An Unexpected Legacy

by Don Miller

  At 8:20 PM an impeccably dressed and worried Mr. Darcy knocked on the door of Dumont House. The butler showed him into Lord Monttard’s study, where Lord Monttard stood looking out the window. When Darcy entered, Lord Monttard strode over to him, welcomed him, shook his hand, and enjoying his role immensely, said, very seriously, “I have some urgent news about my granddaughter I thought you need to know.”

  Darcy paled. “Has something happened to her? Can I see her?”

  Still serious, Lord Monttard said, “I have been told you had been the cause of a great amount of uncertainty in my granddaughter’s life. You have provoked feelings in her which she has not had to deal with in her earlier life. This has been a source of great consternation to her and, therefore, also a source of great consternation to me. Would you care to explain this to me, Mr. Darcy?”

  Darcy did not know what to say. “I am not sure how to answer you, my Lord. Could you be a little more specific? And may I ask why it is so urgent?”

  Lord Monttard could contain himself no longer, and a big smile broke out on his face. “As a matter of fact, son, you can. Please wait here a moment.” And a moment later, Lord Monttard led a smiling Elizabeth into the room, and said, “Now I expect proper decorum out of you two,” and left the room.

  Darcy was dumbfounded and was not sure what to do. Taking pity on him, Elizabeth said, “My grandfather was enjoying the drama of all this. Would you please sit down on the couch with me?”

  Suddenly Darcy had an inkling of what might be happening. “I am almost afraid to ask, but I am imagining a most wonderful thing.”

  Elizabeth reached over and took his hand in hers. “Yes and No. I told my grandparents tonight that if I am to marry anyone, I want it to be you. But I also told them I am still not sure it is the best thing for us to do. I need to talk to you more about it. But, after our talk this afternoon, are you still sure that you want to marry me?”

  He hesitated a moment and then arose and knelt in front of her. “Elizabeth Dumont, would you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage and be with me for the rest of our lives.”

  With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth said, “William, I take that as a yes. I realized today I have more than just affection for you. I love you, and I cannot imagine spending the rest of my life with another man but you. Nevertheless, despite our talk yesterday, I am still worried about how we can possibly work out our life so we can manage the trips and training I need to take with my grandfather, managing all of your estates and eventually the shipping line, and raising a family. I want children and want us both to take an active part in raising them. It is suddenly looking like an overwhelming endeavor to me. I love and want to marry you, but I will feel terrible if I cannot keep my promise to my grandfather and eventually turn a vibrant shipping line over to one of our sons.”

  Darcy was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then said, “Elizabeth, the continued success of any estate very much depends on the steward you hire to run it. I have three estates, all of which are doing well, and two of which I have not seen in years. I could maybe make one perform successfully on my own if I spent my full time on it, but with a good steward, it can perform successfully with just some minor oversight by me. The oversight is important, but not constant, and clearly for my estates in Scotland and Ireland, it is very slight. I would think the same principle would work for the shipping line. We just have to find good stewards, that is, managers, who know the shipping business and whom we can learn to trust to make it successful with only minor oversight. I know your grandfather spends much time overseeing his empire, and it continues to grow. We might not be able to do what he does. We would just have to make sure it does not shrink too much, but I think that it can be done. And we have time to learn. I know your grandfather is in his middle 60’s, but still, this whole problem of us running the line may be many years in the future.”

  She stood, pulled him up off his knee, put her arms around him, and buried her head in his chest. “There is nothing more I want in the world right now than to marry you. If grandfather lives for many more years, I am sure you and I will be the happiest couple in the world.”

  Then she stepped back from him, keeping hold of his hands. Looking in his eyes, she continued, “But if he should die soon, I worry. I want you to be happy, and you deserve a wife who spends most of her time taking care of you and raising your children, and if he dies soon, I believe great stress could be put on our marriage. I know I will not be able to take the easy way out and just turn everything over to managers, even if I have utmost confidence in those managers. I am afraid that keeping the Dumont legacy alive might become somewhat of an obsession with me. I realized today how much I care for you, how much I love you, and the thought that my obsession could drive you away to another woman scares me to death. I am not one of these women of the ton who can look the other way at their husband’s transgressions. It would break my heart.”

  “Lizzie, I know they say that there are no guarantees in life, but I will guarantee you that you will always have my love. Do we want to pass up this opportunity for possibly many years of sure happiness for fear that we may have some unhappiness in the future? I know you and your good heart and your intelligence, and no matter how obsessed you get, I know you would somehow manage to do what is needed to serve your family and your legacy. And have you not seen what having you in my life has done to me and Georgiana? You worry about whether I can adapt. I have changed more in the last few months, than in the five years just preceding these months, and it is all your doing. We will adapt, and we will work it out. I have thought about it, Elizabeth. How could I not, after our conversation in the Park today? I am convinced that whatever happens, Elizabeth, we can do it better together than apart. Actually, with you beside me, I feel like I can do anything.”

  Taking his face in her hands, she said, “Thank you and I do love you.” And she leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. But that did not satisfy Darcy. He stood up, lifted her up, swung her around and then gave her a very lingering kiss, which took both of their breaths away. Finally Elizabeth moved her lips away from his and buried her head in his chest again, wrapping her arms around him.

