A bit of tension in today's chapter, folks.
Chapter 13 – Trying Times
Elizabeth and her cousin returned to Adlington Hall the day after Easter; Isabella was needed on her estate and Elizabeth had a few more things to prepare for her wedding, set for the day after her birthday, about a month away. They resumed the routine they had partially abandoned while at Pemberley to Miss Fairchild's pleasure. With Mrs Turner's help, Elizabeth prepared a small present for her future sister, and copied many of the sheet music they had perused in January, especially older songs that Georgie would not find in any shop.
While it was unusual for the bride to present her groom with a present, Elizabeth was not a usual young lady. While staying at Pemberley and spending as much time as she could with her fiancé, she had noticed that the letter opener in his study was overly large and impractical.
Some careful questioning of Mrs Reynolds, who was happy to be of assistance to the future mistress, revealed that his father had started to use the ancient knife after the more useful silver dagger he used for many years disappeared. "If you ask me, Miss, it was that Wickham boy that took it. That boy was trouble, and many small, pocketable valuables went missing after his visits from university." Having heard the man's story from Darcy several weeks prior, Elizabeth was inclined to agree with the housekeeper.
The cousins, accompanied by Annie, drove a little phaeton to Disley, a market town about ten miles from the Hall, to visit the jeweller and buy a suitable small dagger. Elizabeth did not find quite what she had in mind, so she described, and in the end drew on a bit of paper offered for her use by the shop owner. Her design was elegant and clean, with a few jewels in the handle and the Darcy crest she had copied carefully with Georgie's help, engraved on the blade. As there were still plenty of time before the wedding, the jeweller was certain he could get the letter opened, and a suitable box for it, made; if the young ladies would come back three weeks hence, they could take delivery of the item.
After completing their main errand, the ladies walked along Disley's high street, perusing the items they could see through the shop windows, and, being in no hurry, they proceeded to walk around the church. There was no one at the back of the building, so they leisurely studied the stained windows visible from where they stood.
Suddenly, three men, armed with pistols came toward them, seemingly out of nowhere. They wore scarves over their noses and mouths, and looked exactly as if they stepped out of a book about highway robbers. Annie squeaked in surprise; all three ladies quietly moved a hand toward their most accessible weapons, the daggers in their pelisses.
"What is this?" asked Isabella, standing in the manner of a proud aristocrat, "Why are you stopping us from enjoying our walk?"
"Which one of you is Miss Elizabeth Bennet?" the leader asked, waving his pistol at them.
"Why do you ask? You have no business with any Miss Bennet." Isabella was wondering how to protect her cousin, as the men were armed, and she was certain they would not hesitate to shoot.
Believing they had the upper hand against defenceless young ladies, the leader of the men barked orders to one of his henchmen, asking him to bring the carriage closer. As soon as they departed, he faced Isabella once more.
"I will not ask another time, which one of you in Miss Elizabeth? My employer wants a word with her."
Elizabeth saw her chance, and, knowing her companions would understand she was acting, she stepped to the side and started crying loudly and moving her arms as if panicking to distract them. "It is me, but I won't come with you." She sounded hysterical, and both men moved towards her, lowering their weapons as they meant to grab her arms and pull her quickly toward the path where they expected the carriage to appear momentarily.
Within seconds, both Isabella and Annie had reacted, each of them stabbing their small daggers in one of the wrists holding a pistol, making the men drop their weapons, screaming in pain. Before their attackers could react, Elizabeth had whipped her small gun out and pointed it straight at the leader's face. They were so close by then that even had she been a poor shot, she could not have missed him when firing.
"I believe you will walk in front of us, and we will go round the church to find the local constable." Elizabeth said calmly. By then four more weapons were pointing at the men, as both Annie and Isabella had picked up the pistols the men had dropped in addition to their own.
It only took a few moments to reach the safety of the local inn, which also was the first building at the side of the church and could be accessed without raising attention in the main street. The innkeeper was fast brought up to speed and was of course keen to help one of the larger landowners in the area. Annie rushed away and brought a constable back with her as fast as she could. Within minutes, the men were taken to the town hall, where a safe room could be used as jail when required, and the magistrate was summoned, while the constable went in search of the missing coachman.
Less than an hour after they had first looked at the stained glass of the church, the ladies were sitting in a private room at the Rams' Head inn. Mr Pope, the magistrate, a gentleman Isabella had met as several local functions, sat with them around a tea tray. He had taken copious notes and was getting ready to leave.
"I have most of the details of the attack now, and I must say, I am glad Miss Fairchild has trained you all so well. This was a most dangerous encounter."
The constable walked into the room with a grin on his face, "We have the last one, sir, the one who went for the carriage that is, we caught him as he was searching for his accomplices. He is very young, and I must say, not bright at all, and he is answering questions openly enough. He confirmed there were only three of them, but he doesn't know who their employer is."
