Chapter 19

He awoke early the next morning, long before the dawn. He realised that it must be nearly five, and felt a pang of guilt, knowing that his cousin would have been looking forward to his attendance at dinner. Someone must have looked in on him, the counterpane had been dragged off the bed, and he had been covered awkwardly. It must have been Ella; he shook his head with a smile. He washed his face and cleaned his teeth with the water left in the pitcher, then left his room and headed downstairs.

Mrs Siple had a watery smile for him when he entered the kitchen and gave her a great hug. "There you are! A sight for sore eyes, Master Dorian, I do believe you and dear Mrs Pembroke must be the only lot what can bring me a smile these dark days. Poor Master William," she sniffled and brought a handkerchief to her nose. "Tis dark times upon us, Master Dorian, dark times. When bad luck strikes twice, you can be sure it will strike thrice, my mother always said… I am afeared something else will befall our poor family… But do not listen to me. I'm an old woman. You're here now. You'll see Haye Park through…"

He was at a loss to comfort the old woman who mumbled superstitions as she pressed a cup of coffee and some toast upon him, and he told her a little about his adventures at sea as he ate. When he had finished, he stood, and she handed him a carrot for his horse and said, "Same time tomorrow then?" Then returned to her stove. He went out the servant's entrance, and made his way to the stables. If he was to enjoy a pounding ride before anyone in the neighbourhood was about to stop and hinder him, he must go soon.

Pembroke was in the stable when he arrived, saddling a marvellous looking bay stallion. The men nodded to one another as Dorian brought Sir Horatio, an impressive, dappled grey from his stall, and prepared to saddle him. "That is a splendid grey there, Goulding. Named for Nelson, is he?"

Dorian nodded in confirmation that the horse was indeed named for the famed naval man also known as Britannia's God of War. "He is. I apologise for my absence at dinner last night, Pembroke. I had no sleep the previous evening, and I did not expect to rest so long. I am certain my aunt can do very well without my company, but I am already grieved that my cousin died believing that I had disowned him. The thought that I might have disappointed Ella so quickly, and in her condition-"

Pembroke held up a hand to stop him. "Ella is sturdier than that. I am as protective as any man whose wife is expecting, but I assure you, she went to check on you herself, and when she found you sleeping, she covered you, and refused to allow anyone to disturb or speak ill of you. I am certain she would forgive you anything just now.

"Another thing you ought to know," his new cousin continued, "I became good friends with my brother after I married my wife. Ella is not wrong that you have always been spoken of often here. William did not believe for a moment that you kept away by choice. He knew his father had something to do with it, he told me so himself. He did not pursue a connection with you for the same reason as yourself. A desire not to pain his father. I am certain he would not wish you to distress yourself over the matter. He always spoke well of you, and hoped that you were doing well. He knew you were a captain. He followed the lists, and the stories of your battles with great interest. He was very proud of you."

"I cannot thank you enough for saying that," Dorian replied with feeling. "It means more to me than I can say. I am unsure of my plans, immediate or long term, but I assure you, nothing will prevent me from keeping a connection with Ella."

"Would you like company on your ride?"

"Be my guest, but I intend to ride too hard for conversation," Dorian replied easily.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. By the by, Mr Phillips is due to read the will at eleven o'clock this morning," Pembroke informed him.

"Might I ask, is there a reason why no one has mentioned a waiting period for Mrs Lavinia before the estate passes to me?" Dorian inquired, and when Pembroke asked him what he meant, he clarified, "Usually an entailed estate is thrown into abeyance for a time when the widow is of childbearing age."

"Ah, there is a reason for that." Pembroke answered. "Lavinia and William had a disappointment some months ago. It was never discussed outside of the family, but a child was lost, and Lavinia was ill for some time. It is my understanding that the couple had not begun to endeavour again, planning to give her a period of rest. My wife informs me that her mother says it is an impossibility, and the ladies see the futility of pretending otherwise."

Pembroke swung up into the saddle as Dorian followed suit. The men rode hard for an hour and a half, Dorian taking the lead as he familiarised himself again with the estate and surrounding area.

When the men returned, they both went above stairs to bathe and change, then met in the breakfast room. Pembroke escorted his wife to her chair, then went to the sideboard to serve her, as Dorian greeted his cousin and gave his regrets for the previous evening. The two widows did not join them for breakfast, and Ella assured him that they never did. The meal was spent with the cousins catching up on one another's news, talking over one another, and laughing in delight. Ella and Benedict told Dorian about his two nieces that had been left behind in Kent, Mary and little Ella, aged five and three, Ella expressing her hope that her current condition would result in an heir for her husband, who smiled and assured his wife that he had no objection in the slightest to another daughter.