  “I am sorry I have been such a fool William. You were right, I have been attracted to you from the start, and I suspect I started loving you at Netherfield. But I did not believe I could ever have you, so I built up my defenses the best way I knew how. But my grandmother helped me tear them down this morning, and there is no uncertainly now. And once I knew, I knew I could not wait to talk with you. I do not want any other man even thinking of me as a potential mate. I want the world to know I am yours and you are mine and nothing is ever going to separate us. I want our engagement announced at the ball. Do you mind?”

  He picked her up and swung her around again, kissing the top of her head. “Are you joking? I feel like running out into the street and yelling to everyone you are going to be my wife. I guess I can assume from you grandfather’s role in this subterfuge that he approves of our engagement.”

  “They both do, and I believe they would like us to join them in the family parlor. Give me another one of those lovely kisses, and we will go see them.”

  Five minutes later they entered the parlor, holding hands. Elizabeth knew it was not quite proper behavior, but she did not care and she doubted her grandparents did. Her grandparents just smiled at them, and then Lord Monttard said to Elizabeth, “Did he give you any problem? Did he resist?”

  Darcy smiled and answered, “Luckily, she caught me when my resistance was low, and my normal tendency to consider every possible consequence before proceeding, for some reason, did not appear. My Lord, may I formally ask your approval and blessing of my request for your granddaughter’s hand in marriage.”

  “You may, and it is gladly given. I suppose that sometime in the next couple of days we should get together with our solicitors to discuss the settlement.”

  “I agree, my Lord, but I should warn you I have a
lready talked to my solicitors about it and they have a draft ready for your examination, modification, and approval.”

  Elizabeth looked at him in some amazement and punched him lightly in the side. “So you were sure that I would come around after our walk yesterday?”

  “No, but you at least said there was a chance and in my state of mind, that was all it took to get things ready, just in case. In fact, now that I have the approval of your grandparents, may I ask you to wear this?” And he took from his pocket a small jewel box, which he opened. She gasped as she looked at the gorgeous diamond and emerald ring encased in the box. He took it out, put the box back in his pocket, and taking her hand, he said, placing the ring on her finger, “This was my mother’s and on her deathbed she told me that one day she wanted me to give it to the wonderful woman whom I would choose to be my wife. I was in despair for years I would never find that woman, but after I met you, even as I denied that you could ever by my wife, I have kept it with me wherever I go.”

  “Oh, William, it is so lovely I am almost afraid to wear it,” and totally shocking her grandparents, she gave Darcy a brief kiss and walked over to show them the ring. “Elizabeth,” her grandmother chided her, “I hope you will restrain yourself from those displays of affection when you are not alone with your husband.”

  “We will try, Grandmere. It just seemed the perfect response, and think of the honor he did you by sharing his giving me the ring in this family setting. I hope that the four of us and eventually Georgiana and our children, when we are alone together, can always share our affections with each other.”

  “And now,” said Lord Monttard, “it is time for us to be off to bed and for Mr. Darcy to depart. I know you have much to say to each other, but I must insist it be tomorrow morning. I trust we can expect you around 9 AM to discuss settlements, marriage dates, and travel plans. I assume that you, Mr. Darcy, will inform Lord and Lady Matlock and, of course, your sister about the engagement. We will send a note to the newspapers to be published Sunday morning. I will also send a note to Lord and Lady Denby and talk to them about announcing your engagement at the ball on Saturday.”

  Chapter 14: Announcements

  Darcy was up early to write to Lord and Lady Matlock asking if he and Georgiana and a friend could have dinner with them that evening because he needed to talk to them about a topic of great importance. When Elizabeth had walked him to the door the evening before, he asked if she could go to Matlock House with him and Georgiana the next afternoon. She and her grandparents had agreed, but insisted she first had to go to Denby House and inform her other grandparents of her engagement. So Darcy had proposed he pursue having dinner at Matlock House, which should give Elizabeth and her Monttard grandparents plenty of time to spend with her Denby grandparents in the afternoon.

  Georgiana had been so excited and pleased with her brother’s news when he returned, she had begged him to allow her to accompany him to Monttard House the following day. She wanted to be there when they planned when the wedding would be and when she could expect to see Elizabeth at Pemberley. Because she had not been explicitly invited, Darcy was reluctant to take her, but in the end gave into her demands, knowing they would not refuse her once she was there. When they arrived at Monttard House, they were both warmly greeted and Elizabeth said, “I am so glad you came, Georgiana. I told my grandmother you would want to come and regretted not asking William to bring you. I see he anticipated my oversight and corrected it.”

  After greeting everyone Georgiana hugged Elizabeth and told her she was just as happy as her brother about their engagement. “You know how I told you I was dreading my coming out Season? I do not dread it anymore. In fact, I am actually looking forward to it with you to help and encourage me.”

  After a few more minutes of pleasant conversation, Lord Monttard said to Darcy, “I think it is about time we get to the legal matters. Would you join me in my study?” At which suggestion Elizabeth stated, “I know it is not usually done, but I would very much like to be in that discussion. I believe much of it will be about me and my inheritance, and I would like to be involved in whatever agreement is reached.”

