Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and reviews. I never expected this story to be so well received.
Now that the truth is known, it is time to speak to Lord Matlock. This is the longest chapter yet.
The following morning the gentlemen all departed Darcy House after breakfast. Mr. Bingley went to speak with his solicitor while Mr. Darcy and his cousin called at the home of their relations. Lord Matlock was sitting in the parlor with his wife and Anne when they were announced.
"It is about time you two arrived." the older man remarked. "I am a busy man. I have been informed I will not be allowed out of the house until I have listened to you. So speak so I may get on with my day. I have it on good authority that the gaming tables at my club will be especially engaging today."
"We have come to discuss Lady Catherine." Mr. Darcy stated.
"Do you want her moved to the dowager house once you and Anne marry? Repairs will need to be made and she will fight it since you will be in London or at Pemberley more often but..."
"I will not marry him!" Anne said suddenly standing. "I am of age and I decide who I shall marry. William and I are in agreement on the matter and we will not change our minds."
"You do not want to marry Darcy? Why ever not?"
"Because we do not suit and will never suit. There are other issues as well but I have promised to hold my tongue about those at present." she replied taking her seat again. "The issue at hand is that something must be done about your sister, sir."
"My sister, you mean your mother."
"At present I believe you are the only one willing to claim her as a relation."
Lord Matlock looked over the group a bit surprised. His son and nephew took seats.
"What has she done?"
"She has injured someone very dear to us." Mr. Darcy replied.
"Most do not take anything she says seriously. I know gossip can cause scandal though so tell what was said about who and I will make some inquiries. A few choice words in the right ear should set things to right again."
"Henry, they do not mean gossip." Lady Matlock remarked. "Catherine has gone beyond anything I could have imagined."
"What do you mean?" Lord Matlock asked worriedly.
"She and Mr. Jefferson beat my friend." Anne said, tears springing to her eyes. "She was going to have her sent to a brothel."
"Who is this girl and why would Catherine hurt her?"
"Her name is Elizabeth Bennet. She is the daughter of a gentleman in Hertfordshire." Mr. Darcy explained. "Lady Catherine hurt her because I love her."
"Darcy, you cannot blame yourself." Colonel Fitzwilliam commented.
"If I did not love her, I would not have given her the letter. If she did not have that she would have been spared Lady Catherine's wrath."
"I believe you should start from the beginning." Lord Matlock suggested.
Mr. Darcy signed and nodded.
The next half hour passed with a full explanation of the history of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. When he finished, Anne picked up the narrative with the events that occurred after Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam departed Kent.
"I was in my phaeton the Monday following their departure. Lizzie was walking along the road near the parsonage so I stopped. I offered her a ride though Mrs. Jenkins did not like the idea. I told her she could visit with Mrs. Collins while Lizzie and I rode in the lane."
"Mrs. Collins is the young lady's friend, correct? Married to the parson?"
"Yes." Anne replied and Lord Matlock nodded. "I had seen how William acted around her and believed he had feelings for her. I decided if they married that I would be free to find my own husband."
"So you befriended her hoping she would marry Darcy?"
"That was part of the reason."
"And the other part?"
"She stood up to...that woman without flinching. She put William in his place several times. Once I started talking to her, getting to know her, I knew she was a friend I wanted to have. She is an amazing person, Uncle."
"So you got to know her over the week."
"Yes, we met every day. I knew I would not be allowed to go out every day in the phaeton so I invited Lizzie to visit me at Rosings starting Monday afternoon. I told Mrs. Jenkins and her that I was having Lizzie read to me." Anne said with a small smile. "We chose a book we had both read so if they asked we could tell them about it. She would stay an hour or two. It did not take long to get her to tell me everything about what happened with William. By Wednesday, I had the full story and wrote to Aunt Rachel. When I met with Lizzie Thursday I asked her to post the letter for me."
"How did you gain her trust so quickly that she took you into her confidence?" Mr. Darcy asked curiously.
"There is a trick to that, William."
"What is the trick?"
