Chapter 13 Unexpected return

Henry tried to concentrate on his task. He had to admit that Julia knew her lines quite well. But it held no interest for him. He wished that he could talk with Fanny.

Fanny! He looked up and saw that she was not in the room! How had he missed her leaving?
He motioned to Edmund, who understood him.
"Mother, where is Fanny? I did not notice her leave."
"Fanny is bringing a curtain for me to the billiard room," Mrs Norris' answered instead. "I do not know why you are always asking where she is."
Henry looked around at the rest of the people gathered and then noticed that Nicholson was missing. This was not right!
He looked at Edmund. They both stood up.
"Excuse me," Henry said and then they both left the room.

"I can't believe I missed seeing her leave the room. Or that Nicholson. I so hope it is just a coincidence and nothing happened!"
Henry nodded at Edmund's words.
When they reached the door of the billiard room, they heard raised voices.
Henry clearly recognised Fanny's voice:
"For the last time sir: Leave me alone! Or you will rue the day you ever set foot in this house!"

Edmund opened the door and this is what they saw:
Nicholson stood in front of the other door, trying to open it. Fanny had a cue in her hands and threatened to hit the man. She looked very angry.
Now Nicholson had managed to open the door, but before he could leave, Edmund spoke.

"Nicholson! After last time I had hoped you learned your lesson! And yet, here you are again." Then he turned to a footman, who had followed them, and said, without giving Nicholson a chance to say anything. "Samuel, bring this man to his room and make sure he doesn't leave it."
Samuel, who was quite a muscled man, gripped Nicholson's arm firmly and pulled him away.

Now Henry walked towards Fanny, who seemed frozen on the spot, cue still in the air.
When he reached her, he gently took the cue out of her hands.
She started to laugh. "I did it! I scared him off!" Then her laugh turned into a sob and she collapsed in his arms. He sat her down on a nearby chaise and let her cry in his arms.

"Here is the curtain, aunt," Edmund said, when he handed the item to Mrs Norris.
"I expected Fanny to bring it to me, about half an hour ago. Where is she?"
Edmund sighed. "Fanny felt a little unwell. She is resting."
Before Mrs Norris could say anything back, Edmund turned around and walked out of the room again, in the direction of his office.

Henry was waiting for him there.
After a short while in the billiard room, they had escorted Fanny to her room, where, according to the maid, she had gone to bed and cried herself to sleep.
Henry was pacing through the room when Edmund joined him.

"We really must speak to Tom now. I had hoped we could wait until we had more information," Edmund said. "Alas, Nicholson forced our hands. I will not let him leave his room if I can help it. But the others will wonder where he is. I do not want to lie, but I also do not want to tell the truth about what happened."
"We can tell them he asked to be excused for he had urgent matters to attend to."
Edmund shrugged. "I guess we could tell that. But I am worried if Matthews will accept this."
Henry laughed wryly. "With Fanny also absent, he might think Nicholson has succeeded in seducing her. I do not know if this assumption would make matters worse or if it would give us more time."

"I don't know either. For now, I wish we could pretend we don't know where he is and deal with everything tomorrow. This day has been long and too much has happened. Besides, I need time to think about what I will tell Tom."

They were interrupted by the dinner bell.
"If you join the others," Edmund said to Henry, "I will come soon, but I will first instruct Samuel and Baddeley what to say, should people ask about Nicholson's whereabouts."

Henry went to the drawing room to find everyone was already moving out towards the dining room. He took his sister's arm to escort her in. He was glad the dinner setting was rather informal. He hoped it would help conceal the absence of two people of the party.
When everyone was seated, Edmund walked in. He bowed in the direction of his mother. "Excuse me ma'am, for my tardiness." She nodded at him.
He then sat down on an empty seat, which was near his mother. A moment later dinner was served.
"Edmund," Lady Bertram said. "I believe you said earlier on that Fanny was unwell. Was she not able to come to dinner?"
"Indeed mother. I just went to check on her. Sarah told me she is asleep. When she wakes up later, she will get a tray in her room."
"Good!" was Lady Bertram's reaction. Then she continued: "Excuse me for asking, Lord Matthews, but I do not see your friend. Is he not well?"

Henry looked at what the man might say. He did not seem surprised and looked rather smug. "I am sorry ma'am, he told me he had some unexpected business to attend to. He did not know how long it would take before he could grace us with his presence again."

Henry caught a look from Edmund. They both realised that either Nicholson had told his friend what his plan was, or Matthews suspected the reason for his absence. And it seemed he believed that Nicholson had been successful in his endeavours.

