by Don Jacobson
Mary paused at this. She had rarely thought of her youngest sister except when she had received the inevitable letters from the North begging for money. Lydia’s lot in life never really entered her awareness. Lydia always seemed happy, going on about this dance or that party, about this bonnet or that dress. But, Lydia never spoke about her life. She never discussed those quiet spots that filled her days between dawn and dusk when Wickham was drilling with his regiment.
Even though she had been made whole in society’s eyes through her wedding, what if that marriage was hollow? Maybe Lydia’s happiness was nothing more than wallpaper over cracked plaster.
A smile flickered across her face as Mary understood that she was building her future on a foundation of a mutual love with a decent man. She looked up at Elizabeth who had settled back in her chair, one hand resting maternally across her midsection. Here was the perfect picture of how love could complete a person. Wild and witty Lizzy was never as much without Darcy as she was with him. Mary knew in the deepest parts of her being that she, too, would be greater with Edward than as “Mary Alone.”
The Streets of London, June 16, 1815
Edward had chosen the Bingley carriage over borrowing a saddle horse because he feared becoming lost in London’s new grid—at least it was new to him. He had not walked the cobbles of the great city since early 1779. Much had changed since then with shiny new neighborhoods, bustling modern thoroughfares, and several hundred thousand more people. What had not changed was that young gentlemen seeking a young lady’s hand had to beg fathers or uncles for their blessing and then convince brothers of their worthiness to protect their sisters.
The carriage pulled up to the front steps of Darcy House. Benton hopped down as the footman opened the door. Bounding up the front steps, he impatiently waited for the butler to announce him. The three sisters were gathered in the sitting room. Edward crossed to where Mary sat demurely with her sewing on her lap. She clasped his hand.
“Did you see Uncle Edward?”
“Indeed I did! He was quite pleased and gave his blessings. We can be married as soon as the banns are read. We also had a very illuminating conversation about a number of family matters,” Edward reported.
He looked at Lizzy and Jane and continued, “I have notes from Mr. Gardiner for both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley.”
Mary quickly reached down beside her chair to retrieve a large packet. “I, too, have letters—one each for Lizzy and Jane—but they are from Papa.” She quickly responded to the quizzical looks from her sisters by explaining that she had received a large folio from Mr. Philips the day their father’s will had been read in addition to the package Bennet presented her before he expired.
“The only instruction that Papa left for me was that I was not to break the seals on the first package until Mr. Benton returned from Boston. I have opened it and found these.” She handed envelopes to the others.
Lizzy advised Edward that the gentlemen waited in Darcy’s study.
Edward said, “I would like Mary to accompany me and deliver the notes into the hands of the gentlemen. Then I hope that the two of us could have some time alone to catch up on three years of lost moments.”
Mary led the way to the study and knocked on the door.
Darcy and Bingley stood together near the fireplace. Turning as one, the two acknowledged the couple.
Edward had noted something resolute in Mary’s face as she looked at her brothers. Then she firmly gripped his hand and smoothly addressed them.
“Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley—Fitzwilliam and Charles—Edward and I have the happiest of news. Uncle Gardiner has given our betrothal his blessing. He presented Edward with a note for each of you. I understand that he wanted you to read them at once. If you would be so kind…”
Benton handed the letters to them. Both immediately tore into them.
Bingley spoke first, and his news astonished Edward. “Benton, Uncle Gardiner advises me that you have received a rather sizeable bequest—some 3,500 pounds—deposited in your name in the Bennet Family Trust to be invested in Company[xlix] shares or the Three Percents. The benefactor was anonymous, but he did assign me to be trustee.”
Thomas. Brother. You never forgave yourself for becoming the Master of Longbourn in my place.
Mary smiled and said, “So strange, this. Usually the bride brings dowry with her. In this case, it appears that the groom is the wealthy ‘heiress’ so sought after by the ton.”
