Notes: One reviewer asked how Matthew Piper would have access to the Postmaster General. I read the review, but when I tried to look at it again the reviews for the last chapter weren't there again. Here is the explanation: In a previous chapter the Postmaster specifically met with Matthew to discuss reforming the post-riders. That is the reason.
Chapter Nineteen – Stomping Snakes
Magistrate Turnbull watched Mr. Darcy depart and then began to listen as Lord Townbridge began to repeat the story that he already knew to the two ladies. Not interested in another repeat, he pointed to Constable Budge, "Go and collect the Phillips. I believe that we need to have a conversation with them."
Budge departed and the magistrate turned his attention to Mr. Bennet, who had sat silent for the past few minutes. "Mr. Bennet, you are released, but I think that I would appreciate it if you could listen in on my talk with your inlaws. Perhaps you have some insight that I might easily miss."
Mr. Bennet nodded and then steepled his fingers. "As much as I would prefer a good book and a glass of port, I will remain. Is there a way that I could listen without them knowing of my presence?"
"It will be done."
oOo
Darcy knew from the express that Lady Miriam had already taken steps to secure her home and the ladies residing within it. As much as he wanted to rush straight to Georgiana's side, he knew that his sister's safety would be much better insured by securing the scoundrel Wickham once and for all. So instead of sending his carriage toward Greenwich, he directed it to Darcy House. Meanwhile he made plans.
Mrs. Thompson, the housekeeper for Darcy's London residence, had anticipated his arrival. "There is water heated for your bath, Mr. Darcy. A warm meal can be in your chambers or your study once you are ready.
"Thank you, Mrs. Thompson. I will take half an hour to freshen up, then I will take my meal in the study." He turned to his butler, "Please send a man to Bow Street an specifically request Stephen Heidl. I need to write several letters and want them carried to their addresses quickly, so please have two reliable men to do that. And Mrs. Thompson, please bring the young maid who had met with Wickham to my study in one hour."
While his staff moved to comply with his wishes, Darcy walked briskly up the stairs. His valet had already preceded him, so there was little delay before hot water was poured into the large tub and Darcy stepped in to soak.
He had only been in the tub for five minutes when Mr. Hammil, the butler, stepped into the room with a bewildered look, "Sir, Mr. George Wickham has just presented himself at the servant's entrance and requests a meeting."
oOo
Upon further conversation, it was decided that the magistrate should interview Mr. and Mrs. Phillips separately. Mr. Phillips was the local solicitor, a rather dull man, but still respected for his honest dealings. His wife was the village's worst gossip and she engendered far less respect.
Turnbull suspected that Mrs. Phillips was directly involved in this case, so he chose instructed Mr. Budge and two large, intimidating men to stand guard over her while her husband was interviewed. "Once she is in the holding room, remain stern and silent. Do not answer any of her questions," Turnbull instructed.
Mr. Bennet added, "Mr. Budge, if you gave her a long, sad look every once in a while and shook your head in disgust, it might add to the drama." Mr. Turnbull met Bennet's eyes for a moment, then nodded. Both men knew that Budge was neither intelligent nor an actor, but Mrs. Phillips was not the brightest either. "Do as Mr. Bennet suggests, Elias. Only do not overdo it. Simply remain silent and make her understand by your disapproval that she is in trouble."
Mr. Phillips was escorted into the interrogation room by a Lord Townbridge himself. The portly man seemed resigned instead of concerned, "Mr. Turnbull, I assume that my wife and her sister are up to something?"
"You seem to be of the opinion that Mrs. Bennet is alive." It was a statement that demanded a question.
Mr. Phillips scoffed, "I left for a legal commission in Norfolk a week after my sister-in-law law ran off. Frankly I hoped the creature would remain far away. I cannot stand the woman. My case stretched on for far longer than I had hoped and got rather sticky. Sorry to say, but I made it a bit of a vacation and did not bother to read the newspapers. I returned yesterday to learn that Fanny has supposedly been murdered, that Thomas has been incarcerated, and that my wife is attempting to incite a lynch mob.
