by Kate Speck
“But of course, Lady Catherine. Anything you say will be done, of course. I have not seen Miss de Bourgh since she was three or four years old and I am eager to make her acquaintance again today. Seeing your grace and beauty, your daughter must have turned out very handsome and I am most eager to marry her. We shall leave for Gretna Green as soon as Miss Anne is feeling better, milady.” Wickham fawned.
“I warn you, Wickham,” Lady Catherine scoffed, “except for the wedding night, you will not touch her. Bring your plaything with you if you would like, but you are not to trifle with my daughter, do you hear me? She will remain virtuous until her wedding night and her father will ki...” she paused for a moment to gather herself, suddenly recalling that her husband of nineteen years was gone and she only had her daughter left. Her brother and sister had abandoned her and she was sitting in a squalid boarding house with only her maid and a few dresses in her portmanteau. She cleared her throat, remembering her goal to obtain Rosings Park and sat upright. “Now, Wickham, we will discuss the details of the travel. We must leave for Scotland and as soon as the vows...”
“But, Mama!” Anne de Bourgh suddenly opened the door from the connecting room next to it and shouted, “I do not wish to be married! I cannot! I will not!”
“Anne!” Lady Catherine exclaimed, “What are you doing out of bed? I thought you were still sleeping. It is early yet.”
“I slept for many hours and I finally awoke to find myself here. I remember being in the carriage and now we are at this... where are we, mama? I wish to go home. I want Mrs. Jenkinson to care for me. Your maid does not know anything and I have not had my draughts. Why must I be married? I want to go live with Cousin Robert and Sarah and play with the babies. I do not want a husband.” Anne cried, “I only want to stay with people who love me and I miss papa. I want to see papa!” She sobbed as she sat on the floor in exhaustion.
Lady Catherine sat still while Wickham stood up and wrapped a shawl around the young woman.
“You are not well, Miss Anne,” Wickham sympathetically consoled the woman who was frail and the size of a girl. She appeared pale and sickly and it disgusted him that Lady Catherine was attempting to marry off this ill, innocent child in order to keep the grand estate within her grip. He helped Anne up to sit on his chair and turned to her mother, “Lady Catherine, she is not well. You must call for a doctor. I refuse to follow with your commands, madam. This is wrong. To elope with her to Scotland is criminal and I will not allow you to hurt your daughter...”
Suddenly, there was a loud clash as the door flew open when it was kicked in by a burly man. Wickham gasped when he saw Mr. Darcy, William, and an unknown gentleman enter, along with two gigantic men behind them.
“STEP AWAY FROM HER!” He heard a yell and George Wickham quickly jumped back from Anne de Bourgh who was sitting on the chair.
“Mr. Darcy, I...” Wickham flustered, “I meant no harm. I was wrapping her up because she was shivering. I swear I was not going to do anything!” He saw the two burly men move towards him as everyone entered the room and he recoiled to prepare himself for an assault.
Wickham covered his eyes with his arm in fear but then slowly opened his eyes and looked around when no one touched him. He saw the two men standing next to him while Fitzwilliam Darcy looked after his cousin.
“Father, Anne has a fever and will need to rest. I will take her downstairs to Mrs. Jenkinson now.” William stated. He pulled Anne to standing and helped her walk out of the room.
Mr. Darcy stood glaring at his harridan of a sister and spoke after his son and niece left the room. “Wickham, the only reason you are not beaten to a pulp is because I heard your words before we came in. Return to your rooms and stay there. Martin will join you and I will speak with you when I am done here.” He nodded to the taller of the guards and Wickham obeyed immediately.
“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ENTER MY ROOMS!” Lady Catherine screeched. “Get out and bring back Anne. We are only stopped here while we are travelling to the north to honour Lewis’ wishes and happened to come across George Wickham. Return her to me immediately and I will forget your insolence.”
Mr. Darcy huffed, “Lewis’ wishes? You left moments after his death and Anne does not wish to be here. She is to return home with her companion, who is her only friend in the world who adores her outside of her family. You should be at Rosings to mourn your husband, Catherine, but here you are for your selfish gains. You disgrace his memory with your lies. I know all about your plans to marry off Anne to Wickham to take back the estate. You foolish woman, did Lewis not tell you that the estate will never go to Anne? Even if she marries, Rosings will not be hers.”
“That is untrue! Anne’s husband would become master and Anne will remain home, with me by her side to provide for my comforts.” Lady Catherine huffed. “Once Anne has an heir, I will reside with my daughter and grandchild and stay where I belong. Rosings is mine and you cannot take it away from me, George!”
“Yours? It was never yours, Catherine. The moment you attempted to dishonour my family name, it was to be lost to you for the rest of your life.” Mr. Darcy retorted. “Lewis had initially wished for Fitzwilliam to inherit it all but I convinced him that my son will have Pemberley and Netherfield as well as the townhouse. He knew Richard loved being in the army and when he wishes, when he is ready to retire, he will reside at Rosings Park to enjoy his retirement in comfort. Your retirement, unfortunately, will not be so comfortable. As soon as Anne returns to Kent, we will carry out Lewis’ final will and testament and you will get what is coming to you. Do you wish to attend Lewis’ funeral? You are his wife and everyone will talk if you are not there.”