Edward raked his free hand through his hair. Turning to his fiancée, he replied drawling like a blue-blood Bostonian, “Indeed. Seems you b-ah-t a broken down fahm and discovahed the Coro-naah-tion Coach in the bahn.”
All four adults guffawed at his put-on.
“You have been around Mr. Adams for too many years,” Mary shot back, “but, three and a half thousand pounds…that is a fortune. You…uh, we…could do anything you want.”
Edward looked at Mary’s worried expression. Taking both of her hands in his, and utterly ignoring the other two men, he reassured her, “Do you really believe that because some money has landed in our laps that I would abandon you and my dreams of a life with you by my side?
“Mary Bennet...do not be plagued by self-doubt. I did not ask you to be my wife out of poverty, but rather in the realization that your acceptance would make me wealthy beyond words.
“I am here in this room with you because you are the best of women. Oh, sorry Darcy, Bingley; your Bennet sisters are wonderful women. But, Mary, you are number one.”
Turning to Bingley, he then stated, “I imagine you can direct the investment toward specific future beneficiaries. If that is the case, designate the principal and the proceeds to be divided amongst our daughters for their own specific use—not dowries.”
Both Bingley and Darcy smiled at his declaration relinquishing his fortune. Then Darcy cleared his throat.
“Well, Benton, you may think you are going to take my sister into a life of genteel poverty as the wife of a country parson. But, there is something Charles and I need to mention.
“In our wedding settlements for Lizzy and Jane, we agreed to dower Mary and Kitty to the tune of ten thousand pounds each. Mr. Bennet agreed. So, there it is. It seems that the Benton family is going to start out with two heiresses,” Darcy gibed.
The young couple gaped at the news. Mary sputtered, “But, Jane? Lizzy? They knew?”
Charles chuckled, “Oh they did. Both read those documents like they were perusing a Royal Charter. But, the four of us agreed to keep our counsel because we thought the knowledge would make you nervous—and, if the information had become public, it might have exposed you to fortune-hunters.”
Darcy raised his hand interrupting the silent conference between the two.
“Uncle Gardiner’s letter to me contains a reiteration of a request made to me earlier by another party. He urges Edward to take Holy Orders immediately. I can speak with my godfather, the Archbishop of York, to speed that along.
“Gardiner also urges me to award Edward the Kympton living as soon as it becomes vacant. This echoes a request Lizzy passed on from her father earlier this year.
“Interesting enough, our incumbent vicar gave me six months’ notice late last year. He plans to retire to Bath. Thus, the living is open—and yours if you wish it.
Mary and Edward stared at one another, their faces wreathed in smiles.
Darcy again interjected, “And, now for a moment of mystery, your Uncle says that it would be best if you left for Derbyshire as soon as possible in order to be married from Pemberley. He writes that Lizzy and Jane will understand the reasoning behind this, but I suspect that it has much to do with keeping your Mama and her sister, Mrs. Philips, away from your future husband.”
A discrete knock on the door presaged Lizzy entering the room. With a look that would have done General Fitzwilliam proud, Elizabeth collected the two husbands and ushered them away leaving the lovers alone.
Chapter XXXV
Silence crackled between them as Mary and Edward stood alone for the first time. Each regarded the other with nervous expectation. Edward took Mary’s hand and guided her over to the divan beneath the windows. Settling there, close enough for their knees to touch, they were still for a minute or more. Edward spoke first, a tentative tone coloring his voice.
“Mary, there is something we need to discuss. And, if you decide that you cannot abide by it, I will leave quietly and never bother you again.
“You may recall my tale about my family. I mean the one I told you the night of the fire. That story is a complete fabrication. I am not from the South. My father did not go to school with yours. My name is not Edward Benton—oh it is Edward, just not Benton.”
Mary touched her fingers to his lips, stopping his speech.
