“It is not quite as serious as that, ma’am,” he replied, smiling as he sat across from them.
“You have made yourself scarce all day, Fitzwilliam,” Darcy said, a cynical twist to his lips. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you were avoiding our aunt.”
Joshua grunted. “The very idea.”
“I believe the colonel has been to pay a call on our neighbours,” Mrs. Darcy said, her eyes sparkling with lively interest.
“Yes, and I was rather taken aback by what I learned from Mrs. Sheffield. The fact of the matter is that I am unsure what to do about it and badly in need of your advice, Darcy.”
Mrs. Darcy stood. “Then I will leave you gentlemen to talk.”
“No, don’t go.” Joshua grimaced. “If you can spare the time, Mrs. Darcy, I would appreciate a lady’s point of view.”
“I have all the time in the world for you, Colonel.” She resumed her seat. “Besides, you have made me curious. It is most unlike you to appear so unsure of yourself.”
Succinctly, Joshua outlined all Mrs. Sheffield had told him and all he had subsequently learned from Asquith.
“It sounds to me as though Percival Sheffield is definitely trying to bamboozle your Mrs. Sheffield out of her inheritance,” Darcy said, after a moment’s contemplation.
“There is no doubt in my mind about that,” Joshua agreed. “The question is how do I prove it?”
“If Asquith is to be believed—”
“You doubt his word?” Mrs. Darcy asked, looking rather shocked.
“It’s not that I doubt him precisely. It is more that he seems a little too good to be true.”
“He is in the same position as Wickham was as a young man,” Darcy said. “The favoured son of an employee who has enjoyed his master’s largesse. Unlike Wickham, Asquith appears to have made the most of that opportunity.”
“He certainly knows how to behave in society,” Mrs. Darcy added. “His manners are faultless.”
“True enough, but he had the temerity to suggest Mrs. Sheffield might know more about her husband’s death than she said, or that she might even have arranged it.”
Darcy chuckled, something Joshua had seldom heard him do before his marriage. “You are not looking at the broader picture, Fitzwilliam, because you support Mrs. Sheffield’s cause.”
“Quite so, but—”
“Were that not the case.” Darcy paused, idly plucking at the arm of the settee he occupied. “Think like the soldier you are. Would you not suspect her too if you had all the facts at your disposal?”
Joshua stood up. “I came to you for sound advice,” he said hotly. “But if all you can do is cast aspersions on an innocent lady’s character, then I have obviously wasted my time.”
“Sit down, Fitzwilliam.” Joshua scowled at his cousin and was slow to react. “I am merely playing devil’s advocate—”
“He does that a lot,” Mrs. Darcy said with a wicked smile that lightened the tension in the room.
“All I am saying,” Darcy continued, “is that in Asquith’s position, I might have had my suspicions, too.”
“Hmm, well I still think Asquith is not all he appears to be.” Joshua crossed his arms in a defensive pose, wondering why he was so determined to think ill of Asquith. “However, that is nothing to me. What is important is finding a way to disprove Sheffield’s claim.”
“Will you allow me to think about it?” Darcy asked. “It would not be wise to rush into anything.”
“By all means.”
“It will be difficult to do anything with Sheffield in Buckinghamshire and his solicitor in London,” Mrs. Darcy remarked. “It seems to me they are the main characters in this real life drama playing out alongside Mr. Asquith’s fictional one, and we will never get at the truth at arm’s length.”
“True,” Darcy replied. “But even to oblige my cousin and forward his matrimonial ambitions, we are not going to London.”
“Who said anything about matrimony?” Joshua asked.
Both Darcys sent him wry smiles, but before either of them could speak, Lady Catherine joined them, bringing the conversation to a premature end.
“Oh, there you are Fitzwilliam. I thought you must be with Anne,” she said accusingly. “I cannot find her anywhere.”
“Is she not in the ballroom, practising her lines?” Joshua asked politely.
“No one is in the ballroom. I just checked.” Lady Catherine settled herself in the chair closest to the fire. “Anne is not in her room either, but her maid says her pelisse is gone.”
“Then presumably she is walking on the grounds,” Darcy said calmly.
