Some interesting discoveries by the colonel.
Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived back after dinner. He found his cousins and Mr. Bingley sitting in the parlor. Once he was seated with a cup of tea and the door firmly closed, Mr. Darcy asked him about his success with his father.
"They plan to depart after breakfast tomorrow morning. With luck they will arrive in the early afternoon."
"Do you really think they can convince Lady Catherine to allow Anne to come to London?" Georgiana asked.
"We have an unexpected ally. Well perhaps not unexpected but her level of willingness is certainly unexpected."
"What do you mean?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"My mother is quite pleased with our plan."
"She has never pressed me about marrying Anne. She has always been on my side about choosing who I marry. Has she changed her mind?"
"No. She is quite pleased you have found someone you love and plan to marry."
"Richard, did you tell her..."
"Not me, not me." the colonel said raising his hands in surrender. "I said nothing until she confronted me before I left."
"She confronted you?"
"Indeed. She had me directed to her sitting room when I was about to leave."
"What did she say?" Georgiana asked a bit excited.
"She had received a letter from Anne."
"When? Did she mention Elizabeth?" Mr. Darcy questioned quickly.
"Calm yourself, Darcy. Let me speak."
Mr. Darcy nodded and motioned his cousin to go on.
"The letter was dated last week. Wednesday evening actually. Anne stated that she would need to come to London soon. She requested Mother assist her to do so."
"I am surprised Lady Catherine allowed such a letter to be sent."
"I said the same thing. The letter states that she wrote it late at night and would hide it in the pocket of her dress. She planned to pass the letter off to someone to mail for her in the morning."
"She must have succeed if Aunt received her letter." Georgiana said. "Perhaps the person that helped her could assist her again. She may have already sent a letter about Elizabeth."
"I had thought about that myself but after further discussion do not believe it possible now."
"Why ever not?"
"Anne's letter described the person who would assist her. Mother read that part of the letter to me."
"Who assisted her?" Mr. Bingley asked.
"Anne describes the lady as her dearest friend who would be departing the country soon to return home. She further states that she must come to London to convince Darcy to stop being a stubborn mule of a man and pursue the lady as she has spent the time since his departure convincing the lady to give him a second chance."
"It was Elizabeth who assisted her to send the letter." Georgiana said.
The colonel nodded with a grin.
"She further informed Mother that they would likely need to accompany Darcy in pursuit of said lady lest he, and I am quoting here, finds the taste of his boots too good to forgo."
"Do you think that Anne knows about your proposal to Elizabeth?" Georgiana asked her brother.
"I had hoped she did not but it sounds like she might." Mr. Darcy replied.
"Anne only mentioned that you had a disagreement with the lady. She said she believes you both will easily forgive each other your errors but will have a harder time forgiving yourselves. From the way Mother talks it seems Anne is set on having you married before the summer ends. She believes you only need a chance to speak to clear up your misunderstandings and propose." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked. "Apparently she spoke quite highly and extensively about Elizabeth. Mother is quite looking forward to meeting her."
"Did you tell her Elizabeth is here?"
"No. I told her you and I were concerned for Anne since she has been kept sheltered in Kent. Since you have found someone you wish to pursue, it might be good for Anne to come to London to meet someone as well."
Mr. Darcy nodded.
"Mother agreed that keeping Anne in Kent has done her no favors."
"So we shall have answers to our questions in just a few days." Mr. Bingley said.
"Unless Lady Catherine protests Anne's coming and delays their departure." Mr. Darcy stated grimly.
"Ah but Mother has decided she will take no delays. They will stay only one night at Rosings and return the following morning.
"How will she do that?" Georgiana asked.
"She plans to oversee the packing of Anne's things, by her own maid if need be. Rosings staff may fear Lady Catherine's wrath but they will not stand between the countess and her niece. Especially when that niece is of age and desires to depart. Mother believes they can convince Lady Catherine it is the only way to catch you so does not think there will be too much fuss."
"I do hope she is right."
The group soon departed for the night. Mr. Darcy and his sister stopped by Elizabeth's room before heading to their own. They explained the plan and said they hoped Anne would be in London before many days passed. Elizabeth affirmed that she had assisted Anne in sending her letter to Lady Matlock. When the maid entered with Elizabeth's medicine, the siblings bid her good night and retired to their rooms.
