A Friend of the Family

Due to a twist of fate, little Lizzy and Jane Bennet met a lonely and troubled young lady of a very prominent family. An odd friendship is formed and persists for many years. Though tragedy ends their meetings and correspondence, another young woman keeps the connection.

AN: I wrote this more than a decade ago after reading of the tragic lives of the two princesses. I realize that it is far-fetched, but I thought you might enjoy it anyway. For the serious Anglophiles out there, please be kind and realize that this is not meant to be historical, only sympathetic.

Worthing, July, 1798

Fourteen year old Amelia sat on the little sea wall, grateful of the temporary relief on her knee that this position afforded. Once the most active of children, now the continuing ache in her joints, most especially the knee, along with a feeling of exhaustion, made her feel old and worn. She looked out at the breaking sea and let out a breath. Other young girls, in her same situation, would be surrounded by family at a moment like this. She had been sent alone to this seaside town... well... as alone as a person could ever be with an entourage of servants and guards watching over her every minute of every day.

How long she sat there, she didn't truly know, but quite suddenly she became aware of another presence near her. She startled a little, but when she saw the darling little girl, she could only smile. The girl, who looked to be no older than five or six, had chestnut curls and the most amazing dark, sparkling eyes. The creature was dressed in a very pretty green dress that was wet and covered with sand, yet still made a very charming picture. The little girl's smile lit up her face and made Amelia feel happy for the first time in weeks.

Amelia then realized that the little sprite was holding something out to her. "Here. I found this pretty shell. You didn' look happy, so I thought I should give it to you."

The older girl recognized the shell as it was dropped in her hand, "This is a green banded turbo. It is certainly one of the prettiest shells that I have seen here. Are you certain that you wish to give it to me?"

The little darling smiled and nodded, showing that she was missing several of her baby teeth. It only added to her charm. "Oh, certainly! It made you smile and you're beautiful when you smile, just like my Janie. And do not worry, I am the best at finding shells. I am finding lots and lots. Oh, I'm sorry." She curtsied clumsily, "My name is Lizzy. I'm six, but I'll be seven very soon." Amelia thought that the girl was younger, but she must just be small for her age.

"I am pleased to meet you. I apologize as well, but at the moment my leg hurts and I cannot return your curtsy. I am Amelia. I am very pleased to meet you, Miss Lizzy."

"Lizzy! Lizzy!" Another little girl called out, her voice sounding distressed. She was blond and taller, but still a child. Amelia noted that her guards were moving towards this new person and she signaled for them to stop. I wonder that they never noticed this little water sprite. FitzRoy will lambaste them for that, but I'm glad of the distraction, so I will beg him to be gentle.

The other girl, who appeared to be nine or ten, ran up. She was a very pretty girl. In fact, she looked as if she could more easily be Amelia's sister instead of little Lizzy's. "That's my sister Jane. JANE! JANE! Come meet Miss Amelia. Isn't she pretty? She was sad so I gave her a shell."

Amelia saw her personal guardian approaching and she met his eyes with a plea. Then, in Latin so that the little girls wouldn't understand, she said, "Obsecro, domine, nihil est quod timeas. Sunt parvae puellae et nunquam nocebit (Please, Sir, there is nothing to fear. They are just little girls and would never harm me.)"

The Hon. Charles FitzRoy paused, uncertain, then the little sprite asked in genuine concern, "Cur noceamus tibi? Nonne testa venenata est? (Why would we harm you? The shell is not poisonous, is it?)" Both the man and the young lady's eyes widened at that, but the little girl's expression was so worried that Amelia released a giggle.

The man, no longer officious, asked, "You speak Latin, little one?"

The other one, the blond with big blue eyes, answered, "Papa taught her. He is the smartest man in the world and Lizzy is the second smartest." Young Jane said with a sigh. She sometimes wished that her father liked her as much, but then she already had more of her mother's attention than she wanted.

Amelia was about to say something in answer, but a scuffle could be heard at the perimeter of her private beach. Again she looked at FitzRoy, and the man quickly made his way in that direction. Amelia continued to speak with the girls for a few more minutes before her equerry led a very worried looking man over to where the three girls sat. The man, who was of early middle age, handsome and well dressed, bowed, "Your Royal Highness, I must apologize for allowing my daughters to wander off and impose on you."

