Page 4 of Aunt Felicity

F elicity did not need the lightening sky to walk the way to Oakham Mount and then to branch off towards the road north from Meryton. Unencumbered by her valises, she made good time and arrived at the point where the path reached the road just as the colours of the approaching sun had become visible in the eastern sky.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the carriage waiting for her, and her excitement knew no bounds at seeing Reggie standing next to his conveyance, looking at her lovingly.

The previous night he had paid his valet a full month’s wages and told him to take a holiday, without sharing his plans with the man. He planned to contact him once they were in Ramsgate to see if he wanted to remain in Reggie’s employ. He had no footman, just his faithful coachman who already knew the route he would take once his master had shared the destination that morning before they departed the inn. Even had a footman been available, he would not have permitted anyone but himself to hand his betrothed into his carriage. As soon as Felicity was seated, he pushed the step back into the recess and followed her. She was seated on the forward facing bench, and Reggie joined her there. He knocked on the ceiling with his fist and with a jerk, the two horses strained against the traces and soon they were on their way north.

They sat in companionable silence until they passed through Hatfield about an hour after they commenced the journey. “How long will it take for us to reach Gretna Green?” Felicity asked soon after they left the town behind them.

“We are not going to Gretna Green,” Reggie informed his fiancée. “Even though we will have a head start, I am sure your father will not want his will subverted and will give chase. In two or three days, my father and the Duke of Hertfordshire will send men north to Gretna Green as well, using the Great North Road of course. Instead, we will make for Canonbie in Scotland. It is about eleven miles north of Longtown in Cumberland. We will keep to back roads until we reach Cumberland. Thankfully, my coachman knows the way without having to take the main roads. It will take us at least six days to arrive.”

“Even if by some miracle they reach Gretna Green ahead of us arriving in Canonbie, they will have to go to each blacksmith and inn to try and locate us,” Felicity realised.

“Exactly correct.” Reggie pulled Felicity into a warm hug and kissed her forehead. He wanted to kiss her lips, but restrained himself as he did not know if he could bring himself under regulation if he did. It would be a very long six days. “As we are travelling alone without any chaperone, we need to present ourselves as a married couple at the inns on the way. I had thought to name ourselves Matilda and Peter Black. To that end, I have an older, ill-fitting jacket, trousers, and the rest of the outfit Mr Black would wear. Jensen, the coachman, acquired a dark wig for me, so even if those searching for us happen on an inn where we break or stay, the description they have of me will not fit me. At the next stand of trees he sees, he will stop, and I will go and change. You would not know it, but I swapped the carriage my father gave me for this older and smaller one. The innkeeper was only too happy to make the exchange knowing he will be able to sell mine for far more than this one is worth.”

“And what of me? I have no wig or disguise.”

“Do you really think I would worry about my own appearance without making sure you too were able to change yours? While I change, you will don your oldest day dress, and I have a wig for you, one with blonde, straight hair. It is similar to my sister Anne’s hair in colour and look.”

About a half hour later, the coachman pulled off the road and stopped next to a thick stand of trees. While his master slipped into the trees, he made as if he was checking the horses’ legs and shoes just in case an inquisitive traveller stopped to enquire what they were about.

Soon Mr Peter Black returned and joined his wife, Matilda, in the carriage. They were off again and about two hours later they stopped for a rest break. The Blacks used the public rooms as would be expected and did nothing to make themselves noticeable to anyone. Once Jensen nodded from the doorway to tell them the carriage was ready to continue, the Blacks entered their rented conveyance and were off again. Anyone who had cared to listen to them would have heard that they were on their way to Sheffield.

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

“Where is that rebellious daughter of mine?” Bennet demanded when Felicity did not arrive to break her fast with the family as she had always done before.

“Henry, Mrs Henson told me our daughter took some food with her on her walk. Given that you will no longer allow her to even express her opinions on the match you have chosen for her, she is more likely than not staying away out of protest,” Beth opined.

Bennet harrumphed. “That girl is far too disobedient. I am sure Collins will cure her of that. I want to know as soon as she arrives home. If she wants to protest, she may remain in her chamber until the day of her wedding.”

Beth did not reply. She truly did not recognise the man her husband had become. About two hours later, Beth was seated in her sitting room after returning from a meeting with her housekeeper when there was a knock on the door. When bade to enter, Agnes entered the room.

“Mistress, I was cleaning Miss Felicity’s chamber when I found this on the dresser,” Agnes said as she handed her mistress the note.

“Thank you, Agnes. You did not mention this to another, did you?” Beth verified. The maid shook her head. “Good, please keep it that way. Your loyalty is greatly appreciated.”