The morning brought Jane and Mrs. Gardiner to visit under the guise of calling on Georgiana. The trio spent time in Elizabeth's room talking and sharing stories. Georgiana was pleased to learn Mrs. Gardiner had lived in Lambton in her younger days. Colonel Fitzwilliam departed after breakfast to visit with his contacts again and returned home with some disturbing news. He spoke to his cousin and Mr. Bingley in the study upon his return.
"One of my contacts spoke with the woman at the brothel, the one we believed may have worked at Rosings." the colonel began once the door was shut tight. "We were right."
"So how did she come to be at the brothel?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"Much the same way Miss Elizabeth arrived here."
"In a trunk?" Mr. Bingley asked.
The colonel nodded.
"She stated that when our uncle took ill Lady Catherine came to her and said her services would no longer be needed." he explained. "The maid did not want to find other work so she asked Lady Catherine to pay her two thousand pounds to keep silent about the affair. Lady Catherine refused. She threatened to cause a scandal saying she was carrying our uncle's child."
"Lady Catherine must have been livid."
"Indeed. The woman said Lady Catherine called her butler, Mr. Jefferson, in and had him hit her several times in the stomach. He then held her while Lady Catherine poured something in her mouth. She was told if the beating did not cause her to lose the child that the tonic would. She said she was then dosed with laudanum and shoved into a trunk. The laudanum took effect as she was being loaded on a cart. She woke at the boarding house in London."
"Did she lose the child?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"She was never pregnant. She said it to get Lady Catherine to pay." Colonel Fitzwilliam replied. "The owners charged her for room and board at the boarding house as well as medical treatment. Since she had no money she had to work at the brothel to pay the debt."
"Surely her debt has been paid by now." Mr. Bingley commented. "Why is she still there?"
"At places like that the debt is never paid in full. There is always something more." Mr. Darcy remarked. "Each day you incur more expenses with your room, food, washing, or a dozen other things. It never ends. It is despicable."
"It is true but how would you know such things, Darcy?" the colonel asked.
"There are some land owners who do similar things to their tenants. They allow them to rent their horses to pull the plows, picks and saws to clear the land, carts to carry seed or bring goods to market. A few pence here, a shilling or two there. When the amount owed can not be paid in addition to the rent the remaining balance is carried over with interest. The tenant goes into further debt by staying but cannot afford to leave."
"That is terrible." Mr. Bingley said. His companions nodded. "Perhaps there is something we could do for the woman."
"She told my contact that she is content with her place. She has been there so long she said she would not know what to do if she should ever leave."
Mr. Bingley frowned but nodded.
"Her story does tell us that it is very likely that Lady Catherine and her butler are the ones who injured Miss Elizabeth."
"I still believe Mr. Collins was involved." Mr. Darcy said.
"I have no doubt, cousin." the colonel replied. "But while removing Lady Catherine may not be much trouble with my parents' help since Anne is the true owner of Rosings, removing Mr. Collins seems more difficult."
"Not if he is arrested."
"Would that be what Miss Elizabeth would want?"
"You think she would want one of her attackers to go free."
"You think she would want her dear friend to be left destitute without a husband to support her?"
"I had not thought of such." Mr. Darcy remarked. "She would not want to see Mrs. Collins harmed."
"Perhaps he did not have much to do with the matter." Mr. Bingley offered. "He does not seem the type to harm others. He seemed more follower when I met him. I could be wrong but that was my impression."
"Even if he did not cause harm to her he was still involved..."
"I understand that, Darcy. I am not saying that he should not be punished. There are ways that restitution could be made without him going to prison and leaving his wife without support."
"You seem to have an idea about the matter, Bingley. Please share it with the rest of us."
"He is the heir of Longbourn. He could be made to forfeit his claim. As a living is for life, he does not truly need to inherit. Even if he grows too old to sermonize, he need only hire a curate."
"And if his wife outlives him?" Colonel Fitzwilliam asked.
"He could be made to put some money aside for her as he should be doing anyway."
"If his part in the situation is not a heinous as the rest, I will recommend it to Mr. Bennet." Mr. Darcy stated. "If he is as guilty as the others he will receive the same punishment and I will offer Mrs. Collins a place at Pemberley. There are a few smaller cottages that are empty. She would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood."
A knock at the door brought their conversation to a halt. Mr. Darcy called the visitor to enter. Mrs. Taylor entered.
"I am sorry to disturb you, sir, but your presence has been requested upstairs by Mrs. Gardiner."
"Is something wrong?"
"I am unsure, sir."
Mr. Darcy thanked her then headed upstairs with his cousin and friend close behind.
A bit of a cliffhanger I know.