Chapter 14

“E laine!” Maria Fitzherbert exclaimed on seeing her very close friend. “How did you know I needed you at my side? As far as George and I knew, not a word has been leaked about what almost befell Emma.”

“It was William Darcy, my nephew, who informed us. Our niece Anna wrote to him and told him what had almost occurred,” Lady Matlock explained. “Speaking of William, he is the only one you have not met. May I introduce him to you?”

“Please do, Elaine,” Maria allowed. “We all like Anna very well already, and both Mary Anne and Emma love her.”

“If only William was as pleasant as his sister,” the Colonel ribbed. His jest earned him looks of disapproval from his parents, Andrew, and William. “It was not the best timed jest; I apologise to all of you.”

“Maria, as you have been able to hear, this is Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, called William by all of us, the master of Pemberley in Derbyshire. William, Mrs Maria Fitzherbert.”

As soon as his aunt completed the introduction, Darcy bowed deeply to the Regent’s de facto wife. “I thank you for opening your home to my sister and me, we are most grateful for your and the Regent’s condescension.”

“Is Emma truly well?” Lady Elaine asked as she linked arms with her good friend.

“She is unharmed, all thanks to Elizabeth who is a heroine. Had she not thrown herself into the path of the horse and knocked Emma down, my baby,” Maria sobbed as she thought of what could very easily have been, “would have been lost to us. Never have I heard of an act of bravery of that magnitude before. George and I owe her everything.”

“How does the young lady?” Lord Matlock enquired.

“Yesterday when her father and sisters arrived, she woke briefly, which Mr Winthorpe says is a good sign. According to what we have been told, she has woken for brief periods since the first time. Her left leg is broken, she has a laceration on one wrist, and her head was injured when the criminal aimed his horse at her,” Maria related.

Darcy felt his knees turn to jelly as he heard how Miss Elizabeth had been injured. “In her letter, Anna told that only one kidnapper escaped. Mrs Fitzherbert, Is anything known of that man, or the one who sent them to commit this dastardly deed?”

“All is known. Elizabeth identified the man on the horse as one she knew, and his identity was confirmed by the men who are being held by the Royal Guard.”

The instant the lady mentioned Miss Elizabeth identified the man Darcy’s blood ran cold. He could only think of one man the lady would have recognised and could have committed such a crime. “It is Wickham, is it not?” He was sure he knew the answer to the question.

“Indeed, that is the criminal’s name. How would you know that?” Maria asked.

Not thinking of the protocol of sitting before the ladies, Darcy sunk into an armchair in the hallway. “It is all my fault,” an ashen faced man croaked out. “Had I dealt with Wickham when I should have, he would not have been able to try to kidnap Miss Seymour, and neither would he have been in a position to harm Elizabeth.” If any of the others noticed he had used her familiar name, none mentioned it.

“You know, William, that is rather arrogant of you,” Lord Hilldale barked. “Whoever is behind this would have sent another had he not found Wickham. Do you really think you have the power to control the fates? You take far too much on yourself over which you have no control.”

As much as he wanted to feel the blame, Darcy had to acknowledge what Andrew said was correct. Somewhere in this massive palace, Elizabeth was lying, trying to recover, and here he was making it about himself. “Please excuse my moment of self-indulgence,” Darcy said contritely as he stood.

“What of the one who ordered this travesty?” the Colonel enquired.

“The same one who confirmed the name of the one who escaped told George’s men all. It is the reason not a word of the attempt or Lizzy’s bravery has been reported or spoken of outside of this house. If not already, members of the Royal Guard will arrest the man, and soon enough he will lose his head,” Maria reported evenly. She secretly wished she could be the one to cause the man’s end after he ordered the harming of her child.

No further questions about the perpetrator were asked. The arriving party was sure when the Regent or any others were ready, they would share the news of the arrest and who it was.

“Where is the Regent?” Lord Matlock queried. “Is he in residence or returned to London?”

“George is meeting with Mr Bennet and Mr Gardiner in his study. We will see him later. Allow me to summon a housekeeper to show you to your suites,” Maria indicated as she nodded to a member of the staff standing close to the group. “You will be close to Anna’s suite.” She looked at Mr Darcy. “From what your sister and Elizabeth’s sisters have related, you know the heroine.” Darcy allowed it was so. “Jane, Miss Bennet, is coordinating the visits to see Elizabeth. As an unmarried non-family member, I am not sure how proper it will be for you to visit her, but speak to Jane. ”

“Aye. After I see Anna, I will seek out Miss Bennet.” Even though Miss Elizabeth had forgiven him for his interference, he still owed Miss Bennet his amends. Then he remembered Mrs Fitzherbert’s words regarding the Bennet sisters . Surely the two youngest ones who behaved atrociously were not here? If they were he would need to protect Anna from them.