Agnes bobbed a curtsy and left the sitting room. Beth placed the letter on the table. She would remember it the next time her husband asked about Felicity. She suspected Felicity was gone, but suspicions were not facts, and until she became aware of something for certain, Beth knew nothing.

All she could pray was that Felicity would have a good life because if what she suspected was fact, Henry would be furious, and he would disown his daughter and forbid both herself and Thomas to have any contact with her. It was a heavy price to pay, but as a loving mother who only wanted her daughter to be happy, it was one Beth was willing to live with.

“I do not see Felicity at the table,” Bennet barked after he sat down for the midday meal. “It is not acceptable that she misses yet another meal with her family.

“Henry, I am sure you are aware that as the day for the Collinses to arrive at Longbourn approaches, Felicity will be more and more disinclined to be in your company,” Beth stated honestly. There was nothing in her statement to her husband which was not true. If she could give her girl more hours’ worth of a head start, she would do what she could, without dissembling of course. Henry had not asked if she thought she knew where Felicity was, as long as he did not ask that particular question, she would be able to reply forthrightly.

Thomas Bennet remained quiet, his head down as he picked up his cold roast beef sandwich. He secretly hoped that Felicity, who was far braver than himself, would find a way to circumvent Father’s decrees. Of course, that was something he would never verbalise.

“I am her father, and she will respect me. If she will not join us for the meal, then I forbid anyone to provide her food in her chamber or anywhere else. If she is not at the table for dinner, I will have her dragged here if needed,” Bennet thundered.

The rest of the meal passed in silence. After eating, Beth excused herself and made for her sitting room. She retrieved the letter and held it for a while knowing it was more than likely the final communication she would have with her beloved daughter. She took a deep breath and broke the seal. On unfolding the paper Beth discovered a second folded sheet within. On the one surface of the enclosed note was written:

Mama for you alone to read

Beth unfolded the sheet first and hungrily began to read Felicity’s words.

8 July 1777

My dearest much loved Mama,

As happy as I am I will be escaping the fate to which Mr Bennet was willing to condemn me, the fact I will more than likely never see you again is very painful for me to contemplate. Yet, I know that as a mother who loves me without reservation, you would not want me sentenced to a life of mental and physical abuse and pain which would have been my lot had I not escaped a marriage to Clem Collins.

Mama, I am with the man I have chosen to engage my life to, Mr Reginald Fitzwilliam. We will be well, and although not wealthy, something you know was never important to me, we will be comfortable.

He has a house in Ramsgate where we will live once we are safely married. As I am only 17, I do not need to tell you where we are going in order to marry without your husband’s permission. I always dreamed of you watching me wed the man I chose, but thanks to the actions of my former father, that cannot be.

When I am safely married, I will write a letter and post it to Jenny Purvis. That way, your husband will not be able to intercept and destroy it before you read it. Thereafter if you are able to post letters in Meryton, we will be able to maintain a correspondence.

I am sure you will not want to, but Mama, you must burn this page. The next one is to both you and Mr Bennet, and there is no reference to being in contact. To emphasise that you knew nothing, I will be harsh in my address of you as well as Mr Bennet. That, I hope, will alleviate some of his suspicions that you knew more than you actually did.

Mama, you were the best of mothers, and I know had you the power to do so, you would have stopped your husband from attempting to force that abhorrent match on me. I will miss you every day and I pray that there are no repercussions on you. That is why I never said a word of my plans so that when you are questioned, you will be able to answer with complete honesty that I had not told you anything.

With all of my love,

Felicity

(Please burn this, Mama)

Beth had tears in her eyes by the time she had completed the reading. As much as she wanted to keep the page in her daughter’s handwriting as a keepsake, she stood and placed the page in the grate. Then she lit a taper and touched it to the corner of the missive. She stood and watched until there was nought but ashes remaining. She took the poker and stirred them around for good measure.

She sat down again and read the remaining letter.

8 July 1777

Mr and Mrs Bennet:

I will not address you as parents because parents protect their children and do not try and force them into a marriage they find abhorrent.

I am writing this letter before the dawn this morning, and I will be gone from the house long before the sun rises or the cock crows. Do not attempt to seek me, as you will not discover me, and I will never return.

By the time you read this, I will be gone and will wed the man I choose to marry, and not the brute of a buffoon you tried to foist on me. Mr Bennet, I know you promised to banish me if I did not obey you and marry that horrendous man, so allow me to save you the trouble. You will never see me again.

I hope that my former parents and my weak-willed brother will be pleased they have driven me to make this choice.

Felicity Rose (Soon not to be Bennet)

Her daughter had done everything she could think of to protect her from her husband’s coming wrath, and for that Beth would be forever grateful.

