Previous Section, Section IV, Next Section

Chapter 12

Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Although the Fitzwilliam townhouse usually remained in readiness, the entire house spent Wednesday in busy preparation for the arrival of the first guests, so much so that Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam found herself unable to make her call on Darcy as she had hoped. Due to certain guest's particular requirements, a number of changes needed completion in order to accommodate said guest and the comfort of the others.

By late afternoon, Edmund and Elizabeth Fitzwilliam and Richard exited the house when they saw a carriage approaching. When it came to a halt, they waited for them to exit the vehicle to greet them. As soon as a footman opened the door, a little blond haired girl flew out of the carriage and flung her arms around Richard's waist.

"Oh, Uncle Richard! It is so good to see you! I so dreaded coming when Mama and Papa told us that Aunt Catherine was to be here, but I knew it would be so much better when they added you would be here too." The little girl continued to rattle off all the reasons she was so glad to see him while her grinning father exited the carriage and helped down his five-year-old son. No sooner than his feet touched the ground, the little boy ran to his uncle, attaching himself to his uncle's leg.

Next, Charles Fitzwilliam, who looked much like his mother except for his height and eyes, took his little one-year-old daughter from his wife and handed her to his mother who impatiently reached out to hold her youngest grand-child. Finally, Alice Fitzwilliam, a beautiful blond-haired woman with dark blue eyes, stepped down with her husband's help. They shared an amused look at Richard's mixed expression of joy in seeing his nieces and nephew and a trapped look.

When the little girl finally stopped for a breath of air, Richard grabbed the opportunity to get a word in edgewise. "I am glad to see you too, Eva, but could you possibly let go long enough for me to properly greet your brother and sister? I promise we will spend time talking later, alright?"

The little girl blushed in embarrassment and stepped back but was happy in the knowledge that she could spend time with her favorite uncle later.

Richard reached down and detached the little boy from his leg and picked him up. "So, how's my favorite nephew?"

"Happy to see you." With that he flung his arms around his uncle's neck and hung on.

Richard smiled, and after talking a little put the boy down and went over to greet his brother and sister-in-law who had spent their time divided between talking with their parents and glancing at him and the children in amusement.

"Charles, it is good to see you."

"It is good to see you too. We missed you the last time we came home. It seems that our visits have not coincided well."

"No they have not, and I doubt this one will be long either."

"Yes, I know there is something you want to announce. Could it be that some young lady has finally attracted your attention enough to think of marriage?"

At this, his wife interrupted, "Now Charles, I highly doubt it has anything to do with marriage for your brother. I have a feeling that whatever this announcement is, it will surprise us more than a marriage announcement ever would. Am I correct brother?"

"Indeed you are, Alice. We found it quite shocking ourselves when we first learned of it."

"So you know what it is. Why do you not tell us?"

"You will have to wait, we want to tell everyone all at once. It will be easier that way. Aunt Catherine will be there, as well as Anne. Darcy and Georgiana will also attend and so will Mr. Bingley."

"Mr. Bingley? Is not he some friend of Darcy's? He is no relation to us so why is he coming?"

"He is coming because we asked him to attend especially as we believe that this news will have some bearing on himself, though not in the same way it affects us. Anyway, it is not necessary to discuss this right now. Let us all go in and you can refresh yourselves from your journey and then we can all spend a nice evening together." Elizabeth Fitzwilliam announced as she started for the door carrying her youngest grand-child.

"Mama, are you ever going to let me hold my little niece?" Richard called after her. She stopped for a moment as she glanced back over her shoulder with a grin.

"Not likely. I have not had much chance to hold little Constance Elizabeth and I intend to hold her while I have a chance."

A burst of laughter escaped the group at Richard's annoyed expression. As they all turned to enter the house, Alice Fitzwilliam leaned down taking little James Edmund's hand so that he would walk in with her. Amusement spread throughout the party when the little blond-haired Evangeline Anne again attached herself to her uncle by grabbing his hand when they walked in.

That evening, the Fitzwilliam family spent a pleasant evening enjoying simply being together again. Evangeline tried to monopolize her uncle's attention; however, she was eventually forced to share his attention. Little James took up residence in his uncle's lap after dinner only to be taken to the nursery a few minutes later as he had fallen sound asleep. Richard delighted in the opportunity he found to hold little Constance before her mother took her to join her brother.

After Evangeline left for the nursery sometime later, the rest of the Fitzwilliams relaxed and talked over many things since the last time they were together. One of these things included little Constance's learning to run which delighted them all. Charles Fitzwilliam continued to tease his brother by stating that his certainty of the announcement being one of matrimony. His exasperated wife continued to disagree and state the opposite while everyone else looked on at the friendly disagreement between the young couple.

Chapter 13

Although the Fitzwilliams enjoyed laughing and talking together throughout Thursday morning, the children grew dejected at their Uncle's plans to leave. Only when he told them he had to rescue cousin Darcy from the clutches of Aunt Catherine did they cheer up. The two elder children giggled at this, but little Constance began to tear up at hearing her great-Aunt's name again.

Meanwhile, the Darcy Townhouse was in a state of trepidation. Darcy and Georgiana sat down to a silent breakfast, neither in the mood to speak. The servants who brought the food felt the tension not only from the Darcy siblings, but from the Housekeeper, Mrs. White who had them working hard preparing everything for the aftermath of the inevitable visit by Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She had been with the family since Darcy was seven years old and remembered the lecture the elder Mr. Darcy had given her regarding his sister-in-law. She always knew to prepare anything comforting from favorite foods to special teas, setting out certain books or music and so on when she knew there was to be an encounter with said Lady. Ever since the yearly visits to Rosings had started1 , she had been preparing these things for the family, or in recent years just for Mr. Darcy on his return.

She felt saddened to see this family she respected so much, so tense from an unwanted visit by a relative. Shaking her head, she left them to breakfast.

As breakfast finished with both plates remaining relatively untouched, Georgiana turned to her brother, "Fitzwilliam, what do I do? I know Aunt Catherine will want me to spend time with her and she will find something else wrong with me, I know she will. I am afraid she will find out about . . . about last summer. 2 "

Looking at his sister's face, he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. Reaching over he took her hand, "Georgiana, please do not worry. I will not let her find out nor criticize you. In fact, you are not even going to be here this afternoon."

Confusion filled her eyes, "But where can I go? I certainly cannot go to Aunt and Uncle Fitzwilliams' as she will be going there to stay eventually, I hope."

"No, not there, but I will send you to Mr. and Mrs. Knightley3 . As you know Mrs. Knightley's sister is Aunt Fitzwilliam's God-daughter and they agreed to provide a haven for you for the day3. They have even offered to have you stay the entire duration of our Aunt's visit should we fail to convince her to stay at our Uncle's house. It would mean Richard or I would have to tell you the news later, but it is worth it."

"But I do not really know them."

"Georgiana, I know these people very well. I went to school with Mr. John Knightly and while he is somewhat formal4, he is a very trustworthy gentleman. His family is very friendly and nice. They have several children3 who I think you will like immensely. Actually, the Knightley's remain one of the few families whose society I feel comfortable in. You know how rare that is."

"Thank you, brother. That is certainly a high recommendation. I only feel like I will be imposing."

"Georgiana, they do not mind in the least. They understand the situation and as good friends, they want to help."

She sighed, "Oh, I am sure they are wonderful people especially since you think so well of them. It is only difficult to talk to them and generally be comfortable with them until I know them better5. Still, if my discomfort at new acquaintances is easier and more pleasant than to stay here with Aunt Catherine." Pausing, she bit her lip before looking up at her brother, "Why does she always find fault with my playing? 6 I practice very hard, and my music master told me I could not do better on some of the very pieces she criticized."

"I honestly do not know why, but I find that she likes everything done a certain way. The best way to deal with her is to simply listen to what she says and then ignore it. If you voice disagreement with her, she will only become argumentative until you agree with her opinion."

"It still hurts though."

"Of course it does, but you can prevent further hurt later. It will be impossible, though, for us to avoid all confrontation with our Aunt." This turn in the conversation brought to mind the one subject guaranteed to cause an explosion for his Aunt. He grimaced as he considered the inevitability of another such altercation7.

Noticing her brother's sudden preoccupation, Georgiana immediately realized what bothered him. She reached out and put her hand over his, "I wish there was someway we could both avoid facing our Aunt. She makes so many demands of you. I feel like a weakling for running away like this." Tears welled up in her eyes as she lowered her head and realized what her absence would cause for her brother.

