A/N

I lied. This chapter is the longest! And the next one could be way longer! I lived in Central Florida for a few years a long time ago (left in 01). I remember the environmental nightmare the Corps of Engineers had created when they changed the course of the Kissimmee River. I'm not an expert on the Everglades, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible. At the end of the day, this is just fiction. I'll take your suggestions if I agree with you. If anyone's still there! Ha! I hope you enjoy it.

End of A/N

Chapter 25

The atmosphere in the ballroom vibrated with energy, with people eating and drinking and socializing with their dining companions. Elizabeth sat in the front, conversing with her parents and grandfather, willfully oblivious to the intimidating stares coming from a table not far from her. Had she known Jane was going to be so heartless and insensitive as to bring that insufferable bully with her, she would've requested to place them in the other side of the ballroom, far from her. Very far! Preferably outside! With a tiny monitor and a little, bitty speaker...

Her impishly satisfying thoughts were interrupted by her grandmother's arrival with her sister... No... with her sisters...

When she saw Jane coming to their table, she became infuriated and primed herself for battle! Her mom took her hand giving her 'The Look', which produced a magical calming effect on her. Sparing a thought for her late father, she decided to make the best of it. After a dinner paired with awkward conversation carried mostly by her mother and grandmother, her dad went to the podium. He waited for the noise in the room to subside and then began his speech.

"Good evening, Your Eminence Archbishop _, Reverend _, Doctor _, Senator _, Representative _, Representative _, and other distinguished ladies and gentlemen. I'm Edward Bennet and it's my pleasure to welcome you to the official launching of the Thomas R Bennet Everglades Foundation. Before we begin, I would like to thank you all for your enthusiastic support and your generous donations to our new foundation, they are very much appreciated and will be used wisely by our directors.

The Thomas R Bennet Everglades Foundation or TRBEF was established two months ago by Elizabeth Bennet, daughter of the late Thomas Robert Bennet, my brother. Miss Bennet will address you in a few minutes but before she does, I would like to give you a little background story to explain how TRBEF came to be.

Bennet Ranch originated not far from here, by the edge of the Everglades, before the National Park was established. One fateful day in the Mid-1800s, my ancestor, Thomas Edward Bennet, an industrious and ambitious young lad, arrived in this territory from his native England. He soon became a pioneer in the ranching industry, beginning his cattle business as many adventurous entrepreneurs did at the time. He boldly occupied some of the lands we currently own. Using expert Seminole cattlemen as hired hands, he rounded up a few native Florida Cracker cows, the ones brought here by the Spanish Conquistadors, and sold them in the markets in Fort Myers. He was a strapping and ambitious businessman, facing and triumphing over many obstacles which would've defeated many lesser men, such as floods and droughts, wild animals, thieves, outlaws, displaced and angry Seminoles, the Spanish and Civil Wars. He survived all adversities and thrived, acquiring more land and cattle and selling cow meat and cow by-products in state and out of state, and so did his descendants. By the beginning of the previous century, we owned more than a hundred thousand acres around this area. When the Everglades National Park was created, we ceded close to two-thirds of our land to the government for the Park. In harsh times, in order to keep our farm, some of my predecessors had to sell more land to big agricultural corporations and real-estate developers established near us.

We currently own ten thousand acres encompassing our ranch with free-roaming pasture for our cattle business and another five thousand acres of farmland producing a variety of organic fruits and vegetables. We also have a patch of five thousand acres of land formerly used for cattle but due to its proximity to the Everglades, it was set aside many decades ago for conservation purposes.

My brother Thomas loved the Everglades. He could spend days or even weeks uninterrupted, immersed in the wild, studying the flora and fauna. Although he would constantly grumble about the hazards of human encroachment and obliterating invasive species, he understood it wasn't just inevitable, but a reality to be reckoned with.

Thomas called our virgin plot of land his Heaven on Earth. He had a vision, a life purpose he called it, to leverage human advances in technology to help preserve the Everglades. But he didn't have the opportunity to fulfill his vision. Elizabeth is determined to make her father's dreams a reality. That's the reason why she established TRBEF.

For her first order of business, she undertook the task to buy ten thousand acres of an undeveloped property adjacent to our unspoiled acreage. This land is perfect to implement the research and development activities required for the Foundation. You can see the outline on this map. Together with our five acres, they make up an almost perfect square, with an area over 23 square miles.