The housekeeper led the Fitzwilliams and Darcy towards the suites they would occupy.

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

“Bennet, Gardiner welcome,” the Regent greeted after both men had bowed deeply. He indicated two of the chairs before his massive desk.

Gardiner saw Portnoy was at his station ready to take notes as commanded. He nodded to the private secretary and then took the chair next to Bennet.

“Gardiner here, told me all about your family, including that there is an entail on your estate, and that the heir presumptive is not a mental giant,” the Regent drawled. “I assume that is all accurate?” Bennet nodded his head. “I understand until recently you were rather indolent and had not increased your estate’s income or put any sums aside for your daughter’s futures.” Again Bennet nodded, his eyes pointed to the floor in shame as the Regent articulated the truth. “It would have been better had you done so twenty years ago, but your brother-in-law described the changes you are making.”

“I am not proud of my past inactions to provide for my family, but I am determined with the life, which by God’s Grace, I have remaining on the mortal coil, to do whatever I am able to provide some security for my daughters,” Bennet owned.

“You did not mention your wife,” the Regent observed.

“No your Highness, I did not. She refuses to make any changes to improve herself, and I am becoming exasperated; I have tried everything I know to convince her to change.” He turned towards his brother. “As much as I did not want to do this, I may have to put her out of the house and into a cottage. Fanny continues to try to sabotage Mrs Poppins’s education of Mary, Kate, and Lydia. If that were not enough, when she has time with Lydia, she tries to convince her to revert to her former behaviour.”

“Bennet, Fanny is my sister, and I love her as such, but I know who she is and her inability, more than that, her refusal, to see her errors. You need to do what you feel and think is right,” Gardiner shook his head.

“Please excuse us, your Highness. This is not a conversation to which you needed to be privy,” Bennet apologised.

“On the contrary, it was very illuminating,” the Regent declared. He leaned forward and with a flourish signed a document and then added his royal seal. It was passed over to his private secretary. “The entail on Longbourn is no more. Your lifetime tenancy is ended, and as of the moment I signed the order, you are the owner of the estate. This is only the beginning of the rewards with which your daughter will be presented. When she is able to remain awake longer, we will discuss all in her presence. Before I forget, Gardiner, I am bestowing a hereditary baronetcy on you.” The Regent raised his hand to quell the protest forming on Gardiner’s lips. “You would not refuse an honour from your Regent, would you?”

He was not sure he had heard what the Regent had just said. Could it be true, was Longbourn his? Bennet felt like he needed to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming, but he did not think it would be an appropriate action in the Regent’s company.

“I would not dare, your Highness,” Gardiner responded, “however, I did nothing. It was Lizzy who deserves everything. ”

“Had you and your lady wife not brought her here, Elizabeth would not have been able to save my Emma,” the Regent insisted, “so yes Sir Edward , you most certainly deserve the honour.” The Regent paused as he remembered something and looked to his private secretary. “Portnoy, what is the estate’s name?”

“Netherfield Park, your Royal Highness,” Portnoy replied instantly.

“Along with your title, you are awarded Netherfield Park as well. The Crown has been leasing it out until now, but Portnoy tells me the current lessee has abandoned the property,” the Regent stated matter-of-factly. “You will receive the deeds from the Court of Chancery within the next fortnight. If you choose to keep working in your chosen trade, there is nothing which precludes you from doing so. Portnoy will notify you when your investiture will be held.”

Now it was Gardiner’s turn to be stunned. A title and an estate! He had not expected anything except for his niece to be well cared for.

“Before I forget, Bennet, all of the land which used to be part of Longbourn which your ancestor frittered away will be restored to your estate. It will be the largest in the area again,” the Regent added as an afterthought. “That is all for now; we will all speak with Elizabeth when she is able.”

The brothers-in-law exited the study, each one in a daze. “Collins will not be well pleased,” was all Bennet could say.

“I dare say he will not be,” Gardiner agreed.

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

Emery Weasley was beginning to worry; not a word from Smithington. It was not like his most trusted man to not communicate for so long. A few days of lying low he could understand, but this was far too long from the time his men began to watch the Pavilion.

He comforted himself by telling himself they had not yet seen one of the girls. As soon as he told himself that, he calmed down considerably. He was pointedly ignoring the voice in his head that told him, if that be the case, then his man would have sent him messages to let him know they had not seen one of the by-blows yet, like Smithington had just after he and his men had arrived in Brighton.

The study was on the first floor, and Henderson had made sure the walls had been thickened to dampen any sounds, thereby making it impossible to eavesdrop on him in the room. He imagined he heard noise coming from somewhere outside of his sanctuary, like banging and shots being fired, but he dismissed them as noises the house tended to make as it was a rather old pile.