The elder girl, Jane, seemed startled by her father's words, but the only effect on the younger was that her smile widened, "You're a princess? I knew that you couldn't be so pretty for nothing. Momma says that about Janie all of the time, but you're pretty too. Did we impose?"

Her Royal Highness Amelia, youngest daughter to His Majesty, King George III, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland*, started to stand, but as her equerry moved forward a little hand also forestalled her action. Lizzy looked at her father and said, "Papa, Miss... Princess Amelia cannot curtsy right now. Her leg is hurt."

The little girl curtsied to the princess instead, "I'm sorry if I imposed. Please keep the shell and be happy." As the older sister and the father also executed their bow and curtsy, Amelia asked, "Will you be in the area long, Mister...?"

The man shook his head as if to somehow dispel this entire odd encounter, but he answered, "Bennet, Your Highness. Thomas Bennet. And you've already met Jane and Elizabeth. We intended to remain with a friend for another ten days, Your Highness. My Lizzy's birthday is on August 2nd and her godfather, Sir Howell Peyton, invited us to visit him. If our presence in the area...?"

"No! Please do not hurry away due to any mistaken idea of imposition. In fact, it seems that your little Lizzie shares something in common with me besides a love of sea shells."

It was only Lizzie who dared to ask, "What is that, Pri... Your Highness?"

Amelia grinned, "You and I share the same birthday. I shall be fifteen on August 2nd. I hope that you and your family will celebrate it with me?"

Longbourn Estate, Hertfordshire, August 2nd, 1811

Elizabeth Bennet sat alone in her room holding the last letter she had ever received from Princess Amelia and fingering the garnet and silver cross which she always wore. It had been a gift from that first shared birthday. As always when she remembered the dear lady who died of tuberculosis far too young, Elizabeth shed a tear. That first meeting, so many years ago, had been the beginning of an odd friendship between a strange little girl from an insignificant genteel family and one of the highest personages in the land... though neither of them ever thought that way about their friendship.

Elizabeth knew now that Amelia's first unexplained aches and tiredness were the signal of an insidious illness which would eventually take her friend away. The most beautiful princess in the land, a girl who should have now been admired wherever she went, died less than a year ago.

Although they did not see each other often over the intervening years, Princess Amelia had kept up a regular correspondence with Lizzie and Jane. The letters were addressed back and forth between Charles FitzRoy and Mr. Bennet, but they were actually between the girls. Jane was not an active letter writer, so her offerings were sparse. But Lizzy wrote about everything in her life to Amelia and the princess, surprisingly, returned the favor despite the differences in their ages and circumstances. Lizzie was one of a very few, for example, who knew of Amelia's great love for Charles Fitzroy, or his in return. It was a scandal of national proportions, but it remained a well-kept secret from most.

Over time another person was added to the correspondence. Princess Charlotte, daughter of the now Prince Regent, had adored her aunt more than anyone else and therefore resented her correspondence with "that upstart." Over time, however, Amelia had managed to change her niece's perspective and helped her to see how nice it was to have a friend outside of the court. Reluctantly at first, and then with growing regularity, Princess Charlotte had added her letters as well. Lizzie was a great storyteller and her letters proved to be just as fascinating.

So after Lizzie put down her last letter from Amelia, she picked up a new letter from Charlotte. It made her sad to read about how the Prince Regent was sequestering his daughter away, so Lizzie did all that she could to write a letter which would cheer the dear girl up.

Winsor Castle, October, 1811

Princess Charlotte threw her newest letter from Lizzie down and turned to her visiting friend and paramour, Ensign George Fitzclarence. "George, do you know a man by the name of Fitzwilliam Darcy? It seems that I've heard the name before."

"Hah-hah! Old Fitzy. Only goes to the dances his uncle and aunt force him to, then stalks around the room like a lion. What makes you bring up his name?"

"Because he went to an assembly where my friend lives and was very insulting to her!"

"The pretty country chit with the lively eyes?"

Charlotte wasn't sure that she liked the boy she wanted for herself complimenting her friend, but the description was certainly accurate. "The same. He's visiting with a friend who leased an estate nearby... Charles Bingley. They came to the local assembly and this Charles man was the only nice one in the bunch. His sisters were horrible and Darcy was insulting."