Gently lifting her head with his finger, he looked into her face. "Now, now, Georgiana, it is alright. I have had a great deal more practice in dealing with our Aunt than you have and knowing that you are safe and free from the pain of our Aunt's first visit makes it all the easier to endure."

Sniffing, she smiled, nodded and lowered her head again. Drying her eyes with her handkerchief, she smiled more brightly. "I guess I will have to go have some of my clothes packed just in case our Aunt proves not persuadable."

"Actually, I already asked your maid to handle everything since there is little time left before our Aunt's arrival and you know how likely it is for her to arrive early."

Georgiana slouched in her seat at that. "How long until the carriage is ready to take me to the Knightleys'?"

After an hour, Miss Georgiana Darcy found herself standing by the front door waiting to say farewell to her brother for however long this parting would last. Her trunk was already loaded in the carriage and her brother had instructed the coachman and footman to remain at the Knightley's until they received word. If Lady Catherine would not leave the Darcy Townhouse, they would unload her trunk before returning.

As she stood there wondering where her brother had disappeared to, the front door began to open. Fearing that Lady Catherine had indeed broken her own record and arrived earlier than she ever had, she froze.

When the door opened fully, it revealed the smiling face of her cousin Richard. Letting out a relieved sigh, she ran to her cousin and threw her arms around him. Astonished at her reaction despite his increased immunity to such outbursts by his week with his sisters, he simply held her and waited for her to tell him what was wrong. However, he grew bewildered as he listened to her laugh.

Before he could say anything, Darcy walked in and raised an eyebrow at the scene, "What is so funny?"

Richard shrugged as much as he could while holding his cousin, "Do not ask me, Darcy. Ask your sister. She seemed a little upset when I walked in, but then ran over, hugged me and started laughing."

Finally releasing her cousin, Georgiana stepped back with a smile, "For a moment, I thought it was Aunt Catherine, but when the door opened fully and I saw you, cousin, I simply could not help my relief turning into laughter. I felt so ridiculous, the laughter just would not stop."

Equally nervous as she about dealing with Lady Catherine de Bourgh, they both laughed with her.

A few minutes later, the gentlemen saw Georgiana off and retired to Darcy's study to await their Aunt's arrival. They did not have to wait long.

Each heard the distinctive approach of their Aunt as she was led to Darcy's study. Her non-stop appraisal of the house and how it needed a woman's touch7 caused the two cousins to share an annoyed although resigned look.

"Ah, Darcy, there you are. Why were you not out front to meet me upon my arrival? That is hardly proper nephew."

"You were not expected for another two hours, Aunt . . ."

"Nevertheless, you should have been prepared. Also, where is dear Georgiana? I have not seen her in so long. Darcy, she should be here to meet her Aunt, not lollygagging away at some frivolous pursuit."

Swallowing his irritation at his Aunt's unfeeling comments, he responded as calmly as possible, "My sister is visiting friends, Aunt."

Before he could continue, Lady Catherine interrupted, "Really! Darcy, this just goes to show that she needs a woman's influence in her life. You are not raising her to be a dutiful young woman as she ought to be. She should have been here to greet her Aunt rather than running off paying calls that should have been done at another time. Decent friends would understand the need to pay one's duty to one's family and defer the visit to another time."

She trailed off as she noted her other nephew's presence. Although she wished to continue in the same vein for some while, she could not but acknowledge her other nephew.

"Good day, Colonel Fitzwilliam. What are you doing here?"

Richard grimaced at his Aunt's dismissive manner of address, which went unnoticed by that same lady. "It is good to see you again so soon, Aunt."

"As it is you nephew, but you have not answered my question."

"And might I add, Aunt, that my mother might feel it a little amiss that you called on Darcy before greeting her at her home and allowing the servants time to move your things to the rooms she has prepared for you and Anne."

"Nonsense, I was to stay here at Darcy's Townhouse! Besides, I am sure your mother will have enough to handle with your brother's family there. Charles' children are so poorly behaved, I do not know why your brother does not discipline them properly. Moreover, the children's noisiness will disturb my Anne's rest. I would not have dreamed of bringing her if my brother had not insisted on it. Anne is so delicate that any trip such as this tires her greatly6&8. Ah, if only she had been healthier, she would have been especially pretty after any journey, would she not, Darcy6?"

Darcy's response sounded much more like clearing one's throat rather than an affirmation; however, Richard easily noted the strained look on his face. His cousin never wished to insult their cousin Anne but at the same time he did not wish to encourage his Aunt's beliefs in their future union. Deciding to end the situation before it got too out of hand, Richard intervened.

"Hardly, the house is plenty large enough for more guests. Every possible convenience has been already prepared for you and Anne. In fact, my brother and his family have taken the old blue rooms and the adjoining green room has been turned into a nursery. Those are quite on the opposite side from yours and Anne's rooms. So any boisterousness will not disturb Anne's rest or yours for that matter."

"The old blue rooms! Those are hardly fit to be seen let alone lived in. Why . . ."

"Aunt, the rooms have been thoroughly cleaned and completely livable if not decorated to current fashions. Both Charles and Alice find it quite acceptable. Besides, my mother will be most put out if you do not come after all the work she has done and that would upset my father as you well know."

Lady Catherine mentally weighed the odds. She did not want to risk her brother's ire at the same time she desperately wanted to stay at Darcy's so that Anne could have some opportunity to adjust to her future position7 and she could oversee Georgiana's progress and make the changes Darcy refused to do. In the end, staying in her brother's good favour won.

"I suppose you are correct, nephew. However, I am extremely put out that Anne has had no opportunity to see more of her future home7. As it is, I will go on to my brother's home as Anne needs her rest after such a fatiguing journey." Turning a severe glare on her favorite nephew, "However, I expect that you will entertain a visit from Anne and myself before we return home." After punctuating her meaning with another severe look, she turned and headed back for her carriage.

Darcy sighed in relief that his Aunt left and that he did not have to consent to the future visit. Both gentleman felt the tension dissipate as their Aunt left, but both dreaded the upcoming confrontation that was bound to happen.

Chapter 14

With curiosity mounting throughout Thursday evening, the day for the big announcement came in a rain storm. The Fitzwilliams and Richard felt the gloomy atmosphere more than anyone.

From the moment Lady Catherine set foot in the house, she found something not to her liking and dispensed with much unwanted advice9. This annoyed everyone on the receiving end as no one had yet discovered a means in which to inform said Lady of the undesirability of her advice. Lady Catherine's foul mood at her failure to procure a means to stay at Darcy's home only made the situation worse as she took out her ire on everyone, especially the servants. One maid, who only started working for them a week prior, was reduced to tears. The Earl even bore the brunt of his sister's tirade over his invitation to Mr. Bingley. However, no matter how demanding she became, the Earl refused to budge. Finally, in exasperation, Lady Catherine returned to her rooms asking not to be disturbed much to the relief of everyone in the house.

Charles and Alice Fitzwilliam felt distinct relief at her retreat as their Aunt had paid particular attention to them by renewing her parenting lecture from their last visit. The Fitzwilliams found one bright spot in that they managed to avoid subjecting their children to her criticisms. When not with their Aunt, they tried to keep their children occupied as much as possible as the downpour outside prevented the energetic children from their usual outdoor pursuits.

The rain finally eased to a steady drizzle only an hour before dinner. Soon, the Darcy's and Bingley arrived and the meal began.

Richard proved as good as his word. When the party went to the dining room, he escorted Lady Catherine to her seat by her brother quite at the other end of the table from Darcy and Georgiana. Her sour expression declared her displeasure at this fact quite clearly. On the other hand, the traces of relief in Georgiana and Darcy's faces showed their complete approval of the seating plan.

Still, not everyone was entirely pleased with this arrangement. Regardless of the fact that it was he who decided that his sister should sit by him so that he might take the brunt of her reaction, the Earl grimaced internally at having to converse with her all evening.

As relieved as Darcy felt over his sister's placement next to their Aunt Fitzwilliam and himself with Richard seated right across from her, he could not help but pity his friend. Due to the struggles to place Georgiana away from Lady Catherine, Bingley was unfortunately placed right across from Anne putting him close enough to Lady Catherine to be the recipient of her interrogation. As Darcy observed the interaction, he noticed that even his mild-mannered friend struggled to find patience and kindness in the face of such ill-behaviour displayed in her critical remarks. However, Alice Fitzwilliam, ever the diplomat of the family and despite the placement of Anne between her and her husband's Aunt pulled Lady Catherine away from time to time so that Bingley could find a much needed a respite.

Eventually, as each course disappeared, the time came closer to reveal Richard's real family. After everyone finished the desert, Lord Fitzwilliam stood up to make the announcement.

