Chapter 27

L ord Andrew Fitzwilliam, Viscount Hilldale, succumbed to one of his deadly maladies a little past midnight, three days after the wedding of Jane and Charles Bingley. He had clung to life for days longer than the physicians had estimated he would.

At that instant, Richard Fitzwilliam became Viscount Hilldale. The new Lord Hilldale was thankful he had been at his brother’s side, holding one of his skeletal hands when Andrew breathed his last. He would forever remember his brother as he was before he was seduced by the fast crowd, then eventually becoming the leader of that dissipated group.

How he wished his Mary was by his side. As she was not, he sat down and wrote a letter to her so she and the Bennets would know his brother’s suffering was at an end and he was with God now. As he had when he had been informed of it, Richard gave thanks to on High that Andy had begged His forgiveness while he had still been compos mentis .

When his letter was completed, Richard allowed himself to fall into his bed. He was glad William had been sitting vigil with them and was sanguine with the fact Giana had not returned to Matlock House after she had said a quick goodbye and fled the sickroom in tears. As he was in a time of crisis, William was a stalwart and his support had given all three surviving Fitzwilliam’s strength.

Andy’s earthly remains would be buried in the Fitzwilliam crypt below the church at Snowhaven. To that end they would be departing London the following morning. With it being in the middle of winter there was no danger of heat affecting the corpse.

As he lay in his bed on his back, his fingers interlaced behind his head, Richard thought about their younger years when Andy was a happy-go-lucky youth, and later a young man. He had never envied his older brother being the first born, viscount, and the one who would one day be Lord Matlock. Not only that, he had never desired to bear the title which was now his. However, Lord Richard Fitzwilliam was a man of duty and as such, he would discharge his duties as Viscount Hilldale, and one day—he prayed many decades in the future—as the Earl of Matlock to the best of his abilities.

Thankfully his years in the army had opened his eyes to the fact that all men deserved dignity, and one was not better than another just because of an accident of birth. Some of the bravest men who he had served with were as lowborn as you could find. While some of the greatest cowards had been nobly born men. All of this had taught the new viscount it was not blood or breeding which made a man, it was character.

It was close to four in the morning before Morpheus finally claimed the new Lord Hilldale, and when he had fallen asleep, it had been with a smile as he visualised himself in his Mary’s arms.

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

Mary was seated at the pianoforte, but not playing. Her mind was on Richard and his family as they sat vigil next to Lord Hilldale’s deathbed. As much as she missed seeing him each day, she knew full well why her beloved could not be at her side and was not a selfish person who would resent her betrothed doing his duty to his family.

Still too distracted to play, Mary was pleased when Hill entered the music parlour with a salver in hand. She immediately recognised the script, and hoped against hope this was not the letter her Richard would have dreaded writing. At least it was not black edged. Rather than guess what Richard had written to her, Mary broke the seal without noticing it was the Hilldale crest which had been pressed into the wax. She opened the pages and began to read.

21 January 1812

Matlock House

My dearest, beloved Mary,

Andrew is with God, my darling Mary. His suffering in the mortal world is at an end.

Mary had to stifle a sob. Even though she had never met the late Viscount, she knew how much Richard loved his brother; a brotherly love which never waned no matter how far off the righteous path his older sibling had strayed. He had abhorred the sins, but never the sinner. She felt pain for Richard whom she was sure was suffering greatly at that moment, and that she could not be there to soothe him.

He passed a little after midnight, and yes, even before any paper had been edged in black, the first thing I wanted to do was write to my Mary. As much as I want you with me at this moment, I know it cannot be. Knowing you are in the world and love me will sustain me through this painful time.

William was the only other one with us three Fitzwilliams when Andy breathed his last. He has been, and will be, the strength we lean on as we go forward and mourn. He and Giana will observe a total of 6 weeks mourning. I am very grateful to my parents for telling me to keep to 3 months, which will allow us to marry in 6 weeks from now. As my parents will be in deep mourning for 3 months, they will not attend the wedding, but even after this tragedy, both Mother and Father reiterated their desire that we do not wait beyond 6 weeks.

