Chapter Six – Privateer

Even though he was not a representative, Thomas Henry Bennet made the journey to Philadelphia to support those who were making the decisions concerning independence. His own anger had only increased as the tariffs, taxes, and deliberate insults continued. Once again officers had installed themselves in his house, this time forcing him and his wife out. They were now back in the original cabin which he and his partners had built decades ago, while men who had no respect were treating his house as their private brothel.

More than one young woman in the community had been "influenced" into becoming the mistress of an officer. There were already tales of those poor girls being traded when the man who chose them became bored. Stories such as those never made it back to England, allowing the English to believe that their Army were men of valor, integrity, and honor. They are gutter scum, each and every one.

The Declaration was written, signed, and copied to be sent throughout the colonies and the world. There was much celebration, but Thomas Henry Bennet returned home to his wife in sadness and silent contemplation. Elizabeth had witnessed the slow change in her beloved husband. She knew that he was not a man to sit on the side and watch others fight for what he believed, "Tell me, my dear husband. Your long delay will only leave us both with indigestion."

"I have obtained a letter of marque from the Congress."

"A privateer? Oh Thomas, are you certain that is the best way?"

"I know my ships, my dear, and you know that I have sailed out with my men many times in the last decade."

"You have been planning this," Elizabeth accused, but there was no fire in it.

"I am sorry, my love... but yes, I have long felt that the British Navy's advantage at sea is our greatest danger. For us to succeed, we must do what we can to pull their teeth."

Elizabeth wanted to protest. She wanted to scream and rant and demand that he remain safely at home. She could not. "Then you must go... only, make certain that you return to me."

He promised, but both of them knew that it was an empty promise in the gruesome time to come.

As Thomas worked to secretly arm his ships, Elizabeth made her own preparations. After her previous experience she knew that she would be accorded no respect for her wealth or connections. She needed to relocate to a place where nobody would know her as the wife of Thomas Bennet, privateer. Yet she still wanted to be able to lend her hand where she could.

A friend of hers now lived in a smaller town removed from the coast. She would go there and do all that she could to aid the cause. Not for the first time she wished that her mother had allowed her to learn more useful skills. A knowledge of herbs and medicine would be of immeasurable value in the time to come. Thankfully her friend did know quite a bit about just such skills. Elizabeth would learn. Her new country needed every hand.

Captain Thomas Bennet became a scourge to the British in the next few years. His ships lacked the size and firepower to challenge the Royal Navy directly, but they could attack troop transports and supply ships quite handily. Elizabeth heard, through a very private network, that Army was searching for her in the hopes of seizing her and using her against her husband. Thankfully her location and a handy disguise kept her anonymous. Men entered the house where she lived and worked no less than four times, but nobody ever suspected that the heavyset hag with the spots all over her face was actually the elegant and still quite beautiful Mrs. Elizabeth Bennet.

Elizabeth felt it the moment that her brother James died. She did not know where he was or what he was doing, but it hit her with the power of a sledgehammer. Due to her concealment, it would be many more years before she learned he had perished not far away in the New York colony, where he caught a bullet in a skirmish that never amounted to anything. A hero of battles as fierce as Minden, Emsdorf, and Vellinghausen was shot without warning by a boy of fourteen.

Her inability to learn the facts only made her grief worse. And the impossibility of holding her husband made it worse still. But by that time so many had lost so much that Elizabeth made herself press on. She cooked food for the homeless and bandaged the wounded. Beyond that she could do nothing.

It took several months for the news to reach Rupert Darcy in England. His rage and grief was so fierce that he demanded the removal and burning of his daughter's portrait. His other son had passed away from food poisoning just three months prior. He had sent for James to return home too late. That left only his Grandson, George Darcy, to take over the vast Darcy estates and fortune.

George Darcy was married to the lovely Lady Anne Fitzwilliam, the daughter of the new Earl of Matlock. She had graced her husband with a son shortly after their marriage, but had lost several since. Anne had been serving as hostess at Pemberley for several years already, so when the portrait of Elizabeth Bennet, nee Darcy was shown to her, she had it secretly stored instead of burned. Men sometimes did foolish things in times of extreme grief.

Captain Thomas Henry Bennet fought with various degrees of success until the summer of 1780, when an entire task force was finally able to pin his tiny three ship flotilla against the coastline and pummel them. To the credit of the little privateer fleet, two out of three ships went down. The third was taken by boarding. Thomas had been one of the first to fall.

It only took three days for the news of her husband's death to reach Elizabeth. Somehow, just as with her brother James, she already knew. The British sponsored newspapers touted a great victory. The rebel newspapers lamented the fall of a great hero. All that Elizabeth knew was that she had lost her beloved husband.

Sadly the war had already begun winding down in many places. Just a short while longer and she would have been able to welcome him home.

When Elizabeth could finally see past the numbness and grief, she opened the letter that her husband had left for her "just in case."

My dearest Elizabeth,

All of the greatest moments in my life belong to you. The moment I first met you. The moment you walked down the stairs at your presentation. The moments we danced. The incredible day that you walked down the aisle to become my wife and every single moment with you since.

I have never had any illusions about your own feelings concerning this great cause. Your heart was in England even though you have always been fiercely loyal to me. You discussed many great matters with me honestly and openly, yet in the end you have always suborned your own decisions to support mine. I have often felt guilty about that, yet I believed that we were making a new life and a new future for our family here.

Yet both of our sons are living on English soil and living out their lives somewhere other than here. If you are reading this letter, then I have fallen. I cannot apologize enough for the grief that this must cause you. But please do not remain in Massachusetts out of any misguided loyalty to my memory. As soon as this war is over, whatever the outcome, go to where our children are. All that I ask is that you keep my memory in your heart and tell our grandchildren that I fought for what I believed in.

On another note: you and I both shared deep concerns about our second son. Henry's behavior here and his choices in England lead me to question his character. I have written to Albert Gardiner, our solicitor and now relation, to assign complete, absolute, and total control of our wealth and properties to your care. You have the full rights to use them and pass them on as you see fit. I hope that you will find someone, many someones within our family worthy of what you have to pass on.

If the shipyard is intact and functional when this conflict is ended, then sell it to John Tyler. He had been my right hand for many years in the company and he deserves to continue it.

With all of my love,

Thomas Henry Bennet

Elizabeth read her husband's words many times over the next three years until the day that the last British troop was driven off and the last Royal Navy vessel departed. By that time she had returned to her husband's shipyard with surprisingly little fuss. Working with John Tyler, they brought the yard back into operation and trained any crew that required replacing.

John was able to secure the required backing to purchase the company just as the treaty was signed. As one of his first acts as the new owner of the new Tyler Shipyards, he arranged comfortable transportation for the dear lady who had been his friend these many years.

It was 1783 when Elizabeth Georgiana Darcy watched the shores of a new country recede in the distance. She was going home... or at least the place that she once knew as home.