"Ahem. It is time you all learn exactly why you are here." Everyone fell silent and turned to watch the Earl. Even Lady Catherine remained quiet. "A couple of weeks ago, a situation was brought to my attention. I discovered that twenty-eight years ago my son was still- born and was switched with another family's son."

The only sound that filled the room was Lady Catherine's shattering wine glass as she dropped it. Her mouth hung agape. Words seemed to fail her as she closed her mouth and pursed her lips. While she was thus immobilized from shock and fury, the other members of the company suffered their own shock.

Darcy's expression was a mixture of confusion and relief. However, he brushed his shock aside when he saw his sister's trembling. He reached over, and squeezed her hand to reassure her.

Charles Fitzwilliam could only look at the man he called a brother all his life in shock unable to comprehend the change. His wife, however, overcame her own surprise enough to shoot a smug look at her husband at having been right.

The news even caused the normally complacent Anne to start. Her eyes widened as she looked at her cousin. Hurriedly blinking tears away, she turned her head back to her plate while taking a number of deep breaths to calm herself.

The only one, besides the ones who already knew, to remain relatively clam was Mr. Bingley who frowned as he put the pieces together in his mind.

Finally, Lady Catherine broke the deafening silence. "Nonsense! It is impossible. No one could have entered this house, performed this so-called switch and leave without being seen." Her fury clearly reflected in her eyes as she glared at her brother.

The Earl calmly leaned down with both hands on the table and looked down at her, meeting her eyes. "Sister, you forget. We were at an Inn the night Richard was born. If you remember, we were on our way back from attending my sister-in-law's funeral when Elizabeth went into labour. When we arrived, the midwife was attending another couple who stopped for the same reason. As it turns out, her nephew was in line to inherit this other couple's estate through entailment10. So, to help ensure his possible inheritance, she switched our still born with their son."

"It is of no consequence. Richard is a Fitzwilliam. Even if it is true, which is hardly likely, we do not need to make it known. We can go on as always. Thus, the matter is settled." Lady Catherine slapped her hand on the table. This did not impress her brother as he tightened his jaw and raised an eyebrow in irritation. His sister's attitude was already straining his composure and patience.

"Richard's real family has already been informed and as they have five daughters and no son, they have even more right to have Richard back."

Darcy went slightly pale and his eyes widened a little as his head shot around to look at his cousin only to perceive an expression that revealed nothing. Richard sat there, expressionless.

Nodding his head a little, an equally pale Bingley took this as confirmation of his own speculation.

"But as the son of an Earl . . ."

"Catherine, you will not win this argument. Richard by his own choice with Elizabeth's and my support will go back to his real family and that is an end to it."

This time, Lady Catherine slammed her hand against the table top. Her glare aimed every ounce of her anger at her brother. "It is not an end to it. It will be a scandal to affect us all. Have you no consideration for how this will affect the rest of us? How can you be sure this midwife is not conspiring with this family by making up this preposterous story? No doubt they desperately need an heir and their brief acquaintance with you provided an opportunity. Do you not see you are being used? Tell me the family's name and where they can be found and I will straighten out this mess before it reaches public knowledge."

"You will do no such thing. All anyone would have to do to see we tell the truth is look at Richard and Mr. Bennet standing together to see they are related. The resemblance is completely uncanny. If they had been the same age, people would declare them to be twins. Now, you will let this matter drop, Catherine." The Earl demanded as he struggled to control his anger at his sister's unreasonable and heartless attitude.

"I will not let this drop, brother. You said their name was Bennet?" She turned and leaned over the table in order to see Richard, "Nephew, is this the same family to that young woman who was visiting Mr. and Mrs. Collins when you were at Rosings?"

He almost imperceptibly turned his head to regard her stonily before replying coolly, "Yes. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is my sister and I am perfectly happy admitting as much."

"Ha! Based on her impertinent manner and inability to acknowledge her superiors11, I would say she is nothing to this family. I had thought her family to be the same, but Mr. Collins assures me that the others were far worse."

Unable to take any more of Lady Catherine's snobbery and insulting behaviour, Mr. Bingley straightened in his chair as he clenched his jaw and glared at her. "You should not believe everything you hear, madam, for I can assure you they are not as bad as Mr. Collins has said. The eldest daughter is quite dignified, sweet and kind18. There may be some ill manners among some members2, however every family is prone to having at least one such in their ranks." Several people suppressed a smile at this and a couple braved a quick glance at Lady Catherine. Bingley continued, "You might want to consider questioning Mr. Collins motive for his comments on the Bennets. After all, a break existed between the families as I recall12."

"Indeed. No doubt it was the fault of the Bennets. And it seems your association with that family has addled your brains and made you inconsiderate of those above your social standing."

Bingley leaned forward in his seat and stared right into Lady Catherine's eyes. "If anything, the Bennets have made me more aware of the world I live in. I have no intentions of being inconsiderate, only honest and as I have learned recently, sometimes honesty can hurt2&14."

Already stunned by his Uncle's disclosure, Darcy paled further at Bingley's last statement. He means me. He knows I told him what I honestly thought Miss Bennet felt and it hurt him deeply2&14. I had intended to keep him from the pain of unequal marriage and instead I caused him to feel heartache at being separated from the woman he loves.

Even with all these thoughts going though his head, Darcy could not stop thinking of the main issue. Now, I find that Richard is the brother to all the Bennet sisters. Elizabeth and Richard are sister and brother. No wonder they share so much in common including their sense of humour. This also means that he is the brother to Miss Bennet as well. Richard will be furious that I interfered2&14. So much so, I fear he might slow or prevent my suit of Elizabeth. I fervently hope that both he and Bingley can forgive my meddling.

Observing Mr. Bingley closely, Richard noticed the sadness touching the gentleman's face at the end of his outburst. Turning his head, he observed his cousin's reaction. Darcy's pale countenance combined with the pained expression as he watched his friend caused the former Colonel's anger to cool. Seeing his cousin's obvious remorse, he could not hold a grudge against him. Despite the fact that he no longer felt as angry with him, he felt a talk would be necessary after the gentlemen separated from the ladies.

Glancing at his former brother, Richard noticed how his expression had finally lost the shocked look and instead displayed consternation. Curious over the cause of this change, he determined another talk was in order.

Everyone's thoughts did not last long as Lady Catherine refused to stop degrading the Bennets and saying it was nothing more than a trick. She declared that on the remote possibility that the report proved true, it would not prove a suitable connection for Richard and reiterated her views on society's reaction.

While Lord Fitzwilliam attempted to reason with Lady Catherine, the rest of the party slipped back into silence. Anne's eyes glazed over as they usually did whenever her mother began to rant. She stared at her plate in silence.

Darcy's emotions vacillated between anger and fear. Although he felt disgust at his Aunt's behaviour, his fear of Richard and Bingley's reactions overwhelmed him. He also worried for his sister who had grown pale and looked as if she wanted to bolt from the table.

While Charles Fitzwilliam ignored his aunt as per his usual reaction to her behaviour, he shared a look with his wife who rolled her eyes in annoyance. Lady Fitzwilliam closed her eyes willing herself to react calmly even though her temper threatened to get the better of her. The deepening frown Bingley aimed at Lady Catherine clearly expressed his growing displeasure at her conduct. While sharing in the anger everyone seemed to be feeling toward Lady Catherine, Richard could care less what she thought as she was never pleased unless people agreed with her completely. Though if he had to listen to too much more, he might argue with her and that would only aggravate the situation.

Finally, the Earl decided it was time to break up the current state of affairs and addressed the group. "I think it is time we adjourn from dinner. Gentlemen, would you join me in the study?" He did his best to ignore the glare his wife sent his way at being abandoned to the mercies of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Once the door closed, the Earl sat down at his desk and let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temples. His son, Charles walked over and started pouring Port for everyone. He glanced around the room discretely observing the other occupants. His father showed the strain that came from dealing with Lady Catherine as well as the added effects of this revelation. Charles narrowed his eyes as he watched his brother. Having known him all his life he recognized the signs of stress, but he was surprised to see the determined look Richard aimed at their cousin. Charles' eyebrows reached for his hairline as he remembered something from one of his cousin's letters. Uh, oh. Darcy, what did you do to the Bennets?

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and finished pouring the Port and took the first glass to his father who looked up gratefully.

"Thank you, Charles. I am sure we all need some fortification after that onslaught. I only wish it were over."

Charles half-smiled, "I think that we can all agree with that sentiment."

He then walked off with a second smaller glass to give to his brother standing not too far away.

