Vol 2, Chapter 7
At the same time the late duke was being carried home to join his predecessors in the family crypt, the papers dated the second day of April arrived in Scarborough.
As was her wont, Miss Caroline Bingley ignored the rest of the paper and went directly to the society pages.
What she saw almost caused her heart to stop:
“The Duke and Duchess of Bedford are pleased to announce the betrothal of their oldest daughter, Lady Jane Francine Bennet of Longfield Meadows to Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale. The Viscount’s parents, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, join the Duke and Duchess in wishing the couple joy.”
There was a second announcement below the one announcing the betrothal that was no less shocking:
“Lord Cyril and Lady Sarah De Melville, the Earl and Countess of Jersey, wish their granddaughter, Lady Jane Bennet, and Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale, well on their betrothal.”
If that were not bad enough there was one more:
“Lord Stanley and Lady Marie Carrington, the Marquess and Marchioness of Holder and their children, and Wesley and Jacqueline De Melville, Viscount and Viscountess Westmore, and their children, wish their niece and cousin, Lady Jane Bennet, and Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale, well on their betrothal.”
Caroline Bingley was certain she was inside a nightmare!
How could this be? Jane Bennet, Lady Jane Bennet was a niece, not the companion!
And what was this nonsense about a duke and duchess?
If the paper had been dated the first day of April, Miss Bingley would have been certain that it was some elaborate prank.
She snatched up the rest of the paper and there, on the front page, was the royal decree. The Bennets were in fact the new Duke and Duchess of Bedford! The elder brother was the Marquess of Birchington, the younger an Earl, Lord Meryton, and the three daughters were, in fact, Ladies!
Her stomach roiling, she dreaded what the article below the announcement might say; but Miss Bingley read each word carefully:
“My dear readers, this reporter has been granted exclusive information about the new Duke and Duchess of Bedford and their family.
When the courtship between Lady Jane Bennet and Viscount Hilldale was announced, there were many uninformed members of society who dismissed Miss Jane Bennet as a fortune hunter, those kinder believed her an unknown country miss without connections or wealth!
The truth bears no resemblance to those conjectures.
“Mr. Bennet’s first wife perished soon after giving birth to Lady Jane.
After an appropriate mourning period, Mr. Bennet married his second wife, Lady Pricilla De Melville, the meeting a happy accident, as they tell it.
The rest of the children, starting with Lady Elizabeth Bennet were the product of that union.
Miss Bennet is declared to be a granddaughter by Lord Cyril and Lady Sarah De Melville, the Earl and Countess of Jersey, and a niece by the Lady Marie Carrington, Marchioness of Holder and Wesley De Melville, Viscount Westmore and their spouses. ”
Miss Bingley stopped reading, too flabbergasted to assimilate anything else that was written.
The mother, the one Miss Bingley had disdained as being a solicitor’s daughter, was, in fact, the daughter of an Earl!
After the shock wore off, Miss Bingley was furious that Lady Jane had so lied to her, replaying their conversation at Netherfield in her mind to pinpoint exactly when and how.
She was dismayed when her memory proved that Miss Bennet had answered the questions she had been asked honestly and had only not corrected her own misconceptions erroneously drawn.
Through her anger, Miss Bingley could see she had been played for a fool of her own making.
The clues had all been there, but she had refused to see them.
To avoid considering her own folly, she chose to continue reading:
“As you can see, dear reader, Lady Jane’s connections are those anyone would dream of having, even before the elevation!
As to her and her family having no wealth and she a fortune hunter?
That too was mistaken conjecture, for the family owns two estates in Hertfordshire, Longbourn and Netherfield Park, and two townhouses on Grosvenor Square.
This reporter can affirm this was the truth before the new Duke attained his title and all the holdings associated with it.
“Dear reader, you may ask why the Bennets did not boast about their wealth and connections as so many in society would and do? The reason why the misconceptions about their wealth, connections, and property were never corrected was a simple choice collectively made by all in the family: It was done to keep fortune hunters and false friends at bay.”
As she lowered the paper, Miss Bingley remembered the deference the Bennets were paid by the Netherfield servants and the quality of their dresses and gowns.
