A Plethora of Peers

by sysa22

Mr Bennet married the daughter of an Earl with whom he had 3 children – twins James and Elizabeth, as well as Mary. His wife and her only brother die. Soon after, Bennet's older brother marries Fanny Gardiner just before his death. When Fanny delivers twin girls, Kitty and Lydia, Bennet inherits Longbourn. To keep James safe from Collins, Bennet's son is raised by his grandparents.

2. Chapter 2 - Plans

A few of your questions will be answered in this chapter.

Btw since my stories evolve while I write them, (often because of your questions) I usually have to go back and tweak various chapters. Because of that I only do a proper edit once I have finished writing, otherwise I would spend more time editing than writing.

I hope you enjoy.

~~PoP~~

Plans

Having refreshed himself, Bennet, accompanied by the two footmen, sought out William Lucas who was at work in his father's shop.

Since William had explained to his father what had happened earlier, Mr Lucas immediately sent the two younger men off to see Frank Goulding.

After greetings were complete Bennet explained about his encounter with William Collins.

Goulding exclaimed, 'That man is a nasty piece of work. What do you want me to do about him?'

Bennet shrugged and said, 'Nothing, as long as he does not try anything else.' When Goulding looked puzzled, he added with a rueful smile, 'I happen to know that he has a young son and no other relatives to look after the boy…'

William Lucas added to the explanation. 'I just thought it would be a good idea to have it on record that Collins was threatening Bennet, so if he tries anything in the future, he cannot claim it was something that happened on the spur of the moment.'

'Very well. His assault is on record.' Goulding smiled at Bennet. 'I am pleased that you are back. I have not had a decent chess partner since you left. What are your plans now?'

'My mother has asked that I remain at Longbourn until the birth of her grandchild. What happens afterwards depends on its sex.'

'I know that you are not enamoured with the idea of being a landowner, but for my sake, I hope it is a girl,' Goulding admitted. A sentiment which was heartily seconded by William Lucas.

~PoP~

When Bennet returned to Longbourn, he sought out Mrs Bennet.

'Mother, it has occurred to me that for everyone's sake, it might be safer if no one, especially Collins finds out that I have a son.'

'Are you afraid that he might take it into his head to eliminate the heirs?'

'Perhaps I am doing him an injustice, but I do not wish to take the risk.'

Mrs Bennet nodded and sighed. 'I hate to think so ill of anyone, but I agree with you. Not only do I want my grandchildren to have a long and happy lives, but I would also hate to see Longbourn go to that dreadful man.'

Bennet looked around to make sure that the doors were closed, and no one could overhear. 'There is more at stake than I have mentioned before. My father-in-law is the Earl of Ashcroft and James is his heir presumptive.'

The lady's eyes widened as she gasped, 'My grandson will be an Earl?'

Bennet nodded. 'Unless Lady Ashcroft delivers another son, who survives to take the title, a situation which is exceedingly unlikely as at present the lady is nearly fifty years of age.'

'As you say, that is not a likely occurrence.' Mrs Bennet considered the information and grimaced. 'I had hoped that you would bring your children here while we wait and see if Fanny produces an heir, but I can see that that is probably a bad idea.'

'Perhaps you could visit…'

'Not for the next few months. Someone has to stay here and look after Fanny. She might not be the daughter for whom I would have wished, but she is carrying my grandchild.'

'What about her mother?'

'No. Mrs Gardiner passed four years ago. That is probably why Fanny was allowed to run wild the way she did.'

'I suppose that I had better meet my new sister,' sighed Thomas.

~PoP~

Mother and son removed to the family parlour and Mrs Bennet requested the housekeeper to fetch Mrs Fanny.

'Mrs Hill? She is new, is she not? What happened to your last housekeeper? What was her name? Hayes?' Bennet asked his mother.

'Mrs Hayes retired two years ago. Mrs Hill came to us shortly before that with the highest recommendation.'

'Who recommended her?'

'Mrs Nicholls, the housekeeper at Netherfield only had the highest praise for Mrs Hill.'

'Of course. Our neighbour's housekeeper would be a much better judge than any employer,' Bennet teased.

'Indeed.'

The two were still smiling at each other when a sullen looking young woman entered the room. She was a stout, well-grown girl of seventeen with a fine complexion, who would have been exceedingly pretty if she had displayed a good-humoured countenance.

'When are you going to step aside and let me have the mistress's chambers?' she demanded of Mrs Bennet without preamble.

'Since you have not the slightest idea of how to be mistress of an estate, you will not have that position or the chambers any time soon, if at all.'

'But I am the wife of the heir. Since your husband is dead, that makes me the mistress.'

'You may be the mother of the heir, but you are not the wife of the heir. Have you forgotten? Your husband is dead…' Mrs Bennet managed to stop herself from adding, thanks to you... and because of you, so is mine, by only the greatest effort of will.

'Then if you are still denying me my rights, why have you sent for me?'

'I wanted you to meet my younger son, Mr Thomas Bennet,' answered Mrs Bennet, indicating Thomas, who had watched the interaction with disbelief. No wonder his brother had not wanted to marry the girl aside from all other considerations.

Fanny stared at Thomas for a moment in horror before she rounded on her mother-in-law. 'You are lying. Henry said he had no brothers. You are just trying to take away what is mine,' she screamed, holding her hands protectively over her abdomen.

'Before you start throwing around unfounded accusations, you can ask anybody over the age of thirty and they will all tell you that I had two sons. But Thomas, being bookish, preferred Oxford to Longbourn and my husband and Henry never forgave him for that. He has been away for more than twelve years.'