After dinner, Tom forewent the separation of the sexes, as he said there would be a last rehearsal for the play, and if his mother would excuse them, or –better still – would join them to watch.
She assented and the whole party then went to the billiard room.
While the actors went to dress, Mrs Norris, with some help of two footmen, hung up the curtains in front of an area that had been set aside as stage.

Edmund took Henry outside the room where they would not be overheard.
"What did you think of Matthews' reply?" He asked.
"While it is true that he did our work for us, I do not like the implication that he knew exactly what Nicholson was up to." Henry answered. "At least he has the decency to not openly declare it."
Edmund nodded.
"I wonder what he will do when Nicholson doesn't turn up at any time soon. Or if Fanny reappears."
"We're not out of danger, so to say," Henry said. "We might have earned some respite, but we still must find a solution."
Edmund sighed: "It would not do to hope that tomorrow we will have a message from London. Unless there is information of any kind readily available."
"No, I expect to hear something the day after next the earliest." Then he sighed as well. "I wonder how Fanny is doing! She was very brave this afternoon." He smiled a sad smile. "It is very unfortunate that she had to use her newly found courage so soon already. I hope it will help her in recovering."

Edmund smiled at him. Then he said seriously: "That reminds me: I do not want to pry, but I have perceived your regard for her. What are your intentions towards her?"
Henry had to suppress a blush. Then he told honestly: "I… love her. I intend to ask her to marry me in the future. But only when she reciprocates my feelings. From what I can see, at the moment she only sees me as a friend. So that is what I intend to be, until there is a change in her feelings towards me."
"I understand," was Edmund's reply. "I think you would suit each other. But I agree to your assessment of her feelings. You would do well, though, to be careful in showing your feelings. It could attract unwanted attention."
Henry nodded. "I know. I do my best but it is not always easy. Thank you for not trying to discourage me."
Edmund smiled. "Well, you have done a world of good to her. She has changed since you arrived. And I think I am not wrong in saying that this time at Mansfield has changed you as well for the better."
Henry sheepishly laughed at his friend. "I believe you are correct. When I think back at how I was before, I really do not like myself. But I believe my eyes are opened and I will endeavour to continue to improve."

They stepped back into the room. The actors seemed ready to perform, although now they were one person short. But it seemed, as Nicholson had only a minor role, that they could do their rehearsals without him for the time being.

The first scene was well underway when the door suddenly opened. In stepped a man Henry never had seen before but who he surmised to be Sir Thomas. Some gasps were heard around him, mostly from the people on the stage, for Sir Thomas did not look happy.

First he greeted his wife with a kiss on her hand. Then he turned to Tom and his daughters on the stage. "Tom, I see you have amused yourself in my absence. Maria, what's this play you are doing?" She sheepishly handed him a copy of the play.
He briefly flicked through it and then threw it in the fire.
"Maria, introduce me to your fiancé before you and Julia go to get changed."
Maria did so and Mr Rushworth behaved pompously, rambling on about the play and about his speeches. He also said how glad he was that Sir Thomas was back, for he hoped he soon could now marry his dear Maria.

When the girls were gone, Sir Thomas turned to Tom. "Please introduce me to your friends." Tom introduced Mr Yates and then wanted to do the same with Lord Matthews. His father half-closed his eyes. "This man," he said, "Is not supposed to be here. Did he bring his friend too?"
Tom nodded almost sheepishly. "Yes sir, he had some business to attend to I believe. He is in his room I think."
"Well, Tom. I want to see you in my office in ten minutes."
"Eh, sir, I'm afraid that is not entirely possible. We… used the space, you see."

Now Henry saw Sir Thomas' temper rise. "You've made a real mess Tom."
Now Edmund spoke up: "Father, in your absence I have used another room as office, at least since they started the acting scheme."
His father now turned to him.
"Ah, Edmund. Someone who at least maintained some sense in this house. Could you introduce me to your friends, please?"
"Father, these are Mr Henry Crawford and his sister Miss Mary Crawford. They are staying with their sister Mrs Grant at the parsonage. Crawford, Miss Crawford, this is my father, Sir Thomas Bertram."
Henry shook the hand. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance at last, sir."
"The pleasure is mine, young man," was the answer. "Edmund has told me in his last letter that he highly valued your friendship and experience with overseeing an estate."
Henry was pleased to receive such praise. Sir Thomas seemed a severe man, but to be treated so courteous upon first acquaintance was high praise indeed.

Then Sir Thomas briefly greeted Mrs Norris. All the actors by now had dispersed themselves to change into their normal clothes.
"Where is Fanny?" Sir Thomas then asked.
"I'm afraid she was a little unwell, sir," Edmund answered. "She took to bed rather early today."
"Ah, such a pity. Well, I suppose I will see her in the morning then."
"Father, before you speak to Tom, could we please speak to you as well? It is rather an urgent matter."
"Hmm, that sounds serious. I hope it is nothing about the estate or tenants, for that could wait until tomorrow."
"No sir, it is something else."
"Well, lead me to your temporary office."
Edmund went ahead and Henry and Sir Thomas followed.

