Chapter 8 #2
Charles was assured that his Uncle Paul and Mr Gardiner would be willing to help him when he requested it, but that unless they saw a substantial error about to be made, they did not intend to offer unsolicited advice.
Gardiner reported on Gardiner and Associates’ earnings for the previous quarter, and that the business was on track to meet or even exceed the previous year’s performance.
Paul Bingley reported that all indications were that the three Bingley Carriage works operations would beat the fifteen thousand pounds in profits that they had made the previous year.
He recommended that they follow what his late brother had put in place—that twenty percent of the profits be reinvested.
For Charles Bingley, it meant that his profits from the business plus that of the estate would give him between seven and eight thousand pounds per annum. He did not need more than that, so he too saw the sense of the percentage that went to investments being allowed to continue as it had been.
When Gardiner asked about the estate, the younger Bingley told him about Darcy’s offer.
Edward agreed that it was wise to ask for help when needed, and from what he could tell, the Darcy heir was an extremely competent young man.
Gardiner relayed his brother Bennet’s offer of help whenever it was needed, in case either of them preferred to ask a third opinion.
After business was completed, the three discussed how each of them missed the late Oscar Bingley, and although it was early yet, they raised a snifter of brandy to toast the man they knew and loved.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A few days later, when the London papers reached Packwood, there was an eruption of epic proportions. “This is not to be borne!” Mrs Fitzpatrick ranted. “She is not the daughter of a servant! How can this be? I said that she was, and I know it must be so! They are all lying!”
“Are you well, Mrs Fitzpatrick,” George Wickham asked. At one and twenty, his life was the same, an indentured servant to the delusional woman, but until he found a way to get her money, he would have to play along. He would need the money to exact his revenge.
“Read that!” she pointed a bony finger at the newspapers that she had flung on the floor in disgust. The more Wickham read, the more infuriated he became, though he had to school his countenance in front of the old lady.
The mongrel was not a mongrel! Not only was she living the life that he believed belonged to him, but she was the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Then he saw it.
“Hodges was the one that kidnapped her!” he exclaimed.
“Yes, and he had the gall not to tell me. It was my right to know all of his closest concerns, and more assuredly any information with regards to her! He is lucky that he is already dead! And you, useless boy!” She brought her walking stick down on Wickham’s shoulder hard.
“You tried to kill her and missed, and all you did was put them on alert! All of these years later and my spies cannot get close to either family. They think they are so clever; well, I am cleverer than all of them,” she cackled.
“What do you mean?” Wickham asked as he rolled his shoulder to ease the pain of the blow. He could have reached for her neck with his hands and had the pleasure of squeezing the life out of her body slowly; he needed blunt, and she had it, but he just did not know where!
“You will find out when it is time, boy,” she answered cryptically.
“Then you will be told more, but not before.” What the former Lady Catherine de Bourgh was not telling her pet was that she had bribed a man to get work at Pemberley.
He was to make no contact for the first year, so he would not engender any suspicion.
In the summer of the next year, he was to meet with one of her men for instructions.
Then, when her erstwhile family least suspected it, she would strike and avenge herself on them!
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Greg Jones had made the easiest money in his life.
The old lady had paid him two hundred pounds, more than he would see in almost ten years, to get hired at Pemberley.
When he arrived at the estate a year earlier, they had been looking for men to work in the stables.
Jones believed that this would suit his benefactor as she wanted information about their movements; the stables would be a good place from which to hear the family’s travel plans.
What Jones did not know is that among the stable staff were five guards who were passed off as working in the stables as he was.
Two were assistant drivers, one a groom, and two that did similar work as Jones.
As he knew no one in the area being from Warwickshire, he became remarkably close to a fellow stable hand, John Branch.
In fact, as far as Jones was concerned, John was his best and only friend.
A few months ago, Jones had picked a fight with a man in Kympton.
Unfortunately, the man’s brothers were close by and were about to issue a beat down until John Branch rescued him and so, in Greg’s estimation, saved his life.
And John had never asked for anything except his friendship.
Jones decided that when the time came, his friend John would be the loyal kind of man that he would be able to confide in and help him accomplish whatever task the old lady wanted him to do.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Thanks to the decision to stay at Longbourn until after the wedding, the Darcy and Fitzwilliam ladies’ horses were sent for.
The next day, after Andrew and George Darcy wrote their missives, three grooms arrived leading Callisto, Saturn, and Brown Beauty.
Only Aggie seemed happier than their riders that the three horses arrived.
She knew that when she saw her mistress’s horse, it meant that long runs were in her future.
She was correct, as a long ride was being planned for the morrow where the guests would be introduced to Oakham Mount. They would all leave early, watch the sunrise, and then ride to a glade between Longbourn and Bennington Fields where the group would have a picnic lunch.
Anne de Bourgh was extremely excited, not because her horse had arrived, but because Ian Ashby had been invited to Longbourn.
She had barely begun her formal courtship when they left London.
As he was Andrew’s friend, she had begged her brother to invite him.
Andrew had consulted Marie, and she had pointed out that with so many in the house, and with them having recently moved to the family floor while he would stay on a guest floor, that propriety would be maintained.
Much to Anne’s delight, after garnering permission from the mistress of the estate, Andrew had sent the invitation to his friend who had accepted. He would be arriving in two days’ time.
The group of riders gathered early in the morning as dawn was starting to lighten the sky in the east. All the younger residents, except the twins and Alex, were in the party.
The various parents had begged off, preferring to get more sleep.
Aggie was jumping up and down in excitement as she loved to run alongside her mistress when she rode.
The group was accompanied by grooms and footmen, led, as was usual, by Biggs and Johns.
They set off, exiting the park, heading north through Longbourn’s orchards.
The four Bennets in the party pointed out various features to their cousins, or in Perry’s case, soon to be brother-in-law.
They passed the little folly that was a replica of a Greek temple, then entered the forest around the base of Oakham Mount.
As they exited the forest, the land started to rise gently until they reached the path that led them up the side of the mount.
Oakham Mount was not a mountain; it was simply the only hill of any height in the area and the view was beautiful.
When they gained the flat crest, they dismounted, the ladies assisted by males in the party.
William helped Elizabeth down and felt a fission of pleasure as his hands held her waist. He lowered her to the ground, schooling his features so he would not broadcast his thoughts to all in the party.
Had he known that his cousin had felt the same, if not more pleasure at the intimate feel of his touch, it would have pleased him greatly.
There was a large, ancient oak tree on the eastern side of the crest with a big rock next to it which was ideal to act as a bench.
Having run circles around them, Aggie flopped down next to the rock and was soon dozing.
While the group watched, the first tendrils of the sun’s rays started to peek over the horizon in the east. The sky became ablaze with light and colour as the few clouds that there were seemed to glow with a golden hue.
For those who had not had the pleasure before, it was a spectacular sight, and the Bennets, who had seen it many times, never grew tired of sharing it.
“It is easy to understand why you recommended this location, Jane,” Elizabeth told her older sister as she wound her arm around Jane’s.
“That is Longbourn,” James proudly pointed out his home to the south. “To the west is Bennington Fields. You can see Meryton to the east, and beyond it,” he pointed, “is Netherfield Park.”
“I pray for the Bingleys each night,” William Bennet shared. “They have family around them now to support them, but some will leave today, and within a week it will be just them. At least Mrs Bingley’s mother will live with her now.”
“They will still have much support, William,” Jane pointed out.
“They are well-liked in the neighbourhood, and all of their friends will make sure to visit and assist as they get through this most trying of times. Also, do not forget that cousin Will will be with them helping Charles learn how to be confident in his role as the master of an estate.”