Richard started to wave him off, "I ought to only have a little as I fear I shall say too much if it loosens my tongue much more."

Holding the glass up to reveal the small amount of the liquid inside, he replied, "I thought as much and that is why I did not give you as much. Now, cooperate and take this, little brother."

After his little speech, Charles let out a humourless laugh, "I cannot exactly say that anymore can I. Now just what do I tell my children?"

"What do you mean? What do you need to tell them about this?" Richard asked as he took his glass.

"Simple, how do I explain to them that you are not Uncle Richard anymore? They will be devastated." His face fell as he considered his children's reaction.

"Why do you need to tell them that at all? He is still apart of our family even if he is not related to us." The Earl admonished his son from his seat at his desk.

"Oh, I know that, but how are three small children going to understand that though he is not related, he is still their uncle. It will upset them for a while which will be difficult to deal with as anything that hurts them is, but once they hear they will not lose Richard as an uncle, they will want evidence. You know Evangeline will question me left and right over that. That girl is so curious about everything that she will keep asking questions until she is blue in the face."

Richard shook his head with a wry smile. After the children's initial shock and upset were over, it would be interesting to observe his niece's interrogation of her parents. His brother had not exaggerated her reaction. Glancing over to where Darcy sat conversing with Bingley, although the latter did most of the talking, his anger crept back in. Struggling to stay calm, he retreated to a corner furthest from his father's desk and the rest of the room.

Watching his brother walk off, Charles Fitzwilliam shook his head and handed the last two ports to his cousin and Mr. Bingley who had finally approached. Darcy took his and immediately excused himself to join Richard. Charles saw it and wished his cousin luck. Poor Darcy, it is not a good combination for Richard to be both frustrated and angry and my poor cousin is walking right into it. Well, Richard, here goes conversation number one and I will keep Bingley over here until you are ready as I am sure you will want to talk to him too.

When Bingley took the glass he handed him, Charles Fitzwilliam said quietly, "Stay over here and talk with my father and I. I think Richard would like to speak privately with Darcy."

Bingley nodded as he accepted the glass and chose a seat near the Earl, though he felt curious over the subject of the private conference.

Meanwhile, Darcy sat down next to Richard. He recognized the signs of anger in his former cousin's countenance.

Despite the fact that he felt less anger toward Darcy, he still felt some and adding in his anger toward Lady Catherine, his mind grew muddled to the point that he could not think as clearly as he wanted. So, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Why did you have to say that about my sister?"

Darcy blinked in confusion. This was not what he expected him to say. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. Oh no! Elizabeth must have over heard me at the Assembly13. She must have told Richard.

"Richard, I admit I never should have said such a thing at the Assembly Ball especially about someone I did not know. The moment after, I regretted it. The only excuse for my behaviour at that point was my desperation. I did not wish to dance and could tolerate no more pressure to do so13. It was very bad manners and I am sorry it ever happened."

The Colonel frowned more and more as Darcy went on. Finally he pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes only opening them after he started speaking, "Thank you for reminding me that you insulted, not one, but two of my sisters. Would you mind telling me why, after regretting insulting the one, you proceed to insult another?"

Not knowing how to react, Darcy asked, "What do you mean?"

"You have just told me of your insult to Elizabeth at the Assembly Ball upon your earliest acquaintance13, which she informed me of last week. However, before our trip to Rosings, you told me about saving a friend from a marriage to an ‘objectionable' lady1. Does it surprise you that I discovered that said lady happens to be my other sister Jane. Honestly, I cannot imagine how you could possibly describe her in such a manner. Why did you have to hurt her by separating her from Bingley?"

Darcy cringed. "I will admit, I found the behaviour of her mother and the three youngest sisters terrible; yet, my greatest objection was that I believed her to be indifferent2&14. She showed no outward sign of affection."

"As for my family, I cannot agree with you, although my mother did admit to poor behaviour in the past. It may be possible that she has changed far more than I realized. Plus, I have seen some petulance from my youngest sister, so, I will grant you that one. However, . . You are a great one to criticize about showing affection in public. She is as reserved as you are. Did you ever consider that possibility?" Richard wanted to say more, but held his tongue. He wanted to see Darcy's reaction first.

Realizing that he just insulted Richard's family to his face, Darcy flinched. Guilt also welled up inside at having judged Miss Bennet's feelings when he disliked people doing the same to him. "You mean she cares for Bingley?"

"More than cares for. She loves Bingley and has been depressed ever since he left."

Seeing the anguish fill Darcy's face, Richard realized his cousin's deep regret at interfering. He knew that Darcy truly meant well. Knowing him as well as he did, he knew Darcy's sincerity too.

"Darcy, listen to me. I know you meant well, although I find some displeasure at your reasoning. However, now that you are aware of the truth, I expect you to repair it by telling Bingley. Tonight. He seems to be suffering as much as my sister." Pausing briefly, he let a small smirk slip onto his face. "Not to mention that fixing this before Elizabeth finds out will go a long way in your suit for her."

Darcy was about to concur that he had every intention of repairing his mistake, but was sidetracked at hearing the last comment, "What?"

"I know you care for her, but you face an uphill battle. At the moment, she does not share your feelings. In fact, her opinion of you is rather low. When I add that initial insult together with Wickham's tales, I understand why she absolutely detested you, cousin13,15&16."

At the mention of Wickham's name, Darcy's head snapped up and he looked at Richard, "She believed Wickham's lies?"

"Considering she thought you arrogant among other things, yes, she did. Besides, you know how convincing Wickham can be especially when there are ladies2&15."

"I know. It is just . . . Why does Wickham always try to harm those I love. He always disliked me, especially after we started school. It was then that he started causing trouble for me and my family." He paused as a terrible thought crossed his mind, "Is he still in the area? I fear if he has any idea as to my attachment to Miss Elizabeth he may try to harm her or her family."

"I understand, Darcy. However, you have nothing more to worry about him. I spoke with the Colonel of the regiment and had him transferred to the regulars. I also had a long discussion with Elizabeth and she believed me about Wickham. She may not like you yet, but the biggest obstacle has been removed. If you can show her what you are really like, then I think she might change her mind."

"You mean you would support my suit of your sister, even after I separated your other sister from Bingley?"

"Most definitely. I have known you all my life, so I know you would not deliberately try to hurt someone. We have been like brothers, so I know that when you admit to loving someone, as you just did, you will do all in your power to protect them and make them happy." Richard smiled, "Besides, when you marry Elizabeth, we will finally be brothers as we always wished."

Darcy returned the smile half-heartedly as he still absorbed the fact that Elizabeth had disliked him, "If I had proposed as I wanted to in Kent, she would have refused14."

"Most adamantly. You have a lot of damage to fix, but as I said, she may still change her mind about you." Richard was a little disgruntled that Darcy remained so down-hearted. Darcy, you had better not be giving up. If you even try to give up, I will pester you until you agree to court Elizabeth.

"Thank you. I will talk to Bingley now if I can get him away from my uncle and cousin."

They spent the next couple of minutes talking as they waited for an opportunity to bring Bingley over to join them. Seeing their frustrated expressions, Charles Fitzwilliam turned to Bingley and said something.

Soon Bingley joined them, "What is it?" He observed Darcy's contrite and serious expression as he seated himself next to them.

Silence filled the small area as Darcy scrutinized his hands while deliberating on how to tell his friend of his interference. Finally, he took a deep breath, raised his head and looked him in the eye. "Bingley, you remember my opinions on a certain subject involving Miss Bennet." Darcy paused at the sadness that invaded his friend's countenance at mentioning his heartbreak. "I have just learned that my estimation of her feelings was faulty. Miss Jane Bennet does care for you. In fact, she has been miserable since you left14."

Shaking his head and blinking as if it would clear his thoughts and make this amazing statement any more genuine, Bingley looked at them both incredulously though a small spark of hope shown in his eyes, "She does? She really does care for me?" At seeing dual nods, he sat back and closed his eyes in misery as he contemplated what this meant for him now. "Why did I leave? If I had simply taken the risk that she did not love me, even if she would accept me, we could have been very happy right now instead of both in pain. I would well and truly deserve any anger she feels for me or the loss of her affection."

While Richard wanted to tell him that he still had hope, he knew he would have to wait until after Darcy revealed the last portion of his meddling. He nodded at his cousin to continue. "I have another admission to make. I knew she was in London and did not tell you2."

The hurt and disappointment shining in Bingley's eyes caused Darcy even more anguish at having been the cause. He looked away ashamed to face his friend.