"It is my privilege to serve and provide for you and as many lovely girls as you can produce, my dear." he patted her hand. "I assure you; we have nothing entailed, and nothing to fear from a house full of girls." His wife glowed, and Dorian smiled at the obvious affection Mr Pembroke displayed for his cousin.

Later that morning, the family assembled around the table in the breakfast room while Mr Phillips read the will. Mrs Ada Goulding was left the twelve thousand pounds that she had brought to her marriage, which would remain in trust until it fell to Ella and her daughters upon her demise. Lavinia had only brought eight thousand to her marriage, but was left an additional two thousand pounds from her husband William, leaving her with ten thousand, and the small carriage and horses he had purchased upon their marriage.

Both ladies were granted a place in the dower house for their lifetimes. Three thousand was left for Ella by her father, and two thousand for each of her daughters, while small sums and personal possessions were left to retainers and others that William and Mr Goulding thought well of. Uncle Frank had left Dorian nothing that was unentailed, except for a set of journals that were reported in the will to be stored in a locked cabinet in his uncle's rooms.

Dorian spoke up when Mr Phillips had finished, and it was time to make his wishes known, but first had a question. "May I ask why on earth my uncle and cousin never ended the entail? William had been past his majority for many years."

"There was a requisite number of generations that must be satisfied before the entail could be dissolved. The entail was extended after your father was born to include your father and yourself, though no one knows why. My father-in-law clerked that extension, but nothing else is known about it. You are the first generation with the power to dissolve it with the consent of your heir."

Dorian took in this information thoughtfully. "I have no immediate plans to take over Haye Park," he began. "First and foremost, the respect due my aunt and Mrs Lavinia must be considered. I will not expect the ladies to vacate Haye Park for the dower house for the duration of their full mourning. I will make use of the dower house myself during that time, and the ladies may use that opportunity to have any changes made to it that they deem necessary. Any renovations will not disturb me in the least, I am sure, and I will assume the cost of whatever changes to the house the ladies require."

"Six months is kindness, indeed," Mr Phillips remarked, "And your offer to pay for the renovations of the dower house is generosity itself, I am sure your aunt will agree."

Aunt Ada said nothing, only sat looking pinched as Dorian continued, "I have personal business in Meryton for the foreseeable future. I will use this time to familiarise myself with the steward, and the workings of the estate. I will not commit now to taking over the manor when the six months have concluded; depending on how my business in Meryton develops, it is possible that settling in Meryton may prove inconvenient at that time. In that case, it is possible that I may ask you to find a tenant for the estate, not including the dower house in the lease, of course."

Mr Phillips expressed his understanding of Dorian's preferences, then Dorian continued. "It has recently been an intention of mine to purchase an estate. I hope everyone here understands how much I did not wish to acquire one in this manner, not to mention my discomfort at the idea of spending my life in service to an estate I might not be permitted to leave to my own wife or daughters.

"I would like to know who is next in line for the entail, and explore the possibility of paying them to sign the necessary documents to end the blasted thing. The sum I was prepared to have spent on an estate is considerable. Considering my youth, the next in line may well be only too happy to accept a generous sum rather than wait decades for the slight possibility of inheriting."

"It is worth pursuing, if you are willing to buy your own house from your heir," Mr Phillips observed. "What will you do if your efforts are unsuccessful?"

If the next heir presumptive and I cannot come to an agreement, I will use my personal funds to buy another estate where I will raise my family, should I be blessed with one. Haye Park will be let on a permanent basis. The extra income will be put aside for the advancement of my children. Should Haye Park ever be lost due to a lack of sons, it will be no great loss, for my family will never lose the home they know, and the profits from the lease will never have provided the family's income, only dowries and the like," Dorian concluded.

"Your plan seems sound, Goulding. I cannot say I blame you. I would not be well pleased with inheriting an entailed estate myself, not if I could afford an unentailed one. An entailed estate causes nothing but anxiety in a family," said Pembroke in approval.

"I shall begin the search for the next heir presumptive immediately," announced Mr Phillips. "I cannot expect it to take very long, I have my niece's men in London at my disposal, they can locate nearly anyone."

The meeting was concluded, and plans were made to open the dower house. Dorian went over the house with his cousin and her husband, then his aunt and Lavinia would view it themselves when they chose. Dorian deemed it perfectly acceptable for his needs, and waited for his aunt and cousin to inform him what changes they required.

Those two ladies toured the house the next day, and had a list several miles long for what they required before they could move in. They wanted proper water closets and bathing chambers, drains, pumped in water, and boilers. They required new paint, new wallpapers, and new upholstery in every room and a completely new kitchen. It would cost a pretty penny. More than a thousand pounds, he estimated, but he would provide for the widows of his uncle and cousin with generosity and respect.

