Chapter 40

A t the same time the Gardiners, Elizabeth, the Darcys, and Charity were on their way north, a rider arrived at Hilldale bearing a black-edged missive. When his butler handed the letter to the master, Andrew had worried it was one of his parents or Richard, that was until he noticed the royal seal and the fact it was directed to his mother-in-law.

Andrew considered what this could mean. He was certain that if this was to do with Charity or little Adelle, they would have heard already and not by a notification from the royals. There was no putting it off, he had to deliver the missive.

The sight that greeted him when he entered the nursery was one of joy and peace. Marie was sitting in a rocking chair, Robby in her arms while Mother Rose looked on indulgently.

Marie noticed her husband, and then saw the look of anguish on his face. "Andrew, what troubles you?" she demanded.

Wanting to know what had upset her daughter, Lady Rose looked at her son-in-law and then noticed the black-edged letter in his hand. "Andrew, who is that for?" she asked. Somewhere deep in her bones, Rose knew it was for her. Until she took it from Andrew all was as it was now.

"Mother Rose, it is my sad duty to deliver this to you," Andrew announced. "Let us retire to our private sitting room before you open it."

Robby was placed into his cradle and the nursemaid came and sat next to it to keep her eye on the sleeping babe. The three adults walked to the master suite's sitting room; Lady Rose and Marie both on legs which felt like they could not hold them up. While Andrew pushed the door closed, mother and daughter, clutching one another tightly fell back onto the settee.

Knowing delay would not change the nature of the words she had to read, Rose nodded to her son-in-law who handed her the letter. Andrew sat down on his mother-in-law's other side to offer whatever comfort he was able. She took a deep breath and broke the seal.

26 April 1811

St. James Palace

It is my sad duty to inform you that on or about the 17th day of March of this year The Rose and two of her escort ships were lost at sea in a hurricane, a storm not expected at that time of the year. The only surviving ship was The Protector . More than 15 souls were lost on that vessel, and according to her captain, she barely survived the storm, but not without extensive damage.

Regardless of the state of his command, Captain Jack Flash and his damaged ship searched for any survivors of the other two ships. Other than wreckage which confirmed the three were lost, they found nothing…

" No ! No ! No !" Lady Rose wailed as tears coursed down her cheeks in rivulets, while her daughter sat next to her tears streaming from her eyes as well. "My Sedgwick, Sed, Rebecca, Saul, and Little Sed are all gone! How can God punish us in this fashion?" Mercifully she fainted from the extreme grief.

"Should I summon help to move your mama?" Andrew enquired of his wife.

"No!" Marie insisted emphatically. "I will hold Mama until she wakes. Please read the rest of the page. All the devastated families," Marie cried .

After retrieving the letter from his mother-in-law's limp hand and verifying where to begin, Andrew cleared his throat and began to read aloud.

…found nothing. In an abundance of caution the Governor of the Bahamas had the Admiral dispatch some of the ships in his fleet to search the area again. Even had there been a survivor, by the time the ships would have arrived, none would have remained. As soon as they return to port (which would have been about a fortnight past) the Governor will send updated information.

Their Majesties are aware you and three other families have lost more than can be measured, and they send their deepest sympathies. To make sure all surviving family members are apprised of this tragedy before seeing it written about in the papers, a royal decree will be inserted in a sennight from the date of this missive, and only then will the news of what has occurred be made public.

With two dukedoms and one earldom being greatly affected, issues of succession, if any exist, will be studied as we go forward.

All in the Kingdom mourn with you and the other three families. It is an unfathomable loss to you and your daughters personally, and to the realm as a whole.

Lord Harold Snodgrass

Private secretary to His Majesty the King

"My darling Marie, I am so sorry you have lost so much of your family," Andrew stated sympathetically as he handed his crying wife his handkerchief.

"If not…for Robby's birth…all of us other than…Charity and Adelle would have been…on board," Marie managed between sobs. "My Papa, brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew…are no more. It is…not fair!"

"No, my love, it is not," Andrew agreed. Not only Marie and he, but his parents would have also been on the holiday, yet by the Grace of God they were all alive. If not, Richard would have been the only one left to carry the Fitzwilliam name and the Matlock Earldom forward.

Just then, Lady Rose started to stir. When she saw the letter in Andrew's hand, she knew her irrational dream it had been a nightmare was a fallacy. The sliver of hope was replaced with the deep sadness of knowing it was a reality.

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

Mr. Horace Rumpole and Mr. Mathew Crawley were the current partners in charge of the storied and ancient firm of solicitors, Rumpole and Crawley. The former's eldest son, Nicholas, was a senior clerk at the practice.