Finally, after collecting himself, Bingley breathed deeply before speaking. "I know that you never meant to hurt anyone that you truly wanted to help and protect a friend, but it hurts that you could not trust me. I respect your opinion and even listen to it; however, I do not respect or like your interference in the manner you gave it. You could have told me what you thought her reasons for calling were and then I could have had the opportunity to decide whether or not I agreed with you, but you took that decision out of my hands. I still value our friendship enough to not let it break over this. Yet, I must ask that you not act in so high-handed a manner again in matters concerning myself."

The relief Darcy felt at not losing a valued friend was evident in his manner and he readily responded, "I assure you that I will not interfere or act as I did again. I may not always agree and may say so, but I will not impede any decision of yours through my actions."

"Thank you, Darcy. I know you will do exactly that. Now, I only hope that Miss Bennet and her family could forgive me my absence." He sighed and looked more dejected but looked up in astonishment at Richard's laugh.

"She will. Trust me, Bingley, I have spent a week with my new family and I have learned that she is a very forgiving person and once she hears the particulars, she will understand. It will take little persuasion for her to accept you when you do propose. She still loves you. For a while, Jane continued to be miserable and depressed14; however, once I mentioned a few thoughts, she seemed to regain hope. As for the rest of the family, my mother will not hold anything against you. Her previous behaviour saddens her greatly as she feels she is partly responsible for scaring away potential suitors for her daughters. Father will give you a hard time when he does talk to you for awhile, but he will consent as well. It will mainly be a test to see if you are really serious this time. Both will feel more secure once I assure them that I know you are serious and that Jane will be happy."

"You mean she still cares even with all that has happened? And your parents will allow me to court her?" The look of hope in Bingley's eyes was tangible.

"Yes, she does. So, I dare say this proves she loves you. My parents will not stand in your way as they want to see her happy."

"Then, I will make plans to return to Netherfield immediately. Whether or not my sisters wish to accompany me will not matter. It will take a week to finish some business I have yet to complete, but I should be there Friday next." Turning to his friend, "Darcy, I would appreciate it if you would be my guest at Netherfield."

"Are you sure you will want me around so soon?"

"Of course. You are still my friend and it will be nice to have you there."

"Thank you. I would like to come."

"I am sure you do Darcy, especially considering another certain sister of mine."

Bingley's eyes widened and made a silent, ‘Oh,' at the insinuation in Richard Fitzwilliam's comment. He turned to his friend, "So, there was more to dancing with Miss Elizabeth at the ball last November17 than simply not insulting me by not dancing as I was the host. I thought your excuse was rather flimsy." Both gentlemen chuckled when they saw the blush on Darcy's face. "Well, I am sure that Miss Bennet will be pleased to have you as a brother."

"There is no certainty that she would even accept me if I did propose considering she does not like me at all."

"Darcy, stop that. I told you that she does not know the real you. Bingley has given you the opportunity to be in her company and prove to her the kind of gentleman you are. So, you can start focusing on improving her opinion rather than despairing that she will always see you negatively."

Observing the determined expression on his cousin's face, Darcy knew when to quit arguing and it was no hardship to do so in this case, "All right, I will do my best."

"Good, I look forward to being brothers. I have to admit I always wished it, but knowing Caroline, I knew it to be an impossibility."

All three gentlemen smiled to different degrees over this, all happy at having the chance to repair mistakes or bad choices.

A knock disrupted the conversation in the room and Charles Fitzwilliam walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Anne who looked rather frustrated and tired.

"Anne, are you all right?" Charles asked his cousin in concern. Opening the door wider, he gestured for her to come in.

Anne shook her head, "I am fine, only tired as usual. I told them I had headache and would retire to my room so that I could come and speak with you. Mother is being more unbearable than usual. I recommend you join them soon as Georgiana is becoming rather upset."

With a look of concern, Darcy stood immediately and crossed the room, "What did my Aunt say to her?"

"She has not had much opportunity to be alone with her, but she keeps questioning her happiness and several other things. I think she may be up to something, but I do not know what. Cousin, be careful. Mother can be formidable when crossed." The fear and anxiety in Anne's eyes stated the depth of her alarm for her cousins' happiness.

"Do not worry, Anne. We will take care of the situation."

Relief spread across her face, "Good. I would hate to see Georgiana suffer under my mother as I have."

When she started to leave, her uncle called her back as he walked to the door, "Anne, I tried to reason with your mother, and I have failed every time. I am sorry. Your father would not have wanted to see you like this."

Reaching out with her hand, she took her uncle's arm and squeezed, "I know. I remember how things used to be, but do not worry about how things are now. Know that everything will work out for the best in the end." With that she left down the corridor and started to ascend the steps to her room.

The Earl stood there silent for a few moments before clearing his throat, "Well, gentlemen, shall we join the ladies." He strode out of the room with a determined air followed by four just as determined gentlemen.

Everyone, except Lady Catherine, relaxed a little when the gentlemen joined them. Georgiana sat next to her brother for the rest of the evening saying no more than what was absolutely necessary. It had been obvious that Lady Catherine had cornered her earlier even though Lady Fitzwilliam and her daughter-in-law constantly tried to deflect her.

Finally, the evening drew to a close, much to the relief of most of the party. The three guests not staying at the house entered Darcy's carriage as quickly as politely possible. After dropping Bingley off at his home, Darcy felt his sister relax a little even though she remained tense and frightened.

"Georgiana, do you want to talk about what is bothering you?" Thinking that he would get a simple yes or no, he was surprised when his little sister threw her arms around him and began to cry.

"Oh, brother, I am so afraid of Aunt Catherine. When she cornered me, she kept implying I was unhappy and that you and Richard were bad company for me. She said I needed to spend more time with my future sister7. When she said that, she looked at Anne. Even though I assured her I was very happy, she would not listen and became more angry. You . . . you do not think she could take me away . . . do you? Like she tried to . . . when I was little?" Georgiana looked up into her brother's face with fear clearly registering in her eyes.

"No, she can not. She did not succeed then, and she will not now. Father declared in his will that Richard and I would be your guardians1&2, so she has no say in it. Besides, our uncle would never allow her to do so." His sister nodded and leaned her head back on his shoulder. She was too fearful of what their Aunt might try to let go of him.

Despite his assurance to his sister, Darcy worried about what his Aunt might be up to as Anne had stated. Whatever she planned, it would be worse for him and Georgiana. It always had been and always would be. Ever since their Aunt lost her chance to become Mistress of Pemberley due to his Uncle Darcy's unexpected and early death, the Darcy family endured her diatribes and condescension . It was his opinion that Lady Catherine still desired to be Mistress of Pemberley through her daughter7 and that he could never allow.

References:
1) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 10
2) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 12
3) Austen, Jane. Emma. Chapter 1
4) Austen, Jane. Emma. Chapter 12
5) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 3 Chapter 2
6) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 8
7) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 16; Volume 2 Chapter 7
8) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 14; Volume 2 Chapter 5
9) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 6-7
10) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 13; Volume 2 Chapter 6
11) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 6
12) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 13
13) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 3
14) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 11
15) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 16
16) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 4
17) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 18
18) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 9

Chapter 15

Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2008

After the Darcy's and Bingley left, the Fitzwilliams found themselves in for a long night facing Lady Catherine's ire alone. She spent the entire evening berating her brother and former nephew and no amount of arguments could persuade her from her course. She reiterated every reason they should not recognize the connection to no effect. Both sides developed a certain amount of consternation and frustration with the round about argument. The dispute lasted into the wee ours of the morning when, after claiming fatigue, Lady Catherine retired to her room.

The next morning, she arose early despite her fatigue and ordered her trunks packed. After refusing all sustenance including a basket to take with them, she left dragging poor Anne with her. Even though the family felt relief upon her departure, they still felt much pity and compassion for Anne.

Everyone spent the first couple of hours after Lady Catherine's departure either eating the light breakfast set out in the breakfast parlour and choosing some relaxing activity or sleeping. No one felt much incentive to do much of anything after the strain of the past evening and morning. Any confrontation with Lady Catherine de Bourgh tended to be draining.

Nevertheless, when it came time for the noon meal, all gathered together in a small dining parlour even the children. The children remained silent as they knew something bad had happened from observing their parents, grandparents and uncle. Evangeline was certain it was Aunt Catherine's fault because she would not have left so suddenly otherwise.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her and she asked what had happened to make everyone so grumpy. That put a smile on the groups face and Charles set about trying to explain the situation to his children only resulting in upset and confusion. Eventually, they seemed to understand that Richard would still be their uncle, but as he predicted, Evangeline wanted to know why. His attempt failed to produce understanding in the little girl and after catching his former brother snickering behind his hand asked him to explain it to her.

