Chapter 2: Planning the Proposition
Wednesday 25 March 1812
Unable to tolerate Anne or his aunt with any composure, Darcy retired to his chambers shortly after Anne explained her plan. How the hell was he supposed to go through with this? He sat staring into the fire with a bottle of blue ruin (1), hoping to find a solution in one of them.
If he refused Anne's proposition, how could he keep Aunt Catherine from moving into Pemberley? His father had banished her, but his father was gone. The earl would not take her. If she did not stay at Pemberley or Matlock, she would make a scene and bring scandal to the family. Darcy groaned at the thought of housing his aunt. He had sworn on his mother's deathbed to protect Georgiana. He already failed once with Wickham, how could he justify failing again?
He needed to protect Georgiana, both her delicate sensibilities and her chance to marry well in the future. What decent man of character would ally himself with Georgiana when Aunt Catherine may well follow Georgiana to her new home?
If he refused Anne's offer, he would again fail his sister. He would again fail his father.
But to not refuse? How could he do such an immoral thing? To her? Well, he already knew how he would do such a thing to her. Softly, tenderly, caressing her most tender parts while he watched the pleasure it would please him to give her. The real question was could he do such a thing and remain unaffected? He was already struggling with the choice before him, could he make a rational decision about marriage, about being connected to her family, after being so intimate with her?
Maybe he could. After all, men paid women for similar services. True, those women were not maiden gentlewomen, but would this be any different? She would be paid well for her services.
Ugh! Darcy wanted to call himself out! How could he think such a way about Miss Elizabeth Bennet? He had been able to leave her in Hertfordshire, knowing Wickham was pulling her ear because he could depend on her reason and strong character to protect her from the blackguard's advances.
Maybe, if it only happened once, he could do it. He could protect Georgiana and, in an odd way, also protect Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She would end their venture with a dowry and an estate. If the thought that she would not be able to marry another man after she bore his child pleased him, he refused to acknowledge it.
But if she agreed to such a scheme, how could he ever offer for her? She would be ruined. Yes, he would be the one who had ruined her, and it would be unknown beyond those involved in the deception, but she would still be ruined. There would be no way around that.
His only hope was knowing that she would not agree. She was too proper, too moral. Thus, all of the Fitzwilliam family would once again be responsible to solve the Catherine conundrum.
Darcy convinced himself that his only option was to go along with Anne, knowing in his heart that Miss Elizabeth Bennet would not agree.
~~~oo0oo~~~
Meanwhile, Richard was agonizing over how to do his part before finally approaching Darcy, who already knew the woman, to obtain some suggestions. Unusual, he thought. My asking Darcy for advice on how to approach a woman.
Seeing a light under Darcy's door, Richard quietly knocked. Darcy pulled his door open, "WHAT!" he barked.
"I can't sleep. Want to spend some time with Madam Geneva?" Richard asked as he raised his bottle. (2) Darcy waved Richard in.
While Richard pulled a chair to the fire, Darcy poured them drinks. "How in the hell am I supposed to do this?"
"Understood! How do I walk up to a proper young lady, look into her innocent eyes, and ask her to fuck my cousin, repeatedly, until she knows she's with child." (3)
Darcy eyeballed his cousin. "What do you mean 'repeatedly'?"
Richard shifted uncomfortably, looking at his drink. "While only having tried to prevent pregnancies myself, I remember my brother and his wife took a few months to conceive after they married. I will not be asking him any details."
Darcy thought about the implications and groaned as he sunk into his chair and looked at the ceiling. More than once? How could he remain unaffected more than once without being a soulless rake? He scowled at Richard. "I hadn't thought about that. I thought it was more like horse breeding."
"It's never been discussed in my hearing, what the signs are that a woman is going into heat." Richard considered, then raised a brow. "Some women I know are willing at any time. I would venture, however, that human females work differently than animal females."
"It doesn't matter; she won't do this," Darcy asserted.