"Now Mr. Turnbull, I know my wife and sister-in-law all too well. The two have been as thick as thieves since they were little, with Gertie allowing her little sister to lead her around by the nose ever since. I listened to Gertie's tale at dinner last night and none of it added up. You scheduled an inquest for Thursday, so I decided to do a little investigation of my own before I spoke with you."
"And what have you found?"
"According to the servants, Fanny and Gertie were doing a lot of whispering right before Fanny took off. Our maid, Betty, tells me that she saw both ladies talking with a dapper looking gent around about the same time. Handsome, well-built fellow in his mid-to-late thirties. I checked with my clerk and learned that he has had to frank letters from London and lately from Sheerness. The letters from London were from a solicitor by the name of Donovan."
He leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table, "It took me a until this morning to parse that name, but now I remember it: some years ago we, the Bennets, and the Gardiners went north to Leeds for the reading of a will. The deceased was Mr. Younge, the uncle...
"...I was suspicious at the time, but the investigator Edward Gardiner and I hired did not turn up anything actionable. At the time I had a case overload here at home, so I rushed our return and forgot about the whole thing."
Turnbull grunted. Aside from confirmation of Mrs. Phillip part in the scheme, there had not been any truly new information. "Can you tell me anything specific that might help us to understand what the ladies were up to, Mr. Phillips?"
"The one thing that I can tell you is that Mrs. Bennet was all but insane after Thomas sent their youngest, Lydia Bennet, off to school. She demanded my legal help, but I informed her that her husband was within his rights and that her own behaviors toward her other daughters led to this. She almost attacked me. I suppose that is why she went seeking another solicitor... but I have no idea how she knew to contact this Mr. Donovan."
oOo
Mr. Darcy sat upright and stern behind his great oaken desk as Mr. Wickham was led into his office. Although the two burly footmen were not holding the man, their presence and proximity made it clear that they would be happy to deal with him if he attempted anything foolish. George Wickham smirked, but Darcy could see something unexpected in the man's eyes: fear.
"Wickham, take a seat and tell me why you are here... and why you are up to your old tricks with one of my maids."
Wickham sighed, "Mira is a pretty little thing, but she is completely innocent in this. I knew that if your staff heard that I was keeping company with the girl, you would be told and would make your way here as soon as possible. I asked her questions about Georgie... about Miss Darcy to guarantee your prompt reaction."
"I am supposed to believe that you wanted to meet with me? After this summer?"
The man grimaced, but nodded, "Sorry about that, Old Chap. I was... and still am in dire straights... only it is much worse now." Wickham looked at the two men flanking his chair and added, "Darce, if I promise on my life that I will remain well-behaved in this chair, could we dispense with my guards?"
Darcy pondered this for a long minute, his eyes never leaving Wickham's. Finally he spoke, "Jonathan, Michael, please wait outside. Allow nobody to come close enough to this room to overhear. If I ring for you, come immediately." The two men glared at Wickham for a moment and then obeyed. "Out with it, George."
"I need your help, Darcy. It is a matter of life and death."
Darcy might have scoffed at his childhood friend's dramatics, but there was genuine fear in the man's eyes. "Tell me."
"As you know, Mrs. Younge was in collusion with me in Ramsgate. It was a nasty trick, but I was still angry at you and I was desperate for money. I owe a rather large sum to some very dangerous men."
"So you decided to get it by hurting a child who has known and trusted you since she was an infant? The daughter of your own godfather?" Darcy growled.
George Wickham winced, but expelled a breath and responded, "It was wrong. I know it and regret it... but I was and am rather desperate... only everything is much worse now."
