Chapter 21
Andrew arrived at Netherfield Park before the midday meal and after greeting the family and Uncle Freddy and then answering Tommy's instant questions—as would be expected from a boy of ten years—about his ride and how his horse fared, Andrew requested a little time with Jane.
"It was not the same without you, Jane," Andrew told her as they sat in the east parlour with Elizabeth and Mary as chaperones.
"You will want to get married from Netherfield Park, will you not?" Andrew asked.
"The wedding breakfast will be here, but as we still attend the church at Longbourn, it is my choice to marry from there and not St. Alfred's in Meryton," Jane related to her betrothed.
"That is completely understandable," Andrew acknowledged, "please tell me you do not require a lengthy betrothal."
"While you were away I spoke to my mother," Jane informed. "She has left it up to us, as long as for propriety's sake the date is one month or more from the date of our betrothal." Jane paused. "Mary dear, will you retrieve the calendar on Papa's desk for us?"
Mary returned and handed the calendar to Jane. "The fifteenth day of December would be good would it not?" Andrew suggested after the two examined the month of December. "It is a Monday."
"Yes, the fifteenth will suit, and it is just past a month so Mama will have no complaint," Jane enthused. It made her betrothal that much more real now they had selected a date. "Let us go inform my parents and the rest of the family. Elizabeth and Mary followed their sister and soon to be brother to the drawing room.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
"This is my daughter's estate! Do you know who I am!" Lord Jersey spat out in frustration.
Things had got so bad socially for the De Melvilles that the only solution they saw was to humble themselves before their eldest daughter and beg her assistance in alleviating the situation they now found themselves in.
Their coach had been halted at the gates of Priscilla's estate and no matter how much he blustered, the men guarding the gates would not allow them past. Neither the Earl nor the Countess noticed a groom being sent from the gates and riding swiftly down the drive.
Andrew and the three eldest Bennet sisters had just entered the drawing room when Mr. Nichols entered and handed his master a note. Bennet handed it to the Prince. "I think I need to see these people," Frederick stated as he handed the note to Fanny. Both Bennet parents nodded their agreement and Frederick followed Mr. Nichols out of the drawing room.
"Is there a problem Mama and Papa?" Elizabeth asked. "Uncle Freddy did not look happy."
"There are some people who are connected with Uncle Freddy demanding entrance to the estate," Bennet stated. Not one word he said was false. "Your uncle is going to inform them they are not welcome and why."
Elizabeth would have preferred to know who the people were and why they were not welcome, but she decided if her father and mother desired to share more information, they would in their own time. Her mind returned to more pleasant thoughts. William would arrive in a fortnight and then there was a wedding to look forward to before Christmas.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lord and Lady Jersey saw a coach approaching and the last man they wanted to see at that moment step out of it. "Your Royal Highness," Lord Jersey intoned as both he and his wife genuflected.
"Lord and Lady Jersey," the Prince drawled. "What an unpleasant surprise to see you here at Netherfield Park. After the way you have treated your daughter in what world did you think you would gain admittance here?"
"We did what we did in support of the Crown," Lady Jersey insisted.
"What stuff and nonsense," the Prince bit back. Both De Melvilles were taken back at the vehemence in his response. "You did what you thought would gain you notice from my family, without ever asking what we desired." There was no mistaking the look of pure disdain the Prince was giving them.
"How could we not support you when his Royal Majesty found Priscilla too low to be your wife," Lord Jersey tried.
"Are you senseless Jersey?" the Prince shot back. "My father found my ex-wife wholly appropriate to be my wife. The only reason he did what he did was for an alliance with Prussia and now that we are at war that alliance has become invaluable. The King was never happy with what he had to do. All of Priscilla's true friends have asked the same question: How could a parent who loved their child in the smallest measure cut ties with said child?"
"We are here now to reconcile with Priscilla," Lady Jersey understated the truth.
"If I were you I would be very wary of lying to the second in line to the throne. You are here because you are now reaping the rewards of what you have sown. You would not have come had you not being rejected by society." Both the Earl and Countess blanched as the Prince's accurate portrayal of their reasoning for coming. "This I can guarantee you; Priscilla will never be in your company again. Now turn your carriage around and begone. If you ever attempt to come here without explicit invitation, I will use the authority of the King to strip you of your title and return any land awarded to the earldom back to the Crown." Frederick excoriated the Earl and Countess happily as he had wanted to do since he had heard of them cutting all connections with his beloved.
"I would write to my daughter again, but the last letter was returned unopened," Lady Jersey stated.
"You mean the first letter you have posted her in sixteen years! If you had reached out to your daughter before it was for selfish reasons, your reception here would have been vastly difference," the Prince informed the couple.
Knowing that any further attempts to contact their daughter would cost them—and by extension—their children, their titles—the De Melvilles departed, their tails between their legs.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Prince returned to the drawing room and hour later, and when Bennet and Fanny looked at him in question, he gave a curt nod of his head and informed them that the unwanted guests had been sent on their way.
While you were away, Jane and Andrew informed us they will marry on the fifteenth day of December." Fanny related.
"Please say you will attend, Uncle Freddy," Jane beseeched.
