Chapter 30
Monday morning found Ladies Rose Rhys-Davies and Longbourn in the family sitting room when Mrs Hill knocked.
When given leave to enter, Mrs Hill informed the ladies that a royal courier was waiting with a missive for Her Grace, the Duchess of Bedford.
The Duchess had a good idea what the letter was about but chose to verify she was right prior to making her assumptions known to Fanny.
When she accepted the Royal communication, the lady was informed with the utmost respect that the courier had been instructed to await a response.
The mistress of the house told her housekeeper to show the man to the kitchens to eat and drink, and that he would be summoned as soon as he was required.
While the Duchess broke the Royal seal, Lady Longbourn went to ask her husband and the Duke to join them.
After reading the document that was sent by none other than her Royal Majesty, Queen Charlotte, the lady looked up at the expectant faces.
Bennet recalled the day that they wrote expresses to notify family of the betrothal. Something suddenly made sense as he thought, ‘So these are the cousins that Hayworth so cryptically referred to when he said he needed to inform the cousins.’
“R-Rose a-a-re you s-s-saying that Mary, that all of us will be related to the Queen and the Royal family?” she stammered.
“That is what I am saying, Fanny,” the Duchess laughed lightly as awe, fear, and disbelief played out in different and sometimes mingled expressions of her friend. The Duke took over for his wife.
“Before you ask, we did not tell you or many of our friends as we do not like to presume on the connection. The letter, or the part of it that Rose is about to read will, I am sure, highlight the need for us to reveal the connection now. This also means that if anyone tried to attack any of you after the wedding, such as that woman,” his voice dripped with disdain, “tried with my goddaughter, it will be treason and they will hang.” He looked warmly at his wife. “Go ahead, my dear.”
“Let me find the relevant section. Ah, here it is,” the Duchess winked at Fanny then read aloud:
“…We offer our congratulations to you and our cousins on the betrothal of your son Hugh to Lady Mary Bennet.
We met the lady when we elevated the family and we were very impressed with her and all of her sisters.
We think that they both have made a very prudent match and we are pleased that he has earned her esteem.
We and some of our children will attend the wedding, and we suggest that you use our Church, Westminster Abbey.
We will hold a wedding ball for the couple three days before the wedding at St James.
Our Lady in waiting, the Duchess of Kent, will liaise with you for that event.
We understand from your letter that they will marry on the 15th day of August… ”
“The rest is not pertinent to the discussion that we must now have. Thomas and Fanny, I want first to apologise to both of you for not informing you of the connection before today,” Lady Rose offered in contrite conclusion.
Bennet looked at his wife and saw the look of resignation, so hoped to help by responding first.
“Do not make yourself uneasy Rose, we understand why you kept the connection to yourselves for so long. Who are we to cast aspersion when I hid our wealth for all those years? As we now understand the situation, a ‘suggestion’ made by the Queen is no less than a Royal command. I see that she has invited herself and her family, also an invite that we would not dare to contest,” Bennet stated. There was no choice.
Fanny rang for Hill and asked that the betrothed couple be summoned.
They had been walking in the gardens, so it was a full fifteen minutes before they presented themselves in the drawing room, giving Bennet time to decide to have a little sport at their expense since the pleasure had been denied him when they requested to make their betrothal official.
“Lady Rose received a missive from the Queen. The result is that you cannot marry…” he tried not to smile at the immediate anger that flushed his daughter’s cheeks. Her reaction was proof of her fire and intense love for her affianced.
“THE QUEEN DENIED HER PERMISSION FOR US TO MARRY?” the couple yelled together. Seeing that Mary was about to possibly speak treason in a way she could not take back with her determination to have her man, Bennet hastily continued.
“As I was trying to say before you rudely interrupted me, you cannot marry from Longbourn…” Bennet and the Duke and Duchess explained everything to the couple. To the amazement of all, Lady Longbourn stayed conspicuously quiet.