Darcy remained cold and silent. When Wickham realized that he would receive no further reply, he continued, "Well, that ward of your aunt, Elizabeth Bennet, fixed us rather handily." He shook his head with cold mirth, "Walked up to the cottage bold as you please and presents herself. Had us believing that Lady Catherine de Bourgh would be coming right behind her with the local magistrate. Only later we found out that your aunt was in London with the rest of you for your cousin's funeral.
"I was furious and still in bad circumstances, so we started out to discover everything we could about the chit..." Wickham saw the sudden increase in anger in Darcy's eyes and he chortled, "Oh-hoh! The pretty lady has captured the interest of more than just your aunt, I see."
When Darcy began to rise, Wickham waved him down pleadingly, "I am sorry. Old habits die hard. She will come to no harm from me... but there is another that you should fear. Let me finish my tale: We did a little investigating of our own and found out that her family hailed from the little town of Meryton. Things were too hot for us here, so we took a jaunt down there. We stayed in a closed-up estate close to the chi... Miss Bennet's home. Loh and behold, Doris saw her half-brother, David Donovan, keeping company with the woman who we already knew Miss Bennet's mother.
"Now what you need to know is that David Donovan is a very dangerous man. He was some years older than Doris and the head of the house with their father's passing. I met both of them before I finished Cambridge. He was already a solicitor and word on the streets was that he had some shady dealings. I liked Doris Donovan, even might have been falling in love with her, but was tied up with other matters in London."
Darcy knew that those "other matters" were carousing and gambling as the side-kick of the then Viscount Townbridge, Timothy Fitzwilliam. Wickham continued, "When I visited Leeds again, I found out that Doris had been forced by her brother to marry a Mr. Younge, a much older man who was quite wealthy. The thing was, Doris thought that her brother was up to something worse and she was afraid of the man. Her 'husband' was mostly senile and her brother was replacing the servants with his own selections right under her nose and without her input. She was right, because only a few weeks after I spoke with her, Mr. Younge was poisoned.
"Donovan was only the junior solicitor in a firm, but right when Younge died the lead solicitor also shuffled off this mortal coil. Doris inherited everything, but Donovan had full-control. She was afraid for her own life. I helped her to find a position as a companion to a lady in Scotland. Donovan must have been content with what he got, because he never went after either of us."
"Why were you helping her, Wickham? It is not like you to put yourself out without gain."
Wickham looked genuinely sad, "I know that it isn't like me... but I truly cared for Doris. That is why I looked to her for help this summer. We thought... we were going to escape to America and establish ourselves there." Seeing the rage in Darcy's eyes he quickly added, "We were never going to harm your sister... only solicit funds from you."
Darcy wanted to strangle the man, but he wanted the rest of the tale, "Continue."
"Doris decided that blackmailing the wife of the largest local landowner would give us what we needed to survive. I thought she was being a fool, but since her brother didn't harm her before..."
Darcy saw the anguish and fear in the face of his nemesis and prompted, "How was she killed?"
"You know?" Wickham demanded, leaning forward.
"I just left Meryton this morning. Answer the question."
"Doris sent a note demanding to meet with Mrs. Bennet on the summit of a local promontory. She thought she was being clever by waiting at the base instead. When Mrs. Bennet walked up the trail, Doris stepped out to speak with her. I was concerned, so I had followed Doris to lend a hand if I was needed, but before I could draw near, I saw a man coming out of some bushes with a rock in his hand. I was too far away... she... she never even heard him coming... I yelled, he turned, and I recognized Donovan.
Wickham cleared his throat before adding, "And he also saw me. I ran. I stole a horse and kept riding until I reached Town... only a few days later there were men looking for me... Donovan's men. So I did the only thing I could. I have been hiding in your stable's hay-loft ever since and dear Mira has been bringing me scraps. When you stayed away for so long I had to stir the waters so that you would rush back."
oOo
"You have no right to treat me like this! Mr. Bennet murdered my sister! Why hasn't he been hung?"
"To begin with, why don't you tell me what part you had in the murder of Doris Donovan, Mrs. Phillips?"
