Page 66 of The Next Mrs Bennet
F anny Bennet sniffed with disdain as her traitorous sister’s husband entered the small parlour at Longbourn.
At first, she had refused to meet with Frank Philips but had changed her mind with alacrity when Mrs. Collins told her if she refused to do what was being asked of her, Fanny would be evicted from the house that very day.
“Mrs. Bennet, you have not been informed of this fact yet, but Her Grace is purchasing Longbourn from Mr. Collins and as such will be the new owner in a matter of days,” Philips stated in a very businesslike tone. “You must comprehend Her Grace will not allow you to remain here once the estate is hers.”
“That ungrateful, disobedient, wilful girl,” Fanny wailed. “She is to throw me into the hedgerows!”
“Before you put on a performance which would be appreciated in any theatre in London, as much as you deserve it, Her Grace does not desire to see you turned out into the street with nothing to your name,” Philips informed the avaricious woman.
“My Lydia or Jane must have convinced Miss Lizzy to do her duty to me,” Fanny squealed. She thought this was to be her last day living in comfort, however, she now believed that surely Miss Lizzy would place her at one of her estates, or better yet one of the houses in London or Bath.
“This was the Duchess’s decision alone. You had better pay attention, Mrs. Bennet,” Philips admonished. “You have two choices and two choices only. One, you will have a small cottage in Lerwick, which is on the largest of the Shetland Islands and your five thousand pounds will be restored to you. Two, you will leave this house on the morrow with the remainder of your dowry and be left to shift for yourself.”
All visions of her living in luxury came crashing down around her head. She knew she had no choice. “Where is this Lerwick?” she asked defeatedly.
“Lerwick is on one of the almost one hundred islands which make up the Shetland Islands. It happens to be the largest island in the chain. Where you will be living is approximately one hundred miles off the northeast coast of Scotland,” Philips explained.
“That uppity girl is sending me to purgatory!” Fanny screeched.
“As I said, you have a choice. What will it be?” Philips insisted dispassionately.
Fanny began to cry crocodile tears. She seemed to forget her put on tears had never affected her sister’s husband before. Even had she remembered, it would have not stopped her trying it now.
“Surely you do not desire to see me sent to the other side of the world?” Fanny leaned forward suggestively making sure her bosom was on full display. Fanny looked at Philips fetchingly, batting her eyelids, so there was no doubt of what she was offering him.
“You disgust me!” Philips barked out at the woman with undisguised asperity. “If it were not for Her Grace’s insistence you not be turned out into your beloved hedgerows without a choice, I would have you ejected from this house this very day! Your sister, who I love dearly, has something you will never have—character.” Philips paused as he reined in his anger. “Now choose! There are no other options than the two I enumerated.”
Fanny shrank back at her brother-in-law’s fury. How was it he did not fall for her feminine wiles? Seeing the implacable resentment in his eyes, she came to the realisation she in fact had no choice but to accept the banishment. Without her full dowry, she would have no way to live or eat.
“The first option is what I choose,” Fanny Bennet stated almost softly.
Yes, none of her former friends would see her, but she had still remained at Longbourn, in the neighbourhood she had grown up in. It was only at that moment Fanny had her first, albeit fleeting, doubts regarding the way she had treated her second daughter.
“In that case, be ready to depart at first light on the morrow. You will be transported to Aberdeen in Scotland. From there you will board a ship which will convey you to Lerwick.” Philips drew a breath. “The principal of five thousand pounds will be invested with Mr. Gardiner. What is left after your rent is paid from the interest on that sum will be handed to you each quarter. Do not even think you can return to the mainland. You will be watched and if you attempt such, the money Her Grace has added will be withdrawn and you will be left to shift for yourself with very little money. Do you understand Mrs. Bennet?”
Miss Lizzy had always been too clever and now the girl had thought of a way to well and truly imprison her in this far-flung place. Fanny nodded her head.
Philips departed and left Fanny to begin her packing. She was about to call for Hill when she remembered the new mistress of the estate demanded Fanny request any assistance she wanted from a Longbourn servant from Mrs. Collins first.