Dorian assured them they would have whatever they required in the way of vegetables, poultry, and dairy from the home farm, and gave his aunt his uncle's carriage and horses, which technically had been willed with the estate. He would replace them with specimens of his own if he took the place over himself. If he leased it, it would hardly matter.

*****

The following day the Darcy household arrived at Netherfield, but considering their journey, Dorian did not see Lydia so soon. Instead, he was set upon in his aunt's drawing room, by local ladies who were ostensibly there to condole with his aunt and cousins, and in his uncle's study by the local gentlemen. The dower house was still being prepared for him, and so he was more in his aunt's company than he would wish, though it was a blessing to spend so much time with Ella and her husband, who were planning to return to Kent the following week.

A few of their visitors were genuine, wishing only to visit and sympathise with Ella and to reacquaint themselves with Dorian. Mrs Collins, Sir William and John Lucas, and Mrs Long were just such people, and Dorian was happy to know them again. He was pleased indeed to make plans to ride out and look over several landmarks and places of interest on the estate with John Lucas.

Other families made it clear that they would be tedious with their hopes for their daughters or other relations. Once Elizabeth had provided opportunities for most of the young ladies of the neighbourhood, younger girls had grown up in the meantime, and relations of many of the principal four and twenty families of the area began sending their daughters to visit. So, it seemed that every other matron was accompanied by young daughters and myriad cousins and nieces from one part of the kingdom or another.

The gentlemen of the neighbourhood were no better when they paid their visits, and the men who had no daughters or young female relations at home all made suggestions that they might invite unmarried friends or relations for his convenience. It was the opinion of everyone who visited, except for perhaps Mrs Collins and the Lucases, who offered authentic friendship immediately, that a single and newly retired captain in possession of an estate and a generous fortune must be in want of a wife.

As invitations began pouring in for dinners and parties, he made it clear that he was not immediately in search of marital prospects, and that he would observe a six-week period of mourning for his uncle and cousin. As a man, he could don a black armband and go about his life with relatively little alteration to his preferred routines, but such behaviour was hardly respectful to his uncle and cousin, nor fair to their wives, who must sit at home for months. Observing a few weeks of mourning was the very least he could do, and it allowed him to reacquaint himself with the neighbourhood slowly.

*****

The party from Netherfield visited the day after their arrival. The gentlemen at Haye Park were sequestered in the study, Dorian was going over some papers with Mr Pembroke when Darcy was announced with Colonels Brandon and Fitzwilliam as well as Vivian Radcliffe. The men all shook hands cordially, the others all knowing Pembroke well. They spent a friendly quarter hour exchanging condolences, and discussing the transfer of the estate, what was known about the entail, the heir presumptive, and general estate matters pertinent for a man who had newly inherited.

Elizabeth and the ladies were announced to the drawing room, and Elizabeth took a seat with Mrs Ada, while her younger sisters gave their condolences and comfort to Ella. Georgiana sat near Mrs Lavinia. The little groups conversed quietly, as befit a house in mourning, until Mary and Kitty moved to go and speak with the other ladies.

Ella looked at Lydia and said, "I am ever so happy that my cousin is returned to us. Of course, I am not the only one. The ladies of Meryton all set upon the house like wild dogs once they learned he was here."

"I am sure Sir Dorian must be highly welcomed wherever he goes," Lydia replied agreeably.

"He took it with good humour, though I believe it is you from that he hopes to find a welcome, Miss Bennet," said Ella.

"Ella, I believe we have known each other far too long to revert to last names now. Sir Dorian and I knew each other but little when he went into the naval academy. I am looking forward to knowing him better now," observed Lydia, giving nothing away.

The older lady smiled, "You have changed so much since he went away. You're so grown up now, you really have matured into quite the loveliest and most intelligent woman I have ever met, save your sister. You will do quite well for him." Ella Pembroke patted her hand, then stood and moved to speak with her mother and Elizabeth.

The men soon joined them, and Lydia smiled when Dorian entered the room and made his way to her immediately. Mrs Ada passed around cups of tea, and when she overlooked Dorian, purposely, Lydia could tell, his cousin stepped in to help her mother, pouring him a cup and handing it to him with an annoyed glance at their hostess.

Aunt Ada was nobody's fool. She saw immediately what Dorian's business in Meryton was, and seeking to place herself in his way, each time he attempted to speak to the object of his desire, she would interrupt him and ask Lydia about her studies, what languages she was studying now, her most recent wardrobe acquisitions, and whether she had advised on the decor of any great houses in particular lately.

Eventually, seeing that her sister would not be able to converse with Dorian in peace in his aunt's drawing room, and noting the time, Elizabeth stood and took her leave of their hostess, and promised to be a frequent caller during their mourning, at least while the Darcys were in residence at Netherfield.