Chapter 29

With the first rest stop after the convoy of coaches departed Windsor Castle, Elizabeth rode with her birth family and Saul and Philip joined the Bennets.

“Elizabeth, as much as I have been thrown into confusion discovering that Saul is not of my body and you are, I can only imagine the feelings coursing through you. We,” Rose indicated her husband, Sed, and Emily, “as well as Belle and Andrew when you meet them, will do whatever we are able to ease your transition into the family.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Elizabeth replied. “It will take some getting used to, will it not?”

“As I am sure you are aware, we will be in London for at least part of the season,” Bedford stated, “I must attend the Lords and with the decree, which is in the papers today, there will unfortunately be much desire by the Ton to know you, or at least to say they have seen you.”

“Mother and my aunts have informed me there will be an introductory ball for me. I suppose it is good I had not had a London season like Jane had,” Elizabeth mused. “I tried to defer it, and hopefully miss it altogether, but it seems that is not a possibility now.” She cogitated for a few moments. “Will my older sister and brother-in-law come to Town?”

“I am sure they will,” Emily averred. “Do not forget little sister, we will all travel to Hilldale from Woburn Abbey for you to meet Belle, Andrew, and Rosie.”

Emily Rhys-Davies hated the fact her mother was aching for the double loss of the babe she had never met as well as losing Philip as a son. As much as she wanted to resent Elizabeth and the Bennets, she knew she should not. She was well aware they were all victims of the vile scheme the late criminal had initiated. At least she had Philip as a brother for eighteen years while at the same time his true parents were robbed of those years. Add to that, with Richard’s engagement to Jane Bennet she would be a sister-in-law to both Philip and Saul. Through that marriage, the vow the families concerned had taken to be in one another’s lives would be formalised by bonds of family. For Mama and Papa, it was not the same as having Philip as their son, but it was a connection nonetheless.

“That is correct,” Elizabeth remembered. “I have two nieces now, do I not?”

“Since you told Julia that story and did all of the voices, you have become her favourite,” Sed related. “When she is old enough for stories, I am sure Rosie will be as attached to you as our daughter is.”

“Mother and Father, I suppose the use of the honorific before my name is not something I have a choice about, is it?” Elizabeth questioned.

“No Dear,” Rose averred. “Society is rather rigid about that sort of thing. However, when not in public, it is up to you who you allow to address you informally.” Rose noted the pensive look on her youngest daughter’s countenance. “Elizabeth dear, you may ask or tell us anything.”

“Are you disappointed you were not the ones to name me?” Elizabeth wondered.

“We could not have named you better had you been with us from your birth,” Rose assured her daughter. “It just so happens that your late grandmother on your father’s side was an Elizabeth and as you know, my name is Rose. Anyone who knows us will not think we did not name you ourselves.”

“Will there be those who object to Bennet being part of my name?” Elizabeth enquired.

“They would not dare,” Sed responded with a snicker. “Not only has your name been listed as such in the royal decree, but Father is one of the most powerful dukes in the realm and there are very few, if any, in society who would dare take the chance of running afoul of the Duke of Bedford and his extended family.”

As her brother spoke, Elizabeth was reminded of her complete shock when her birthparents’ holdings had been laid out for her. Besides Woburn Abbey, there were seven more satellite estates—there would be six as one was to be gifted to Saul—some major in size and income. The family owned a shipping line, shipbuilding yards, and were invested in myriad businesses, including with her Uncle Edward. When it had been revealed she had been dowered with one hundred thousand pounds, she had protested most strenuously that the close to thirty-thousand-pound Papa Bennet had for her was already too much. The upshot was her former Bennet dowry would be used to create legacies for the newly recovered Bennet sons and there was nothing to be done about her massive dowry.

None in the Rhys-Davies family had objected in any way when Elizabeth had stated she wanted to maintain the connection with those she had grown up believing were her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She had been told it would be rather hypocritical to reject them for being in trade when a healthy portion of the Duke’s income was made from industry and trade.

When in a few days, she decamped with her family by blood to Bedfordshire, Elizabeth was certain she would miss all the Bennets, especially Janey, but she also knew there would be much to explore, and since a date of the sixteenth of September had been set for Jane and Richard’s wedding, there would be frequent contact between her and those who would always be her sisters.

Feeling a lot more secure about the future, Elizabeth allowed the rocking of the coach to lull her to sleep.

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

In the Bennet conveyance, Saul and Phillip were seated either side of their birthfather on the rear facing bench opposite Mother Fanny, Grandmama Beth, and Jane.

