Battle of the Dragons Chapter 22, a pride and prejudice fanfic

~O~

Dragon's Treasures

'Mrs Bennet, I need to inform you that there is more to Rosings Park than just the estate. All of Miss de Bourgh's possessions are part of your inheritance.'

The lady was all astonishment. 'There is more? What more could there be? Is not an estate with an income of seven thousand pound a year more than enough? At least that was the figure Mr Collins quoted.'

'That figure is what Rosings earns on average,' confirmed Darcy. 'Although part of that income is the interest on Anne's dowry, which is about two thousand pounds.'

'Miss de Bourg had a dowry of two thousand pounds?' queried Mrs Bennet. 'That seems rather low for such a wealthy estate.'

'No. Two thousand is the income from the dowry which is invested in the four percents. And although it was always counted as part of the estate income, the interest was reinvested, causing the amount of the dowry to compound.'

Gardiner had listened carefully and quickly calculated. 'Are you saying that the dowry is fifty thousand pounds?'

'A little more than that. My father told me that when Anne was born, Sir Lewis invested twenty thousand pounds which has grown in the past six and twenty years,' Darcy responded.

Mrs Bennet's eyes widened and she whispered, 'And that is mine as well?'

'Indeed.' Darcy could not help but smile. He had thought Mrs Bennet to be mercenary, but her responses indicated befuddlement rather than greed.

After a few moments of thought, Mrs Bennet beamed. 'We are saved. All my girls can have good dowries now, so that they can find husbands.'

Mrs Bennet turned to Elizabeth. 'Lizzy, just think. Now it will not matter that you are too educated to find a husband. You will have enough money to be comfortable even as a spinster.' She looked at the rest of her family. She smiled broadly as she said, 'And now it will not matter that Mr Collins will evict us all as soon as he inherits, as he said he would. I shall be quite cosy in my little house with any of my girls who might still be unmarried.'

'Do not forget, Rosings is big enough to house you and all my sisters with lots of room to spare,' Jane added as the reality of the situation was starting to sink in.

It was Isabella's turn to grin. 'Speaking of Mr Collins, I wonder how he will react when he finds out who his new patroness is.'

Elizabeth managed not to roll her eyes but could not suppress a small chuckle as she said, 'I suspect he will be devastated. I remember only too well how he carried on about Lady Catherine's condescension to award him the living just after Easter last year.'

That statement caused chuckles amongst the group except for Jane who was too kind-hearted and Mr Thompson who suddenly looked alert. 'Did you say Lady Catherine awarded the living to Mr Collins?'

'I did.'

'And you are certain that it was after Easter last year?'

'Quite certain.'

'Miss Anne de Bourgh was born on the second of April 1786. She officially became the mistress of Rosings on the second of April 1811. Last year, Easter was on the 14th of April…'

Elizabeth was the first to make the connection. 'Are you saying that if Lady Catherine awarded the living without the consent of Miss de Bourgh, the award is invalid?'

'Precisely.'

'So, my mother, as the new mistress of Rosings, could evict Mr Collins from his home?' Elizabeth asked and had the satisfaction of seeing Mrs Bennet's face light up with an almost unholy glee.

'Lizzy, no. Mama, you cannot do that. Think of Charlotte,' cried Jane in horror as she realised what Mrs Bennet was considering.

'Why should I think of Charlotte. She was quite resolved to turn myself and my daughters out of the house as soon as Mr Bennet was dead,' protested Mrs Bennet.

Isabella thought it wise to intervene. 'Fanny, just think of how you felt when you were in the position of potentially losing your home. Do you think it kind to do that to another woman? Especially one who is a dear friend of your daughters?'

'But–'

'Mama, please, I beg of you, do be kind to Charlotte. Surely, you can understand that she could not reject an honourable offer. Did you not wish for me to marry Mr Collins even though he would have made me miserable?' Even Elizabeth added to the voice of reason, once she considered all the implications.