By the end of the recitation Mary had turned decidedly pale as she began to comprehend what was being said, that she was going to be married at Westminster Abbey and that there would be royals present at her wedding.
It took the couple a little while to be mollified, but in the end, there was no choice to be had in the matter.
The Duchess sat at the escritoire and penned her response to her cousin.
The Royal courier was handed the missive for delivery to her Royal Majesty.
Expresses were then dispatched to Snowhaven, Pemberley, and Dovedale.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy had just recovered from the shock delivered in the express from Lord Longbourn that informed him of the Bedford connection and the Bennets’ soon to be connection with the royals.
The day before his beloved and her friend were to arrive at Pemberley, he met with his steward Mr Bruce Stilton, who had been promoted to the position after the death of Mr Wickham. Darcy heard a knock on his door.
“Enter.” he commanded. Stilton seated himself in front of the large oak desk, forewarned that Darcy’s aim was to cover as much ground with his steward as possible so that he would have time on the morrow and over the next fortnight while the woman the master was courting would be at Pemberley.
Darcy’s fondest wish was to be available when her scheduled visit commenced.
To the master’s relief there was nothing too serious wanting his attention, there were two tenant disputes the steward enumerated for him.
Once Darcy imparted his solutions to his steward and there was no more business to discuss, Stilton was dismissed.
Darcy used the time to look through his correspondence.
There were a few letters of business that could not be delayed, so he answered them as needed.
The more he accomplished now, the more time he would have with his beloved Elizabeth.
When he completed his tasks, he repaired to the drawing room just as the dinner gong was rung.
He was happy that he would be unencumbered with business in the morning when she arrived with her friend.
He was impatient waiting for the pleasure of his dearest, loveliest Elizabeth being at Pemberley and he could imagine guiding her on a tour of the grounds.
As always, whenever he had no occupation, his thoughts were of his beloved.
He again considered the changes these last months had brought him.
He had gone from thinking only of his own consequence to being a man that considered others in all things.
He had believed that he would never find the kind of love that his beloved parents had.
He was wrong! He had found that love in his Lizzy and oh so much more.
Darcy would be on heightened alert for any indication that Elizabeth was receptive to him renewing his addresses.
This time there would be no insults, no rude and insulting speech.
He would get this proposal right! He would have been willing to wait for as long as was needed, but he had seen all of the signs indicating that the time for waiting would be over soon.
For a while after her setdown he had only visualized a bleak, lonely future, now he saw the potential of a rosy wonderful future full of companionship and love.
It had all changed when, rather than reject her reproofs and ignore them, he had accepted and addressed them and made the necessary changes.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The day that Elizabeth and Charlotte were to move to Pemberley was the day that the blissful honeymoon of Jane and Richard Fitzwilliam ended at Seaview Cottage.
After they returned from a last lovemaking session on the private beach, the besotted couple bathed and dressed, then descended hand in hand to break their fasts.
While they ate, their trunks were being packed.
After they conveyed profuse thanks and appreciation to Seaview’s servants, they gave each a very nice gratuity, then they started the four-day journey to Derbyshire. They planned to overnight at Snowhaven and to stop for a few hours at Pemberley before they arrived at Brookfield on the fourth day.
At about the same time that the newlyweds departed Seaview Cottage, Lizzy and Charlotte were being surrounded by a gaggle of girls welcoming them to Pemberley while the master of the estate waited his turn patiently.
“Can you believe that our Mary is to be a cousin to the Queen?” Lydia asked as she pulled one of Lizzy’s hands to garner her attention from the cacophony of voices.
“You will be related to the royals through Mary as well Lydia,” added Georgie playfully, “and you too Tiffany, as you are sister to the Bennets already.”
“It will be a tenuous connection at best,” Lizzy pointed out, “and I believe that we should take our lead from the Bedfords and not try and presume on the connection.” The girls, were all dressed in riding habits.
Lily, under the tutelage of Pemberley’s stable master, had now graduated to riding a cob.
The girls said their farewells and headed toward the stables.