Lady Catherine seemed scandalised by such a reasonable suggestion. “In this weather?”
“It isn’t cold,” Mrs. Darcy pointed out. “In fact, it is now a rather bracing late summer’s day. The girls have been indoors for two entire days. I expect they felt the need for fresh air and exercise. I know I do.”
“We are not all fortunate enough to share your robust health, Mrs. Darcy.”
“Anne seems much stronger these days,” Darcy remarked.
“She thinks she is but I know better. Besides, I would not see her set herself back with rash behaviour. It is bad enough, all this play acting.” Lady Catherine shook her head, her expression disapproving. “I am still unsure why I permitted it. It will sap her strength.”
“She appears to be enjoying herself enormously,” Darcy remarked.
“Bah, life is not all about pleasure.”
“I shall ring for tea,” Mrs. Darcy said diplomatically.
Before she could do so, Simpson entered the room and waited for Darcy to acknowledge his presence. “What is it, Simpson?”
“Mr. Collins is here, sir.”
“Mr. Collins?” Lady Catherine looked astonished. “My Mr. Collins? What on earth could possibly bring him all this way?”
“You had best show him in, Simpson,” Darcy said with a glance at his wife. “And then we shall find out.”
“Have some tea sent up please, Simpson,” Mrs. Darcy said.
“At once, ma’am.”
The butler left the room, returning almost immediately. “Mr. Collins, sir,” he said, standing back and allowing the clergyman into the room.
Mr. Collins was much as Joshua remembered him—red of face, thin-lipped, full of self-importance. He bowed low to Lady Catherine, and then to Darcy and Joshua.
“Cousin Elizabeth,” he said to Mrs. Darcy. “I trust you will excuse my unexpected arrival. I can assure you nothing but the most urgent business would have brought me here uninvited. Indeed, I must apologise for my dishevelled appearance since I have been on the road these past three days.”
“What can possibly be so urgent that you could not commit it to an express letter, Mr. Collins?” Lady Catherine asked.
“Well, ma’am, it is…er, very delicate. Perhaps your ladyship would be kind enough to grant me an audience in private.”
Heavens, Joshua thought, trying hard to maintain his countenance. The damned man makes Lady Catherine sound like the pope.
“Nonsense, man,” Lady Catherine replied briskly. “Whatever you have to say can be said in front of my relations.” Her gaze lingered on Mrs. Darcy, as though she still couldn’t decide if she qualified as a relation and was considering asking her to leave her own drawing room. Common sense prevailed and she remained silent on the point.
“Please take a seat, Mr. Collins, and recover your breath.”
Mrs. Darcy looked as though she too found the situation amusing. Joshua had heard rumours that Collins once aspired to marry Eliza Bennet. The rejection of his suit wounded his pride and he transferred his imaginary affections to Eliza’s friend Charlotte Lucas with astonishing speed. This time his proposal met with success, presumably because Miss Lucas must have given up hope of attracting a husband and the prospect of becoming an old maid did not suit her. Lady Catherine, it transpired, had deemed it time for Hunsford’s clergyman to find himself a wife. Mr.
Collins would die rather than return home to Kent and disappoint his patroness, so everyone was satisfied with the arrangement.
“Tea will be here directly,” Mrs. Darcy said when her uninvited guest settled himself in a chair. “When you are refreshed there will be ample opportunity for you to explain your reasons for coming to Pemberley.”
“Thank you, Cousin Elizabeth. I confess that refreshment would be welcome. I cannot seem to dislodge the dust of the road from my throat.”
“How did you leave Charlotte?” Mrs. Darcy asked.
“In the best of health, I thank you. She is much occupied with our daughter of course, but sends you her most affectionate best wishes. Naturally she is also taken up with the affairs of the parish, as becomes the wife of a clergyman, and I…”
Joshua only half-listened to Mr. Collins’s monologue about life in Hunsford and the important role he and his dear wife played in it. He knew from experience that Collins was perfectly capable of conducting a conversation entirely on his own and saw no reason to listen to it. However, he had no intention of removing himself from the drawing room since he too was curious as to the reason for Collins’s arrival at Pemberley.
