Page 26 of Elizabeth’s Refuge (Mr. Underwood’s Elizabeth & Darcy Stories #16)

As Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy explored the ancient township of St. Denis, hundreds of miles to the north, in Meryton, Elizabeth’s mother received an extraordinary letter with the afternoon post.

She sat in the upstairs sitting room of her younger sister, Mrs. Phillips’s, house. Mrs. Bennet still often thought with unhappiness upon how far she had fallen from the days when she was the wife of one of the largest estates in the neighborhood.

If only Mr. Bennet had never become sick. If only, if only, if only…

If only she had borne a son.

A son who would have inherited the estate instead of letting it go to those scheming Lucases.

Despite the occasionally selfish and bitter tenor of Mrs. Bennet’s thoughts, she was usually cheerful and happy — she had after all not starved in the hedgerows, and the human mind can adjust to any circumstance and treat the new as normal.

Mrs. Bennet was in fact grateful to Mrs. Phillips and Mr. Phillips for taking her in. She was grateful also to Mr. Gardiner and the help he had provided. And she still enjoyed visits and gossip, as the consolations of a life which had not turned out as it ought have.

Two daughters married, but entirely wrong.

Jane could have done far better than a vicar whose living ran to maybe two hundred in a year, and that only if he aggressively made an effort to collect all the tithes owed him — which Mr. Chawson did not .

Jane had nearly married Mr. Bingley and his four thousand a year, in that last year of Mrs. Bennet’s happiness with dear sweet Mr. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet would never be able to forget that Jane ought to be married to a man with such an estate.

Mrs. Bennet could never understand how such a promising attachment had fallen apart. At least, Jane was delightedly happy now in her poverty, and she had produced one lovely babe, a son, already.

And Lydia… Mrs. Bennet did not think often of Lydia.

She always blamed Lydia for what occurred to Mr. Bennet. And now that the war was over, and all hope of advancement through the French happily shooting inconvenient superiors was gone for him, she did not expect to see Captain Dilman ever Major Dilman.

Any man willing to marry such a girl as Lydia, with such a past, and with such charms as Lydia had, could not be a man focused upon his own advancement.

At least Lydia had married. That was better than Mrs. Bennet had ever expected.

Mrs. Bennet at least liked her granddaughter from Lydia, though she had only seen them twice, while Jane and her son were very happily settled within an easy travelling distance of Meryton.

Kitty still lived with Mrs. Bennet. She was the comfort of Mrs. Bennet’s desolation, though Mrs. Bennet would of course prefer that Kitty had married as well.

And Elizabeth and Mary… why had they gone off to become governesses?

Both wasted every chance to snag a husband. Mary… Mrs. Bennet accepted Mary’s choice. She’d never expected better from that daughter, and Mary sounded in her stuffy letters as though she enjoyed her position. Even though her life sounded dreadfully boring.

Elizabeth had always been wild and ungovernable. It was her fault the scheming Lucases took Longbourn in the first place.

Mrs. Bennet could hardly comprehend how even Elizabeth had been involved in such a great scandal, and she hardly knew what to believe.

There had been soldiers and Bow Street Runners here to visit.

And they accused Elizabeth of stealing from the earl who had employed her.

And all she had was a single letter from Elizabeth written in a shaky hand, promising that she was well.

What nonsense.

What had her dear girl gotten herself into?

Mrs. Bennet always expected Elizabeth to get into some sort of problem, but never to be hung .

It would be such a scandal, and she would cry and weep, and be desolate at the shame of it.

And then no one would ever marry Kitty or Mary, and Kitty was pretty enough that she might do well for herself if she ever had a proper chance.

Mrs. Gardiner had told Mrs. Bennet that there had been at least two tradesmen with respectable positions who had shown interest in Elizabeth, and that she had discouraged them both.

Mrs. Gardiner at the time was rather frustrated with Elizabeth’s unwillingness to accept the necessity that she would not find a man who was both a decent match and who looked decently well.

Mrs. Bennet was rather proud of Elizabeth.

She had lived in the world long enough to have a decent notion of what happened.

Only Elizabeth could have defended her virtue from such a man.

Mrs. Bennet was very glad after the Gardiners had visited with the entire story that was running wild round London that Mary was employed by a widow with only daughters in the house.

If only Lizzy wasn’t going to be hung for it!

Mrs. Bennet was quite pessimistic enough to be sure Lizzy would be hung, just as she had been sure years before that her husband would find Mr. Wickham and duel him and be killed while searching for Lydia.

