
“But there is one question I need to ask: As we are cut off from the neighbourhood, how will you know when the new owners arrive? No one is going to tell you, so what is your plan? Will you hide in the hedgerows until you see them arrive?”
“I will not; that would be undignified,” Mrs. Bennet sniffed. She then paused as the wheels slowly turned in her brain, “Mary and Kitty will keep watch!”
Bennet just shook his head again; there were no lengths to which his wife would not go to satisfy her selfish desires.
“No, Mrs. Bennet. You will not use our daughters so. It could be weeks before they arrive and I will not allow you to send our daughters to stand in the cold on a whim.” Bennet held up his hand to stop the protest forming in his wife’s throat.
“Before you start haranguing me, please remember I control your allowance.”
Fanny left the study without another word.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Lizzy, Father and I have been talking. When we are at Netherfield Park, we want you to promise never to walk or ride out on your own,” Madeline told her eldest daughter. “We know you used to enjoy such freedoms when you resided at Longbourn, but everything has changed now.”
“I would not put it past my sister to attempt to harm you. I believe she may be unstable,” Gardiner continued.
“We received a note from Elaine. Richard, Tiffany, and Giana will travel with us when we move to Netherfield Park. Richard wants to remain close to Charlotte, who will be returning home, and the other two want to remain with you.”