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There was only one personal letter. He did not recognise the script, but when he turned it over and read the name and direction of the sender, his eyebrows shot up in surprise and a little apprehension.

In the more than twelve years since Lizzy and Mary had been living with them, never once had Bennet written to him. So why was he now?

He decided that he wanted Maddie with him when he read what was contained within; she always gave him good counsel, and he had a feeling he would need it more than ever this day.

Gardiner rang for the butler and had him request that the mistress join him.

He did not have long to wait; Madeline closed the door and looked at her husband concernedly. “Edward, what is it? You have lost some of your colour. Have you taken ill? I saw no evidence of this when you arrived home,” she worried.

“It is not a physical ailment which afflicts me. Thomas Bennet wrote me a letter.” Gardiner lifted the offending missive from his desk.

“It was the only letter waiting for me when I arrived home. I know not why he would write to me after all of these years without so much as an inquiry into the wellbeing of his daughters.”

“The only way we will know is to read it. Guessing and thinking of the worst will not tell you what is contained within,” Madeline rationalised. The truth was she was as nervous as her beloved, but she could not allow him to see that.

“As you usually are, you are correct, my love.” Gardiner stood up and joined his wife on the settee to the side of his large cherrywood desk.

Madeline squeezed her husband’s hands to give him courage.

He broke the seal, unfolded the paper and held it so they were both able to read the words.

11 March 1806

Longbourn

Gardiner,

This letter will serve to inform you that I am rescinding your permission to act as guardian to Elizabeth Rose Bennet, my firstborn daughter. In addition, the same is true for Mary Eloise Bennet, my second born.

“Edward, surely after all these years he cannot do this?” Madeline cried.

“I am afraid as her father he can. The question is why a man who, from all reports, is indolent in the extreme, hardly stirs himself from his study, and has stated clearly that he has no use for girls, wants to do this. Let us follow your excellent advice and read on,” Gardiner stated as evenly as he was able.

Not that I owe you an explanation, but I am reversing my permission, as for once in her life my wife told me something useful. She thought it would make me take up against my daughters, but once I verified the truth of what she told me, it has had quite the opposite effect.

As surprising as it is to me that such intelligence and abilities reside in those of the female sex, it seems that in this case, it does.

It is my decision that I will allow my daughters to entertain me with their abilities, and I will see for myself if the eldest of them is in fact able to manage an estate.

I expect my daughters return to Longbourn as soon as may be.

Thomas Bennet

“That bastard!” Gardiner exclaimed before he remembered his beloved was next to him. “Please pardon my slip, Maddie, my dearest.”

“There is nothing to excuse. That man is what you called him and so much more. We will not allow him to take our girls for his amusement; just so that he may do even less than he does now, will we?” Madeline asked plaintively.

“Over my dead body!” Gardiner exclaimed angrily. “I will make for Meryton and go consult with Phillips before I confront that milksop.”

“Until there is a definitive answer, we should not say anything to Lizzy and Mary, should we?” Madeline suggested. “There is no need to upset their equanimity before we are certain one way or the other.”

“I agree,” Gardiner stated succinctly. “I will leave at first light on the morrow.”

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

“Even I had not believed that Bennet would try and use his daughters in this fashion.” Phillips shook his head. “This letter is beyond selfish.”

“Given the agreement I had him sign, is there anything we can do to deny him? Would the courts consider that until he discovered his daughters may be useful to him, he had not attempted to contact them in thirteen years, and they would not know who he is if they passed him on the street? Nor would he recognise them.”

“As sad as it is, the best interests of Lizzy and Mary would not be considered,” Phillips responded.

“It may take some time and cost quite some money…” Phillips stopped as he had an idea.

“We know that Bennet always chooses the path of least resistance, do we not?” Gardiner allowed it was so.

“Then we should use his indolence against him.”

“You mean threaten a costly and lengthy court battle?” Gardiner asked as he understood his brother-by-marriage’s suggestion.

“Exactly. Hattie speaks to Mrs Hill when she comes into the town occasionally. Our brother , although I hesitate to use that moniker for Bennet, spends all of the day when he is not eating or sleeping in his study with his books and port. If he thinks he will be kept in court for weeks, or even months, he will be far more malleable.”