Mrs. Bennet was quite shocked when Mrs. Phillips ran into the drawing room with Kitty and her husband in tow, “A letter from Lizzy to you! From Lizzy! Posted from France .”

Everyone pushed the letter into Mrs. Bennet’s face, and they eagerly waited for her to open it, so they could find out what the news was.

Mrs. Bennet looked at the letter, sealed with red wax imprinted with a half familiar symbol. Her daughter’s name written on the outside, Pas-de-Calais was marked as the city the letter was sent from.

Something in her heart unclenched, and Mrs. Bennet could not help but smile. Whatever news the letter contained, her daughter was safe . She hadn’t even realized how deeply anxious she had been for Lizzy’s fate until that worry was gone. “In France. She is in France.”

Kitty smiled too, and Mrs. Phillips.

“Yes, yes.” Mr. Phillips said, “Open up so we can know what her circumstances are — I dare say she has written asking for money to support herself out of the country.” The country lawyer was happy enough at seeing that his niece had escaped her enemies that he did not even sound particularly sour at the prospect.

Mrs. Bennet found it difficult to understand what the letter said, for it was too fantastical to be credited.

Dear Mama,

I am sure you have worried very greatly for me these past weeks, but I am now entirely safe and well, though still I cannot return to England. I have some news which shall surprise you greatly.

I am to be married tomorrow morning, and I shall be long since married by the time you receive this letter. Now that I have safely escaped from England, I may tell you that I sought refuge after Lord Lachglass attacked me with an old friend of ours, from many years before, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.

He holds an affection for me that has lasted all the years since we saw each other last, and in the course of the past weeks I have realized I too have a deep and abiding affection for him.

I know this shall shock you, as you always believed I disliked him, but I learned many years past that much of the source for my dislike for Mr. Darcy was based upon false pretenses.

He asked me to marry him yesterday, and I accepted gladly, and we are to be married tomorrow morning before we set off to Paris.

I have spoken to Mr. Darcy at length about your situation, and we wish to ensure you, and Kitty and Mary all can live happily and well, and maintain your positions as gentlewomen.

Mr. Darcy has a large cottage on his great estate which has traditionally been used by the mother of the master if she outlives her husband.

We wish to offer for you to freely live there, and Mr. Darcy will provide a pension to you to pay for your expenses.

Attached to this note is a check that can be drawn on Mr. Darcy’s bank accounts at Childe’s for six hundred pounds to provide the funds necessary to move, and also to purchase some new dresses for yourself and Kitty and Mary.

I am certain that my uncles Mr. Phillips and Mr. Gardiner will help you in making business arrangements, and I have asked Mrs. North, the housekeeper at Darcy’s home in London, to call upon you in a few days, to explain the situation of the cottage and further matters.

Mrs. North was exceedingly kind to me during the time I spent ill and quite destitute in Mr. Darcy’s home.

Tell Kitty that I miss her very much, and she must come visit us in France in some four or five months if matters have not changed such that I can return to England.

Your loving daughter, signing her name for the last time as,

E Bennet

After she finished reading the letter aloud, Mrs. Bennet stared ahead for a period of several minutes without being able to say a word, such was her shock.

Mr. Phillips recovered first and took from Mrs. Bennet the check that had been packaged in the envelope. “Looks like the real thing. Looks entirely like the real thing. Heh. Did not expect that from Miss Lizzy.”

Kitty clapped her hands. “Oh, new dresses! I am so tired of this old material!” She pinched her woolen dress with some annoyance. “But Mr. Darcy? Didn’t Lizzy dislike him very much indeed?”

Mrs. Phillips sighed. “‘Tis so romantic. He was very tall and handsome, whatever he may have said of our Lizzy. I remember he had said he did not like her appearance, but I fancy men often say that of the women they are the most fascinated by when they wish to hide their sentiments.”

Finally Mrs. Bennet comprehended the happy fate that had fallen upon her family, after so many years of ill luck.

They finally had such a stroke of good luck so nearly to make up for it all.

This marriage did make up for every ill luck, except the death of her husband, for though she had never understood Mr. Bennet, she had loved him.

Mrs. Bennet exclaimed aloud, “Ten thousand pounds a year! As good as a Lord!” And then shortly after she exclaimed again, “Oh, if only Mr. Bennet were alive to see how well our Lizzy has done for herself!”