“If you truly believe that, then you do not deserve her love, William,” George admonished his son.
“It is hard not knowing,” William whined unbecomingly.
“If the way she looks at you is any indication, then I have a feeling that Lizzy will be my daughter one day,” Lady Anne soothed her son, who gaped at her in disbelieving surprise.
He was snapped out of his reverie thinking of the young woman that he loved by someone handing him a plate of cake; he decided that he would have to be a lot more observant of his cousin Elizabeth.
After the presents were opened, Will and Richard met with George Darcy, Andrew, and Bennet in the master’s study. They were informed of what Branch had learned from the stable hand Jones, how Jones now thought that Branch was working with him to achieve his employer’s aim, and how they believed that said employer was none other than Lady Catherine.
Richard, of course, wanted to head for the stables and force the location of his former Aunt from the man, but he was able to see the wisdom of the plan that had been formulated. Both Andrew and Uncle George promised Richard and Will faithfully that they would be apprised of any new developments.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Branch followed Jones into Kympton on the night before his accomplice was to return to pick up his note. The note Jones carried read:Nothing to report.The master wanted to keep the ones that requested the intelligence interested, and Branch was sure that Jones’employer had never seen his writing before, or if he or she had, they had not paid attention to it.
After Jones removed the loose knot of wood and deposited his note, he left. Branch gave him fifteen minutes before opening the hiding place and switched the notes. As he left, he nodded to one of his fellow guards who the master had installed in quarters which had a clear view of the tree, and more especially the knothole.
The next day as the sun rose, the watcher observed a man look around to make sure he was unobserved. He opened the cover, removed the note, and closed the hole again. The man slipped away, and a few minutes later a horse left the inn heading south. The man wrote a report and handed it to a boy, one of the tenant’s sons, to ride back to the estate and deliver the note to the master.
The master had decided against trying to follow the man on horseback to his source, as even a dim man would eventually notice he was being followed over many miles of road. Until instructed otherwise, the guard would be at his post every fortnight to observe, unless Branch discovered a change in the schedule.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mrs Fitzpatrick was in anticipation of her footman returning from Derbyshire. When he finally arrived, she held out her hand for the piece of rolled-up parchment. She read it and then threw it into the fire. It read:
4 April – both families Rosings Park, Kent. Many outriders.
There would be no chance to put her plan into motion, not with the outriders and on the Great North Road that was so well travelled. No, as much as she hated to, she would have to wait a little longer, but at least she had her spy in place and no one was any wiser.
George Wickham too was frustrated; he had discovered where the old bat kept her fortune…in the bank! How was he to access her money from the bank? Thanks to her suspicious nature, he was sure that she had instructed the bank that she and she alone was to be there in person to withdraw money. Now his puzzle became how to make her want to withdraw a large sum.
He was at a loss on what to do, but he was confident in his ability to charm, so he started to strategize. He had lost what he considered his birth right, Rosings Park, so it was imperative that he succeed in getting his hands on her fortune.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
April 1807
Elizabeth was looking forward to hugging Anne and her new brother Ian. She was in the second carriage that turned into Rosings from the lane just after they passed the Hunsford Parsonage. Mr David Bamber, his wife, and their three sons were all enjoying the spring weather in their garden and had waved to the carriages as they passed their house.
It was frustrating that the view of those waiting was obscured by the first coach. Elizabeth, Amy, Georgiana, William, and John alighted from the carriage. As soon as Elizabeth heard Aunt Rose proclaim“Perry” she knew that Jane, too, had come. She picked up her skirts and ran toward the entrance, where she spied Jane in a hug with Mother Bennet. She waited patiently until Jane had hugged her father, then she fell into her sister’s arms.
“How well you look, Jane,” Elizabeth gushed as she held onto her sister as if she had been gone for years, not months.
“I missed you too, Lizzy,” Jane smiled at her sister.
“It is good of you to say so, but I have a feeling that your husband kept you busy so you did not have too much time to think of us,” Lizzy stated innocently.
“Lizzy!” Jane blushed deep scarlet.
“What did I say?” Lizzy asked as she saw anyone who was or had been married trying to hold back their laughs.“I meant that you had so much to see, so I am not sure…” Her mouth made a perfect‘O’as she realised how what she had said could also have been heard. As soon as it hit her, Elizabeth joined Jane in blushing, and those who had tried to hold back their laughing failed.
Anne introduced her housekeeper and butler, the same couple that her mother and Aunt Anne had hired, Mr and Mrs Firth, and asked them to make sure that all the guests and their trunks arrived at the correct chambers. Before going up to her chambers, Amy was pleased to see her parents and her older brother and wife.After greeting the rest of her family, she was shown to her chambers in the suite that she shared with Lizzy. Georgiana and Kitty were in the next suite across from William and John, who were placed next to James and Tom.
As her lady’s maid Thénardier was changing her, Elizabeth was sad that Will would not be joining them as he would be spending Easter with the Bingleys and their friends in the Meryton area. At least she had seen the object of her love at Pemberley for Gigi’s and her birthdays.
The following day, the De Melvilles joined the party at Rosings. From Elizabeth’s perspective, it was a mixed blessing. Retta, who was fifteen, would be joining them, but so would Wes. She did not know how to deflect his attention, and she could say nothing to him as it would be a highly inappropriate conversation for a girl not out to have with a man.
The following morning Elizabeth decided to take one of her long rambles before the sun rose, accompanied by Aggie and Johns. Before she exited the house, she went to the kitchens and was rewarded with a warm roll and two fresh muffins. With Aggie sniffing everything in sight, Elizabeth set off at a fast pace. She walked through the formal gardens, which were a lot less formal than they used to be and had grown to be ten times more beautiful through the years and arrived at the grove that she enjoyed walking in on her prior visits.
