Hello everyone, my apologies for the grammatical errors that may be present, English is not my native language, but I try as there are more readers.
I have made some adjustments in the previous chapter, attending to your comments.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 2 FROM HIDING TO EXPOSING ONESELF
Blessed men of the north, his wife did not stop talking about it, she had already annoyed him with the insistence that he go visit his new young, handsome and wealthy neighbor; when the least he wanted was to give her access to his family. Francis had the goal of marrying his daughters, and that was a golden opportunity, she had something clear that women did not inherit; therefore if her husband died they would ask for all rights to property, none of them could manage it and they would now be at the total mercy of the Bennett family.
Longbourn was one of the 4 properties of the family and was managed from his Great-grandfather Bennet by the Thomas family, although everything was currently owned by Oliver Collins his multiwizard uncle, having now passed away was Thomas the current owner and not his cousin. However, there was still the possibility that everything would return to the Collins, since Thomas did not have a son, while his cousin had an only child who was a magician, only the birth of a grandson with superior magical quality before his death could guarantee control of inheritance in the Bennet family.
Although they would never be completely out on the street, if there was not a male with magical qualities, his family would go back to living as they have until now in the goodwill of his family. Until now, he had been able to manage without any limits, but he knew that goodwill could change, it was time to find good husbands for his daughters, and he needed a boy to succeed him.
The sound of the door took him out of his meditations, other letters arrived, when he saw the royal livery again he knew that it was time to assume his place as current Bennet heir, he should assume his position without further delay, he would have to plan his trip and define what to do with the properties. This time there was another letter one with the Collins seal, what a surprise it was from his cousin's son, William Collins, he smiled now if the Collins remembered his existence, because of course now his life would be under the goodwill of Thomas -sigh- and read this letter first
"Dear Cousin Thomas Bennet
My greetings, by means of this I regret to inform you as I suppose you will have already been notified in advance by the official media, my grandfather Oliver has reached the end of his days, and unfortunately my father is in very delicate health, both have suffered a lot with scarlet fever, by divine grace I am in perfect condition and I have managed with the administrator to keep everything under control in my grandfather's suffering.
However, it is the last will of my grandfather that I get closer to you and meet my dear cousins in order to strengthen our ties again and restore the unity of our family, I am aware of the animosity between my father and you, that is why it corresponds extend the olive branch to my family unit, that is why I have decided to visit Longbourn in 15 days, having respected the days of mourning for the departure of my dear grandfather and leaving my dear father with due attention.
See you soon,
William Collins"
Stupid man, the Collins never in their entire existence cared about coming to see them, even their uncle Oliver barely maintained correspondence, for years it was clear to him that they were hardly taken into account and were only recognized by the ephemeral possibility of the birth of a new Hilmen, the Collins had assumed the Bennet inheritance by marriage, and it was evident that this William intended to keep it in the same way but that remained to be seen. None of his daughters would be forced to marry if he did not want to, in that if he was determined.
He opened the other letter, and it was just what he thought, he was called to assume the Bennet inheritance and to be instituted as the King's Man, because the extraordinary sessions were already advanced, his recognition would be done by the end of the season, therefore he had two weeks to attend London. The decision now was simple, to try to maintain control, he had to expose his daughters to society and protect his daughters in the best way, he could no longer hide them. It was time, He had to expose the girls and trust that they would make good decisions
He decided then to go to meet that Bingley, mainly to find out what man he was, to his relief he was a very nice young Wizard, practically harmless. Despite having visited young Bingley, he did not tell his wife immediately for that she continued with her spiel and complaints, he was overwhelmed, and without any more resistance he told her:
–Quiet woman, you do not need anyone to do you the favor of introducing you to Mr. Bingley, I myself will make the presentation on the day of the assembly I have already visited him–
The astonishment of the women was inevitable; perhaps that of Mrs. Bennet surpassed the rest; although once the uproar of joy was over, she declared that deep down it was what she had always pictured.
–"My dear Mr. Bennet, how good you are! But I knew that in the end it would convince you. I was sure you love your daughters enough not to neglect this matter. How happy I am! And what a funny joke, that you went and told us nothing until now!" –
Before they began a new interrogation he took refuge in his library
– What an excellent father you have, daughters! She said once the door was closed. I don't know how you can ever thank him for his kindness, and neither do I, when it comes to this. At this point, I assure you, it is not pleasant to make new friends every day. But for you we would do anything. Lydia, darling, even though you're the youngest, I'd bet Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the next dance –
The rest of the afternoon was spent conjecturing whether Mr. Bingley would return his visit to Mr. Bennet soon, and determining when they might invite him to dinner. The following days were the same, even though Mrs. Bennet, with the help of her daughters, asked about the subject, she could not get any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley from her husband. They attacked him in various ways: with crystal clear questions, ingenious assumptions, and hints; but as skilled as they were, he eluded them over and over again
Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet's visit and spent ten minutes with him in his library. He had hoped that he would be allowed to see the girls of whose beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the father. The women were a little more fortunate, because they had the advantage of being able to see from a high window that Mr. Bingley was wearing a blue coat and riding a black horse.
Shortly after, they sent him an invitation to come to dinner. And when Mrs. Bennet had already planned the delicacies that would credit her good housekeeping, they received an answer that spoiled everything. Mr. Bingley was forced to go to town the next day, and consequently could not accept the honor of his invitation.
Mrs. Bennet was quite taken aback. He could not imagine what business was demanding of him in the city so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and he began to fear that he was always going to flit around without settling permanently and properly in Netherfield. Lady Lucas allayed her fears a little, concluding that she was only going to London to gather a group of friends for the party.
Word soon spread that Mr. Bingley was bringing 12 ladies and 7 gentlemen to the dance. Thomas did not like assemblies but for this one he had to attend those blessed young people from the north that if they were 6 men and 4 women, or 7 men and 3 women, was all that was discussed in the previous days, that if they were wealthy or handsome, Thomas's mortification returned, a lot of men wasn't what he needed right now to deal with, when he had also received that blessed assignment as King's Man.