'And I was most vexed with you when you rejected his offer,' Mrs Bennet could not help remembering her ire with her second daughter.

Darcy was shocked to hear that Collins had presumed to offer for Elizabeth. 'Mr Collins dared to presume to propose to you?'

'And why should he not?' protested Mrs Bennet. 'Just because you thought Lizzy was not handsome enough to tempt you does not mean other men do not find her beautiful.'

'Mama, please, stop. Mr Darcy has apologised most sincerely for his insult,' Elizabeth defended the gentleman, who was shocked at the venom in Mrs Bennet's accusation.

'I am sure he only did so because now you are rich and well connected.'

'No, mama. He apologised before he knew about Aunt Isabella, and until today, none of us knew that we would be rich.'

Mrs Bennet still grumbled but was distracted when Isabella said, 'We were speaking about Mr Collins. You should know that recently he had a change of heart and has started to make positive changes in his attitude.'

Despite her unpolished manners, Mrs Bennet had a kind heart. Since everyone appealed to her to spare Charlotte, she grudgingly assented, except, 'But it would not hurt for him to feel what it is like to face a life in the hedgerows. It might teach him some charity.'

No one argued with her decision.

~O~

When Mr Thomson tried to continue the discussion, Mrs Bennet stopped him. 'It has been a trying day for us. I think we should have some tea before we continue.'

Everyone was grateful for the suggestion and the party moved to the drawing room. On entering, Mrs Bennet spied Lady Catherine's chair. 'What is that?' she laughed and pointed at the offending object.

'That is Lady Catherine's throne,' supplied Richard with a grin.

Mrs Bennet tilted her head and after a moment's thought asked, 'Am I correct in assuming that I am now mistress of this house?'

'Indeed, you are.' Lord Matlock and Mr Thompson both replied in unison.

'Excellent. In that case, can we get a footman to remove it?'

The butler, who had followed the group into the room and overheard the exchange regarding the change in management, could not fully suppress a smile when he suggested, 'It will require two men, but I will have it seen to at once.'

Mrs Bennet beamed at him. 'Thank you and please arrange for tea to be served in here.'

Before the butler could attend to his instructions, Lord Matlock said, 'Mrs Bennet, this is Mr Blakesley, who has been the butler her for twenty years.' Turning to the butler he advised, 'As you have just heard, Mrs Bennet is now mistress of Rosings. Please inform the rest of the staff.'

'It will be my pleasure to serve you, madam, and I will be pleased to inform the staff.'

In seemingly no time at all, the throne was removed, and tea served.

As they enjoyed the refreshing brew and some cakes, Mrs Bennet looked around the room critically. 'Jane, I think you shall have a nice time redecorating.'

Gardiner grinned and suggested, 'If you wish to sell some of the furniture, I know people who have the same taste as Lady Catherine.'

~O~

Isabella watched as everyone relaxed a little after the discussion in the library.

She was pleased with the way her niece dealt with the revelations of the relationships, but even more so with the knowledge of her newfound wealth. Fanny Bennet had not gone off in flights of fancy on how to spend money on fripperies. Instead, she was effectively giving away most of the fortune to her daughters.

Yes there was more to the lady than most people expected… at least now that her fear for the future had been taken away.

~O~

Mrs Bennet felt like she might float away with happiness.

The future of her daughters was secure, whether her husband was alive or dead.

She never had to fear the hedgerows again.

Mrs Bennet knew just which house she would like to buy. It was just around the corner from her sister and had a good-sized garden. It would be very pleasant being able to visit Martha anytime on the spur of the moment without wondering if the horses would be available for the carriage.

The best part of the situation was that she would not have to tolerate her husband's teasing again. She could speak up without fear of losing her home.

It was truly a heady feeling.

~O~

Jane was feeling some trepidation that she would be thrown into the role of mistress of such a large estate.

She knew how to run a house and the duties of a mistress of the estate, but Longbourn was less than half the size of Rosings.

