Chapter 20

M adeline found Elizabeth and Mary with her children the morning after the letter from Lambert Hills arrived. The former was assisting the younger two with the lessons in their letters and sums while Mary was sitting with Lilly at the upright pianoforte in the schoolroom.

"As much as your cousins will object, I need to speak to you two," Madeline told her nieces. As she predicted there was a chorus of objections. A stern look silenced the children who returned to their lessons without further complaint.

Elizabeth and Mary were led into their aunt and uncle's private sitting room. Once they were seated, Madeline handed them the letter from her brother. She waited while they read it. She knew they were done when they both looked up. "I know words of condolence will have pricked at your hearts, but what think you of his offer for you to come stay?" she asked. "I had this idea in Hertfordshire, but did not want to raise your hopes by saying something until I received a reply from Gwen and Tim. Before you ask, no it is not because we do not want you with us or an issue of space. Edward and I know you grew up in the country, and that is where you are most at home. It is for your comfort alone I thought of making the request of my brother and sister."

"May we have some time to discuss this between us before we give you an answer?" Elizabeth requested.

"Of course you may," Madeline agreed. She stood and exited the sitting room .

"What think you, Mary?" Elizabeth queried. "I know you have not met Aunt Gwen and Uncle Tim before, but from the times Jane and I were in their company, I can report they are estimable people. If memory serves their estate is in Derbyshire, not far from the border with Nottinghamshire. Jane and I both met the three children, a girl and two boys. They are Adelaide, Henry, and Rory."

"I do not object to meeting them, but what do you think about being hosted by them? It is far from Hertfordshire, and how will we see Kitty and Lydia if we are not in London?" Mary mused.

"Mary, that is a very good question, and something we need to take into account when we make our decision," Elizabeth replied. "As far as residing at Lambert Hills, you know I always prefer the country to Town. If there was no worry about seeing our sisters, and you did not object, I would agree with alacrity."

"We can ask Aunt Maddie about our sisters, and also, when would we see the Gardiners if we agree to go north?" Mary added.

"In that case, let us have a maid request our aunt rejoin us," Elizabeth suggested. Mary nodded her agreement so Elizabeth stood and looked in the hallway. She saw a maid and asked the girl to pass on her request to the mistress.

It was not too many minutes before Madeline joined her nieces. She looked at them questioningly and they explained their feelings on the matter. "Seeing us and your sisters will not be an issue," Madeline reassured the sisters. "The children and I will arrive at Lambert Hills in March, and we will invite Kitty and Lydia to join us. I doubt whether your father will object. Your uncle will spend as much time with us as his business will allow. If your only worry was seeing your sisters and us, you can see that you will not be without our company for too many months." Madeline had an idea, but said not a word as she wanted it to be a surprise for Lizzy and Mary, if it could be done, that is.

After a nod from Mary, Elizabeth turned to her aunt. "In that case, we will be happy to accept Aunt Gwen's and Uncle Tim's invitation," she told her aunt. "When will we depart?"

"I will talk to your uncle, but I think you will be able to depart on Monday upcoming."

Madeline remembered something. "You know that winters in Derbyshire are much colder than you are used to, do you not?" Her nieces nodded. "In that case, to the warehouse and other shops, we will go."

"Aunt Madeline, we cannot have you spend so much money on us," Elizabeth objected while Mary nodded her agreement.

"Before we departed Longbourn, your father gave Uncle Edward a very generous amount of funds in the form of a draft, so even though we would have purchased this and more for you without objection, it will not be our funds used for your needs," Madeline revealed. She saw the sisters still looked a little uncomfortable at the idea of visiting shops. "If you are worried about shopping during your mourning period, do not be, it is perfectly acceptable." Madeline noted her nieces' looks of relief at her pre-empting that question.

Elizabeth was taken aback. Could it be her father was making genuine changes? She prayed she would one day be able to be in her parents' company without the acrimonious feelings she had at this point in time.

The sisters went up to their bedchamber to prepare for the walk to their uncle's warehouse. Ever efficient Mary was ready first and made her way downstairs. That left Elizabeth alone, something she had done by design. She talked to her older sister every day, and she felt the need to do so now. Janey never answered back with words, but it gave Elizabeth comfort to know she was listening to her .

