Page 104 of A Life Diverted
Andrew arrived at Netherfield Park before the midday meal, and after greeting the family and Uncle Freddy, he answered Tommy’s many questions—those expected from a boy of ten years—about his ride and how his horse fared. Andrew then requested a little time with Jane.
“It was not the same without you, Jane,” Andrew told her as they sat in the east parlour with Elizabeth and Mary as chaperones. “You will want to get married from Netherfield Park, will you not?”
“The wedding breakfast will be here, but as we still attend the church at Longbourn, it is my choice to marry from there and not from St. Alfred’s in Meryton,” Jane related to her betrothed.
“That is completely understandable,” Andrew acknowledged. “Please tell me you do not require a lengthy betrothal.”
“While you were away, I spoke to my mother,” Jane informed him. “She has left it up to us, as long as for propriety’s sake the date is one month or more from the date of our betrothal.” Jane paused. “Mary dear, will you retrieve the calendar on Papa’s desk for us?”
Mary returned and handed the calendar to Jane. “The fifteenth day of December would be good, would it not?” Andrew suggested after the two examined the month of December. “It is a Monday.”
“Yes, the fifteenth will suit, and it is just past a month, so Mama will have no complaint,” Jane enthused.
It made her betrothal that much more real now they had selected a date.
“Let us inform my parents and the rest of the family.
Elizabeth and Mary followed their sister and soon-to-be brother to the drawing room.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“This is my daughter’s estate! Do you know who I am?” Lord Jersey spat out in frustration.
Things had grown so bad socially for the De Melvilles that the Earl decided the only way out of their problem was to humble themselves before their eldest daughter and beg her assistance in alleviating the situation they now found themselves in.
His wife secretly prayed they would be allowed to see Priscilla. She would tell her daughter the truth, that she never wanted what her husband had forced on her. She knew it would engender her husband’s wrath, but she was willing to take that chance if she were able to see her daughter.
Their coach was halted at the gates of Priscilla’s estate, and no matter how much he blustered, the men guarding the gates would not allow them to pass. The Earl did not notice a groom riding swiftly down the drive from the gates towards the house.
Andrew and the three eldest Bennet sisters had just entered the drawing room when Mr. Nichols entered and handed his master a note, which Bennet handed to the Prince.
“I think I need to see these people,” Frederick stated as he gave the note to Fanny.
Both Bennet parents nodded their agreement, and Frederick followed Mr. Nichols out of the drawing room.
“Is there a problem, Mama and Papa?” Elizabeth asked. “Uncle Freddy did not look happy.”
“There are some people who are connected with Uncle Freddy demanding entrance to the estate,” Bennet stated, not one word of which was false. “Your uncle is going to inform them they are not welcome and why.”
Elizabeth would have preferred to know who the people were and why they were not welcome, but she decided if her father and mother desired to share more information, they would in their own time.
Her mind returned to more pleasant thoughts as William would arrive in a fortnight, and there was now a wedding to look forward to before Christmas.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lord and Lady Jersey saw a coach approaching and the last man the Earl wanted to see at that moment stepped out of it. “Your Royal Highness,” Lord Jersey intoned as both he and his wife inclined their heads to the Prince.
“Lord and Lady Jersey,” the Prince drawled.
“What an unpleasant surprise to see you here at Netherfield Park. After the way you have treated your daughter, what possible excuse could you have made which caused you to believe you could gain admittance here?” The Prince did not notice the look of sorrow on the Countess’s face as he was looking at the Earl.
“We did what we did in support of the Crown,” Lord Jersey insisted.
“What stuff and nonsense,” the Prince bit back, and both De Melvilles were taken back at the vehemence in his response. “You did what you thought would gain you notice from my family, without asking what we desired.” There was no mistaking his disdain.
“How could we not support you when his Royal Majesty found Priscilla too low to be your wife,” Lord Jersey tried.
“Are you senseless, Jersey?” the Prince shot back.
