An Unexpected Legacy

by Don Miller

  The three cousins ate a late dinner and then retired to the family sitting room where Georgiana was eager to tell Darcy what had happened in town since he had gone. She told him about their Aunt Helen inviting Elizabeth to Matlock House for tea, at her request, and that both Col. Fitzwilliam and Lady Marie Monttard, who has apparently shown great interest in Elizabeth and has taken her under her wing, were there. She had hoped to be able to speak to Elizabeth alone, but Aunt Helen seemed intent on questioning Elizabeth and then Richard came, which made it impossible for her to talk to Elizabeth alone.”

  “You know, William, you told me not to say anything to Aunt Helen about your interest in Miss Elizabeth, but she seemed to sense you must have some interest, because she asked me about it. I told a little white lie in saying that you rarely talk to me about such things, and then told her that whatever you thought of her, I wanted her to be my friend. But the questions Aunt Helen directed at Miss Elizabeth certainly seemed focused on determining her suitability as a wife for you.” Looking at Col. Fitzwilliam she said, “Did you get that impression, Richard?”

  “They were certainly questions directed at determining her character, which I doubt she would have asked if the only relationship she expected her to have with the Darcys was one of friendship with Georgiana. I know she is concerned about Georgiana’s friends, but she does not usually find it necessary to interrogate them. I was also intrigued that Lady Monttard was there. I had the impression Lady Monttard was very interested in how Miss Elizabeth handled herself in the situation. She is an unknown in this situation, and you know how I hate unknowns. Perhaps I should have interrogated mother about Lady Monttard after they left. But we began talking about other things, and I did not think of it. I should mention that Lady Monttard went far out of her way to pick up Miss Elizabeth and to return her to Gracechurch Street. That certainly went above and beyond what most ladies of the ton will do for a young lady they are just taking under their wing.”

  “Do you know anything about Lord and Lady Monttard?” asked Darcy. “I know that their surname is Dumont, and as I recall, the King made him Baron Monttard some years ago because of all the aid he has given to the military in the fight against Napoleon by transporting military goods at very reasonable prices in his ships, and I believe in some cases, selling ships below cost to the Navy.”

  “Yes, that is true,” said Col. Fitzwilliam. “And, as a matter of fact, he is still making his ships available to the military at a very reasonable cost. And when one of his ships is lost, I know he is taking a loss, given what the Navy pays him for those lost ships. I do know that his shipping line is many generations old, originated in France, and that his father moved it here to England before the revolution in France. As I recall, he had a son who lost his life at sea on a ship transporting military goods to Bermuda. It was a sad case, because the ship left Portsmouth and was never seen again, so the poor man really has no idea what happened to his son or his ship. It may have been shortly after losing his son he was made a baron. I also know that he is rumored to be fabulously wealthy, but no one really has an idea of how wealthy.”

  “So he is a fabulously wealthy man with no heir?”

  “It is rumored he has a daughter, or at least had a daughter, but I know nothing about her or if she is even alive. Perhaps Lady Monttard finds Miss Elizabeth so fascinating she wants to make her a companion. It would probably be a very well-paying position for Elizabeth. Given their family situation, it may be something she would consider.”

  Before Darcy could say anything, Georgiana said, “I cannot imagine Elizabeth being satisfied as a companion to a rich lady. She is so intelligent and talented in languages, I would think she could find a position more in keeping with her interests than that. I remember her telling me her aunt and uncle assured her she could always help them with his export/import business and the bookstore. I would think that would be more interesting to her than being a companion. Whatever she is, it does not make any difference to me. She is one of the smartest and kindest persons I have ever known, and she will be my friend no matter what she does, and I do not care what the people of the ton think of me.”

  “Georgiana, now that I have seen her again and talked with her, and seen how she related to you, I am sure you know that I have hopes I can make her a much closer relation to you than a friend. I think her feelings for me have improved since my disastrous proposal at Hunsford Cottage, and I hope to convince her to let me court her when I see her this summer, which I will do by either visiting Bingley at Netherfield Park or seeing her when she visits here in August, assuming that we have convinced her aunt and uncle to visit here.”

