Chapter 23
Even the parlour where they waited displayed much ostentation. All the furniture was gilded, and the royal crest was worked into the back of every chair and settee.
A major domo entered the parlour and bowed deeply. “Your Graces, my Lord, my Ladies, ladies, and gentlemen, please follow me.”
As had been discussed, Ladies Amelia and Bethany were first. They were followed by the two earls and their countesses, then Mr and Mrs Bennet, Beth and Penelope Bennet, Jane and James Bennet, Mr and Mrs Collins, William Collins, and finally Mr and Miss Bingley.
The Collinses and Bingleys had no idea why they had been included, but one did not question a summons from the king, so here they were.
The major domo struck the floor three times before a set of double doors were opened by two footmen in royal livery.
The man led them into the large receiving room, and as had been explained to them, he stood aside, and Ladies Amelia and Bethany led the rest of their party forward.
They stopped a few feet before the thrones where Their Majesties sat.
The Prince of Wales sat to his father’s right and two princesses sat to their mother’s left.
Those who had entered sank into full low curtsies and bows and, as protocol dictated, waited for the king to speak.
“We welcome you to our palace,” His Majesty drawled.
Those before the royals stood. Bethany did not miss the way the king, queen, prince, and princesses were looking from her to Mother and back to her again.
“Ladies Amelia and Bethany, approach,” the Queen commanded.
The two ordered to do so came to stand just before the thrones and sank into deep curtsies once again.
“Rise,” the King instructed. “My goodness, Charlotte, even though we read the letter Lady Amelia sent us where she described how similar she and Lady Bethany look, this is beyond anything I expected to see.”
“I agree, George.” Queen Charlotte turned to Lady Bethany. “Come closer child; we need to see the birthmark for ourselves.”
Although she had been warned that this would occur, Bethany arched an eyebrow at Her Majesty and advanced two steps and bent while pulling her hair away from her left ear.
“The birthmark is indeed present, George,” the Queen stated.
The King nodded, which meant that Bethany did not need to have His Majesty inspect her ear as well.
“We are satisfied that this is indeed Lady Bethany Anne Elaine Osborne, the suo jure Duchess of Leeds.” His Majesty stood and took the ceremonial sword from off the velvet pillow the Lord Chamberlain was holding.
He stood before Lady Bethany, who had bowed her head.
Next, he tapped her right shoulder with the ceremonial sword, handed it back to the Lord Chamberlain and sat.
The Duchess of Leeds curtsied to Their Majesties before she backed away to stand next to Mother.
“We understand that it was Mrs Bennet who discovered Her Grace in the carriage the criminal used to abduct her, and then Mr and Mrs Bennet raised her as one of their own children,” His Majesty recounted. “Mr Bennet, approach us and kneel on one knee.”
Bennet was shocked, but one did not question the monarch in one of his palaces. He sank down onto one knee before the King.
Again, the King took the ceremonial sword from the Lord Chamberlain. “I dub thee Baron Meryton. From this day on, your wife is Lady Frances, and your children are entitled to use ‘the honourable’ before their names. Rise, Lord Meryton.”
“I appreciate your Majesty’s beneficence,” Meryton said once he had stood.
“You must know that there was nothing we did for Lady Bethany with an eye to reward. We received all the reward we could have ever desired in being able to love her and watch her grow into the magnificent young woman she is now.”
“You are not insulting your liege with a refusal, are you, Lord Meryton?” His Majesty asked with raised eyebrows.
“I would never do that, Your Majesty. Your boon is greatly appreciated.”
Once the new baron had joined his equally shocked wife, the king turned his attention to Mr Collins. “Mr Clem and Mr William Collins and Mr Bingley approach us,” he commanded.
The three men, none of whom had ever thought to be in the presence of even a minor royal in their lifetimes, stood before the King nervously.
“Mr Clem Collins, the Archdeacon of Rochester is to retire; if you desire to advance in the church, the Archbishop of Canterbury will appoint you to that position. This is your choice, Mr Collins,” the King allowed.
“Your Majesty does me a great honour; however, I have never desired to be anything but what I am. A parish parson doing God’s work among his flock.
As I have a choice, I prefer to remain with the parish of Hunsford,” Collins responded.
After His Majesty inclined his head in acceptance, Collins made a deep bow and backed away to stand next to his wife.
