“Mr. Bennet! Come down here and greet your daughters,” Mamma said, beckoning her husband with a wave of her arm. “You can retire to your books and port after we have dined.” She cast an aggrieved look towards her brother. “I swear, since we have arrived, he has not left the library. Soon, I shall have to order footmen to carry him out of the room to dine and sleep.”
Uncle Edward laughed, “I am not surprised Franny. We have always known Thomas’ first love is reading thick tomes of history and epic tales.” He laughed harder at his sister’s look of outrage. “Fear not, after a couple of years, he will have exhausted all the books and return to admiring his wife.”
“You are no help, Edward Gardiner, and I rue the day I invited you to visit.” Mamma sniffed and held her nose in the air, very much like Lydia. “Come inside, I have ordered a small tea to enjoy until we are called to dine.”
She swept up the stairs, passing her husband without giving him any notice. The five of them mounted the stairs, and Mr. Morgan paused in front of Papa.
“Lord Rumley, I am pleased to make your acquaintance, and after we dine, may I request a moment of your time for a private audience?”
Papa’s eyes widened, then narrowed as he cast a glance in Jane’s direction.
“You may, although Jane is of age and does not require my consent for anything she has planned.”
“That is true, my lord, but she does wish for your blessing and I cannot deny her something that will make her happy.”
“First we eat, then we talk.” Papa moved from the door andentered the manor, greeting his brother and wife before walking up the stairs to the family parlour.
Dinner was a joyful affair. Mamma begged for detailed descriptions of what the ladies in town wore to all events. Nothing was spared, from lace to sleeve lengths, from tiaras to turbans, not a single article of attire was left uninspected, much to the dismay of Papa.
“Enough, Madam!” he finally declared when Mamma brought up shoe roses. “My ears are beginning to bleed out. Could this not have waited until the ladies withdrew to the drawing room?”
“Yes, it could have, but then I would not have had the pleasure to watch that little vein which tends to throb above your left eye when you are dissatisfied. It has been many months since it has made an appearance.”
Papa’s mouth dropped open.
“You have tortured me in order to witness my displeasure?”
Mamma turned ocean blue eyes to her husband, her expression one of complete innocence. “I most certainly did. It was only fair play since you waited until the day of Mr. Collins’ arrival last November to inform me that he would grace our presence for a full se’ennight.”
At that, the whole table began to chuckle, the loudest being their father. When the laughter had abated, and Papa had wiped the corner of his eyes with his still clean napkin, he spoke.
“My dear, I am pleased as punch that the young woman I married has safely arrived in Bedfordshire. I have missed her dearly.”
“As have I, husband.As have I.”
“I would be remissif I did not inform you that the letters patent for this earldom have a special remainder clause, which allows the oldest grandson, in lieu of a direct heir, to inherit the title and lands. Until now, it has never been invoked as there has always been a legitimate male heir.” Bennet watched Morgan carefully. Through his contacts, he was aware the gentleman was a viscount, even though he abjured the title and carried on in society as a mere mister, rather than Viscount Waring.
His future son-in-law remained almost preternaturally still, his attention seemingly fixed on the flames of the fireplace.
“I have never wanted a title.”
“That much I have learned, and your reasons as to why are yours alone. I myself did not use the title of Viscount Tuttreon when the earl’s son died. It makes no difference to me; I did not wish for you to be caught unaware.”
“Elizabeth and Darcy could have a son before Jane and me.”
“Elizabeth and Darcy?”
Morgan finally raised his gaze and had the decency to blush.
“I thought you knew.”
“No, not a word.”
“I suspect Darcy will grace us with his presence in less than a week. He is quite besotted and will not like being away from your daughter for any length of time.” Morgan gave him a lopsided grin. “I have enjoyed watching my taciturn friend fall in love.”
“I will believe it when I see it,” Bennet grumbled. “It is well known he did not find my daughter tolerable enough to dance with last autumn.”
“If it gives you any consolation, he finds her more than tolerable now.”