Fitzclarence laughed, "Darcy isn't a bad one, from what my older friends tell me. Honest and straight up. Good fencer and great at chess. But put him in a room full of single unwed women and the chap freezes up and turns stupid. From what I remember of your friend, she'll handle him just fine. You know any action from you will make a little problem turn big, don't you Char?"

The teenaged princess leaned into her handsome young soldier. "Yes. I know. But if he does anything else, I won't ignore it!"

Netherfield Park, November 2nd, 1810

"A black rose, Miss Eliza? Who died?" Caroline demanded in her usual imperious way.

Elizabeth did her best not to glare at the woman who had absolutely no idea how to be a good hostess. "Just someone who was a good friend." This was their third day at Netherfield with Jane locked away sick upstairs. If Elizabeth thought that she could have trusted anyone here with her dearest sister, she would have already departed. Charles Bingley was nice, but his sisters were termagants, his brother in law spent his days eating, drinking, playing cards, and napping... and his friend spent his time staring at Elizabeth with disapproval.

Darcy, who was reading a paper in the corner, just happened to be reading an article on the anniversary of the death of Princess Amelia. Many believed that the loss of his favorite and youngest daughter was what led to King George's final descent into madness. Darcy was curious if Miss Elizabeth was commemorating that person, but it seemed unlikely. The second Bennet girl seemed to be completely unimpressed with rank or circumstance. She was certainly not a sycophant.

Later that same morning Darcy had attempted to go on a solitary walk and had suddenly found Miss Bingley attached to his arm. Unable to escape her at that point, he chose to walk the garden rather than the much longer walk he had intended. Caroline Bingley, aware of his fascination with the second Bennet, spent the walk teasing him about her fine eyes and his future mother-in-law. When they came upon Miss Elizabeth and Mrs. Hurst accidentally, he wanted to groan. He could only hope that Miss Elizabeth had not heard.

If she had, she showed no evidence of it. In fact, as soon as may be, she left Darcy to the two sisters, making a comment about how they were "charmingly grouped." Leave it to her to make a vague reference to the style of pastoral artist who liked to paint in odd numbers, usually threes. While the two poisonous sisters talked, Darcy took note of the large carriage turning into the drive. It came to a halt in front of Miss Elizabeth and a tall young man, an ensign by his uniform, stepped out, followed by an older gentleman with a valise.

By this point the sisters took notice and were walking briskly towards the new visitors. Surprising all three, Miss Elizabeth led the older gentleman into the house without consulting the hostess. Caroline had a rebuke forming on her lips until they came close enough to the carriage to recognize that the driver and footmen were all in Royal livery. Darcy then recognized the officer from a few dances, "Fitzclarence, I believe? What brings you here?"

The Bingley sisters bowed, still to shocked to know what to say. Being caught up on all gossip, they knew this teenager as the illegitimate son of a duke and the boy who was keeping company with Princess Charlotte.

Fitzclarence was one of the few as tall as Darcy and he looked quite dashing in his formal uniform, even as an ensign, "Darcy, old boy! It has been a while. How are you? I hear that you're still as curmudgeonly as an old man, hah-hah! Insulting young women right and left? Bad show there. Not exactly the best way to win fair maiden's heart."

Darcy was not used to anyone speaking to him that way, but since the boy had shown up in this particular conveyance, he had to be careful. He also knew that the boy was foolishly keeping company with the teen princess. As to what the boy had just said...? "I'm afraid that you have me at a loss, Fitzclarence. What, exactly am I accused of? I had not heard."

The ensign had boundless self-confidence, but he was also aware of the dangers of gossip, so he waiting to answer and looked to the ladies instead. "I must apologize for intruding, ladies. When the princess heard that Miss Bennet was sickly and that Miss Elizabeth was attending her, she felt the need to send her own physician just in case. The two being dear friends, she did not wish to lose either after her dear aunt's passing last year."

This simple statement, which had been very well planned by the princess and the ensign, left all three speechless. Darcy, remembering Miss Elizabeth's black rose, was the first to find his voice again, "I... was not aware that the Bennets were known to the Royal Family...?"

Fitzclarence laughed, "There are many things people don't know. That is why they should not go around throwing out arrogant, self-important insults... don't you think." Though his words were planned, they had a certain personal meaning as well. As an illegitimate son George Fitzclarence had been made to endure many insults over the years. "Now, ladies, if I may step into your home? I was meant to deliver the princess's latest letter and it completely slipped my mind."

