Page 106 of A Life Diverted
“We think it is time,” Matlock stated without preamble.
“In barely three months Lizzy will be seventeen. She should be told the truth. You all know how intelligent she is, and especially now as there seems to be a mutual attraction between her and William, we—Elaine and I—do not think you are protecting Lizzy any longer but may be hurting her by not telling her the truth.”
“Why now, Matlock?” the Prince asked.
“Richard has been aware of the truth these past three years, then Jane was told, and now Andrew is aware. Richard does not want secrets between him and Cassie, just like Jane did not want before she and Andrew began their betrothal,” Lady Elaine explained.
“You think the more people know the more the likelihood of it will coming out, and then Lizzy will be angry at us because we hid it from her for so long,” Fanny surmised. When Lizzy is told, so must William be.
“What about you, Freddy? Will your parents try to force their will on Lizzy at this stage?” Darcy asked. “I agree it is time as well. She is an extremely intelligent young lady and I believe she will understand, especially as you have a letter from Priscilla for her.”
“At this stage,” the Prince stated thoughtfully, “if Elizabeth wants to be known to them, they will defer to my judgement. My father still feels much guilt after forcing the divorce on Priscilla and me; that more than anything else will stay his hand. When she is ready, they will welcome her as a granddaughter, but I told you what Father will do regarding the line of succession.”
“Not to mention that William will have to come to terms with her true rank and wealth,” Fanny stated. “Today they are equal; mayhap William believes his position is slightly better. However, after her true parentage and rank are revealed, he may not think himself worthy of one so high.”
“What of the younger children, Fanny?” Bennet asked.
“If we decide now is the time, then we will need to talk to them after Lizzy has been told; the delay will depend on what her reaction is,” Fanny responded.
“Do we need to wait for Edith and Paul—who also agree it is time—or are we all in agreement?” Elaine asked.
“It is time,” the Prince stated simply.
“When should we talk to her?” Bennet asked.
“I agree William be with us when she finds out; he needs to know and she will draw strength from him being present because he did not know,” Fanny opined.
“If they are to have a chance at a mutual future, she needs to have it proven that he knew nothing and is not interested in her for any reason but love and respect.”
“The Carringtons will be here on Friday; I see no harm in waiting until they are present,” Bennet recommended. “We will, of course, include Catherine.”
“Yes,” Matlock agreed, “we want her to know she is not excluded from the bosom of the family now that I finally have the sister I have missed for over forty years back.”
“Are you sure your sister does not want me to have my father reinstate her title?” the Prince asked.
“No Frederick, she was adamant,” Lady Elaine stated. “She loves her life as it is now without any courtesy title.” Then the Countess got a malevolent look on her mien. “Let us hope the De Melvilles do something to cause you to strip their titles. We are not sending their letter yet, are we?”
“Only if the news of Lizzy’s existence becomes public knowledge. Otherwise, they will wait until she is eighteen,” Bennet stated with purpose.
“I agree with Thomas,” Fanny stated. “We have all been through this together so there is no pressing reason not to wait, and it will relieve Richard of the need to keep this secret from Cassie for one more day.” Then Fanny had a thought.
“Most of you do not know this, but Mrs. Nichols was witness to everything that day, I think she should be included to answer any questions Lizzy might have.” There were nods from the others in the sitting room.
So, it was agreed. There would be a meeting two days hence after dinner.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Andrew, Richard, and Jane were summoned to the master suite, thinking it had something to do with their recent betrothals—which, in a roundabout way, it did. They found the Bennet and Fitzwilliam parents waiting for them; Richard closed the door and the three took seats.
“We will be revealing Elizabeth’s true parentage to her, and William too, on Friday after dinner,” Bennet informed the three who were party to the secret without any preamble.
“Why now, Papa?” Jane asked, “It is only a little more than a year before Lizzy is eighteen.”
“The circle of those who know is ever widening…” All four parents told the three about the meeting and the decisions taken.
“It makes sense,” Andrew postulated as he unconsciously held Jane’s hand. “Lizzy has more than enough maturity to assimilate the information.”
“Poor William,” Richard pointed out. “He is going to be flummoxed. I wager he will apologise all over again for his comments at Pemberley more than eleven years past.”
“You could be correct, Richard,” Fanny smiled. “Another advantage is that they will both be able to become comfortable, one with the other, if this creates any distance with more than a year before Lizzy is launched into society.”
“She will not be sanguine about the way the truth has been bent. She knows Papa has an aversion to Town but will quickly see it is not as it was made to be and it was not the main reason for her never going to London,” Jane pointed out.
“I pity her De Melville Grandparents if they meet her once she understands what they did to her mother,” Fanny stated.
“If Lizzy unleashes her anger on them once she knows she is a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, they will pray for her birthfather to take them to task in comparison.”
“The Christian thing to do would be to forgive them,” Jane highlighted.
“If they had shown any contrition for what they did rather than to have it forced by motivation to keep their position and the good opinion of society, I would agree, Jane,” Andrew stated. “They had sixteen years to offer amends, but they did not until they paid a social cost.”
“Thank you for not making me think about keeping a secret from Cassie.” Richard felt a sense of relief; he hated keeping secrets from the woman he loved beyond all others.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Charles,” Caroline Bingley whined, “when will you take me to Town? How will I meet men of the first circles when we only associate with tradesmen?”
“Do I need to point out to you again, Sister, that I am a tradesman? So is Uncle, who is your guardian,” Bingley countered. He had lost count of how many times they had this conversation, or a variation of it, with his pretentious harpy of a younger sister.
“How could our father make another man stinking of active trade my guardian?” Miss Bingley complained. “Mother would have never…”
“As it was not her choice, but rather father’s, what you were about to say is as irrelevant as it has been each time we have had this self-same conversation,” Bingley sighed with frustration.
“If you continue in this vein, I will not ask Uncle if I may take you with me when I take up a lease at the estate in another year or so. Before you tell me I will need a hostess, I will simply request that Louisa and Hurst join me, and she will be my hostess if Uncle refuses his permission.”
As she always did, as soon as her brother mentioned the need for her guardian’s permission, Miss Bingley subsided.
Her brother refused to introduce her to anyone other than the nobody Jamison friend of his.
She would do her late mother proud and find a husband of the first circles, even if she needed to engineer a compromise.