"Lizzy! Mare!" said the handsome teenager with the sparkling green eyes who almost leapt from the carriage before if completely stopped.
They were standing outside of Longbourn with their guests waiting to receive who they thought were Lord and Lady Jersey. Instead three opulent carriages had pulled in front of the house carrying their grandfather and brother in the first, their aunt and uncle in the second, and Elizabeth's godparents in the third, to their delightful shock.
"Tom!" Mary cried as she picked up her skirts and rushed into her brother's arms.
Elizabeth was still in shock and had not moved as the others disembarked with a little more grace than the youngest Bennet. Her Aunt Martha had her enfolded in her arms before she came out of her stupor.
"Aunt Martha? What? Grandfather!" she stumbled as she hugged the aging earl as well.
"What a surprise."
"I hope it is a good surprise, LizBear" her grandfather teased.
Lord Holder was a distinguished looking gentleman with handsome features and the green eyes his grandchildren all shared. He looked younger than his advanced years and was as active as ever.
He held his granddaughter back so that he could take a close look for signs of abuse. His little bear looked as beautiful as ever though she did look unwell which worried him excessively.
He had been horrified when they received word of the goings on at Longbourn since they had left the country, and he continuously upbraided himself for leaving his precious girls behind.
He should have been more adamant in them joining them to visit the family but the girls were extremely attached to their father and did not want to leave him for so long. They planned to be gone a year complete before they ended the visit early to return for the girls so he understood their reluctance to leave their father, but still, he should have insisted.
"How is this possible? We knew nothing!" exclaimed Elizabeth as she shot an accusing glance at her godmother who was taking in the scene with joy.
"Blame your devious aunt for the subterfuge, dear. She wanted to surprise you girls though I wanted word of you as soon as possible" he added in concern.
"As you can see we are doing well. May I…" she was crushed in her brother's arms before she could finish her thought.
"Tom! Look at you. You have grown so tall!" she said with delight as her brother studied her features with tears in his eyes.
"I am well" she assured him.
"We both are. See how beautiful our Mary is? How do you like your estate? I am sorry it took you so long to be able to visit" she said, trying to distract them from their emotions.
"Tis just as you described it and more. I shall be very happy here."
"Uncle Richard! Welcome to Longbourn" she greeted her stoic uncle who was also studying her face intensely.
She knew her family wanted to talk about everything sooner rather than later.
"May I introduce you to the rest of my family?" she asked as she went to her husband's side.
"Family, this is my dear husband, Fitzwilliam Darcy, the Duke of Devonshire, my beautiful sister Lady Georgiana Darcy, and my dashing cousin the Honorable Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Husband, sister, cousin, this is my grandfather Lord William Jordan, the Earl of Holder, my dear aunt and uncle, Lord Richard and Lady Martha Wilson, the Earl and Countess of Vaxton, and this handsome gentleman is my brother Thomas Bennet Jr., Viscount Radcliff."
Everyone exchanged greetings and pleasantries before Elizabeth led them all back into the drawing room where her father awaited them. They all greeted her father and asked after his wellbeing and checked him over for themselves despite his appearing well.
Elizabeth tried to get them to retire to their rooms to refresh themselves but a stern look from her grandfather told her there was no use trying to get anyone to leave the room until they had full disclosure. She called for tea and served everyone before her brother began.
"Are you well, Lizzy?" he asked in concern. "Truly?"
His sister looked sickly to him.
"Yes Tom I am well and happy, please do not be concerned. I have no lasting damage from my ordeal" she said soothingly.
Her brother and Aunt Martha were the only people who still called her Lizzy without making her feel ill. Her sister and godmother would sometimes call her Lizzy but had stopped using it regularly when they saw how affected she was by it.
Her beloved mother gave her that nickname and her family had always called her thus before those women degraded it and made her hate hearing it. She wanted to be her mother and family's Lizzy, not be taunted as if her name were a curse. Maybe having her family back and calling her Lizzy lovingly will help her take back the name in her mind from those vile people.
"What the devil happened here?" asked her grandfather, not caring about using such language in mixed company for once.
