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Page 31 of Aunt Felicity

C harlotte Lucas could not believe that Mr Fitzwilliam, Richard, had requested a courtship from her. She, who had pontificated to Jane and Eliza more than once about not being a romantic, found that she was falling in love with Richard.

Hence, she had accepted the courtship without delay. Although Richard did not need her father’s permission, he had applied to Sir William for his blessing, which had been given with alacrity. Charlotte was not sure what pleased her parents more, that she finally had a suitor or that when they married the Lucases would have a close connection to the Matlock Earldom. She suspected that, as happy as her parents were with her being on her way to being married, the new connections were more important to them.

Given her age of seven and twenty and fast approaching being on the shelf, she had resolved to accept any man who offered for her as long as he was respectable, not vicious, and could provide a home over which she would preside. She shuddered when she thought she would have blindly accepted one like Mr Collins, who, according to her friends, was a dullard.

After she agreed to the courtship, Richard had shared that he was the owner of Netherfield Park, a house in London, and if that were not all enough, he was the heir presumptive to Longbourn. She had known the latter but not the former two. The truth was that even had he still been in the army and not a landowner and had no prospect of being a man of property, she would have still accepted his offer.

One of Charlotte’s greatest fears was that she was already a burden to her father, and when he went to his final reward, Franklin would bear the costs associated with her living at Lucas Lodge, not to mention that she would have occupied a chamber in a home that did not boast many.

If—she hoped when—Richard proposed to her, she would never be a burden to her family ever again. As a bonus, she would become a first cousin, by marriage, to the Bennet sisters.

That evening they had been invited to Longbourn for a celebratory meal in honour of their courtship. Charlotte wondered how Mrs Bennet would relate to her. She was sure that lady had expected her nephew to marry one of her own daughters, not the Spinster Lucas—as Mrs Bennet had been heard to say on numerous occasions.

Charlotte was aware that her mother could not wait to flout her daughter’s good fortune in front of Fanny Bennet, who had never missed an opportunity to point out how sad it was that plain Charlotte would never receive an offer. All Charlotte hoped was that her mother and Mrs Bennet behaved with decorum that night.

She would see Richard in a few hours. He was busy with his family and the Bennets sorting out a family issue.

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

Since William Collins arrived at Longbourn, he had felt much put upon. He was certain that when Lady Catherine heard about the disrespectful way her clergyman had been treated, she would have much to say on the subject. It was surprising that she had not replied to either of the letters he had posted to her. He had been hoping, even expecting his patroness to descend on Meryton with the wrath of an avenging goddess. That it had not occurred, on top of no replies to his missives, was rather disappointing.

The butler ushered him into the drawing room, where most of those who had been present the last time he had been in this room were seated. He noticed the younger ladies were absent. There was a lady who he did not recognise right away, but he dismissed her as unimportant.

“We have just returned from Kent,” Reggie drawled. “There have been many changes since you were last in the area.”

“I am sure Lady Catherine issued set-downs for the way I have been treated. and the disrespectful way you spoke of her. I told her all in the letters I posted to her,” Collins crowed as he puffed up his corpulent chest with pride.

“You mean these two letters?” Richard held up the missives the footmen had intercepted thanks to the arrangement they had with the innkeeper.

“How dare you…” Collins began to bluster before he remembered what Mr Fitzwilliam and the younger Mr Darcy had threatened the last time he was in the house. “Ehrm, I mean, why would you take my letters?”

“For reasons which shall soon become clear,” Darcy articulated. “Firstly, how is it you have not greeted my niece, who you called ‘ the Rose of Kent ’ when you repeated Lady de Bourgh’s lie about my son being engaged to her daughter?”

Collins looked horrified. The truth was that he had hardly ever seen Miss de Bourgh, and when he did, she never spoke and was always wrapped in blankets by her companion. “I-I am s-so s-sorry that I did not recognise my patroness’s noble daughter.” Collins bowed low towards Miss de Bourgh.

“My mother is no longer your patroness,” Anne told. “Did my uncles not inform you that since my birthday at the end of August that the estate has been mine? I think they mentioned that even before that date, my mother was not permitted to prefer anyone to the advowson in Rosings Park’s gift.”

“But surely you have not removed one as wise as Lady Catherine from her role as mistress of the estate?” a horrified Collins asked.

“Not only is Lady de Bourgh no longer the mistress of the estate, but she is on her way to an asylum for the mentally insane,” Felicity revealed. “She attempted to hurt someone and, if she were tried could have been hung!” Collins gasped. “If I were you, I would be more concerned with my own future than Catherine’s. We met with the Bishop of Kent while we were in the area.” Felicity allowed her words to hang in the air.

