Page 89 of The Same Noble Line
“You might have asked for a great deal more, as you must be well aware. My cousins are Darcys.”
“They have not been brought up as such, and I do not intend to tell them so until they wed. My wife is a good-hearted woman at the core, but she is not discreet, and I do not wish for men to approach my daughters for fortune or connection. That way lies a terrible unhappiness. Ten thousand pounds, plus the addition of two thousand each that I have been able to put away on their behalf, is more than sufficient to attract a respectable man, without inviting the attentions of the worst sorts of fortune hunters. This is what I deem fair.”
“It is more than fair, sir.”
“I would ask only one other thing: that Fanny always has a home. But I shall leave that matter for you and Mr. Bingley to arrange, as I assume once you and Elizabeth wed that you would have seen to that anyway.”
He would have. “And what of Longbourn, Mr. Bennet?”
“I think you may safely call me Bennet, now.”
“And you may call me Darcy.” He leaned forward. “You will no longer be master of Longbourn if you sign papers that say you are a Darcy. Will you move your family to your daughters’ estate?”
“Well, now,” Bennet drawled. “That is another interesting story, and the other reason I travelled to see my brother the attorney after your visit yesterday. I wished all of this to be done in the strictest of confidence, and Phillips is a good attorney. He will keep my secret.”
“Another secret?” Darcy inquired warily.
“Relax, my boy.” Bennet chuckled. “This one has to do with the entail on Longbourn.”
Darcy rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.
“Do not distress yourself. I might have appealed to Jane and Elizabeth to move the family to Farnham Grange, and I know they would have agreed immediately, though there is a family settled there, and it would have required time to break the lease. However, my Bennet grandfather overlooked something critical when drafting the entail. The phrase ‘heirs of the blood’ never appears in the document. It merely states that the eldest son inherits. Neither Collins nor anyone else can enforce a claim against us.”
Darcy’s brows lifted in surprise. Although the man before him was not a Bennet by blood, it seemed his relaxed attitude towards his estate was a perfect fit for them. “Surely such an omission would not hold up to scrutiny?”
“As the document has remained unchallenged for some years, Phillips believes that it would,” Mr. Bennet said, and then smiled wryly. “My father always said he would ‘look into it,’ but I suspect now that it was never his intention to make any changes. It was how he was able to legally leave Longbourn to me, and he was right to do so. Old Collins was a terrible man. The current Mr. Collins is foolish, even a little petty, but his father was wicked.”
Darcy allowed himself a small smile. “Will you seek to adopt another heir?”
“I did consider it, that night you first heard Sir William’s ode and Collins almost insulted Elizabeth,” Mr. Bennet replied, shaking his head. “But no. Were a boy born to us, that is one thing, but as it seems unlikely, Collins can have Longbourn. Now that Charlotte Lucas has married him, they have a better chance of making the place profitable than I ever did. My only concern is that my family is provided for.”
A deep, abiding sense of gratitude swept through Darcy, rendering him a little weak. “You may rest assured that Bingley and I shall care for them all.” After so much agony, Darcy couldnot believe how neatly everything had been resolved. And it was not due to anything he had done, either. It was purely that Bennet, while owning his shortcomings, still cared deeply for his family.
And that family now included himself and Georgiana.
“Do you know,” Bennet said, “my father taught me that honour is not measured by maintaining principles when they serve our interests, but by upholding them precisely when they might threaten everything we hold dear.”
Darcy chuckled. “My father said the same.”
“Did he, now?” Bennet shook his head. “I told you that your father was always going to be a better master of Pemberley than me, and here is the proof.” He caught Dary’s gaze and held it. “Apart from my own father, I do not think I have met any other man who embodies that principle as well as you.”
Darcy demurred, and after a short pause, Bennet leaned back in his chair, an unmistakable glint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, Darcy," he said, steepling his fingers, "we have concluded all matters of great importance—except, of course, for you and Elizabeth. That battle, I am pleased to say, shall be yours alone to fight."
Darcy nodded. “I will speak to her as soon as she returns, if she wishes to see me.”
“Ha! She has been waiting by the window for days, hoping you would be well enough to resume your calls.”
“Is that true?” Darcy asked, hope surging through him before he could restrain himself.
Bennet smiled knowingly. “Indeed. Quite unlike her. Perhaps she is too young to wed. Or perhaps I should join you on your wedding tour. A proper chaperone, you see. Protect her interests. I have always wanted to travel.”
Darcy cleared his throat. Elizabeth was the man’s favourite daughter, and while a sister sometimes accompanied a newbride, he knew of no fathers who ever had. It was so difficult to tell when Bennet was in jest—but the man had just given him permission to speak with Elizabeth, and so if it was what he truly wished . . . Before he could form a response, the older man’s mouth twitched into a smirk.
“Do not be concerned,” Mr. Bennet assured him. “I am not interested in joining a newly married couple on their journeys. In fact, I promise not to hover too closely—though I should very much like to inspect the Pemberley library. Perhaps I could even set up housekeeping there, away from the commotion of your household.”
Darcy allowed himself the hint of a smile. “You are, of course, welcome to visit, Bennet. Though I suspect Elizabeth might take issue with you monopolising the library. She is quite fond of books herself.”
“Even Elizabeth shall have other duties and will occasionally wish to take walks. I presume you have a large park?”
