The Portrait of Elizabeth

by Jane Angwin

  At that very moment, everyone's attention was drawn to Anne's companion, Mrs. Barrett, as she quietly entered. Catherine's color now changed to pure white, and she looked as though she would faint. "What are you doing here, Mrs. Barrett? This is a private family affair, and it doesn't involve you. There is nothing to see here, so leave us immediately."

  "I am sorry, Lady De Bourg, but I feel that there is quite a bit that involves me, and it is time that I tell everyone what I know. You have made me keep your terrible lie a secret by holding my position over my head for years, but I no longer care about my reputation. I only care about Anne and her future now." She paused long enough to look over at Lady Edith, and received a nod to continue.

  Taking a deep breath, she spoke in a much stronger voice. "The day that Lord De Bourg died, I went to retrieve a book to read to Anne, and I discovered him lying on the floor in his library. I didn't realize that he was dead and just thought he had fallen, so I immediately summoned your butler to help lift him up, but he knew right away that that he was no longer breathing. He was quite fearful of informing you himself, so he asked me to locate you and bring you to the library, and when I did, I was quite shocked at your total lack of any sorrow at his demise. I watched as you coldly instructed the footmen to remove Lord De Bourg's body, and to tell no one of his death. That is when you threatened me to never tell Anne that her father had died, or you would ruin my reputation, and I would never find employment again. When I asked you what you were going to tell Anne, you informed me that you would tell her that he had gone away for awhile, but I never dreamed that you would tell her he had left her for another woman and her children."

  "Lies! This is all lies, I tell you!" Catherine yelled out. "This woman knows nothing about what happened to Lord De Bourg! She is merely a fortune hunter seeking to find employment in your home! Do not listen to her ridiculous lies!"

  "Silence, Catherine!" Lord Fitzwilliam bellowed. "I demand that you allow Mrs. Barrett to continue! She is a witness to your malice, and you will remain silent, or I will have you removed and sent to Bedlam immediately!" Catherine's eyes flew open wide, and she opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out. "Please, continue Mrs. Barrett" he insisted.

  By this time, Mrs. Barrett was feeling braver than before, and she took another deep breath, and continued. "The thing that I vividly remember most after watching this tragedy unfold was standing there in disbelief as you complained about the burn on the rug from his cigar where it fell as he dropped to his death. I wanted nothing more than to leave at once, especially when you had no funeral or proper burial and you told poor Anne that he had left her for another family. I watched her grieve for the father that she loved more than anyone on the earth, and I listened to her cry night after night because she couldn't understand how he could leave her. I wanted to run and tell someone the truth, but I chose to harbor the lie and to continue in your employ, because I felt that if I left, Anne would have no one to love and protect her. I care dearly about Anne, and I have tried to give her the motherly love that she needed all those sad days, Lady Catherine, something that you never did." She walked forward toward the woman she was berating, and glared at her. "I have wanted to say this to you for as long as this lie has festered within me. You are a wicked and tragic woman, and you have been nothing less than evil toward your own daughter. I am standing here right now because I am the only one who can provide the true story of your horrid deceit and utter mendacity."

  Catherine gasped, lunging out of her chair toward the woman, but Richard foiled her attack using his keen military sense to predict what he knew she would undoubtedly do at that moment. He too lunged out of his chair, grabbing her by the arms before she reached Mrs. Barrett, stopping her forward movement and causing her to shriek obscenities at him. "Take your hands off of me you bloody fool! I will have you arrested for attacking me!" He pushed her gently backward into her chair, standing next to her to prevent her from another assault.

  The senior gentleman seated next to Mr. Statten cleared his throat and slowly looked around the room at the people assembled there, stopping at Lady Catherine.

  "And who are you?" she screamed at him. "This is a private family affair, and I demand that you leave us."

  With no emotion, he stared at her for an uncomfortable length of time, and then finally spoke. "Madame, am I to understand that you are attempting to convince those of us here in this room that your legal husband is still alive and that your daughter is not the rightful heiress of Rosings in Kent?"

  Catherine nervously squirmed in her chair, but raised her chin and said, "Yes, I am. Rosings is mine, and I intend to keep it that way. I will fight this battle all the way to the highest court in the land if need be!"

  "Well, yes, Madame. I completely agree. If we do not come to a proper outcome today, the next and final step would be to present your grievance to the King himself. In that case, you would be directed to the King's Council, and your case would be adjudicated by the Lord Chancellor, Sir Cecil Ludbury."

  "Yes, that is who I plan to contact immediately. Sir Ludbury and I are dear friends, and he will certainly see it my way," she exclaimed. Declaring this association with the highest legal entity in England, she threw back her shoulders and looked over at the Fitzwilliam family and glared at them with defiance. "I will contact him immediately."

  Once again, the elderly gentleman addressed her. "Lady De Bourg, I'm afraid it is not at all likely you will be able to contact him this afternoon, as I have it on good authority that he is out of his office."

  "And how would you know such a thing?" she bellowed.

  "Please forgive me, Madame. We have not been formally introduced, but you see, I am Sir Cecil Ludbury, Lord Chancellor of the King's Council, and I have no recollection of our having met prior to today."