“Of course, I will attend!” Lady Catherine exclaimed. “I am still the rightful mistress and of course I will see to the details and ensure Lewis’ wishes are carried out.”
Mr. Darcy sneered at her self-importance once again. “Although, if you think carefully on it, everyone already knows you left the estate as soon as Lewis passed and certainly your servants have gossiped to everyone they know. Perhaps it is best if you remain in town.”
She replied as she resignedly sighed, “Yes, yes, I have no wish to go to Kent now, George. I will stay at Darcy House while you see to the funeral and I will have my belongings moved to the dower house and send my maid with you. Dawson will know what to fetch and transfer it to my new home.”
“Ah, about that,” Mr. Darcy grinned, “I should tell you that Lewis’ wishes were very explicit regarding your future. He stipulated that should you be difficult, should you cause trouble for Anne or your nephews, particularly my son, you will lose the dower house as well as the income from the estate. Your annuity is to be lowered to £300 a year and you will never set foot in Rosings again, Catherine. Lewis was to have explained all of this to you already.”
“£300... a year... I will be left destitute. He mentioned something but...” she began to splutter. “You cannot do this to me, George! He did not say... Lewis said something about the income and dower house but I did not... I do not recall...”
Mr. Darcy harrumphed, “As usual, you failed to listen to anyone else than your own voice. You will lose your £1,000 a year because you are a fool. I will do what Lewis wished and you will suffer for your wrongs, Catherine, and Henry will return in four days after we have buried your husband. You are to stay here and your maid can stay with you but you will not leave this boarding house and you will not be allowed inside my homes. This is the last time I will see you, Catherine. I only came in honour of Lewis’ last words to care for Anne and I have done my duty. You will be far from civilisation and will cause no more trouble where you are going.”
“Where am I to go?!” Lady Catherine shouted, “You cannot leave me here, George!”
Mr. Darcy nodded to the burly man who was still standing in the room. “Roger will stand guard outside of your rooms until his replacement arrives. Mr. O’Connor is making arrangements with Mrs. Younge to ensure you stay in the room and to r
emind her that we are aware of what her husband does not know.” He smirked. “You did already pay for a full week, Mrs. Jones.” With that, he left the room and the guard closed the door behind him to stand outside the door.
Lady Catherine could do naught but sit and contemplate what her future was to be.
Chapter 10
December 1805
“What in the world are you doing, Lizzy?” William yelped in surprise. “Why do you have candles all around you and laying there as if you are dead?”
Lizzy shushed him, “Quiet, Will! I’m pretending to have a Viking funeral after my death. My favourite naval leader has been shot dead and I mourn for him. There will never be a greater hero than Admiral Horatio Nelson of His Majesty’s Royal Navy and he should be given a proper memorial. He might have been a man of small stature but he will be the tallest hero in our history books.”
William chuckled as he sat next to her while Snowflake was eating the grass at a distance. “Should you not be completely engulfed in fire if you were a true Viking?”
“I don’t actually want to be burned, silly!” Lizzy closed her eyes and lay still. “I wonder who will grieve for me when I pass this life.”
“I would grieve, Lizzy,” William softly answered. “I probably would not cease crying for days if something happened to you.”
Lizzy smiled as she began to rise, “Of course you will be fine, Will! I know you will miss me but since you are so much older, you will die long before me!” She stood and ran off after her tease.
“Why, you merciless child!” William chased her around the tree and down the hill several yards. He easily caught up to her and swung her around in circles as they broke out in laughter.
He lowered her to the ground and kissed the top of her head. “I would be very sad to lose you, indeed, Lizzy. I thought about mama dying for many years and I believe my father would have followed along soon after. I see the way my father loves my mother and I wish to find love like theirs more than anything in life. I hope my future wife will be young and hearty and live for many, many years with me. You have to help me choose wisely, remember? My Uncle Lewis chose poorly and his wife was disgraceful and I will not forget her offences. I find it hard to forgive her follies and vices, and my good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.” He sighed, “Find me a good wife, will you? And a pretty one, if you do not mind.”
“How like a man you are, Fitzwilliam Darcy!” Lizzy laughed, as they returned to their tree to sit down, “You want a lady with beauty, wit, intelligence, and a large dowry, I am sure, but of course if she should fail you and commit the terrible crime of becoming a silly woman with imperfections, she will lose your good opinion, perhaps for ever. How arrogant you are, Will, to think so highly of yourself to consider yourself perfect.”
Will chuckled, “Papa told me that it was better to have the counsel of one candid friend than a hundred sycophants and it is the truth with you in my life. I know I am not perfect but I do wish to try to be the best I can be. I will attempt to be more humble, dear Lizzy. This is precisely why I need my blood-brother to help me. If your papa ever agrees, you must come and reside with me so you can keep me from becoming an arrogant sod. What would I do without you?”