  Darcy did not know whether he should be upset because she might not trust him to do what was best for her or happy that she wanted to know about such details. Then remembering their discussion about it being a partnership, he decided it was only her desire to be a part of the process, not a matter of trust, and looked at Lord Monttard, saying he would give his assent if Lord Monttard would. Never one to deny his granddaughter in such matters, Lord Monttard gave his assent, and the three of them went off to his library, leaving Georgiana and Lady Monttard to talk about weddings, travel, and the upcoming ball, which Georgiana, because she was not yet out, would not be attending.

  Elizabeth had not talked to her grandfather about the settlement, so was astounded when he told Darcy that he would be providing a £50,000 dowry. “That is enormous, Grandpere.” Kissing his cheek, she said, “Are you sure that I am worth that much?” Her grandfather, with a twinkle in his eye, said she probably was not, but maintaining his status within the community required it. Darcy thanked Lord Monttard for his generosity and said he planned to give Elizabeth a generous amount to cover her expenses and the expenses of maintaining their five households.

  At Elizabeth’s questioning five households, he told her that besides the estates in Northern Ireland and Scotland about which she knew, he also had a small lodge in the Lakes region which was a wonderful place to visit in the summer and that he often leased it to those who could afford it in the summer. A couple acted as caretaker and housekeeper all year round and hired more staff in the summer to serve anyone who leased the place. His estate in Northern Ireland he had not seen since his father was alive. At the moment management of the estate was done entirely by mail, although he had brought the steward of the estate to Pemberley a year after he inherited so that he could speak with the man about the estate and what it contained. They were raising primarily horses and sheep on the estate. One of the things he wanted to do with Elizabeth on their wedding trip was to travel to Ireland to see the estate and spend some time there. He also said the estate in Scotland, which primarily raised sheep and which was near the west coast, had been leased to a local gentleman for over ten years, but before that, when his mother had been alive, his parents had enjoyed going there in the summers and had taken him as a youth. After his mother died, his father never returned. Darcy thought Elizabeth might enjoy visiting that estate on their wedding trip also.

  When the discussion came around to Elizabeth’s inheritance, her grandfather told her what he had told Darcy some days ago: she was his sole heir and he wanted her to have complete control over the assets he willed to her. He had come to like and trust Darcy, but still, he wanted control of those assets to remain in Dumont hands, and he wanted the Dumont name to stay on the shipping line. He hoped one of his great-grandsons, assuming he was lucky enough to have some, would someday take over the line. And then looking pointedly at Elizabeth and smiling, he told her that, of course, it could be a great-granddaughter as well. Finally he said that he would like to make Elizabeth a partner in the shipping line before his death and would thus be providing her and her husband additional income of at least £10,000 per year and possibly more.

  This time both Darcy and she were stunned. They knew that the Dumonts were rich, but this was beyond what they had imagined. When Lord Monttard saw their expressions, he laughed and told them that they should be prepared to be the richest couple in England, because their liquid and physical assets should eventually total more than two million pounds. At this point, even he was not sure how much more because he had not spoken to his chief accountant in over a month. He had assets in England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, as well as Bermuda, Canada, the United States, a couple of islands in the Caribbean, and even India. These were primarily warehouses and docks where the Dumont Shipping Line loaded and unloaded his merchant fleet of over thirty majo
r ships and several smaller coastal trawlers used primarily in the British Isles, and in times of peace, to ship across the Channel to France. He did mention with sadness that he no longer had any property in his ancestral country, France.

  Elizabeth asked him about Lady Monttard, should he die first, and Lord Monttard said the will stated that she should have the use of Staunton Park and Dumont House as long as she wanted them, and that she would have a trust fund of £200,000 at her disposal until her death, at which time it would all revert to Elizabeth. However, he hoped, that if he should die first, Elizabeth and Darcy would take her into their home to live with them, to which, of course, they were happy to agree.

  As they left the library Darcy thought how ironic it was that he had at first rejected any idea of attaching himself to Elizabeth because of her family and her lack of wealth. Yet, here he was, entering into a marriage with someone whose family was even wealthier than his, a situation he would never have dreamed being possible. He could understand Lord Monttard’s concern about his legacy and hoped he and Elizabeth could keep that legacy alive through their sons or daughters.

  In the discussion about the wedding, Lord Monttard expected to hear that Elizabeth and Darcy wanted to marry soon and that Darcy wanted to accompany Elizabeth as she was learning all about the shipping line. Before the marriage was an issue, Lord Monttard had thought his granddaughter would stay at Staunton Park with them for at least a month, visiting with him some of his holdings in Devonshire and Cornwall. Then he and she would spend at least six weeks traveling around England and Scotland to visit some of his offices and warehouses. He had intended to take her to Ireland and to Canada and the United States as well, which would require lengthy voyages, taking another three or four months. Of course, trips to Spain, Portugal, and Italy, were certainly too dangerous with England still at war with France. And even Lord Monttard had never travelled to India to see the properties he owned in partnership with others.