When she thought about it now, she realised she had never seen any of the Bennet women in the same outfit more than once!
To her horror, she realised the dresses she had thought were copies of Chambourg Creations had been the real thing!
If only she had not been so blinded to the truth!
She would have pushed Charles at Jane Bennet with all of her might, arranging a compromise of her rather than attempt one herself, though she might have tried for the eldest son too, not the untitled Mr. Darcy.
She, Caroline Bingley, could have been closely related to a Duke and his family, if not the wife of a future duke! She read on:
“I am sure many of my readers are saying: ‘All of the above is remarkably interesting, but how did Mr. Thomas Bennet inherit the dukedom of Bedford without being a Rhys-Davies?’ Let me assure you, my readers, that the new Duke, the former Mr. Bennet, is a direct descendent of the Rhys-Davies.
“How, you ask? Circa 1665, Lord Thomas Rhys-Davies, brother to Lord Sedgwick Rhys-Davies IV, the forth Duke of Bedford, decided to honour his mother’s family, the former Lady Esther Bennet, by changing his name to Tom Bennet.
His late grandparents, Lord Thomas, and Lady Horatia Bennet, the last Earl and Countess of Meryton, had been lost to an influenza outbreak.
“The selfless act of becoming Mr. Tom Bennet assured the Bennet line did not die with the Earl and Countess.
Over the years, and because of a ruined family bible, the knowledge of the connection was lost. Thankfully, however, a letter written by the fourth Duke was discovered by the seventh Duke some months ago which enumerated the hitherto unknown family connection, and so the two branches of the family were finally reunited.
“The seventh Duke passed on the last day of March without any children of his own, which led to the passing forward of the title to the eighth Duke.
The royal historians have studied the records, which is why there was a delay in announcing the connection, and found His Grace, Thomas Bennet, is, in fact, a direct descendant of the Rhys-Davies line, and therefore is the rightful heir to the title.
“The Duke and Duchess’s eldest son, Lord Tom Bennet, is the new heir and the Marquess of Birchington. In his wisdom, our Regent has revived the earldom of Meryton. When his father ascended to the dukedom, Lord Mark Bennet, at the ripe old age of eleven, became the youngest earl in the realm.
“The royal family wish their cousins, the Bennets, well in their new roles!”
After she had finished reading the article, Caroline Bingley did not move for some minutes. But once the stupor wore off, the first question she asked herself was how the Bennets’ elevation could be used to her advantage. It was time to formulate a plan!
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The article that had stricken Miss Bingley and had led to the thoughts of opportunities lost, had been carefully crafted and sanitised by the family, with the approval of the Queen, before they departed for Longfield Meadows with the late Duke’s remains.
The family wanted to be sure the story they wanted the Ton to know was the one being told rather than leaving it to the speculation of the gossips to fill the vacuum of no information.
The effect on members of the Ton was exactly as intended.
The Bennets had connections the rest could only dream of, and, if the rumours about the wealth of the Duke of Bedford was even half of what was reported, they were the wealthiest non-royals in the realm!
Any thoughts of denigrating the upstart who had dared to take Viscount Hilldale off the marriage mart swiftly died.
The change of focus was not altruism, but a much more avaricious reason: Lord Hilldale was nothing compared to the jewels the four unmarried Bennets were now they were out of hiding and ready to join society.
A marquess, who would one day be the ninth Duke of Bedford; an earl, young but never too young to draw up a betrothal contract; and two Ladies—Elizabeth and Esther—who all knew would have magnificent dowries.
Before the seventh Duke was even in the ground, the matchmaking machinations of the Ton were beginning in many a household.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was a windy day in April when Charles Manners-Sutton, The Most Reverend Willowmere, by Divine Providence, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the funeral services for the late Duke.
The royals were represented by Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, and his sister Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh.
The Princess remained sitting with her cousins, Lady Rose, and Lady Priscilla, while the Prince attended the service and interment with men.
After the interment, if anyone had noticed the new Duke and those with him studied the former Dukes’ resting places skipped that of the third Duke, no one commented on the obvious.