Only when tea was finished and Collins had talked non-stop throughout it, his obsequiousness already starting to grate on Joshua’s nerves, did Darcy remind him he had urgent news for Lady Catherine.
“Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Darcy.” He shook his head. “As though I could forget about this unfortunate business.”
“What unfortunate business, Mr. Collins? Pray out with it,” Lady Catherine said irascibly. “You know how much I dislike procrastination.”
“That was not my intention, Lady Catherine, I do assure you.” Looking exceptionally sombre, Collins cleared his throat, grasped his lapels, and finally had the goodness to explain himself. “Your ladyship will recall I was not impressed with Mr. Asquith and advised your ladyship against exposing Miss de Bourgh to his company. Such a delicate young lady should be protected at all costs.”
More to the point, Joshua thought, Collins disliked another man having Lady Catherine’s ear. He probably felt as though his influence at Rosings had diminished with the arrival of such a well-educated, charismatic young man as Asquith. Even so, Joshua’s interest was piqued, especially given his own reservations about that gentleman.
“This is about Asquith?” Darcy asked.
“Indeed it is, Mr. Darcy. I take no pleasure in being proven right in my advice to you, Lady Catherine. But you see a lady called at the vicarage, having been directed there in search of Mr. Asquith.”
“A lady?” Lady Catherine frowned. “What lady?”
“A Miss Miranda Glover, my lady.”
Lady Catherine appeared startled, and rather discomposed. “One of Sir Marius’s daughters?”
“Apparently so.”
“What on earth brings her to England?”
“Was she travelling alone?” Mrs. Darcy asked at the same time as Lady Catherine posed her question.
Collins paused, presumably getting to the point at last. Even by his long-winded ways, Joshua thought he had dragged this matter out to its lengthiest extreme because he enjoyed being the harbinger of bad tidings. Better yet, he enjoyed being proven right, which he obviously thought he was.
“She came in search of Mr. Asquith.” Collins tried to look disapproving but failed to achieve that ambition. Instead, he appeared smug and very self-satisfied. “She said they were engaged to be married but Mr. Asquith ran away to England and deserted her.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lizzy felt as shocked as everyone else appeared to be at this startling revelation. No one spoke, or knew quite what to do until Lady Catherine broke the silence.
“I don’t believe a word of it,” she said forcibly. “There must be some other explanation. I am never wrong about people. Besides, I trust Sir Marius’s judgement implicitly. He recommended Mr. Asquith to me and would hardly have done so if he had jilted one of his daughters.”
“Perhaps he sent the recommendation before he became aware of the broken engagement?” Colonel Fitzwilliam suggested. “Asquith has not been in England long enough for another letter from Sir Marius to reach you, ma’am. You know as well as I do that letters from such far-flung places as Jamaica can take months to arrive.”
“That is of course a possibility,” Lady Catherine conceded grudgingly.
“You didn’t answer Mrs. Darcy’s question, Collins,” Will said. “Was the lady travelling alone?”
“She travelled to England with her father.”
Lady Catherine gasped, and her face lost all colour. Lizzy became quite concerned about her. Will filled a glass with water and handed it to his aunt, who looked as though she was about to swoon. How curious. Lady Catherine was the last person on this earth whom Lizzy would ever consider capable of swooning. She would look upon it as a weakness, a character flaw, and Lady Catherine did not hold with weaknesses or flaws. Lizzy was now truly intrigued. Could it be Lady Catherine had some sort of dark secret in her past that was to do with Sir Marius? That would explain the peculiar situation with Mr. Asquith being taken on to tutor Anne, and Lady Catherine’s disinclination to think badly of him.
“Sir Marius is in England?” Lady Catherine asked faintly.
“Apparently he had business in England and his daughter, suffering as she was, persuaded him to bring her along for a change of scenery and society,” Mr. Collins replied.
“Sir Marius never comes to England.” Lady Catherine appeared to recover a little of her customary fortitude. She straightened her spine as she asserted the fact, as if by so doing she would make it a reality. “Did you actually see him, Mr. Collins?”