  “So it is still true,” said Col. Fitzwilliam, “You intend to pursue her with vigor? “

  “I do not have a choice, Richard. Without even trying, she seems to have become a part of me. I have imagined spending the rest of my life with her, and the thought that I might be wrong is almost too much for me to bear.”

  Col. Fitzwilliam knew his question was answered. Darcy was deeply in love with Elizabeth and hoped to marry her. So any thoughts he had a pursuing her for himself were laid to rest. He found that unsettling, but knew he was not so far gone he would not recover quickly. He only hoped Darcy was successful, because he looked forward to having Elizabeth in the family. His family needed some new blood, and he thought that she would fit the bill more than anyone she knew.

  “Well, since we are speaking about Elizabeth,” said Georgiana, “let me tell you about my visit to Gracechurch Street on Sunday.” And for the next half hour she told about her visit to Elizabeth on Sunday and the walk that she took with her in the park. She told them she did not quite remember how they arrived at the subject, but they started talking about things they had done they wished they had not. She did not want to break any of Elizabeth’s confidences, but she did admit that she opened up to Elizabeth about her incident with Wickham, and that Elizabeth, with her questions and comments, had made her understand why she had done the things she had done and how she had not taken responsibility for her own actions. Perhaps most important of all, she had not accepted their forgiveness and put this incident behind her. She apologized to them for the way she had been acting in the last several months, knowing she had distressed them, and said she came away from that visit with a light heart, feeling that at last she understood herself better and could get on with her life.

  She ended by saying, “I do not know how she does it, but she makes me feel comfortable and almost anxious to speak to her about my problems. It will be wonderful to have her as someone in whom I can regularly confide in the future. I have not been looking forward to my coming out and having to deal with the men and women of the ton, but I believe that with Elizabeth’s help, it will not be the ordeal I have been expecting it to be.”

  Darcy was conflicted. He was overjoyed with what Elizabeth had been able to accomplish with Georgiana, and, if possible, her qualities rose further in his estimation. But he was still not certain how he stood with her, and if his attempt to win her good estimation, and eventually love, would be successful. He told Georgiana how happy he was that Elizabeth had been able to help her and once again admitted how difficult it would be for him to be content with the rest of his life if he was not successful in obtaining her hand.

  On the following Monday afternoon, while Col. Fitzwilliam and Darcy were sitting in his library on a rainy day enjoying Darcy’s French port, Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, knocked on the door of the library, and on being told to enter, gave Mr. Darcy an express which had just arrived for him. Looking at the envelope, he recognized his Aunt Helen’s handwriting.

  “This is from your mother, Richard. What is so important, do you suppose, that she decided she needed to send an express to me? Because it is to me, I assume it has nothing to do with you, otherwise she would have sent it to you.” He opened the letter and quickly read it, and then read the attached cutout from a London newspaper.

  “Good Lord! Richard, it looks like y
our concerns about Lady Monttard were justified, but not in any way we could have imagined. According to this letter and this excerpt from the paper…” He paused, “I might as well read it to you, and I quote, ‘Elizabeth Bennet, late of Longbourn in Hertfordshire, has been recognized as the legitimate daughter of the youngest son of the Earl of Denby and the daughter of Baron Monttard. She is therefore the granddaughter of both the Earl and Countess of Denby and Baron and Baroness Monttard. On Saturday morning she was presented to the Queen at the Queen’s garden party and was introduced to Prince Charles. The full story of how this came about is apparently a closely held secret, but the legitimacy is not in question. It has been entered into the records of the Royal court, she has been welcomed into the family of the Earl of Denby and the family of Baron Monttard, she has been recognized by the Queen, and it is known that she has been named as the sole heir of the Dumont fortune and the Dumont Shipping Line. Although, because her father was a Carlson, her last name would be Carlson, an agreement was made between the Earl of Denby and Baron Monttard that her family name should be Dumont. Her full name is, therefore, Elizabeth Anne Dumont. According to some sources, her inheritance will make her one of the richest women in England.”