As much as she hated having to humble herself before the interloper, Fanny knew she needed help, so she went to seek out Mrs. Collins.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Up until the carriage pulled away from the house she had lived in since her marriage, Fanny Bennet had been expecting a reprieve of some sort. None had come and other than the servants who had loaded her worldly possessions onto the conveyance, not a single person had come to see her off.
As the equipage turned out of the estate’s gateposts, Fanny looked back longingly. She knew she would never see this place again.
During the drive through Meryton Fanny kept herself pushed back against the squabs. She did not want her last memory of the town to be the disdainful looks she would receive, if she was seen, from any of those who were already up and about.
Soon, the town she had spent her life in was behind her. Like Longbourn, she was certain she would never see Meryton again.
As she settled down for what she had been told would be a six day carriage ride, her thoughts were about the one who had been the bane of her existence: Miss Lizzy! If only the Duke had chosen Jane like he had been supposed to do! Everything would have been as it should be, and she would not be on her way to some godforsaken place in the middle of the sea.
Fanny never noticed the self-same daughter, accompanied by two of her massive guards, standing and watching the conveyance as it passed the Red Lion Inn, where she had taken all of the rooms for her sojourn in Meryton.
John Biggs had found a good group of men who had been employed as guards, more than enough for two men to be assigned to each of her sisters, the four men who would be living in Lerwick to make sure Mrs. Bennet never attempted to return to England, and some additional men to be placed as needed.
Two of the men had departed as soon as Mrs. Bennet accepted her fate, the other two were travelling with her.
Elizabeth watched until she could no longer see the back of the carriage. Mrs. Bennet was out of their life forever. The money Elizabeth had added to restore the woman’s dowry had been well spent.
Knowing how extravagant Mrs. Bennet tended to be, she had insisted the woman not have access to the principal. If she wanted to waste her money each quarter and not have enough to live on, that would he her choice and problem.
She smiled as she thought of the upcoming meeting at Uncle Frank’s offices. The purchase of Longbourn would be final. A few days after that, Netherfield Park would be hers as well. Her intention was to reunite the two largest parts which had been one before a dissolute ancestor had lost so much of the Bennets’ land. The Gouldings, Lucases, and Purvises had no interest in selling their estates, which would have restored all historical Bennet lands.
The enlarged Longbourn would be presented to Mary as part of her dowry. Mary had the most emotional ties to the Meryton area. Only on her marriage to one she loved and respected, and who felt the same for her, would the estate be signed over to Mary.
The same was true for her other sisters. Castlemere would of course be Lydia’s. Jane and Kate would be allowed to choose from the other six estates when they married.
Knowing Jane’s future husband had a large estate, and would one day have all those which belonged to the Matlock earldom made it less urgent to inform Jane. Elizabeth was sure Jane would turn down the estate, and she would not try and press too hard if that indeed happened to be the case.
With John Biggs and Brian Johns escorting her, Elizabeth made her way to Oakham Mount. The sun was already above the horizon when she arrived, but that was no matter to her.
John had gone up the path to verify no one was on the summit. On his return, Elizabeth had walked up to the flattened top of the hill. Everything was as it was the last time she had been here. That was before he had caused her to leave the neighbourhood.
She twirled around laughing with pleasure at being back in a place she had believed she would never see again. The stand of four oak trees, the benches below them, and the boulders at various points were all exactly as she recalled. She touched the boulder in the eastern corner of the summit reverently.
How many times had she escaped from Mrs. Bennet and sat in this very spot to contemplate her life and watch the sun greet the new day. In a few hours, with some signatures and money paid, it would all be hers. Oakham Mount was on Longbourn’s land.
As Elizabeth sat there, she realised the only thing which would have made her enjoyment complete was if William had been here with her. She missed him when they were apart. In fact, it was as if a part of her heart was not in her chest. She knew where the missing piece resided—it was with William.
For a little while, even while acknowledging she loved him, Elizabeth had thought about never again placing herself at the mercy of a man.
She had quickly realised if she allowed the bitterness of being married to him to govern her future choices, then he would still be controlling her. That was something she would never allow! The best and total repudiation of that man would be for her to marry. Not just to remarry, but to marry a man she loved and respected and who felt the same way about her.