The duke grabbed his wife's hand and held it in both of his while she took a deep breath and started to tell her family their story.
"Papa fell ill as you know. He is doing much better these days but he was truly unwell. His wife took over the estate while I was tending to him. I hardly noticed at first because I spent all my days at papa's side. I realized I was not receiving correspondence or callers and started venturing below stairs more. I then saw that most of our staff had been replaced and none of my friends and neighbors called on me any longer.
"I wrote all of you and though I did not expect to hear back from you all for a while, I was concerned that I had not heard from my godmother either. When I started asking questions about what was going on, the abuse started" she paused as her family all gasped in horror.
Her husband squeezed her hand and the colonel nodded at her in support.
"All of my activities were curtailed and I had no contact with anyone outside of the house as the abuse increased. I was locked away when anyone came to the house and when they entertained, and I was rarely allowed to sit with papa once I continued to refuse to marry my father's 'heir' to save them from the hedgerows."
She did not want to go deep into what happened and hoped they would not ask.
"But I am father's heir" said a confused Tom.
Mr. Bennet went on to explain the buffoon that is one Mr. Collins. The family all knew his wife was unaware of Tom's existence but they had no idea who Collins was.
"I want to apologize to you once again, Elizabeth. Had I immediately told Collins the truth and sent him away you would not have suffered so. I was being entertained by the oddity and saw no harm in going along with him for a while."
"Please papa. We were both being entertained, I dare say."
"But I should have stopped it sooner, especially when the marriage offers kept coming."
"Marriage offers?" asked Lady Vaxton.
"He offered for me over and over again, aunt. He said I was trying to 'increase his affections' by denying him and I could not truly mean to decline his proposal and my father was sure to consent since he was his heir that our family would depend on when he dies and I had only my charms to recommend me."
"He said what?" asked Lord Vaxton.
"Where is this man?" he asked the duke.
"I removed him from the estate before my wife and I came to stay. He is my Aunt Lady Catherine's parson."
"Lady Catherine de Bourgh?" asked Lord Holder with a look of displeasure on his face.
That old harpy had set her cap on him during her fourth season before she trapped de Bourgh.
"The one and only, milord" the colonel answered, amused at the look on the earl's face.
"So this parson thought himself the heir and you were being made to marry him?" asked Lady Martha, trying to get back on topic.
"That was the plan, aunt. I tried to be careful until I could get help but when they tried to force the wedding, I had enough. I told her I would never marry such a man, she was not my mother, and had no right to give me away to anyone nor dictate my actions. That is when the final and worse abuse happened. All four of them attacked. I tried fighting back but they overpowered me of course. I woke up bleeding worse than ever before, in horrible pain, and tied to a bed in the servants' quarters."
Her entire family was now openly crying.
"One of the ropes on my leg gave way and I easily unbound myself because of what I now know to be Mary's diligent help. She would loosen the ropes bit by bit until I was able to get away. I waited until the house was quiet and escaped through the hidden passages. I wished to get help for myself, Mary, and papa but I was in so much pain and knew I would not get far before they would catch me, so I decided to end it before they could reach me."
Her family was horrified and devastated to hear her words.
"That is when I found her" continued the duke.
"She collapsed in front of my carriage on my way to visit my friend's estate which neighbors Longbourn. She would only tell me her first name and begged me not to take her to Netherfield, my friend's estate, or an estate that began with the word long before she passed out. I took her to a nearby inn to receive care and rode to my friend's estate to see if I could find out who she was and why she was afraid of going to Netherfield."
"We were paying a call on Netherfield when he arrived. I was never allowed to be left alone with Elizabeth and was made to accompany them. I did not know Elizabeth had gotten free. We were there making a spectacle of ourselves as her daughters threw themselves at His Grace while verbally abusing Elizabeth. Mr. Collins also arrived and started touting his upcoming nuptials to his dear, beautiful Elizabeth who was currently at home 'sitting with her father as if it still mattered' according to him" added Mary.
The deplorable statement made her family gasp again.
