The storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux

Fantasy- Thomas Bennet and his young sister were left orphans had a sister. He raises his young sister's child, one that Fanny Bennet dislikes. Nobody knows the father's identity. Maj Fitzwilliams marries Elizabeth when she is 17. Darcy is away missing the marriage but returns to find a tragedy. Romance Fantasy A DE HEA

Love Never Dies

1786-London

Thomas Bennet held Penelope Bennet's cold hand. His younger sister would not stop crying, their father had died the day before, leaving them orphans. They had just exited the reading of their father's bequest and still reeling from the nasty surprise revealed by the solicitor.

The day was cold, but the young pair didn't feel it. Thomas was confused, it wasn't what his father had told him or showed him less than a year ago.

The title and the bulk of the fortune were left to Andrew, their half-brother, as expected. He also was bequeathed the London townhouse the Bennet siblings' mother had brought into the marriage. It was not fair, not at all.

Thomas received a small entailed estate in the Hertfordshire; Longbourn was the name. He also received half of his German mother's dowry, to operate the estate. Penelope had her dowry worth 15,000 pounds, a bequest of another 10,000 pounds, and her mother's jewelry, except some choice pieces left to Thomas' future bride.

"Well, well, Penny has blossomed into a real beauty, and father left me as your guardian. Lady Margot will love the company, "Lord Andrew, her half brother drawled in a lewd tone. His eyes examined the fourteen-year-old Penelope with great interest. Unfortunately, Penny and Thomas missed it amid their grief.

"I want to live with Thomas, I hardly know you," Penelope argued.

"It would not be proper, Thomas is a single man after all. You must pack and be ready to leave by sunrise." He dared Thomas to contradict him, but Thomas knew it would be a wasted effort, the law would be on Lord Andrew's side.

Thomas left for the Hertfordshire. He took over the middle size estate, forever giving up his dreams of teaching at his Alma Mater, to manage his estate.

He married Fanny Gardiner just a year later. It was not a love match; they married a few weeks later after he 'compromised' her.

The flighty local beauty was a favorite amongst the red coats who were encamped outside of Meryton, and he had often seen her hanging from the arm of a haughty blond captain.

Several weeks had passed after the regiment had left, and Thomas was invited to a local assembly. Usually, he was not one for attending dances or drinking heavily. Still, this night, he imbibed too many spirits with a local solicitor, Mr. Phillips.

The next day, he could hardly recall the evening, but according to Phillips, he asked Fanny to dance with him. After drinking too many cups, he followed the tradesman's daughter into a dark alcove.

Apparently, Mrs. Phillips was looking for her older sister. She was worried after her husband told her that Thomas had too many cups. So she went to find them. Thomas was told that Mrs. Phillips had seen the couple in an amorous embrace.

Nevertheless, Thomas, second son to a noble family, was not naïve and knew he had been hoodwinked. Regardless, Thomas decided to marry her, Fanny was beautiful and a good kisser.

He had also hoped to convince Andrew to allow Penelope to live with the newly married couple. That was the other reason to agree to marry; however, the express to Andrew remained unanswered.

During their wedding night, Thomas was neither fooled with the fake tears of pain, nor did he miss the large darkened nipples, or the slight bump he touched in the dark of the room. His bride was with child, and he was the best prospect for the pregnant girl. He didn't care, a child was a child, and he was married to the mother, what could be simpler.

Less than six months later, Fanny Bennet gave birth to a robust baby girl, "Dear, I am glad our firstborn is a girl; it will be easier that way, don't you think? Thomas touched the newborn gingerly.

He wasn't finished, "I will not have to explain why my firstborn is not my heir. I just wonder how we can explain a full-term child." That was all he said before kissing her brow and leaving the room. She dried a grateful tear, only one.

A couple years later, Fanny helped Thomas to pack. He needed to take Penelope to stay with their aunt, at his mother's homestead in Swabia. "I must go, Penny cannot stay at Andrew's, not after the terrible disagreement with my brother's wife. Penny wants to go to be with our aunt."

