AU Pride and Prejudice
Fan Fiction
Blindsided
NOTE: *As stated earlier...this story ended taking a twist I was not expecting and ended being based on a real life couple I was aware of. I met the widow; the husband had passed on by the time I met her.
Previously
"There is a high chance that Ivar's wife did not just hand your family a golden nugget," Lady Catherine said, looking at Mr. Bennet with a grin. "Odds are the woman handed you the most splendid gold mine. The one she has been searching for ever since she married Mrs. Bennet's brother. We need to get the best barrister to Rosings Park as soon as possible, but for a different reason than this. No need to give any fortune hunters a clue about what we have here."
Mr. Cullister and Mr. Barnes Come to Rosings Park
Ch. 24
The drawing room at Rosings Park was filled with joyous celebration as Mr. Bennet walked into the room on his own two feet. His skin had its natural tone, and no sweat poured down his face. The gentleman was clearly in better health and spirits.
"I shall throw a party to celebrate Doctor Wilson being wrong. We will invite Mr. Barnes and his cousin. He is the best barrister we could hire to look at what was hidden in Mrs. Bennet's mother's journal. No one will suspect anything if they come for a celebration."
Lady Catherine sat on a large sofa next to Anne, who was happily relaxing next to the duke. Across from them, Mr. Bennet sat down near the fire and Emmaline put a light blanket over his lap.
The blanket was his idea. He preferred to have it handy rather than to ask his wife to fetch him one if he felt cold. Emmaline sat next to him, her fingers resting against his wrist, where she could feel his pulse. It was a practice she had learned in Asia and refused to give up in England.
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy were not concerned with anyone's pulse as they sat on a sofa holding hands. Their focus was on his sister, Georgiana, and her new beau, Baron Richard Hawksworth, a longtime friend of the de Bourgh family.
Mr. and Mrs. Bingley, Mary Bennet, Captain William Brown, Kitty Bennet, and Ensign Philip Brown sat playing whisk as they waited for the arrival of Mr. Edward Cullister, a well-known barrister and cousin of Mr. Avar Barnes, a historian and a friend of Mr. Bennet.
The men were indeed coming to Rosings Park under the pretext of visiting relatives and friends over Bennets improved health. Lady Catherine had warned them that if the truth came out, none of them would be safe - not even the two men. Only Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy's aunt knew the true reason for the party.
The party was subdued as the guests read or played board games in low voices. The sound of a carriage approaching the house broke the silence in the drawing room. Lady Catherine rose from her seat and told the others to carry on.
She walked out of the room, hoping that the carriage brought Barrister Cullister and Mr. Barnes. She reached the door just as the footman opened it.
She watched as two gentlemen stepped out of the coach. One wore a black robe and a wig, and the other carried nothing but a small leather bag. They looked around with curiosity and awe at the grandeur of Rosings Park and bowed respectfully when they saw Lady Catherine.
"Please follow me." She led them back to the drawing room and revealed the true reason for the party. She introduced Mr. Edward Cullister and Mr. Avar Barnes to her guests. "Mrs. Bennet, will you please get the items we want Mr. Cullister to examine?"
"Here they are." Mrs. Bennet returned with the horn, the small metal plates, and her mother's journal. She set the three items on a table in the middle of the room. "This…" She pointed to the initials H.H. on one side of the horn and a Bergfrue flower, with the initials S.G. next to them. She pointed to the thin metal plates. Each one had the letters S. G. and T at the top, from left to right, with a picture of the same flower. She opened the back of the journal. "These letters are also written here…" Emmaline pointed to the left-hand corner of the hard cover, "and here, my father's friend's initials…the one you mentioned, Mr. Barnes. Look…" She pointed to the bold italicized letters B.S. within the picture of the Bergfrue flower. "They match what is on this horn and on the metal, the flower and the other initials."
"Also…" Lady Catherine walked over and pointed to one of the top petals of the flower. "I noticed something after Mrs. Bennet pointed to the flower and mentioned her father writing a second will. Do you see what I see?" She asked the barrister.
"I most certainly do." His response piqued everyone's curiosity, especially Mrs. Bennet and Mary. What had they missed? "I suppose you know how to unlock the mystery?" The barrister's eyes twinkled as Lady Catherine's own eyes danced with excitement.
"Try this." She pulled out the same key that had unlocked the book that had been sent, but this time she flipped up a small metal piece from its side. "Go get some lemon." She turned to one of the servants. "I dare say, Mr. Cullister or Mr. Barnes will need it." She then handed the barrister the key.
He handed the book to Mr. Barnes, who had more expertise in book bindings and a widespread reputation. Everyone watched as Avar skillfully removed the fake cover that Mr. Gunnarsson had placed on his wife's journal. Avar cursed himself silently for not noticing the deception earlier. He then inserted the key into the corner of the petal which had remained in spite of the false cover being take off and twisted it until he heard a click. He pulled out three folded sheets of paper from inside.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Bergfrue Solveig's will." Mr. Cullister eplied and then started laughing. "Or should I say, the first will of Mr. Matthew Gunnarsson. It seems he did not trust Ivar's wife at all. He made this will before he made the one the Gunnarsson family knew about." He confessed there were things in the will which everyone thought they already knew about.
"We could not say anything unless they brought it up. He had separate papers that tied our hands, even the judges. Honestly, though, we were shocked that the others did not catch on to what Mr. Gunnarsson was really saying. But as I said, we had to follow our orders. And I could not mention Mrs. Bennet's situation, for that too had been addressed, in a roundabout way. And, well, let us just say I wanted to stay in a position to help her in the future if necessary." He then shook his head to the will he now held in his hand. "I have not a clue as to what it says, I was not the one to actually draw it up. I, like others, were told -and shown- just enough to know we were legally bound to keep our mouths shut. However, I dare say with all you have here; it will not be in favor of Mrs. Matilda Gunnarrson everything considering."
"You know of Mrs. Gunnarsson too?" Mr. Bennet jerked back in shock, not only at the knowledge that Emmaline's father had known the law better than the court system and had used it to his advantage, but also at the mention of Ivar's wife, rather than the deceased man.
"Everyone in London now knows of Mrs. Matilda Gunnarsson; and I fear her name has been firmly attached to the men who were on the hunt for the Gunnarsson treasure. Things recently went so far south that her husband, a strict Catholic as the Bennets know him to be, has filed for divorce. So, in truth, she will not be a Gunnarsson much longer. I dare say her family will put her in one of those rare convents I have heard about. The scandal up there is something horrid. I am shocked you are not aware of it." When told how they had come across the items, Mr. Cullister and Mr. Barnes roared with laughter along with the others in the room.
"My kind sir." Mr. Cullister wiped tears from his face, to him it seemed poetic justic. "I will go over this in more detail, but at first glance at those items you are now holding, I dare say Lady Catherine is correct about the horn and coins; they are true antiques, in great shape. Therefore, I would say if you wish, they could be sold. Those alone would allow you to get Longbourn out of entailment if you so desire. However, it would be wises to wait until the will is read."
"Mr. Bennet can look into selling the coins and doing what he thinks best on that end if the will permits; however, that horn is going nowhere if I can help it. My father was always telling me stories about that horn. I will give everything else away to keep a connection to him." Mrs. Bennet's jaw set hard; her husband made no move to change her mind. "Well, I will stay out of that marital affair. I will only take the horn if this will demands it; which -if my memory serves me correctly it does not. However, do not quote me, I could be wrong." Mr. Cullister smiled and held up the will. "I need to go sit down, if I may, and read this in detail and see what exactly it says."