Page 12 of A Life Diverted
In the middle of October 1803, Cilla agreed to accompany Joseph to London.
Ever since Ellie had been taken more than nine years past, she had eschewed London society as much as possible.
As her husband was not titled, and they had never participated in events the Ton frequented, their absence from London’s social scene had not caused any talk.
The tale of their murdered daughter was known, but after so many years, it was never spoken of in society.
The reason she had agreed to come to London was for David’s levée. He had graduated from Cambridge this past May. Barney had two more years to complete his studies at university.
On the final Friday in October, Wendell, Darcy, and Matlock had a meeting scheduled with Edward Gardiner at his house near Cheapside. When the latter met with members of high society, he did so in his office in the house rather than having them meet him in his warehouse.
As the three men were alighting from Matlock’s town coach, they noticed a young lady with a young boy either side of her, each one holding one of her hands, walking up the steps to Gardiner’s house.
They were followed by a nursemaid and a footman.
Wendell was the final one out of the conveyance.
Matlock and Darcy were speaking to one another and not looking at the house.
It was then Wendell noted the young lady removing her bonnet, and he could have sworn the colour of her hair was identical to his wife’s.
If he did not know better… He shook his head. Ellie had been in heaven for almost ten years, and the last thing he wanted to do was give Cilla any false hope.
The butler and a footman took the three men’s outerwear, and the former showed them into the office.
On his way, as he walked, Wendell looked about to see if he could glimpse the girl again so he would be able to convince himself his mind was merely playing tricks on him as they approached the tenth anniversary of Ellie being taken.
From the voices from the stairs, he could tell she had gone upstairs.
“Lizzy, will you tell us a story?” Wendell heard an immature boy’s voice request just before a door was closed, and he did not hear her reply.
Her name was Lizzy, not Ellie. Of course it was not Ellie; how could it be? She was long dead.
Gardiner invited his investors to be seated. He offered them drinks; all three chose coffee. He rang for his housekeeper and conveyed the order to bring coffee and refreshments .
“On our arrival, I saw your sons, and a young lady with them,” Wendell stated. He could not help himself.
“That is our niece, one of the Miss Bennets,” Gardiner replied as the refreshments arrived.
He had no reason to mention that Lizzy was a foundling, as the men had never asked about her in that way.
Some years ago there had been talk that Wendell’s daughter had been murdered.
Gardiner discounted that as baseless gossip.
If it were true, why would his investor keep a very healthy sum of money, above thirty thousand pounds, in his daughter’s dowry account?
Once the coffee was had, the men got down to discussing their business.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Time passed as it was wont to do, and on the twentieth day of February 1809, the Bennets and their extended family celebrated Lizzy’s eighteenth birthday and her coming out in society.
Even though their parents could have afforded a London season for them, first Jane in 1806, and now Lizzy in 1809, both chose to forgo a coming out in Town.
Rather, instead they decided to celebrate in Meryton among their family and friends, who were genuine people, unlike most members of the upper ten thousand.
Like Jane, Elizabeth had not found any man who interested her beyond friendship.
Thankfully with the fifteen thousand pounds each Bennet daughter had for a dowry—Bennet had done very well investing with Gardiner—there was no great pressure for them to marry.
Both older Bennet girls decided that only true love and respect, like they saw at home on a daily basis, would induce them to accept a proposal of marriage.
In order to protect the girls, it was made known they would only have their share of their mother’s dowry, and that was when she was called home to God. Hence, as far as most knew, the Bennet girls would eventually have two thousand five hundred pounds, unless another daughter was born.
The night Jane and Lizzy prepared for the latter’s first assembly, Mary, ten, and Lydia, six, sat on the bed watching their older sisters dress.
Even had they been allowed to enter, James, thirteen—a year away from beginning at Eton—and Henry would have run screaming from the room.
Like their father, talk of clothing, lace, and other womanly interests were not topics they enjoyed.
One thing all of the Bennet siblings had in common was their love of riding horses.
At fifteen, Jane had been presented with a mare, and the same for Lizzy three years past. Lizzy’s pony had been given to Mary.