What Penelope she had revealed to him couldn't be said to anyone. He was taking his young sister as far away as she could, and she could never return to England, that much he knew. If she had told him the truth, heaven helped them all.

Suddenly, folk tales and children's stories might be true, and not in a pleasant way; stories of people disappearing and never seen again became a strong possibility. It was best to be cautious. Penelope needed an ocean between England and wherever she stayed; Thomas concluded after a quick research.

"I don't see why she cannot stay here? I am with child, and I will need you here." Fanny cried and was in a rage. Not that she loved Thomas, but she liked the marital bed, and the scholarly man was well versed in matters of love.

Thomas couldn't tell her that Penny was increasing, it wasn't a good idea.

That wasn't all, Lady Lucas had looked at her handsome Thomas with an appraising eye. Fanny remembered, "Lucky you Fanny, a second son to a noble family, smart and handsome at that, my, my. I wouldn't let him go too far if I were you." She could hear those words repeated over and over; indeed, what if some foreign woman, a noble one, caught his eye?

Thomas had grown fonder of his wife, although not bright, she was fire on the marriage bed. Fanny was always open to his suggestions to try the fresh approaches to marital relations found during his studies. However, Penny was his first responsibility, and he was aware that Andrew was a bad pence.

Who was the guilty one, Thomas was not sure? At first, Penny was tight-lipped until she had told him her version of the truth. Andrew proposed to send her to the country and leave the child there; he would raise it since his wife had two stillbirths. This made Tom further suspect Andrew.

He sent an express to his mother's half-sister with his suspicions. Thank goodness that his Tante Hilde, his mother's sister, had written to bring his niece right away. Tante Hilde was single, wealthy, and had remote properties in the Swabian Albs. She knew that Penny was increasing since Penny had already written to her.

Penelope-

Schawbisch Gmünd, 1791

Penny cried the entire time, wanting to stay in England. Until the last minute, she stood by the window of the room where she was made to sleep. Thomas wouldn't let her step a foot outside and kept a bar on the window. It was necessary after listening to Penny, lies or not, it merited his care. She cried all the way to the Swabian Albs, and for days after that.

The young Englishman and his widowed sister walked around the Markplatz (City Market) of the bustling city. They were looking at the fresh produce and local wares brought from different regions.

The young lady's husband had been killed in the war with the French. Regrettably, the young Frau* (Mrs.) with child was always melancholic. It made the locals feel sorry for the granddaughter of a well liked Graf*(Earl) of a nearby city.

During the months spent there, the Bennet siblings had learned enough of the region's dialect and were able to converse with the locals. Tante Hilde walked ahead of them with their housekeeper and two burly men to carry the baskets for their shopping.

"Thomas hold Penny's arm close to you. It is crowded here. Ah, there, I see my good friend Frau Schmidt and her nephew, Frederick." She pointed at a well-dressed couple.

"Penny, come you must be introduced, his father is also a noble. I still don't understand why you married a commoner." Her aunt grumbled at Thomas and pulled Penny towards a tall blond man with specs, serious-looking, and handsome, who was already staring at beautiful auburn-hair, Penelope.

Weeks later, Thomas prepared to go back to England. Penny would not be returning and would stay behind.

"Dear nephew, I don't think there is another way, Penelope deserves a good marriage. Frederick is rich and a good provider besides being of noble blood, thus the child will be better with you than with a stepfather." Tante Hilde tried to convince Thomas.

" Give your sister a chance for a happy marriage without a reminder of the past. I will make sure the child is properly supported and will have a good dowry when she marries."

He was undecided, what if Penny had told him the truth, what if. Bringing the baby back seemed a bad idea. Penny cried; she didn't want to be separated from her child. She argued that Frederick would be glad to raise her daughter, but her opinion was ignored.

Thus, after much deliberation, Thomas decided to travel back with the newborn. The 4,000 pounds, part of his aunt's gift, would make Fanny receptive to the idea, and the exquisite pearl necklace would sweeten the deal.

