Chapter 23
Once the Carringtons arrived, Mrs. de Bourgh asked if she could meet with all of the adults and younger set from Miss Mary upward. As soon as everyone was seated, Catherine made her sincere, heartfelt apologies to everyone in the room she had wronged.
The longest was the one she made to Anne. She fully acknowledged who she used to be and told all how happy she was to be who she was now. Anne was the first to tearfully hug her mother. She was fully forgiven by each person present.
The last person to hug her and tell her proud he was of the way she had changed her life was Robert Darcy. He assured her that what she was told in Kent that Anne would have been proud of her was nothing but the absolute truth.
With the apologies and her family's acceptance, Catherine de Bourgh felt the last vestige of the weight of her former misdeeds lift off her shoulders.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When the Carringtons had arrived on Thursday, before Catherine's apologies, the Earl and Countess were waylaid by the other parents and the Prince. After a short conversation with the Prince and the other two sets of parents, they agreed that it was time to tell Elizabeth the truth. It was decided that while Elizabeth and William were meeting with the parents and the Prince, Aunt Catherine would be present as well. Andrew, Richard, and Jane would sit with Jamey, Anne, Cassie, and Mary at the same time in a separate sitting room.
The four youngest children would be informed by a group of their parents on Saturday morning. Elizabeth could tell there was a certain tension in the atmosphere, but she had no clue what the source was and from what she could tell, William was as clueless as she.
It did not take her long to warm to Aunt Catherine. It had only been that one time at Pemberley just after Aunt Anne passed away that Elizabeth had met the lady, but she was nothing like she was that first time.
From Catherine's perspective, she was drawn to the smart as a whip, sometimes impertinent, young lady with a rapier wit. She could not image hearing better musical talents than from the Bennets and her niece Gigi. When she asked who taught them, she was told that Signore da Funti would return with the other master after Twelfth Night and if Aunt Catherine was in residence, she would be welcome to take lessons with the Signore.
Friday morning seemed like any regular day to both Elizabeth and William who spent a good number of hours examining books in the library, discussing their conclusions, with a debate or two interspersed.
Elizabeth noted the tension she detected the day before seemed to be far greater when the extended family sat down for dinner. A good number of people—her parents, Jane, and the Fitzwilliam brothers—seemed preoccupied and only spoke when spoken to and then it was with short answers.
William noticed the same thing and looked at Elizabeth questioningly. She simply shrugged her shoulders as she had no idea what was causing so many to be so contemplative.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Once dinner was over, Bennet told all there would be no separation of the sexes and requested Mrs. de Bourgh, Elizabeth, and William to join with others in the family sitting room. Still having no clue as to what they were being called to discuss, William and Elizabeth followed the group of parents, the Prince, and Lady Catherine up to the family sitting room where it seemed Biggs was stationed outside the door in the hallway.
Elizabeth was asked to sit on a settee between her father and Uncle Freddy, while William and Aunt Catherine sat on another with Robert Darcy. There was a short silence followed by a knock on the door and Mrs. Nichols entered the room.
"Lizzy, no matter what you hear or read here, you must know that you have been, and always will be a most beloved daughter to your father and myself. I want you to hear this clearly, no matter what, you will be loved as much tomorrow as you are today," Fanny began, her voice tremulous.
"Mama, what are you saying? I am starting to worry," Elizabeth asked nervously as she felt her father take one hand and Uncle Freddy the other as each gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"I need to tell you the tale of the day you were born Lizzy," Fanny stated. "Mrs. Nichols is with us now as she is one of the few others that attended your birth. I have told you—all of my children—of my sister of the heart, Lady Priscilla have I not?"
"Yes, Mama, she is the lady who gave us Netherfield," Elizabeth verified.
"Correct Lizzy, we will return to Netherfield later in our discussion," Fanny confirmed. "You know Uncle Freddy was married to Priscilla and his father the King forced them to divorce for a political alliance with Prussia." Elizabeth and William both nodded. Catherine knew the broad strokes of the story, but not the details which were being shared now.
"What has that to do with why we are here, Mama?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.
"It has everything to do with it, Princess," Fanny used the rarely used term of endearment which caused some eyebrows to be raised. "My friend was weak; she had a broken heart. She knew Uncle Freddy had no choice in the matter and he had to do as the King commanded. Priscilla's family name before marrying was De Melville. She was the eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Jersey. Even though the divorce was through no fault of her own, they disowned Priscilla and cut all ties with her. I believe it was their callous action that completely broke Priscilla's will to live."
"How can anyone do that to their own child?" William asked indignantly.
"That is a question we have all asked many times over William," his father agreed.