"If I have any conflicts, I will move them, so yes Jane dear, I will not miss your wedding unless my father issues a royal decree in opposition to my intents," the Prince teased his adopted niece.
"Will we ever see any of the palaces?" Tommy asked enthusiastically.
"I have a feeling that will happen in the next year or two," Frederick responded to his godson.
"Would it not be grand to see a palace and meet the royal family?" Elizabeth enthused.
"I suppose it would," Lizzy," Jane said as her parents, Uncle Freddy, and Andrew looked anywhere except at Elizabeth.
"Aunt Catherine will be with us for Christmastide," Andrew reported to change the subject. He informed them of the meeting in Kent and the pleasure his aunt took from the simple things in life now.
"It will be good to see how she has changed as I only remember the imperious lady we met after Aunt Anne passed away," Elizabeth stated.
"As she is your aunt, she will be more than welcome here," Fanny decided.
When there was a lull in the conversation, Elizabeth approached Jane. "Jane may I talk you in private?" Elizabeth asked.
Worried Lizzy suspected something of her true parentage, Jane looked to her betrothed. "Will you join us?" The Jane turned back to Elizabeth, "Do you object to Andrew being will me?
"No I suppose not," Elizabeth averred.
The three returned to the same parlour they had been in earlier. "Lizzy, if I judge I must speak to Mama and, or Papa, regarding what we speak about here, you know I must, do you not?" Elizabeth nodded.
Elizabeth sat for a minute trying to marshal her thoughts. "How do you know if your affections are received?" Elizabeth opened.
"Who do you hold in high regard, Lizzy?" Jane asked even though she suspected who it was.
Elizabeth blushed as she looked at Andrew. He was William's cousin and she wanted to make sure he would not relate anything she said to William. "Will you both swear, unless I say something which you feel Mama and Papa need to know, that you will not mention a word of this to anyone else?"
"You have my word Lizzy," Jane vowed.
"And mine, besides, I would not tell William anything as it will just puff up his ego," Andrew replied.
"How did you know it is William?" Elizabeth asked alarmed.
"Until this instant, I only suspected; you just confirmed my suspicions little sister-to-be," Andrew revealed.
"Do you have tender feelings for William?" Jane asked.
Elizabeth blushed a deep red and nodded her head. "I believe I am falling on love with him. How will I know he sees me as more than a friend and cousin? How did you and Andrew know each loved the other?"
"Lizzy let me answer your question with a question," Jane responded. "When the two of you are in company together, who do each of you spend the most time with?"
"Each other I suppose," Elizabeth stated as she thought back over the last number of years. "But that is just because we both like books and debating."
"And you are the only one available?" Andrew prompted.
Yes—no—I suppose I am not," Elizabeth realised. "Are you saying William chooses to spend time with me because he may have tender feelings for me?"
"There is no way to know for sure, until and unless he declares himself, which he will not do until after your come out," Jane opined. "Until then, as long as you both enjoy one another's company, keep doing what you have been doing. A deep friendship is a good basis for a future romantic relationship."
"Jane has the right of it Lizzy," Andrew agreed. "William can be very hard to read sometimes, but there is not mistaking the pleasure he takes in spending time with you."
"Thank you both, I find your advice both useful and comforting," Elizabeth stated appreciatively.
"If Mama asks why you wanted to talk to me privately, may I inform her?" Jane asked.
"Yes you may," Elizabeth averred. "I will not ask you to tell Mama an untruth on my behalf."
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
In London, Cassie had just accepted Richard's proposal of marriage. He was not sure if he could share the secret he had known for the last three plus years. When he asked his parents, they advised him to talk to Uncle Freddy and the Bennet parents when he arrived at Netherfield Park.
Lord and Lady Matlock felt they needed to have a serious talk to the three. They realized that the wider the circle became, the more chance there was of Elizabeth finding out her true heritage by chance. It would be up to Elizabeth's parents—adopted and birth father—to make the final decision, but in their opinion at almost seventeen it was time to tell Elizabeth the truth.
Anne was visiting Holder House with her mother and new companion, a Mrs. Annesley, who was hired after Mrs. Jenkinson remained in Kent to take the work Mrs. de Bourgh had been doing for the past years.
Each day Anne spent together with her mother, the closer the two became as more of her mother's new character was revealed. The first visit with the Carringtons after the return from Kent with Mrs. de Bourgh with them, had left the Carrington's amazed. They had heard about the changes to Anne's mother, but to see them in person was something almost a wonder to behold.
The party that had travelled to Holder House returned and Jamey was with them. Out of respect to her mother, Jamey asked if she could be included in the meeting in the Earl's study. He then explained he had requested Anne's hand in marriage and she had granted him his dearest wish.
It was a matter of minutes to receive Anne's uncle's hearty permission and blessing which was wholeheartedly echoed by Mrs. de Bourgh who after hugging her future son, she wished him happy and admonished him to make her daughter happy all the days of his life.
Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam had the pleasure of announcing his niece's betrothal to his wife and younger son. Thoughts of the conversation upcoming at Netherfield Park were deferred as the Earl and Countess of Matlock revelled in both of their sons and niece all finding estimable people to marry that each loved deeply.