The baby was christened Elizabeth Rose Bennet, after Thomas and Penelope's mother. He also had a copy of Aunt Hilda's testament, her fortune was to be divided between the three of them. Penelope sobbed until they left.

Upon his arrival at Longbourn, late in the evening, Fanny had just given birth to a stillborn boy just hours before. With deliberate subterfuge, Elizabeth took the place of the dead child. But Fanny didn't like the child. The girl didn't look like her at all, and their temperaments clashed.

Fanny felt as if she was dealing with royalty, and she was a peasant, not a good feeling, not at all. There was something about the baby as she complained to her husband.

"Mr. Bennet, this baby already behaves as if she was a little princess. I never saw the likes of Elizabeth, even Mrs. Phillips, and Mrs. Long call her 'your majesty.' They have asked if we stole her from a noble house, indeed." Fanny would become agitated.

"Learning to speak before cutting a tooth, it is from the devil if you ask me." And would go into a tirade bound to last hours, including pointing out some of the baby's physical characteristics. Fanny insisted in hiring a nurse to tend to the child, further depriving Elizabeth of motherly love.

Her lips, which Fanny disliked particularly, were nearly red, like rose petals, full and pouty, too obvious. But her most distinct feature was her hair, a headful riot of curls, which were neither blond nor gently waved like Jane's. To her it look wild, not tame or pretty whatsoever. No doubt, the baby had curling dark auburn hair with unusual pale blond streaks, which everyone commented upon and made people come to look and to play with her. "Her hair feels like spool silk. She is an enchanted little princess," and other comments that never failed to anger Fanny. Mostly because attention was taken away from her precious Jane.

She was a baby doll, as Lady Lucas said. She allowed her young daughter to come daily to be by Elizabeth; Charlotte just liked being around her. Alas, Elizabeth, was loved by all, to include her mother's siblings but not by her mother.

"Mrs. Bennet, she is so unusually colored, one could think she was a little princess. Oh my, the baby really favors Mr. Bennet," Fanny's neighbors and friends would say. They were somewhat right, for she had some of Penelope's features, and both siblings looked like their deceased mother, a woman known for her beauty.

People would call Elizabeth a wood fairy. It was a well suited name since her perambulator always had birds, butterflies, bees, and what not standing on the top, or following close behind.

A comment that would make Fanny particularly mad was, "Maybe you were visited by a great king of the fairy kingdom, or he left his child for humans to raise. Probably the latter, because Lizzie is too exquisite to have Gardiner blood. Do tell Fanny, do." Her sister said that often enough.

Her sisters were well-known gossips and had spread all sorts of rumors behind Elizabeth's birth. All those who listened arrived at the same conclusion, Lizzie was too especial to be Fanny's child.

And if the reasons to dislike the baby weren't enough, she was unusually bright, which increased Fanny's profound dislike for the innocent child. No matter what, Elizabeth grew into a loving child full of energy and a sunny disposition.

By the time Lizzy turned one, an announcement of Penelope's marriage to Fredrick Schmidt had arrived; the German noble now taught at a University in the city of Karlsruhe. Penelope wrote that her husband had suggested raising her cousin's daughter if she were a burden at Thomas' home. By this time, Thomas loved Lizzy and wasn't willing to let her go, but he asked his wife.

"Mrs. Bennet, my sister would be willing to foster Lizzy, but the money we receive for her support would end." Tante Hilde was committed to sending a small fortune yearly for Lizzie's upbringing. As Thomas had guessed, Fanny liked the money and not willing to give it up; but her dislike for the child didn't lessen.

So Elizabeth stayed with the Bennet couple, living with a mother who not only didn't love her, but disliked her as well; and only wanted her for the money she brought.

Deep in a Dark Forest

A very tall man had returned from a long war loaded with presents for someone no longer around. He had lost the sense of the time passed, his time ran different, and when he went to meet her, he was told that she was gone and had been crying. She left carrying his child, expert sources told him. He sunk in despair, not knowing where to look.

*German words.