"To gain trust, you have to give trust." Anne replied. "I treated her as a friend and a confidant. I told her I did not want to marry you and that I wanted to come to London. She is a very easy person to talk to."
"I agree with you there." the colonel remarked. "She is very open and honest. It is quite refreshing when you are used to speaking to the simpering ladies in Town."
"Or being treated as if you are a senseless child with no right to an opinion."
"I never knew you felt that way, Anne. I am sorry." Lord Matlock stated. "I am glad you found a friend in this young lady."
"Thank you Uncle." She paused a moment to recall where she was in her telling. "So by the time we parted on Thursday I had Lizzie's agreement that she would speak to William again. I had hoped to come to London before she returned to Hertfordshire. I told her that if I could not, I would find a way to bring William to Hertfordshire or to bring her to where he was. She had plans to travel north with her aunt and uncle during the summer. I thought perhaps I could have asked to stay at Matlock for the summer then invited her when she was in the area. Then I would have asked Aunt to invite Georgiana and William the same time Lizzie would be visiting."
"A good plan." Colonel Fitzwilliam said with a nod. "I swear the army lost out on many strategist by not allowing women in their ranks."
"There are many marriages among the Ton to prove that." Mr. Darcy commented.
There were murmurs of agreement among the party.
Lord Matlock turned the conversation back to the matter at hand and asked Anne to continue. Taking a deep breath Anne shared the events of Friday once more. When she finished Mr. Darcy took over the tale once more, explaining the events that led to their arrival at Matlock House that morning. Lord Matlock was quiet for several long minutes.
"Father, you must see that something must be done with Lady Catherine."
"You are right, of course." Lord Matlock said focusing again on those in front of him. "I am sorry this happened."
"You could not have known..." Mr. Darcy began but his uncle interrupted.
"I should have known. I knew she had done something to the maid Lewis favored. I had hoped she had just sent the girl away but I feared worse."
"Hers is not the best life, but it is one she is content to live." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked. "She was the mistress of a married man. She accepts that her choices led her to where she is."
"But the same is not true for Miss Bennet. She is an innocent and a gentleman's daughter. She would not have chosen to make her way into the life that Catherine tried to thrust upon her." his father replied.
He turned to Mr. Darcy.
"I must ask for your forgiveness, Darcy. And yours as well, Anne."
The two shared a look then turned back to their uncle.
"Our forgiveness? For what?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"For trying to force you two into a marriage that you did not want." he answered. "I thought if you married that Anne would be protected and I would be relieved of the obligation of dealing with Catherine."
"Henry, it is unfair to push the burden of Catherine onto William." Lady Matlock stated.
"I know it is and I am ashamed of it."
"I forgive you, Uncle. I am sure William does as well." Anne assured. Mr. Darcy nodded. "None of us thought she could behave so."
"You may not have thought it but I have."
"What do you mean?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"Catherine was always cruel. There were some suspicious accidents among the debutantes when Catherine came out. When George Darcy chose Anne over Catherine, there was some trouble as well."
"She harmed my mother?"
"Anne would not admit it to me but I believe so. Our father sent Catherine to visit a relation in York then decided that there was no reason to wait the four months he had insisted on when George proposed. Anne was married before a letter could have reached Catherine about the change of plans."
"Your father never told you why the wedding was moved forward?"
"He merely said he saw George's merit and felt he should not make them wait." Lord Matlock explained. "Once Catherine married things seemed to settle a bit. George and Anne would visit Rosings once a year or so with the rest of the family. Anne would never visit on her own and George would only agree to take her if there would be others there. He did not want Anne left with only Catherine for company if the men were out."
"He worried Lady Catherine would harm Mother."
"I believe so. So you see I had reason to believe Catherine may harm someone but did nothing about it."
"You had no real proof." Colonel Fitzwilliam said firmly.
"Now I do. Something must be done." Lord Matlock replied. "I am unsure that the law would be able to help us in this case though."
"What do you mean?"