To that, if you agree, I suggest we marry on Friday, the 28th day of February of this year. That will be three days after my deep mourning period ends. As it would be unseemly for the banns to be called while I am in deep mourning, I will apply for a special license or a common license, whichever you prefer.

The Darcys will join us in travelling to Snowhaven on the morrow. The journey will take three days and my brother will be laid to rest in the family crypt on Monday as the day after we arrive will be the Sabbath. William and Giana will split their time between Pemberley and Snowhaven (the two estates are less than 10 miles distant one to the other) and at some point, I will ask William to join me in visiting Hilldale, which is in Staffordshire, about 20 miles from Snowhaven.

As I think I related to you, once Father cut him off, Andy all but stripped Hilldale to fund his lifestyle. With my cousin’s experience in running an estate, he will assist me to evaluate my estate and help me plan what is needed to bring it back to how it should be.

Thanks to my investments over the years with your Uncle Gardiner, I have a good financial base to begin to repair what has been damaged, and to refurbish the manor house. Father offered to provide the funds but I will not accept them from him. Why should I when I have more than enough of my own?

As much as I would love to have you here beside me, my beloved Mary, I am pleased we did not rush things along—besides, your father would not have permitted a wedding which looked like a rushed and patched-up affair—even though the instant my brother died and I became the viscount, I became as attractive a matrimonial target as William. All I can do is thank Him for bringing me to you. Before I ever return to London, we will be married so the harpies of the Ton can do their worst. It will make you secretly hated by them, but none will dare to openly disdain you. You know about Mother and her friends (you met some of them in Town) so anyone openly disparaging you or us will find that they have committed social suicide.

I know I am rambling, my dearest Mary; it is a product of my exhaustion.

Just know you are the most important person in the world to me. Please write back and let me know if you and your parents agree with the date I suggested for the wedding. The courier who delivered this letter will wait until you have a letter to send me.

All my love and so much more,

Your Richard

Mary placed a light kiss on her beloved’s script and folded her letter. After secreting it in her day dress’ pocket, she went in search of her parents; she discovered them both in the study. She relayed the sad news, and then shared the wedding date her fiancé had suggested.

Fanny looked at her husband who nodded. “Mary, as long as you agree to the date Richard proposed, your father and I have no objections,” she stated.

You said the Fitzwilliam courier is waiting, did you not?” Bennet verified. Mary allowed it to be so. “Then while you write your letter, I will scribe one to Matlock to convey my condolences to him.

“And I will do the same to Elaine on behalf of our whole family,” Fanny decided.

By the time the courier departed Longbourn with the missives from the various Bennets, he and his horse had been able to rest for well over five hours.

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

In early February one of the Fitzwilliam couriers delivered another letter to Longbourn. It was for Mary, of course.

3 February 1812

Hilldale, Staffordshire

My dearest, most loved Mary,

William and I have been at the above estate since 2 days after the funeral. What we found was far worse than we imagined.

Not only did my late brother sell everything not physically part of the house, but he had been neglecting the tenants’ concerns for some years. All that was left of the servants was a footman and 2 maids, none of whom had been paid for months.

My cousin immediately sent to Pemberley for an under-steward who is ready to run an estate as the steward. He also had Mr and Mrs Reynolds (his butler and housekeeper at P) send as many servants as could be spared along with the assistant cook.

My first order of business was to meet with all of the remaining tenants (5 farms were abandoned) and assure them that their needs would be the first ones met. After living through the years of Andrew’s neglect, they were rightly sceptical, but with the steward in place, and work to repair their cottages already underway, I think they are starting to see I will be a very different master than my late brother was. We will need to fill the empty farms, but I believe that once word of the changes is spread, we will have applicants. In the meanwhile, even the abandoned farms and the structures on them will be repaired.

In the way of an apology to the remaining tenants, I have given them 2 quarters free of rent. That won over even the few doubters among them.

I am to refurbish the whole house, except for the suite which will be yours. When you arrive you will decide what you want in your chambers. In the meanwhile, if you have any preferences in colours, etc. please let me know and once we have a housekeeper, I will pass the information onto her.