They all sat down and Edmund poured some brandy for them all.
"Sir, I am really sorry that I have to opportune you as you just returned home. But I fear it cannot wait. I was very shocked this morning to discover that the two friends Tom had invited, were the very two you expelled from Mansfield Park three years ago. Without going much into detail, Mr Nicholson already has caused some trouble, although it is best that no one else knows about it.
Furthermore, Mr Rushworth has been up to mischief and we got suspicious about him. Crawford requested someone in London to investigate and his contact has found some information about Rushworth which will hopefully cause you to break off the engagement between him and my sister."

Henry took over. "Only this morning I received this information. More evidence will be sent in the coming days. I will show you the letter shortly. When I received the message I came straight here to tell your son. But before I came into the house, I overheard a conversation in the stables between Rushworth and Matthews and Nicholson, although I did not know the latter two at that moment. What they were speaking about, confirmed the information I received in the letter. I then also found out that these men had been expelled by you in the past. Bertram had told me about that before. Now, here is the letter."

Sir Thomas had been listening attentively and then took the letter Henry offered him.
After reading he looked up. "And what did they say in the stables that confirmed this?"
"Matthews reminded Rushworth that he had to pay in a week's time and asked how he was going to do that. Rushworth answered that his hands were tied, for he had to wait until you returned before he could marry and only after that would he be able to access her dowry and pay off his debts. Both men warned that his creditor was running out of patience. It seemed that Rushworth was quite troubled by it. They also said that they would help him to find other ways to get the money in time."

Edmund continued: "When Crawford told me this, I had Baddeley appoint some footmen to keep a close eye on all three men. Hmm, I still need to find out why one of them failed to do that, for apparently Nicholson escaped his notice for a moment and caused troubles. For safety I have put him in his room and have the room guarded. We are still at a loss as to what to do next. Crawford also sent word this morning to have those two men investigated.
We wanted to have concrete information, which might convince Tom to sever all ties of friendship with them."

The room was quiet for a while.
"Good grief. This is a lot of information all at once." Then Sir Thomas looked at Edmund. "This whole business with Nicholson, has it perhaps something to do with Fanny's not feeling well?"
Henry looked at Edmund, who sighed. "He tried to corner her, but she threatened him and bravely and successfully scared him away. Just then we entered the room and that's when I had him seized and put in his room."

Sir Thomas looked pensive and then said: "So he hasn't changed then. Well, if his two friends are the same type of rake as he is, then I do want them gone as soon as possible. I will speak now with Tom and then tomorrow morning at the latest, Nicholson and Matthews need to leave. I will need to speak with Maria and then have Rushworth gone for good. But that will be tomorrow."

He sighed and poured some more brandy in his glass.
"Crawford, Edmund, thank you for telling me all this. Crawford, do keep me updated when you receive more information. Edmund, if you see Tom around, send him here. And then tell your mother that I will be with her in half an hour, I hope."

Henry bowed and they both left the room.
They found Tom and the others gathered in the drawing room. "Tom, father wants to speak with you now. He is in the room which I used as my study."
Tom left without a word. Now Edmund fulfilled the second part of his errand by telling the message to his mother. She seemed reassured.
The other people present seemed a bit subdued, which was understandable. Suddenly they were robbed of what had been their favourite activity for the past few weeks.

Edmund drew Henry a bit apart from the others to talk without being overheard. "I do hope Fanny will forgive me for telling that much information. But my father is sharp. And he was aware of what happened three years ago." Henry nodded. "I hope it is for the best. And now I hope we soon get the information that we need to get rid of all three of them for good." Then he said: "Maybe Mary and I should go home now. She needn't stay for the play anymore and you all might want some time to yourselves with your father."
"Do not worry Crawford. I think to all of us you have become part of the family. You need not leave yet."
Henry stood up. "I will go to ask what Mary's wishes are."

Edmund stood up as well. "I want to see how Fanny is doing. I hope she has been sleeping peacefully, but if not, then she would have been alone all that time. I think she would not want to come downstairs now. I will go to her now."
Henry went to his sister and Edmund left the room to see Fanny.

Henry hoped she would not feel too unwell. Having had all these things happening to her must drain her emotionally. He wished he could help her, that he could relieve her from her burden. Her pain hurt him too.
He hoped that, now Sir Thomas was back, everything would soon be sorted and she would have the time to fully recover her spirits and forget all that had happened.

A.N. Yay, Sir Thomas is back. Let's see how the story continues...