Thus, Richard found himself in serious discussion with his nieces and nephew why he was not really their uncle, but that they could still call him such. He spent the rest of the day attempting to make clear how that came about much to his brother's amusement. Although Evangeline accepted him as her uncle despite the lack of a blood connection, she still could not understand how it had all taken place and kept asking questions. By the time dinner arrived, Richard was exhausted with trying to explain the situation to her and it did not help that little five year old James thought it great fun to join in the questioning game. Charles only teased his brother mercilessly about his inability to satisfy the curiosity of two of his children. Richard only shook his head and asked why must a child ask ‘why' so much only to be greeted with much laughter from the rest of the family.

As for the Darcy's, the day progressed slowly at first with both siblings just enjoying each other's company. Darcy was relieved to see that the events of the previous evening had left no lingering effects on his sister. They had stayed up the evening before with Darcy reassuring her that everything would be fine. He even managed to distract her concerns a little by revealing Bingley's intentions to ask for the hand of one of Richard's sisters1. Although she felt surprised, she happily expressed her pleasure in the situation.

The only interruption to the siblings' solitary day was Mr. Bingley's arrival. Sheepishly, he asked Darcy if he could help him deal with a few of the business items he had mentioned the previous evening. Seeing his friend's desire to return to Hertfordshire, Darcy agreed with a smile. Before Georgiana left them for the music room, she managed to pluck up enough courage to tease Mr. Bingley over his impatience to return to his estate. Mr. Bingley blushed as he caught the real meaning and admitted to his hopes at seeing Miss Jane Bennet again. At this point, Georgiana wished him all the best in his endeavors to win said lady's hand1. The gentleman was genuinely pleased to receive such well-wishes as evidenced by the broad smile on his face. They spent a very little time discussing this subject before the gentlemen left for the study and Bingley's business matters.

During that time, Darcy learned of his friend's encounter with his sisters which involved neither pleasant conversation nor kind congratulations to say the least. However, Bingley had overcome his sisters' unwillingness to return to Netherfield by inviting Hurst himself. Hurst, whose townhouse had recently received an inundation of lady callers for his wife, readily accepted. Thus, the ladies had been left with little choice but to come along as well.

By the time evening came, most of Bingley's business was taken care of and what little was left could be handled easily by his solicitor who Bingley intended to call on first thing Monday morning. Before leaving, he reissued his invitation to Darcy who accepted easily but asked if he might bring his sister along as it was not likely the Fitzwilliams would be staying in London either. Not only did Bingley gladly agree to Georgiana's joining the Netherfield party but extended an invitation to the Fitzwilliam's. He knew that, although Longbourn had its' own charms, it was rather small and thus might provide a few difficulties in finding enough rooms for so many. Therefore, he offered an open invitation to all of them at Netherfield should space prove an obstacle.

Thus, the families coordinated all plans to remove to Hertfordshire no later than the following Tuesday. Charles and Alice Fitzwilliam, unfortunately, declined all invitation to join the group as they had promised to attend Alice's family for her mother's birthday which they had missed for the past three years. Even so, they asked Richard to convey their respects to the Bennets as well as their desire to meet them in the near future.

When, after much impatience, Tuesday finally arrived, the sky was clear without cloud in sight much to the joy of most and much to the chagrin of two particular ladies.

As no mishaps met them along the way, all three carriages arrived in Meryton much to the astonishment of the populace. Many women looked out of the various shops and homes the carriages past and promptly started speculating as to the arrival of this large group2. When one recognized the Bingley carriage, rumor started spreading left and right as to his return especially with so many people. Lady Lucas and Mrs. Philips were particularly interested after their failure to extract any information out of Mrs. Bennet about the two gentlemen who had stayed with them earlier.

However, while all this was going on, the three groups continued on until they reached a crossroads where Richard and the Fitzwilliams took their leave of the others and turned in the direction of Longbourn while the others continued on to Netherfield.

Upon arrival, Richard barely exited the carriage before his sisters, minus Lydia of course, exited the house greeting him warmly. Once his parents Bennet had arrived and the Fitzwilliams had exited the carriage, he introduced everyone to Lady Fitzwilliam. The greetings went well and they were all soon inside enjoying tea after the travelers had a little time to freshen up.

Richard presented the items he had promised to bring to his sisters as soon as he returned to the drawing room. Much to the Fitzwilliams amusement, he found himself being hugged by Kitty and practically dragged over to sit with her and talk. Mary followed while sighing deeply and shaking her head at her sister's over-enthusiasm while smiling slightly.

While he was thus occupied, Mrs. Bennet, Jane and Elizabeth were seated with Lady Fitzwilliam. After some mundane and polite conversation about the trip there, the conversation finally turned to Richard's childhood which did not lack in curiosity from the one side nor willingness to relate the stories from the other.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bennet and the Earl talked about a number of general issues, eventually excusing themselves from the rest of the party to discuss the events that occurred in London and the way in which they should announce the change to the general public.

Lydia, while courteous to her brother and the Fitzwilliams, chose to sit by herself pouting. Even though she placed the blame for her restrictions on Wickham, she also blamed her brother for bringing the information in the first place and taking over the affections of her family3. As used to attention and getting whatever she wanted as she was, Lydia could not adjust to the general joy at gaining a long lost brother. All she knew is that she was no longer a favorite and that had to be rectified. Thus, she sat thinking about everything while no one apparently noticed.

Meanwhile at Netherfield, the other parties had arrived and were already settled into their rooms. Eventually, they all drifted back to the drawing room. However, Darcy found himself cornered almost immediately by Miss Bingley who insisted that he make her brother see reason. After refusing to help her separate Charles and Miss Bennet a second time3&4, he walked over to join his sister who sat listening to his friend's rhapsodizing about Miss Jane Bennet. Georgiana looked up at him and smiled before returning her attention to the gentleman. At the same time, Mr. Bingley unconsciously put to rest the fears Georgiana had on her cousin's behalf despite every description by her brother and Richard. She tucked away all his praise as evidence of the goodness of the Bennet family, or at least one member of it.

At the same time, the more Georgiana heard about the Bennet family, the more she wanted to meet them especially the eldest Miss Bennets. She had spent most the journey contemplating Richard's insinuation that his other sister, Miss Elizabeth, would be every bit the sister she had always wanted. Unable to be sure whether he meant that she and his sister would become close enough to be like sisters or if he meant that she might become her sister. She could not help but recall the quick glance Richard had made in her brother's direction as he spoke. All this speculation only made her that much more curious about her cousin's new family.

Mr. Hurst, unconcerned about anything, simply sat back and enjoyed the removal to Netherfield as well as the light lunch that had been laid out. Sitting back in his chair munching on another sandwich, he glanced around the room and grinned as he noticed his wife and sister-in-law in a private tête-à-tête. He had recently come into some rather interesting information via his second-cousin, Mr. Roland whom he had visited during one of his wife's impromptu ladies parties.

As he observed his sister-in-law roll her eyes at something his wife said, he began laughing as he considered her reaction to the upcoming news he knew must be soon in coming from the Darcys and Fitzwilliams. I could not believe it when Alfred told be about his mother-in-law's actions. Darcy's cousin is actually a Bennet. Will that not set Caroline in a twit! To think of her insults to the Bennets and Darcy's closest relation besides his sister is a member of the same family! It will be a lot for her to swallow, but not as much as what I will have to tell her.

Laughter bubbled out of him as he imagined his sister-in-law's shock. She will be fit to be tied to learn of my connection to the Bennet family. Learning that my cousin's mother-in-law is Aunt to Mr. Collins is not only shocking but hilarious. Charles will certainly be pleased to learn of it and will be able to use it to throw off his sister's one argument as we are already related to them albeit distantly and twice by marriage.

Hurst's continued laughter caused everyone to look at him, but he did not care. He simply kept laughing causing them to wonder at just what was so funny.

That evening continued on with the various people enjoying their company while others did not, but the next day would prove interesting and especially delightful to the information hungry citizens of Meryton.

Chapter 16

Wednesday morning dawned beautifully with a light breeze setting the leaves to dancing and bright sunshine streaming down and into the windows of Longbourn. Everyone, but one, enjoyed the early morning breakfast where laughter and conversation moved easily creating a cheerful atmosphere. As the meal came to an end, the younger girls proposed a walk only to find their plan overruled by their father requesting everyone's presence in the drawing room. Although disappointed in the loss of a walk on such a fine day, the girls shrugged their shoulders at each other and followed the others out of the breakfast room.