“My father found my ex-wife wholly appropriate to be my wife. The only reason he did what he did was for an alliance with Prussia, and now that we are at war that alliance has become invaluable. The King was never happy with what he had to do. All of Priscilla’s true friends have asked the same question: How could a parent who loved their child in the smallest measure cut ties with said child so wholly and without remorse?
” The Prince was looking directly at the Earl and missed the look of great sorrow on the Countess’s face.
She shrunk back into the corner of the coach and released the tears which had been threatening to fall since they arrived at Netherfield Park.
“We are here now to reconcile with Priscilla,” Lord Jersey understated the truth. Neither the Earl nor the Prince saw Lady Jersey pressed into the corner of the coach, crying quietly. She would not see her daughter and the Prince was too incensed to listen to her.
“If I were you, I would be wary of lying to the person second in line to the throne. You are here because you are reaping the rewards of what you have sown. You would not have come had you not been rejected by society.” The Earl blanched at the Prince’s accurate portrayal of his reason for coming.
The Countess hung her head in sadness. “This I can guarantee you; Priscilla will never be in your company again. Now turn your carriage around and be gone. If you ever attempt to come here without explicit invitation, I will strenuously recommend to the King that he strip you of your title and return any land awarded to the earldom back to the Crown.” Frederick excoriated the Earl and Countess happily, as he had wanted to do since he had heard of them cutting all connection with his beloved.
The Earl had no doubt the King would act on the Prince’s recommendation.
“I would write to my daughter again, but the last letter was returned unopened,” Lady Jersey stated softly. The Prince did not look at her right away so he missed the look of pure anguish on the lady’s face.
“You mean the first letter you have posted her in sixteen years? If you had reached out to your daughter before it was for selfish reasons, your reception here would have been vastly different,” the Prince informed the couple.
‘ On more than one occasion I tried, but my husband consigned my letters to the fire. He has me watched so I am not able to contact my daughter, ’ Lady Sarah told herself. How she wished the Prince were in a mood to listen to her.
Knowing that any further attempts to contact his daughter would cost them their titles—and by extension their children’s—the Earl departed with his tail between his legs.
His wife sat in silence, refusing to look at her husband and her heart breaking all over again.
She had been so close to her beloved daughter, and yet so far.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Prince returned to the drawing room an hour later, and when Bennet and Fanny looked at him in question, he gave a curt nod of his head and informed them the unwanted guests had been sent on their way.
“While you were away, Jane and Andrew informed us they will marry on the fifteenth day of December.” Fanny related.
“Please say you will attend, Uncle Freddy,” Jane beseeched.
“If I have any conflicts, I will move them, so yes, Janie, I will not miss your wedding unless my father issues a royal decree in opposition to my intent,” the Prince teased his adopted niece.
“Will we ever see any of the palaces?” Tommy asked enthusiastically.
“I have a feeling that will happen in the next year or two,” Frederick responded to his godson.
“Would it not be grand to see a palace and meet the royal family?” Elizabeth enthused.
“I suppose it would,” Jane said as her parents, Uncle Freddy, and Andrew looked anywhere except at Elizabeth.
“Aunt Catherine will be with us for Christmastide,” Andrew reported to change the subject. He informed them of the meeting in Kent and the pleasure his aunt took from the simple things in life now.
“It will be good to see how she has changed, as I only remember the imperious lady we met soon after Aunt Anne passed away,” Elizabeth stated.
“As she is your aunt, she will be more than welcome here,” Fanny stated generously.
When there was a lull in the conversation, Elizabeth approached Jane. “Jane, may I talk you in private?” Elizabeth asked.
Worried Lizzy suspected something of her true parentage, Jane looked to her betrothed. “Will you join us?” Then Jane turned back to Elizabeth, “Do you object to Andrew being with me?
“No, I suppose not,” Elizabeth averred.
The three returned to the same parlour they had been in earlier.
“Lizzy, if I judge I must speak to Mama and, or Papa, regarding what we speak about here, you know I must, do you not?” Jane asked forthrightly.
Elizabeth nodded, because she knew it was only true concern which would cause Jane to break the request of a confidence.
