“It is already too late, Nephew. The contract is agreed and written. Tomorrow morning, all you need to do is accompany me to your brother-in-law’s office and sign it. Netherfield is my gift to the family.”
“My God, this is not a gift! A gift is a crate of books. Even Mrs Bennet’s necklace was excessive, but this…” Mr Bennet almost cried, overcome at last by powerful emotion. “But how…?” Curiosity and excitement had finally gained the better of him.
“As I told Elizabeth this afternoon, I never claimed to be poor. You assumed it. What I required was a family and genuine affection, and that is exactly what I found at Longbourn. This wonderful atmosphere, noisy but wonderful,” he spoke with a smile. “You welcomed me and even built an apartment for me, though the expense could have been devoted entirely to yourselves. What I found here surpassed every expectation I possessed.
“When searching for heirs to my fortune, I wished to divide it amongst good-hearted people. Yet apart from yourselves and Mrs Hendrick in Scotland, the others were strangers to me, unwilling either to help me or even to show benevolence towards an elderly uncle. Mr Collins answered that he had nowhere suitable to receive me.”
“That is not entirely true,” Elizabeth murmured. “The parsonage is a spacious house with several guest rooms.”
“I know. A few months ago, one of my men visited all my surviving relations.”
The question already visible upon Mr Bennet’s face was answered by Mrs Bennet, who suddenly remembered a traveller whom she had once invited inside for a glass of water.
“A very pleasant gentleman,” she said. “We showed him the road towards London, and he thanked us repeatedly.”
“Well, Rupert Haskett even travelled as far as Scotland, and his judgement proved most valuable. Interestingly enough, a month before I sent my letters, he had already predicted which relations would answer favourably.”
“But he met me!” Mrs Bennet exclaimed, blushing, since she alone had opposed Uncle Thomas’s arrival, an attitude she had regretted long before this evening.
“Yes, he met both you and the young ladies, and your amiability charmed him.”
Mrs Bennet said nothing further. She had no wish for Uncle Thomas to discover how firmly she had once opposed his coming.
“As I possess no direct heirs, you and Mrs Hendrick are to inherit my fortune. But why should you wait until my death? I wish you to benefit now, whilst the young ladies are still young and require proper dowries if they are to marry well. That is my intention. The entail and Mr Collins shall threaten your family no longer. You now possess a fine estate here and a house in London besides.”
“I trust at least that the London house still belongs to you,” Mr Bennet said, some portion of his humour at last restored.
“For the present, yes, though only because I purchased it a year ago when my plans were still uncertain. But now my plans are fixed. We shall go to London.”
Such an explosion of joy followed that even Mr Bennet smiled.
“I once told you that I left England because a certain young lady preferred a duke to me. Well, life is curious and occasionally offers unexpected rewards. About two years ago, that same lady, now the Duchess of Beauford, sought me outin despair. Her husband, the duke, was dying, and upon his death, she was to inherit nothing but his debts. Distraught and hopeless, she appealed to me for help. It was a curious turn of fate when the woman one had loved proved, after all, not to have been happy. Before I could answer, the duke died, and the creditors descended upon her immediately. The same Mr Haskett resolved matters satisfactorily for all concerned. I became the owner of the London house and an estate near Luton, under the sole condition that I provide for the widow during her lifetime. She remains in her house still and retains her place in society, as she remains a respected lady.”
They were following his words with amazement, still unable to grasp the changes his presence brought. Prepared to take care of an elder, instead, they had found themselves in a fairy tale.
“She shall act as your chaperone, my dear great-nieces. That is my plan. In the duchess’s house, which is in truth also your inheritance, you shall enter the highest circles of London society and be presented under her protection as my heiresses. London is always eager to welcome wealthy people. Those from the peerage often possess enormous estates and yet very little ready money because they do not know how to manage their fortunes.”
Whenever Thomas paused, silence settled again over the table. The change before them was too immense, too inconceivable, for immediate reaction.
For Mr Bennet, it was an immense relief. For years, he had lived with the knowledge that if he died, his family would remain unprotected, and his wife had shared the same fear. Now they would possess security at last. Yet he understood that Netherfield Park represented far more than mere shelter. He wished at that moment to rest his head upon his uncle’s shoulder and thank him with all his heart.
Mrs Bennet, meanwhile, had already gone a step further in her imagination. She saw improved dowries and brighter futures for her daughters.
“Thank you,” she said at last, the first amongst them to recover herself. “Thank you, Uncle Thomas.”
“No, my dear, it is I who thank you for becoming my family. I am delighted to share my fortune with you, for without your affection it would possess no meaning.”
“Dear Uncle, you could still marry. Many ladies would gladly become your wife. I—”
Thomas interrupted her with a gentle touch on her hand.
“No, my dear. Pray abandon these kind intentions. Not many years ago, I had a wife and two sons, but they are dead, and I do not wish to relive that particular chapter of my life.”
“I did not know. I am sorry—”
Thomas stroked her hand gently, again.
“This is the one subject I do not wish to discuss, and the search for a wife ends tonight as well. But we shall have plenty of time for all our other plans.”
