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T ogether Madeline and Gardiner broke the news to Lizzy and Mary. They could see the emotions playing across the girls’ faces, especially the pain caused by the perception of rejection.

“Lizzy and Mary, look at us,” Madeline commanded.

Both girls lifted their eyes, shining with moisture, to look at their aunt and uncle.

“I want you to hear something and understand us clearly. Neither your uncle nor I want you to leave us. Did you not hear that you have a choice? If you decide you have no desire to meet your birth father and see Longbourn, then it will be so. However, even if you do, you will be protected at all times, will not have to be in the company of the woman who birthed you, will not sleep at Longbourn, and will be free to leave whenever you choose to leave. If you never want to return, no one will try to convince you otherwise.”

When she truly listened to Aunt Maddie’s words, Elizabeth felt sheepish.

She knew herself well enough to acknowledge her tendency to jump to conclusions before examining all of the facts.

Mary took her lead from her, and when she saw that Elizabeth assumed they were not wanted, she had felt sad as well.

“Mary, what say you? Do you have any inclination to meet the man we have never seen, supposedly our father? It may be interesting to see the estate which has belonged to a Bennet since the Magna Carta,” Elizabeth enquired.

She did not miss the quizzical look from her sister regarding the change in her attitude.

“I was wrong, Mary. You know my habit of making assumptions. I did not listen to what Aunt and Uncle told us at first. I conjectured they did not want us to live with them, but that is not at all what they meant.”

Elizabeth felt bad all over again when Mary’s countenance brightened up right away. “I suppose I am curious. But what will happen if Mrs Bennet or Miss Millar confronts us?” Mary worried her bottom lip.

“Part of my agreement with Mr Bennet is that unless those two are able to behave properly, they are not to be in your company. It is the reason you will sleep at Purvis Lodge. I will not take a chance that something will occur to you at night if either or both of them suffer a fit of jealousy,” Gardiner clarified.

The sisters looked at one another, and each one nodded. “I have one question. How long will we go without seeing our cousins?” Elizabeth queried. Lilly was seven and Eddy four, but they and their older cousins related to one another as siblings.

“Edward and I have discussed this if you decided to agree. While you are in Hertfordshire, your cousins and I will be in residence at Purvis Lodge. Your uncle will arrive by midday on Fridays and not leave before the same time on Mondays.” Madeline turned towards her beloved and shot him a saucy look.

“If your uncle would cease procrastinating and employ a competent manager, he would only have to be in London for one day or so a month.”

Gardiner raised his hands in surrender. “I have narrowed down my search to three candidates. I will select one of them soon, I promise,” he vowed.

The truth was that Gardiner knew the country was a much better place to raise children in the summer when the odours mixed with the heat made London almost unbearable.

Their aim was to one day find an estate near Maddie’s beloved Lambton.

If they were blessed with a second son, he would have the smaller of the two estates.

When Purvis Lodge had become available, it had been too good of an opportunity to ignore.

Because it was not their ultimate goal, Maddie and Gardiner had not been disappointed about not getting Netherfield Park.

“ Jamil will come with us when we move to Purvis Lodge, will she not?” Elizabeth asked keenly. Jamil , Arabic for beauty, was the Arabian mare the Gardiners had purchased for Lizzy on her fourteenth birthday. To be safe, Gardiner retained ownership so that Bennet could never claim the thoroughbred.

On the recommendation of Lord Matlock, a silent investor in his business, Gardiner had viewed some horses, all raised in Ireland on the estate of Greenfield, known for its excellent horseflesh, especially Arabians.

The mare had not been named when he saw her, but Gardiner knew she was the horse for Lizzy. She was spirited, but not wild.

When the gift was revealed on the morning of her birthday, Elizabeth had fallen in love with her mare at first sight. Her opinion was that she was the most beautiful horse she had seen; hence, using her growing knowledge of Arabic vocabulary, Elizabeth chose the name.

“Of course, Jamil will be with you; neither of you would survive without the other,” Gardiner quipped. At least it was a jest to a certain extent. In the short time since horse and rider had met, an unbreakable bond had been forged.

