Chapter 43

E lizabeth was spending the day with William and Anna at Pemberley two days after she had agreed to be courted by the former. Although it would not be part of her decision whether to accept a proposal from William, if and when he made one, Elizabeth had to own she had never seen an estate for which nature had done more and had not been counteracted by the awkward tastes of men.

The mansion was an enormous structure, the fa?ade manufactured from the stone which seemed to be very prevalent in Derbyshire. When the sun's rays reached the stones, it almost looked like the house glowed with a golden hue.

In front of the house was an enormous rose garden, in full bloom, giving off the most enticing fragrance. There were two gazebos interspersed in this garden, to allow those who wanted to commune with the beauty to do so. Across the drive which passed the front door and led to the extensive stables, was a large, well-kept grass park with trees dotted here and there. There was also a nice sized lake which, to Elizabeth's delight, was bordered on its one side by the vast forest which lined the drive for almost two miles as one approached the manor house from the gatehouse.

Currently, Elizabeth was strolling through the rose garden with Anna. Her Aunt Maddie, the four Gardiner children, and Alli were sitting on the seats under one of the gazebos, and the two men were fishing in the stream which fed the lake.

"I am told that my late mother was an avid gardener and she especially loved the rose garden," Anna told Elizabeth wistfully as she cupped a pretty pink and white rose bloom in her hand. It was a reason she absorbed anything told by anyone who had known her late mother. Any morsel she could add to her knowledge of the lady she could not remember was like gold to Anna.

"This garden is not too overdone like some I have seen. Personally I am enamoured with the wildness I see all around the estate. So little has been spoiled by your brother and the masters of Pemberley who preceded him," Elizabeth observed.

"Lizzy, may I tell you something coincidental?" Anna requested.

"Of course Anna, feel free to tell me anything," Elizabeth allowed. "I am no shrinking violet who will wilt if you discuss something impolitic."

Anna giggled into her hand. "That is the last way I would ever describe you. I do not believe it is anything scandalous. Do you know if you have a relative who was an Earl?" Anna enquired.

"Not as far as I am aware. Why do you ask?"

"Not too long ago, Mrs. Annesley had me build a family tree as part of my lessons. I began with the present and have been working back. In 1507 my very late aunt, Elizabeth Darcy married Lord Henry Thomas Bennet, the Earl of Bedford from Bedfordshire. I wondered if there is a connection."

"I doubt it. According to the bible in my father's study, the Bennets only arrived at Longbourn in 1536, nine and twenty years later. Besides, it seems the earldom is defunct, as there is…was only a Duke of Bedford today." Elizabeth's eyebrows got close one to the other as she concentrated on her memories. "There is however something strange I seem to remember. If I am not wrong, the first master of Longbourn who was a Bennet was named Thomas Henry, and there is no reference to any title or nobility. I am sure the fact my an cestor and your ancestor's husband's familiar names are not the same, just in reverse order, is nothing more than happenstance."

Before Anna could respond, the sounds of a fast approaching horse's hooves were heard on the drive.

Darcy and Gardiner noted the rider. "It may be from Hilldale; would you object if we make our way to the rider and verify what the express portends to?" Darcy enquired.

"Of course I do not," Gardiner averred.

The two men reeled in their lines, which did not have any squirming victims on the hooks, and laid the rods down. Darcy and Gardiner made the relatively short walk to the drive.

"You be Mr. Gardiner?" the rider asked Darcy.

"No, that is me," Gardiner told him.

Without a word, the man sprang off his hard-breathing horse and handed a missive to Gardiner. Not waiting for any coins, he vaulted back onto his mount and was on his way back the way he came in seconds.

"Edward, how did an express reach you here?" Madeline enquired as she approached with Elizabeth and Anna trailing her. "And who is it from?"

"I am sure the butler told the man where to find me, and it is from Bennet," Gardiner averred.

As soon as she heard the express was from her father, Elizabeth felt a sense of dread. "Uncle Edward, please, what is it? Is everyone in the family well? Please tell me it is not bad, the worst news," Elizabeth burbled as she was overset by nerves as every terrible scenario ran through her head.