Collins lost all colour in his face. “B-b-but if I-I a-am s-s-stripped of t-the l-l-living, w-what am I t-t-to d-do?” Collins stammered when he found his voice.

“Mr Collins, with what was discovered of your blind obedience to my sister, your breaking the parishioners’ confidences, your allowing Catherine to script your sermons, and rather than serving the parish only serving my sister’s dictates, you could have been defrocked,” Reggie reported evenly. “In fact, that was the Bishop’s first inclination. Yes, you have been removed from the Hunsford living, but you will be trained and given a position as a missionary. Prove that you are able to put God’s work ahead of some self-important mortal’s, and possibly one day, you will be recommended for a living again. This way, at least you will still have a position in the church and not be left without a way to earn money, so you will not end up destitute. My advice to you is not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Remember, you could have been turned out of the church with no possibility of return.”

Collins cogitated on what he had been told for some moments, and those in the room allowed him to have his time without saying anything to him. For the first time since he had been appointed to the living, he thought about what he should do for himself, and not what his former patroness would have desired he do.

“I will accept whatever position the church recommends to me,” Collins announced. “I thank your Lordship and your Ladyship. I realise that without your intervention I would have been in dire straits indeed.”

“First you will go to Hunsford to supervise the packing of your personal property. Most will be stored for you for obvious reasons. Thereafter, you will be transported to Portsmouth, where you will undergo training before you are sent on a mission,” Reggie stated, “Your future is in your own hands now.”

He was returned to the inn. Once Collins was packed, he was collected by a rented carriage, which would transport him to Portsmouth. He finally accepted he had put his faith in a false god and that this was his last chance. He swore to make the most of the opportunity he had been gifted.

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

Jane and Bingley requested a moment of her parents’ attention. “Mama, Papa, Charles, and I have selected Friday, the twentieth day of December, for our wedding,” Jane related. “If not then, we would need to wait until after Twelfth Night, and neither of us desire to wait so long. It will be more than six weeks since the engagement, so no one will be able to accuse us of having a hurried, patched-up affair.”

“That is not…” Fanny stopped herself, remembering the look Felicity had shot her just after the engagement. “That will be enough time to organise the wedding you want.”

“If you agree, while Jane is being hosted with the Fitzwilliams, I would like to show her my house in London,” Bingley requested. “Also, I am happy to cover the costs over and above what you have budgeted for Jane’s trousseau. She will need more of everything because we will participate in the season most years.”

Bennet, who had just returned from his journey north to deliver Lydia to her school, understood Bingley was being gracious in not highlighting the fact that due to his and his wife’s intemperate spending habits, he had limited funds to pay for everything Jane would require. He did the only thing he could; he nodded his acceptance of the generous offer.

“Mama, I really appreciate your seeing to everything while we are in London with the Fitzwilliams.” Jane smiled.

“It is my pleasure to make sure you have the wedding you have always desired,” Fanny returned. The truth was she would have loved to have been invited to London to see Felicity and Reggie’s house on Grosvenor Square, but she had not been included. Even she knew it was not the done thing to invite herself. It was bad enough she had to host the Lucases for dinner where they would be crowing over Charlotte’s triumph at soon being the mistress of Netherfield Park, and one day when Mr Bennet went to his final reward, Charlotte Lucas would replace her at Longbourn.

With that decided, Jane and Bingley returned to the drawing room, where they announced the date of their wedding.

“Lizzy, you will stand up with me, will you not?” Jane requested.

“Of course I will. And one day if I marry, you will return the favour,” Elizabeth accepted.

“Not if, but when,” Jane insisted as she looked directly at Cousin William.

Elizabeth blushed deeply and playfully swiped at her sister’s arm with her hand, missing the target on purpose. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that what Jane alluded to was something which was becoming her own desire—a desire that was growing every day.

She had missed William while he had accompanied those who went to Kent and was beyond pleased when he returned with the rest of her relatives after they had sent the insane lady to her new home.

“Will you stand up with me?” Bingley asked his best friend.

“Of course I will,” William responded without delay.

“Jane is requesting that Lizzy be her maid of honour, so you two will be near the altar, one opposite the other.” Bingley had heard that his friend was calling on his fiancée’s sister, first from his angel, and next Darce had confirmed the veracity of the report. He smiled to himself when he thought that a dream his younger sister had of he and Darce becoming brothers by marriage would become a reality, only not quite the way she had envisaged it.

William’s eyes sought out the woman he loved, as they often did. Unlike in the past, where his looks were—he believed them to be—surreptitious, he cared not who noticed he admired Elizabeth. At the moment he looked at her, she turned her fine eyes on him. Neither looked away as their eyes were locked from across the room.