  Darcy kept staring at the paper as if he did not believe that the words he had read were truly there. Col. Fitzwilliam sat in stunned silence, thinking of the implications of what he had heard. Finally he said, “Damn! That really changes the situation. Every unmarried nobleman in England is going to be seeking her hand. At every ball she will be inundated with requests for dance sets from every unmarried male in attendance, as well as requests from those gentlemen to call on her. At least you have the advantage that she already knows you; at least I think it is an advantage.”

  Darcy finally took his eyes away from the paper and said, “I guess this calls for a change in strategy. I had planned to take things slowly and wait until she was back at Longbourn, or until she came here, to continue my campaign for her hand. I am sure your mother sent this express because she has inferred I have feelings for Elizabeth and felt I needed to do something immediately.”

  He paused, thinking over all the things he had intended to accomplish in the next few weeks. “I think I can finish up the most critical things I have to do here with Mr. Wilson in two days, and then I believe I need to return to town and somehow arrange to meet with her. I have a feeling your mother will help me in this. What do you think?”

  “I agree on both counts: you need to move quickly and mother will help you. I promised Anne I would call on her. Thus, I intend to leave tomorrow morning for Rosings and then return to town. Hopefully I can be of some help in this campaign. How about Georgiana? She just arrived. Are you going to ask her to go back with you? I ask this because she is one of the advantages you have over other contenders for Elizabeth’s attention.”

  Darcy thought about it for a minute and then sent for Georgiana. When she entered the room a few minutes later, Darcy said to her, “I think you better read these,” and handed her the letter and the clipping. Within a few seconds her eyes opened wide and she gasped, “I cannot believe this. I thought I knew her well, but she certainly gave me no hint that this was going to happen. Do you suppose she did not know when we visited Sunday last?”

  “I have no idea,” said Darcy, “but I am sure you realize this requires I change my plans. I have decided I am going to complete my work here Wednesday and return to town to assess the situation and see if I can arrange a visit with Elizabeth. Because she was concerned enough to send me this express, I assume Aunt Helen will help me in my endeavor. My question to you is: would you like to go with me? I realize you just suffered through the four-day trip to get here, and you would have to do it again in a couple of days. Because you have a good relationship with her, I think you might help my cause, but I can understand if you want to wait a while.”

  Georgiana did not hesitate at all. “Of course I want to go back with you. I am a dying to talk to her about it and how it all came about. I realize that I could just write her a letter, congratulate her, and ask her about it, but it would take, I am sure, several letters to understand the full story, and I do not have that much patience. I feel sorry for Mrs. Annesley, because I know the trip is harder on her that it is on us, but I am sure she will be able to handle it fine.”

  And so plans were made for the Darcys to leave for London three days hence and for Col. Fitzwilliam to depart for Rosings in the morning. Because he would be going by horse, rather than carriage, he could travel faster. He intended to spend no more than two days at Rosings, so it was anticipated he would arrive at Darcy House no later than one day after the Darcys. In the meantime Darcy intended to send a letter by express to his aunt to tell her his intention of coming to town and to ask for her ideas on how he might arrange a meeting in the near future with Elizabeth.

  Chapter 11: Dinner at Matlock House

  Elizabeth and Margaret were enjoying a cup of tea with Lady Monttard one week and one day from the day Elizabeth had learned about her parentage, and both Margaret and Lady Monttard were amused at Elizabeth’s consternation and disbelief at the number of invitations to balls and tea parties her grandmother had received in the last week which included her. She had understood that, being a granddaughter of a noble, she would be a person of interest, but she had not expected the attention she was getting. For the moment her grandmother was not accepting any invitations until Elizabeth felt more comfortable in her new life role and better understood the implications of her position in society.

