Chapter 21 #2
“No, Mr Bennet, I believe his corpulence and the amount he ate at each meal, and any chance he got, were the reasons for my late husband’s end.
You have no responsibility in it,” Charlotte assured her friends’ father.
“If a groom can take a note to Lucas Lodge so my father or Franklin may come collect Maria and me, it would be appreciated.” Charlotte would have the pleasure of telling her parents that, thanks to the money Mr Collins had squirreled away, she would be able to live rather well and never be a burden on anyone.
“Of course, we will send word to your father’s estate,” Bennet responded. He told Hill to send a groom with the message for Sir William and led her inside with the others as well.
On entering the drawing room, Charlotte beckoned her sister to her.
“The Bennets have family business to discuss,” she said in sotto voce.
“We will go to the parlour next door and wait there. On the way, we will inform Mr Hill where we are so that when someone comes to take us to Lucas Lodge, we can be easily found.”
“I recognise Mr Darcy, and I believe these two are my daughters, but I am afraid I know not who any of the rest of our callers are,” Bennet stated when he entered the rather crowded drawing room.
“William, will you do the honours,” Matlock requested.
The only titled people Fanny had met were Sir William and Lady Lucas. As she discovered she was in the presence of an earl, a countess, a viscount, and a second son of said earl, she almost swooned but was able to restrict her reaction to losing most of the colour in her face.
“Mr Bennet, before I waste your time, is Miss Elizabeth correct that you have a hope chest in your study which contains the Courtney family bible?” Matlock enquired.
“I do indeed, my Lord. What interest do you have in my late mother’s family?” Bennet responded.
“If you will do me the honour of retrieving the bible and bringing it hither, I will be most grateful. And please call me Matlock. I promise you that all will become eminently clear as soon as we see one name in the family record,” he replied.
Bennet did as requested and returned with the Bible in hand. He looked at the earl questioningly.
“I need to know the maiden name of your late mother’s mother, your late maternal grandmother,” Matlock requested.
As the Courtney line ended with his mother, finding her mother’s name was easy for Bennet.
“Her maiden name was Eloise Nanette de Bourgh,” he read.
Startled, he hesitantly looked up at the earl again.
After all of the times his cousin had mentioned Lady Catherine de Bourgh, reading that his grandmother was a de Bourgh was rather shocking.
“Eloise de Bourgh married Roger Courtney, against the wishes of her father,” Matlock began.
“That de Bourgh desired his children to make matches which would raise the family’s consequence.
The Courtneys were minor landholders with no presence in London.
When my late brother-in-law realised that his daughter would more likely than never be able to bear children, even if she survived to marry, he sent a letter to my other late brother-in-law, William Darcy’s father.
Robert Darcy was one of the executors of Sir Lewis’s will.
I am the other. I can see you are questioning what this has to do with you.
It is simple. There is an entail on Rosings Park like the one that is now in effect for this estate.
Only one of de Bourgh blood may own Rosings Park and all the de Bourgh holdings.
Now that my niece, Anne de Bourgh, has gone to her final reward, everything willed to her by her father becomes yours. ”
“Are you saying that Rosings Park, the estate my late cousin praised to the skies, is now mine?” Bennet verified incredulously.
“It is. It earns seven thousand pounds per annum, and that does not count the money earned from the de Bourgh fortune or the late Anne de Bourgh’s dowry, which was at inception, fifty thousand pounds. In addition, there is a house in London,” Matlock confirmed.
Fanny’s eyes had opened wider and wider with each item the earl listed. It became too much, so she fainted dead away.
For the first time in any Bennets’ memory, the call of, “Hill, bring the mistress’s salts,” was uttered by the Bennet patriarch.
Thankfully, Mrs Hill was close by and was soon reviving Mrs Bennet. It was fortunate said lady had been seated in her favourite chair when the revelations had been made. Consequently, she had not fallen on the floor.
Jane and Elizabeth steeled themselves for the vulgar effusions they were sure their mother would utter about the family’s newfound wealth and property.
“This is not my husband jesting with me, is it?” Fanny verified as calmly as a woman who had just fainted was able to do. When she saw many shaken heads in the room, she began to accept the truth. She turned to her husband. “Thomas, were you aware of your connection to the de Bourghs?”