"I also doubt her agreement, which makes me even worse as I am the one chosen to offer the proposition to the lady. But what if she does?"
Darcy scowled, now lost in his concerns of participating in the act without attaching either himself or Miss Elizabeth Bennet. "How could I be expected to do something like that? Anne's solution treats me as no more than a barnyard stud. That it would be more than just once." Then waving his arm toward Richard. "Even taking as long as a couple of months!"
"That's not a bad thing. You are the lucky one here. You don't even have to pay!"
"You forget the five thousand pounds," Darcy reminded him, taking a long drink.
Richard looked Darcy in the eye with a wicked gleam. "She's nice to look at and is quite lively. If I were in your position, I would get my money's worth. The woman wouldn't be able to walk! "
"I am not you," Darcy growled.
Richard waved him off, taking a long drag on his drink. "You already know her, so your normal excuse about such an intimate act with a stranger doesn't hold. I'm surprised you don't admire her at least a bit. She doesn't appear to be a preening sycophant, but she's also not lordly about her knowledge or opinions."
Darcy looked at him with eyebrows knit. After considering a moment, Darcy—helped by a significant consumption of lightning—threw his normal caution to the wind. (4) In for a penny, in for a pound. "Who's saying I don't?"
Richard's eyebrows shot up as he leaned forward. "Really! The impervious Darcy is interested in the young country miss? Do tell."
Darcy sighed and sank back into his chair after pouring refills. Alcohol makes difficult conversations easier. Fortunately, Richard was matching him glass for glass so at the moment they were both half-wits.
"She's part of the reason I left Hertfordshire earlier than planned," Darcy sighed. Then with a slight grin, "If not for her family, I would already be breeding her."
Having spent the past four months cataloging why he could not attach himself to her family, he could recite it in his sleep now. "Her mother is ridiculous, throwing her daughters at any man who will take them. Her youngest sister, who is even younger than Georgiana, is out and runs around balls chasing militia officers like a trollop. The other two younger sisters are not quite as ill-behaved as the youngest but are far from pleasant company. The father takes no control of his family."
To be fair, while cataloging her failures he conceded that she and her elder sister conducted themselves with propriety. "The older sister is a beauty, but not one to give her heart away. She nearly trapped Bingley. I had to get him away from her before he was forced to marry a woman who held no real affection for him."
"Her sister is Bingley's angel, the one you spoke of on the ride?"
"Yes," Darcy said flatly. "The woman herself is pretty but bland. She always smiles and nods at everything." Darcy plastered on a fake smile and bobbed his head in an exaggerated imitation. "The girl seems nice enough, but her mother was gloating over an attachment before Bingley offered. The mother was making the girl accept him, even though there is little affection on her side because his bank account would house the bunch of them when her husband passes."
"So similar to Anne and our aunt?"
"Lady Catherine isn't as obnoxious as Mrs. Bennet. That woman borders on the obscene."
"You say that after this evening?"
Darcy scowled, then with a drunken grin took another gulp. "Maybe Lady Catherine is worse."
"What about Anne? This plan of hers?"
Darcy sighed. "I don't know. Anne knows my weaknesses and has me cornered. I either sacrifice myself and Georgiana, or I sacrifice myself and Miss Elizabeth Bennet."
Richard looked hopeful, "Maybe Miss Bennet will consider the benefit to be worth the cost?" Darcy looked skeptical. Richard paused for a few minutes. "How are we to go about this?"
"I don't know," Darcy sighed. "How does one approach a gently bred young woman and ask her to become a broodmare so you aren't saddled with your obnoxious aunt?"
"What is she like? From what little I saw of her she seems unimpressed by wealth or titles."
"They matter in that they are sufficient for her maintenance. She is held in high esteem for her kindness and good deeds. She never acted the coquette toward Bingley or me, and you should have seen the way she skewered Bingley's sisters." Darcy smirked at the thought. "Miss Bingley never knew when Miss Bennet delivered most of her set-downs." It was enjoyable to see someone put Miss Bingley in her place as it was not something he could get away with.