I am confident we will have a housekeeper and butler soon. Mother is sending a pair from Snowhaven. She is the under-housekeeper and he the under-butler. I have not spent much time at Snowhaven since my induction into the army, but I have met them before. We already have a cook in place, she was Andrew’s cook who found employment at an inn and was only too happy to return to the estate where her own mother was the cook before her.

As I employ more of my own servants, those who William sent to help are being released back to Pemberley. At least the house is clean once again, even if it is devoid of furniture and art on the walls. I will order furniture from Chippendale, and I have written to your uncle to see if we can acquire some art and décor at auction.

I am counting the days until our wedding, my beloved. By my count there are 25 days to go. I cannot wait until we never have to be parted again.

With all my love and more,

Richard

Mary, who had become closer and closer to Lizzy since Jane’s wedding, allowed her sister to read the letter.

Elizabeth could not help but be impressed by the way Mr Darcy stepped in and did whatever he could to help his family and friends. He was one of the best men she had ever met, and she was looking forward to seeing him when he arrived with Richard before the wedding. She had gone from intense dislike, to friendship, to having tender feelings for him. Even without knowing if her feelings were reciprocated, Elizabeth found she missed him more and more each day he was away.

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

By the first week of February, it was evident that Abe was all but healed. Although his legs were greatly weakened during the time they had been immobilised, since the splints had been removed, he had slowly begun to strengthen his muscles.

James had sent his letter to the shipping line’s offices as requested. He thought it had just been a courtesy by Captain Hillard when he requested to be informed of what was happening with them. Hence when a sailing ship flying the naval standard of the United Kingdom arrived, one named The Rose , he had been shocked. The surprise had been magnified when Captain David Hillard had walked down the gangplank. When he heard what the captain had to say, he was stupefied.

The Duke of Bedford had sent Hillard to captain his own private ship to Stykkishólmur to collect the Bennets and their party and convey them not to Liverpool, but directly to London . James knew that from Town it was only four hours or so to Longbourn. If all of that was not enough, several of the Duke’s coaches would convey them into Hertfordshire.

Evidently when Hillard’s report of the accident aboard Miranda had reached the Duke, he had demanded his shipping line do whatever they could to assist the Bennets, regardless of the fact Abe was where he was not supposed to be.

So it was that a day later the Bennets, Freemans, Biggs, and Johns bid Iceland goodbye. Even though some of the townspeople had viewed them with suspicion, they were sorry to see the English depart as they had boosted the economy of the town considerably.

While their trunks were placed in their cabins, Captain Hillard explained to the travellers that in order to avoid the stormy North Sea, he would sail south, eventually passing between England and Ireland sailing through the Irish Sea. Then they would turn past Cornwall, and sail into the channel, and back north to the mouth of the Thames. He estimated it would take about ten days to a fortnight, possibly a little more or less, depending on the winds, to reach London.

“By the way, Bennet, everything you entrusted to me is in the safe which is in the cabin you and your children will use,” Hillard stated, before he released Bennet to follow the rest of the party who were being shown to their berths. He handed over a key which would open said safe.

“I thank you for protecting my property. But Hillard, this is all too much, why would His Grace go to so much trouble, surely we could have taken another ship to complete our journey.”

“As I explained, the Duke wants to make sure you arrive safely. You paid for first class berths until you reached England, and first class you shall have.”

Bennet bowed and joined his children who were waiting for him. The officer opened a door to a cabin which was under the quarterdeck. It was enormous, and had the luxury one would expect on land. The Bennets remembered that this was the Duke and Duchess’s personal vessel. If one had to spend time at sea, this was the way to travel. It was far beyond any level of luxury they had experienced in first class on the Miranda before their journey was interrupted.

There was a main room which had a dining table which could seat twelve, settees, wingback chairs and smaller tables, among other amenities. There were four doors in the one wall. Each led to a cabin. Yes, this was far beyond first class.

James realised he had forgotten to write to Thomas regarding their earlier departure from Iceland. He hoped his brother would enjoy the surprise.