  Catherine's face turned a hideous shade of purple, and it appeared that she had stopped breathing. She sputtered and blinked rapidly, attempting to reply, but for the first time anyone could remember, she was momentarily rendered speechless. She quickly collected herself and began another rant. "You people are all idiots! You cannot believe the words of this stupid woman over my words! She is simply part of your attempt to keep Rosings from me, and I will not allow it! I am Lady Catherine De Bourg, and I will prevail if it is the last thing I do! Now get out of my way." She stood again and brushed past Richard with her head held high, marching across the room, right through the line of chairs where the Fitzwilliam family was still seated, practically knocking Lady Edith out of her chair. She could be heard all the way to the front hallway, yelling out to the shocked servants along the way, " You haven't heard the last of this! I will not lose what is rightfully mine!"

  The room was silent for a long time while everyone tried to make sense of her frantic declaration. It was finally the voice of the Lord Chancellor who spoke out. "How odd. She said nothing about wanting to take her daughter back to her estate, did she? I thought that was her main purpose." He put his finger to his nose and murmured, "Hmmm... I feel that we have uncovered some pertinent truths here today, and I am quite certain that there will not be anything further for me to consider if and when she returns with another version of her preposterous tale. I am sure you haven't heard the last from her, but do not worry. She will not prevail." He stood up, and the other barristers followed suit. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with a card game at Whites." As he moved to leave the room, he stopped and turned to the three lawyers and said "Please take off those ridiculous wigs, gentleman. We are in a private home and that is not proper attire outside of the courtroom. Your attire neither fooled or intimated anyone here." He turned back to the family and bowing to Mrs. Barrett, he thanked her for her courage. "It was also a pleasure meeting you Colonel, Mr. Darcy. I thank you all for a most entertaining afternoon. Alexander, Edith, Mary Ellen and I will see you next week at the theater." With that, Alexander escorted him from the room.

  The stunned lawyers that Catherine had assembled had said nothi
ng as the chaos erupted, and they now whispered among themselves about the shock of realizing that it was the Lord Chancellor himself that had been in their midst. They attempted to hide their pigtail wigs in their robes and shuffled out of the room, obviously grateful that they had not made further fools of themselves in front of him. Mr. Stater was also quite shaken, but a look of great relief had spread over his face, and his pleasure at this travesty being over, at least for the time being, was easily discerned by the remaining family members. He knew that his entire career had been on the line, and he had feared that he had no chance of prevailing against Lady Catherine De Bourg and the power of her bribed legal representation. He quietly left the house to return to his mundane and uneventful job as a solicitor of Wills and simple property disputes, but first, he needed a stiff drink of whiskey. Maybe two.

  Lady Matlock stood and brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt, shaking her head and laughing privately at something she found amusing. "In all the years of being married to Catherine's brother and enduring her despicable behavior, I have never enjoyed watching her perform as much as I did today. I wish I could capture the look on her face when Cecil introduced himself to her. She had no idea that we are good friends with the Ludburys! I cannot wait to have tea with Mary Ellen tomorrow." She turned to Mrs. Barrett and looped her arm through the woman's arm, steering her out of the room. "Thank you for honoring my request, my dear. Your timely entrance and perfect words were exactly what was needed today. Anne is very lucky to have had you there with her all these years, and we are most grateful to you. You will have a place in our family for as long as you wish. Now, come along. We must see to our Anne." The two women left together, and that left only Darcy and Richard standing alone in the room.

  "You arrived in good time, Darcy. Thank you for coming so quickly, although this day did not turn out the way I had thought it would. I thought you would be standing up with me, and I would be a married man by this evening!" Richard laughed.

  Darcy stared at Richard, looking quite serious. "I assume you now feel it unnecessary to go forward with your plan to marry Anne," Darcy said. "But why would you change your plans to do so?" he inquired. "I don't see that anything has changed here today. You know, of course, that Aunt Catherine will continue to haunt our family, and she will cast dispersions on all of us in every corner of England, but that is merely secondary to the real problem we face. Anne is still very fragile, and she will live in constant fear that her mother will come and take her back to Rosings, and we will have lost her, maybe in the literal sense." He looked sternly at his cousin. "Frankly, Richard, I don't know if Anne could survive that. We need to protect her, and like your parents, I do not see any other option. If I did not need an heir for Pemberley, I would definitely take the step myself. She deserves some happiness for the first time in her life, Richard. I know it isn't fair that you have to sacrifice so much to see to her protection, but if you agree to this marriage, I would like to offer a temporary home for you and Anne at Pemberley. I know Anne's health would fare quite well in the clean air of the North and the serenity of Pemberley, and if you do not wish to resign your commission in the military, she can stay with us for as long as you wish until arrangements can be made to remove Lady Catherine from Rosings." He laughed and said, "To be honest, I would like to see our aunt sent to Bedlam, if you care to know the truth., but I think she is well on her way there without much help from us. With Uncle Alexander's ability to vouch for her mental instability, and his friendship with Sir Ludbury who has witnessed her irrational behavior, I don't see much difficulty in having her committed."