Richard laughed. "I would have loved to see that!" The two men sat quietly a few minutes and finished off their drinks while continuing to look for answers in the fire. Finally, Richard asked, "So she is a proper, respectable, honorable, intelligent gentlewoman. And I have to ask her to be your mistress and have your child." A sudden thought came to him, his eyes opened wide. "Does she carry a knife on her?"
"Not that I know of, but I haven't looked under her skirts," Darcy snorted.
"Yet," Richard smirked.
Darcy raised his eyebrows with a small grin. Yes, alcohol did make hard conversations easier. "Maybe start by telling her you have a way for her to save her family. She is very protective of them, even if they are…challenging."
"I can do that, bring up the entail." Richard exhaled at the daunting prospect before him, but he preferred to go into battle with a plan. "Then layout Anne's plan. God only help me after that."
Darcy nodded. "You have it right. It logically lays out her situation and gives her a rational approach to solve it."
"The rational but repugnant approach to solving it." Richard quipped.
Darcy, now much affected by the drink, took offense. "I believe there are many women who would not find lying with me repugnant."
Richard, just as affected, laughed. "Those women want to bed your bank account. They are the same sort who are quick to tumble with me when they find I'm the son of an earl—then go off in a huff when they find I'm the second son!"
"You can tell her I will make sure she receives her full enjoyment from the experience each and every time. Many times," Darcy grinned, confident in how satisfied she would be.
Richard laughed. "Lucky bastard. I wouldn't mind having the opportunity—and I have much more experience!"
Now that they were warmed up, the conversation could only devolve. "I know a thing or two."
"Yes, but I know hundreds. Never forget the neck, particularly the back of the neck, under her hair. Ummmm," said Richard.
"If I need your help, I'll ask for it." Darcy looked at him with a mock scowl.
"You won't need to, I'll be offering you tips every time I see you. First, loosen up. Who wants to fuck a board?"
"It works best when incredibly stiff." Both devolved into laughter.
"This will be entertaining." Richard paused a moment, "I am glad to know you like women. You keep it well hidden and stopped going to the entertainment houses even before your father died. I wondered if you were one of those who preferred the company of men."
"You spend more time in the company of men than I do!" Darcy blurted out before regaining as much of his composure as the drink would allow. "I don't like men that way. It's easier to be around men during the day, they are rational beings and don't claim disappointed expectations after a simple greeting. But at night it would be nice to have someone soft and shapely," he indicated with his hands which shapes he was referring to, "to lie with. So far none seem interesting enough to spend my days with, and few women of our acquaintance would want to keep me warm at night." Then Darcy remembered his cousin's other statement. "I stopped going to the houses of entertainment when Marcus Cleese caught the French disease at one."
Richard sat up, shocked. "That's how he died?"
"Yes. They retired to their estate to keep it quiet, but it killed him and his wife. I visited him toward the end. After seeing that, I decided it was not worth the risk." He grinned like a naughty schoolboy, "I can take care of myself and stay hale and healthy until I find someone."
The cousins laughed and made crude jokes a bit longer before finally retiring for some much needed sleep.
Darcy looked into the embers as he drifted off, thinking in more detail about what he had agreed to. Elizabeth: a woman interesting enough to spend his days with and one who may soon be keeping him warm at night.
Maybe it wouldn't be so difficult. Maybe they could both enjoy it.
Maybe he was drunk.
~~~oo0oo~~~
Wednesday 25 March 1812
The sun was high in the sky when Darcy's valet woke him up. "My apologies sir, but Lady Catherine insists you and Colonel Fitzwilliam join her as soon as possible. She would wait no longer."
Darcy groaned as he dragged himself out of bed to start his morning ablutions. Once finished, he met Richard in the hall as both trudged down to face their aunt.
