Chapter 24
“They ain’t employing any more in London now ‘cause the ‘ouse’old be leavin’ any day,” Clay Younge reported.
“I was told the same when I applied to the housekeeper. She informed me that the Osbornes and others are departing the house and will be at the main ducal estate for an indeterminate period of time,” Karen Younge added.
He did not want to admit it to the Younges, but Wickham berated himself for not remembering that the gentry and nobles very rarely remained in Town at this time of the year.
The question now was what was he to do with this information?
Also, he had planned on gaining his fortune sooner rather than later.
What if they were away from Leeds House for a year or more?
That was unacceptable; he had to think of something.
It was then he remembered something Karen had revealed to him one night when they had been in her bed.
“Karen, did you not tell me that you hail from Yorkshire? Also, I seem to remember you saying that the estate your mother was murdered at was in Yorkshire as well. What did you say the name of the estate was?” As Wickham said the last he realised that if Karen caught it she would know he lied about confronting the late duke at his estate; if he had been there, he would have known the name.
He held his breath to see if she called him on prevaricating to her.
Thankfully, she seemed to miss that fact.
“Yes, we do. We used to live in Tickhill which is a market town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, about ten miles northeast of Kiveton Park, the main estate of the Duke of Leeds, the one where our mother was murdered,” Karen replied.
Thinking about her mother’s end ensured she did not consider George’s not knowing the name of the estate he had supposedly been to. “Why do you ask?”
“I am sure that Kiveton Park will need additional servants with the child duchess returning. Perhaps, they will require a companion for her. I think that rather than wait until they decide to return to London, we should strike while the iron is hot,” Wickham suggested.
“Remember, according to the notice in the papers this morning the girl met with the king and has just had everything heaped on her. That means she will be ripe to be led. In my experience, security is far more relaxed at an estate. Hence, it will be even easier than in London to get her away from her minders.” Wickham paused to allow his words to sink in.
“Surely, you do not want to wait even longer to avenge your mother’s murder? ”
“Karen, ‘ow would we live in Tickhill? We don’ ‘ave a ‘ouse there no more,” Clay Younge wondered.
“Clay is correct. We have not lived in Tickhill for many years, and what if the senior staff at Kiveton Hall check and discover we just returned to the area? It would look suspicious and land us in gaol,” Karen Younge agreed.
Wickham fought the urge to groan. He hoped they would end up being arrested, but only once he made off with his duchess.
Being in Yorkshire had another advantage, it was much closer to Gretna Green.
Rather than five days or more from London it was no more than two days given the long July daylight hours.
“You remember I told you already that as long as they are impressed by your characters, the toffs will not care to check anything.” He knew he did not answer the question Karen had asked, so Wickham hoped she would not realise that.
“I suppose you do know their ways better than we do,” Karen Younge owned. “We will need funds to travel…” She stopped as she remembered the boarding house. “We cannot leave; we need to manage our house.”
“Sell it!” Wickham exclaimed. “With your share of the ransom, you will be able to buy ten such houses.”
“With such a sum, we will all be able to leave England and be away from the reach of the Crown,” Karen Younge speculated. “The house belongs to both Clay and me. We need time to speak, and then we will inform you of our decision.”
Wickham could see his paramour counting the pounds, and he knew that he would get his way. “I know you will make a good decision.” He left them to it. Things would work out just like he planned them. His mother had told him many times that he could not be so charming and intelligent for no reason.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mr Frank Phillips was one of the men in Meryton who received The Times of London on a daily basis.
He and Hattie were seated at the table in their dining parlour enjoying the midday meal.
Unless he had an appointment at the same time, Phillips endeavoured to have all meals in his home, which was next to his offices.
As there was a client who had needed to meet early that morning, he had not had time to read the newspaper when he had broken his fast. Now, after greeting his wife, he sat down with the paper.
First he took a bite of the sandwich of cold mutton, alongside the one with ham still waiting on the plate for him to enjoy.
Hattie had lovingly prepared both sandwiches for him.
As he was chewing, Phillips unfolded the broadsheet.