His opinion changed when the locked door to his study was ripped off its hinges as if it was nothing. All of his fears came back with full force when he recognised the uniforms on the men. They were royal guardsmen, and the two of them looking at him malevolently were the largest men he had ever seen. He had thought Smithington and Younge were big men, but these two made them look small. He decided his only way out was bluster.

“How dare you invade my house! I am a peer of the realm, and you will be hanged for unlawfully entering my abode,” Henderson stated with as even a voice as he was able to muster. The men ignored him, and before he could withdraw the pistol in his drawer, each one grabbed an arm and lifted him off the floor as if he was no heavier than a child’s cloth doll. “You dare lay your hands on me; I am a baron!”

“You, Mr Emery Weasley, ain’t no baron,” Biggs growled near to the shaking man’s ear.

Weasley felt fear like he had never before in his life. “Of course I am…” he began when the two men shook him like he was nothing.

They threw him onto the settee on one side of the study, and Johns extracted a note with the Regent’s seal on it. Weasley looked at the paper with great fear and did not move to touch it.

“Read it!” Johns barked.

He did not know how, but somehow his brilliant planning had been for naught, these hulking men would not be in his house unless something had gone very wrong. The former baron took a deep breath and broke Prinny’s seal.

15 July 1811

Weasley,

You are stripped of the title you gained unlawfully by murdering Lord Harold Granger and his two sons. You will be tried for murder and treason. Even without the proof we now hold regarding the murder, the threat you sent me is more than enough to convict you of the aforementioned crime.

You should know that your man Smithington, who is dead, did us the great favour of secreting all of your instructions in a secret pocket in his jacket. Knowing of your propensity to remove witnesses against you, he kept them in case he ever needed to barter for his life.

I will spare the realm the spectacle of a trial because my two small sergeant-majors will extract a confession from you. You will then be transported directly to the Tower of London where you will lose your head at dawn the morning after you arrive.

It gives me the greatest of pleasures to tell you that your plan failed spectacularly, your treachery was defeated by the bravery of a slip of a woman. Mrs Fitzherbert’s adopted daughter Emma is safe and unharmed, which is not the same I can say for those men who were foolish enough to do your bidding.

You, like many before you, have underestimated me based on the persona I display in public. Go to your death with this thought, one so much worthier than you will be awarded the title, wealth, and land you so coveted .

I trust you will enjoy meeting Satan in hell,

George

Regent of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Prince of Wales

When Weasley looked up at the two huge men with anticipatory glints in their eyes, he knew that he had no choice but to confess all and save himself much pain before he met the executioner.

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

“Miss Bennet,” Darcy bowed to Miss Elizabeth’s eldest sister when he and the Fitzwilliams were shown into the private sitting room an hour or so later, where some of the Bennets and Gardiners were relaxing.

“Mr Darcy. Anna is with Mary, and my Aunt Gardiner who are all sitting with Elizabeth,” Jane explained when she saw how Mr Darcy was looking around the room to find his sister.

“Darcy, will you introduce us to those you know,” Lord Matlock requested.

He nodded and looked to see who he recognised. The only ones he knew were the Bennets. “Uncle Reggie, Aunt Elaine, Andrew, and Richard, please meet Mr Bennet, the master of Longbourn, Miss Jane Bennet, Miss Kitty, and Miss Lydia.” Darcy could not but note how well behaved the two youngest Bennets were. There was no tittering, giggling, vulgar effusions, or anything else. They were sitting like demure young ladies, taking their lead from an older lady next to them whom he did not know. Mrs Bennet was the only one who was absent. “Mr Bennet, Misses Bennet, I present to you, Lord Reginald and Lady Elaine Fitzwilliam, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, Lord Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale, and Colonel, the Honourable Richard Fitzwilliam.”

“I have one small correction to Mr Darcy’s words,” Bennet stated. “My second to youngest daughter answers to Kate now.” Darcy inclined his head towards Mr Bennet to acknowledge his words.

“With pleasure, my Lord. My lord and lady, Lord Hilldale, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr Darcy, it is my pleasure to introduce my brother-in-law Sir Edward Gardiner of Netherfield Park and London, his eldest son, Edward, his older daughter, Lillian, and the lady next to my youngest daughters is their companion, Mrs Maria Poppins. Also, my daughter Catherine, who Mr Darcy introduced as Miss Kitty has requested to be referred to as Kate. Everyone, you heard what Mr Darcy said, did you not?” There were nods and smiles.

Darcy was gobsmacked. The uncle in trade was titled and the master of Netherfield Park! How could this be? As Richard had pointed out to him on the way to Kent, he could never trust anything Miss Bingley told him.