She was drawn from her reverie when Lady Matlock and Richard joined her on the settee. 'Do not worry too much, we will be here to assist you,' the lady reassured her.

'You should also know that not only did I accompany Darcy on his yearly visits to Rosings to ensure the estate was taken care of, but while growing up, father instructed me in estate management alongside my brother. I may be the spare, but heirs are not immune to accident and illness. He wanted me to be able to step in and take over if necessary.'

'Thank heavens. I was afraid that since you had no expectations of an estate, you would not know much about the administration.'

Richard grimaced. 'I know more than I ever wanted to know.'

The comment caused Jane to laugh in relief.

~O~

Darcy watched the company quietly as he tried to adjust his thinking… again.

Mrs Bennet had surprised him. First, she was happy to hand a lucrative estate like Rosings over to Jane, and on hearing of the large sum held in trust for Anne, she immediately wanted to share it between her other daughters.

To his chagrin he realised that Mrs Bennet had simply been concerned with her daughters' security, rather than her own gain. Considering the value of her inheritance, Mrs Bennet's desire for a small house of her own was quite modest rather than mercenary.

As he looked around, he noticed Elizabeth, who was sitting near him, watching him with an amused smile. 'This is not what you expected to happen, did you, Mr Darcy?' she said quietly.

'Now that I have a chance to get to know your family without the wrong kind of distraction, I find much to admire.'

'Unfortunately, a mother's fear for her daughters is uncomfortable to watch.' Under her breath she added, 'Especially when combined with a lack of education in proper manners.'

Despite the quietness of the words, Darcy heard her. 'Considering my own poor performance, I had no right to judge.'

'To quote something in which Mr Collins should be an expert you see the splinter in your brother's eye. I am afraid we are all guilty of that.'

'But we also have a chance to improve if we put our mind to it.'

~O~

Having enjoyed their refreshments and a chance to move about a bit, the group returned to the library.

'Since we have dealt with the main issues of Rosings, I would like to discuss the baronetcy. You should know that one of Sir Lewis de Bourgh's ancestors chose Rosings Park to live, probably because it is the biggest estate in the family holdings. But there is an estate which is tied to the title, although none of the family has lived there for decades.' Thompson smiled as he said, 'I believe you might know the estate. It is Netherfield near Meryton in Hertfordshire.'

'But Netherfield is owned by the Morris family,' exclaimed Elizabeth.

'I am sorry to disagree with you, but the Morris family only administered Netherfield. But since they had done so for generations, I am not surprised that that fact has been forgotten,' explained the Earl.

'Did you advise Mr Bingley to lease Netherfield because it is a family holding?' Jane asked Darcy.

'No, I did not. It was one of those coincidences which can happen. Mr Morris recently inherited an estate of his own. Because of that, he arranged to let Netherfield. As it is a convenient distance from London, it appealed to Bingley. I had never visited Netherfield. I only ever checked the books when I made my annual visits to Rosings. When I learnt which estate Bingley had leased, I kept quiet about the owners.'

Before anyone else could ask questions, Mrs Bennet exclaimed, 'But that is delightful, brother. You shall be my neighbour. Just think, Madeline and the children will love the space.'

Gardiner shook his head in bemusement. 'It will be quite a surprise for my wife.' Gathering his wits, he asked the solicitor. 'Do you have any other surprises for us?'

'I do not believe so. Now I just have a lot of documents which need to be signed.'

'I hope you will not be offended, but I would like to call our brother Phillips to come and examine all those documents. I have been in business long enough not to sign anything which I do not fully understand.'

Thompson was not at all offended. 'I fully concur. I shall be pleased to remain here until your brother arrives.' He turned to Mrs Bennet. 'If that is acceptable to you.'

Unused to being deferred to, Mrs Bennet was a little flustered, but she recovered well. 'I shall be pleased to offer you the hospitality of this house.'

Looking at Lady Matlock and Isabella, she muttered, 'I just hope that someone can show me around my home.'

~O~