Everyone took their time seating themselves in the general din of wrapping up conversations and promises to continue later. Once everyone found their seat and silence filled the room as they waited expectantly, Mr. Bennet addressed them, "I know we would all wish to keep to ourselves for a few days, but considering the great amount of curiosity we have already received, it is doubtful this will remain secret for long. Thus, the Earl and I feel it would be best to call on certain of our neighbours today to announce Richard's return."

Lady Fitzwilliam and Mrs. Bennet nodded, both fully understanding the necessity and acknowledging the need to get this somewhat unpleasant aspect out of the way.

"I agree. Making the announcement now will spare us the stress of waiting and cut down wild speculation. Idle gossip could contort the truth so out of proportion you could discover you have ten sons and no daughters." Laughter spread throughout the room at Elizabeth Fitzwilliam's comment.

As the laughter died down, Kitty bit her lip and frowned as she considered a possible problem, "We will not all fit in the carriage, so how will we visit more than Aunt Philips and the Lucas' if we walk?"

The Earl was the first to respond, "I have already offered the use of my carriage. That will make it easier for everyone to attend the visits without leaving someone behind to wonder at people's reactions. Still, my wife and I may remain here."

Mr. Bennet shook his head, "On the contrary, it will be better if you come. People will doubt us less if you are there to support us."

"Thank you. We will attend then." The relief on the Fitzwilliams' faces demonstrated the relief they felt at joining the party as they truly did not wish to remain at Longbourn worrying over Meryton's acceptance of their former son.

It did not take long for the occupants of Longbourn to prepare for the long day ahead of them. Soon, Elizabeth and Jane found themselves joining their brother and the Earl and Lady Fitzwilliam in their carriage. Their younger sisters and Mr. and Mrs. Bennet took the Bennet carriage. Thus, they were off to visit Mrs. Philips as they felt it only right to inform Mrs. Bennet's sister before the rest of Meryton.

The visit went as well as could be expected with Mrs. Philips not fainting and only exclaiming a number of times after the shock wore off. Poor Richard was forced to endure an over excited embrace from his Aunt and a number of compliments on himself. By the end of the visit, he turned quite red.

Upon entering the carriages, Elizabeth took note of a number of ladies gathering across the street. Poking her head out the window as they pulled away in the direction of Lucas Lodge, she noted the same ladies flocking to her Aunt Philips door and promptly being ushered in. They obviously intended to discover the commotion and the identities of the other guests. Elizabeth turned her attention to slightly down the street and noticed Mrs. Philips' maid talking excitedly to the Longs' maid. Pulling her head in, she regretfully informed the other occupants of this turn of events. The entire Bennet-Fitzwilliam party sighed in the realization that they could not possibly inform everyone before news spread.

They did not have long to dwell on that piece of information as they shortly arrived at Lucas Lodge. An extremely curious Sir William and Lady Lucas greeted them as they were showed into the drawing room. Sir William was in the middle of welcoming them and explaining that his daughter would be joining them momentarily as she had only arrived home the day before after extending her stay with her sister when the entrance of said young lady interrupted him. Maria quickly joined her parents and smiled at Elizabeth and Richard.

"Colonel Fitzwilliam, we did not know you would be in Meryton!" She smiled even more brightly. Richard never looked back at his adoptive mother knowing she was sharing a sly look with the Earl. Instead, he just smiled.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Lucas."

Maria's blush caught her mother's attention who immediately started speculating on how much it would take to get this handsome gentleman to propose to her daughter assuming he was able to afford a wife of course.

Mr. Bennet stepped in before anyone else could speak, "Actually, Sir William we came to make an extraordinary announcement."

Here, Lady Lucas glanced with worry at the eldest Miss Bennets fearing what the news might involve. Her husband, however, seemed greatly interested and showed only slight concern over the news.

"I hope it is good news then."

"It is indeed, but first let me introduce our companions to you. Sir William, Lady Lucas, Miss Lucas, may I introduce you to Lord Fitzwilliam, the Earl of _______ and his wife, Lady Fitzwilliam. Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam may I introduce you to Sir William Lucas and his wife, Lady Lucas and his second eldest daughter, Maria."

A few greetings were exchanged while the Lucas' threw curious glances at Richard which did not go unnoticed by the Bennets.

Finally, Mr. Bennet continued, "This last introduction is rather difficult. Miss Lucas, I know he was introduced to you as Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam; however, we have since learned that that is not entirely accurate. You see, we learned recently that our son, our firstborn, was not stillborn as we had thought, but had rather been switched with the Earl's stillborn son."

"I knew you looked like Mr. Bennet," crowed Maria who then looked sheepish at her outburst.

Regaining her thoughts after the shock Lady Lucas looked carefully at Mr. Bennet and Colonel Fitzwilliam. Sir William simply stood there with his mouth open in shock.

Mr. Bennet continued again, "Thus, Colonel Fitzwilliam as you have just met, is actually my son, Mr. Richard Bennet."

The astonishment the Lucas' felt was clearly etched on their faces. Sir William recovered first smiling broadly, "Well is not that wonderful, err . . . I mean it not wonderful for you . . . err . . ." He seemed unable to determine whether the joy of regaining a son by one group or the despair over losing a beloved child to their rightful family was the proper one to address at the moment as he kept looking between the Bennets and Fitzwilliams.

Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam very kindly thanked him for his concern for their feelings but that they had already had time to adjust and accept the situation and were happy for Richard.

Lady Lucas was not so quick to wish them joy knowing what it meant for Charlotte; however, she did manage to do so knowing that it truly was a joyful event for the Bennets.

Maria smiled happily at the news, but then began to frown, "Umm. Mr. Bennet? Should it not be Colonel Bennet and not Mr. Richard Bennet?"

"Actually, Miss Lucas, I gave up my commission. I have much to do to get to know my real family and I wish to spend as much time with them as possible and not worry them either." Richard replied for himself.

"Oh." Looking a little downcast for a moment, she soon recovered and began chatting amiably with Elizabeth and Jane while her parents and the rest of the group discussed the wonderful discovery.

After a half hour discussion, the Bennets and Fitzwilliams took their leave and started on their way to their next visit after receiving a dinner invitation from the Lucas'.

The rest of the day continued on in one continual visit after another. Thus, when the entire group arrived back at Longbourn, it was an exhausted group that trudged into the house. They sat down wearily to a light meal and retired to bed. Richard particularly found the comfort of a soft bed after being under scrutiny for more than the switch could account for appealing. He began to feel a certain amount of dread for the upcoming days ahead.

Even though the Bennets and Fitzwilliams retired early, the people of Meryton were still all a buzz with the newest information about them. Everyone continued to talk of it especially families with single young ladies. Those families were already planning for the local Assembly that was a little more than two weeks away. Evening parties, dinners and picnics were all in the planning minds of many of the families as all wanted to further the acquaintance of the Bennet son.

At the same time, another item of gossip was spreading through the town. Curiosity and speculation continued to grow over the reasons of Mr. Bingley's return and the fact that his friend Mr. Darcy had returned with his sister led to more conjecture. However, all the theories running rampant through Meryton remained just that. Everyone had to wait until the individuals revealed more before any certainty could be gained. Thus, the inhabitants of that little Town retired to a night of unending questions.

Chapter 17

The Bennets and Fitzwilliams were sitting enjoying breakfast when the first visitor came. From there on, they were treated to a number of visits. Every family with single young women as well as the curious seemed drawn to the Bennets' home. Several of the young ladies, including the Miss Longs, came under the guise of calling on Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia. At first Lydia was quite pleased with the attention until she found herself asked all sorts of questions about her brother. After that, she stormed out of the room and retreated to her room where no manner of influence would generate a desire to return to the drawing room. It also caused the gossips to start nattering about that too.

On the other hand, Kitty found no difficulty singing her brother's praises much to his embarrassment. All throughout her praise of him, the young ladies all looked at him and started batting their eyelashes. While squirming through the uncomfortable questions of their mothers and aunts, he began to understand Darcy's dislike for social occasions. If this is only half of what he endures, it is too much. I do not know how long I can endure this!

By lunch time, everyone settled for a small repast in the drawing room with tea. They all sat back, fatigued from the mornings interrogations. Yet, the morning visitors would not be the last. Their respite found itself considerably shortened as more groups came in the afternoon in a seemingly unending stream.

