Chapter 19

Pemberley

October 1852

October turned out in its finest for Kitty and Colonel Brandon. Guests began arriving two weeks before the wedding, and Elizabeth and Darcy had planned a lavish house party with all of her friends from London in attendance. Dinners with the local gentry and noblemen were held, shooting and fishing parties and also a proper hunt were enjoyed by the gentlemen, while the ladies enjoyed lovely garden parties, lawn games, phaeton and carriage rides, and trips to the local peaks and vistas. As always, Elizabeth housed the bachelors in the dower house, making it possible for Brandon to be appropriately close to Kitty. A fair had come to Lambton, and the guests, residents, and even the servants had enjoyed an agreeable time in the village. A ball was held one week before the wedding, and there was no question that Kitty had recovered from her trials and was ready to be married as she waltzed, dreamy eyed, in her betrothed's arms.

The morning after the ball, Darcy took the stairs two at a time in his haste to reach his wife's apartments. She was, as usual, breaking her fast in her sitting room with the children, when Darcy entered with a copy of The Times in his hand, and laid the folded paper by her cup of chocolate. Elizabeth's eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline as she read the obituary. "Could you send someone to find my mother and sisters and their husbands, and also Charlotte?" she asked Will as she began to hurry the children along from the table and returned them to their nursemaid.

Finding all of the Bennets and their respective spouses was not always a simple task, but thankfully at this time, most of them could be found at breakfast, and the rest could be found in their rooms, except for Fitzwilliam and Brandon, who were, as usual, in the stables. Granny Rose and Lady Matlock were asked to look after the guests for a short time, and when the entire family, including Charlotte, was assembled in Elizabeth and Will's private parlour, Elizabeth read the obituary aloud.

"On Friday the 8th, in Oxford, Mr Thomas Bennet, Esq, age 55, owner of Longbourn Estate in Hertfordshire, son of the late Nathaniel Bennet of the same county, died of a fever. One of the great uncelebrated minds of our time, it was considered a tremendous loss to scholars everywhere when he was ripped from the world of academia in his thirties, and thrust into that estate business which was not in his nature. It was with great honour and respect that he was finally welcomed back to Oxford in 1850, and his students could once again find enlightenment in his lecture halls. Too soon was he pulled from our halls and taken from us again, and remembered with great admiration he will be, by all who walk the hallowed halls of Oxford. The funeral will be held on Wednesday the 13th."

"Not a word of his family, what a disgrace!" exclaimed Aunt Phillips. Uncle Phillips began to speculate the contents of the new will Bennet had created with a different lawyer after he and Darcy had coerced Bennet into signing away Longbourn to William. Jane, Mary, and Lydia were chattering like magpies, Charlotte was wondering what this would mean for her son, and Mrs Bennet and Kitty were silent when Elizabeth suddenly called them all to order.

"Regardless of whatever he has done with his will, Uncle Phillips, it is not worth speculating about, for I am sure none of us will feature a mention in its contents," Elizabeth said firmly. "The funeral was this morning, so presumably Mr Bennet had designated a person to execute his final wishes. There seems to be nothing for us to do at this time. The transfer of Longbourn to William has already taken place, and will remain in trust until his majority. We can discuss the immediate future of the estate privately with Charlotte at a more fitting moment. The only question we have now is whether this should interfere with the wedding in any way."

Mrs Bennet's head snapped up. "Over my dead body!" she challenged.

"There's the Fanny we all know and love. Never allow anything to stand in the way of your daughters being wed, Sister," chuckled Uncle Gardiner.

"I do not believe you should change a thing. Even if it is spoken of, most will expect a wedding that is only five days away, and that the guests have already arrived for, to proceed, even after the death of a close relative. Few would expect you to cancel your wedding so soon before the nuptials. But it is Kitty's wedding and reputation. It is her decision. Even if your choice is only made to appease society's expectations, it is still your choice to make, Kitty," Elizabeth said to her sister.

"I will not change my plans. Too much work and money has been expended, and I have waited far too long. I am sure society will believe that my father would not wish it," Kitty answered.

"Just so. Now our next question is, how do we present ourselves to our guests, who will surely know soon, if they do not already. None of us should like to go into mourning for Mr Bennet, particularly immediately before Kitty's wedding, but society will expect some acknowledgement from us," Elizabeth ventured, looking at Mrs Bennet, who was responsible for such decisions for the family.

"We shall go into a short period of half-mourning. All of us. It is more than he deserves, but just because he was reprehensible does not mean we shall cast off our respectability. You, Kitty, you shall not. I shall make it clear to all that my husband would never wish his daughter to wear mourning garb the week before her wedding. The rest of us can wear lavender until the wedding guests leave. The gentlemen can manage a little more than a week with armbands for the sake of the family name," announced Mrs Bennet decidedly. Jane agreed with her mother, and all of the Bennet ladies and their respective partners assented.