His attention was arrested when on the first page he saw the notice of elevations His Majesty had recently awarded.
“Hattie, you will not believe who the newest baron and baroness are,” Phillips said after he blew out a deep breath. Bennet had been worried he may be punished by the king. It seemed that he had incorrectly guessed the reason he had been summoned to St James’s Palace.
“Would that not be something if we were acquainted with a lord and lady. Lady Lucas would never be able to boast about Sir William’s elevation again,” Hattie responded excitedly.
“My dear wife, not only do you know them, you are a sister to the baroness,” Phillips teased.
“Sister?... FANNY?” Hattie almost screamed her sister’s name. “How can that be? Were not she and Thomas concerned that His Majesty meant to censure them for not discovering who Lizzy’s birthparents were?”
“They were wrong,” Phillips averred. “Here, read it for yourself.” He handed the newspaper to his wife.
“You are correct!” Hattie exclaimed after perusing the page.
“Lord Thomas and Lady Frances, the Baron and Baroness of Meryton! What an honour!” She had a satisfied smile on her face.
“Now, let Sarah Lucas try and rub our faces in her elevation. Did you see that King George knighted both William Collins and Mr Bingley as well?”
“I must admit it will be entertaining with two Sir Williams in the neighbourhood,” Phillips stated with a grin. He saw his wife’s quizzical look. “Did you forget that William Collins is to succeed Mr Pierce as rector?”
Hattie Phillips tittered. “I would like to see the Lucases’ faces when they read this.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“William, what ails you?” Lady Lucas enquired when she saw her husband staring at the newspaper as if it was a snake that was about to strike. “Is there bad news? Are the French invading us?”
“No, not that; it is the Bennets. When the duchesses, earls, countesses, and viscounts left the area, I thought things would go back to normal, with us being the only titled people around Meryton,” Sir William explained.
“But here I see in today’s Times of London that Bennet and his wife are now a baron and baroness.
They are now Lord and Lady Meryton, and her ladyship can be addressed like the wife of an earl, as Lady Frances.
If that were not enough, the Bennets’ cousin, Collins’s son, has been knighted, as has Mr Bingley.
” Sir William paused as he stared off into space.
“I realise that I considered my knighthood to be far more special than it was. It is a rather common honour, and next to Bennet, or should I say Lord Meryton, it is nothing as he is now a peer of the realm.” As an afterthought he added, “The same way I insisted that Lord Meryton and all my friends address me as ‘Sir William’ and not Lucas any longer, I am certain that I will not be allowed to address my friend informally. I became a pompous fool.”
Sarah Lucas was struck all of a heap[12].
How many times had she not boasted about her title to Hattie Phillips and Fanny Bennet, among many others in the area, and tried to lord her elevated position over them.
Hattie never enjoyed her boasting, but Fanny was always stoic about it and never commented one way or the other.
In addition, her friend also always refused to partake in gossip.
She was sure that Hattie would cast her boasting in her teeth[13] and Sarah was not looking forward to having to eat humble pie.
Lady Lucas suspected that Fanny would be gracious and not hold her past boasting against her.
That would not stop several of Sarah’s friends in the neighbourhood from throwing the news in her face.
Oh, why had she been so keen to aggrandise herself at the expense of others?
Hattie and those others would make sure she heard about the new Lady Frances as much as possible.
Perhaps she could claim an indisposition and remain closeted, not going out, and not being home to callers. However, how long could she claim such?
Lady Lucas knew that was the coward’s way out; however, like her husband had said regarding being pompous about his title, she had been no better. More than anything, she felt shame about the way she had behaved towards her friends.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Hattie Phillips was about to call on Sarah Lucas, so she could crow about her sister, Lady Frances, the baroness, when her housekeeper delivered a letter in her sister’s hand.
She wanted to see what Fanny, no, Lady Frances—how well that sounded—had to say before she went to watch Sarah Lucas eat a healthy portion of humble pie.
The seal was still the regular Bennet seal.
Hattie assumed there had not been time to make a new one.
She broke the seal and unfolded the paper admiring her sister’s flowing script. Hattie began to read.
21 July 1807