"Finally!" Lady Catherine greeted them, ignoring their obvious misery. "You need to be ready. The note has been sent, they should arrive soon." Turning to the lead footman, she ordered, "have the servants leave the room until the Collins Party arrives."
Once the room cleared, Lady Catherine started to review the details of Anne's arrangement. "Richard, we will have tea. Once Miss Bennet finishes her cup you are to suggest a walk. The day is a fine one. You may show her the daffodils, wisteria, and fruit trees at the back of the South garden. There are also the magnolias blooming along the edge of the garden beside Hunsford. You should find privacy in either of those places. The gardener has been ordered to work on the other side of the house today. When she agrees, bring her back to get started at once."
Darcy and Richard, both suffering the lingering effects of their late-night indulgence, were stunned into silence at the gaucheness of their aunt's pronouncement. "The maids have prepared the back room in Anne's wing for her. Darcy, you can start today. The sooner it happens, the better, and you must couple at least once every day until we know it takes."
Both Darcy and Richard were stupefied.
Before either could respond, the Collins Party was announced and the gentlemen composed themselves as best they could. Richard noticed Anne's hand on her mother's wrist and offered a prayer that Anne would be able to silence her mother.
Lady Catherine served tea while the colonel directed the conversation. "Miss Bennet, so lovely to see you again. Are you enjoying your stay in Kent?"
"It's always good to spend time with friends," she said as she looked at Mrs. Collins, sharing a conspiratorial smile. Thanking his many years of practice, Richard managed to keep the conversation light and neutral while Anne kept her mother silent.
When Miss Bennet finally finished her tea, the colonel inhaled deeply and dove in. "I have been told you enjoy walking. Were you able to partake this morning?" He asked loud enough to let his family understand that it had begun.
"Yes, I was," she replied spryly, not noticing the tension. "It is a beautiful day for it."
"You are correct. I need to inspect the gardens today and hoped you might feel up to joining me. I noticed some of the flowers are starting to bud. Are you too fatigued from your earlier walk to go out again?"
Miss Bennet, seeing no reason to reject his invitation, rose to get her bonnet and pelisses. Charlotte passed her a quick glance and encouraging smile.
Lady Catherine could not keep from having her share of the conversation. "Oh yes, Miss Bennet, you have never seen anything more lovely than a Kent garden in bloom, of course, that is several weeks away. Richard, you must show her the fruit trees. Also, the hawthorns that border the parish grounds."
"Yes," she said. "I enjoyed them just this morning. They are beautiful."
"Come, Miss Bennet, let us find which flowers look most promising," Richard hurried, escorting her out of the room before his aunt could say more.
"I would like that Colonel." Smiling innocently, she prepared for their walk.
~~~oo0oo~~~
The colonel kept the adorable Miss Bennet entertained with more nonsense while they walked away from the house. Once outside of hearing distance, Richard steeled himself.
"Miss Bennet, I understand you are one of many sisters, renowned through Hertfordshire for their beauty."
She blushed, "I don't know about renowned beauty, sir, but I am one of 5 sisters."
"What are your sisters like?" While she gave descriptions of her sisters, Richard asked questions that led her to discuss the entailment of the estate. He felt like an absolute louche, but it must be done. "What happens to you lovely ladies if something were to, God forbid, happen to your father?"
Miss Bennet, obviously put out by such a direct question, took a few moments to answer. "I do not know," she said shamefully with her head lowered. "I can only hope some of us are married at that point. My mother may go to live with her brother or her sister, any remaining unmarried sisters would probably either live with the married sisters or live with my mother. It is not something I can affect, so I do not like to think about it"
God, give me strength, Richard prayed. "So there is nothing in place to protect you."
She looked at him suspiciously. "No, sir. Why do you ask me such personal questions?"
Richard inhaled deeply. This was it. "What if there was something you could do to guarantee the security of your family? Would you be willing to do it?"
