Chapter 27

Since the revelation confirming Elizabeth was in fact the daughter of a duke, Cathy and Lydia curtsied to her each time they saw her with an impertinent “Your Ladyship,” or “Lady Elizabeth.” As soon as they became aware Lizzy did not think it as amusing as they did, they ceased teasing her, at least regarding her honorific.

Beth Bennet was sitting in the drawing room next to her namesake who although no relation by blood would always be her granddaughter. “The teasing aside, you must get used to that form of address Lizzy,” Beth told her gently. “You are in fact Lady Elizabeth Rhys-Davies and will be addressed as such outside of your family circle.”

“Mayhap my birth parents will allow me to remain an anonymous country girl and not take me to London,” Elizabeth huffed.

She knew decisions would be reached today, and in her mind until that was done, she was still Miss Elizabeth Bennet, daughter of an insignificant country squire. At least there was the comfort of knowing when Jane and Richard married—she was sure her newly acknowledged brother-in-law would propose to Janey sooner rather than later—then she would be related to Janey in fact and not just in her heart. As she thought of Jane and Richard her mind wondered to another potential couple.

Jamey seemed attracted to Charlotte Lucas; a pairing Elizabeth would heartily endorse if things progressed. With all of the upheaval caused by the realisation of the swapped babes, Jamey had only been able to call on Charlotte at Lucas Lodge twice before the journey north. While the men had been away, Charlotte had visited Longbourn a few times. Whenever she was asked about the Viscount, Charlotte did something her friends had seldom if ever seen her do before—she blushed. It was evident she welcomed his attentions and not only because he was wealthy, well connected, and titled. If the relationship progressed then Elizabeth would be related to Charlotte and that was a pleasing prospect.

Grandmama Beth broke through Elizabeth’s thoughts. “Do not forget all of the families involved have given their solemn vows there will always be contact between you, my grandsons, and their adoptive families. Remember Lizzy, just because you will have the honorific ‘Lady’ before your name, whether you change who you are is something only you are able to determine,” Beth stated. “Knowing how strong and intelligent you are, I could see you changing society before it could change you.”

“Thank you, Grandmama Beth,” Elizabeth responded and then gave her grandmother a gentle hug.

Just then, the Smiths and Mrs. Banks entered the drawing room. They had taken trays in their chambers rather than join the family for dinner the previous evening. Evidently, they had not been sure of their welcome notwithstanding the warmth the mistress of the estate had shown them when they arrived. They had been coaxed to join the family in the drawing room after dinner and there they had seen for themselves there was no animosity—covert or overt—directed at them. Hence, they had broken their fast in the dining parlour this morning. The three had walked into Meryton so the sisters could show Mr. Smith where they were raised. On their return they felt comfortable enough to seat themselves in the drawing room.

“Your mother’s letter was very comprehensive,” Bennet stated after he had joined those in the drawing room. “A group from Netherfield Park will arrive in an hour, I think all we will ask is if you recollect anything not in the letter. The missive is at Netherfield Park and will be with one of those who join us so you will both be able to read it. I assume you never did before handing it to us in the cottage?”

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Banks confirmed Bennet’s suspicion. Rather than asking any questions they had, before those from the other estate arrived, Fanny and Bennet refrained, so they would not have a redundant conversation when the others were present. Besides they wanted the sisters to read their late mother’s words beforehand.

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

Rose, Elaine, and Anne were waiting for Cilla, Paul, Jamey, and Emily to return from their errand into Meryton to make sure their sister and friend was doing well. Since the confirmation the Carrington son had passed away minutes after his birth, Cilla had been very distraught and had cried more than she had in many a year.

She had not told her sisters and Anne what the purpose of their going into the town was, so the three ladies were in anticipation of her return. Seeing all four Carringtons had gone together, the three ladies guessed it had something to do with the lost son.

Their patience was rewarded when Cilla entered the Darcy parents’ private sitting room where the three were seated. The first thing the ladies noticed was Cilla looked far more peaceful than she had before the errand. They waited and allowed her to seat herself. She would speak to them as soon as she was ready.

“As a family we decided our lost son and brother needed to be named. We chose Gregory Saul for Paul’s late brother and our late father,” Cilla related calmly. “In addition, we commissioned a grave stone which will identify him with his proper name.”

