Mrs. Fitzwilliam Read online

  Mrs. Fitzwilliam (The Lost Heir Novella Series, Book One)

  A Pride and Prejudice Variation

  April Floyd

  Copyright © 2018 by April Floyd

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  About the Author

  Also by April Floyd

  Introduction

  The Lost Heir series came to me many months ago and finally I have been able to sit down and begin to imagine it on the following pages. There will be three books to this novella series and though they will each end with a cliffhanger, it is not a hard cliffhanger nor one that will irritate the reader.

  This is a story in three parts and all three will be a story contained within themselves and lend to the furthering of the series.

  The titles are, in the order they should be read and will be released :

  Mrs. Fitzwilliam

  The Colonel’s Son

  Mr. Darcy’s Retreat

  Lady Matlock is most contrary in this book and Wickham returns with a promotion and eyes on the fortune Elizabeth has been granted as a widow. Mr. Darcy regrets deeply that he left Hertfordshire when he did and Georgiana Darcy becomes great friends with the Bennet sisters. The entire Bennet family, including the Bingleys and the Gardiners are present as Elizabeth will need their support for the treachery that meets her at every turn. Come along on a dramatic journey where Elizabeth and Darcy must fight for their happiness and that of the colonel’s son.

  Chapter 1

  Autumn 1817

  Elizabeth Bennet Fitzwilliam tousled her young son’s hair as he hugged her tightly. He was a sturdy young man of four and some months who favored his father, the deceased Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

  As he left her to join Nanny at the parlor door of Netherfield Park, Elizabeth was delighted to see her sister ruffle the golden curls of Richard Thomas Bennet Fitzwilliam’s head. Though he would never know his father, the small boy was afforded the abundant love and support of the Bennet and Bingley families.

  The man who had married her sister lifted the little boy high above his head to spin him about the entryway inducing a gale of excited squeals and giggles that caused Elizabeth’s heart to squeeze with a mix of emotions. It ought to be Richard hoisting their son into the air.

  But Charles Bingley had given them a home under his roof when Richard had been called away to war. When word came of Richard’s death months later, he had told Elizabeth she and the babe must always consider Netherfield home. When her son was much older, she would take him to meet Richard’s family.

  When her husband was still living, there had been an estrangement between him and his parents. Elizabeth had never known the details. The problem in her eyes seemed to be that his mother was determined to chart the course of his adult life. He was the second son and had no interest in the heiresses she marched before him at every opportunity. But Richard had been adamant that his parents were cut out of his life.

  Her heart gave another twist when she heard young Richard join his cousin Rose in calling Mr. Bingley Papa. Rose Bennet Bingley was Jane and Charles’s first child and Jane was now increasing with their second.

  The designation of Papa for the man who was young Richard’s uncle came entirely from the fact that her son had come into the world months after his own father perished in the war. Charles always gently reminded the boy he was Uncle Charles.

  When the children had gone upstairs with Nanny, Jane and Charles came to sit with her. By the expressions both held, Elizabeth knew some news had come to them.

  A stable boy from Longbourn had come earlier in the day with a letter her father had received in the post. Mr. Bingley’s demeanor after he left his study with the letter in hand was subdued.

  Elizabeth had noticed the looks he and Jane cast her way all through luncheon. They were concerned and cautious and the tension in the room left Elizabeth in trepidation. She spoke slowly to control the tremble in her voice that would silence her if she allowed.

  “What has happened, then? Father must have thought he could not break the news to have sent it here to you Charles. There has never been a time when he could not confide in me.”

  Jane looked to her middle and clasped her hands together. That settled it for Elizabeth, something dire had been written in the letter but she could not think what might be worse than the death of her husband.

  Charles stood, his agitation too great to allow him to remain seated. “This letter comes from London, Lizzy. It is from the Matlocks. They request your presence in a meeting with their solicitors.”

  Elizabeth swallowed hard and blinked. She had not planned to meet them so soon and certainly not to make the existence of her son known to them while he was still so young.

  If there was one memory she had of Richard and the strained relationship with his mother it was that he was adamant there was no need to include his parents in his married life.

  Richard’s words rang in her ears as Charles stood with the letter unfolded in his hand.

  “She would do all in her power to part us, Lizzy. As the second son of an earl, my lot in life was to marry a wealthy young lady. The fact that I have not only shunned my parents wishes but married a woman they would never accept would vex my mother until she made our lives miserable.”

  Charles’s voice brought Elizabeth back to the present and a cold chill chased up her spine.

  “The letter says that Richard’s brother perished in a fire that swept through his club in London three months ago. The Matlocks shall name a male relative as heir since both sons are deceased.

  The solicitors began a search for any offspring either Fitzwilliam son may have had, though there was no reason to believe either had bastard children. The War Office replied with the news that you are Richard’s widow and a search was made that led them to Longbourn.”