“We have not discussed this since receiving definitive proof Saul is the first born, but I want to make sure you understand that each of you will have an estate from me, as well as the ones from your adoptive families,” Bennet revealed. “As the eldest son, Saul,” Saul shot a smug ‘I told you so look’ to his younger brother, “you will have Longbourn, and Philip Netherfield Park is yours, or it will be when you reach the age of five and twenty. You may not know this, but Netherfield Park used to be larger than Longbourn,” ignoring the ‘used to be’, now it was Philip’s turn to look smug, “however, over the years, I have purchased much of the land my ancestor lost at the gaming tables. My intention had been to annex the land to Netherfield Park thanks to the entail. However, now that Saul is the heir apparent, the land will be annexed to Longbourn.”

The truth was Philip was pleased for his brother. It was only right that as the older son Saul’s estate should be larger.

“While Bedford refused to take the dowry we had for Lizzy, he and Holder insisted on gifting you each the legacies and estates they had intended for you when they believed you were their sons,” Bennet reported. “Like your half of the money which would have gone to Lizzy, you will have access to dividends only until you are five and twenty.”

Bennet did not mention the amounts. Bedford had set aside one hundred thousand pounds for his second son and Holder fifty thousand. The amounts had been combined along with the money which used to be Lizzy’s dowry so each of his sons had a legacy of ninety thousand pounds. When the annual earnings from their funds were combined with the annual income of their respective estates, they would be very wealthy men. As had been decided soon after his birth, Saul was to receive one of the unentailed Bedford estates and Philip would have the old Granger estate, Hampton Downs.

Knowing the goodness and generosity, not to mention the wealth, of their respective adoptive fathers, neither Bennet son was surprised they had insisted on gifting them the legacies and estates regardless. Much more importantly for both was the fact they would be able to maintain the connection between all of those they had been raised believing were their family by blood and themselves.

While the ladies of the house were busy with wedding arrangements, Bennet intended to familiarise his sons with the local estates which would be theirs one day. As long as no one discussed lace in his hearing, he would be more than happy to allow the ladies what they desired for the planning.

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

Caroline Bingley had been debating whether or not to join her brother in his plan to travel to New South Wales. She had begun to convince herself she would be able to rehabilitate her image in society’s eyes. That was until she saw the royal decree in Monday’s paper which reached Sheffield on Tuesday evening and was delivered on Wednesday morning.

She stared at the page and no matter how much she willed it would not be so, the words stating Miss Eliza Bennet was in fact Lady Elizabeth Rose Bennet Rhys-Davies did not change. The same decree listed the fact the two she had known as Lord Rhys-Davies and Mr. Carrington were twin sons of the Bennets. There was no detail except there had been a mix-up the night all three were born. The facts had only recently come to light.

She could not abide living in England when that hoyden was so far above her in society so that very day, Miss Bingley gave up her dream that she would be able to gain redemption in society, and told her brother she would in fact join him and travel to the wilds of New Holland.

Bingley had seen the same announcement, so he had a very good idea what had motivated the decision for his sister. If only he had stood up to Caroline and made better decisions, then he would have still had his friends and would not be on the cusp of departing England forever. He owned that it was counterproductive lamenting the past which was set. It was time to look to the future.

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

There were not a few tears shed the morning the Rhys-Davies and Carringtons departed from Longbourn. For Elizabeth it was the sadness of knowing she would not see her adoptive sisters daily, coupled with being separated from those she had thought her parents and most especially, Grandmama Beth. At least they would be together again at the end of August until Jane’s wedding.

For Lady Rose, even though she had gained a daughter, it was the leaving Saul with his family by blood which pulled at her heart. It made things final, even though they would see one another at the end of the month.

The pain of the separation Cilla Carrington felt was of a whole other level. In the blink of an eye, she had gone from being the mother of three to the mother of two. When it had been time to take her leave of Philip, Holder had to break his wife’s hug to allow the young man to step back. He had been afraid Cilla would not have released her hold on Philip had he not intervened.

Jamey was returning to Hadlock to see to any issues which may have arisen in his absence. He intended to return within ten days to continue his now official courtship of Miss Charlotte Lucas. Both his newest cousin, Elizabeth, and his soon to be Cousin Jane, had told him that he could not have chosen a better woman than Charlotte.

The three Fitzwilliams and the Darcys were to remain at Netherfield Park. The ladies were planning to assist Fanny in any way they could, while the men would join Bennet so they could augment the lessons for Saul and Philip and of course manage to work in some games of chess. Bennet was already impressed by his sons’ proficiency at the game and fully expected to be bested by them, just as Lizzy had been doing routinely.

For Giana, the Darcys remaining was perfect as each day her friendship with the Bennet sisters—especially Cathy and Lydia—strengthened.

William was torn between desire and duty. On the one side he wanted nothing better than to ride to Woburn Abbey to visit Elizabeth, but on the other side he well knew she needed uninterrupted time with her true family so they could come to know one another properly. He would be counting the days until she returned to the neighbourhood at the end of the month.