“And yes, Mary, the cob you ride will be there too. Only another six months or so until you too get your own mount,” Madeline pre-empted the question on her younger niece’s lips.

Lilly had just begun to ride Pinkie, who had been gifted to the Gardiners, as there were no more young children who needed to learn to ride at Rambler’s Run.

Mary clapped her hands in happiness.

“It seems we are resolved; I will write to Bennet. What say you we decamp London a week before Easter? We will spend the holy weekend at our estate.” Gardiner stood and headed to his office to write to Bennet.

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

Fanny Bennet never enjoyed being summoned to her husband’s study.

It did not happen often, but when it did, it was usually for Mr Bennet to berate her about something or other.

She tried to think if she had done anything of late which her husband would find objectionable, and for the life of her, she could think of nothing.

She gingerly entered her husband’s sanctuary.

“Sit, Mrs Bennet.” Bennet pointed to one of the chairs before his desk. “I have bade you join me to notify you that our two eldest daughters will be calling on Longbourn,” he drawled.

“Of what do you speak? Jane is already here, and she is our eldest,” Fanny sniffed.

“Do not be obtuse, Mrs Bennet. You well know that Miss Millar is not my anything. She is your eldest child. You are not so very mean of understanding that you do not know to whom I refer when I said our two eldest daughters,” Bennet barked.

“Before you release your vitriol, it is all thanks to you that I decided I wanted to know Elizabeth and Mary.” He sat back in his chair, his fingers interlaced over his belly, enjoying the scandalised look on his wife’s countenance.

He imagined she was trying to puzzle out how it was she had given him the impetus to do this.

While his wife racked her memories, he said nothing, enjoying the calm before the storm.

“I have never said anything which would cause you to invite those wilful, unnatural girls into my house!” Fanny insisted.

“Oh, but you most certainly did,” Bennet responded. He said no more.

“The only time I spoke of those devil spawn was last year…” Fanny went silent as she did her best to remember what she had said and how it would have led to this impending disaster. “I told you about the older one’s manly pursuits, which proved they are ungodly like I said they are!”

“Before we proceed, let me be rightly understood. This is my house, not yours. I will have whoever I choose to visit me here, and if you and Miss Millar are displeased with my decisions, I will willingly direct you to live in a cottage. I should do that anyway. After all, you failed to give me a son, which means that when I am called home, a Collins will be the master here. You had better pray you will be dead by then or that somehow you can convince the new master to take care of you and your empty-headed daughter. With no dowry, you will have forty pounds per annum to live on, so the hedgerows will be a distinct possibility. Neither your brother nor sister will take you in, as you have alienated them and their families. As far as I am aware, you have no friends, so your options are severely restricted.”

“My Jane will marry a rich man; she could not be so beautiful for no reason,” Fanny claimed.

Bennet loosed a bark of laughter. “Tell me, Mrs Bennet, have you or have you not complained how almost no one wants to dance with Miss Millar, never mind marry her? She is as vapid and empty-headed as you. We digress; our daughters will be here.”

“How can you want them here in m…your house? I told you about all of the things which will ensure no man will ever look at her, and that is before they see how ugly she is,” Fanny cried nastily.

“After you were here, I believed that it was all hyperbole. No female could be so intelligent and talented. It did not take long for me to determine that for once you were correct. I need my daughter to help improve the estate, as the income has fallen to levels it has never before been. If she is as good at chess as has been claimed, or half as intelligent, I will be vastly diverted by her.”

“I will not allow those devil spawn to enter this house and infect my beautiful Jane!”

“That, Mrs Bennet, is not something over which you have a say. If, as I suspect, neither you nor your daughter will be able to refrain from verbally or even physically, abusing them, you and Miss Millar will be moved to a cottage as soon as may be,” Bennet announced.

Fanny was horrified. A cottage! “I will not be pushed out of the house by those things ! My nerves, oh, the flutterings and palpitations.” She placed the back of her hand on her forehead dramatically and was about to feign a swoon.