A.N. Thank you, LizzieJS, eatanygoodbookslately, Jansfamily, GabyHyatt, Sacredwoman, liysyl, Regency1914, ilex-ferox, Saralee, Ali, PassinBy, MrsSP9, Ilknur, Another Lizzie, pemsnowy, Joan, Nanciellen, Lorraynebcosta, Sysa22, Colleen, Zhivni, Mencia, MHS1986, Dumm, Kiwipride, Jolanda and guests, for reviewing. I'm happy to have surprised you with the "undead" Sir Lewis. I hope you enjoyed imagining (or having nightmares about) the conversation between Lady C and Collins and her advice about "trying the other", haha. Now, I present to you, Sir Lewis de Bourgh. Happy reading. Stay safe!
Chapter nineteen
Sir Lewis shook hands with Darcy and said in a low voice, "Darcy, it is good to see you. Let us go for a drive and away from any onlookers. Charlotte?" He offered his arm and Charlotte took it with a smile. The couple walked to where a carriage was waiting further down the road.
Darcy followed eagerly. His thought was in a jumble. Lady Catherine published a notice in the newspaper about four years ago that Sir Lewis had died during a business trip in India. She held a private service for her husband without the attendance of the Fitzwilliams or Darcys. She informed the family that Sir Lewis left her in charge of Rosings until Anne married. Now the usually clean-shaven and pale Uncle Lewis was spotted with a beard. He wore fine serviceable clothes of vibrant colours and walked with a gaiety that Darcy had never seen before. Darcy made a calculation in his mind. His Uncle should be 50 years old now. Sir Lewis was seven years younger than Lady Catherine and four years younger than Darcy's father. With the trendy clothes and hairstyle, his Uncle looked like a man in his mid-40s, like McGuniess had said.
Once they were on the road, Darcy couldn't contain his curiosity, "Lady Catherine said you died in India!"
"Yes, Calland, my solicitor, had told me that. Sour Cat even shed a tear during my funeral, according to Mrs. Connover, the housekeeper of Rosings," Sir Lewis explained to Charlotte, calling Lady Catherine by the wicked pet name he had for her.
"You are in touch with Mr. Calland?" Darcy commented. "Did you run away from Lady Catherine?"
Sir Lewis laughed. "In a way, I did. You catch on fast, young man."
"Why?"
"It seems another lifetime away," Sir Lewis turned serious. "I haven't told Charlotte everything yet."
"You know you can trust me," Charlotte patted his hand.
Sir Lewis nodded and continued, "The death of George, Darcy's father, five years ago hit me very hard. He had been my mentor and friends for many years. When I was at my lowest, I discovered that Anne is not my daughter."
"What?" Darcy exclaimed.
"Sour Cat scolded me for mourning your father for three long months and demanded that I shook it out of me. In her rage, she berated me as useless, even unable to father my own child."
"That was beyond cruel!" Charlotte said. Darcy agreed.
Sir Lewis continued his tale, "She told me Anne was fathered by Dean Mildway, a stable hand who had worked in an inn in Bromley. About two years into our marriage, we were still without an issue. Lord Matlock had commented that his sister should try 'other way' to give me an heir to secure Rosings. Matlock meant it as a joke but Sour Cat took it to heart."
"Mildway? But he was the owner of The Partridge at Bromley." Darcy said.
"Yes, Sour Cat bought the inn for him, as a service rendered and kept him on her leash."
"Mildway and his wife were killed in a carriage accident about a month after Charlotte's disappearance. Do you think…?" Darcy murmured.
"Calland had sent someone to investigate that but he did not find anything suspicious."
"I am relieved to hear that. My investigator McGuiness came to the same conclusion. I didn't want to think of Lady Catherine as vicious as to organize murder. Still, recent events made me doubtful of her actions. What did you do then, Uncle Lewis?"
"I couldn't stand the sight of my dear wife and left that day. I thought about going to Pemberley and visiting Georgiana and you but the memory of George would be too painful. I wandered in the country aimlessly for a month but revived my youthful dream of travelling shortly after. Sour Cat never wanted to travel. She preferred sitting on her throne and ruling her kingdom of husband, daughter, tenants and servants. Before I left for India, I settled my affairs with Calland and wrote to Sour Cat, telling her to leave Rosings with her daughter. I would give Faur Park to Anne. It is my estate in Scotland that yields around one thousand pounds. I still have affection for Anne, even though she is my daughter in name only. I would return Sour Cat's dowry of twenty thousand pounds so she could live on her interest if she didn't want to move to Scotland."
"But she turned the table and declared your death!"