“There is no tenant currently leasing my estate, is there?” Gardiner verified.

“No, there is not,” Phillips confirmed. “I had an enquiry about Purvis Lodge, but I will hold them off if you like. I am sorry that yours was not the winning bid for Netherfield Park. I am not sure who the new owner is; the solicitor who effected the transfer was rather tight-lipped about the new master. As far as I know, whoever the family is, they have not been in the neighbourhood yet.”

“I am well pleased with the estate I did purchase. My gossip-loving younger sister has no idea it is mine. When we have stayed there with the girls, Bennet’s indolence was a positive. He never called on the new owners as I am sure Fanny demanded of him,” Gardiner related as he grinned.

“Once I let it be known the new owner only had three daughters, Fanny and Jane both lost interest in Purvis Lodge,” Phillips revealed.

“Who is that barrister you told me of some years ago?” Gardiner enquired.

“Sir Randolph Norman of Norman and James. What of him?” Phillips wondered. “Hmm, I can see if his firm will take the case against Bennet if you desire.”

“Bennet still reads the Times of London , does he not?”

“As far as I know, he does. Why do you ask?” Then it hit Phillips why Gardiner had asked. “Bennet will have read about all of Sir Randolph’s victories and how he would never give up on a case until all legal avenues are exhausted.”

“Exactly. Bennet will not want to have that happen to him. I would assume he has very little in the way of ready funds. Could he get a mortgage?”

“No, he may not,” Phillips averred. “Under the terms of the entail, which any bank would see when they examined the deed, he and any lifetime tenant is forbidden from taking a loan against the property. If a bank loaned him money, it would be his personal, unsecured, debt.”

“If you summon him to your office, will he bestir himself from his bookroom?” Gardiner queried.

“I will write that it has to do with the custody of his daughters. It is something he will attend to because he thinks it will save him work in the long run. As it will appeal to his selfish nature, he will not ignore the note,” Phillips opined.

He wrote the note and then summoned his clerk.

The man was told to send the manservant to Longbourn and to wait for a reply.

A little more than an hour later, an affirmative reply was received. Bennet would arrive in two hours.

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

“Have you brought my daughters to me?” Bennet asked as soon as he saw Gardiner in Phillips’s office, all the while smirking.

“ ARE YOU ADDLEPATED ?” Gardiner yelled.

It had the intended effect. The smirk was gone from his face, and Bennet, who they knew was a coward, looked afraid.

“Lizzy and Mary are not pawns in a game of chess you are playing. They have never seen you and know not who you are. What made you think I was as irresponsible with them as you have been?”

“But they are my daughters…” Bennet responded weakly.

“Who you abandoned more than thirteen years past. I care not what you think; you signed your rights away and gave them over to my care,” Gardiner barked.

“But still…” Bennet tried again.

“No, Bennet, Maddie and I spoke of this, and we will not recede. We will fight you at every turn. Do you think we would ever allow them to be in company with my sister, who hates them? How long would it be before she abused them both verbally and physically for being better looking and more popular than the vapid, empty-headed Miss Jane Millar? Additionally, and based on what I have heard, my eldest niece would join her mother in abusing the girls.” Gardiner allowed Bennet to assimilate his words.

Just before Bennet was to offer a rebuttal, Gardiner pounced. He turned to Phillips with a knowing look in his eye. “Is Sir Randolph Norman ready to argue my case before the bench?” he asked innocently.

“He is; all he needs is a word from me, and I am waiting for your instructions,” Phillips responded seriously.

‘ No, no, no!’ Bennet thought, ‘S uch a protracted court case would take time and money I am not willing to expend and do not have. There must be some way to solve this! ’ “Why would you go to court? You know they are my daughters…” Bennet tried again.

“How are they your daughters, Bennet?” Gardiner demanded.

“You know nothing about them. Not one letter in thirteen years! Sir Randolph will present my strong case. What will your barrister say in defence? How will he explain that you have abrogated your responsibility for all four of your daughters, none of whom you have ever seen or attempted to ask about, until demanding I hand over two of them for your own amusement, so you can do even less in managing the estate than you currently do?”