"Your father was visiting Uncle Paul and Aunt Edith when both Priscilla and I entered our final confinements. As I have told you, she died of complications of the birth, all of that is true. What was not true was what we told everyone the sex of the baby we each bore was," Fanny said the last slowly.
William was quick to apprehend what Aunt Fanny had just said. His father placed his hand in his arm to stay any sound from his son. "Mama, what are you telling me?" Elizabeth asked. The disbelief was sketched clearly on her face.
"You are too intelligent not to understand what I am telling you my Lizzy," Fanny told her second daughter. "Here is a portrait of your birth mother." Fanny handed the portrait of Priscilla to her daughter.
Elizabeth was about to protest it was a portrait of herself, one she did not remember sitting for and where she looked older, until she noticed the date: 1798.
"I had an artist paint that of my beloved wife shortly after we married," the Prince stated softly.
"If Uncle Freddy is my father, why did I live with you and not him? Did he not want me?" Elizabeth asked in alarm.
"That could not be further from the truth Lizzy," the Prince told her firmly.
"Lizzy, your birth mother wrote a letter to you; one I swore to her on her deathbed I would give you when you were ready. She suggested eighteen, but we all feel you are ready now," Fanny told her daughter.
"Who else knew about my true parents?" Elizabeth asked with some asperity.
"Do you remember in 1795 when we went to Holder Heights after Uncle Edward's wedding, and you asked why Aunt Anne was staring at you?" Fanny reminded her. Elizabeth nodded. "Until that point, beside Mrs. Nichols who was at your birth, I was the only one who knew the truth. Your birth mother's letter will explain her reasoning for asking what she did.
"When Aunt Elaine saw you, she recognised your birth mother in you. The Darcys and Fitzwilliams suggested I needed to tell your father and I did when we returned to Netherfield Park. It was only when your birth father was informed he had a daughter, and after reading the letter from his Priscilla, he agreed to allow us to continue to raise you, but wanted to be part of your life, and he is, as your Uncle Freddy."
"Here is the letter from your mother, we will all sit here while you read it and answer any questions you have when you are finished reading." Fanny handed her daughter the letter from Priscilla.
"Before I read, I saw William's face, he was as shocked as I was. He did not know did he?" Elizabeth wanted to know.
"No Lizzy, until your mother started talking, I knew as much as you did—nothing," William confirmed.
27 February 1790
To my dear son or daughter,
If you are reading this, then you have been raised by Fanny and Thomas Bennet as the worst has come to pass and I implore you not to be angry with your parents. If Fanny has shared the truth of your birth with Thomas—as I suspect she has—before you are eighteen or whatever age my sister Fanny decides to disclose all to you, remember that you are loved.
If you are a daughter I will name you Elizabeth Sarah. Elizabeth is for my late maternal grandmother Beth, and Sarah for my mother. Before you say it, yes, their breaking with me has cut me to the quick, but she is still my mother. If you are a son then you are named for your father—who I love more than there are words to describe—and your grandfather, my father for the same reasons as I would use your grandmother's name if you are a girl. That being said, if you are a boy your name will be Frederick Cyril.
"I will not bear the name of the woman who rejected my mother," Elizabeth told no one in particular. "I want my middle names to be Priscilla Francine and not Sarah!"
"It will be so Lizzy," Fanny said softly. Elizabeth returned to her letter.
So you understand my reasons that I will swear Fanny to secrecy—yes even from you my child—they are as follows…
Priscilla told her child how her father and his siblings had been raised in a royal household and how she would never want the same for her child. She made sure that Elizabeth knew her father had not rejected her, but for the reasons she enumerated as well as not wanting to pain him more than he had been by being forced to divorce her.
I hope you understand my child what has been done has been done to protect you. It is my firm belief that more than blood, what defines a parent is love. Before you become angry with your mother and father, ask yourself this: Have they loved you as well as the rest of their children? It was a pleasure for me to have met your sister Jane and I am sure Fanny will provide you with more siblings, so again I ask you—have your parents ever treated you less than?
"No, no they have never treated me as anything but one of their children they love," Elizabeth told her long dead birthmother through her tears. "You could not have left me in the care of better or more loving parents, sisters, brother, and extended family."
Fanny cried tears of relief as she heard Elizabeth say the words she had just said. Her daughter would not reject her and her family. She lifted her head to the heavens and said a prayer of thanks for the words her dearest friend had written in her letter to placate Elizabeth's anger at not being told before this day.
Elizabeth continued to read.
As much as I miss your father each and every day, I do not hold any animus against your grandfather, King George III. He has the weight of the Crown on his head and must consider much more than personal desires when making decisions. Your birthfather will confirm for you his love of his father and that of his father for him.