Suddenly the door burst open, and Lady Lucas flew into the room followed by Sir William and the distressed footman who had been on duty in the hall close behind them. Lady Lucas was frantically waving the paper over her head as she made her way excitedly to her daughter. "He's dead! Charlotte, it's yours, Longbourn is yours! You can remove to Meryton right away, how clever of you not to accept Mr Connolly, now that you are mistress of your own estate you can do so much better! You've spent enough time in London. A wealthy gentleman will surely come to propose now that you have an estate!"

"Lady Lucas, compose yourself!" Darcy snapped as he rose to his feet with a glare at Sir William for not controlling his wife. "Charlotte does not have her own estate. Her son has inherited an estate that is already in trust, and is managed by myself and another trustee until he reaches his majority. It does not belong to Charlotte, nor will any potential husband of hers have any ability to interfere with it in any way! Lady Lucas, you should learn to hold your tongue. Your behaviour is abominable, and you shame your daughter in polite company. Now, if you do not mind, my wife's family has just suffered a loss, and they will wish for privacy today. Please go and enjoy all that Pemberley has to offer, but do not spread your gossip among our other guests. Sir William, control your wife. My patience has its limits."

Sir William was apologetic as he herded his wife out the door, followed by the footman William. "I beg your pardon, sir. I never saw a lady move so fast. I did not have a prayer of stopping her."

"It is nothing, William. Now you understand the tremendous power of gossip in the clutches of the everyday English matron," Will reassured the footman as he closed the door. Most of the Bennet ladies decided that they wished to spend the day alone quietly with their mother. Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, and Mrs Phillips would spend the day with Mrs Bennet in Elizabeth and Will's private parlour. They were not grieving for the man, yet his death still felt like a shock, and they felt unequal to much company while they came to terms with the idea. Elizabeth had letters to write, both regarding Mr Bennet's demise, and also for business. The other ladies would work on their wardrobes, and set themselves to trimming a few lavender gowns to wear until the wedding guests departed, instructing their ladies' maids to assist in the endeavour.

Lydia and Kitty would go downstairs, for they had much to do before the wedding, but agreed to spend the day in each other's company, in order to present a united front in case any of the guests had comments about their loss or related gossip. Brandon would spend the entire day in their company as well. Charlotte and Georgiana agreed to go down and help Granny Rose and Lady Matlock with the duties of hostess, and attempt to control Lady Lucas, if Sir William failed. Darcy would oversee all, and Elizabeth was grateful.

Fortunately, Elizabeth's connections were all practical, reasonable people. All of them agreed unanimously that no father would wish his sudden death to cast a pall on his daughter's wedding, and they found Elizabeth and the other ladies' withdrawal from company for the day eminently appropriate. All of her friends and relations knew of Mr Bennet's perfidy, of course, but by unspoken agreement, everyone abstained from mentioning anything about it, and turned cold and dismissive toward anyone who attempted to bring up the subject. Only a few visitors from Meryton had attempted it, and learned immediately that such tattle had no audience among the other guests.

All of the Bennet ladies felt better the next morning for having spent the previous day quietly. The rest of the week flew by mostly without further incident. Charlotte was studiously avoiding and pointedly ignoring her mother at all costs, and Sir William had strictly forbidden his wife from disturbing Charlotte, Elizabeth, Mrs Bennet, or discussing the matter of Mr Bennet or Longbourn in any way while they remained at Pemberley.

The only other event of note was that Mr Bennet's attorney arrived two days after the Bennets learned of the man's death. He had no idea he was walking into the preparations for an enormous wedding. Elizabeth had Darcy question the man, learned that Kitty was not mentioned in the will, and therefore had no need to be present for the reading. The only person he needed to see was Mrs Bennet and anyone representing or advising her, and the guardian of Longbourn's heir presumptive. Darcy put the man up with the bachelors in the dower house, and insisted that he remain there so as not to cast a pall over the wedding or the guests in the main house. He and Elizabeth did not want the family thinking any more about Mr Bennet over the next few days than they had to. The attorney, a Mr Knightley, a busy but kind man, agreed to wait until the wedding guests had departed to have his meeting. He had no wish to cast a shadow over the family at such a time. In appreciation, Darcy assigned a man to accompany Knightley to quiet and undisturbed areas of the estate, and provided him with tackle, so he might enjoy some unplanned but welcome fishing during his visit. Darcy also ensured the attorney had a fine decanter of brandy to enjoy at the dower house.