Elizabeth sat for a minute trying to marshal her thoughts. “How do you know if your affections are returned?” Elizabeth opened.
“Who do you hold in high regard, Lizzy?” Jane asked, though she suspected who it was.
Elizabeth blushed as she looked at Andrew.
He was William’s cousin and she wanted to make sure he would not relate anything she said to William.
Andrew made a move to leave the ladies alone, but Elizabeth shook her head.
“Will you both swear, unless I say something which you feel Mama and Papa need to know, that you will not mention a word of this to anyone else?”
“You have my word, Lizzy,” Jane vowed.
“And mine, besides; I would not tell William anything as it would just puff up his ego,” Andrew replied.
“How did you know it is William?” Elizabeth asked in alarm.
“Until this instant, I only suspected; you just confirmed my suspicions, little sister-to-be,” Andrew revealed.
“Do you have tender feelings for William?” Jane asked.
Elizabeth blushed a deep red and nodded her head. “I believe I am falling in love with him. How will I know if he sees me as more than a friend and cousin? How did you and Andrew know each loved the other?”
“Lizzy, let me answer your question with a question,” Jane responded. “When the two of you are in company at the same time, who do each of you spend the most time with?”
“Each other I suppose,” Elizabeth stated as she thought back over the last number of years. “But that is just because we both like books and debating.”
“And you are the only one available?” Andrew prompted.
Yes—no—I suppose I am not,” Elizabeth realised. “Are you saying William chooses to spend time with me because he may have tender feelings for me?”
“There is no way to know for sure, until and unless he declares himself, which he will not do until after you come out,” Jane opined.
“Until then, as long as you both enjoy one another’s company, keep doing what you have been doing.
A deep friendship is a good basis for a future romantic relationship. ”
“Jane has the right of it, Lizzy,” Andrew agreed. “William can be very hard to read sometimes, but there is no mistaking the pleasure he takes in spending time with you.”
“Thank you both; I find your advice both useful and comforting,” Elizabeth stated appreciatively.
“If Mama asks why you wanted to talk to me privately, may I inform her?” Jane asked.
“Yes, you may, as I will not ask you to tell Mama an untruth on my behalf,” Elizabeth averred.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
In London, Cassie accepted Richard’s proposal of marriage. He was not sure if he could share the secret he had known for the last three years with her. When he asked his parents, they advised him to talk to Uncle Freddy and the Bennet parents when he went to Netherfield Park.
Lord and Lady Matlock felt they needed to have a serious talk with the three.
They realised that the wider the circle of those who knew the truth of Lizzy’s parentage became, the more likely that Elizabeth could discover her true heritage by chance.
It would be up to Elizabeth’s parents—adopted and birthfather—to make the final decision, but in their opinion, it was time to tell Elizabeth the truth.
Anne was visiting Holder House with her mother . Anne missed Mrs. Jenkinson remained in Kent to take over the work Mrs. de Bourgh had been doing, but she knew from their correspondence the lady felt very fulfilled after taking over for Catherine.
Each day Anne spent with her mother, the closer the two became as more of her mother’s new character was revealed.
The first visit with the Carringtons after their return from Kent with Mrs. de Bourgh left the Carringtons amazed.
They had heard about the changes to Anne’s mother, but to see them in person was a wonder to behold.
The party that travelled to Holder House returned and Jamey was with them. Out of respect for her mother, Jamey asked if she could be included in the meeting in the Earl’s study. He then explained he had requested Anne’s hand in marriage, and that she had granted him his dearest wish.
It was a matter of minutes to receive Anne’s uncle’s hearty permission and blessing, wholeheartedly echoed by Mrs. de Bourgh who, after hugging her future son, wished him happy and admonished him to make her daughter happy all the days of his life.
Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam had the pleasure of announcing his niece’s betrothal to his wife and younger son.
Thoughts of the upcoming conversation at Netherfield Park were deferred as the Earl and Countess of Matlock revelled in both of their sons and niece finding estimable people to marry that each loved deeply.