The ladies were torn between hovering over this young man or rushing in to rally the servants. They ended up opting for the latter, thus affording Darcy the chance to ask his question again. Fitzclarence had his reply ready, "Ah yes! The insult... what was it again? 'she's tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me'. Hah! My princess was ready to have you hung, drawn, and quartered for that hoary tale! I tried to tell her that you must have failing eyesight, or maybe you do not like women? 'Twas a close run thing though. Not well played at all, Old Man."

Darcy froze, his shock written on his face. He was not worried as much about the threat from the princess, though it might have been quite real. What bothered him more was that Miss Elizabeth had heard his foolish words. "Dear Lord, she heard me?"

The ensign laughed, "That she did. And wrote her friend. You, sir, are not in fine stink with Winsor right now. She has few friends and she greatly values those few that she does have."

"I have to speak to Eliz... to Miss Elizabeth. Excuse me!"

The royal physician pronounced that Jane Bennet was well on the road to recovery. The Royal carriage and it's passengers departed soon afterwards. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst were suddenly all smiles and kindness to the two eldest Bennet daughters, but all that they could learn from the pair was that they had known and been known to the two princesses for many years. Though neither Jane nor Elizabeth made any further claim, even their reticence seemed to speak volumes. By the end of the day the two Bennet sisters found themselves wishing themselves well away from the clinging Bingley sisters. Even Jane could now see their falseness.

The only positive which came out of the sisters' new attitudes was that they were no longer determined to separate their brother from Jane. In fact, in a dramatic reversal which made Charles' head spin, both sisters cornered their brother with strong admonitions that he "must secure Jane as soon as possible!"

Darcy had to wait until late that same evening to finally catch Elizabeth alone. After the sisters had finally left, she tried to sneak into the library to find something to read. She jumped when Mr. Darcy spoke. She would have departed immediately, but he allowed her to hear the plea in his voice, "Miss Elizabeth, please may I speak?"

Resigned, she stood still but would not turn to look at him. "I am listening, Mr. Darcy."

"I have just learned today that you heard my foolish words at the assembly where we first met."

"We did not meet at the assembly, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth ground out, "When Sir William tried to make proper introductions, you walked away. When your friend tried to do the same later in the evening, you chose to hurl insults instead."

Darcy never sighed, but now he did, "I know that now, just as I realize that I have thoroughly destroyed any chances that I might have had with you. It is entirely my fault for allowing my anger over another situation to fester, but that is neither here nor there. Please just allow me to say that I never actually spent any time looking at you that night, so it was only later that I became aware of your remarkable beauty. And as to the rest of the tripe I spewed out that night, please know that it was directed at getting Charles to leave me alone, not to hurt or belittle you.

"I thank you for hearing me out. I realized that there is nothing that I can ever say to redeem myself in your eyes, so I shall leave you alone from this point forward. I shall only say that I believe that you deserve the very best in life and I wish you only joy. Good evening, Miss Elizabeth."

As Darcy turned to leave, Elizabeth stopped him with a question, "What did you mean, no chance with me? Have you not spent the past month only looking at me to find fault?"

Darcy looked at her incredulously, "Eliz... Miss Bennet... a man does not spend as much time as I have spent looking at a beautiful woman to find fault."

This seemed to befuddle the young woman, but she shook her head as if to clear it, "And what about you arguing with everything that I have said this entire week?"

Darcy looked at her with sadness in his eyes, "I foolishly thought we were having debates. You have a fine mind, Miss Bennet, and a superlative grasp of how to present your thoughts. I have seldom met your equal, even at Cambridge. If it seemed that I was attacking you, then it only adds to the things which I now have to apologize for. Perhaps my cousin Richard has it right after all: I have no idea how to talk to women. Now, lest we be discovered in here alone and you be forced to accept a man who you despise, I should leave you here."

Darcy was almost out of the library when Elizabeth replied, "I do not despise you, Mr. Darcy. I think that I may have simply misunderstood you."

He turned. He had to. Those two simple statements had taught him to hope, as he had never hoped before, "Miss Elizabeth... is there any way... may I request the chance to help you understand me better? To perhaps... to show you that I might be a man worthy of your notice?"