Gardiner broke the seal and with his wife read the letter. "Here Lizzy, read it for yourself and you will feel assured," Gardiner stated as he handed over the page.

Elizabeth began to relax knowing full well had it been very bad news, she would have been told to sit and her uncle would not have proffered her the letter here in the drive. She read, and soon her fears regarding one of her loved ones were calmed, but now her curiosity was enflamed. What was this ‘ epic surprise ' to which Papa referred? "When will we depart?" she asked.

"It is too late today, so we will begin our journey with the light on the morrow," Gardiner responded.

Both Darcy and Elizabeth felt disappointed. They had been making good progress in building trust and respect between them and they would be sad to have that process interrupted.

Madeline did not miss the looks on Lizzy's and William's faces. "Thomas does not say it is a private family matter, does he?" she verified.

Gardiner understood the thrust of his wife's question. It was then he looked from Lizzy to Darcy and saw the looks of impending loss. "Darcy, unless you and Anna have pressing business which holds you at your estate, you are more than welcome to accompany us to Longbourn."

"May we brother?" Georgiana enthused. "That way I will not have to farewell Lizzy, Alli, and Lilly for now."

Even had he business, on seeing the pleasure which lit up his dearest, loveliest Elizabeth's face at the prospect of his travelling south with them would have been enough to make the decision. As it was there was nothing to hold him at Pemberley, so it was the easiest decision he had ever made.

"As long as you are sure we will not be imposing," Darcy verified with Gardiner.

"Not at all," Gardiner confirmed.

"As Mary and Richard are on their honeymoon, I will not bother him requesting the use of Netherfield Park, Anna and I will take rooms at the inn in Meryton," Darcy stated as they began to walk back towards the manor house. A maid was sent to bring the children inside for tea .

"You will not need rooms at the Red Lion Inn," Elizabeth insisted. "We have room to host you at Longbourn, and besides, even with Mary and Richard away, you need only speak to the owner of the estate to be allowed to reside there."

"But I do not know who owns Netherfield Park," Darcy responded confusedly. Had he met the owner and not even realised it?

"Yes you do," Elizabeth loosed one of her tinkling laughs Darcy so loved to hear. "It belongs to my mother."

As the others walked towards the house, the Gardiner children and Alli having re-joined them, Darcy stood frozen in place, his mouth hanging open. Every day he discovered more evidence of how monumentally wrong he had been about the Bennets.

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

The first Friday in May, the third day of the month, members of the Ton and all recipients of The Times of London were beyond shocked as they read the notice from the royals in the paper.

Their Majesties the King and Queen announce:

Due to a storm on or about the 17th day of March 1811, The Rose and two of her escort ships, The Guardian and The Watcher, were lost as were all souls on board the three ships.

We mourn the loss of 527 lives and our deepest sympathies go out to all effected families. Included among those lost were the following:

The Duke of Bedford; the Duke and Duchess of Hertfordshire; the Earl and Countess of Holder; the Marquess and Marchioness of Birchington; the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford; Viscount Hadlock, Lords Saul and Sedgewick Rhys-Davies; Lady Leticia Carrington; the Honourable Philip Carrington; Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Featherington; Mr. George Featherington; Misses Philippina and Prudencia Featherington.

The King, Queen, princes, and princesses all grieve with their subjects over this horrendous loss of life.

May they all be with God.

As sorry as the readers were for all of the lost lives, especially those who knew some of those who had been consigned to the deep, speculation about the succession to all three peerages began immediately. Others wondered when they would see the Duchess of Bedford, who they were aware had remained in England with some of her family.

The Earl and Countess of Jersey were at their estate of Broadhurst in Essex when they read the announcement in the broadsheets. As had been predicted, they made plans to travel to Jersey House in London on the morrow.

