Chapter 18

When Charles Bingley heard that his mother and sister Caroline were in the tower awaiting execution, he would have liked to have expressed surprise, but he could not. It was sad that his relatives had come to this end, as it would have been with any human being, but reading Louisa's letter, he could not but agree that his mother and Caroline had had done some despicable things.

He had never imagined them capable of attempted murder, but he supposed that years of coveting that which they would never have, materially or socially, and the frustration at never being able to attain it had poured out in the disgusting attack on his former stepsister.

Bingley was pleasantly surprised he was invited to Louisa's wedding as he would, in fact, be the one giving her away to her new husband. After reading the reports in The Times of London, which had been repeated in every broadsheet in the kingdom of the recovery of Jane Bennet, now a viscountess, and her family connections, he had thought there was no chance he would be invited to a wedding where she, her sister, and brother would be present.

From what Louisa told him, the family had been impressed by his desire to change his life and the Viscountess would be willing to hear him if he felt he had anything to say to her. Bingley knew no matter how many years in the past he had committed his offence against Jane Bennet, he would have to apologise fully and without trying to excuse his inexcusable past behaviour.

When he met with Louisa in Meryton, he had made his apologies to her for his behaviour and offences against her when they were growing up and, in her magnanimity, she had forgiven him. He had met his future brother-in-law when he helped the Duke and Hurst had impressed him as a very good sort of man.

When Bingley arrived in Meryton the night before herwedding, he noticed his reception from the locals was decidedly warmer than before. Word must have been disseminated about his change of heart and the way he had assisted the Duke against his obsessed aunt.

Where before he had been shunned, he was welcomed warmly. He was given one of the best rooms at the inn in Meryton and told that it had been paid for already. He looked forward to meeting Louisa at the Longbourn church on the morrow, the first time he would be allowed to set foot on Bennet lands since his ill-advised attempted attack against the then Miss Bennet. If he needed a reminder of his folly, all he needed was to look at his hand where the scar from her teeth was still clearly visible.

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

In the time since Miss Anne de Bourgh had been resident in Hertfordshire she had got much closer to her aunt, uncle, and cousins. Within a day, there was no more formality between Anne and any of the group of friends and family residing at Netherfield Park. She had become especially close to Karen Younge and George Wickham.

The three were sitting outdoors one afternoon, the day before the double wedding that would unite Miss Younge and the Major, and Louisa with Mr. Hurst. "Are you resolved to return to the Dragoons Major?" Anne asked as the three sipped lemonade in the shade of the gazebo.

"I wanted to, but I fear that the injury to my arm will leave it permanently weaker than it needs to be to wield a sabre," Whickham lamented.

"It does not please me that you were injured George, but I cannot repine the fact you will no longer be put in harm's way. I would hate to lose you on a battlefield after finding you. It may be selfish to articulate my feelings, but I do not want to lose you," Karen Younge stated softly.

"Well I know it Karen. Mayhap it is not too late for me to seek a career in the law," Wickham surmised.

"There may be another option. You learnt a lot from your father when you grew up at Pemberley did you not George?" Anne asked.

"I suppose I did," Wickham replied.

"With my health, I am well aware I will never be able to bear a child, an heir. I am the last of the de Bourghs and I find that I have and estate to run. My mother cosseted and closeted me away, never allowing me to be educated or allowing me to know about my inheritance. I now find that at five and twenty I am in possession of a large estate and have no idea how to manage it," Anne explained.

"Are you offering me the position of steward? I thought William said the current gentleman in that position is more than competent," Wickham asked.

"No I am not asking you to be my employee, I am asking you to come live at Rosings Park as the future master!" Anne delivered her bombshell.

"Excuse me. Did I hear you correctly?" Wickham asked in a state of shock. "Surely one of your cousins like Richard are far more worthy than I? I am not without the ability to support a wife, my legacy from the late Duke was invested and has grown nicely."

"Your question makes you all the more worthy George. I am not making this offer because I think you unable to support your wife. William has more estates than he knows what to do with, he would have to have ten sons before not having an estate for one of them. Andrew has Hilldale and will one day, far in the future we hope, have Snowhaven and the Matlock estates, and Richard has Brookfield. One of Aunt Elaine's brothers passed away without any direct heir and left it to Richard whose legacy from Uncle Robert has grown apace. Similar to Rosings Park, Richard's estate has a profit of about seven thousand pounds per annum," Anne related. "So you see, I chose you because my other choices all had their own estates," Anne teased.