'You should also know that I hope you have a son, since I still prefer Oxford. I never wanted to be a landowner,' Bennet said but he could tell by her expression that she did not believe him.

'Then why are you here?'

'Because William Collins, who is a cousin of my late husband, has been sniffing around claiming that according to the entail he is the heir as the oldest male. Which is not true,' Mrs Bennet raised her voice at the end to drown out the incipient hysterics.

'If the child you carry is male, he will be the new master of Longbourn, at which point I will happily return to Oxford,' Bennet added.

Fanny relaxed a little and a smug smile graced her lips until another thought occurred to her. 'What happens if it is a girl?' she asked in a whisper.

Mrs Bennet explained, 'If the child is female, then Thomas will be the master of the estate. And as for you and the child, that depends on the provisions your father and my son made for you,' said Mrs Bennet. 'Until that happens, I suggest that worrying will not help.'

'In that case, I would like the carriage so that I can go visiting,' demanded Fanny.

'My dear girl, you will do no such thing. You might have tricked my son into marrying you, but you will at least do him the courtesy of giving the appearance of mourning. For the next five more months, you will remain here. By the time you have completed deep mourning, your child should have made an appearance and you will be free to visit as soon as you have been churched.'

Fanny's expression turned thunderous. 'You cannot keep me prisoner,' she shouted.

'You should have thought of the consequences of your actions before you climbed into my son's bed.' Mrs Bennet was unmoved. 'While you are living under my roof, you will behave with decorum.'

The girl turned and stomped out of the parlour without bothering to answer. A minute later Mrs Bennet and her son could hear the door to Fanny's suite slam.

~PoP~

Bennet spent a couple of days going through all the papers in his father's study to find out about the provisions for his sister-in-law but could not discover any relevant documents.

Eventually, he gave up and decided to visit the solicitor instead.

'Mr Bennet, I was wondering how long it would take you to come and see me. But allow me to offer my condolences for your loss.'

'Thank you, Mr Gardiner. But I would like to get to the point of my visit. What kind of provisions did my brother make for his wife?'

Gardiner fidgeted in his seat for a moment and played with a pencil before meeting Bennet's eyes. 'Your brother gave outlandish instructions for the maintenance of my daughter which I attributed to his illness, since the estate would not be able to meet even a fraction of the value. In the end I drew up a document which specified that my daughter's dowry of five thousand pounds was to be her jointure and invested in the four percents. If her child is a daughter, Longbourn will provide her with a decent cottage and a maid of all works. The interest from her jointure will allow her to live modestly but well. If the child is a boy, he is the heir of the estate, and she will be entitled to live in the house until the boy reaches his majority. What happens afterwards is up to her son.'

'Who was nominated as the guardian for the child?'

'The guardian is Mr Bennet who may nominate an alternative.'

'Did my father nominate an alternative before his death?'

'Ah… hmm… ahh… No, he did not but I am afraid that in the marriage articles I forgot to specify exactly which Mr Bennet,' Gardiner confessed with just the slightest hint of a satisfied smile.

Bennet leaned back in his chair. 'I see.' He considered the information he had received. 'Mr Gardiner, for an experienced solicitor you were remarkably lackadaisical about your daughter's future.'

'I am sorry Mr Bennet. I was trying to make up a little for my daughter's atrocious behaviour. Especially as I felt that your brother would not have become ill if he had not gone away to avoid Fanny.'

'You do not think my brother was at fault for what happened to your daughter?'

'There has never been even the slightest hint that your brother did not treat all ladies with respect. And I was aware that she had her cap set on him. I simply did not expect her to go as far as she did.' Gardiner grimaced. 'That is why I tried to be fair to everyone.'

'I see. Thank you.' Bennet was impressed with Gardiner's ethics. If Fanny's child was a girl and he had to move back to Longbourn, he had no issues about using Gardiner as his solicitor. He simply planned to read everything very carefully.

~PoP~

A few days later, Bennet was reliably informed that William Collins had left the area.

As a consequence, he thought it safe to visit Ashcroft and his children.

After having spent time with his children until they went to bed, under protest from the twins, Bennet sat with the Ashcrofts to discuss the situation.

Lord and Lady Ashcroft were both most vehement that James needed to stay with them to ensure his safety.

'I would like it if you could agree to leave all your children with us,' said Lord Ashcroft. 'At least in the short term. If it turns out that you are the heir because your sister-in-law does not have a son, I would like to suggest a compromise.'

Bennet suspected he knew what the Earl had in mind. 'Go on. I am prepared to listen.'

'Since you are afraid that this Collins fellow might want to hurt your son if he knew about him, leave James with us to raise him. It would be to his advantage to grow up knowing his future domain.'

'You do know that if I inherit Longbourn, James will be the next heir as per the entail,' Bennet reminded his father-in-law.

'As you say, I know that, but I also know that the entail ends with James.' Ashcroft played his trump card. 'But I had also thought that since James will inherit all of my estates, I could encourage him to pass his inheritance of Longbourn to Elizabeth.'

'You do realise that if Elizabeth is to inherit Longbourn, she will need to grow up on that estate so that she can learn to manage it.'

Lady Ashcroft, who had been listening quietly to the discussion, at last spoke up. 'Under the circumstances I would like nothing better than to have you and the children come live with us forever. But we all have duties. If you need to move to Longbourn permanently I will understand if you want your girls with you since they should be safe enough, but please do as my husband asks and let us raise James.'

Bennet agreed to consider this compromise if he did indeed inherit Longbourn. He also agreed that he would not unsettle his children for the moment. Instead, he would divide his time between Ashcroft and Longbourn.

~PoP~

~~E~~

A Plethora of Peers (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023