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

Contrary to what the solicitors had suggested, the Bennets at Longbourn had decided to wait for their three daughters to arrive before leaving for London. As it was, Mary and Richard had arrived on Thursday and Jane and Wes on Friday. Seeing it would have taken at least two days for the express to reach Clover Dell and then another two to three days before they arrived at Longbourn—depending on how many hours they travelled each day—it was apparent they could not defer the decision about when to depart any longer. Monday was the earliest they expected Lizzy to arrive home, and only if Gardiner decided to travel on the sabbath. It was already the day after the announcement regarding the tragedy of epic proportions had been carried in the papers. Bennet and Cilla had debated the merits of remaining in Hertfordshire until next week, however, they owned it was past the time for them to make for Town.

When the newly married Fitzwilliams arrived and had been apprised of what had occurred, as would be expected, their overarching emotion was sorrow. Not only had Richard known almost all of the members of the four families who had been lost on The Rose , but he was a cousin, albeit it a distant one, to the Rhys-Davies. Mary cried for the people she had met at the Jersey ball and who had been lost.

The next day Jane's and Wes's reactions had been much the same. Wes and his family had been close to all four families who had been devastated. He had been very close to the late Birchington so it hit him very hard.

It took the two couples who had cut their wedding trips short some time to come to terms with the magnitude of the loss of life. When Bennet and Cilla shared the reason for needing them home and the imminent departure to London, all four had been flabbergasted. At least they now understood why they had to leave the respective cocoons of their newlywedded bliss.

Cilla wrote a note for Lizzy and the Gardiner parents and left it with Hill and then in two travelling coaches with the Bedford coat of arms emblazoned on the doors, and three following carriages, escorted by the combined Bennet footmen-guards and the outriders who had arrived with the Bedford conveyances, the Bennets headed to London and a seismic change in their lives.

Hattie Philips watched as the coaches travelled through Meryton on their way towards Town. She was admiring the fine conveyances when she recognised her newly married niece, the Viscountess, in one of them. She was about to call out when her husband placed a restraining hand on her arm.

Philips led his wife into their house and then proceeded to inform his wife of the Bennets' elevation. Just before she fainted, Hattie was thinking of how her late sister Fanny would have been a duchess.

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

Even though Richard and Wes had told them how huge Bedford House was, seeing it when they arrived was still shocking for those who had never seen it before. To call it a mansion was somewhat of an understatement. As they approached it, those in the lead coach could see there were large gardens and lawns which provided space between the house and its neighbours on either side. Cilla was sure Lizzy would like the fact there seemed to be a fair amount of land surrounding the structure.

Rumpole and Crawley must have forewarned the staff and servants that the new duke and duchess would be arriving as by the time the conveyances came to a halt; an older couple stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to a small veranda in front of the large double front doors. On the veranda itself were lines of servants. The men in livery and the females in smart black dresses. The butler and all males had a black armband on their arms, as did Bennet, his sons, and sons-in-law. Mary, as she had been a cousin through marriage, was in a black dress while Cilla and Jane wore the colours of half-mourning.

As soon as the coaches were drawn to a halt, liveried footmen had the steps placed and doors opened as they stood back to allow those within to alight. Bennet was first out of the lead conveyance and handed out his wife. They were followed by Henry and Tommy. Wes and then Richard handed their wives out of the second coach.

Bennet and Cilla approached the butler and housekeeper who respectively bowed and curtsied deeply. "Your Graces," the butler intoned. "Welcome to Bedford House. I am Grey, your butler, and my wife, Mrs. Jamima Grey is your housekeeper. The dowager duchess and some of her family arrived the previous day and are in the blue drawing room."

"We thank you for the welcome Mr. and Mrs. Grey," Priscilla responded. "Please dismiss the servants. We will address them after we have condoled with the Dowager Duchess of Bedford and her family." Priscilla looked at her housekeeper. "Please show us to the blue drawing room."

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

Lord Matlock was still trying to absorb what Messrs. Rumpole and Crawley had relayed when they had called once they were aware Rose had arrived in London. He, along with the rest of their party had read the letter which had been written in 1550, or the certified copy thereof.