  Silence enveloped the trio and the sound of the tea cart as the maid rolled it in from the hallway was a welcome return to the safety of Elizabeth’s everyday existence.

  Her world had just been altered in ways she could not imagine navigating and she glanced up to watch the maid pour the tea. The woman’s quiet efficiency calmed Elizabeth and she breathed deeply before reaching for her cup.

  When the maid left them, Jane began her efforts to ease Elizabeth’s mind. “Charles and I shall go with you to London, Lizzy. You will not be alone.”

  Elizabeth looked at her sister in disbelief. “I have no intention of going to London now or in the near future, Jane. Though I appreciate you would stay by my side if I entertained such folly, there is little chance of such a trip.”

  Charles moved to sit beside Elizabeth. “You cannot think that if you avoid them in London they shall not make the trip to Hertfordshire. Richard marrying without their knowledge or blessing is not to be borne, Lizzy. They shall come here and question you about his last days and grudgingly settle his portion of their estate upon you. Surely you understand the truth of the matter?”

  Instantly, Elizabeth realized Charles was correct. A family such as the Fitzwilliams would never accept that she would
not come to them in London. If Richard’s description of his mother were true, her controlling personality would not allow her to ignore Elizabeth’s existence. Her son would have to be revealed much sooner than she ever hoped. The reality of the letter and the end of her security at Netherfield weakened her composure.

  She leaned heavily against Charles and he placed an arm about her shoulders. “Your son shall come to know the rest of his family, Lizzy. It will be a wondrous thing for him to have another set of grandparents who will surely love him. He is the next Earl of Matlock, you know.”

  Charles’s last words sent Elizabeth to her feet and fleeing the parlor. Jane called after her and Charles stood at the parlor door calling her name as she rushed upstairs to her rooms.

  She wanted to go to her son and hold him close to her in motherly concern. He would pick up on her mood and become a handful for Nanny so Elizabeth pushed away the need to have him near.

  In her room at last, she paced to and fro her mind reeling in confusion. Just this morning her son belonged only to her and in the space of a few hours he was the next heir of the Matlock title and fortune. Elizabeth stopped her pacing and hugged herself tightly. He had been the next Earl of Matlock for three months now. It did not change the fact that he was her son.

  The thought comforted her and Elizabeth went to the window seat that looked out upon the gardens. It was the late Autumn and the blooms had faded and were gone. Still she found comfort in the rich colors of the leaves that gathered where flowers had bloomed only a month before.

  She thought of the hours she and Richard had spent in the gardens of both Netherfield and Longbourn. Theirs had been a happy courtship, for Richard was sharp of mind and ready with quips and teases that kept her laughing.

  They had met one day while she was in Meryton with her younger sisters. Lydia and Kitty were positively giddy over the young soldiers that paid them far too much attention.

  Elizabeth had been standing outside the bookseller’s shop perusing a novel she had bought when the Colonel approached. She recalled the words he spoke that piqued her interest. “If a book is well written, I always find it too short.”

  A wide smile crossed her lips at the memory. Richard had adored the fact that she was well read. He had no use for ladies who netted purses or sought only to adorn themselves to catch a husband.

  Though their time together had been far too short, Elizabeth had respected and loved him with all her heart. She had determined she would not fall in love with a soldier and pine over him as her younger sisters did, but Richard was kind and amiable. And so very dashing in his red coat so that she found she could not resist his attentions.

  She wished for the thousandth time that he was still alive to help her know what to do for their son. She did not believe he would have kept his son away from his family. Young Richard would have been a way for him to repair the broken relationship with his parents.

  Rising again, she determined to walk the grounds of Netherfield before finding her way to Longbourn to seek her father’s counsel. He would tell her, as Charles had earlier, that she must take her son to meet his family.

  Determined to hold on to the last days she and young Richard would have without certain interference, Elizabeth made her way back downstairs to retrieve her spencer.

  When she pulled open the great front door, a breeze swept her skirts about her legs and leaves twirled along the drive of Netherfield. Elizabeth took it to be an omen. Winds of change had come to her doorstep and there was no delaying the inevitable. She was a Fitzwilliam, as was her son, and they both must own the name Richard had given them.

  Chapter 2

  Elizabeth watched from her window as footmen carried trunk after trunk to the carriages gathered in the drive of Netherfield Park. The noise of her mother and sisters did not register as she paced her room with her son on her hip. He was restless and whimpered as he jostled about in her arms.

  Jane and Charles would take them to London to Bingley House, the townhome Charles had purchased as soon as he and Jane had returned from their wedding trip.

  Elizabeth had not been to London in some time. She had always enjoyed the theatre with their Aunt and Uncle Gardiner whose home was in Cheapside on Gracechurch Street.