She told her late sister about the impending journey into Derbyshire. Elizabeth ignored the thoughts that shire evoked about a certain man she had met in Hertfordshire, and fought the temptation to look at a certain handkerchief. "Silly me, I am sure you were listening when Aunt Maddie spoke to us. I miss you all the time Janey and I have had a hard time, more like an impossible time, imagining my feeling of loss will ever diminish. I know what Charlotte told me about how she slowly recovered after her Grandmama Marianne's death. That notwithstanding, I do not see a path which will lead me past the deep-seated grief I feel. I love you, Janey, but I must not keep our aunt waiting for me for too long." The whole time she spoke to her sister softly, Elizabeth's eyes were pointed heavenward. She could have sworn she felt a movement of air in the room, but she decided she was imagining it. After one last look towards the heavens, she left the bedchamber and made her way downstairs.

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

Colonel Fitzwilliam was preparing to depart Netherfield Park for his return to London and his regiment. His work here was done. After suffering a fever driven by one of his wounds being infected for three days, Wickham had survived .

By then Mr Phillips had drawn up two documents. One regarding the attack which had blinded the miscreant in his left eye, and a second which gave irrevocable authority for his wife to her brother. Wicky had made one last attempt to extract money from Bingley before he signed the documents before Sir William, who was the local magistrate. Thanks to his limited vision with the bandages still in place, the wastrel had not seen the Colonel in the room. One growl from the latter, accompanied by the sound of his unsheathing his sabre, and the documents had been signed post haste. Sir William had not objected to the Colonel's encouragement of the miscreant. He and Phillips departed the sickroom with the latter's copies of the documents .

Before leaving the quaking man alone, Richard Fitzwilliam had warned Wickham in graphic detail what would happen to him if he dared to approached a Darcy, Fitzwilliam, Bingley, or Hurst ever again, not to mention what would happen to him if he ever so much as uttered Georgiana Darcy's name. Knowing the Colonel did not make idle threats, Wickham had sworn they would never hear from him again.

Darcy approached his cousin while the latter was securing his saddle bags to his stallion, Invictus, before his ride back to London. "Are you sure you do not want to use my coach to travel to Town?" he offered once again.

"Thank you, again, William, but no. There may be some rain, but I am used to riding in that, and so much more, so it is no hardship for me," the Colonel asserted.

"I know you are too stubborn for your own good, so I will not try and convince you anymore," Darcy responded. "Thank you for coming, Richard. Your presence made Wicky so much more cooperative. Now it remains for poor Bingley to commit his sister to Bedlam."

"He is very much quieter and contemplative compared to previous times I have been in company with him. I see sadness in his countenance," the Colonel observed. "It is obvious he is taking Miss Bennet's death very hard."

"That he is. Bingley finally found the other half of his heart, only to have it ripped from his grasp in the cruellest way," Darcy related. "It makes his antipathy towards his younger sister all the more understandable. As much as I love Giana, I know not how I would react in the same situation, but then again, our ward would never be as malicious as that insane shrew."

"A truer word has never been spoken. Speaking of Giana, William, are you sanguine with me telling her what has occurred with Wicky and the former Miss Bingley?"

"I am. I have learnt my lesson with regards to information being needed and not trying to shield her from the truth. Tell her I will see her within a week. You know I need to spend time with Gardiner to go over my portfolio of investments with him, do you not?"

"William, we both know it is not your investments which pull you to see Gardiner. I thought you planned to give Miss Bennet time and space while she mourns."

"I do, and I will. I just need to see for myself that she is well," Darcy explained.

"Never did I think I would see the day when you became a mooncalf for any lady, never mind a country miss," the Colonel stated amusedly. "Wait until my parents, Andrew, and Marie hear about this, not to mention what Giana will say, but I dare say she suspects an attachment to Miss Bennet already."

"How can that be, other than you, I have not mentioned my feelings for Miss Bennet to anyone else in the family," Darcy claimed.

"True, however, in not a single letter from you to our ward did you not mention a Miss Elizabeth at least once, and at times more than that. It did not take long to suspect an attachment based on the fact you have never before mentioned a lady in every letter to her," the Colonel revealed.

Darcy smacked his own forehead. "I did not realise I had done that," he declared. "I will write to her and explain the truth of the situation. May I tell my sister you will be able to answer questions she may have?"

"Of course. Please pass my gratitude on to Bingley and the Hursts for hosting me." With that, the Colonel swung up onto Invictus, and with a jaunty salute to his younger cousin, he spurred his mount forward. Darcy stood and watched until he could no longer see horse and rider. He made his way back inside the house and headed for the study where he knew Bingley was.

"I assume this means Fitzwilliam is on his way to London?" Bingley verified.