  Lady Monttard and Margaret had both warned her that this would happen, but even they were somewhat surprised at the reaction from the ton to the announcement of Elizabeth’s elevation in position. They suspected there had been such a reaction because she had been introduced to and apparently accepted by the Queen within days of her elevation. And somehow everyone seemed to know she and Lady Monttard were invited to a private tea with the Queen on Friday. Even though most knew it was Lady Monttard’s relationship with the Queen which was the primary cause of the invitation, it still reflected well on Elizabeth. Thus everyone wanted to meet with and judge this, what many would call ‘upstart,’ for themselves.

  On the table in front of the three ladies was a pile of the invitations her grandmother had received which included her, and she had agreed they needed to accept some of them. So she had asked that they all go through them and choose which ones they thought she and her grandmother should accept. She was advised by Lady Monttard they must respond to invitations from nobility of equal rank with her families. Thus, if an invitation was received from a duchess, a marchioness, or a countess, they needed to personally respond to it, and if Elizabeth chose not to go, she needed to give the reason she was refusing the invitation. An invitation from a baroness was very dependent on whether she wished to develop a relationship with the lady, because as the granddaughter of an Earl, she could choose not to go even if her grandmother did. And she certainly did not need to accept an invitation if her grandmother did not know the lady. Invitations from nobles of lower rank than her grandparents could be ignored unless her grandmother knew them and wanted to keep their good opinion. And Lady Monttard assured her that most would not be offended by a rejection, because they knew that she did not know them. However once she started meeting people, she would need to determine with whom she wanted to establish relationships and her grandmother would start inviting them to tea.

  Margaret laughed. “I am glad I never had to deal with all this. They have known what I am like for years, and few are seeking my company. To suddenly have it thrust upon me like you have would completely overwhelm me. I think you are being remarkably calm.”

  “Believe me; I am not that calm on the inside. Between the excitement of what has happened to me and my apprehension of what I am supposed to do, I have had some trouble sleeping. Hopefully the furor will die down in the near future, and I can settle down into a more normal life.”

  There was a knock on th
e door, and then the maid entered carrying the latest batch of invitations. She handed them to Lady Monttard who quickly shuffled through them until she came to one that she recognized. “This one is from Lady Matlock. I suspect we will want to accept this one. She puts a note in here it will be a small dinner party of persons we know. It is for Sunday evening. Do you want to go, Lizzie?”

  “Yes, I would enjoy speaking to her again and I expect she may have invited some of your friends from my grandparent’s dinner party.” Looking at Margaret, she said, “In fact, I would even guess that she has invited you and our grandparents.”

  “Very well, then,” responded Lady Monttard, “I will send her back our acceptance, and then we will start going through these piles of invitations to see to which ones we really should respond. Actually I have already put check marks on the outside of those that seem the most reasonable, or who are people with whom I have some acquaintance, so let us get to work.”

  The three of them sat there for over an hour going through invitations and deciding which ones to accept. Of course, there were many conflicts among invitations, so once they chose the ones they planned to accept, they had a good excuse for many of those they did not want to accept: they were already engaged at the time proposed in the invitation. Also, a week from Saturday, the Earl and Countess of Denby were holding a ball to celebrate Elizabeth coming into their family and to introduce her formally to the ton. The week after the ball Lord and Lady Monttard intended to take Elizabeth to Staunton Park, their estate in Devonshire and spend at least a month, if not more, there.

  The visit with the Queen on Friday was exciting for Elizabeth, just because she was able to see the Queen’s private quarters. It was only she and her grandmother and two ladies in waiting that were having tea with the Queen. The Queen had not yet had the full account of Elizabeth’s conception, birth, and first twenty years of life, and she wanted to hear it. She also asked Elizabeth a little bit about herself, and like others, was absolutely amazed at her ability with languages. Lady Monttard had told her about Elizabeth’s ability, but it had not really registered with her until she talked to Elizabeth about it. She told Elizabeth she might request Elizabeth attend some gatherings at the palace which included dignitaries from other lands. Somehow she thought that Elizabeth’s multi-language skills might be of use.