"We do not what to say," Karen Younge recovered the power of speech.

"There is no need. You have both become my good friends with no expectation of any sort of reward. I know that with the state of my health I will not live to a ripe old age. You will be giving me far more than I you," Anne told the couple. "Can you imagine the look on my dear mother's face if she hears the next master of Rosings Park will be the son of Pemberley's former steward." Then Anne smiled as a thought struck her. "She should be happy, there will be a connection between Pemberley and Rosings at last!"

Once Anne announced her intention to the assembled family there was not a single voice of decent among them. Many toasts were drunk to the couples who would marry on the morrow.

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

At the wedding breakfast at Longbourn after the double wedding ceremony, Charles Bingley approached the Viscountess Glenmeade gingerly. "Mrs. Bennet, please allow me to apologise for my inexcusable behaviour to you all those years ago," he pleaded after she greeted him politely. Her husband was standing at her elbow in case he was needed.

"Mr. Bingley, I have it from most reliable sources you have made genuine and permanent changes to your life. I forgive you wholeheartedly. It helps that Louisa is my sister now. I do not know if I am ready to call you brother—yet. Who knows what the future will hold. I wish you everything of best in your life. Have a good day Mr. Bingley." Bingley understood he was being dismissed by the Viscountess, but he had gained her forgiveness.

"It seems in a way you will be following in your father's footstep George," the Duke clapped his friend on the back.

"In a manner of speaking. However I do not think that either of our fathers envisaged me being an estate owner one day!" Wickham smiled. How his life had changed because he decided to take responsibility for his actions when the late Duke took him to task all those years ago. He would never have imagined that he, the son of a steward, and his wife, how well that sounded, the former governess, would one day be master and mistress of a large, thriving estate.

He and the former Colonel had been in London a few days earlier where both resigned from the army and sold out of their commissions. As they were barred from returning to combat, it had made the decision easier. General Atherton was loathe to part with two of his best officers but understood their decisions to move on as gentlemen.

Harold and Louisa Hurst were making the rounds of the well-wishers at the joint wedding breakfast. Louisa had never looked prettier, she had not noticed it in herself, but all of the walking she had begun to do once she and Elizabeth became friends had paid off in spades! She was no longer portly or plump and had been shocked when her friend had taken her to the modiste and said lady had told her that she needed to be measured all over again because she was so much smaller in the waist.

All of the things her former mother had craved had been attained by Louisa doing the exact opposite of what the condemned Mrs. Bingley had advocated. Louisa felt the sorrow the loss of any human life would engender, but nothing beyond that. Based on the application by the Duke of Derbyshire supported by the Earls of Holder and Matlock, the ecclesiastical court had granted a posthumous annulment to Thomas Bennet so when the woman met her maker, it would be as Mrs. Bingley and there would be no link to the Bennet name.

This was not a day to think of such things though. Louisa looked at her husband standing next to her. She, who thought she would never marry as no one would want one with her size and looks, was loved, respected, and appreciated. She felt the same sentiments for her husband.

As much as he enjoyed working for the Duke, a medium sized estate near Longbourn, Purvis Lodge, had come on the market after the widow Purvis passed. Her heir lived in Ireland on a remarkably successful horse breeding estate and had no need for the Lodge. Hurst had saved and invested most of the money he earned, so he had more than two thirds of the price being asked for Purvis Lodge readily available. Rather than see Hurst take out a mortgage, the Duke had paid the balance due, along with purchasing some adjoining land to the estate, as a wedding present. That way Hurst had no way to refuse his former employer. The Hursts changed the name of the estate to Hurst Haven as soon as the deed was presented to the new master.

"Lulu you are glowing," Elizabeth said, as she took one of her friend's hand in her own.

"How could I not be Lizzy; I just married the love of my life!" Louisa gushed. "On a more serious bent, are you sure you want me to stand up with you and not Jane or one of your other cousins, even Gigi?"

"It has to be you Lulu! You were my light at the darkest time in my life. If it were not for you, I may have accepted I deserved no more than to be called Cinder-Liza and then who knows what would have been if they had broken my spirit! No Lulu, you are the one to stand up with me and believe me when I tell you that Jane understands and agrees fully, so please do not think about it again!" Elizabeth assured her sister and friend.