  She and Jane had visited them many times as young girls and London afforded a different kind of society than the countryside of Hertfordshire.

  She looked at her son and knew it would be beneficial for him to be raised in Town amongst the upper classes now that he would be the heir to the Fitzwilliam fortune. Her heart feared such a life for him since it had never been what his dear Papa had wished for himself. But young Richard was not his father.

  Elizabeth knew she must put away Richard’s reserve where his family was concerned, though it felt like a betrayal. Circumstances were much different from when they had married. Had he survived the war, he would have been the next Earl of Matlock and their son would grow up far from Longbourn.

  Fate often had a way of changing the course of lives in the same manner nature had of changing the course of a river. All one might do was to flow along with the tide instead of fight futilely against it.

  Still, she would fight to see that her son knew his family in Hertfordshire and a simpler way of life. They could return to Longbourn whenever they wished.

  Mrs. Bennet called for her from the hallway as her younger sisters bemoaned their fate of being left behind at Longbourn instead of taken to London. “Hush girls! We shall surely visit Lizzy and Jane there. Just think of a winter ball in Town!”

  Elizabeth gave a final glance about her rooms at Netherfield and pulled young Richard closer. She whispered against his precious silken curls. “I shall keep you safe, my love.”

  Soon, she was secure in the carriage with Nanny and the children. Jane and Charles would follow along in a second carriage. Elizabeth wished she might confide in her sister during the trip but Jane had her own worries with traveling so late in her condition.

  She would have her second child in London and though there were any number of experienced midwives to be found there, Charles had arranged for the midwife who delivered Rose to come along with the family.

  The children’s questions as they made their way to Town would not allow Elizabeth to ponder her future and the trip to London passed in a blur. Aunt and Uncle Gardiner would meet them at Bingley House as Charles had sent an express the day before they were due to arrive.

  In due time, the carriages rolled into town and Elizabeth gathered the children by the windows and spoke to them of the sights of the city. “There is Vauxhall Gardens. Papa shall take you to see the fireworks there come the New Year!”

  The children had never seen fireworks before and both clapped their hands with glee at this promise. Nanny smiled at Elizabeth and slid over her bench to join her young charges in gawping at all the people on the streets.

  When the carriages arrived at Bingley House in Grosvenor Street, Elizabeth’s countenance clouded. The townhome was lovely from the outside and her aunt and uncle were there waiting as promised, but a sense of foreboding could not be ignored.

  Forcing herself forward, she took her Uncle Gardiner’s hand as he opened her carriage door. “Lizzy, how wonderful it is to see you once more! What has brought you to London with Bingley and Jane?”

  Forcing a smile she most assuredly did not feel, Elizabeth gazed upon her uncle as he caught both children when they launched themselves forward away from Nanny and the carriage. There would be much fun for Rose and Richard in London with their cousins, the Gardiner children.

  “I’ve been away for so long, Uncle Edward. I thought it might be fun for Richard to see Town and visit his cousins. He and Rose adore one another’s company but I believe he shall enjoy Peter’s company too.”

  Elizabeth hoped her words were convincing as her Aunt Madeline arrived and swept her into a warm embrace. “Peter begged to come along today but we told him surely you and Richard would come tonight for dinner. I don’t expe
ct Bingley and Jane shall since your sister is in need of an early night with all this traveling.”

  “I should love to dine at Gracechurch Street and spend the night if we may. I have so missed those days, Aunt Madeline.”

  Rose and Richard had grown quiet in Uncle Gardiner’s arms once they realized they did not know him. They had both been but babes the last time the Gardiners came to Netherfield.

  When Elizabeth mentioned spending the night, Rose leaned closer to Richard and whispered, her little eyes leaking fat tears, “Do not leave me bubby!”

  Elizabeth took the girl and kissed her cheek. “Your mother shall say you must go with us if you smile prettily when you ask her.”

  The little girl immediately ceased her crying and reached for her mother. Richard bounced into Elizabeth’s arms as soon as they were empty. “Will Cousin Peter like Rosie, mama? She is a girl.”

  The last sentence was delivered in such a whisper, her boy’s habit when speaking to her of secrets and words that might offend, it caused Elizabeth to laugh. “Peter will come to love Rose as you do, Richard.”

  The boy did not like this answer. “I do not want Peter to love her, only to like her. She is my Rose.”

  Elizabeth loved her son so when he spoke this way of his cousin. They would love one another as siblings for all their lives. ‘Twas a wonderful solace when Elizabeth despaired of marrying again. There were precious few gentlemen in Hertfordshire she might consider when comparing them to Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

  Jane gave Rose to Aunt Madeline and touched Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Let us go inside, Lizzy. The children need their naps and I would like tea before I go up for my own nap.”