"Who? What are you talking about? There have been no murders..." Gertie Phillips' eyes suddenly went wide and her mouth clamped shut.
"So you know that your sister is alive, but you do not know about the true victim in this tale?" Turnbull demanded. "What is it that Frances Bennet did tell you, Mrs. Phillips... and understand, if you do not tell me the truth, then you will also be guilty of the murder."
The shrewish woman looked frightened at this point and more than a little confused, "My sister would not murder somebody, Mr. Turnbull. She told me that the blood was from a chicken."
"Not murder anyone? What do you suppose it is called when you and your sister deliberately schemed to have Mr. Bennet hung?"
Mrs. Phillips actually had to ponder this for a moment, then she defiantly answered, "He took away her daughters! Every last one of them. What was she supposed to do? What with the child and all..." Again she clamped up.
"What child, Mrs. Phillips," Turnbull leaned forward, his posture and expression both intimidating. "You used my office in order to convict an innocent man so that he could hang. If you do not answer my questions immediately and with no further resistance, then it will be you visiting the gallows."
Gulping, Mrs. Phillips meekly answered, "She only did it to protect her baby... the future heir of Longbourn. She told me that she was afraid that Thomas was losing his mind and that he would send the baby away too. So she decided to run away... but that wouldn't be enough. She had to remove Mr. Bennet or he would harm her child."
"What part did Mr. Donovan play in all of this?" The woman's eyes went wide and then would not meet his own. "Mrs. Phillips, my patience grows thin."
"He... he is her solicitor. She knew him from a long time ago and accidentally met him again about four years ago on a visit to her brother in London. When Bennet went mad, she hired him to get her Lydia back... but then she became with-child, so he helped her to escape instead."
Turnbull looked into the woman's eyes for a long time in order to read them, but finally he snorted in disgust. "You know that she is carrying Donovan's child, don't you, Mrs. Phillips?"
She hung her head and nodded.
"Give me your sister's location. It is time for her to return to Meryton."
oOo
Matthew Piper was bemused as he led the troop of redcoats down the side-street in Sheerness. He had never expected to have so much to do with such a prominent murder investigation... and to think that the woman was not dead at all! Now here he was leading soldiers personally signed off to the highest court for the purpose of seizing the man and woman he had seen only the day before! He was truly living in interesting times.
The lieutenant in-charge pulled up next to him, "Are we close?"
Matthew pointed to a cottage set apart on a little sandy knoll, "That is the one, Sir."
Frances Bennet was resting on a wooden bench and enjoying the sea breeze. Her hand rested on her belly, which had just recently begun to swell to the point where even loose dresses no longer concealed her girth. Life was good. She was here with the man she adored and she was carrying the next heir to Longbourn... it wasn't Mr. Bennet's child, of course, but with him hung for murder, surely nobody would be there to know the difference. I hope that he will have David's eyes... and his broad shoulders...
The memory of her first time meeting with Mr. Donovan. He had been so apologetic, so solicitous of her loss. Mr. Bennet had done little or nothing to recover all of the money that her uncle's wife had stolen. David had stepped in and consoled her, had spent time alone with her... had comforted her. Fanny saw absolutely no reason to alert her husband that she was carrying another man's child then... My poor Edward. He should have been born. He would be master of Longbourn someday. I blame it on Mr. Bennet, he should have supported me more. Well he will not harm my little David! David will grow up with a real father who takes care of him and of me. Since the girls all betrayed me, then they can very well stay away!
For the thousandth time, the memory of Donovan crashing a stone down on that woman's head tried to haunt her. For the thousandth time she pushed it away, telling herself that the woman had been a blackmailer, trying to steal her unborn son's inheritance.