"Yes. Sour Cat sent me a scathing letter, telling me never to return. She demanded that I somehow confirmed my own death in India for the sum of her dowry. Calland also sent me a letter at the same time. He asked for my instruction, rather than sending an investigator to India to confirm my death as Lady Catherine had suggested. Sour Cat wanted to take full control of my wealth and estate."
"What did you do?" Charlotte asked.
"I was far away enough from the tyrant to defy her wishes. I told Calland I am alive and well but let her play the queen for the moment. He is to have Darcy to look over the books of Rosings every year and make sure that all the tenants and long-serving servants are well. I changed my will and named Darcy's second son or daughter as my heir. Sour Cat couldn't touch the estate and my fortune. She could only use her dowry for her own pleasure or purchase."
"That must hurt Lady Catherine's feeling," Darcy was astounded. "I did wonder from time to time some of the generous repair, rent relief, bereavement payment offered to servants and tenants. They weren't in keeping with Lady Catherine's mean nature."
"Yes, she has spent a big part of her twenty thousand pounds, paid through Calland, on one useless solicitor after another. She wanted to kick my solicitor off the de Bourgh account. Such irony!"
Darcy shook his head. "And you decided to return this year?"
"Mrs. Connover informed Calland late last year that Sour Cat was planning something this Easter. Calland said Lady Catherine's fund is dwindling fast and is likely to organize a compromise and force you to marry Anne. I couldn't have that, so I made haste to come back from India."
Darcy was seething about Lady Catherine's plan to organize a compromise. "But how did you end up with Charlotte?"
"Perhaps I can continue recounting my escape?" Charlotte said. "Lugaid can add his views."
Darcy agreed eagerly.
"Mr. Collins fell soundly asleep almost at once that night, which was a mercy, but between my anguish and his snores, I could not rest at all. I felt that I must leave immediately or I should die, so I did not pause long enough to come up with very much of a plan, I am afraid. I was going to leave for London and seek the help of Mrs. Gardiner, Lizzy's aunt. I had visited her once, when my Father was knighted and she was the most sensible and compassionate woman I have known. Lizzy also spoke highly of Mrs. Gardiner. I felt that she would help me to find employment, despite my disgrace and slight acquaintance. I dressed and made myself as presentable as possible, and packed a few of my belongings in a small valise. I can thank Lady Catherine for insisting that we stay on the ground floor of the inn, for that made it a simple enough task for me to slip out of the window. I had some vague idea of walking to the next town, which I suppose was madness, but I was beyond reason just then. However, I was very fortunate, for as I was making my way through the streets of Bromley I encountered Mr. Wickham farewelling Lugaid."
Darcy stiffened with his old anger, never to be vanquished, at the thought of Wickham.
"They were quite drunk. Mr. Wickham called out 'Au revoir, Sir Lewis!' when he boarded his coach. I knew but one Sir Lewis who might have known Mr. Wickham but he was dead. My curiosity got the better of me and I followed Lugaid. He turned a dark corner. Before he could go too far, a young man yielding knife tried to rob him."
"And blessed my soul, Charlotte came to my rescue and hit the thief with her travelling valise."
Charlotte smiled. "The young thief had it bad. I hit him with all the fury I had for Collins and Lady Catherine. He ran off immediately. Lugaid was so staggeringly intoxicated that he scarcely knew his own name. But I could hear the gold clinking in his purse. The plan that entered my mind then was perhaps just as self-serving as my plan to marry Mr. Collins, but I did not care. I led him as I would a small child and got onto the carriage that he said was waiting for him further down the road. He must have hired it before he went for a drink. He was remarkably biddable in his condition, agreeing to a new location at my suggestion, and singing quite volubly in the carriage until he fell asleep.
"At a stop to change horses, I paid the coachman very handsomely from Lugaid's purse, asking for his discretion, which he readily gave me, and hired another carriage. I think perhaps your Mr. McGuiness tracked the first coachman down and paid him even more, but I cannot blame the man for his betrayal, I suppose. When Lugaid awoke we had changed directions three or four times and were already many, many miles away from Bromley. I had had time to shamelessly search his belonging and hours to think of exactly what my next steps ought to be. I found a letter from his solicitor hidden inside a secret pocket in his shirt. Mr. Calland addressed him as Sir Lewis and there were references to Rosings."
Darcy raised his eyebrows at her brazen act and candour. He couldn't imagine how Charlotte could have turned the situation to her advantage. He was breathlessly riveted to her tale.
