Page 83 of A Life Diverted
“Do you know that when I used to live with my mother she would not allow me to learn to ride, or learn anything else for that matter,” Anne told her friends.
“Was your mother really that bad, Anne?” Charlotte asked.
“Worse!” Anne stated emphatically. “Until Uncle Reggie and Aunt Elaine took me into their household, I was not living, only existing.”
“If it were not too unladylike, I would kick her shins like…” Elizabeth went quiet with embarrassment as she recalled her actions from five years in the past.
“Like when you kicked William?” Anne smiled.
Elizabeth nodded. “That and lessons in humility from Uncle and Aunt Darcy changed William much for the better. He was on his way to becoming more like my mother than his. Even so, I would not recommend walking around kicking everyone who offends you, but that day it was well deserved and delivered. You also had the excuse you were but five at the time.”
The group of girls giggled and talked among themselves while the three boys climbed into the branches of the oak tree.
Biggs and Johns were the only men from the group of escorts who walked up with the family, and they stood beneath the tree, ready in case one of the boys missed his footing and fell.
“It is a nice view, Bennet,” Lord Matlock allowed, “but I prefer the wilds of Derbyshire with the Peaks in the background.”
“It is not surprising that either you or Darcy over there,” Bennet inclined his head to where Robert Darcy was standing, “would favour Derbyshire over all other shires.”
“If it were only our home county,” Darcy stated, “that would be one thing, but even you must admit, Bennet, that there are few views that match the one from the lookout towards the Peaks at the end of the bridle path at Pemberley.”
“You are not incorrect,” Bennet conceded. “There are few vistas I have seen on this island of ours that rival that one.”
“You can see the Peaks from Snowhaven as well,” Lord Matlock defended.
“As you can from Holder Heights,” Holder added. “However, I will not deny you do not see a view of the Peaks as spectacular as the one from Pemberley from my estate—or yours for that matter, Matlock.” Lord Matlock admitted the truth of Holder’s statement.
Once the debate about views in their home shires was completed, and the monkeys had descended from the tree, the party made their way back down the hill to where the horses were being minded by their escorts. Mindful of their mounts, there was no galloping on the return ride to Netherfield Park.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lady Catherine de Bourgh felt the diminution of her power most keenly.
The servants were no longer afraid of her, and if she was rude to them they simply ignored her.
In her mind, she had excoriated her brother for imposing these limits on her, and on her late husband for not changing his will as she had demanded many times over.
She heard little snippets about how her family, both the Fitzwilliams and Darcys, had become a close connection of Prince Frederick.
Lady Catherine could only imagine how her status would have been enhanced had she been allowed into the royal’s company, but she had not seen any of her family since the infamous day Reggie had removed Anne from her authority.
Her brother had even removed her right to appoint a new clergyman to the living at Hunsford if it became vacant.
The incumbent had always bent to her will, until the great day of change had occurred.
She used to go so far as to write the man’s sermons for him and had them often include a lesson about the importance of maintaining the distinction of rank.
Much to her annoyance, the Earl of Matlock had made sure the man understood Lady Catherine had no authority over him, and if he should ever allow her to write another sermon or shared with her what was told to him in confidence by his parishioners, the Earl would report him to the Bishop of Kent and have him defrocked.
The man used to bow and scrape before her, but this too was a thing five years past. She once attempted to deliver a sermon to the man, and then attempted to provide, in her opinion, necessary added instruction on the running of his household, but that, like so many other things since that fateful day, had not gone as she expected.
The sermon she wrote was consigned to the fire without a glance, and the parson—her parson—had told her in no uncertain terms that she was not welcome in his house to direct the way it was run.
When she tried to ask if the parishioners had told him anything of import, he told her that he would never discuss anything with her regarding his flock unless they specifically requested him to do so.
Her world truly had come crashing in on her.
How could she, the exalted Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the daughter of an Earl , be treated thusly?
She decided soon after that she would gain her revenge for the degradation she was suffering.
She did not yet know how or when, but she swore that her day would come.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Friday after Elizabeth’s birthday the Prince, the Darcys—minus Gigi, the Fitzwilliams, Gardiners, and Carringtons all departed for Town. “Why do we never go to London, Mama?” Elizabeth asked as she walked back into the house with her mother after farewelling their extended family.
“You know your father detests London, do you not, Lizzy?” Fanny reminded her daughter.
In eight years, Elizabeth would be told why they could not go to London, but not now.
Although it was not the whole truth, what Fanny told her—Priscilla’s—daughter was at least half of the truth and not an outright lie.
The night before, the adults all met in the Bennet parents’ private sitting room. Fanny could still hear the conversation in her head verbatim.
“We thought at some point, even at the end of the season, that taking Lizzy to Town would be safe,” Fanny had said, “it seems there is disagreement among you?”
“As much as I would like to have Lizzy and all of you visit me at York house, she looks too much like my Cilla to take the chance. I move in the same circles as the Jerseys, as do the Matlocks, Holders, and the Darcys.” The Prince said thoughtfully.
“The Prince has the right of it, Fanny and Bennet,” Robert Darcy stated. “There are too many in society who will recognise Priscilla in Lizzy, especially now. It will only become all the more obvious as she gets older.”
“When we are all together at one of our estates, we are able to control who visits and who does not,” Lady Anne agreed.
“How would we explain to Lizzy, if she did go to London, that she would not be allowed to venture out in society? She, Jane, and Mary would see through the ruse and know there was something else at play. We may be able to fool your younger three, but certainly not the older sisters.”
“It seems that my aversion to London will have to persist. What of when Jane comes out in five years? How will we tell Lizzy she is not allowed to attend Jane in London for her festivities around her come out?” Bennet asked.
“Jane does not have to be in London for anything but her curtsy to the Queen,” Lady Edith suggested.
“Using your dislike of Town, we can have her ball at one of the country estates, say Holder Heights, as we are her godparents. Just like we do now, we can make sure that we only invite those who would not have known Priscilla.”
“Not to mention as Lizzy will not be out yet; she will have minimal contact with those attending,” Fanny stated.
“If Jane asks why she is not to have a London season, we will have to tell her," Fanny Bennet pointed out.
“At eighteen, or there abouts, I have no fear she will not understand. It will be a surprise, but I am sure she will love Lizzy as she always has once she learns the truth,” Fanny opined. “At least we have five years before we have to confront that particular issue.”
The meeting ended soon after with the consensus of their plan.
Having heard her father pontificate on his dislike for London and the Ton many times, Elizabeth accepted what her mother told her. She would go to London at some point, of that she was certain.