Chapter 43

A few days after the ball at Matlock House, Darcy, along with Col. Fitzwilliam, listened in disbelief at what the investigator was telling them. Anne de Bough he thought grimly, was delusional. She had evidently sent a letter to Lawton Sr. that was intercepted by a maid in the de Bough household, in the investigators employ. Anne had written to a man she was not engaged to, requesting his help in finally ridding herself of Lysette Fitzwilliam, offering herself in marriage, not to either of his sons, but to the old man himself, if he was successful at dispatching her. In her letter she reminded Lawton Sr. of his and her father's failure to do so before.

If her written words about her schemes against Elizabeth were not enough, on Darcy's desk sat a letter he had received from Anne, begging his assitence to avoid the match with the widower Mr. de Bough had arranged. in the letter Anne sighted the prior betrothal between him and her, her father had arranged with his, as the reason the proposed match with Sir Mortimer could not go through. She did not even mention his engagement to Elizabeth, proclaiming that if they married quickly and quietly now, soon he would be able to claim both Rosings and Glenwood through her. One letter railed against Elizabeth's continued existence and in the other, it was as if Anne was unaware of Elizabeth's existence.

"Based on the information provided by the footman and maid I have established in the household," The invesegator said in a matter of fact voice, "Miss de Bough is insane. She at times appears to believe she is a young lady anticipating her come out and betrothal announcement in a few years. At other times she can be found in a rage, throwing things as she screams incentives at Miss Fitzwilliam, who she believes has wronged her. I am not a medical man, but it is my suggestion that you consider employing one to examine your cousin. It is my belief that she is a danger to others, particularly Miss Fitzwilliam. The turn over rate for the staff at the de Bough household indicates as well that it is a dangerous situation. They have been in town a month and a half, but almost none of the staff that was employed when Miss de Bough first moved into the de Bough's residence is still there. A highly irregular occurrence. It is likely an attempt to hide her illness or the staff fear for their lives more then they care to be employed."

"May I see those again?" requested Col. Fitzwilliam indicating the letter the investigator held and the letter on Darcy's desk. The investigator before revealing the letter the maid had removed had informed them it was higly irregular for him to stand in the way of a letter being properly posted, but the young woman posing as a maid had claimed to fear for a young lady's life, hence she had presented the sealed letter to him, who had brought it unopened to Darcy House. Col. Fitzwilliam carefully looked over the two letters. As his eyes lingered near the top of The one Darcy had received he said, "She dated this one seven years ago. After Uncle George had died. On the other one she has the correct date." Col. Fitzwilliam held the one written to Lawton up to the light and studied it. Then he glanced back at the one delivered to Darcy House that morning with the post. "Ah," he said. "If you notice the words on Darcy's letter, where she in her agitation beared down with the pen, you can find faint traces of them on this letter to Lawton. Which tells us she wrote the letter to Darcy first. Something I suspected based on the timing. But it confirms that she did not write any other letters between. Or at least not from where she kept the paper stacked she wrote these from."

"It also proves the same person wrote both letters," the investigator pointed out. "And since she personally handed the one to the maid that gave it to me, after writting it with the girl in the room, it cannot be denied that Miss de Bough wrote them both. A rational person would deny writting them both. The two together present written evidence that she appears unstable, even without a doctor's concurrence. The one to Mr. Lawton, she speaks her rage and states her intentions to see a crime committed and her previous attempts to do so. It is incredibly incriminating. But the one to Mr. Darcy is rather chilling in how out of touch with reality she appears to be."

"How does Sir Mortimer play into this?" Darcy asked thoughtfully.

"I have delved deeper into his relationship with Mr. Lawton as you requested. It appears, that his first wife was the younger sister of Mr. Lawton. The two married before Sir Mortimer recieved his knighthood. Sir Mortimer has become impoverished since then. He appears to have made some extremely risky investments. It does not take a skilled mind to see how foolhardy a few of the schemes were. I personally cannot imagine anyone investing in one, let alone all of these schemes, but it appears that is exactly what Sir Mortimer did. He woukd have been safer handing his money to a stranger on the street." Pulling out a notebook, the investigator consulted it and said, "One scheme he invested in shortly after receiving his knighthood was to develop a means of turning other matter into gold."

"Alchemy?" Darcy ask in surprise. " Only a fool would fall for such a scheme."

"Yet considering how Sir Mortimer, received his knighthood precludes him from being a fool. He was knighted after his contributions for improving bridge design. He worked on the Shropshire Iron Bridge," the investigator said.

"Then why did he invest in an alchemy scheme?" Col. Fitzwilliam asked with a frown.

"Perhaps he did not willingly invest in an alchemy scheme. It could have been a cover for making blackmail payments to his brother-in-law, if there was anything suspicious about his knighthood. Or perhaps he believed it to be a cover for another more lucrative scheme," Darcy said grimly.

"Would you like me to find out more about the schemes his failed investments are a part of?" the investigator asked.

Darcy considered thoughtfully for a minute and then said, "No. The why he lost his money is not important at this time. We need to concern ourselves with Mr. Lawton's actions. We need irrefutable evidence that will see him transported or hanged. What we have here should be enough to lean on De Bough to ensure Anne is institutionalized. We will press to have a physician examine her and de Bough to abide by the physician's recommendations. I cannot see any competent man of medicine finding her well."

"If Anne is to marry Lawton's brother-in-law, perhaps this will flush out Lawton," Col. Fitzwilliam said thoughtfully. "I wonder if she knows of their relationship considering her proposal to marry Lawton Sr. while engaged to Sir Mortimer."

...

Elizabeth smiled as she said goodbye to Lady Jersey. The lady was absolutely incorrigible. It was clear though that she was fond of Darcy, not inspite of his reluctance in society, but rather because of it. Darcy glanced at Elizabeth with a proud smile. He was proud of her and how well received she was by the leaders of polite society. He himself felt more relaxed interacting with society with her at his side then he ever had before. Today he was escorting Elizabeth shopping for a present for one of the young Gardiner children's birthday. After speaking to the investigator this morning, it was a relief to be out with Elizabeth. Tomorrow the Earl's physician and a colleague of his who specialized in illnesses of the mind, would examine Anne. Darcy thought of what steps would be necessary to take. To protect Aunt Catherine's name since Anne was known as her daughter, they would need to take care of things very quietly, he thought to himself.

"Today is for being out and enjoying the day," Elizabeth said admonishing him. "Tomorrow will be soon enough to think about Evil Annie."

"And how did you know that is what I was thinking of?" Darcy asked curiously.

"Becuase I know you. The rest of the world may only see your austere features, but I have learned to read your eyes," Elizabeth said smiling.

"And what do my eyes say now?" Darcy asked her.

Elizabeth titled her head to the side and stared him thoughtfully, before blushing and said pertly, "Your eyes, Sir, are being rather forward."

"If we were not in public, my lips would be rather forward as well," Darcy leaning down, whispered in her ear.