It had been David who suggested the meeting place, just as he had suggested taking one of her recognizable shawls along. He had wanted her to wear her best, the silly man. Fanny had been unwilling to waste one of her good shawls, but she did have the one with the tear. Again a memory asserted itself, this time of David wiping the shawl in the dead woman's blood... and dragging the body off towards a gully... and again pushed the memory away. She rubbed her belly and smiled: It was all for you, little one. All for you.
Inside the cottage, David Donovan read his letters from London and the surrounding areas. No sign of George Wickham had been seen. That snake will raise his head eventually and I will chop it off. As soon as that fool of a magistrate in Meryton takes care of Mr. Bennet, I will present Mrs. Bennet and the heir. I have all of the testimonials that I need to show that the man attacked his wife and she had to flee for her life. I'll marry her as soon as we can to see to having a man about the place. Things are a little hot in Town for me right now, so having a base of operations three hours away would be a wise investment...
And if stupid Fanny cannot keep me happy, I could always give her a little of the same powder that killed her uncle. The foolish woman doesn't even know that I'm the one who stole her inheritance.
Multiple hoofbeats were heard, causing both Fanny and David to look up from their musings. Fanny, being outside, looked toward the noise and smiled with pleasure. Soldiers! I do so love a man in a red coat! David was not so pleased. This cottage was set apart from the other local residences. This troop could only be riding here... he quickly threw his correspondence into the fire and ran to his saddlebags.
When the lieutenant signaled a halt on the lawn of the cottage, the pretty lady in her late middle years smiled in greeting. She was obviously pregnant and just as obviously unconcerned about these soldiers. "Madam, are you the resident of this cottage?"
Frances Bennet smiled at the oh-so-handsome officer in his red coat, "Of course, Officer. Though we're only leasing it for..." Her words cut off as she was roughly grabbed from behind. Turning her head in shock, she saw David. Only his expression was not its usual debonair smirk, but a fierce, even hateful snarl. "Get back, all of you!"
"David?!"
One rough hand yanked her hair while the other pressed a pistol against her belly, "Shut up, woman! You, lieutenant: get your men on down the road. My woman and I are going the other way. If you attempt to follow, I'll put a ball in her belly."
"DAVID!?" Fanny snapped in fear, but the man she thought she knew only growled and yanked her head back harder.
Lieutenant Summers turned his horse as if to issue a command to his men, but these were crack troops and they understood. While his horse blocked the man's view, his front line pulled their rifles out of their leather holsters. The back row dismounted at the same time, quickly loping off into the tall dune grass and dropping out of sight. Lieutenant Summers wheeled back, "Sir, I do not know who you are. We have been sent to take this woman into custody. I have no orders concerning you. So if you let her be, then you will be free to depart. If you continue to threaten, however, my men will have no choice but to riddle you with lead."
David Donovan scoffed, "You think that I believe you will let me go? I am not stupid. No, you will take your men back down the drive and Fanny and me will take a different trail."
Matthew Piper's eyes were wide with shock. He had not expected anything like this. Though he and the other riders were always ready to fend off highwaymen, he had seldom encountered any problems. Certainly never a desperate man holding a pregnant woman at gunpoint.
"I am afraid that I cannot do that. I am under orders from the Lord Chancellor himself to collect this woman, now..."
Just then Fanny Bennet's famous nerves finally asserted themselves. She fainted and began to collapse. Donovan, having not expected the sudden weight of her body, jerked in surprise and pulled the trigger. Fanny fell to the road. From both the tall dune grass on either side of the drive, soldiers who had been waiting for a signal fired. Even though the barrels were rifled, three of the rounds missed. The other five lead balls struck, coming from both sides. For a brief moment the impacts actually kept David Donovan upright, but then his body fell on top of his last victim.
In a trice men from every direction were on the scene, pulling the man off of the woman. Donovan's pistol had been aimed at Frances Bennet's belly, but her sudden fall had altered the aim, sending the shot straight through her heart.
oOo
Notes: Gruesome, I know, but justice at the time was often swift. From here on the story will begin to focus on the Bennet girls again.