“That means you have decided not to relocate his remains to Holder Heights,” Rose verified.

“He will remain resting where he has since he was interred,” Cilla confirmed. “There is no reason to disturb his eternal slumber. Although he cannot be christened posthumously the rector of St. Alfred’s church said some prayers over his grave with us as witnesses. He opined it is just and right that an innocent babe be buried in consecrated ground due to his passing so soon after his birth before any sin could attach to him. When we stop to visit Philip in the future, we will be able to visit Gregory as well.”

Her sisters and friend were beyond gratified the ritual of naming her lost son and the vicar’s prayers had gone a long way to restoring Cilla’s equanimity. It seemed to have assisted her in accepting what had occurred.

To change the subject slightly, Elaine related, “A courier brought a letter from Belle and Andrew. They say that as soon as the truth is revealed, they would be happy to meet their new cousin or sister. This was written before we read Mrs. Brown’s letter.”

“Sedgewick dispatched a missive with all of the current information to Hilldale with one of our couriers already this morning,” Rose added.

“When Paul and I informed Jamey and Emily that it will just be the four sets of parents along with Saul and Philip who will go to Longbourn this morning, they were not too sanguine with the decision we took, but accepted we need to be able to make decisions without too many having input at this time,” Cilla shared. “In the end they accepted our decision.”

“Giana will be with us, but obviously not in the meeting,” Anne Darcy related. “She will be with the two youngest Bennets. The time they have all spent together over the last ten days or so have brought the three much closer. Even without what we now know, the Bennet girls would be good and appropriate friends for Giana. They are proper and genteel girls, even if the youngest is a little exuberant.”

There was a knock on the door leading into the hallway. Matlock opened the door and stuck his head in. “It is time to depart,” he informed the ladies.

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

After greetings had been exchanged and Giana and Mrs. Annesley had joined Mrs. Frost and her charges in the park, Holder handed the letter their late mother had written to the Brown sisters. While the two read, their heads close together, those in the drawing room remained silent.

Saul was sitting between the Duke and Duchess, Philip was flanked by Holder and Cilla, while Elizabeth was bracketed by Fanny and Beth Bennet. Once Jenny and Alice completed their reading, the former handed the letter to her husband.

“Is there anything either of you have to add?” Bedford asked kindly.

The sisters looked at one another and each gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. “No, your Grace,” Jenny averred for both sisters. “Mama was detailed and accurate in her telling of what occurred that night.” She turned toward the three mothers who had been effected. “Alice and I wish we had been older and had questioned Mama’s logic, but I was barely fourteen and Alice eleven. We did not think to challenge Mama. For that we are both extremely contrite.”

“Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Banks,” Rose addressed the sisters, “you acted no differently than any other girls of your tender age would have in the same circumstances. As far as you were concerned, like your mother thought, it was a life or death situation.”

“I am sorry we did not read the confession in Broughten-in-Furnace as it would have saved you the over two hundred miles of travel each way,” Bennet stated.

“We do not repine that we came even if we are unable to add to the information Mama confessed,” Alice responded. “We completely understand you wanted your wives to read the letter first. Add to that, it allowed us to visit the town we were born in, when Jenny and I were resigned to never seeing Meryton or Hertfordshire again. More importantly, it gave us an opportunity to apologise for our parts in what occurred, even if as, you so graciously said, you do not hold us responsible.”

“When would you like to begin your return to Lancashire?” Matlock enquired.

“With the morrow being Saturday, and the sabbath the next day, we will remove to the Red Lion Inn this afternoon and depart on Monday morning,” Smith replied. He continued before Fanny was able to protest. “We know you are about to say we are welcome to remain here, Mrs. Bennet, but we are resolute in this. You have much to discuss as a family and my wife and sister will be able to visit with the friends who still reside in the area.”

Fanny lifted her hands in surrender. “As you are determined, I will not attempt to gainsay you,” Fanny agreed.

Once the two Smiths and one Banks exited the drawing room, the door was closed leaving representatives of the five families alone. “Philips is available if we need any legal documents drawn up. He and his clerk can be here whenever they are required. As an aside, Fanny tells me the Gardiners wanted to join us after she apprised them of what has occurred. She suggested they wait until everything is decided, and assured them they would not be cut from Lizzy’s life.” Bennet looked at the Duke and Duchess.