"He is," Darcy confirmed. "When do you plan to convey your sister to her new home?"

"According to Mr Jones, Wickham will be able to leave here in a few days. Other than the scars, and the fact that he will have only one good eye; he will be well enough to depart," Bingley averred. "I did not want to leave the estate while that libertine was still here. It makes no difference to Caroline as she is sedated. The one time we allowed the drug to wear off, she could not be controlled. As sad as it is to say, her bond to sanity has been irreparably severed. Whoever that being is, it is no longer my sister."

Bingley returned to his work while Darcy made his way to the library to write the letter to his sister which was sorely needed.

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

"Mistress, it seems this letter fell behind the sideboard and was only now discovered when the footmen moved it in order to clean behind it," the Butler stated apologetically as he proffered Mrs Gardiner the salver.

Madeline recognised the hand as that of her brother-in-law. She broke the seal and began to read.

31 October 1810

Longbourn

Madeline,

Be not alarmed on receiving this letter by the apprehension of its containing any demand that Lizzy and Mary return to this estate, which I know would be disgusting to you.

My intention in writing to you is to request your assistance. You may be aware that I put both Kitty and Lydia back in, and I am endeavouring to take up the mantle of my responsibilities, like I should have since the day I married Gardiner's sister. One of the things I have decided is my youngest two need a companion, but one who is able to teach them, almost as a governess would.

It would be easy to blame my wife for their bad behaviour, lack of accomplishments, and little or no education, but the truth is I am the one who is culpable .

I cannot fix what happened to Jane. All I can do is to be better for my family as we go forward. That is the reason I would like to employ a lady like the one I described above. My youngest daughters have been informed and understand it is for their benefit this is being done. Hence, it is my belief they are open to being educated and will not balk and try and escape their lessons.

There has been an immeasurable change of our family, but I believe Jane would have approved that some good is to come from her passing. Yes, I am well aware it should not have taken the death of my eldest daughter to wake me from my self-imposed malaise.

As far as Lizzy goes, I understand her need to be away. I was about to countermand Fanny's banishment when I noted it was what Lizzy wanted. Until she is ready to hear my apologies, I will wait to make them.

With thanks, your brother,

Thomas Bennet

It impressed Madeline that it seemed that the changes Thomas was making were not superficial, and were not only for the short term. As such, she had no objection in assisting him to find someone who would fit the requirements he listed. First, she needed to dispatch an express to let her brother-in-law know why she had not responded to date and her positive reaction to his request.

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

Until the express from Gracechurch Street arrived, Bennet had suspected the Gardiners had ignored his request due to their anger with him. Hence, it was with great relief he read the letter from Madeline .

He was about to begin the search on his own before the most welcome missive arrived with the explanation of why the response had been delayed. Bennet was grateful Maddie would assist him as she had access to a much greater pool of potential candidates than he did.

His sister-in-law would have begun the search by the time he read the missive. He reread the portion which mentioned his two eldest daughters.

Lizzy and Mary are as well as can be expected. They are distracted from their sadness by the children, but when they are not busy, there is no missing how much they mourn Janey.

Your decision to allow them to come to Edward and me in London was a wise one which I believe will allow for a reconciliation when Lizzy is ready for it.

Your daughters will soon travel north to spend some time with my brother and sister-in-law in Derbyshire. Please let me know if you agree to allow Kitty and Lydia to accompany us…

Bennet would of course give his approval. He missed Lizzy greatly, to a lesser extent Mary as well. To his shame, he admitted he did not know Mary just like he had not known his youngest two before he had begun to work with them. He had to admit that both Kitty and Lydia were far more intelligent than he had ever given them credit for.

He could already tell that Kitty not only enjoyed art, but she had a natural talent for drawing. Lydia was interested in history and had asked him to teach her to play chess. Not expecting much, Bennet had agreed, only to find that Lydia took to the game almost as quickly as Lizzy had. To his chagrin, he acknowledged how much he had missed by cutting himself off from his family. Yes, he had to learn from his errors, but the time for looking back was past. He had to concentrate on the path ahead and do whatever he could to improve his daughters' futures.

When he thought about his wife, he knew she appreciated his presence for the first few calls, which were few and far between, from ladies of the area. As hard as it had been for Fanny, she had not tried to excuse what she had done and had accepted her role in the tragedy which followed. Like he had predicted, his wife's owning her errors had taken the wind out of the ladies' sails.

Helping his wife improve herself would be more difficult than his youngest daughters, but Bennet was determined to hold true to his course.