When the three men arrived at work on the final Monday in April, the penultimate day of the month, a nervous clerk handed Mr. Rumpole, who had seniority over Mr. Crawley, the letter from the palace. Rumpole's eyebrows shot up as he noted the black edging around the perimeter of the missive. He could not think of why the royals would send their firm a notice of the death of…unless?

Surely not! All of their principal clients had an heir, some a spare, and some of the sons had sons of their own. As far as he was aware, the lines of succession for the clients who were nobles were assured. He wondered if it was connected to the Bedford dukedom. From the mid-1500's as each partner retired, he informed his successor about the letter from a long dead peer, only to be actioned if there was no living male of the current line.

The original document was very old and brittle but had been stored in as dry a storage facility as possible. In addition, every fifty years a certified copy was made, one which was witnessed by the current Lord Chancelor who would attest to the validity of the copy.

Rumpole led Crawley and Nicholas into his spacious office. "Rather than me guess what this notice contains, we should read it," Rumpole stated. "Son, close my door please." The younger Rumpole did so without comment.

Rather than sit behind the desk, Rumpole sat in one of the two chairs before it, and Crawley took the other. With his father's permission, the son stood behind the partners. As soon as he verified the two other men were ready, Rumpole broke the royal seal and unfolded the sheets of heavy paper.

26 April 1811

Office of the Lord Chancelor

St. James Palace

Gentlemen it is my sad duty to notify you of the death of three of your clients and most of their families.

As you know the Dukes of Bedford and Hertfordshire, and the Earl of Holder with one other family who you do not represent, all sailed on The Rose for the West Indies. That ship and two of the escorts was lost in a ferocious and unexpected storm with not a single survivor.

Thankfully, Hertfordshire has a brother, and that brother has sons, so that Dukedom is secure. Although the Earl of Holder did not have a brother, his sister has a son and based on the patents of the earldom, the title passes through the female line if no direct male descendant of the previous earl lives.

That leaves us the dukedom of Bedford, which you know better than most is the richest dukedom which is not held by a royal. The Duchess of Bedford, two of her daughters, and her granddaughter remained in England and are hale and healthy as far as we know. The problem is that even though Lady Marie Fitzwilliam née Rhys-Davies has recently delivered a son, the dukedom may not be passed through the body of a female. Without a male heir the line would have ended.

Thanks to the foresight of the late Earl, as he was then, in 1550, five years before he was called home and the entail he created, there is an heir, or the last time someone from your practice verified it, an heir lived. If Lord Henry Bennet had not done what he did more than 250 years ago, there would be no more Duke of Bedford. The title was elevated to a dukedom some 75 years after the then earl made the provisions he did.

You or some of your emissaries are charged to travel to the Bennet estate of Longbourn. If Mr. Thomas Bennet is alive, or failing that a son, if one exists, he is to be brought to London as soon as the integrity of the line of succession is verified.

I need not emphasise the confidentiality of your work. The notice of the tragedy will be published in a sennight. It is our hope, and of Their Majesties, that we will be able to name the new duke as soon as everything is verified. If that is after the notice is seen by society, then so be it. Accuracy is much more important than speed in this undertaking.

As soon as you have news, one way or the other, report back directly to me.

Lord Horatio Hampstead, Lord Chancelor

For some minutes the three men were silent. It was hard to comprehend the massive loss of life, not only the peers and their families, but the sailors and officers of three ships all gone.

"At least there is a clause in the late duke's will to make sure the family members of any men employed by him and lost at sea working for the Dennington Lines will not have to worry about money and housing for their lifetimes," Rumpole mused.

"Father, why does the letter mention an earl named Bennet, but our clients are the Rhys-Davies?" Nicholas Rumpole enquired.

Rumpole retrieved the copy of the letter he kept locked in the wall safe behind his desk. "Read this and you will understand."

"It seems we need to make for Meryton," Crawley stated. "Rumpole, if you prefer to remain here and supervise all that has to be prepared, I will take your son with me to see this Mr. Bennet, or His Grace as he is now."

"That is acceptable," Rumpole averred. "Allow me to suggest you address him as Mr. Bennet for now. Whichever Mr. Bennet—if one is alive—is the master at Longbourn, he is about to have his life turned on its head." He looked back at his son. "Make a copy of my copy and take it with you."

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

By the time they arrived at Clover Dell having spent three days in Mr. Darcy's company much of the time during the journey, Elizabeth found she was sorry to see the Darcys and Charity depart. She admitted to herself that as much as she enjoyed being with Anna and Charity, she would miss Mr. Darcy's company the most.