James was riding a cob, and a year past, Lydia and Henry had begun to learn on Shetland ponies.
With the acreage added to Longbourn and the acquisition of Netherfield Park, the Bennets had much land over which to ride without leaving their father’s property.
The former owner of Netherfield Park, Sir Kenneth Morris, had lost his wife and son to smallpox some five years past. They had been away visiting his late wife’s sister when the disease had struck.
He decided that he did not want the estate, which reminded him of them, or, for that matter, to remain in the country where they had lived.
As he and Bennet were the closest of friends, Sir Kenneth had offered Bennet his estate at a fraction of the actual value.
With the sale of it and his house in London, the Baronet had departed England for Upper Canada.
Outside of the Bennets, only Hattie and Frank Phillips—the latter acted as Bennet’s agent—and the Gardiners were aware of who owned Netherfield Park.
Until Henry was old enough to take ownership of it—when he turned five and twenty—their second estate would be leased out to bring in additional income.
With Gardiner’s assistance, Phillips was very diligent in investigating any potential lessee.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~ ~
The fifth day of March 1809 was harder for Cilla to bear than most of Ellie’s previous birthdays.
Her girl was eighteen. She should have been coming out into society.
But no, some dastard had stolen her Ellie away, and although Cilla was no less certain her girl was alive, it did not reduce the melancholy of not being able to celebrate Ellie’s birthday with her.
Cilla’s days were no longer filled with mothering her sons.
David was seven and twenty, and Barney was three and twenty.
Both of her boys would have estates. David would of course inherit Willowmere one day, and Barney was his Uncle Stephen’s heir for Glenmeade in Staffordshire.
He had been chosen, as thanks to his Aunt Catherine, Richard had an estate of his own.
Her sister-in-law, Adele, had not conceived for almost ten years.
When she finally did conceive, trying to deliver the babe, a girl who was stillborn, had ended her life.
Stephen had said that he could never love another and had made his younger nephew his heir.
Just like David worked with Joseph much of the time, Barney was at Glenmeade for a good portion of the year learning to manage the estate, thanks to lessons with his Uncle Stephen.
There had been more sorrow in the family circle.
It was always known that Robert Darcy’s heart had been shattered when his Anne was called home.
He had kept his promise to her and remained strong until William had graduated and had been trained to take over Pemberley and all of the Darcy holdings.
Two years past, when William was three and twenty, Robert had gone to sleep one night and never woke again.
William and Richard had been designated Giana’s guardians in the late Robert’s last will and testament.
She had been ten at the time. Rather than be carefree and allowed to enjoy sowing his wild oats like many of his class, since graduating, William had had much responsibility heaped on his broad shoulders.
He had become a very serious, taciturn, and at times, aloof man.
William’s co-guardian and Cilla’s younger nephew, Richard, was the owner of Rosings Park.
After first Lewis and then her Anne passed away, Lady Catherine had visited the estate as little as she was able to, just enough to keep it running until Richard graduated in 1804, a few months after reaching his majority.
Keeping to her decision she had taken a few years past, she signed it all over to Richard, and lived between Snowhaven and Pemberley.
Once Robert was taken, she was with the Darcys most of the time to help with Giana’s raising.
Other than his four male cousins, William had very few friends.
One was an unlikely one, given William’s thoughts on the mixing of the classes.
He had met the affable son of a wealthy tradesman at Cambridge, and the young man, almost two years William’s junior, Charles Bingley, became one of his closest friends.
The Bingley fellow had two unfortunate sisters, Mrs Louisa Hurst, older than him, and Miss Caroline Bingley, younger.
Most in the family, especially Lord and Lady Matlock and Lord Hilldale, refused to know the sisters, regardless of their attempts to ingratiate themselves to members of the family.
The youngest Bingley was an inveterate social climber and fortune hunter.
It was an open secret she had set her cap at William Darcy, an endeavour which was doomed to failure, something anyone of sense could see. However, Miss Bingley refused to acknowledge the truth.