The Bennets, the family Richard had married into were a different branch, but directly descended from the then Earl of Bedford. Like everyone else in the room, learning that the family's original name was Bennet, was a revelation for Matlock. The solicitors had explained until the moment their elevation had been revealed to them, the Bennets had been as ignorant of the connection as the rest of them were.

A greater surprise was reading of the relationships, albeit distant to the Carringtons and Darcys. It was well known one of his ancestors had married a Rhys-Davies. There was no reference to the fact the then viscount was a Bennet when they married. Matlock was pleased his daughter-in-law and Charity had brought their emotions under regulation once again.

At first Marie and Charity had felt resentment towards the usurpers , the latter ignoring how much she liked the Bennets. Lady Rose had put paid to that with immediacy. She understood her daughters' pain, a pain so deep she herself felt, as their family members would never be seen again, but she pointed out forcefully the Bennets did not choose this any more than they did.

Once their initial anger had bled out of them, and first Marie, and then Charity allowed logic to reassert itself, they saw how wrongheaded any pique directed at the Bennets was. Rose reminded her eldest daughter of meeting the Bennets at her friend Sarah's ball and how impressed they had all been with them. Once everyone was calm again, Lord and Lady Matlock, with aid from Charity—who was being honest with herself regarding the Bennets once again—told Rose, Marie, and Andrew all they knew of the Bennets.

As they waited in the blue drawing room, in anticipation of the Bennets being announced by Grey, there were no longer feelings of animosity. They were all family after all.

When Grey announced their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, the Marquess of Birchington, Lord Thomas Bennet, and Ladies Jane and Mary, even though those in the drawing room had been prepared to hear the titles, it still hurt, as it brought to mind the faces of those lost.

"Your Graces…" Lady Rose began but stopped speaking when the new duchess approached her and took her hands.

"We are all family here," Priscilla said comfortingly. "We are fully aware we can never replace all those you have lost, and it is not our intention to attempt to do so. However, we will do what we are able to in order to ease your grief. In that vein, let us dispense with formality. I am Priscilla, called Cilla by most, that is Thomas, Jane, Mary, Henry, and Tommy. Lizzy was in Derbyshire so she will join us as soon as she arrives."

"Tom, Mother, Tom." On the ride to London he had decided he had outgrown Tommy.

The interaction reduced the tension in the room. It was agreed to address one another by familiar names without delay. "We will be moving out of our chambers into ones you assign us…" Lady Rose began to say.

Cilla took Rose's hands once again. "Thomas and I will take an unoccupied suite until you have had time and are ready to move. There is no hurry." She looked at Charity. "You dear will keep your chambers here and in all of the houses. No one will ask you to move to another set of apartments." Lastly she turned to Marie and Andrew. "I know you have a house on Portman Square, but I assume you have a suite for your use when you visit this house overnight?"

"That is correct," Marie averred.

"The same applies to you and Andrew as does to Charity. You have all suffered an upheaval of unimaginable proportions, and we," Priscilla indicated her arriving family, "have no intention of adding to that burden. If there is anything you need from us to assist you, you have only to ask."

"As you can imagine, this came as a shock to all of us," Bennet articulated. "We, me especially, will need much help and direction as we begin to learn the duties of the roles in which we now find ourselves. As much as you wish your menfolk were here instead of us, we wish that many times more."

Hearing what the new Duke and Duchess said, and the sincerity with which it was stated, Rose, Marie, and Charity knew eventually all would be well.

"Did the solicitors explain that Rose, Charity, and Adelle are now under our protection?" Priscilla enquired. There were nods. "Rose, we will always defer to you in the way you raise your daughter, and with regards to Adelle, she will never have to worry about not being allowed to see her other grandparents as well. Your home is with us, and will be until you choose otherwise. Like Thomas said, he will, as will I, need your guidance and assistance."

With everyone feeling much more comfortable with each other, Cilla accompanied Lady Rose and Mrs. Grey to choose suites for her family. Like Marie and Andrew had, Jane and Wes, and Mary and Richard owned their own homes in London, but they too would have a suite assigned to them at Bedford House.