Elizabeth acquired this land for twelve million dollars, which represents quite an accomplishment! It wasn't easy, my friends. She dogged the owner, a reclusive millionaire from Michigan, for weeks, negotiating extensively with him, until they reached a deal. I don't know if he was sold upon understanding her passion for her father's cause, or her enchanting personality won him over, or perhaps she wore him out with her well-known and celebrated stubbornness. After many days of hard bargaining, the owner lied defeated! He agreed to transfer the property to her for free! But with one significant stipulation. She had to remain as the sole steward of the land. She could do anything she wanted with it, as long as she never sold it. Of course, that would've been contrary to her future life aspirations and those of the Foundation! So, at this point, she began to bargain to increase the price. Can you even imagine those two headstrong individuals arguing against themselves? Unbelievable! At long last, they reached a happy medium which satisfied both parties. Well, at twelve hundred dollars per acre of a potentially drainable land, in South Florida, it was a smashing victory for our Elizabeth!

Her benefactor prevailed over Elizabeth in one respect, he maintained his anonymity. She persistently tried to meet him face to face to no avail. All their negotiations were conducted by video conference, and he would never show his face. She even made three unannounced trips to his office in Michigan. One time she disguised herself and tried to pass as a family friend. But the man bested her! To this day we have no idea of the identity of our anonymous benefactor. Hey! He could be here tonight! Whoever you are, we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Just in case he may possibly be here, let's give him a big applause!"

Applause.

"To pay for this land, Elizabeth donated the entire inheritance her father left her, plus the royalties from all the books she wrote with her father. She used another income source which I will explain next. Thomas Bennett was a prolific and exceptional photographer. He wasn't a professional, although he would've been one of the best! He sold a few of his amazing wildlife photos to nature magazines like the ones you see on the screens. The only images he published appeared on the books he co-wrote with Elizabeth, and if you examine their books, the images are few and far in between. They preferred to compose intricate sketches and charts to confuse us! Ha! Upon his passing, Thomas bequeathed all his photos to Elizabeth. Thousands and thousands of breathtaking and daring nature photos taken all over the world. With the assistance of her family, she selected one hundred very special photos. She had them printed in high-resolution large format and framed professionally. Along with a certificate of authenticity, she included a narration of when and where it was taken and interesting facts and anecdotes about each photo. Some of them turned out to be so unique to my brother's personality, we purchased them ourselves. I can't show any of these photos because we're not allowed to duplicate them as they're copyrighted, belonging exclusively to their new owners. Elizabeth auctioned them, with some of the pictures selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars! A very special one, very dear to me, sold for one million dollars to an anonymous bidder! Anonymous... Hmm... We have a suspicion! Ha! I'm also aware that some folks present tonight bought pictures, so thank you very much!"

Applause.

"One hundred percent of the revenues also went to the Foundation. From all the income sources, so far Elizabeth has donated a total of six and a half million dollars.

Applause.

"In addition to ceding our virgin five thousand acres, Bennet Ranch contributed four million dollars to TRBEF."

Applause.

"TRBEF collected the rest of the money mostly from the generous supporters present here tonight. Thank you, my friends."

More applause.

"TRBEF will require more funds to carry out our mission. Elizabeth already selected an A-list group of scientists and engineers, including some who worked closely with Thomas during his years as an inventor for the Bennet Farm, and in his animal research pursuits. As soon as the new leadership is in place, she'll step down as the Foundation President but will remain on the board as an honorary advisor, focusing her attention on her future. She will begin by co-writing a posthumous zoology book about the Florida Panther, based on the research her father completed before passing away. She'll also write a biography of her father. This will be the first of many more books we'll expect from our wonderfully talented and gifted writer. It will also be her first non-scientific book, allowing us simple mortals to finally be able to understand her writing. Ha!"

Laughter.

"The proceeds from those two books will also be donated to TRBEF. Without further ado, allow me to introduce the founder of the Thomas R Bennet Everglades Foundation, Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

Enthusiastic applause.

Elizabeth stood and moved forward to embrace her dad who whispered something in her ear and kissed her on the cheek. She chuckled, proceeding to the podium. Her enchanting smile and sexy appearance elicited a few whistles from the male crowd, including one from Darcy's table. She rolled her eyes, lightly bit her lower lip, and began her speech.