Perhaps he could make his way to Hilldale to see his cousins and their new babe. If it happened to be at the same time the Rhys-Davies were visiting, that would be a happy coincidence.

For seven of the nine Bennets, it was rather traumatic to watch Lizzy leave Longbourn, knowing it would be close to a month before they saw her again. Watching the Bedford travelling coach rolling away from Longbourn caused many tears to fall, from Grandmama Beth to Lydia. The former would sorely miss all the time she used to spend with her vivacious adopted granddaughter. If Bennet’s eyes were moist, no one made mention of that fact.

As Saul and Philip stood and watched those who had been their parents for eighteen years leave, they too had tears in their eyes. There was no doubt that their family by blood would cherish them, but whichever way one was to look at it, their lives had irrevocably changed as soon as Lizzy had seen the birthmark on Saul’s arm. At least for them, they would have the constancy of university. They would return to Cambridge just after Jane and Richard’s wedding. One advantage was, if one or both eventually broke some of their birthfather’s chess records, the family name in the record books would still be Bennet.

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

Elizabeth looked out of the coach’s window and was pleased to see John Biggs with the outriders riding alongside. Even better was that he was leading Penny. There had never been a question about Penny coming with Elizabeth just as Saul’s Perseus and Philip’s Neptune would remain with them. The fact that John was employed as her personal footman-guard gave her a sense of the familiar, which while so many changes were occurring around her, gifted Elizabeth with a peaceful feeling.

Elizabeth had made the request of first John, then her Papa and Father. John had agreed without reservation as long as the master was willing to agree to him transferring to the Duke’s household. Papa had agreed without delay and the same for Father in employing John.

After about three hours, the carriages turned past a gatehouse. “We are on Woburn Abbey’s lands now,” Bedford informed his youngest daughter. “It is about five miles to the house from this point.”

“Was the house an actual monastery at some point?” Elizabeth enquired.

“It was, up until the Tudors ruled England,” Bedford revealed. “At that time, the Dukes of Bedford’s seat was Woburn Dell. Even before Henry VII took the throne in 1485, the order at the abbey had dwindled to be unsustainable. They agreed to sell the land and buildings to the then Duke of Bedford, the fifth in the line, on condition that the newly enlarged estate’s name acknowledged there used to be a monastery here. Hence the much-enlarged estate was named Woburn Abbey, keeping some recognition of both the monastery and the old estate in the new name.”

“William told me that the library at the Abbey is extensive, but not quite as large as the one at Pemberley. Is that correct?” The other four did not miss how Elizabeth blushed when she mentioned William’s name.

“Yes, he reported the facts accurately,” Sed responded. “The room the library is housed in at Pemberley is in fact larger than ours at the Abbey. However, we have a much larger collection of rare first editions, and the number of books at each is similar.”

“Like the Rhys-Davies, the Darcys have built their collection over generations,” Bedford informed his younger daughter. “We do have an advantage in owning the Dennington Lines. There are times when we have the captain of a particular ship, or one of his officers, seek out tomes in foreign countries that are unavailable to purchase in England.”

Elizabeth’s attention was caught by the fields heavily laden with crops which would be harvested around the end of the month or early in September. After about two miles she was well pleased to see a vast forested area on the right-hand side of the drive. Elizabeth could imagine exploring the woods either on foot or on Penny. Just then unbidden she thought of how much she would enjoy exploring the forest with William.

Her thoughts faded as her mother pointed out the house up ahead. “The original monastery was razed and this house was eventually built in its place,” Rose indicated.

It was by far the biggest manor house Elizabeth had ever seen. She imagined that if she took Longbourn’s, Netherfield Park’s, and Lucas Lodge’s houses and doubled or tripled them, it would come close to equalling the size of the imposing mansion before her.

Rose saw the look on her daughter’s face. “Breathe Lizzy, it is only a house, a large one, yes, but a house nonetheless,” Rose soothed.

Until that moment everything Elizabeth had learnt about her family’s wealth had been something abstract. Seeing the house made it all seem real. The coaches came to a halt in the circular drive and liveried footmen had the steps placed and doors opened without delay. Father alighted and then handed his wife out, and after her Elizabeth. Sed climbed out and then assisted Emily. Julia’s nurse brought the mite to where the family, who had been joined by the Carringtons, stood. Seeing her ‘Auntie Wizzy’ Julia demanded Elizabeth pick her up.

There were four lines of servants and before them a shorter line with those Elizabeth assumed were the senior staff. “Welcome home, Lizzy,” Rose said as she squeezed her daughter’s hand.

“It is my great pleasure to present our daughter, Lady Elizabeth Rose Bennet Rhys-Davies to all of you,” Bedford announced to the staff and servants.

A rousing cheer was given by those who were lined up to greet them.