She knew not when it had occurred, but ever since he had arrived in Hertfordshire with an amended character, Elizabeth had enjoyed spending time with him, and desired more. So much so that at the ball before the weddings she had silently urged him to ask her for a second set. He was not aware, but she never danced the final set and always wrote a fictitious name on her dance card for that set. Before she came out, she had determined to only dance the final set with a man who she felt she could love. If he had requested a second set, she would have granted it to him.

That thought had shocked Elizabeth to her core. Somehow, she had begun to develop tender feelings for Mr. Darcy. The more time they spent together, the more she began to see he was a man who could suit her better than any other. That realisation saddened her. Even though Mr. Darcy—no William as she had been asked to call him now that they were cousins by marriage—had brought his improper pride under regulation, surely he was too proud to offer his hand a second time to a woman who had rejected it with scorn the way she had. There was, in her opinion, a glimmer of hope. He seemed to seek her company whenever possible .

When they had made the first stop since departing Meryton, Elizabeth had heard William suggest Anna issue an invitation for her to ride in the Darcy coach from that rest stop onwards. With her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner's permission, she had accepted. It had given them more than a month of drawing room time in company together. Anna and Charity always seemed to entertain themselves, or find something they needed to speak to with their companions leaving Elizabeth and William to converse. With each mile that passed she found herself becoming more comfortable with him, and developing deeper feelings at the same time.

Now, after taking tea at Clover Dell, Elizabeth stood watching the back of the Darcy coach as it was driven away and feeling disappointed at seeing it leave.

In that coach, Darcy felt like he could flap his arms and fly up to the heavens. Something was changing between him and the woman he loved even more than he had when he made that proposal. He did not believe he was once again deluding himself like he had before that she had feelings for him. Elizabeth was so warm and welcoming and she had willingly ridden in his conveyance for most of the journey into Derbyshire. Rather than trying to escape his presence, she was happy to spend time with him.

He did not want to act towards her like he had before, as the last thing Darcy desired was to pressure Elizabeth, in case he pushed her away like he did last time. They had agreed to address one another by their familiar names, so he could finally call her by her given name. If he were to declare himself a second time, he would need to be close to sure it was what she wanted.

Georgiana broke through his reverie of his beloved Elizabeth saying, "William, Charity and I were speaking and we believe Lizzy no longer disdains you, in fact…"

"Do not stop there sweetling," Darcy pressed keenly .

Anna looked at Charity. "We have the right of it, William is besotted with Lizzy. I would very much enjoy having Lizzy as a sister, then Mary and I will be sisters rather than cousins."

"In a roundabout way I am already a sister to Jane, Lizzy, and Mary, thanks to Andrew being married to my older sister," Charity added."

"Anna what were you about to say when you stopped," William huffed.

"Even though we do not have experience with relationships between men and women, we believe Lizzy is developing tender feelings for you," Georgiana opined while Charity nodded her agreement. "She no longer sees you as she did before, but rather is aware of the wonderful man I always knew you were."

Darcy sat on the rear facing bench with a stupid grin on his face. It remained in place right until they arrived at Pemberley. When he alighted to hand his sister and Charity out, Darcy was lost as to why he saw Andrew striding towards the coach.

"Andrew is all well with Marie and Robby?" Darcy asked concernedly.

"My son is well, and Marie is physically well," Andrew stated sadly. "Charity, we need to depart for Hilldale as soon as may be."

"Andrew, what is the problem?" Darcy insisted.

"Let us speak in a room which is away from prying ears," Andrew responded.

Darcy led them to his study. It was the work of moments before Charity was sobbing and wailing for her lost family members, her papa, brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew. When Darcy asked if Andrew wanted them to join him at Hilldale, his cousin demurred, including that Anna not accompany Charity. He explained that Lady Rose needed both of her daughters with her for some private grieving .

As soon as Charity and her companion's trunks were transferred to the Hilldale coach, they were on their way with Andrew.

While Mrs. Annesley accompanied Anna to her bedchamber, Darcy sat in his study cogitating on the fragility of life on the mortal coil. More than once, he had thought to ask if there was a berth for him on The Rose . All he could do was thank goodness he had decided against joining them.

He would carry the bad news to Clover Dell on the morrow.

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

As soon as Lord and Lady Matlock learnt the devastating news, they left London for Hilldale to give succour to Marie and Charity and for Lady Elaine to be with Cousin Rose and aid her in any way she needed.

For now, the Fitzwilliam parents decided against sending a letter about what had occurred, to Seaview Cottage, where Mary and Richard were enjoying their honeymoon.