“That goes without saying,” Bedford confirmed.

“When will you make the announcement and how soon?” Darcy queried.

“As you may or may not know, I am related to His Majesty,” Bedford reminded those who knew and informed those who did not. “As such, we need to present Elizabeth to their Majesties before we make any public announcement. The royals will not be sanguine reading the announcement before they are consulted.”

“Are you saying I am related to the royal family?” Elizabeth verified.

She was already reeling from all of the changes in her life, and now this! Elizabeth could only imagine Cathy and Lydia’s teasing when they discovered she was family to the King and Queen.

“You are,” Rose confirmed. “Lizzy, we have no intention of changing your name. Thanks to Grandmama Beth, you have my name as your middle name and Elizabeth is a fine name and fits you like a glove. There is one small change we propose, if you agree, in addition to your family name becoming Rhys-Davies.”

Elizabeth quirked her one eyebrow in question. “She even has your mannerisms, Rose,” Elaine observed. She omitted saying she and Rose shared many of the same quirks, including arching one of their eyebrows.

“Your father and I would like your full name to be Elizabeth Rose Bennet Rhys-Davies,” Rose revealed.

Elizabeth felt a tear prick her eye. “I will bear that name with pride and honour. It recognises my connection to both families,” she said as she dashed the tear of happiness away.

“In that vein we would like to do the same with our sons,” Fanny proposed. “Saul will have Rhys-Davies added before Bennet and Philip will have Carrington in his name.”

The two ladies who until recently had believed they had been mother to the two named young men smiled with pleasure. Bedford and Holder looked no less pleased than their wives. With decisions about names made, it was time to tackle the more complex issues.

“As far as is known, the royal family has retired to Berkshire and Windsor Castle for part of the summer,” Darcy recalled. “Have they returned to London yet, and if not, will they receive you at the castle?”

“They will return to Buckingham House at the end of this month, and if I write to my cousin with a request for an urgent audience, he will have the Queen invite us into Berkshire,” Bedford related. He saw his younger daughter had lost some of her colour at her impending presentation to the monarchs. “Lizzy, they are not monsters who will bite your head off. The King and Queen are both good people, and ultimately even though they are royals, they are people.”

“Here I am, the one who claims my courage always rises at any attempt to intimidate me, losing my nerve at the prospect of seeing and meeting Their Majesties. I will be well, Father,” Elizabeth insisted.

“In that case, there will be no public pronouncements until we have a royal sanction,” Holder stated.

“As such, if Bennet does not object, I will write a note to the cousins now,” Bedford looked at Bennet who nodded his head and then led him to his study. A Bedford courier was wending his way to Windsor Castle within twenty minutes. Given the castle was less than five and thirty miles southwest from Meryton, the courier, with instructions to await a response, would be at his destination in about three hours.

“Do you think the King and Queen will have us wait until they return to London?” Elizabeth enquired when her father and papa returned to the drawing room.

“Based on my note, I would wager they will summon all of us to their presence as soon as may be,” Bedford opined.

Fanny, who had been quietly speaking to Rose and Cilla, froze midsentence. The chance that she, the daughter of a country solicitor, wife of a country squire would be in the presence of even minor royalty, had never entered her consciousness as a possibility.

“Oh my!” Fanny exclaimed as she fanned herself furiously with her silk square. She calmed herself and smiled. “I almost gave my nerves free rein. If I had, I would have complained of such tremblings and flutterings, all over me, with of course such spasms in my side and pains in my head, and such palpitations of my heart. I can only give thanks to on high that is not how I reacted. My part will be nothing to that of Lizzy’s who will be evaluated and weighed by the royals.”

“Let us wait to hear from them before we make assumptions,” Darcy suggested.

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

Thanks to the answer, which was received that same afternoon, a convoy of coaches departed Meryton travelling southwest at first light on Saturday morning.

The King and Queen had summoned representatives of all five families to arrive at Windsor castle as soon as may be. Even had they been so inclined, one did not ignore a direct summons from Their Majesties.