Elizabeth, Miss Darcy and I remained close to the house for our remaining three days in town. There was nothing outside the house we wished to see or do enough to warrant calling out our escorts. We were not bored. We had books and music and handwork as well as each others company.
The fan I embroidered for Jane turned out well. I had left my needlework book behind for Lydia to use, but had remembered a few interesting ideas from it. I adapted one of the patterns, a delicate pattern of interlocking floral chains, into a design I worked in in blue silk just a shade darker than the silk of the fan. Pale blue was a color I noticed Jane favored and it highlighted her hair and eyes beautifully. I hoped she would be happy with the gift.
Mr. Darcy went out on Wednesday to visit with his godfather and tell him the latest news from Mr. Gardiner. Nothing more had been heard of Lord Willoughby, but that still did not mean he was gone.
"My godfather is deriving great enjoyment from all the rumors flying around," Mr. Darcy told us on his return. "He has little tolerance for men like Willoughby who waste the opportunities they are given on frivolous pursuits and ignore their responsibilities to the land and the people who live on it. He has even less tolerance for men who simply run away and fail to learn from the consequences of their behavior."
The rumors now included news that Willoughby had fled to avoid imprisonment. Some of the more creative rumors said he had turned highwayman and gone off to rob travelers and rebuild his fortune. I personally did not believe he would be willing to work hard enough even to be a successful highwayman. It took more than just the ability to wave a gun around and shout 'stand and deliver' to be good at highway robbery. Other rumors had him dead of illness after his cold bath in the mud. I suspected it was far more likely he was hidden out somewhere near the coast, making deals and trying to avoid notice from his creditors.
0o0o0o0
We made an early start for the journey back to Longbourn just as planned. When we reached Mary's house the servants were just finishing strapping down the trunks Mary and the doctor were bringing with them onto the Gardiner carriage. Clearly they had decided to ride along with her aunt and uncle.
Mr. Darcy's coachman confirmed the route with the Gardiner coachman. They agreed on the most likely first stop and a signal if either carriage encountered trouble. We quickly set off to make our way out of London.
Once we made it out of the city the drive was pretty easy going. The roads were muddy and some new potholes had opened up, but the pace we kept was slow enough that the drivers could see most of the obstacles and avoid them. We stopped at an inn about midway to give the horses a rest and the people a break and a chance to warm up a bit before taking the final leg of the journey. It seemed a bit colder as we made our way to Meryton. There were still clumps of snow here and there on the ground, but the roads were clear. We encountered no difficulties and almost before we knew it Meryton was ahead of us, and a few minutes later we were making the turn into Longbourn.
We were greeted enthusiastically by the inhabitants of Longbourn while Mr. Darcy arranged for some of the trunks to be shuffled around. Mine was to be left at Longbourn, of course, and the trunks for Mary and Dr. Burrows were shifted to the Darcy carriage. They would be staying at the dower house with the Darcys. Georgiana would be returning to the dower house as well. It was time for her to be back with her brother and new sister on a regular basis, although I suspected she would still be a frequent visitor at Longbourn.
I was glad to see that Mildred looked much better than when we had left. She had recovered her energy and the cough had nearly gone. While the family members all greeted each other she and I had a quick discussion.
"Kitty and Lydia have behaved well in your absence. We attended a small gathering with the Gouldings and the girls' manners were quite acceptable. They also tended their lessons well. I got Kitty started with the basics of reading music and she is picking it up fairly quickly. Lydia is working her way through a book her father recommended."
"How have the lessons on the estate and house accounts gone?"
"I think they are going well for everyone. Mrs. Bennet enjoys being treated as an expert by Kitty. As I am sure you expected, the actual accounting only takes a few minutes a day. Kitty is using their time to ask questions about how a house is managed, what supplies are needed and how servants are hired and trained. She is even looking at past expenses with her mother to explore how the needs of the house will change with three fewer daughters in residence."
I smiled. This was exactly the result I had hoped for. "What about Lydia?" I asked.
"I am not sure who is enjoying their time together most, Lydia or Mr. Bennet. Lydia is enjoying a daily dose of her father's undivided attention. This is different from the kind of attention she has received in the past. Mr. Bennet is discovering Lydia has many character similarities to Elizabeth, although she is not as well educated or mature. When he treats Lydia with the respect he gave Elizabeth she responds well and learns quickly. He can no longer call her one of the silliest girls in England. As they work through ideas for the estate she is showing a good feel for the possibilities and far more sense they would have given her credit for in the past."
"Is she succeeding with the account work?"
"Yes, working together they have closed out the books for last year and have even started planning several ways to save or invest money this year. After their time with their parents each day Kitty and Lydia also like to compare notes with each other about what they have learned while they work on their needlework. I have found the discussions fascinating. They often come to similar conclusions about what they are learning, but each has their own way of getting to those conclusions. I think they were very wise in how they chose which parent to learn from."
"I am so pleased to hear that, especially that they are sharing what they are learning."
Just then Mr. Darcy suggested we all sit down and he would explain the happenings in town.
"You will want to hear this, Mildred," I said. We joined the family as everyone took seats in the drawing room.
