Hey y'all! Here is the next chapter!
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Mr. Bennet turned to face his third daughter. He should not have been surprised that his daughter had an idea. He knew his girls were quick thinkers and creative, but his daughters should not have to think of a way to explain why their mother is missing. He looked his daughter and quietly asked, "What is your idea?" The young girl took a sip of her tea before straightening her back and looking her father in the eye, "We can say that Mother left for her health and to heal completely she needed a stress free area which is why we stayed home."
Mr. Bennet nodded, "That is a good plan my dear." Elizabeth continued her sister's plan, "After a few weeks we can pretend to get an express saying that Mother passed. We can have a funeral for her in Meryton and we would have to be in mourning, but no one would question why she never came home." Mr. Hill thought through what the girls said and nodded, "That would work sir. We can pretend that Mrs. Bennet will leave early in the morning before the girls awaken. That she wanted to say goodbye, but she did not want her children to see her like that. The only thing is that the carriage needs to be gone for a few days. We would also need to tell the driver Liam." Mr. Bennet nodded in thought, "Yes that is a good plan. I can say that Mrs. Hill wrote me about Mrs. Bennet's illness so I set up an establishment for her in Bath. It is on the road towards London, so we just need the carriage to go to London. Does not Liam have a brother that lives in London?"
Mr. Hill nodded, "Yes he lives on the outer edge of the city." The older man nodded, "He can go and visit his brother for a few days. It takes a whole day to travel to Bath, so he can travel to London and then stay with his brother for a night and then head home late in the day. The only issue I can see would be we would have to tell him the truth. I know the man is loyal and trustworthy, but it is still a gamble." Mr. Hill was quick to assure the man, "I can assure you sir. Liam would tell no one. He knows what would happen if he opened his mouth and told anyone." Mr. Bennet simply nodded.
It was quiet for a few moments before Mr. Bennet turned to his valet, "Mr. Hill will you go and fetch Liam?" The man simply nodded before standing and leaving the room. Elizabeth was quick to leave the room and return with another teacup. Seeing her father's look of confusion, the girl shrugged, "It would not be fair for us to have tea and he not have any." The man simply nodded. The door opened once again and two men entered, one tired and the other confused. Elizabeth handed the driver a cup of tea and he took it without question. He knew better than to question the Bennet girls when they were determined.
Mr. Thomas sighed in weariness as he looked at his carriage driver. The man had worked for him since before Jane was born. He knew the man well. He knew he could be trusted, but he was still wary. His daughters' reputation was on the line. He saw that the man was nervous and was quick to reassure him, "Do not worry Liam. You are not in trouble. You have worked for this family since before Jane was born. You have been a loyal employee and my family has appreciated you for getting us around safely. What I am about to tell you could very much ruin my family. I need to know whether I can trust you to stay silent on this. If you hear what I am about to tell you know that you would have to deceive people in Meryton but know that you will always have a job here. Will you promise to keep a secret?" The man thought for a minute before nodding.
Liam's mind was rushing in a million directions. He knew that whatever his employer might tell him was going to be huge. He looked over at the three girls who were looking at him in curiosity. He had watched each of the Bennet girls grew and played over the years. Each girl was always ready with a smile for him when he took them places. He would never say it aloud, but he thought of the girls as his nieces. He knew he would do anything to protect them. He faced Mr. Bennet and nodded, "Yes sir. I will keep whatever secret you tell me." Mr. Bennet nodded with a relieved smile on his face, "Good. Now what I am about to tell you does not leave this room. Only the people in this room and Betsy know about this. We may tell the other girls in the future, but for right now they do not know. Mrs. Bennet has left. She left in the middle of the night days ago. Mrs. Hill was resourceful and told Mrs. Phillips that Mrs. Bennet had lost her voice and did not want to be disturbed. We are going to send a carriage very early tomorrow morning and tell everyone that she is going to Bath. You are going to go to London and spend a couple days with your brother. It takes a full day to get Bath and only a couple hours to get to London. You can spend the day with your brother along with the next day then come back that evening. In a few weeks we are going to pretend that Mrs. Bennet has passed while in Bath and I will go and collect a coffin to be buried here at Longbourn." Liam nodded, "Of course sir. You have my silence." Mr. Bennet nodded, "Thank you."
Mr. Bennet rubbed his face and sighed, "Now that we have a plan in action, there is something else I would like to discuss. I spoke with Lady Catherine De Burg while we were in Derbyshire about a governess for the girls. She is going to write to two young women that she knows that she believes would be a good fit for our family. I wanted to let you know about a governess coming and that she is not to know about Mrs. Bennet." Everyone in the room nodded. They knew that if the governess knew she could tell anyone and their ruse would end and the family would be ruined.
Mrs. Hill rose and collected the teacups and placed them on the tray, "I will go and check on lunch sir." Mr. Bennet nodded and slowly everyone except him left his book room. He sat back in his chair and was soon lost in thought about his family and what could happen if someone slipped up.
Hey y'all! I hope you liked this chapter. Will their plan work? What will happen with the governess? Don't forget to review and tell me what you think please!