Page 3 of Aunt Felicity

I n order to maintain the charade for her father, on returning from the assembly Felicity marched into the study.

“Father, how could you? I danced but four dances tonight because of what you did,” Felicity insisted.

“It is my right as your father to deny permission to anyone I choose, to dance with you,” Bennet barked back. “I am sure my clever daughter thought she would be able to thwart my will, but as I demonstrated tonight, I will always anticipate every attempt of yours to deny what I have determined will be. I forbid you from speaking to any of those men again, or any man I have not approved of for that matter.”

To allow her father to believe he had won, Felicity began to cry. “Yes Father, I will obey,” she managed before fleeing the study making for her bedchamber.

As soon as Beth heard the bang of her daughter’s chamber door being closed forcefully, she turned to her husband. “Henry, how can you be so cruel to our daughter? To rob her of the ability to dance at the last assembly she will attend as a maiden was just plain vicious. You are not the man I fell in love with and married.” Beth did not wait for her husband to react. She turned on her heel and made her way up to Felicity’s chambers to console her daughter.

Bennet admitted that he may have gone a little too far in what he had done before the ball. That feeling passed as quickly as it had formed. “I am ensuring the future of my estate,” he told the thick oak door before he returned to tally the numbers in his ledger. As was his wont, he ignored the voice telling him he was wrong.

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

Lord Dryden Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Matlock was sharing a drink with Lord Archibald Winston, the powerful and very wealthy Duke of Hertfordshire. The two were seated in a private room at White’s.

“Well Matlock, has your son signed the settlements?” Lord Hertfordshire asked as he exhaled a blue-grey cloud of cigar smoke.

“They will be signed by the time he is returned from Hertfordshire in the middle of next week,” Lord Matlock replied confidently. “My younger son is, unfortunately, a very careful man. If only he was more like his older brother. Jefferson would have signed without delay as soon as I ordered it.”

“Notwithstanding her initial resistance to marrying a man who has no title, my daughter is looking forward to her wedding with your son.” Lord Hertfordshire paused. “He will not jilt her, will he?”

“My son will do his duty to our family, or he will be cast out.” Lord Matlock did not mention that he would not disown the boy until his daughter-in-law delivered a healthy heir. Once the line of succession of the Matlock Earldom was secure, he cared not. “He cannot afford to lose my patronage.”

“See that he does. If he breaks my Elaine’s heart, all association between us will be at an end. Matlock, you do not want me as your enemy, and I hold you personally responsible for my daughter’s happiness,” Lord Hertfordshire warned.

“If you are in agreement, why do we not advance the day of the wedding. I will apply for a special licence, and they can marry the day my son returns,” Lord Matlock suggested to placate the Duke. When the latter nodded his agreement, the two men shook hands to seal their understanding.

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

Starting the day after the assembly, Felicity began to secret some of her clothing and other possessions in the hole in the tree near Oakham Mount. She knew that the majority of her possessions would be lost to her, but when measured against the fate which her father was determined to condemn her to, she would gladly give up every last piece of her worldly goods in order to thwart her father’s designs.

As was the way of things when one wanted time to pass swiftly, each day seemed to creep past with inexorable slowness, but pass the days did. Finally it was the Monday after the assembly. While it was less than a sennight, to Felicity it felt like a year had ground past. As she prepared for her morning walk, she realised she had not arranged with her fiancé for some sort of way he would let her know all was set for their flight north on the morrow.

Just like they had discussed and agreed upon, on the two occasions Felicity had been into Meryton since the assembly, she had not sought out Mr Fitzwilliam’s, Reggie’s, company. It was only on the second occasion, this Saturday past, she had seen him. He had been with Messrs Gardiner and Phillips. She had greeted the men she had known for many years as warmly as she had always in the past. She had curtsied to her saviour, and he had given her a bow just as persons who hardly knew one another would be expected to do. She had continued on into the milliner’s shop without a backward glance.

By virtue of the fact that her father had not restricted her to her chamber, it was obvious he suspected nothing. Thomas did not have an inkling either. He had not noticed anything untoward at the assembly. Since then, thanks to his wont to bury his head in a book, he had seen no clues of what was to come.

Her one regret was how sad Mama would be. However, so that she would be protected from her father’s eventual wrath, Felicity had not even hinted she had a way to avoid marrying the odious cousin.

To maintain the illusion, she had attempted to reason with her sire once again on Friday past. He had of course refused to listen to any more protests and forbidden her from coming to his study, which suited her very well. For the crime of advocating for herself, he had told her he would tell Clem Collins to withhold her first quarter’s allowance as prescribed in the settlement.