“I cannot presume to know your circumstances, but before you continue, I must tell you a truth. Whatever your history, I will not hold it against you. All of us are sinners. What you have done is past. Who are we to do anything but seek to move ahead knowing we have already been forgiven? As Paul wrote:
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace[l]
Edward chuckled at her citation of St. Paul, “Well, I am no axe murderer. Perhaps I am begging you to overlook my falsehoods, which I told to protect you from a knowledge you did not possess. My shame comes from lying to you. I assure you I will never do that again. My fear comes from the impact of that which I will tell you next.”
He took a deep breath and focused on her face.
His words came quickly, like a freshet gushing down from the moors into a loch, “Mary, my name is Edward Bennet. I am your uncle; half-brother to your father Thomas. I was born in 1758 to Samuel and Martha Bennet. T’is my mother’s cross and ring you wear.”
This is what had been nagging her since she first met him. Her mind went back to the night of the Fire and how her feelings had swiftly formed that awful morning. She had known he was not whom he had said was. But, she did not imagine him being what he said he was now. T’was too preposterous; the stuff from which novels were made. Papa’s discussion about the Wardrobe had explained more, although not all. But, it did not matter to her at the time.
And it did not matter to her now.
“You traveled in time. You used the Wardrobe, did you not?” Mary softly asked.
Her complete absence of anger, of any disgust, calmed Edward’s nerves. He nodded and went back to the beginning of his life story, supplying his wife-to-be with a complete biography—his youth, his upbringing by Mary’s Grandmother Lizzie, his time at University, his wishes to answer his Lord’s call, his last night at Longbourn. Throughout his dissertation, Mary held his hands, urging him to open his heart. He dove into her soft brown eyes, losing himself in her caring presence and in the process finding his totality.
As he concluded with his first sight of her at Longbourn, Mary asked, “Did Papa know before you arrived?”
“He knew everything…as did my father. I wrote Thomas and Papa letters the night I departed. But, as with all uses of the Wardrobe, I had no idea of the when I would arrive at. I only realized that I needed to go to a time when I could follow the path I desired. I thank God that I arrived while Thomas still lived,” Edward answered.
Mary leaned back and considered that the concept of time itself was only one of the many aspects that entered into the Wardrobe’s calculation. She blushed when she realized that her presence in the timeline must have drawn him to 1811. The Wardrobe was so attuned to destiny that it read that Edward and she were fated to be together.
Oh, what have we Bennets wrought by bringing this remarkable device into existence? While mortals struggle to divine God’s Plan, the Wardrobe seems to tap right into His great scheme.
The sound of London’s Friday streets faded into the distant background. Neither sensed anything but the electric presence of the other. They leaned together and embraced. Edward’s fingers snaked into her hair, dislodging several pins in the process. Their kisses were frequent and long. Time, such as it was, stood still as they cemented their feelings.
Mary’s womanly body begged her to go further than kisses, her first with any man. Edward’s clean aroma scented with a hint of witch hazel’s lemony zest brought a vibrant puckering sensation in her midriff. The sensitive tips of her breasts rose to where his shirtfront rubbed her chest. His arousal was apparent as well.
All well and good…but not now…later!
She gently pushed against his chest breaking their clinch. He gazed at her swollen lips and flushed cheeks. She could see his pulse throbbing at his temple. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek with her hand.
“Slow now. We must not anticipate ourselves, especially since we must set the example for our flock,” she gently chided, “Besides our conversation is not yet finished.”
Edward gulped and sought to regulate himself in order to regain his composure. While he had been with women before, he had never been with one who affected him in this manner. Not trusting himself to sit beside her, he rose and began to pace slowly in front of her.
“Edward. Do stop, my love. There is nothing of which we can now speak that will pose any barrier. Please sit,” Mary asked. He settled back into his seat but avoided any physical contact with the focus of his desire.
She continued, “Edward, we need to look to the future. There are practicalities we must discuss. You have your plans to be a parish priest and to help the people prosper and find happiness in the Lord. I will be with you every step of the way, as good a parson’s wife as any could be.