"His Grace was very subtle in his quest for information, but I noticed the rapt attention he paid to any mention of Longbourn or Elizabeth."
"I realized the Lizzy that they were discussing so rudely was the Elizabeth I had found. Then I noticed a quiet beauty who was secretly crying while Lizzy was being abused and knew I needed to speak with her so I requested a song while I turned the pages for her and she told me all. I told her that her sister was now safe and I would do all I can to protect her and help Mary as well. I slipped her my card and asked her to start a correspondence with my sister to send us news before I made a plan to return for her."
"My sister wrote to us that they were now trying to make her marry Mr. Collins and abusing her as well" Georgiana added.
"I was not aware you were abused as well, Mare. Are you well?" asked the worried Tom.
"I am quite well, brother. They did not treat me nearly as bad as they did Elizabeth" she answered.
"I wrote her back asking her to get herself to a safe place where my brother could retrieve her from and he and my cousin went to get her as soon as Mary sent us a time and location."
"They brought Mary to me and we spent nearly a month at the inn securing the estate and putting things in place to protect papa until we safely return. As soon as it was safe for me to travel we removed to Pemberley, one of my husband's estates, so I could convalesce before returning to papa. I slowly healed and fell in love with my husband there. I wanted to wait until everyone returned or until papa was well enough to consent to our marriage, but my husband felt it best that we were married before returning to Longbourn, so we quietly married in Scotland before returning, first to town, and then here."
"My first priority was removing them from Longbourn. I advised them they could either leave the estate immediately never to return or I would have them arrested for the attempted murder of my wife who was now a distant part of the royal family. I told them what they did could be considered treason and they could be hanged."
The family nodded in approval. They were impressed with the lengths the duke went to in order to protect their girls.
"Since Mrs. Bennet was legally married to Mr. Bennet she had every right to reside here until her husband said otherwise, but we knew they would not risk being arrested and would agree to leave the estate. My cousin also added the condition that they were stop using the Bennet name or claiming any connection to the family. While her daughters are not Bennets, Mrs. Bennet is and shall remain Mrs. Bennet unless her husband allows my cousin to assist him with obtaining a divorce, but the duke advised her to no longer call herself Mrs. Bennet as well. Everyone now calls her Mrs. Lewis whether she likes it or not" said the colonel.
"An annulment would be a great deal easier than obtaining a divorce would it not, Your Grace?" Mr. Bennet asked ambiguously.
"If there are grounds for an annulment, yes it is" said the duke slowly while asking him a silent question with his eyes.
Mr. Bennet simply nodded his head and most of the room now understood the true state of his marriage. The younger ones, of course, could not follow the conversation.
"Then it shall make the process much easier and we may discuss it more at a later time if you like" advised the duke.
"Yes, I would like that very much."
"So where are these people now? What has been done?" asked Lord Holder.
"My wife was happy to just have them removed from Longbourn and did not want to take further action unless their behavior warranted it" answered the duke.
"The eldest daughter was intent on capturing the Duke of Devonshire and refused to let a little thing like him already being married deter her" the colonel added.
"She wanted to 'help him out of his wretched marriage so that he can be with the woman he truly preferred', her. She tried to accomplish that task with a pitchfork which ended her delusions instead of my cousin's marriage. The rest of her family has been living quietly since her untimely demise" he finished delicately.
The room was again stunned.
"You mean…?" asked Lady Martha, turning towards her niece in horror.
Elizabeth nodded her head in confirmation.
"Oh my! And no harm came to you?"
"None at all, except for that pesky fainting spell I had after it happened" Elizabeth teased.
"You fainted? Why? Did she harm you? Do you have any lasting effects of the abuse?" her grandfather asked anxiously, giving her another once over.
"I hear that it sometimes happens to women in my condition" Elizabeth said with a smile on her face.
She wanted to lighten the mood after the horrible conversation and share her condition with her family. Lady Martha jumped to her feet in surprise as Elizabeth shared a smile with her godmother.
"Oh Lizzy! You mean?"
Elizabeth nodded happily as the men looked on in confusion.