Thanks to her father’s edict, Felicity would not have to perform that particular pantomime again before she escaped.

She made her way down the back stairs and into the kitchens. Long before she entered her domain, she had been able to smell the baked goods Cook had produced. There were loaves of crusty bread, rolls, and some pastries cooling on various trays.

Cook smiled when she saw Miss Felicity and handed her a cloth in which she had wrapped a roll and fruit pastry she knew the young miss loved.

“Thank you, Mrs Henson,” Felicity sang. “You always know how to spoil me.”

“Away with ya,” Cook smiled as she patted the young miss on her back with one of her flour covered hands.

Placing the filled cloth into one of her walking dress’s large pockets, Felicity exited the house via the kitchen door and began walking through the kitchen garden to the gate in the low stone wall at its end. She opened the gate, and once she was through, she made sure to close it securely.

The freedom she always felt as she walked out washed over her as she headed towards Oakham Mount as the day began to lighten around her. She was confident she would arrive on the summit of the hill before the sun peeked over the horizon.

She would miss Longbourn, the ability to walk its paths, and her solitary time on Oakham Mount, and most especially her mother. It was her father’s intransigence which had forced her to think of the drastic step she was about to take. Felicity was fully cognisant that once word of her elopement was spread in the neighbourhood, there would be talk and even some scandal. She was firm in the path she was taking, as she had not been left with any other choice.

Before she took the path to the top of the hill, Felicity added a few small items to her treasures which would be with her when she left home on the morrow, or at least she hoped it would be then.

She walked up the winding path to the summit—it wound its way around the hill, so it was not a steep ascent. As soon as she arrived on the flattened top, her heart began to race. There, leaning against one of the three oaks, his beaver in his hand, was the man she was sure she was coming to love.

Reggie had been hoping his betrothed would arrive this morning. One of the things she had shared with him when they spoke at the assembly was her love for the vista from this hill, especially at sunrise. He heard the crunch of a step behind him and whirled around to see Felicity Bennet looking as beautiful as ever while being highlighted by the sun’s first rays as it began to break above the horizon.

They moved towards one another and met in the middle. “You have not changed your mind?” Felicity verified as he took each of her hands into one of his own.

“No, I most definitely have not. Have you?”

Felicity shook her head emphatically. “There is nothing I want more than to be married to you. I was wondering how we would confirm our plans, and now I have my answer. Are you close to completing your work?”

“I am. I have to go over my work today to make sure I missed nothing, and then I will be able to depart with a clear conscience on the morrow. Our plans are even more fortuitous in light of the letter which arrived from my father on Friday.” Reggie saw her questioning look. He extracted a page from his jacket pocket and offered it to Felicity.

She led him to her favourite rock and sat down next to him, leaning against his side for support. They shared her still warm baked goods first. Once they had finished the items, and Felicity had returned the cloth to her pocket, she smoothed out the letter and began to read.

4 July 1777

Matlock House

Reginald,

The Duke of Hertfordshire and I agree there is nothing to be gained by your waiting to wed your betrothed at the end of this month.

You have had time to review the settlements, and I demand that you sign them before you return. To that end, the very day you return from the backwater you are in, you will marry Lady Elaine Winston at St George’s.

All is planned. You will do your duty to your family, and I will not be gainsaid in this. Your future is set, Norman and James have been informed you will not be returning to their practice. Your father-in-law will gift you Castlemere in Derbyshire, a house in London, and a healthy allowance, so you need not ever work again.

Do not fail me. You would not like the consequences if you do.

Father

Felicity looked up from the page and into Reggie’s wonderful piercing blue eyes which were watching her intently. “And you are willing to give all of this up for the daughter of an insignificant country squire?”

“Yes, and I would give up more.” Felicity felt warm all over when he growled the last. “I have never cared for the intrigues of the Ton , and all of the wealth in the world means nothing if I do not marry who I choose to marry. You, Felicity Rose Bennet, are my choice as I hope I am yours.

“You are my choice, Reggie, you are very much my choice,” Felicity insisted.

She closed her eyes when she saw his face getting closer to hers. Soon she was gratified when she felt his lips on her own. The touch of their lips caused a frisson of pleasure to spread out from her lips and infuse the whole of her being.

The kisses became deeper and more ardent. Realising how easy it would be to cross a line which could never be uncrossed, Reggie drew his head back. She still had her eyes closed, a look of pleasure on her face. He so much wanted to capture her lips again, but he knew he needed to be strong. Now they needed to speak and he would never dishonour her anywhere, never mind here in this public place.