"As you know, when my uncle came to the dower house several weeks ago he hoped to gain custody of Georgiana and force her into a marriage with a man to whom my cousin, the viscount, owed a great deal of money. By an odd coincidence, that man was the heir to Miss York's family estate, Lord Willoughby. While we were in town Elizabeth, Georgiana and Miss York had an unpleasant encounter with Lord Willoughby. Elizabeth, would you please provide the details?"
Elizabeth told how Lord Willoughby identified Miss Darcy from our conversation and the manner in which we made our escape after I confronted him. She also recounted our worry over whether he might use rumors of a betrothal to Miss Darcy to damage her reputation and attempt to force a marriage.
"He could not really do that could he?" Lydia asked with indignation.
"He might have tried," said Elizabeth, "but we found a way to turn the tables on him. Will?"
Mr. Darcy continued with a description of how he enlisted the aid of the Duke of Montrose, how the duchess brought Lady Jersey into the action, and told of his visit to the editors of the gossip columns to have our counter rumor published.
Mrs. Bennet, Kitty and Lydia all cheered. Jane looked pleased but did not say anything. Mr. Bennet did, however.
"Hoist by his own petard! Well done, son! Did the rumors spread as you expected?"
"The rumors spread far beyond what we expected, especially given how bad the weather had turned. By Sunday not only was Lord Willoughby's financial status well known, there was even speculation that he had killed my uncle and cousin along with several even more outlandish theories. Lord Willoughby showed up at Darcy House in a fury, wanting me to somehow stop the rumors."
"What did you do?" asked Lydia.
"I refused to let him in the house. He ranted a bit, but I simply asked him to leave. Then my butler shoved him away from the door and I closed it in his face. I ran upstairs to look out the window and make sure he was leaving. From that vantage I watched as he stomped down the steps, slipped, and fell into a puddle of slush and mud." Mr. Darcy laughed again at the memory and most of the room joined in.
"A few days later we found out he left London and went into Kent. The investigator lost track of him outside one of the coastal towns. When he could not pick up the track he came back and reported to Mr. Gardiner. We do not know if Lord Willoughby was trying to leave the country or perhaps just meet with someone connected to the smuggling operation. We have had no word of him since."
"What do you think he has done?" asked Mr. Bennet.
"I hope he has left the country, but I think he is in hiding, trying to work out a way to rebuild his fortune. My uncle has always been, for all his bluster, a rather weak man. He would run. Lord Willoughby seems more stubborn, less likely to run. I think I will need to remain alert."
"That all sounds very exciting," Mrs. Bennet said, "but did Elizabeth get to do any shopping while she was in town?"
"Yes, Mama," said Elizabeth with a laugh. "We did go out shopping one day, with Will and an escort of two strong servants. I bought gowns at the shop of Madame Claudette. We also enjoyed visiting some of the other shops and had chocolate and pastries at a cafe Georgie recommended."
"Well at least the trip was not wasted," her mother said.
"I also had my interview with Bishop Parkhurst," Mr. Darcy continued. "They are continuing to investigate Mr. Collins. He has been suspended while the investigation proceeds and the curate is providing services for the Hunsford parish. The preliminary investigation determined that Mr. Collins may never have been properly ordained. He may have been fooled by someone impersonating a bishop for his examination, or he may have deliberately paid for a false record of ordination. That is still being determined."
"Are you saying all his talk about his position as a clergyman was lies?" Lydia asked.
"I suspect he was duped by someone impersonating a bishop and charging fees to administer a fake examination. He truly seemed to believe he was a properly ordained clergyman. I do not think he would be smart enough to carry out a deliberate lie of that kind." Mr. Darcy answered.
"Well, I for one am glad he showed his true colors before he had the chance to marry one of my girls." Mrs. Bennet huffed. "Will he be thrown out of the parsonage?"
"He probably will be, but I think they want to complete the investigation first."
"He can still inherit Longbourn, though?"
"Yes, he can still inherit."
"Too bad. I hoped he would be disqualified."
"I am afraid it does not work quite like that. We must all hope you do not need to worry about whether he will inherit for quite some time." Mr. Darcy said.
"Yes, indeed," added Mr. Bennet. "I want us all to hope none of us have to worry about that for some time. I intend to live a long and happy life. If luck is with us I might just outlive Mr. Collins."
We all laughed and added our wish to his.
With the most important news out of the way, Mr. Darcy felt that his party should return to the dower house to get settled in. He spoke with Mildred and they decided she would return to the dower house the next afternoon, after services and a family luncheon at Longbourn. I knew that Elizabeth and Miss Darcy would bring the gifts they had purchased for the family with them the next day. I decided to wait to give Jane the fan until then.
After the Darcys left I sat with Kitty and Lydia to get caught up on what they had been doing. They wanted to tell me everything they had learned over the nearly two weeks I was gone. I was happy to listen and a little amused by their excitement. Lydia showed me the examples of pulled stitch work she had produced and told me about the book she was reading. Reading music was Kitty's topic and she was pleased with the progress she had made. They both shared interesting bits of information they had learned about managing both home and estate. It made for a pleasant homecoming.
I had enjoyed the trip to London, despite some of the problems we encountered. It was an adventure. All the same, I was glad to be back at Longbourn. I still had plenty of work to do here.