“My son is besotted,” Darcy said quietly to Felicity. “My Anne would have loved Lizzy as her daughter.”

“I cannot agree with you more,” Felicity replied. “I miss her as well, Robert. Let me ask you something: would you ever consider marrying again? You are not an old man, and I am sure you would enjoy the companionship.”

“No, it is not something I will do again. How do you marry another when your first wife was perfect?” Darcy replied. “I am content and never feel alone. Even when William and, eventually, Anna marry, I will always be near family. Do not forget that if Lizzy marries my son, she will be the mistress of Pemberley, so I will never be alone rattling around in the house. If Lizzy is like her mother, I foresee a fair number of grandchildren.”

“As long as you are happy, I promise you, Robert, I will never attempt to match make for you,” Felicity vowed.

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

The dinner with the Lucases was very enjoyable. Thankfully, the two friends and rivals regulated their behaviour due to the presence of an earl and countess. Hence, there was no boasting, attempts at getting the better of the other, or rubbing any perceived advantage in the other’s face.

After dinner, while they waited for the men to complete their libations, Jane, Elizabeth, and Charlotte were seated on a settee. “Miss ‘I am not a romantic’ is in love, unless I am seeing something which is not there,” Elizabeth teased.

“I admit, you have discovered the truth. I am in love with Richard. I could not imagine a better man for me than him,” Charlotte admitted dreamily.

“It seems that you will not need to enter the marriage mart in London after all,” Jane observed. “It shows our cousin’s discernment that he was able to see that you are a diamond of the first waters.”

“Janey has the right of it. How many times did we not say you only needed to meet a man who saw your worth?” Elizabeth agreed.

“And you, Eliza? It seems you do not find the younger Mr Darcy insufferable any longer, do you? I have seen the way he looks at you, and of late, you return his looks in full measure,” Charlotte noted.

“I will not deny the truth of your words. Ever since he apologised fully and sincerely, I have begun to see his worth. The more time I am with him, the more I want to spend in his company,” Elizabeth acknowledged. “He never belittles my opinions because of my sex when we debate books, history, current events, or anything else. Also, when we play chess, he gives me no quarter and is never missish when he is beaten by a lady.” Elizabeth paused. “Have you heard from Johnny of late? I am sure he would love to meet Richard.”

“You know how long it takes with letters to and from the Peninsula. I have written to him all about Richard, and today I posted another telling him of our courtship,” Charlotte revealed.

“We will continue to pray daily for his safety and for him to return to his family alive, happy, hale, and healthy,” Jane stated.

“Amen to that,” Charlotte and Elizabeth chorused.

“I am pleased that Maria is getting along well with Bethie and Anna,” Jane cocked her head to where the younger girls were seated happily chattering among themselves.

“Charlotte, you still intend to join us when we travel to London in a few days, do you not?” Elizabeth verified.

“That is my plan, unless my parents require me to remain at Lucas Lodge, but I do not believe that will be the case,” Charlotte confirmed. “Is Miss de Bourgh joining us?” She cocked her head towards the lady seated next to, and chatting with, her Aunt Felicity.

“That is the plan,” Elizabeth responded. “Her mother never allowed her to leave Rosings Park for anything, so I believe Aunt Felicity intends to present her to Queen Charlotte along with us when we make our curtsies. Calling that lady a mother is a misnomer. The way she attempted to drug her daughter and, if that were not bad enough, her aim was to steal Anne’s inheritance from her. Anne’s companion, Mrs Jenkinson, is owed so much for never administering the poison Lady de Bourgh wanted to be given to her daughter. It is why Anne will make sure that Jenki, as she calls her, will never need to work again in her life.”

“I am not disappointed that I will never meet that woman,” Jane insisted. “Mayhap she and Miss Bingley will meet in the asylum where they are both residing.”

Before Charlotte or Elizabeth could respond, the door opened, and the men joined the ladies. Jane’s betrothed was not among them as he was dining with his sister and brother-in-law. Jane stood and went to join her mother and Lady Lucas, making room for Richard and William to sit near Charlotte and Lizzy. Neither lady protested her standing and leaving the settee as they were too busy watching their men approach.

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

As planned, two days later the three eldest Bennet sisters and Miss Lucas joined the large party travelling to London.

Much to Kitty’s delight, as she was not out yet, Anna remained at Longbourn.

Richard and Bingley would be hosted at Darcy House with Mr Darcy and William, while the four ladies would be at Matlock House, just across the green from the Darcys’ house. Bethie was delighted there would be so many ladies closer to her age in residence.

As they travelled towards London, Felicity informed her nieces, and the lady she was sure would be her daughter one day, that the first two days would be spent on Bond Street.

Even with her aversion to shopping, Elizabeth said nothing to gainsay her aunt.