Elizabeth let out a relived breath. "Thank you, I was worried he would run straight to their master and more men would follow before we had time to prepare for a further attack." She closed her eyes for a moment to release the tension she had not realised had gripped her behind the church.
Mr Pope look at her. "I have some footmen that are not really needed at the moment," he offered, "ex-soldiers from my younger brother's regiment that were not finding employment after leaving the army, and I just couldn't let them like that." He shrugged. "I am sure I can find four or five of them happy to change employer and join your staff at Adlington Hall for your protection. Indeed, that will give me more opportunities to recruit more veterans, so you will be helping me there."
Isabella did not hesitate and accepted his offer. As Mr Pope's estate bordered the town, three of the men were ready to accompany the ladies back home by the time they were ready to leave town, and another man would follow soon with their luggage. Mr Pope promised to call the following day to share anything he learned from questioning the prisoners.
Before leaving town, Elizabeth wrote a short note for Darcy and sent it by an express rider.
My Dearest William,
Do not be alarmed, Isabella and I are perfectly well, and will be protected more than ever. I do not want to hide anything from you, however, so must tell you the truth.
While exploring the church grounds in Disley today, Isabella, Annie and I were set upon by armed men. They asked for me, and I believe their aim was to take me to see their employer, but they did not say who that person was. As you can imagine, they expected us to be defenceless, and that was their downfall, as we were able to safely disarm them and summon the constable. Two of the men were slightly hurt, but we were not injured in any way, please do not worry, and do not say anything that may frighten my tender new sister.
The men are now safely detained, and Mr Pope, whom I really liked by the by – I hope we may make friends with him and his lady-wife, will lead their interrogation and come and inform us of the results tomorrow.
Might I ask for your presence, sir? I am unharmed, I promise, but your presence would completely soothe any worry that may remain.
I miss you and hope to see you soon,
Yours forevermore,
Elizabeth Bennet (not for very long now)
After the initial shock, Darcy handed the letter over to his cousin, and paced the billiard room, where the letter had found the two of them that evening.
Richard let out a curse.
"I will go at first light." Darcy stated. "I will find whoever is behind this and make them pay."
"We will go together. I can feel your fury and I do understand, but you need me to keep a cool head for you. Believe in what Lizzy wrote, cousin, she is well. She is clever and properly trained, and she and her cousin are always armed. She told you because she trusts you, so think carefully about your response."
"I know, Richard, and I do trust her. She writes of being well, and I suspect her body is unharmed, but her mind is troubled, I can sense it." He sighed. "I cannot bear to think that there is someone out there in the world thinking of harming her, plotting against her."
"Then let us rest so we can ride out with the light."
Colonel Fitzwilliam and Darcy left before the sun had crossed the horizon and they reached Adlington Hall before the clock struck the tenth hour of the morning, having covered the twenty miles if a little over four hours.
Elizabeth ran to Darcy as soon as he had dismounted and buried her face on his shoulder. Richard placed a hand on Darcy's shoulder and guided the couple towards the house.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," Isabella said after the briefest of greetings, "Mr Pope has not yet come, but we expect him soon."
Upon Richard's request, Isabella recounted the events of the previous day; Elizabeth was sitting silently next to her betrothed, holding his hand tightly, her face showing how tired she was after a difficult night.
"Can you think of anyone who would want to take Lizzy?" Richard asked.
"Not really, my uncle, her father, would not need to forcibly remove her as until Lizzy is of age he could simply walk in and take her home. The parson, Mr Collins, would not have the means to pay for men to take her, nor do I believe him capable of such action. We spoke late into the night and could not figure out who would act in that manner."
"Then let us talk about happier things before the magistrate comes." Richard could see that while she reacted exactly as she should when confronted with her attackers, Elizabeth's mind was now struggling to process the events of the last four and twenty hours. "Did Darcy tell you of Mrs Reynolds' nephew in his last letter, Lizzy?" he steered the conversation towards the safety of Pemberley's inhabitants.
A little after the clock struck the eleventh hour, Mr Pope was announced, and was introduced to the gentlemen. He knew Darcy's reputation and had heard of the Fitzwilliams of Matlock; he was glad of their presence as he had news to share.
"Well, I will not keep you in suspense. We have questioned all three prisoners separately, and while the leader gave us little more than curses and insults, his men were much easier to crack. All three hail from Kent."
Darcy sat up straight with a deep intake of air, and his cousin stood up straight and tense.
"I see this information surprises you less than the ladies, gentlemen. Well, it seems they all worked on an estate called Rosings Park, and while we have no proof, the younger one believes their employer for this crime to be the mistress of the estate."
"Lady Catherine!" Darcy growled; hands fisted at his sides.
"We should have guessed she would not just withdraw from the battle." Richard was saddened by his aunt's vile plan, but not surprised by it.
Mr Pope continued with his tale. "Be it as it may, without the leader testifying, we can do nothing against the lady. The men will be tried, and unless you advise me differently, I will request deportation for them."