"I suppose you do owe me," Louisa teased, "Harold and I are delaying our wedding trip to attend your ball and wedding after all!"

"That you are sister of mine, that you are," Elizabeth agreed gratefully.

As both newly-wed couples would attend the masque and the subsequent wedding, the Wickhams would spend their first few nights as man and wife in Netherfield Park's dower house while the Hursts would spend their first nights in their new home, Hurst Haven.

Once both couples had spent an acceptable amount of time at the wedding breakfast, they departed for their respective destinations and were not seen again until the night of the masque.

The three children of Thomas and Fanny Bennet looked around the manor house with pleasure. All of the items Elizabeth had been forced to remove to protect them were back in their rightful places. Most pleasing of all was to see the study restored to its former state. The three swore they could feel their father's presence in the study. Orion became Tommy's horse, as Elizabeth would have the pick of available horses at Pemberley once they arrived there at some point after the wedding.

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

For the masque, Elizabeth took her mother's dress to the dressmaker in Meryton and requested she make wings to match the gorgeous gown as well as a mask to match. The creative seamstress used the same light blue gossamer as the dress's overlay with some blue stones sewn in. The Wings would be secured by a loop either side which would be worn below the gown, the loops being threaded through almost invisible slits the seamstress made in the back of the dress near the sleeves so the fabric would loop under Elizabeth's arms and over her shoulders.

The local economy was experiencing a boon thanks to the Bennets' needs. They had acquired but a few dresses and suits for the men in Nassau, so they had much to buy. The tailor and dressmaker needed to hire extra help temporarily to cope with the orders. The bulk of the purchases would be made in London where the family would be for the month of June before finally heading to Holder Heights and Glenmeade.

As the ladies sat in the tearoom in Meryton, they were approached over and over again by residents amazed to see their Jane Bennet again and to commiserate with Elizabeth Bennet as the perfidy of the Bingley women was now widely known. Louisa, who it was made known was a Bennet sister prior to her wedding, was not tarred with the same brush as Mrs. Bingley and her awful daughter were.

"To be sitting with all of you here in Meryton is a dream come true. I would not, could not allow myself to believe you were never coming back," Elizabeth told the rest of the Bennet women.

"We never gave up hope of seeing you again Lizzy," Aunt Amy replied. "If only we had been saved before your father allowed the despair to consume him."

"As much as I love my late Papa, he was self-indulgent at the end. We all make choices. My choice was to believe in hope, he chose a different path. I too wish he were here to see us all together, especially with Tommy assuming his rightful place as his heir. I have to believe he and Mama are with us in here," Elizabeth placed her hand over her heart, "and always will be."

"Lizzy, is it true the first time you saw William, you pelted him with an apple?" Allie asked.

"She did," Georgiana giggled, "William says that it was the day he started to fall in love with her."

"Only my Lizzy," Jane shook her head as she smiled and patted her sister on her hand.

"Have you started to read my letters Jane?" Elizabeth asked.

"I started with the first one and am working my way forward chronologically. There are well over a hundred so it will take me some time, but I will read them all. They are a good window into your lives while we were stranded on New England," Jane reported.

"It was part of my affirmation you were all alive," Elizabeth owned. "I do miss Lulu, but I have a feeling she is not missing any of us!"

"Cassie," Allie turned to her next oldest sister, "you seem to be spending a lot of time talking to Richard."

"You know I have an interest in the war," Cassie hedged as she blushed furiously. "Allie! Stop teasing me!" Cassie swatted at her younger sister playfully.

The ladies finished their tea and little cakes and boarded the coaches to return to Netherfield Park. By rights, since they were betrothed, William and Elizabeth should not have been residing in the same house, but it was decided that with the number of chaperones and the closeness to the wedding there was no point in making changes.

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

The night of the masque Netherfield was ablaze with the light of thousands of candles and the drive was well marked with many torches. "Lulu! Harold! It is so good to see you two. How go things at Hurst Haven? Or have you been too busy to notice?" Elizabeth arched her eyebrow.

"Lizzy! You are incorrigible! We have been enjoying our new home, thank you very much," Louisa replied with a huge smile. "My goodness Lizzy! How well you look in your mother's dress. Are you wearing the glass slippers?"