"Oh my dear girl!" she said as she pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear.
"I knew it as soon as I laid eyes on you and if the men were knowledgeable about such things they would have realized to. It is quite noticeable already" she said as she rubbed Elizabeth's stomach.
"LizBear, what is going on? What condition do you have that would cause you to faint?" asked the still worried Lord Holder.
"A condition that would cause you to become a great grandfather, old man" Mr. Bennet said teasingly.
"Lizzy, I am to be an uncle!" cried Tom as he hugged his sister and shook the duke's hand.
"Congratulations, Your Grace."
"Please, call me Devonshire or brother as our sisters do."
"Congratulations, LizBear. I assume that is why you are looking a little wain?" he asked with a raised eyebrow not unlike his granddaughter.
"You do look quite unwell, Elizabeth dear, and I see that my godduke's concerns are valid, young lady." Lady Jersey said looking sternly at her stubborn goddaughter who protested the concern in every letter.
"I am well. I promise you, Lady Godmother."
"She is not at all well" interrupted the duke.
"Your Grace!" Elizabeth said sternly, glaring at her husband.
"You may protest all you like dear, but one only has to look at you to see that you are not your usual vibrant self" Lady Vaxton said.
"She takes too much upon herself" Mary tattled.
"My brother has the hardest time getting her to rest and has asked Mary and I to secretly take over some of her household duties" added Georgiana, avoiding Elizabeth's eyes.
She knew her sister would be upset but they were all so worried about her. Hopefully her family will help them to persuade her to take better care of herself. If anything happened to her and the babe their family would be devastated.
"She spends entirely too much time on my care and the running of the household. I tell her that I am well and her sisters are hardly away from my side hovering over me with worry" her father said.
Elizabeth listened on in horror.
'Traitors! What are they thinking? Of course I shall never shirk my duties! And look at that smirking husband of mine. He may think he is safe now that he has back up, but ugh, wait until I get my hands on him! Well, I never!'
"Is there nothing you would like to add, cousin?" she asked a smiling the colonel, her eyes blazing.
"I think they covered everything, cousin" he teased.
'We are no longer afraid of you little lady. We have reinforcements to enter the battle, Major General' he thought.
Of course he would never say that out loud.
"Martha, I have already made the decision that you and I will take over as hostesses for Elizabeth before we even arrived. We shall make sure we speak with the staff and tell them any concerns should be addressed to you or I" Lady Jersey stated.
"Excellent. Elizabeth dear, I know how strong and capable you are, but this is a delicate time in your life. You must take better care of yourself for the babe's sake" said Lady Vaxton to her niece who was upbraiding the whole room with her eyes, arms folded.
"I have been taking care of myself and I am very careful" Elizabeth protested trying to rein in her ire.
"But dearest you have not curtailed any of your activities. You go on as you did before the babe and that is not safe. I only want you to slow down and take a little more time for yourself. You are always taking care of others without the proper care for your own wellbeing" the duke said, trying to coax his angry wife.
'Maybe I should not have made the unwell statement earlier. I love it when her eyes are ablaze but not when it is directed towards me. I may be in trouble' he thought.
"I understand your concern, Your Grace" she said through gritted teeth.
"But I am considered the mistress of Longbourn and I have duties to attend to as well as an unwell father."
"No one doubts your abilities as mistress, niece, but I have to say you do look rather unwell. I am sure you saw all our looks of concern when we greeted you" said Lord Vaxton.
"Yes, child. If only for our sake, slow down a little and share some of your duties with your willing family" added Lord Holder.
"I really do not believe you have much of choice, goddaughter. I am sure my wife meant her decision as an order not a question" laughed Lord Jersey.
"We all know she is just as, if not more, stubborn than you are, dear."
Elizabeth sighed in defeat as she looked around the room. What choice did she have? Everyone in the room loved her dearly and they all looked concerned for her and she had been rather unwell.
It seems as if her babe had determined that she would never eat again unless all that she consumed was immediately emptied from her stomach and she should sleep as much as possible.
The babe was rather stubborn and hopelessly lazy!