The only break the afternoon offered was during the Lucas' visit. They seemed to understand the stress the family had endured through the constant visits. While Mrs. Bennet and Lady Lucas discussed Charlotte's still relatively new marriage and Lady Lucas related all she had learned of the return of the Bingley's and Darcy's, Mrs. Bennet, while already aware of much of the other lady's information, related Richard's relation to the Darcy's which was eagerly soaked in by said lady.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Maria joined in a private tête-à-tête as Elizabeth had not forgotten her promise to her friend and both were eager to share the recent events. Although they enjoyed their discussion, Elizabeth observed her friend's eyes darting glances at her brother which were accompanied by blushes. Unable to deal with Maria's distraction any longer, Elizabeth excused herself for a moment and retrieved her brother from his conversation with Sir William.

When Richard realized what his sister was about however, he found himself thinking, From the frying pan to the fire. It was through no dislike of Miss Maria Lucas herself that made him feel uncomfortable speaking to her, but rather the hints dropped by her mother to him earlier that made him so.

Thus, Richard restricted himself to polite conversation, asking her about the rest of her stay in Kent. By the end of the visit, Elizabeth looked on in frustration at the stalled and tense atmosphere around her friend and her brother. I do not understand it. They got along well enough at Rosings, though Maria could barely say two words to Richard when we were there either. Still, that never deterred my brother before. Why is he so reticent to conversation with my friend? It is not like I am playing matchmaker or anything . . . Oh!

Sudden realization dawned on Elizabeth's mind when she realized what her brother might have assumed. Considering the events of the day, it would not be surprising that he might jump to such a conclusion. Add to that Maria's obvious interest, Richard would probably feel like she had set him up. I hope this is not a sign that I will be as meddlesome as mother was before where it concerns matches1&5.

Nevertheless, before she could rectify the situation between Maria and Richard, the Lucas' stood to take their farewell. Maria asked to call on her at some time during the next week and before she left reminded her that it might be wise to inform Charlotte of this new situation.

Gasping at having forgotten about poor Charlotte since her earlier letter, Elizabeth hurried over to her father and told him, he nodded and both went to write their letters to the Collins'. It would be best if Mr. Collins did not receive this news through his wife, but rather from the cousin who was the current owner of Longbourn. Thus, Elizabeth forgot to talk to Richard.

Meanwhile, while Longbourn suffered an invasion, Netherfield endured its own commotion.. Mr. Bingley had informed his sister's of the addition to the Bennet family.

Suffice it to say, both ladies were so shocked they remained silent. Silent for a full thirty seconds that is, at which point both expressed their shock as well as their virulent opinions on the subject. The most prevalent reaction involved disbelief; however, upon Mr. Darcy's support of the situation, the ladies had no way in which to argue. Still, that did not discourage their voicing of their other opinions. Miss Bingley in particular waxed eloquent on how upsetting and unpleasant it must be for the ‘dear Colonel' to discover these particular relations as well as how she would never tolerate such a change in status.

When the gentlemen finally had enough, Bingley told them he expected them to behave well toward the Bennets as he intended to marry Miss Jane Bennet and if they did not, there were alternatives for them. He informed Louisa she could return to London with her husband after apologizing to Hurst for doing that to him too. Caroline, on the other hand, was told she could travel to India and stay with their Uncle and his family. Not wishing to live in a house with nearly a dozen children so far from London, Caroline wisely capitulated.

However, all this put Miss Bingley in a foul temper and when her brother-in-law had the audacity to laugh at the situation she snapped at him.

"Really, Reginald, what could possibly be funny?" When she received no answer but continued laughter, she tried a different subject, "Well, what was your reaction to the Colonel's joining the Bennet family? You did not seem to care at all."

Grinning from ear to ear, Hurst replied, "Actually, I already knew."

This caught the attention and curiosity of the entire room. Darcy's eyebrows were reaching for his hairline.

"How could you have known? My own family was just informed last Friday."

"Well, here is the irony. I am actually distantly related to the Collins' and by default the Bennets."

The entire room went silent. Exchanging horrified looks, Caroline and Louisa both paled. As for the gentlemen, Darcy struggled to keep a smile off his face and Bingley's face lit up. That's wonderful, Hurst! Why did you not inform us earlier of this? It could have ended my sisters' arguments long ago.

Hurst watched all this with amusement.

Unable to control his curiosity any longer, Darcy inquired, "How did you come by this connection? You never mentioned it before."

"Actually, I only just learned of it. You see while my wife was entertaining her friends, I took the opportunity to visit my second cousin, Mr. Roland. During said visit I learned of his wife's stepmother's family and thereby my connection to the Bennets." He grinned at his wife and sister-in-law and nodded at Darcy who obviously caught on to the fact that he left out an important detail. He knew he would have to explain to his brother-in-law and Darcy later the part he omitted.

At this point, Miss Darcy, who had remained in her room at the request of her brother while he and Bingley informed Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, entered the room. Noticing the various stages of shock, she walked over to her brother.

"Was it really that difficult to explain or that bad?"

"Everything went as expected, Georgiana. They are just experiencing a bit of a shock to learning from Mr. Hurst their distant connection to the Bennets."

Miss Darcy's eyes widened in surprise and whispered, "Really? I would never have known. Poor Richard! He will not like to learn he is related to Miss Bingley."

This proved too much for Darcy and he laughed out right. For that, he received a glare each from Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, a raised eyebrow from Hurst and a confused look from Bingley. Shaking his head he led his sister over to the piano and asked if she might play a little as everyone could use a little distraction.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully at Netherfield, if one did not count the gentlemen's conversation with Hurst that evening.

In the meantime, the visitors stopped coming to Longbourn for the day. Elizabeth and her father had finished their letters and mailed them express. Both were concerned that they may already know via Lady Catherine, but there was nothing to be done for the moment.

Dinner finally arrived and Elizabeth detected a slightly guarded manner from her brother. He picked at his food and refused to look her in the eye and spoke very little. She could not understand why he had altered his behavior toward her so much.

While she thought about it she overheard Kitty tease Richard about all his admirers and that brought back her thoughts of earlier. Waiting until after the meal, she cornered her brother by linking her arm with his and redirecting him to the settee.

Silence filled the air between them as her brother shifted uncomfortably. "Richard, I feel I must apologize for earlier. I truly did not intend to match you with Maria although I must admit the thought did cross my mind."

Looking up at his sister, he sighed, "Elizabeth, at the time, it seemed as if you were joining in the matchmaking I had already seen today. Although my moth. . . . I mean Lady Fitzwilliam always teased me about one young lady or another or expressed her wishes, she never actually set me up in a situation where I had to talk to them. I felt a little uncomfortable today and when you brought me over here. I guess I jumped to conclusions. I am sorry, Elizabeth."

"We have all had a demanding day. It is not everyday a family discovers a long lost relative and in your case a long lost family."

"No, it is not."

"Nor is it everyday that a single young gentleman appears in a community with a number of single young ladies." She grinned at her brother who rolled his eyes.

"And you could not warn me of this yesterday?"

"Oops."

"Oops, indeed! Come on Lizzy, let us join the others before I feel the need to ride over and spend an hour or two sympathizing with Darcy."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, did not we tell you? Bingley has returned to Netherfield with his sisters and Hurst. Darcy and his sister has accompanied him too."

Watching his sister, Richard noticed the momentary frown at Darcy's being in the area, but then her face cleared and she smiled.

"You told Mr. Bingley did not you?"

"Yes."

"Did he seem interested in Jane still?"

He laughed, "Cannot you tell? It should have taken him a week to finish all the business he had, but he was in such a hurry, he spent Saturday at Darcy's in order for my cousin to help him finish it faster. He wanted to be back in Netherfield as soon as possible."

Elizabeth's eyes sparkled, "Oh, Jane should hear this. It will make her so happy."

"No, no, no, now just wait a minute" Richard reached out a hand and put it on his sister's arm to stop her from going to her sister immediately.

"Why?"

"I think it would be better to wait until Mr. Bingley calls on us here. It might be a pleasant surprise for her."

"Indeed. She would be very pleased to see him again. Do you know how long it will be before he calls on us?"

"Well, I imagine he informed his sisters tonight of my change in family and dealt with any misbehavior on their part. So, I am guessing they will call tomorrow. If not, it will probably be sometime next week."

"You do not care for Miss Bingley do you?"

"Hardly. Besides that fact she makes Darcy miserable, she irritates me. All she ever tries to do when she talks to me is either praise my cousins or get information out of me about them. In fact, she reminds me a little too much of Lady Catherine."

To this, he received a chuckle from Elizabeth. As this line of conversation did not last long, both joined the others and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

References:
1) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 3 Chapter 13
2) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 3 Chapter 11
3) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 12
4) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 2 Chapter 10-11
5) Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Volume 1 Chapter 7, 9, 19

Continued In Next Section