When my Frederick returned with the news he was devastated and told me how it hurt his father to inflict pain on his beloved son. The most important thing for you to know my son or daughter, is you were created from the deepest of love, and we were legally married when I became with child. That my child makes you a legitimate Prince or Princess of England.
I know it is much to take in, but remember this, no matter your title, you are still the boy or girl who has been raised by two of the best parents I know. When one day you choose a mate, make sure that you love him or her with all of your heart. My Frederick will make sure you are not used to further some treaty as he was. I believe the fact you were born after the divorce will protect you to a large extent.
Beware of false friends and fortune hunters my child. Netherfield and all of my wealth not bequeathed to others is yours. It is a vast fortune and will bring many fortune hunters out of the woodwork if the extent of your fortune becomes known before you choose your life partner.
Besides your mother, my good friends who did not drop my connection are Anne Darcy and Elaine Fitzwilliam. If you ever need help, they will provide it to you as will their husbands who are the best of men. Although not as good a friend as the former two I mentioned, Edith Carrington tried to keep our friendship alive after the divorce.
I was not ready to contact anyone and only wanted to be with your mother—my sister, Fanny—so as you are reading this, I did not get to contact them while I was alive. Your mother has other letters, other than the one you are reading, and I trust she had passed them onto each one I addressed them to.
Let me close by reiterating my child that everything that has been done has been done out of love and to protect you.
I love you and hope to meet you in heaven many decades from now,
Your Loving Mother, Priscilla
Elizabeth read the letter twice more before she silently handed it to her mother. Her birthfather drew her into his arms and he rocked he back and forth as she assimilated the information her birthmother had shared with her.
"Mama, have all of the letters been delivered?" Elizabeth asked after she dried her eyes.
"All except one. There is one for Priscilla's parents to be posted on your eighteenth birthday," Fanny averred. "Whether you decide to have contact with either sets of your grandparents is up to you, but as Uncle Freddy—your birthfather—will explain, you will have to be presented to their Majesties before you come out into society.
"I never want to meet the people who were so cruel to their own daughter; they do not deserve to be my grandparents," Elizabeth stated vehemently. "When they rejected my birthmother, they rejected me too."
No one said a word in opposition to Elizabeth's statement. "Lizzy, besides those in this room, Jane, Andrew, and Richard are aware of your true birth and heritage…" Fanny explained how each one found out or was told and why.
"Jane has known since before her coming out and has never treated me differently," Elizabeth observed.
"Jane's sisterly love for you did not, nor will it ever, change," Fanny assured her daughter. "As Priscilla pointed out in her letter and you have seen for many years, family ties are so much more than just blood.
"At Pemberley, after insulting the Prince, I then proceeded to screech in front of his daughter, a Princess?" Catherine shook her head at the depths of her former bad behaviour.
"You did not call a Princess riffraff Aunt Catherine, so as far as insulters of royalty go, I think I am ahead of you," William stated as the shock of the revelations started to wear off.
"William neither you nor I knew who I was," Elizabeth stated with arched eyebrow, "and besides, I believe I pardoned your offence almost twelve years ago—after delivering a kick to your shin."
"There is a story here I need to hear—later of course," Catherine said with a smile.
"Lizzy, at the same time we have been meeting here, Jane, Andrew, and Richard have been sitting with Jamey, Anne, Cassie, and Mary and telling them of your true parentage," Bennet revealed. "We felt that when we inform the younger children you should be with us."
"How hard is it to have my middle names changed?" Elizabeth asked pointedly. "The sooner I do not carry the name of the woman who treated my birthmother in so callous a manner, the better."
"On the morrow. Uncle Phillips will make the changes and it will be done," Bennet responded. "Both he and Uncle Gardiner know the truth. Uncle Phillips drew up your late birthmother's final will and testament and Uncle Gardiner manages your fortune."
"The letter said I own Netherfield, is that correct Papa?" Elizabeth enquired.
"Yes Lizzy, when you reach one and twenty, it and your fortune become yours. At that point if it is your desire, we will move back to Longbourn," Bennet clarified.
"No, Papa, I will never ask you, Mama, and my siblings to leave this house, unless," Elizabeth looked at William, "I marry a man without his own estate." Both blushed and no one commented. "You mentioned a fortune, Papa?"
"Yes Lizzy, it has grown to almost six hundred thousand pounds thanks to Uncle Edward's management of your wealth," Bennet revealed.
There was silence in the room. Other than Fanny and Frederick, no one had ever heard the exact amount of Elizabeth's wealth before. William realised she was wealthier than the Darcy's and their combined holdings.
"I think we all need to rest and allow Lizzy—and William—to come to grips with all which had been revealed," Fanny suggested.
It was agreed they would talk more on the morrow and Elizabeth would meet with her birthfather to discuss when and how to make the revelation to the King, Queen, and the rest of the royal family.