Page 31 of A Life Diverted

L ife in the militia was not as comfortable for George Wickham as he had thought it would be a few weeks earlier.

His game of robbing Peter to pay Paul was at an end because no one would lend him money any longer.

He had not considered that the men would speak among themselves or that they would realise what he was doing.

That led to the men to whom he owed debts of honour, as well as those from whom he had borrowed and only partially paid back, demanding what was owed them.

For now, he was keeping the wolves at bay by claiming that even though his former patron’s son had withheld the rightful bequest from him, the courts had finally forced Darcy to pay him what he was owed, and that money would be received soon after Twelfth Night.

Thankfully, word of his lack of funds had not made its way to the merchants of Dadlington.

Hence, he was still able to put them off with his claims of having the money soon.

Of the three girls who had surrendered their virtue to him, only one was very insistent he marry her as promised.

She pointed out that she had two, rather large, older brothers.

Wickham used the same tale he had with his fellow officers and told her that as soon as his inheritance was secured, he would marry her.

He had convinced her the militia would not depart before Christmastide, and his money would arrive before then.

For now Miss Jenny Biggs, recently having turned fifteen, accepted his word. She promised Wickham if they were not married before Christmastide, she would send John and Brian, her brothers, to come see him.

Wickham had seen the men. They made Darcy’s footman, Thompson—of whom he was rather afraid—look small. He was very grateful they would depart by the end of October. He had heard from Denny that there would be men needed to be part of the advance party; he intended to volunteer for that duty.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Until she heard a gasp, Cilla had not wanted to release Ellie. She had imagined that if she opened her arms, her daughter would vanish like a wisp of smoke on the wind. That feeling notwithstanding, Cilla opened her arms and allowed Ellie to step back as they both dried their eyes.

That gasp had been emitted by Cilla’s sister.

For Elaine Fitzwilliam, until the instant she saw her goddaughter, she had been worried for Cilla that this was not real.

However, there she was in the flesh in Cilla’s arms, decidedly looking like a younger version of her sister and herself.

Lady Matlock had been determined to remain strong for her younger sister, but as soon as she saw mother and daughter together, the tears began to fall, tears of pure, unadulterated joy.

Cilla was truly alive again. For that, she thanked God that He had allowed this reunion.

Emily and Andrew Fitzwilliam stopped next to the older Fitzwilliams. Andrew would have come on his own to see Ellie for himself, but thankfully by this morning Emily was feeling like she was well on the road to recovery.

Knowing how her husband felt about his cousin’s kidnapping and her assumed murder, Emily knew Andrew had felt tremendous guilt.

Regardless of who told him the feelings were misplaced; it is what he had believed until the note telling of a miracle of epic proportions had arrived.

He had been somewhat sceptical, as he and Emily had not attended the dinner, but the note from both Richard and William to his parents alleviated his few lingering doubts.

Now, seeing one who could only be Ellie, made him feel the guilt he had clung to lift from his shoulders.

“We should repair inside, and greetings and introductions can be exchanged,” Fanny suggested just as Janie reached Lizzy. Fanny was pleased that Edward and Maddie were present. She knew that Frank and Hattie would arrive soon.

“I am so very happy you are home, Janie,” Elizabeth said as she clutched one of Jane’s hands. “Everything will be easier with your calming presence near me. I still cannot believe that your suitor is my brother.”

“Come, Lizzy, let us do as Mama asked and enter the house. I promise you we will speak about everything,” Jane assured her younger sister.

Beth Bennet had waited in the drawing room. The days of her standing for a protracted time were over. She watched as the people she had not met filed into the room. There was no option but to smile when Janey and Lizzy entered hand in hand.

“Jane, will you introduce us to your family?” Matlock, as the highest-ranking person, requested. He was careful not to speak of Ellie as part of his own family yet. The time for that would come.

She named all of those who had arrived at Longbourn, beginning with the Earl and Countess, then the Viscount and Viscountess—who Jane had met that morning—then she made known Lizzy’s birth parents.

Lastly, with a smile which stretched from ear-to-ear, Jane named David.

Next, she introduced her parents and Grandmama Beth.

“Lastly, even though I am sure you all know who she is, this is Lizzy, who you know as Ellie.”

Next, Jane was introduced to Lady Catherine, Richard Fitzwilliam, and William and Giana Darcy.

Just then the Phillipses arrived, and they too were introduced to everyone.

Even though he still felt guilt for giving up the search for Ellie after more than six months without a trace, Wendell was filled with joy.

It was not only that he was looking right at his daughter, which was a miracle in and of itself, but it was the change in Cilla since last night.

She was back to her old glowing, happy self.

He could see the renewed joie de vivre in everything she did.

After Ellie was kidnapped, she had basically existed; merely survived.

Yes, she had been the mother David and Barney had needed, but the special spark, which he now could see in her eyes again, had been extinguished.

He had his Cilla back—the one she had been before it became clear Ellie was lost to them.

Wendell had not approached his daughter, trying as hard as he could not to overwhelm her. When he had seen Ellie in Cilla’s arms, he had had to use every ounce of self-control not to wrap his arms around his girls.

“If your Lordships and the Mr Wendells will join me in the study, I think we need to speak. Gardiner, Phillips, Richard, and Darcy know the way already,” Bennet invited. “Please address me as Bennet.”

“I am Matlock; my older son is Hilldale or Andrew, my brother-in-law may be addressed as Wendell and my nephew is David,” Matlock responded. “Lead on, Bennet. We will follow you.”

With the men in the study, the drawing room was far less crowded.

Elizabeth sat on the sofa between Grandmama and Janie.

Giana sat on Jane’s other side while the viscountess sat on Grandmama’s other side.

Mama, her mother, and her aunt, the Countess, were on a settee while Aunts Catherine, Hattie, and Maddie selected comfortable armchairs.

“Mrs Bennet, if I live five lifetimes, I will not be able to repay you and your family for taking Ellie in and raising her as a loved member of your family,” Cilla stated gratefully.

“I give praise to on High that my, our…” Cilla looked at her sister, “steadfastness in our belief Ellie was alive and safe somewhere never wavered. To see her looking so well and happy is a testament to the depth of your family’s love which was freely bestowed on her. ”

“Firstly, I am Fanny. Secondly, loving Lizzy, or as you know her, Ellie, was the easiest thing in the world to do. We could do no less. As much as we loved having her here as part of the family, we always knew that one day her birth family may come.” She paused.

“In fact, as much as I was growing to love Lizzy, my prayer was that her family would discover her because I could not imagine what it would have been like had I been the mother searching for her child. As the years passed, I, we, began to believe that her birth family would not discover her, but as we all know, He had other plans.”

“Fanny, would you and your sisters please call me Cilla? My sister is Elaine, and Elaine’s daughter-in-law is Emily.

While we wait for the men, is there a good inn in Meryton?

I am certain that Joseph will ask your husband, but I would rather be sure.

We intend to remain for as long as we need to until everything is decided.

I could never leave Ellie so soon again after not seeing her for more than seventeen years. ”

“The Red Lion Inn is of fine quality, but there is no need to use it,” Fanny responded. “We have some guest chambers at Longbourn, but there is a whole manor house just three miles away at Netherfield Park.”

“Do you mean the estate Mr Bingley is leasing?” Cilla enquired.

“ Was leasing. They were evicted this morning…” Lady Catherine told a shortened version of the bad decisions the Bingley siblings made.

“So at this moment, it is Richard, William, Giana, and me. There are many suites available, so Fanny has the right of it. If they allow it, there is more than enough space for all of you. ”

“I would not be surprised if Thomas is telling your husbands the same as we speak,” Fanny opined.