William was that man. As she sat and looked out over the rolling land to the east, Elizabeth knew one thing for certain. If William asked her to marry him, she would accept without a moment’s hesitation. That she would gain a wonderful mother and father only added to her desire to marry the man she loved. It did not hurt she would be gaining a fifth sister she already loved dearly as well.
All she needed was for William to propose. She already knew William was a very careful man and more than likely would not do anything unless he was sure she was receptive. In that case she would need to give him a subtle hint, if subtlety did not work, she would be a little more direct in her approach.
As soon as the decision was made, Elizabeth felt a lightness she had not experienced since before meeting the vile old man. If things went according to the way she thought they would, she would be gaining two more brothers soon enough and Charlotte would become her cousin.
With a renewed spring in her step, Elizabeth made her way down the path to where John and Brian awaited her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
William Darcy felt like he was in a daze. He could not concentrate on anything. How was it he had become such a mooncalf of a man? All over a slip of a woman who he was missing terribly.
Why had he not thought to ask if she wanted him to join those travelling into Hertfordshire? If he had, he would not have been missing Elizabeth the way he was.
He missed smelling her delightful lavender scent, the gleam in her eyes when she knew she was about to win a debate, her wit, her intelligence, her compassion—he missed everything about her. It was as if she held his heart in the palm of her delicate hand. His heart was with her in Hertfordshire, and William had no desire for her to return it to him…ever.
He did not know if he possessed her heart the way she owned his. He hoped it would not be many more days before Elizabeth returned to London. When he was in her company he felt pulled to her as if by some invisible force.
If she did not desire to have him as her husband, his heart would forever be lost in a wilderness of sadness, but above all else, he wanted her to be happy—even if that meant her happiness rested with another or not marrying again. After her experience with her first marriage, he would have been able to understand her never wanting to once again be someone’s wife. With her having been blackmailed into marrying the bastard, he never wanted her to feel pressured to accept him—or any other—if that was not her free will.
Based on her request that her unborn child could take the name of the man she married—if she remarried, William had hope that is what she wanted. The fact she had looked at him as she had said that was encouraging. And if she did, his prayer was he would be the man she desired to have as her husband.
As soon as he knew Elizabeth was back in London, he needed to see her and try and divine her feelings for him. Perhaps he would receive some sort of sign.
He was shaken out of his musings by the arrival of three of his cousins. Two of them were as forlorn as he that the lady of his choice was not in Town. At least Andrew had been granted a courtship by Jane Bennet. All that was needed now was to find a way so Richard would not need to remain an officer in His Majesty’s army. That was a problem for another day. After greetings were exchanged, the four young men made their way to the billiards room.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Given Longbourn became her property on the tenth day of April (the same day Mary turned fifteen) for the first time since the day the Gardiners had taken them away from the estate, all five sisters were together in the house of their birth to celebrate the dual milestone.
The two Collinses had been ready to depart that morning, but they had been invited to remain to honour Mary’s birthday. They had gladly accepted with Mrs. Collins restricting her son’s effusions and making sure he did not toady up to Lady Elizabeth.
Mrs. Hill and the female servants had cried tears of happiness to have the girls they loved back in their childhood home. Even the stoic Mr. Hill’s eyes were suspiciously moist.
An impromptu birthday party was soon planned. The Lucases and Philipses were present, as would be expected. As word that the sisters were at Longbourn spread, callers streamed in to come see them. Very soon, the celebration of Mary’s birth became a party to also mark the return of the sisters to the area.
Pleasure was expressed by the many neighbours who called at Longbourn regarding Elizabeth’s freedom and the fact none in the neighbourhood would ever have to encounter Mrs. Bennet again. No words of sorrow for Mr. Bennet’s passing were mentioned either.
If anyone from the area noticed or disagreed with none of the sisters wearing mourning garb, not one word was said.
During the celebration, Mr. Hill brought Miss Lizzy the newspaper. It contained the royal decree naming her family name to be Gardiner and stating that the name of Chamberlain would not continue regardless of whether Her Grace delivered a son or a daughter.
Her final outward connection to him had been severed. Never would his name be mentioned again and the child she was carrying would not know about him.
Lady Elizabeth Rose Gardiner was contented.