The magistrate did not stay long after that, yet the conversation continued.
"What can be done about your aunt?" Elizabeth's fear was lessened by knowing the men would not be able to return to get their revenge, but knowing how far Lady Catherine would go to marry her daughter to William was disturbing. "We cannot move the wedding forward, and it is still weeks away. I know we are better protected with four additional footmen under Miss Fairchild's oversight, yet I feel unsettled still."
"We cannot, no, but I will not let you out of my sight until then." Darcy answered. "I would have you in Pemberley always but will remain here if you prefer."
"I will go to London on your behalf," Richard chimed in, "my father must be informed as he is head of the family. I believe it is time for Anne to take charge of her estate, and for our lovely aunt to move to the Dower house."
"That will distract Lady Catherine, but would it really stop her from recruiting yet more ruffians to come after me?"
"If I remember my uncle's will properly, when she moves to the dower house, she will not have access to any of the estate money, she will have enough to live on, but will not have as much to spare as she is used to." Richard was hoping to reassure Elizabeth, despite being unsure himself.
"I do not believe she will make any further attempts from the dower house," said Darcy, "her reason for promoting a match between Anne and me is so that she can retain control of Rosings. It will no longer help her if she has already lost her place. Your father can also remind her that Anne's husband, should she marry, could sell the estate altogether, as I certainly would do if I was in that position, and send her to live in De Bough House in London, a house she detests. Perhaps sending her to London directly would be a better plan, as the dower house is too close to the house, Anne would have no peace."
"I will need to borrow one of your carriages, cousin, as I cannot yet ride as far as London from Pemberley. Will I find you here or in Derbyshire when I return?"
Darcy looked at Elizabeth and read the answer in her eyes. "We will remain here, if my soon-to-be cousin allows, and I will send for Georgiana to join us."
"Poor Anne," Elizabeth whispered, "how did she grow to be such a charming, friendly lady with such a mother."
"You and Mary managed with my aunt and uncle well enough." Her cousin answered, "I believe good nature will always out where there is enough strength of character, and your soon-to-be cousin has strength aplenty it appears."
Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam, Earl of Matlock, was furious. He had rushed from London to Kent without letting his son rest for any longer than the time needed to request his solicitor's company on the journey; he was now tired and incensed at his sister's behaviour and she would know it.
"Catherine Fitzwilliam De Bourgh! What do you think you are doing? I am ashamed of being related to you at this moment."
Lady Catherine was destabilised by her brother's words; she had not often been chastised or shouted at in her life, and he did not give her time to compose herself or reply.
"How dare you send ruffians to kidnap a gentlewoman, armed ruffians at that. Do I need to remind you that you are nought but a rich commoner, and had your men succeeded, nothing would have protected you from the hangman. I would certainly have done nothing to save you and Darcy would have hunted you to the end of the earth."
She gasped and opened her mouth, but Matlock raised his hand to silence her.
"You have been allowed to misbehave for far too long, and it stops today. Anne is the mistress of Rosings Park, and from today you will no longer remain in this house. Your possessions will be packed today. In time you may be allowed to live in the dower house, but for now, to give my niece time to assert her authority in her new position, you will come to London with me. We leave tomorrow and you will not leave Matlock house until I allow you, and you will bring none of your servants as I trust them no more than I trust you."
The earl breathed deeply, calming his mind and voice before addressing his fragile niece gently:
"Anne, dearest, I have asked Henry to come and help you; your eldest cousin has a good head for estate management and can teach you everything you need and help you recruit a new steward as Darcy told me to replace Cathy's one. Will that be acceptable for you?"
"Yes, Uncle Reginald." Anne was soft spoken and shy; her uncle and cousin looked at her with affection.
"I can stay for a few days until my brother arrives, and we can start by organising the removal of your mother's things and decide which servants will go to serve her once she settles in her own establishment." Richard did not need to add that many of the servants would be let go as they were too loyal to Lady Catherine and could not be trusted to care for Anne properly.
Lady Catherine finally found her voice. "Not so fast," she yelled, "Rosings is my home, and I will not leave it. Anne is too sick to be mistress and I will remain."
She stood as tall as she could, trying to stare down on her taller brother, unsuccessfully.
"My men were only doing what you should have done, and getting rid of the hoyden who has ensnared Darcy. You should be the one removing her and getting Darcy to marry Anne."
"You are delusional sister, and I have heard enough. You will remain in your room until our departure, and you will never return to this house without an explicit invitation from my niece. Darcy will marry his Miss Bennet, and Anne will decide whether to marry anyone or not on her own without any influence from you."
Lord Matlock summoned his solicitor, who had remained in the hallway, not daring to approach her Ladyship.
"Please explain all the contents of Lewis De Bourgh's will to my niece and son and prepare all the legal documents for the transfer of ownership. I will take my sister to her rooms and come back. I would like to complete this business as fast as possible, so we can return to London on the morrow."
With that, he clasped his sister's arm and dragged her out of the room.