“No, my lady. Miss Glover was accompanied by her maid. Sir Marius had business in Dover, and she took the opportunity to travel on to Hunsford in the hope of seeing Mr. Asquith. I am unsure if Sir Marius knew she planned to do so. In fact, I am persuaded he could not have done. After all, I am sure he would not wish his daughter to face Mr. Asquith and all the awkwardness that meeting would engender alone.” Mr. Collins shook his head, adopting a scandalised expression. “No young lady ought to be exposed to that situation.”
“That all sounds rather questionable,” Will said, sharing a glance with Lizzy, who was thinking exactly the same thing.
“And easily resolved. Ring the bell, Darcy, and summon Asquith,” Lady Catherine said. “We will have this out with him this moment. If there is a grain of truth in Miss Glover’s claim, or the slightest stain attaching to Asquith’s character, then of course he must not be allowed anywhere near Anne ever again.”
Lizzy glanced at Mr. Collins and noticed his smug expression had now taken up permanent residence on his countenance, and she disliked him more than ever as a consequence. No matter what Colonel Fitzwilliam thought, Lizzy was convinced Mr. Asquith was not a cad or a fortune hunter. At the very least they ought not to jump to conclusions until he had been given an opportunity to explain himself.
“We ought to leave you to conduct this interview alone,” Lizzy said, standing. “I would not have Mr. Asquith embarrassed or feel as though this is some sort of inquisition.”
“Nonsense.” Lady Catherine sniffed. “You now all know the particulars, and I see no occasion to think of his finer feelings, especially if he is culpable. It would be as well if you heard what Asquith has to say for himself.”
“Very well.”
But the situation did not sit comfortably with Lizzy. It would be extremely embarrassing for Mr. Asquith to have to account for his conduct in front of such a large audience, especially if he was innocent, which Lizzy was inclined to believe was the case. She was usually a good judge of character and had taken to Mr. Asquith upon first acquaintance. Then again, she had taken to Wickham, and look how that had turned out. Lizzy wanted to leave the room but also wished to stay. She had a feeling Mr. Asquith might be in need of a supporter. Mr. Collins and the colonel were both disposed to think badly of him, alb
eit for differing reasons. Lady Catherine liked Mr. Asquith but regretted employing him because Anne was so taken with him that she had developed a rebellious streak. Only Lizzy and Will were truly neutral, prepared to give the young man the benefit of the doubt.
Simpson answered the bell and despatched a footman in search of Mr. Asquith. An uneasy silence descended upon the drawing room as its occupants waited for him to respond to the summons.
“I simply refuse to believe Mr. Asquith capable of such base behaviour,” Lady Catherine said after several minutes during which everyone had appeared to be lost in thought.
“I agree with you, ma’am,” Lizzy said. “He seems far too honourable.”
“Forgive me, Cousin Elizabeth, but as a well brought up lady you cannot be expected to know how certain men behave when given sufficient licence.”
Of all the pompous, self-opinionated…Will squeezed her hand, as though understanding the nature of the thoughts running through her head. “And you must forgive me, Mr. Collins, if I assure you that I understand far better than you could possibly imagine.”
Mr. Collins looked as though he wished to argue the point. One glance at Will and he wisely held his tongue. That, in Lizzy’s knowledge of the man, was a rarity.
“You wished to see me, Lady Catherine,” Mr. Asquith said as he strode into the room. “Oh, excuse me, I did not realise you were not alone. And Mr. Collins. It is a surprise and a pleasure to see you here.”
Mr. Collins mumbled what for him was a very short and exceedingly ungracious response. Mr. Asquith’s congenial expression faltered.
“Has something happened?” he asked. “You all look exceedingly grave.”
“Mr. Asquith,” Lady Catherine said with asperity. “Mr. Collins felt it necessary to come to Pemberley in person because he has received a visit from a most unexpected quarter.”
“Someone known to me, I assume, which would account for your wish to speak with me.”
“Quite so.” Lady Catherine paused. “Miss Miranda Glover.”
Lizzy watched Mr. Asquith carefully when this disclosure was made and noticed the profound effect the mention of that lady’s name had upon him. His eyes widened, his jaw slackened, and his manner became rather agitated.
Colonel Fitzwilliam's Dilemma Page 15