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that I now have better connections that you might have thought before?"

Darcy chuckled, "If our better understanding ever resulted in the sort of relationship that I desire... that of a loving man and wife... then my one provision would be that you not include me in any of your dealings with the Royal Family." He shuddered, "Many years ago a Darcy came under Royal notice. He lost his head for it. No, I have wanted to know you better since the Lucas dinner."

Elizabeth held his gaze for what seemed like a very long, long time. Then she smiled and the angels sang for Fitzwilliam Darcy, "Then I would appreciate the opportunity to make a new sketch of your character, Mr. Darcy."

Pemberley, 1817

Elizabeth Darcy cried bitter tears when she read of the passing of the second princess who had welcomed her into her heart and life. Just as with the first, Elizabeth had learned long ago that being a Royal princess was anything but the bed of roses that people imagined. Since that day at Netherfield the Regent had sent away any young man who had drawn poor Princess Charlotte's interest. When her father decided that she should marry the Prince of Orange, the ensuing years of conflict between father and daughter almost tore the heart of the country in half. For a while Charlotte was even confined. Elizabeth did not know what to think of some of the princess's more amorous encounters, but she could not make herself abandon her friend altogether.

Elizabeth had been incredibly blessed to marry the man she loved, a man who loved her. The Princess seemed doomed to another fate. So when fate stepped in and gave the girl Prince Leopold, Elizabeth could not have been more pleased. She even went to visit with the Princess, something which had not happened for some years. Charlotte wrote to her that she was "wildly in love and never wish to leave our bed." Though this made Elizabeth blush, she had her Mr. Darcy and understood all too well.

Charlotte had requested Elizabeth's presence at her delivery, but the court closed ranks and excluded all but their own. Elizabeth prayed all of that November day, mindful of the fact that she had lost another princess on November. Even before the news reach as far as Derbyshire, Elizabeth somehow knew.

Though the Darcy's attended the state funeral, they made no efforts to speak to any of the Family. Elizabeth was too sore from the loss and Darcy felt that it would be best if there were as few dealings as possible with the family.

In later years, when the Darcy's phenomenal wealth and influence drew an older Mrs. Darcy to the attention of the new Queen, Elizabeth answered the summons with politeness, but she kept herself in the background. When asked for her impressions of the wealthy lady from the north, Victoria could only answer, "I found her unremarkable. Frankly I do not know what the princess's saw in her."

Had Elizabeth heard this, she would have smiled. Had she been asked, she would have merely answered, "There was never anything remarkable about me. I was simply a friend. Nothing more."

While her husband would have disagreed, he was still happy for the separation from that one particular family.

Pemberley, November, 1863

Susanna Darcy took one last opportunity to read through the voluminous correspondence which her great grandmother had kept locked away from the world for those many decades. The secrets revealed by the two princesses could have shaken the world and resulted in any number of books. But as Susanna read the letters, what she found were two lonely girls locked into a world which demanded everything but gave little in return. It was an entirely different reality than the young woman could have ever guessed.

Equally interesting to her was what these letters revealed about her great grandmother Lizzie. These two princesses had continued to share their lives right to their tragic ends because they had absolute faith in the girl who had no true connection to their world. They wrote of affairs and intrigues which would scorch the eyes and ears of most readers just because they needed somebody with which to share. And in the end, their Elizabeth had lived up to their trust. In seven decades not one of their secrets was ever shared with the outside world. Oh, others had shared, but never their friend.

Susanna finished the last letter, touched the garnet cross that she had inherited from her great grandmother's own hand, and then looked at the pile. In an effort of great will, she began feeding the letters one-by-one into the fire.


* The King used this title until 1801, when Ireland became a part of Great Britain. When the title was changed, he used the opportunity to drop his historical claim to France.

AN: Just a reminder to those who chided me for rushing the last story so that it seems more like a synopsis: with the way that my swiss-cheese brain seems to work these days, I cannot seem to manage lengthy chapter stories. I was being sincere when I wrote that anyone who feels inspired and creative is welcome to take one of these short stories and try to make a full blown story out of it. I only ask for an honest acknowledgment that you were inspired by my own little story. Lord knows that some of the wonderful writers on this and other forums have inspired many of my ideas. That is the whole reason for a place like this.