She remained in her sitting room until an hour before dinner, and with the remaining missive in hand, made her way down to her husband’s study. She knew that she needed to show some outrage, so she girded her loins before pushing the study door open without knocking. Father and son looked up, both wide-eyed at the intrusion into the male domain.

“That wilful girl has eloped!” Beth exclaimed as she held up the page in her hand. “She has cast off her family and put herself into the power of some unknown man. The scandal! What will we do, Henry? How can we recover her?”

“ WHAT !” Bennet yelled. “Calm down and let me read the note, it is possible you misunderstood her words.”

Beth obediently handed the missive to her husband. She kept the look of worry on her face and wrung her hands while he read. His face darkened more and more as her husband absorbed the words.

“Come, Thomas, we leave for Gretna Green as soon as may be. I will stop this travesty!” Bennet thundered.

Soon orders to make the carriage ready were given and less than two hours later the Bennet men were away. Thanks to Felicity’s clever letter, her husband had not interrogated her at all, due to both the words and her feigned reaction. Beth shook her head once the carriage was out of view; they would be lucky to reach Hatfield before dark. It would have been better to depart at first light.

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

On the eleventh day of July, Lord Dryden Fitzwilliam was seated in his study preparing for the journey north to Snowhaven. The emergency session of the Lords would be called to a close on the morrow, Saturday.

As keen as the Earl was to leave London and his mistresses behind for the country, he was greatly perturbed that his second son had not responded to his letter commanding that he return home and marry Lady Elaine Winston, especially as the date he was supposed to return had already passed. The Duke of Hertfordshire had sent a note demanding an update on his son’s arrival, and Lord Matlock had not been able to send a reply as he knew nothing. To that end he had sent a trusted man, one he used to assist in solving stubborn problems, to Meryton to bring his son home. He was confident Robertson would succeed and arrive back this day.

There was a knock at the study door and the Earl called out, “Enter.”

His man, Robertson, came in and bowed to his master.

“Well, where is that useless second son of mine? Did you bring him with you?”

“Sorry, m’lord. I was not able to find ‘im. When I went to ta inn, ta landlord ‘anded me this ‘ere letter what ‘e was to post yesterday. It is to ya,” Robertson reported as he offered his master the letter.

“What do you mean he was not in the town? Has he already returned to London without notifying me?” The pitch of Lord Matlock’s voice rose the more perturbed he became. He grabbed the letter from his man which the Earl suspected was from his wayward son. He broke his son’s seal and began to read.

8 July 1777

Red Lion Inn

Meryton, Hertfordshire

Father,

I told you I would never agree to an arranged marriage like the one you made for my older brother. I burnt the settlement papers before I departed London for this town. Marrying Lady Elaine Winston would have been like being married to one exactly like Catherine, and that is something I would never do.

I do honour you as my father, but I will not sacrifice my own felicity to do so. I found a woman, one who I chose, and we will be married by the time you are reading this. At worst, we will be married within a day or two of your receipt of my missive. You have known for the longest time that I am not like Jefferson who will obey your decrees regardless of his own happiness. You also know that as much as you attempted to put me on a debauched and dissipated path like my older brother, I never followed the two of you in the way you live your lives.

When I marry I will honour the vow to forsake all others, and I shall keep myself only unto my wife, so long as we both shall live. My conscience and faith would not allow me to do anything else. Do you not know that I rejected the hypocrisy of the Ton long ago?

It is not my place to lecture you and tell you how to live your life, but you will excuse me if I do not follow Jefferson’s and your examples.

I understand you will cut me off and cut me out of the family’s life. My only regret is that there are those I love who I will not see. I do wish you well, Father, but I cannot be your way to create an alliance with the Duke of Hertfordshire.

Reggie

Lord Matlock stared at the missive as if he had not understood the words. It took a second reading before he was ready to release the full force of his fury. If his son had wedded and bedded the lady already then all was lost. The church would never grant an annulment if that was the case. The only hope was if they were found before they married.

Robertson would have been an easy one to blame, but Matlock knew his man would have made some enquiries when he had not located his second son.

“Did you listen for the local gossip? Is there anything of interest other than my son’s departure?” Lord Matlock questioned.

“You know me well, m’lord. According to ta gossip the daughter of a gent disappeared on the same day yir son did. ‘Er name be Miss Bennet, and she be but seventeen,” Robertson reported.

Notwithstanding the days’ worth of head start his son had, the Earl felt a glimmer of hope. “Take two men and ride the Great North Road, ride as hard as you can to Gretna Green. Stop at inns and see if my son and his doxy stopped there. You know what his carriage looks like, do you not?” Robertson nodded. “It is imperative you stop my son from wedding this chit. There will be a thousand pounds to split if you succeed.”

Within the hour Robertson and two footmen were riding north.