Chapter five:
Darcy barely slept, when the sun had risen he had dressed and visited the nursery where the beautiful child lay asleep in the Darcy family cradle, he felt so proud to be a father and was overwhelmed by how quickly he had become attached to this little girl. He could have spent his entire day watching her sleep but he needed to speak with Richard and make a plan of action on how to find Elizabeth. Once he found her there would be the bigger task of their marriage taking place and somehow raising their daughter together even if it was as their ward, they would make it work and explain it to Clara one day they just had to figure it out.
George Wickham was also up with sunrise as he had just left the room of the assistant housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds's niece Mrs. Potter. Who he had spent the night with, she was always keen to please him and shared what she knew of the latest gossip from within the manor house. With this information in hand George Wickham, wrote and express to Lady Catherine, filling her in on the child that had been left at the gatehouse that her nephew was claiming the child to be his own daughter that he had placed the child in the Pemberley nursery that he was planning to seek out the mother and marry her. He knew this was information the Lady Catherine would reward him for as he was aware of her plans for her nephew to marry her daughter. When the express rider paid handsomely to get there as quickly as possible he continued on with her day in the satisfaction that he would receive a generous payment from Lady Catherine for his swift action.
Colonel Fitzwilliam's plan was simple, they needed to find out when the next ship was due to leave for Boston where they left from and to check the passage list for the Bennet party men were briefed and sent at first light to the many different ports. Then they would be able to track down the party before they board any ship. With inquiries on this matter already sent out to recover the information needed all the duo could do was sit and wait for a response. He had also sent Darcy's man out to larger towns such as Derby, Matlock, and Leicester to enquire in respectable inns to see if there were any party's matching the Bennet's sister's description traveling toward any port city's with the intention of traveling to the new world. So early the next morning when one of Darcy's men entered the Rose & Crown inn in Derby that Elizabeth party had spent the night they did not come across Mrs. Gardiner and her nieces traveling to the Americas but Mrs. Shevington and her daughters Mrs. Long and Miss Shevington the innkeeper appraised the men that Shevington's/Long party who match the description were not traveling to Americas but to the lakes traveling on a pleasure trip to see relatives that Mrs. Long had arrived first to secure the rooms and was joined by her mother and sister, the man continued on to the next in with the same questions.
Voyagers were due to leave London, Portsmouth, and Liverpool to Boston, Virginia, and New York over the next few weeks but none had passages by the requested name or any names relating. Even bow street runners were unable to locate Elizabeth when they spoke to Gardiner's man of business he assured then he had seen his master leave with his wife and nieces in January from Portsmouth and the young Ladies had definitely boarded the ship he even produced the receipts of purchase of the tickets. The runners reported back that Elizabeth had appeared to have disappeared from the face of the earth and it would be a waste of money to continue to look for her.
Meanwhile, Lady Catherine stalked around the Rosing drawing-room, things were not going to plan, it was well known through the first circles that Matlock's sisters Catherine and Anne, had dreams of wealth and titles and had planned from their children's infancy that they should marry. To unite two of the best country seats in England making their family rich, titled a powerful force to be reckoned with. What both ladies had failed to account for was their children would grow and form their own attachments and personalities. That their children once grown, with independent fortunes did not have to do as their mother's wish for them.
The first sign of the plan would fail was her nephew Fitzwilliam appeared to be pinning over someone. This was later confirmed by the letters the idiot George Wickham supplied. That her nephew was involved with some chit was not shocking a man of the world was often encouraged to sew the wild oats before they committed to proper marriages with suitable young ladies with the correct background. This chit E.B clearly wasn't one of these young ladies as it appeared her nephew had broken off with her as the silly girl continued to write to him begging him to contact her, at least she thought he had the good sense she had presumed to end the torrid affair with some nobody.
Once she thought that problem was resolved, Anne has started to claim she would not marry her cousin as planned first lady Catherine ignored her daughter knowing her will was stronger than that of her daughter, until the reason had soon become clear to all residents at Rosing.
At first, the housekeeper approached Lady Catherine with the news that her daughter had not had her course for the past two months, from there it didn't take long to realize Anne was with child she had her own liaison with a mystery man. By September eight-teen thirteen Anne was not many weeks from giving birth herself from what she could tell. Lady Catherine still hadn't managed to find out who the father was but she knew it wasn't either of her nephews as they hadn't been to Rosing in twelve months. The doctor she had paid handsomely to say nothing about Anne had confirmed her worst fear that her daughter was unlikely to survive childbirth due to her sickly constitution. It was imperative she marry quickly and to someone of Lady Catherine's choosing so that Rosing wasn't out of her control and someone respectable raised her grandchild.
Later that day when Wickham's express arrived the lady herself was outraged she had forgotten all of her current problems as her fury grew. How dare her nephew place some chits bastard child in the Darcy nursery, how was Anne expected to raise some other women's child Fitzwilliam knew it was her's and his own late mother's greatest wish for him to wed Anne. As quickly as the rage-filled her she suddenly felt what a stroke of good luck Fitzwialliams current affairs was to her. A new plan was formed in her mind that could resolve all her problems in one go, she would need to act quickly and travel to Pemberley before Anne gave birth.
The Bennet party was due to leave the inn was a message arrived from a Mr. Brodwick accompanied by a letter of introduction from Mr. Gardiner, he offered an invitation for the Ladies to Join him at his Family seat in Dublin before joining him to travel to Boston where he was due to meet Mr. Gardiner as he planned to settle there for some time. He assured them it would be no problem joining him to travel the only delay their travel would be by a week that they would spend in Dublin. They were all assured it would be much safer for them all to travel together. So from the inn, the ladies traveled to Liverpool as instructed by the mysterious Mr. Ashbrook, he had arranged a passage for them from Liverpool to Dublin where he would meet them. True to his word after a pleasant crossing they were met by Mr. Ashbrook as they docked, they then spent a week exploring Dublin before boarding the pack orient to Boston as his guest.
As they got to know Mr. Jasper Brodwick' they soon discovered they had been staying at his family's Irish seat before they traveled to the Americans. Mr. Brodwick was the second son of the Earl of Ashbrook. His primary family seat was in Staffordshire, as a second son who never thought he would inherit he had a small fortune from his father's death. After meeting Mr. Gardiner, though friends and becoming well acquainted with the gentleman he had decided that he would go in to trade and become a partner within Mr. Gardiner. So when Mr. Gardiner explained his plan to expand his business to the Americas it became the perfect opportunity for Mr. Brodwick to invest and with a little training, he would be the face of the American business permanently make Boston his home. The problem for his family of him been in trade in Boston was very different from being in trade in London. As far as they were aware he would be a gentleman and buy an estate in Boston. They would never know as his family would never allow it and would refuse to be tainted with the shame of trade. This was the opportunity Mr. Brodwick was looking for to become his own man and not the second son of an earl.