“You said you will leave a note for your mother, did you not?” Reggie asked as he fought to regulate his breathing and the pitch of his voice.

“Yes, I will write it in the morning just before I leave the house and leave it on my dresser. Will you notify your father?”

“I have a letter prepared which I will leave at the Red Lion Inn with the landlord with a request to post it by regular post on the second day after I leave his establishment. He will be well compensated for his trouble and cooperation. I know where we will meet as I walked that way this morning at first light. I noticed it was right where the path to this hill meets the road which leads back into the town.”

“I will be waiting for you as dawn breaks on the morrow.” Felicity paused and looked deeply into his deep blue orbs with her own large, emerald-green eyes. “You know you are saving my life, do you not? Had I been forced to marry that brutish bully, my life as I know it would have been over. I would have been better off dead.” She dropped her head.

Reggie lifted her head with two fingers placed gently below her chin. “No more maudlin thoughts. Never forget that you are saving me as much as you say I am you. Yes, as a man I have more options, but I would have had to face immense pressure from not only my family, but from the Duke of Hertfordshire as well. Only Annie would have been on my side.”

“Annie?”

“Did I not tell you about my siblings?” Felicity shook her head. Reggie proceeded to tell her about his three siblings, especially his baby sister to whom he was so close. “At least once she marries Darcy, she will not have to obey my father and have no contact with us.”

“I think I would like very much to meet Lady Anne,” Felicity stated.

“And she would love you. What of you, Felicity, are you ready to be estranged from your family? The father you have described to me, will not allow any contact with you.”

“As long as we are together I will have all the family I need. Of course I will miss Mama terribly, but she is trapped with her husband. I have done all I can to make sure she knows nothing of our plans. Because of that, she will be able to tell my father the truth when he inevitably interrogates her.”

“I must return, I cannot be seen to have changed my habits of arriving at Mr Gardiner’s offices later than normal, and I must be seen breaking my fast as I have each day since I have been here. You have a valise or two stored close by, do you not?”

Felicity nodded.

“Then I will take them with me and make sure all you have to worry about on the morrow is yourself.”

So agreed, the two made their way down the hill after first making sure there were no prying eyes. Reggie gave his fiancée a quick, chaste kiss goodbye after they had retrieved one large and one small valise from the hiding place in the tree.

Felicity stood and watched as he disappeared down the same path toward Meryton that she would walk in the morning on the morrow. Once she could no longer see him, she began the walk back to the manor house. She felt lighter in spirits than she had since the threat of her marriage to the dunderheaded cousin was hung over her head. She schooled her features before she arrived back at the house. The last thing she wanted to do was to arouse suspicions at this late date.

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

Beth Bennet could see a lightness of spirit in her daughter that only a mother who loved her daughter would be able to notice, even though Felicity outwardly looked like she always did. She was glowing with happiness, something Beth had not seen since the day her husband had stubbornly engaged her daughter to the last man in the world who deserved her.

Based on the parts of the conversation between Felicity and Mr Fitzwilliam she had observed at the assembly, she had a sneaking suspicion that the two had planned something.

She would not ask Felicity to confirm or deny her thoughts for more than one reason. Beth did not want to force her daughter to have to lie to her. More importantly, a conjecture was not fact, so if something occurred and Felicity escaped, she would be able to say with all honesty she had no information regarding what her daughter planned to do.

On the one hand, she would celebrate Felicity finding happiness and a way to escape the fate her father had determined for her. It would mean, however, that more than likely she would never see her daughter again in her lifetime.

It was a heavy price, but one Beth was willing to bear so that her daughter would have a life she chose for herself and not one foisted on her by an unreasonable and stubborn man. The rest of the day, Beth looked for clues which would tell her how much time she had left in her girl’s company.

The way Felicity wished her goodnight and the long hug she gave told Beth all she needed to know. She maintained her equanimity and left her daughter’s chamber with her features schooled.

As soon as the door to her suite was closed, Beth sank down onto her bed and cried into her pillow so no one would hear her sobs. They were happy tears mixed with sadness. Once she had stopped her tears, Beth prayed to Him to protect and watch over her girl. She further asked that her daughter be granted the life she deserved.

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

In her chamber, Felicity got little sleep. She was far too excited to begin her life as Reggie’s wife. By the light of a candle she wrote her letter to Mama. When it was complete, she rested it against the mirror on the dresser. She placed it between the glass and the now empty box which used to hold her ribbons, pins, and combs.

The darkness of the night had barely begun to lighten when, for the last time, she slipped out of Longbourn’s manor house.