"You said Miss Bennet does not remember the attack."
"No, but Anne was witness to it." Mr. Darcy remarked. "She could testify."
"Anne is also the heiress. It could be said that she is saying such things simply to remove her mother from Rosings."
"Rosings is my property. I am of age." Anne said.
"It is but there is a clause in Lewis's will stating that Catherine has the right to the dower house for her lifetime."
"The dower house is uninhabitable. Lady Catherine would not authorize the repairs for it." Mr. Darcy stated. "I have tried to get her to for years but she refused."
"But Anne is the rightful owner. It can be said that she could have authorized the repairs but did not. As such she can claim the right to stay in the main house."
"She would not allow me to choose my own wardrobe, she certainly would not have allowed me to authorize repairs on the dower house, especially if she thought she might be unseated."
"The courts would not care that Catherine was a tyrant at Rosings. They would only look at the facts of the matter." her uncle explained. "The facts are the victim does not remember the crime and the only willing witness is trying to remove Catherine from Rosings and has not provided the accommodations laid out in your father's will."
The room was quiet as everyone considered what could be done.
"I could eliminate Mr. Jefferson easily." Colonel Fitzwilliam said breaking the silence.
"Richard, I will not have you risking yourself."
"I was not speaking of killing him, Mother, though the thought did occur to me."
"What did you mean then?"
"I have a few friends in the Navy. They are always looking for men."
"Press gangs?" Lord Matlock asked. His son nodded. "But he is not a sailor."
"He worked on a merchant ship in his youth." Anne stated. "I heard the maids talking about it."
"What if he returns at some time in the future?" Lord Matlock asked.
"It could be stressed to him that if he sets foot on English shores again he will be hung. It is likely he will try to jump ship in some foreign port. If he does, he will be gone and likely spend the rest of his days looking over his shoulder. If he is caught, he will face justice on the ship."
"Sounds fitting." Mr. Darcy remarked.
"If Mr. Jefferson suddenly disappears, Catherine will be suspicious, will she not?" Lady Matlock said.
"What if she is not at Rosings when Mr. Jefferson is taken?" Lord Matlock commented.
"Where else would she be? She barely leaves Rosings." Colonel Fitzwilliam stated.
"We could have her come to London. Once she is here then Mr. Jefferson can be dealt with."
"What do we do with her though?" Anne asked. "I am certain you do not want her confined here. If you put her in the de Bourgh townhouse she will cause more problems than she did at Rosings."
"I have a small estate in Wales. It is fairly remote. I could send her there." Lord Matlock suggested.
"Would she not just rule that estate as she did Rosings?"
"The estate is run by a cousin of mine. There is a small cottage on the property in which Catherine could be settled. There is enough space for a maid and a cook, both of which would be hired by and report to my cousin."
"Would your cousin want to take on the burden of Lady Catherine?" Mr. Darcy asked. "It will likely not be easy to manage her."
"He might not but if I offer him the deed to the estate, I think he would agree." Lord Matlock replied then smirked. "He could tell everyone she is his crazy English cousin. I am sure he would delight in that."
"That would certainly keep the locals away." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked with a laugh.
"If it is suitable to you, Richard."
"What do you mean?"
"The estate in Wales was to be part of your inheritance."
"I will buy him an estate if he is willing to give it up." Mr. Darcy remarked. "I prefer him closer than Wales anyway."
"As do I." Lady Matlock added.
"If your cousin is willing to help, he may have the estate with my blessing." Colonel Fitzwilliam agreed. "I prefer to stay in England."
"Wonderful." his father replied. "And if you wish to stay in England, you should resign your commission and take over the estate near Manchester."
This gained looks of surprise from the rest of the room.
"I am considering it." the colonel mumbled. He cleared his throat then continued, "We should call upon Mr. Bennet and tell him what has been discovered as well as our plans."
I would love to hear what everyone thinks about the plan. It is not firmly set yet as I have not written that far yet but I'm close.
Up next, another long chapter, a discussion with Mr. Bennet.