Elizabeth lifted her hem slightly to show her sister the slippers were on her dainty feet. "Louisa has the right of it, you look like a fairy princess with those wings Lizzy," Jane told her from her other side.

"I must admit I am excited to dance with William tonight, it will be the first time we have danced since we are betrothed. I had the pleasure once at the assembly he attended right after we discovered the connection between us," Elizabeth stated dreamily.

"Do not forget my Elizabeth, you have promised me the first, supper, and final sets," the deep baritone voice she loved was heard from behind her.

"Forget about the pleasure of dancing with you William! I would sooner call my former stepmother a wit!" Elizabeth turned and smiled as she saw her betrothed's waistcoat matched the colour of her dress.

It was not the time to relay the news, but in the last two days Mrs. de Bourgh, formerly known as Lady Catherine, and her henchman had paid the ultimate price at the end of a rope and the day before the executioner at the tower had earned his money beheading the two Bingley women. The Duke had been told that right up and until they had knelt at the block, the delusional women held to the belief that their duke would save them. It had been the last thing they had thought of in this world.

William thought his betrothed was a beauty, but the vision he saw before him this night exceeded all of his expectations. He counted himself the luckiest of men to have been accepted by the phenomenal woman who stood before him with her impertinent challenging look.

The receiving line formed. It consisted of the Earl and Countess of Holder, Viscount and Viscountess Glenmeade, Elizabeth Bennet, and at the head of the line, his Grace Lord William Darcy. It had been decided the ball would celebrate the betrothal as well as the recovery of the Bennets.

Richard Fitzwilliam had been much pleased to have been granted the three major sets by Lady Cassandra Bennet. He planned to seek an audience with her after his cousin's wedding to request a formal courtship. His heart was well on its way to being lost to the middle Holder Bennet daughter, and unless his senses were way off, it was the same for the lady as well.

Karen and George Wickham could not have looked happier. Each day they spent together; their love seemed to deepen. After the wedding, William had given them the use of Seaview Cottage near Brighton for their honeymoon as William was taking Elizabeth to Ireland to visit the country and two estates owned by the Darcys on the Emerald Isle.

Once all the guests had arrived and the receiving line disbanded, William and Elizabeth took their place at the top of the line forming for the first set. They were followed by Jane and Jamie, the Holders, the Matlocks, Marie and Andrew, Cassie and Richard, Georgiana and Phillip, and by Allie and Tommy. Georgiana was allowed to dance with family only. Given how many men who were counted as family were present, Georgiana would dance practically every set under Mrs. Annesley's watchful eye.

Bingley, who had been at his sister's wedding and the subsequent breakfast had been invited to the masque and in a surprise to all, danced the first with Charlotte Lucas. It seemed that out of general notice, Charles Bingley and Charlotte Lucas had spent quite a lot of time together while he was helping the Duke and since his return for his sister's wedding.

Phillip had requested and was granted the supper set with Georgiana, but both of her guardians agreed as she was not out yet, she would not dance more than two with any one person, and even two was pushing it.

Allie was almost three years older than Tommy, but they had got extremely close while on New England. They had always been close as cousins, but the last few months, unbeknownst to any of the rest of the family, their feelings had changed from familial to romantic. They had discussed that Tommy would begin Cambridge in September and there could be no declaration until he reached his majority and completed his studies. They both agreed anything worth having was worth waiting for.

As they danced the first set, Elizabeth looked up at her handsome betrothed. "Come now William, we cannot go a half hour complete and not talk, what will people say?" Elizabeth asked mischievously.

"I am at your disposal my love, name a subject and I will pontificate on it," William returned with a dimple revealing smile.

"I will never repine accepting my uncle's suggestion to remove the vermin before the ball. It is so much more pleasant this way," Elizabeth opined.

"You will hear no argument from me on that, Elizabeth," William replied.

The rest of the dance passed in companionable silence. Before they knew it, they had danced the supper set. Once everyone was seated with their food, the Earl of Holder stood and made the official announcement of the wedding of his son Jamie to the former Miss Jane Bennet. He then announced, for the few who were not aware of the fact, that his ward Elizabeth Bennet had accepted the proposal of the Duke of Derbyshire and Earl of Lambton some weeks ago and they would marry two days hence. After the cheers died down, everyone returned to their eating and the rest of the ball passed as would be expected.

Both couples accepted many wishes for their future felicity from the long-time neighbours.