She looked at him in surprise. "Yes! Of course. I would do anything to help my family."
"Anything?"
She narrowed her eyes. "What do you have to say, sir?"
His head lowered, Richard looked up at her and took a deep breath, "My family is in a similar situation to yours. You've seen how frail my cousin Anne is." Miss Bennet nodded in confusion. "She will die soon, maybe even within the year, and will leave my aunt upon the charity of her relations."
"Oh my! Poor Miss de Bourgh!"
Colonel Fitzwilliam noted Lady Catherine was not included in her sympathies. "It is tragic. If Anne dies without an heir, Rosings Park will be ruined. The tenants will lose the farms that many have lived on for generations."
Elizabeth was not quite sure how she felt about the colonel's way of expressing himself. She could not tell if his tragedy was Miss de Bourgh's impending death or Miss de Bourgh dying without an heir? The man's father is an earl! To claim Lady Catherine faced the same situation as her own family bordered on the absurd. While she was concerned for Anne, as well as the Rosings Park servants and the tenants, Elizabeth's suspicions kept rising. What could the colonel mean with this conversation? How could she be of help to those of such wealth?
"We do have a way of solving these problems. Keeping Rosings Park in the family and securing your family in recompense. First, our solicitors will break the entail on your father's property. With Mr. Collins conveniently located under my aunt's direction, it should not be difficult to get him to agree. But with Common Recovery, his agreement isn't necessary. Your family's estate will become your property upon your father's death, giving you, your mother, and any unmarried sisters a secure home. We will provide an alternate property for the Collins', giving them the option of leaving the parsonage or leasing it for an income until they wish to retire." (5)
Miss Bennet's eyes grew large and her jaw slack in surprise as her walking slowed down, and she turned to him. "Is such a thing possible?"
Richard smiled. "Yes, it is. But we are offering more. Each of our three family estates—Fitzwilliam, de Bourgh, and Darcy—will provide five thousand pounds toward your dowry. That will be fifteen thousand in additional funds for your estate. What do you think? Is it something you would be willing to do anything for?"
"Maybe sir, but what would you have me do for so much money?" she asked with trepidation.
Thinking back on Darcy's drunken vow, Richard answered more lightheartedly than he should have, "Oh, it may not be so appealing at first, but you will likely experience great pleasure after some time."
Miss Bennet was now completely confused. "Sir, please be more plain. I do not understand what you are asking of me."
This was it. The moment of dread.
"Darcy is set to marry Anne in three weeks, but Anne is too ill to produce an heir. We want you to have a child with Darcy which Anne will claim as her own."
There. The worst was done.
Miss Bennet paled as she dropped. Richard quickly reached to catch her, but she came up wielding a branch. Swinging it with all the force her anger could muster, she whacked him upside the head.
Her eyes sparkled with rage, her voice dripped with contempt. "Surely you jest sir. You offer me wealth and security if I have a child with Mr. Darcy while he is married to Miss de Bourgh! How could you think I would accept such a thing?"
Richard held his cheek, feeling the blood oozing from where the branch made contact. "Madam, I did not think you would accept. I was given orders to ask."
"And you just follow orders without question?" she asked in bewilderment.
Looking at the ground, then raising only his eyes, he replied, "Sometimes it is required of me."
She glared at him, raising her chin in defiance. "Sir, I misjudged you. I thought you were a gentleman of honor, but I find you to be another of the Prince Regent's lecherous peerage." She turned on her heel and started walking back to the parsonage.
"Madam, they are expecting us to return to Rosings…"
She refused to even glance back. "I do not care what they expect." Elizabeth held her head higher as she increased her speed heading for Hunsford.
"I believe, old boy, you lost this battle," Richard murmured to himself as she rushed away.
~~~oo0oo~~~
(1) blue ruin = gin
(2) Madam Geneva = gin
(3) They were using the term "fuck" back then. You can look up "The School of Venus" published in 1680, a scanned version is available on Google Books. I think in an instance like this, with two drunk and stressed out men, one of whom is in the Army, commiserating with one another, they would use vulgar terms.