“Why is our William before the king?” Ophelia whispered to her husband. Before her husband was able to respond, the king spoke.
“Mr William Collins, are we correctly informed that you will marry Miss Caroline Bingley soon?” King George asked.
On seeing a nodded head, he continued. “In that case, kneel, Mr Collins. In recognition of Miss Bingley’s help in identifying Lady Bethany, I dub thee Sir William, knight of the Realm.
That way when you marry, Miss Bingley will become Lady Collins. ”
The Bennets and Lady Bethany all had wide smiles.
“What is so amusing?” Her Majesty asked with raised eyebrows.
“Some years ago when Your Majesties were in Meryton, His Majesty knighted Sir William Lucas. As William…Sir William will soon serve as the rector of the Longbourn Parish, we will have two Sir Williams in the neighbourhood,” Meryton responded.
“Yes, we do recall that. Do you remember, George?” the Queen enquired with a smile.
“We do have a memory of that. Made a very good speech, he did.” His Majesty turned back towards the still kneeling Sir William. “We will mention you to the Archbishop to keep you in mind as an archdeacon or bishop in the future.”
As the king did not ask his opinion, all the new Sir William could do once he stood was bow his head in thanks before backing up to where his parents stood.
Caroline Bingley stood fighting the urge to have her mouth hang open in shock.
She was to be titled! It had not been something she desired, but she did feel grateful that His Majesty had wanted to recognise her small part in discovering Lizzy…
Lady Bethany. She could only imagine what her mother would have said had she seen her daughter before the monarchs, other royals, and a plethora of titled people.
Had she been alive, she would have crowed about it from one end of the realm to the other.
Her attention returned to His Majesty, who had just told Charles to kneel.
“For your part in identifying Lady Bethany, we dub you Sir Charles, knight of the realm. Arise, Sir Charles,” the King said after touching the new knight’s right shoulder with his ceremonial sword.
Sir Charles was too shocked to say anything. He bowed to the King, and when His Majesty inclined his head, Sir Charles stood and backed away.
“We were most grieved when Lady Bethany was kidnapped and the plot to murder her was discovered,” King George drawled after retaking his seat on this throne.
“I should have knighted Mr Collins as well thanks to his help in bringing the de Bourgh criminals to justice. Relax, Mr Collins; we will not knight you…today. When Charlotte and I read Lady Amelia’s letter about Lady Bethany having been discovered and in good health, we were most gratified.
We miss our friend Leeds, but we are pleased that his line will continue through Lady Bethany.
” His Majesty turned to Lady Amelia. “We received your request that the Earls of Matlock and Holderness be appointed Lady Bethany’s trustees and that the Baron of Meryton continue as her legal guardian until the Duchess of Leeds reaches her majority or marries.
All requests are granted. We thank all who had a hand in raising Lady Bethany to be the poised young woman we see before us. ”
“We look forward to seeing you at one of our drawing rooms when you come out, Lady Bethany,” Queen Charlotte stated.
Then, her lips turned up into a mischievous smile.
“We hear that some call the hooped gown we prescribe for presentations a ‘hooped monstrosity’. We are sure none here have ever said that.” The queen was smiling at Lady Bethany as she spoke.
Bethany knew she was blushing scarlet, but she had to stand in place and not move.
Their Majesties and Highnesses stood and filed out of the room via a door a royal guard had opened in the wall behind where the royals had been seated.
With the King, Queen, and some of their children gone, the doors they had entered through were opened, and the whole of the party made their way out of the receiving room.
A major domo led them back to the courtyard where their coaches awaited them.
As hard as it had been to hold her peace until now, as soon as the carriage pulled away, Bethany looked around the cabin at Mother, Mamma, and Papa. “How would Her Majesty know what I said about those hooped…gowns?”
“If the army had as many sources and spies as Her Majesty, then the war with that Corsican tyrant would have been over soon after it began,” Lady Amelia responded with a smile.
“Bethie, I can assure you that none of us repeated what you said. Your words must have been overheard by the wrong person. Do not forget, daughter of mine, that you shared your opinion in Gunter’s one day after shopping. ”
“Urgh! Of course, I was overheard, thanks to all of the attention on me,” Bethany realised. She turned to Papa. “How does it feel to be a baron, and Mamma; you are a baroness?”
“Wholly unexpected and not something I ever desired, but it is what it is now,” Meryton said philosophically.