As happy as they were that their mother had not crowed about the wealth they had just gained, neither Jane nor Elizabeth could account for the difference in their mother.
“No, Fanny, I had not a clue. I was unaware of Grandmama Eloise’s maiden name until now.
Until Matlock asked me to retrieve the Courtney family bible, I had no need to investigate the family’s history,” Bennet replied calmly.
“In the space of a month, we have gone from a family with an entailed estate earning barely two thousand pounds per annum to owning said estate. Suddenly, now we appear to own another one, a house in London, and by the sounds of things, rather a lot of wealth.” Bennet did not miss the way Lizzy looked at him when he mentioned Longbourn’s income.
“I know, Lizzy; had I not been so indolent, the income would have been over three thousand pounds each year. As soon as I became aware that Collins would never have it, I began to make changes and left my study. When you arrived, I had just returned from delivering a Tullian Drill to Ogilvy. I am fully aware that I should have done so years ago when you first recommended it.”
Darcy looked at Miss Elizabeth with added respect.
It seemed that along with all her other knowledge, she was well versed in the management of an estate.
Had he not made such a cake of things, he would have had a wife who could be his true partner in all things.
With the recent changes between them, he had the thinnest sliver of hope.
He knew for that tiny slice to grow, he would have to prove how much he had changed and do nothing to rush her.
“I suppose the maxim that ‘it is better late than never’ is true. I am certain Mr Ogilvy was well pleased to have the implement,” Elizabeth stated.
Lady Elaine had been watching the interactions between Elizabeth and William.
As much as she would have liked to have her as Andrew’s wife, she could see that William was still as much in love with her as he had ever been, but now the missing element of respect was present.
In her opinion, Elizabeth no longer thought a connection with him would be abhorrent.
“As it is a time for making revelations,” Jane spoke up. “Mamma and Papa, I need to inform you that Jamey, Viscount Hadlock, and I are courting officially, and we have been for close to a month now.” She braced for her mother’s effusions and her father’s sardonic wit.
“You did not send Lord Hadlock…” Bennet began.
“Please call me Hadlock, or Jamey,” Hadlock interpolated.
Bennet inclined his head to acknowledge such.
“I am Bennet. As I was saying, you did not send Hadlock here for my blessing because you knew I would make sport of him and then extract as much amusement from your mother as possible.” He saw the embarrassment on Jane’s countenance at the truth of his words.
“You did the right thing; I hold nothing against you.”
“And I would have come to London to help you, as much as you would not have wanted it. That was part of the reason no mention was made of your courtship, was it not?” Fanny verified.
Jane had changed, but she could not prevaricate to her mother, so she nodded, not looking directly at Mamma.
The two eldest Bennet sisters were taken aback by the positive changes they saw in their parents. When they looked at Mary sitting and quietly speaking to Anna, they noticed she was not very surprised by the adjustments their parents had made. They would need to speak to Mary later.
Fanny stood and came to stand in front of Jane.
“Is he as good a man as he seems to be?” She saw Jane nod again.
“And you will be happy with him?” Another nod.
“Then, I could not ask for more for you.” She pulled her eldest into a warm hug.
“You deserve a good man, and not one who does not know his own mind like Mr Bingley.”
“He is the very best of men, Mamma,” Jane admitted. “And I respect and love him,” she added in sotto voce.
Hadlock was standing close enough to hear Jane.
He felt excitement like he had never experienced before when he heard that she loved him.
It had been some weeks since he had known he was in love with her.
Respect had been present before the love.
“Jane, Miss Bennet, may I address you in private?” Hadlock requested, his voice gruff with emotion.
“Yes, Jamey, I would enjoy allowing you a private interview,” Jane responded as she glowed with pleasure.
“You may use my study for no more than ten minutes. You will not close the door all the way, and Mrs Hill will be just outside of the door,” Bennet stated. He watched with an indulgent smile as the couple practically ran out of the drawing room.
“What happened to my serene, peace-making, eldest daughter?” Bennet wondered.
“Jane will explain later,” Elizabeth declared. Suddenly, she realised she had not seen her two youngest sisters. “Mamma, Papa, where are Kitty and Lydia?” she asked.