(4) lightening = gin (Gin was a very popular drink in London and easy to make. It was a huge problem for the English government in the early 1700s. The book Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva is an interesting account on the scale of the problem and the solutions they tried until they finally managed to get a hold on it. At one point, every Londoner averaged 2 pints a week.)
(5) When initially writing this, I had no idea how an entail would be broken. It was a plot device I used to forward the story I had mapped out. Obviously entails could be broken as many gentlemen lost their estates from living above their means, making the Dollar Princesses from the US a "thing" in the late 1800s.
However, after doing quite a bit of research and having FF/AHA readers inform me, I now know more about breaking entails than I ever thought I cared about. What a rabbit hole it's proven to be!
Note: I am not a lawyer or a historian or an expert by any means. Read this for your own curiosity and know that it may not be correct.
It looks like it wasn't uncommon for entails to be broken using an expensive and elaborate legal fiction (technical term- search for it for a good definition) known as common recovery. It could be any amount of land, not necessarily the whole estate. Apparently, the heir had a right to know it was happening, but wasn't a party in the proceedings and could do nothing to stop it. Common recovery was based on the Taltarum's Case from the 15th century and lasted until 1833 when it was abolished and replaced by a procedure that simplified the process and gave the heir some rights.
The way it worked, taken from the Common Recovery page on Wikipedia:
"The common recovery was intended to turn land held in fee tail into land held in fee simple and exploited elements of existing legal procedures to achieve this.
As a preliminary, there needed to be a conveyance of the land. The owner (in tail) of the land A conveyed it to someone else B (known as the tenant in precipe) to the intent that a third person C (known as the demandant) might sue for it. C accordingly issued a writ against B. In court, B defended his right saying (correctly) that he had acquired it from A. A (now called the vouchee) was called upon to vouch for his right to the land. He alleged that he had acquired it from D (a person known as the common vouchee). D asked for time and failed to appear subsequently; alternatively, he dashed out of the court. In either case, the judgment was that C should recover the land, and that D should compensate B with land of equal value. However, D was chosen because he was a 'man of straw' with no property at all, so that the judgment against him was valueless, and it was never enforced. The result was thus that C recovered land in fee simple, which A had owned in only fee tail; thus, the entail was barred."
There is also the issue of the Rule Against Perpetuities that entail (fee tail) creates. (You can't tie up property for too long a time beyond the death of the person writing up the instrument.) In England, the Statue of Wills (1540 - allowing people to write wills to pass their property vs primogeniture) and the Statue of Uses (1536 - allowed the creations of trusts) also affected this. I'm not a lawyer, I don't know the details. These are just some things I found. It also looks like while entails were usually written so the estate would go to a male, they were sometimes written such that a child of either sex could inherit. I don't know if that's how Rosings or Pemberly were set up or if the land was owned in fee simple and so transferred through wills.
It would seem Jane Austin and the adult characters in P&P would know at least about Common Recovery. Mrs. Bennet may be a bimbo, but she's also a lawyer's daughter and seems to know a bit about it in Chapter 13 when she says "I am sure if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it." As one blogger suggested, Mr. Bennet was putting the common recovery off as long as he could because he would lose his status as a gentleman (and his daughters would lose their statuses as well) and he could well fear Mrs. Bennet would pose a threat to the Bennet wealth. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet would appear to be colluding with Mr. Bennet in using this as a way for him to deal with her nagging about money.
Some of the stuff I initially found about breaking entail was related to Downton Abbey and said they were SOL, but the more I dug the more I found out about how it would be done and how common it was. It wasn't cheap but was well known.
~~~oo0oo~~~
2021 Note: I didn't change much. Nor did I change the note on breaking entail - it may be wrong but I don't have time to research it any more.
FYI: "Make a scene" entered English by 1806