  "Whoa, there cousin. That was quite a speech. I am offended that you think so little of me that I would just walk away from Anne now. Do you not think that I have thought all this through in your absence? I have thought about the same things you address, and I have no plan to change my mind. I am still planning to wed Anne as soon as possible. While Anne and I are both aware that this will not be a marriage based on romantic love, we are quite fond of each other and we are doing this for reasons that will benefit us both. Anne never intended to marry at all, and, of course, you know I did not plan to agree to an arranged marriage, but these unusual circumstances bring us together at the right time."

  Richard walked to his father's private liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of brandy and two glasses. Darcy realized that this was not going to be a short discussion, so he took a seat at a small table and allowed Richard to pour a sizeable glass of brandy for them both. After taking a substantial drink, he sat down and continued speaking. " I am sure that you have noticed my difficulty keeping up with you when we walk, and as nothing escapes you, I am also sure you have seen the grimace on my face when I attempt to stand up after sitting for any length of time. I have tried to ignore the pain in my leg where I was wounded, but it has become increasingly more difficult to hide, and my commanding officer has suggested that I resign my commission and find a different position serving the King in a less strenuous way." He closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose while he thought about what he wanted to say next.

  "As you know, being the second son of an Earl, I do not have the luxury of receiving my father's wealth or properties upon his death. My brother is the heir to the title, and he will receive my father's legacy and all the trappings. I had only two or three paths to follow in my life, and none of them would make me a wealthy man. I could have taken orders and gone into the church, or perhaps studied law to become a barrister. Neither of those appealed to me, but fortunately for me, I was drawn to the military, and I have enjoyed my choice. While I am proud of rising to my current rank as a Colonel in the King's Army, being a soldier does not bring wealth, and I have not been a good catch for any of the ladies who I might have considered for marriage. The only woman who I could possibly consider must possess a large dowry, and frankly the ones I have met thus far are most artificial and frankly, quite tiresome."

  He swirled his glass of brandy, watching it coat the side of his glass, and then took another drink. "You know very well, Darcy, that it has always been my desire to remain a confirmed bachelor, enjoying the company of willing women and the freedom of pursuing selfish recreation, but I now have the opportunity to not only protect our beloved cousin Anne, but to also accept the daunting responsibility of running a large estate. I have watched and admired you as you so adeptly took on the responsibility of running Pemberley when your father died, and I have long desired to have land and a small estate of my own. Granted, Rosings is not exactly a small estate, and I am taking on a much larger challenge than I can wrap my head around, but I am willing to try. Believe me, Cousin, you know me well, and you know that this is not a mercenary desire, but one of personal satisfaction."

  "How does Anne feel about you assuming her wealth and the estate?" Darcy asked.

  "Anne knows that Rosings is legally hers, but she does not care to have the responsibilities associated with a large estate, and she is delighted that I can do that for her. She only wants a quiet life free of strife and to be far away from her mother. That will be the tricky part."

  Looking around to make sure they were not overheard, in almost a whisper, he leaned closer to Darcy and said, "She is also aware that due to her poor health, she is not able to provide an heir for Rosings, and she rather shyly claims to not be interested in performing her intimate wifely duties. She said that she has no desire to curtail my lifestyle, and while I do not plan to flaunt my depraved self-indulgence, it is the way of the world in most marriages." He looked at Darcy, who had a look of disapproval on his face. " I realize that sounds horrid to you, but what if it was you, Darcy? Would you accept a life of celibacy to help our cousin escape the clutches of Aunt Catherine? I think not."

  "I understand your rationale, Richard, and I fully support your plan to go forward with this marriage. I really do see the benefit to both of you in these desperate circumstances, but it just make me sad to think of you giving up any chance of finding the perfect
woman to share your life with and experiencing fatherhood. Please do not misunderstand me, Cousin. Anne is quite lovely, and I feel that given time, she may even blossom into something more than the timid and withdrawn woman she has become. I have noticed a change in her already since she has been here, and perhaps in time your relationship might become something more than an arrangement. No matter, if this is your decision, and if Anne wants this too, it is a sound plan and I totally support you both."

  "Thank you, Darcy. I am pleased that you agree. This circus we observed today just postponed the ceremony by a day, but Anne and I are committed to marrying immediately, and we are going to go through with it just as before. So, tomorrow it is. Do you have your best attire with you, cousin? I expect that as usual you will look better than me on my wedding day!" He smiled a huge grin, something Darcy had not seen him do since they were boys. "Come on, let's go have a drink to the last day of my freedom."

  They first went upstairs to see Anne and the ladies to tell them of their plans to go out on the town. Lady Edith was in the midst of readying Anne for the pending nuptials, something that she obviously relished having never had a daughter of her own. She warned Richard not to imbibe too much alcohol the night before his wedding, and she sternly lectured her son about not visiting any pubs in the seedy parts of town. She vehemently scolded him in front of Anne and Mrs. Barrett, telling him of the dangers of drinking too much and instructing him to stay away from trouble, threatening to whip him "where it hurts" if he embarrassed himself. It sounded as if he was a little boy, still wet behind the ears and not a seasoned soldier.