"I explained frankly to Lugaid what I had done and why, and apologized for essentially kidnapping and robbing him when he was so very indisposed," Charlotte continued, a rather merry expression crossing her face. "Perhaps you will be surprised to hear it, but your Uncle was actually rather amused by my tale, and said he admired my resourcefulness. He asked what I planned to do next, and I told him that I had thought of two plans while he had slept. One was to ask him to loan me a small sum to ensure my silence, that I might establish a simple life for myself in London with Mrs. Gardiner's help. I thought at the time he had faked his own death and abandoned Lady Catherine. I did not particularly expect Lugaid to feel so amiably inclined. Therefore I outlined my second suggestion quickly."
"Whatever it was must have been a stroke of brilliance, for I cannot think how you managed to persuade Uncle Lewis," Darcy stated, not without admiration. He had not expected to encounter such determination from the meek and understated Charlotte.
"I suggested that he accompanied me the rest of the way to some small seaside village in Dorset, presenting ourselves as father and daughter under an assumed name. After I established a small school for the daughters of shopkeepers or tradesmen, he would be free to go. I did not blame Lugaid for laughing in my face at this."
"I laughed because I thought I didn't look old enough to be her father!" Sir Lewis jumped in. "I liked her frankness and suggested that we pretended as husband and wife instead. I told her some of the events that had led to my travel to India and that any excuse to avoid confronting Lady Catherine was a welcome diversion."
"I was intrigued by his offer. I am the last sort of woman a handsome man like Lugaid would seek out on his own, being plain and fortuneless and practical. But I feel strangely connected to him. We can both blame part of our misfortune on Lady Catherine."
"I explained to Charlotte that I didn't expect her to find me romantically appealing," Sir Lewis said. "Sour Cat has crushed my male esteem but that I might offer Charlotte other benefits. I have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages. She could save money when she had me as a tutor for her school. I could enjoy the comforts of a well-managed home without the care of a wife. Would I not enjoy the idea of having that undemanding support while retaining the freedom to keep travelling whenever I wish? I still have control of Rosings's fortune and could provide her with a replacement tutor when I travel."
"But why… why would you want to link your fate together like this?" Darcy wondered candidly.
"Because I possess a ruined reputation, Mr. Darcy. I am in no position to judge Lugaid's offer and have no desire to do so. My life is now outside our society's bounds, and I have been surprised by how well that freedom suits me. It took Lugaid some persuasion, but I agreed to a trial of his plan."
"I asked Calland to send a message to you, without revealing my resurrection in England, and alerted you of the likely compromise before I left with Charlotte." Sir Lewis told Darcy.
"But I never received it. I went to Rosings for my annual Easter visit, slightly earlier this year, because Richard told me he had matters to take care of after."
"Hmm, something is not right there," Sir Lewis tapped his jaw. "But let Charlotte finish her story."
Charlotte continued, "We stopped at Poole in Dorset, which I have heard from Lizzy's years of obsession with pirates that the coves, caves and sandy beaches provided abundant opportunities for smuggling gangs. Lugaid had almost three hundred pounds of bank drafts in his possession and quite a bit of coins as well. I was astounded that he was not robbed earlier when he was drinking blind at Bromley. I had taken one hundred pounds for safekeeping. He was quite befuddled about the missing money at first. When I questioned his memory about the time at Bromley, he shrugged it off that he must have lost them in a card game to Wickham before he met me. I insisted that we leased a small house not far from town. I didn't want to be over-ambitious in case he changed his mind. He also gave me a small sum of money to purchase the books and supplies needed to establish a small school for the daughters of shopkeepers or tradesmen, which I run quite comfortably from the house. My Father's mayoralty, knighthood and presentation at St. James had given me a lot more creditability when I first started teaching. Lugaid seemed to like the comfort and idea of being a gainfully-employed teacher. He stayed with me for about a month, before going off to Swansea. He only returned a few weeks ago. The proceeds from the school serve as sufficient income for myself. I have not touched much of the hundred pounds I robbed from him yet. I told myself I provided Lugaid a comfortable life should he wanted to stay in Poole longer. It would have been a great deal more difficult for me to accomplish such a thing on my own, for a single woman raises much more suspicion than a respectably settled matron, you know. We have put out that Sir Lewis – or Mr. Doyle, as he is known in Dorset, travels a great deal for business, so he is free to come and go as he pleases. If and when he wants to return to Rosings or find another woman to live together, I shall inform our neighbours that he has tragically died while traveling, put on mourning, and go about my life even more independently than ever. Until such a time, we genuinely enjoy one another's companionship. It is decidedly pleasant to be in the company of someone who requires no pretense or artifice, someone who accepts me as I am and expects nothing else from me."
