“Yes, two of our Bennet side brothers. Richard arrives on the morrow,” Lizzy informed her friend.
“William arrives on the morrow as well,” Georgiana added.
“I know that Gigi!” Elizabeth blushed. Her reaction was not missed by Amy or Georgiana who looked at one another knowingly.
“Look!” exclaimed Kitty.“There are Papa, James, and Tom.” Kitty pointed to the three riders crossing the meadow ahead of them. The four young ladies wheeled their horses and increased speed to catch up to the three Bennet men.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Branch had let it drop near Jones one evening, as they were preparing to sleep that he needed to be able to send more money to his ailing mother, so he would have to find ways to earn more funds.
Jones had responded by informing his‘friend’that he may know of a job that would pay him over one hundred pounds. Branch had pretended to salivate over such a sum and Jones told him to be patient, that he would call on him soon.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As planned, Richard and Will had met at an inn on the Great North Road and travelled the rest of the distance to Pemberley together from there. It was perfect for Richard, as he only had to ride his horse a short distance until he was in the warm, well sprung, and comfortable Darcy carriage. It was above five in the afternoon on their second day of travel when they entered the courtyard at Pemberley. Will surveyed the welcoming committee and was disappointed that Elizabeth was not among those welcoming him home.
Just then from out of the house’s doors there was a streak of yellow with raven coloured hair trailing behind it, followed by a light blue one with blonde hair as Elizabeth launched herself into her brother’s open arms with Georgiana doing the same to Will.
“It has been far too long, Richard!” Elizabeth chastised him in jest,“We have seen hide nor hair of you since Jane’s and Perry’s wedding!”
“It is the Army, Lizzy; I cannot abscond anytime that the fancy takes me. They take a very dim view of absenting one’s self without leave or, as it would be after three days, desertion!” Richard told her as he admired his sister. She was certainly not his little sister any longer, and if the way that William was staring at her was any indication, his youthful infatuation with her mind had grown into full-blown romantic love.
“Who is this tall young lady I see before me?” William teased his sister.
“Oh, do be serious, Will,” Georgiana scolded.“You know it is me.”
The two were welcomed by the rest of the family and were soon on their way up to their chambers to wash and change for dinner. If Will thought Elizabeth was irresistible before, he realised that even after less than three months; she was even more beautiful and womanly looking than she was when he last saw her. He would need to seek his parent’s advice again.
Chapter 12
Elizabeth would always remember her sixteenth birthday as the happiest one to date. Alongside the Fitzwilliams and Darcys were Lady Rose and her birth family. The only ones missing were Perry and Jane, and Anne and Ian, both couples still enjoying their wedding trips. It was also the first year in her memory that her birthday was being celebrated on the day that she was actually born.
To add to her joy, she and her closest cousin shared a birthday. Georgiana was thirteen and looking more like a young lady than a girl with each day that passed. In July, Georgiana would be going to a school for young ladies in London. Lizzy had never been sent to school because, in her family’s opinion, thanks to her intelligence and non-traditional education, that kind of school would have been a waste of time for her.
The chocolate cake had three-tiered layers. The bottom tier had seventeen candles for Elizabeth, while between the middle and the top, there were fourteen candles for Georgiana. They started blowing out candles opposite one another and both moved clockwise around the cake until all one and thirty candles were extinguished.
Bennet had moisture in his eyes while Tammy squeezed his arm. The last birthday he had attended for his Lizzy was fifteen years ago. All the progress they had made at melding their two families was heart-warming and, considering that he never expected to see his second daughter again in this lifetime, was beyond anything that he could have imagined.
One daughter was a duchess, and the other was raised the daughter of an earl. He could not imagine it if he had tried. Who would Kitty marry; a prince? The thought of his youngest marrying made him maudlin. William and John knew what he wanted and with the sale of Netherfield plus the five thousand he had added, they each had a legacy of fifty thousand pounds generating income invested with Gardiner and Associates.
Bennet was sorry that neither the Gardiners nor the Phillips were able to join them at Pemberley or Snowhaven, but both families would be present at Rosings Park. His sister Maddie was increasing with her second child, and Easter would be the last time Maddie would be able to travel any distance until after she recovered from her upcoming confinement.
William watched Elizabeth with supreme pleasure as she tucked into her oversized slice of cake. He had had the conversation with his parents the previous night.
Will had knocked on his parents’sitting-room door, and when summoned inside he had joined them in a glass of wine in front of the crackling fire.“I need your advice,” he opened. After his blunder years ago, he had sworn to be open with his parents and ask their advice if in a quandary.
“Is it about a certain extremely intelligent cousin by any chance?” his mother asked with an indulgent smile.
“How did you know? Am I that transparent?” Will was embarrassed that his parents had noticed his problem.
“Yes, you are. Do you realise just how often you stare at Lizzy when you are together?” George asked.“The way you stare at her so intently while trying not to appear as if you are, be careful that Lizzy does not think that you are seeking fault in her!”
“It is the opposite; I find her perfection personified! I love her, not like I loved her mind then, but as a woman; as the woman, the only woman that I would ever want to bind my life to!” Will laid his feelings bare for his parents.
“You are aware that Andrew will not even consider an application to court her, never mind a request for her hand until after she has at least experienced some of her first season,” his mother informed him.
“I am well aware of that, but I do not know how she feels about me! I know that Wes De Melville is interested in her; mayhap he is better for her,” he returned weakly.
