Page 74 of Collins Takes Charge

“Mrs Younge would never say anything about Ramsgate, would she?” Georgiana worried.

“She will not, because she knows that if we even suspect that your name has crossed her lips, she will end up being arrested and tried for fraud,” Fitzwilliam assured his ward.

“If she did, I would make sure she is transported in the most squalid conditions possible,” Hilldale promised.

Now that Georgiana was aware that not only could that man neither hurt her nor anyone else ever again, she knew that she was finally ready to move past what had occurred at Ramsgate.

The three cousins and Mrs Annesley all saw the moment that a veil of peace settled over Anna. She would be well.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“Was my reading of the entail correct?” William Collins asked his cousin.

He had been sitting with Mary and the other ladies in the drawing room. Not only was Cousin Fanny subdued, but so were her two youngest daughters. It was the calmest that room had ever felt when the three had been present. William was brought back to the present when his cousin spoke.

“I have, and your interpretation of the entail is sound. Would you object if we take the night, sleep, and then meet here in the morning?” Bennet requested.

“I have no objections to that.” William made his way back to Mary’s side.

Chapter 28

The next morning Bennet was prepared to talk to his cousin when said cousin knocked on his study door and entered when bade to do so.

Bennet, who was seated behind his wide oak desk, began to speak as soon as his cousin had taken a seat opposite. He eschewed the normal morning greeting. “As I said, there is no question regarding what the entail documents allow you to do, if you so chuse to do so. Most men in your position would have evicted us without a thought. You are giving me a chance to correct my wrongs of the past. Why?”

“We are family, and when I marry Mary, we will be even more closely aligned. The only way I will enforce that clause of the entail, is if you do not live up to what you commit to do in our agreement,” William responded. “Do you agree to all the terms I laid out when we met the previous time?”

“I do. I will not prevaricate. At my age, change will not be easy, but I will do everything in my power to make the adjustments needed,” Bennet promised.

“No more making sport of your family rather than checking and correcting them?” William asked pointedly. “If I am candid with you, there have been some instances where you have teased Cousin Fanny and preyed on her fears which seemed to me more cruel than amusing.”

“I am aware of the way I have treated my wife and daughters, and I shall endeavour to change how I act towards them,” Bennet vowed. “When I think of my inaction and indolence it makes me sick to my stomach. Had it not been for your taking charge of the situation, my family would have been ruined. On the one hand, I am eternally grateful that you averted that disaster. On the other hand, I burn with shame that it was you and not me who saved my family. However, thankfulness outweighs my bruised pride that I was not the one who acted.”

“In that case, I will write to my father and brother to see if they know of a good man to be Longbourn’s steward. I will also ask Darcy,” William related. “What about a governess and companion, either in one lady or two?”

“For that, I will write to the Gardiners.” Bennet paused. “Am I correct that Miss Darcy has a companion with her?”

“Indeed, Mrs Annesley? Why do you ask? If your plan is to employ her, do not attempt it. Darcy will not allow you to steal her away,” William jested.

“I would not dare do that to one of Mr Darcy’s employees. I only meant to ask her if she knows anyone she would recommend for the roles of governess and companion? I have decided to employ both.”

“Aside from Mrs Annesley, you may want to ask Fitzwilliam and Darcy if there are any names they have of candidates they looked at before Mrs Annesley.”

“That is a good suggestion.” Bennet cogitated for some moments. “I am sorry that you felt like you had to portray yourself as a buffoon in your letter to me. I now realise that you could have arrived and demanded I vacate this estate based on the terms of the entail, but you did not. By the by, I have considered why my father never mentioned the terms of the entail as they relate to the income of the estate. He never considered that I would allow things to decline as they have. Hence, there was no reason to speak of it, and of course, I never took the time to read the document.”

“That Cousin…”

“Will you not call me Bennet without cousin before my name?”

“I will. You may call me William or Collins. The latter as long as my brother or father are not present,” William responded. “As I was about to say, Bennet, that is in the past, and there is nought you can do to change it. All you can do is make sure that today and the future are better.”

“It is good to know the Bennet name will live on here after me,” Bennet mused. “When you write to your family, will you let them know I know the truth now, and no unread letter from a Collins will ever be consigned to the fire again? Also, please pass on my contrition for how I, and Bennets before me, acted towards them. In fact, please inform them that it would be my pleasure to welcome them to their ancestral home if they chuse to come.”

William was impressed that Bennet was willing to attempt to change and honest enough to own that he may err along the way. He would definitely have a newsy letter to post to Collins Hollow. It was good to know that after so many years the discord between the two branches of the family was at and end and the breach would finally be healed.

“Collins, unless you are otherwise engaged, would you ride out with me to begin speaking to the remaining tenants and note all their needs?” Bennet requested.

“I would like that,” William responded.