“And, I have spent several years considering my calling. There is much to do if we are to raise our society into the modern age. Whether t’is the final ending of the slave trade, relieving the pain of families in our cities, or fighting for the rights of poor men and women to vote for their leaders, I plan to use my voice to demand what is right.”
This, Edward reflected, put them on the same page. Yet, with her pause and with her earnest look, he knew Mary had only touched on her public sphere. Next was home.
“But, I, like my sisters and as a woman, want to have my own household. I want to hear the sound of children throughout the Kympton vicarage.
“You have probably not considered the rules of the Wardrobe in nearly forty years. However, I have been the Keeper for a short while and those rules are fresh in my mind.
“I need to remind you that since you are a male Bennet travelling into the future, you cannot sire children in that future.
“Hold, now, be still, my love. Do not worry.”
Edward had jolted upright at her words, remembering all that his father had spoken that day now so long ago. A rush of concern crossed his face. He feared that she would end it all because he could not fulfill her dreams of motherhood. Mary quickly continued.
“All that means, Edward, is that we will not raise any time travelers. It does not mean that we will not parent little ones. Consider my mother with Eddie and my Aunt Philips with Maureen.
“They chose their babes as we will. We will love those children as they love their sweet ones. You must recall that the ancient Romans frequently adopted young men into their families. Julius Caesar himself adopted the great Augustus. Who knows whom our sons will become?
“I will never lament not increasing with your child inside of me. If anything, I will rejoice in the knowledge that we may share our marriage bed without fear of early loss until the day our Father calls one of us home at our appointed time.”
She reached out and gathered him into her arms, holding his head to her breast.
Georgiana descended the stairs, surprised that, while the doors to her brother’s study were closed, she could hear his baritone rumble from the parlor. Curious, she walked in to that room discover the two married couples gathered around a tea tray.
“Brother, Mr. Bingley, Jane, Lizzy…where is Mary? I checked her
chambers and the music room. We were going to play duets this afternoon before dinner.”
Upon learning that Edward and Mary were closeted in the study, Georgiana settled into a chair and joined the conversation. Now aged one-and-twenty, Miss Darcy had blossomed into a full-blown beauty, a darling of the ton, and the target of many a young buck trolling for a wealthy wife. She had participated in the Season—but just the first one after coming out: likely to appease her aunts. Since then, conversations with her sisters revealed that marriage held little interest for her. Lizzy suspected that Georgiana had never recovered from the shock of Wickham’s betrayal of her love and trust.
What did captivate Georgiana were the arts and world affairs.
“I overheard the servants talking just now,” Georgiana interjected, “and they were saying that our armies have been fencing with Napoleon in Flanders. According to some, the Duke has hurt the Beast at some place called Quatre Bras. Others say we were routed because the Dutch collapsed. Have you heard anything? I do hope Richard is all right.”
Darcy glanced at Lizzy who replied with a nod.
“We did receive an express earlier today. All your cousin wrote was that Wellington expected some sort of decisive action before Monday. He said nothing specific. But, then again, I am surprised Richard sent anything at all because of security. I imagine he wanted us to know he was unharmed.”
The doors to the study opened. Mary and Edward crossed the hall. Those in the parlor could not help but notice the glow that haloed the pair. Edward seated Mary on the settee and appropriated two cups of tea from Lizzy. With the family circle now complete, talk of the war resumed until it was time to rise and change for dinner.
Chapter XXXVI
Wednesday June 21, 1815
On Sunday the 18th, Edward had joined Mary and the Darcy family for church services. The day was glorious. The rain had passed leaving behind clean air perfumed by Grosvenor’s summer gardens. The adults took the children for a walk through the park. Later, multiple carriages bore all to a celebratory dinner at the Gardiner’s home in Cheapside. Little did they realize that the fate of their world was being decided as they strolled and ate and, later, slept.