Lizzy beamed, “You would become a haughty man, unapproachable and looking down upon everyone you meet. I have heard that you stand against the walls at balls and parties so you might already appear very taciturn to others, but once I am out in society, I am going to make you dance and converse with many ladies.” William pretended to be shrinking in fear and she giggled. “You would not dare allow me to sit out, will you? Gentlemen will think me intolerable and not handsome enough to tempt them and I would resort to dressing like a gentleman so I can at least dance with my sisters.”
“I promise, I promise!” William laughed. “I will pay my friends to dance with you so you can dance every set and you will be the belle of the ball each time. You might pass for a boy, Lizzy, but you will never be big enough to disguise yourself as a gentleman so do not even think it.”
“And I will compliment you so much that every lady will wish to dance with you. Trust me, Will, I will not allow you to marry someone like Lady Catherine. That ‘Dragon Lady’ is lucky to have the tiny cottage in Brighton and will not cause your family any more trouble. She deserves her punishment and I think her £300 a year is still a large fortune. I only have forty or fifty a year and I’m doing very well!”
William smiled, “Yes, you do well because you and your family are frugal and manage efficiently with what you have. Not many fine ladies can do that. Come now, time to ride.”
Lizzy excitedly ran to Snowflake after gathering her candles and putting them into a bag. William helped her up the saddle and kicked his horse to a trot.
“You must try to improve your footsteps when you fence. Your arm is getting stronger but you must be lighter on your feet.” William instructed as they travelled towards Netherfield. “Fencing is like dancing. Light and fast to avoid your opponent but to attack with a surprise to gain the point.”
“But it’s so hard with my left hand. I’m getting used to it but I wish I could use my right.” Lizzy complained.
William kissed her head. “We will do both today. A good swordsman can swing with either arm and if you do well, if you do very well, we can bring out your Christmas present and practice with it today. I gave you your gift early because I wanted to make sure we had enough time to practice before I return to Cambridge next month.”
Lizzy bounced on her seat. “I promise to do well! I can’t believe it! Papa laughed at me for a full day because I was excited and begged for an apple so I could walk with one on top of my head. He said William Tell shot the apple on his son’s head, not carried it on his own. I want to try to shoot an apple. If I am really good, would you put an apple on your head?”
“Never!” William laughed, “I would not do it for William Tell and I would never aim my arrow at a person. An arrow will kill so you must ensure nothing living is near when we are practicing. This is exactly why I want to keep the bow and arrow at Netherfield and make sure you have your lessons with me. I know you, Lizzy. You might hurt something accidentally and I do not wish for you to feel the guilt of such a thing.”
“Have you killed anything before, Will?” Lizzy innocently asked. “How does it feel?”
William nodded, “I have gone hunting for foxes and birds, and have gone fishing, of course. The animals that are killed for food, I do not think much on, but I do not like the fox chase. It seems cruel but it is something that gentlemen do with the excuse that they are keeping the hens safe. I do not like to think of hunting as a sport but rather a way of gathering food. It makes me feel like a savage in the stone age, working to find sustenance for my family and myself, even if I am using a shotgun instead of spears or rocks.”
“Caveman!” Lizzy laughed. “I always knew you were a caveman at heart, Will!”
William laughed along, “You know me well, Lizzy.”
“I do, sir, I do.” Lizzy replied as they approached the stables. “Sometimes I truly wish I was born a boy. Papa told me that if Mr. Collins does not take Longbourn, he will leave it to me, then for the estate to go his first grandson. He said that since I will refuse to marry, I would care for my mother and sisters and love our home like he does until his grandson comes of age. I’m learning a great deal from Mrs. Porter and Miss Carter and of course papa, but I am also learning from you and your parents and there is so much more I wish to know.” She smiled. “Uncle Edward and Aunt Madeline invited us to London and we are to stay through Easter. Our whole family will be travelling for two weeks and mama is excited to have Easter in London because Papa promised her two new dresses and an outing to the theatre and perhaps a ball. I nearly wish I were out in society early so I could attend some of those functions, if only to study the characters at such events. It sounds exciting, not because of the parties or the dresses, but I am curious what people are saying and doing and I would lo
ve to see a play. I would live at the theatre if I could and perhaps I will rethink my future as an authoress or a scientist but rather become an actress. Do you think I could be an actress with roles as a man? I could fence and shoot arrows and fire pistols on stage; or at least pretend.” She smirked as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“Perhaps, Lizzy.” William laughed boisterously. “You can be anything you wish; I truly believe it. You only need to get through one day at a time until you finally decide what you wish to do. As long as you are not going to give yourself a Viking funeral, let us see what you wish to do tomorrow. One day at a time, young lady.”
Lizzy agreed, “I think it’s a good idea, Will. I still wish to be Admiral. Admiral Elizabeth Gulliver Bennet!” She ran inside the house to the ballroom where William had been giving her fencing lessons.
“What is your real middle name, Lizzy?” William asked in curiosity as he walked briskly behind her. “You always say ‘Gulliver’ but that cannot be your real middle name and your papa will not tell me. He said your family had sworn their silence.”
Lizzy pulled out the foil and assumed the position. “I’ll never tell, dear sir! I’ll fight you to the death and you will never find out. It is my greatest secret and those who know it are under oath, at the risk of death, to never reveal it, Will. En garde!”