Gardiner decided an explanation was in order. “The Regent awarded a hereditary baronetcy to me, along with Netherfield Park. My protests that I had done nothing, and it was all Lizzy, fell on deaf ears. His Highness claimed I was being rewarded for bringing Lizzy to Brighton, so she was in a position to save Miss Seymour,” Gardiner explained with no little embarrassment.

“If the Regent said you deserve it, then you must,” Lord Matlock jested as he extended his hand to the new baronet.

After he had thought that Mr Gardiner would be a male version of his sisters in Meryton, it did not take Darcy any time to see the man was nothing like them. Further, had he not known how the man earned his money, even without his title, he would have thought him a gentleman, which he was now as he was landed and titled. He saw Miss Bennet was sitting off to one side, so he approached her.

Viscount Hilldale was frozen to the spot. He had never seen a woman to rival Miss Bennet. Not only was she the most beautiful woman he had ever beheld, but when learning of his parents’ titles and his title, she had not given them a second look and done nothing to try and ingratiate herself to them. Could she be the one, the one who would be interested in him as a man and not his title, wealth, and connections?

“May I sit, Miss Bennet?” Darcy requested.

He did not see the way his older cousin was staring at Miss Bennet, but not a few others in the sitting room did.

“Please do, Mr Darcy. At first I was surprised to see you and your family, but I realised you are here for Anna. What a sweet girl she is,” Jane stated serenely. “How is it that the Fitzwilliams accompanied you?”

“Aunt Elaine and Mrs Fitzherbert have been the closest of friends for many years. As soon as she heard about the attempt on Miss Seymour from Anna’s letter, she was determined to come to support her friend,” Darcy explained. “I always knew Miss Elizabeth was brave and cared much for the welfare of others, but even I was surprised when we were told of her actions on that fateful day. It sounds to me like she was fearless.”

“Lizzy has always had the strongest protective instincts, and that is, I believe, what drove her to act. I was so very worried for her, but now that she is on the road to recovery, albeit a long one, I am able to relax some,” Jane revealed.

“Miss Bennet, before I make a request of you, I need to tell you of the part I played in convincing Bingley to abandon you…” Miss Bennet raised her hand.

“Mr Darcy, did you, or for that matter his pernicious sisters, shackle Mr Bingley to a wall, or was he locked in a dungeon with no hope of escape? Simply asked, did you or anyone else physically restrain him from returning to Netherfield Park?”

“Well…no, no one did any of that. But I thought myself so very observant that I told him I saw no affection for him from your side. I am the last one who should make such a ju dgement. I thought Miss Elizabeth was flirting with me in Hertfordshire, and now I understand she did not like me, or welcome my company.”

“I used to think myself in love with your friend. However, he and he alone is responsible for his capriciousness. I asked Lizzy this question: If you loved someone, truly and deeply loved her, would anyone else’s opinion make you abandon her until she told you that she was not interested in your suit?”

Darcy shook his head.

“Then if anything, you did me a good turn. Had I tied my life to an immature boy, I would not have been happy once I saw his true self.”

Had Richard not made the same point? Notwithstanding, he had still felt guilt over what he had done and believed his honour demanded he beg Miss Bennet’s pardon. “Even with that, I still feel like I need to beg your forgiveness for my presumption of thinking I knew how you felt when you were simply acting with propriety,” Darcy stated contritely.

“I grant you my pardon, so your honour is now satisfied,” Jane agreed.

“Then, my request is whether as a non-related single man, I am allowed to see Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy enquired.

“Allow me to speak to my Aunt Maddie, Lady Gardiner, and if she agrees we are able to preserve Lizzy’s modesty properly, then I see no reason why not.” Jane cogitated for a few seconds. “Your staring at her was not to find fault, was it?”

“Your perspicacity is excellent. No, I was never looking at your sister to find fault with her. In fact, it was quite the opposite,” Darcy admitted.

As he completed his conversation with Miss Bennet, Darcy heard the door open, and there was a squeal of pleasure as his sister spied him and the rest of the Fitzwilliams. There was a lady, who he assumed was Lady Gardiner, and Miss Mary, watching Anna greet the Fitzwilliams before falling into his own arms.

Lady Gardiner was introduced, as was Miss Mary to those who did not know her.

“Was Lizzy awake?” Bennet enquired once everyone was seated and tea was called for.

“She was, for almost an hour while we visited her,” Madeline reported. “Mr Winthorpe was well pleased as he was able to speak to her while she was awake. He says that our girl is out of danger; now it will take time for her leg to heal. The head wound is almost closed and, thank goodness, there is no infection. That injury did not require stitching like her wrist did.”

As Darcy listened to Elizabeth’s aunt speak, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and gave thanks to Him that her injuries were not nearly as bad as they could have been.

All he could do was hope he would be permitted to see her soon.