Elizabeth was shown to her room by Polly, her maid. She was surprized, as a companion, to hear that she would have a maid, but she had been assured by Mrs. Smithers, the housekeeper, that she would need one.

She was more surprized to see her room. She expected something in a garret. What she saw was a large bedroom, easily three times the size of the largest bedroom at Longbourn, with three large windows overlooking the gardens. The furniture looked to be old, the upholstery somewhat worn, but she was not about to complain.

"Polly, where are the family bedrooms?" Elizabeth asked.

"There's no family here, miss."

"Where's the Dowager Countess?"

"Oh, she's on the first floor, miss."

"Polly…"

"Sorry miss, but Smithers and Mrs. Smithers will answer all your questions." Polly started unpacking Elizabeth's trunk. "Now which dress would you like to change into?"

A half hour later Elizabeth met with the butler and the housekeeper in the library. They sat on one side of the library table, she on the other.

Smithers said, "Before we start, I would like you to read this form, and if it is acceptable to you, to sign it." He slid it across the table to her.

It was a printed form with blanks for her name and the date. These blanks had already been filled in. It was slow going making her way through the dense legal wording. Elizabeth remembered that her Uncle Phillips had once told her that legal documents used three words, when one would do, because scriveners, whose job it was to copy such documents, were paid by the word. She was not sure whether he was joking. The gist of the form was that she was agreeing to pay the Earl of Jeltotford the sum of £10,000 if she disclosed information regarding the Dowager Countess of Jeltotford to anyone other than the Earl, his heirs and assigns, his servants, and other persons he designated, at any time within a period ending twenty-one years after the death of the Dowager Countess of Jeltotford.

"I don't have £10,000, I doubt very much if I will ever have £10,000," said Elizabeth.

"Then you will end your days in debtor's prison" Smithers told her. He did smile when he said it.

"Fair enough, I suppose," said Elizabeth.

Smithers held out a quill pen to her. She took it, dipped it in the ink well, and signed her name.

"Miss Bennet, I have quite a bit to say to you, so I would appreciate it if you would hold your questions until I am finished," Smithers said.

At Elizabeth's nod he started. "The Dowager Countess was born Miss Alice Brown, in 1742, the youngest daughter of a baron. In 1758 she was engaged to the father of the current earl. The Christian name of her betrothed was John and I will refer to him as such. You might think that I am being overly familiar in referring to him as such, but the necessity of doing so will soon become apparent. John was the second son of the then earl and as such chose to make his profession in the army. He was grievously wounded at the Battle of Quebec and throughout 1760 it was uncertain whether he would fully recover. But he did, and he and Dowager Countess married in 1761. John became the earl in 1768 following the deaths of his father and older brother. By all accounts John and Dowager Countess had a good and happy marriage; a marriage that produced two sons, the oldest of whom is the current earl, and two daughters. John died in 1800. Are you following me so far?"

At Elizabeth's nod Smithers continued. "On John's death the Dowager Countess went mad with grief. She was quite hysterical for a considerable period of time and when she calmed down it was discovered that her mind was trapped sometime in 1760. She remains there to this date. I assure you that she is not at all violent; we have been with her these past ten years and she has never lifted her hand to anyone, or thrown anything, or even raised her voice."

Elizabeth started to ask a question but Smithers held up his hand. "Please let me finish. The current earl bought this estate twenty years ago for a second son if he had one. He didn't, and so when his daughters marry, and he has two, this estate will be sold to fund the dowries for them. In the meantime, as this estate is well away from the main estate of the earldom, the Dowager Countess is housed here to keep her away from the prying eyes of those neighbours who knew her there. This is a very good situation for her, much better than if she were in Bedlam.

"In addition to the problem with her mind the Dowager Countess can no longer walk, and can hardly see and hear. Three adjoining parlours in the house have been adapted to her use, providing her with a dining room, sitting room and bedroom. She never leaves these rooms.

"She has a maid to take care of her hair and clothing and three nurses who take care of her personal needs. Your role as companion will be to keep her company during her waking hours.

"There is a strict schedule to follow. Your duties will start each day at noon when you join the Dowager Countess for breakfast. As she has lost her teeth, and refuses to wear false ones, this consists of a sweet mush. You will be served it as well but you only have to play at eating it. If you get up earlier you may join us for a proper breakfast at the hour of seven and a light nuncheon at eleven. The Dowager Countess's breakfast takes half an hour and then one of the nurses will take away her for another half hour to clean her up and have her use the necessary.

"At the hour of one you will meet the Dowager Countess in her sitting room. I will bring in a letter for her which you will read to her. There are five different letters which we use in rotation, she does not remember from one to the next that we are repeating them. She will then dictate a reply to you. You will pretend to follow her dictation and write the letter. You need not worry about being caught out; she never asks you to read the letter back to her.

"At the hour of two she will ask you to read to her. You will read from Clarissa, starting where you left off the day previous. You will note that various sections of the book have been crossed out as they upset her. When you get to the end of the book, the next day you will start over at the beginning.

"At the hour of three I will bring in tea and you will pour. The Dowager Countess takes cream and two teaspoons of sugar. There will be two plates; one will have four marzipan bonbons and four ginger biscuits, it is the Dowager Countess'; the other will have two each of the bonbons and the biscuits, it is for you. After you have had a chance to sample them you can let me know if you would like more or less of either or both.

"At the hour of four one of the nurses will take away the Dowager Countess for half an hour to be freshened up. You may use this time to take care of your own needs.

"At the hour of five the Dowager Countess will ask you to play and sing for her. You will play and sing Greensleeves. She will not ask you for any other song and you will not volunteer any other.

"At the hour of six you will join the Dowager Countess for dinner. This will consist of a savoury mush followed by a dessert of blancmange. You will be served this as well, but again you only have to play at eating it. During dinner the Dowager Countess will have two glasses of a particularly sweet madeira but you need not have any, she will not press you to indulge.

"At the hour of seven one of the nurses will take the Dowager Countess to bed and your duties for the day are over. You will then join us for a proper dinner."

At the hour of eight I will be quite mad myself, thought Elizabeth.