"I most definitely agree," Sir Lewis nodded.
"We are fond of one another at the moment, and although we are not in love, our affection is sincere," Charlotte added. "If children result from our temporary union, they will never know that they are illegitimate, I shall raise them to be respectable and decent members of society even though I am otherwise."
"Are you not afraid of being found out, though?" Darcy managed to ask, feeling rather dazed by the frank and scandalous picture that Charlotte and Sir Lewis had just painted for him.
"Not particularly," laughed Charlotte. "Although I can see that it would seem foolish of me to say such a thing when your investigator has found me and persuaded me to come here! But he had a good deal of difficulty in locating me, I believe. Also, Poole is full of much more disreputable and colourful characters than Lugaid and myself. We have no connections who might travel there and recognize us."
"I'm Lugaid Doyle when I travel," Sir Lewis said. "I have no patience for London and that part of Kent where Sour Cat frequents. She made sure I didn't have a lot of friends in my previous life, although I am making a few of them now. With the beard, I think only you, Darcy, and a few who can recognize me by sight."
"What about Wickham?" Darcy couldn't help but worry about Wickham threatening Sir Lewis's life.
"I met Wickham by accident in Bromley. He was doing some errands for his commanding officer. He told me his sob story, including the incident in Ramsgate, hoping to befriend and profit from me."
Darcy's face turned red. Charlotte looked at both gentlemen with curiosity but didn't pry.
"But after my travels," Sir Lewis added. "I'm a lot wiser and not so easily charmed by Wickham. I demolished his lies after a few pointed questions and shamed him into agreeing to my demands."
"What did you want from Wickham?"
"I gave Wickham another chance, for your father's sake. I bought him a Colonel commission in the regular when he promised to stop his dissolute and indolent ways. It took my solicitor a few weeks to find the right commanding officer whom I believe will straighten Wickham out and arrange the transfer. Calland wrote that Wickham had better behaved in the last weeks he was in Meryton."
"Ah, that was why the youngest sister of my betrothal, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, said the handsome militia officers stationed in Meryton were decreasing by the number. Wickham must have left in March when Miss Bennet was in Kent. She didn't know that Wickham is no longer in Hertfordshire."
Charlotte had told Sir Lewis about Elizabeth before. He was happy for Darcy and congratulated his nephew heartedly.
Charlotte continued, "If Lugaid and I are discovered by our neighbours, it will spark a dreadful outcry, I am sure, that a ruined woman such as I was educating their daughters, but I have enough put by that we may easily move to some other obscure towns and begin anew."
"And I have plenty of money to move us, if you allow me," Sir Lewis rolled his eyes.
"What did you write to Lady Catherine, Charlotte? And why not to Miss Elizabeth?"
"I would not put the burden of my whereabouts on Lizzy. As for Lady Catherine, I wrote the letter not long after I had settled in Dorset. I told her I was with Sir Lewis and might evict her from Rosings one day. I was quite wicked. What was her response to the letter?"
"Lady Catherine let it slip to Miss Elizabeth that she had received a letter from you. My aunt vowed that she had only read the greetings and signature and burned it."
"That means Sour Cat poured over every word you had written a hundred times, Charlotte," Sir Lewis laughed.
"You have no intention of giving this life up, do you?" asked Darcy, recognizing the calm yet steely resolve that lay beneath Charlotte's mild demeanour. "What about your parents and siblings?"
"None whatsoever, I am afraid," she replied lightly. "I know that is terribly shocking. I shall miss Papa, Maria and my brothers. But I will only bring them shame if I ever return or meet them again. I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire existence, and I cannot bear the idea of returning to captivity. I agreed to come, somewhat willingly at least, to Kent because I do not want anyone accused of my murder. Not even people who are as hateful to me as Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine! I am willing to face the humiliation and scandal that awaits me in the court, if that is the price I must pay for taking control of my own destiny, and I do not find it too high a price. I also wanted to see with my own eyes that my father was well, and I cannot claim to you that I do not feel some satisfaction at seeing my tormentors suffering. That is wicked of me again, I know, but I did promise you full honesty, Mr. Darcy. I have fulfilled my duty here and I shall return directly to Dorset, and continue with the life I have chosen. I hope you will not attempt to stop me, sir."
"I will not," Darcy promised. "And you, Uncle Lewis?"
"I'm going with Charlotte."
"What about Lady Catherine?"
Sir Lewis shrugged his shoulders, "I am in no hurry to banish her from Rosings yet."
"Perhaps you don't need to," Charlotte added with a smile. "Lady Catherine may be convicted and transported."