Page 75

June, 1817

Elizabeth Darcy gave her daughter Rosemary a kiss and lowered her onto her cot. The little girl grabbed her favorite pink blanket, hugged it fiercely, and stuck a small thumb into her mouth. As her mother watched, the child closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Elizabeth chuckled softly and quietly exited the nursery. Rosemary had spent several morning hours playing on the lawn with her parents and nursemaid, and obviously had been entirely worn out by all her dashing to and fro. The child had even managed to fall into a shallow section of the stream at one point, though her nursemaid had been hovering nearby, anticipating such an occurrence. The child had thus endured nothing worse than a wetting.

The mistress of Pemberley checked her watch, did a quick calculation, and concluded that she would not need to nurse her baby son for at least an hour. With a passel of guests just arrived and more expected in the next few days, she should probably speak with Mrs. Reynolds to be certain that all the arrangements were well in hand.

She heard the familiar steps of her husband climbing the stairs, and he appeared a few seconds later, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her.

“Fitzwilliam! Were you looking for me?”

“I was. Do you have time to meet with my cousin, Anne, and Mr. Collins in my study? Anne has a problem and I think your insight would be most welcome.”

“Of course! Let me alert the nursemaid as to my whereabouts so that she can fetch me when the baby is hungry. I will join you in a few minutes.”

When Elizabeth reached her husband’s office, she found his usually bare desk covered with papers, all of which had apparently been stored in a small wooden chest which was sitting on the floor. Her husband was seated behind the desk with William Collins to his right, and Anne de Bourgh was stationed on a chair near the window. Collins was carefully inspecting a document in his hand. A tea tray was sitting on a small table to one side, and Elizabeth cast a longing glance toward it. It seemed she was always thirsty.

“Elizabeth!” Anne exclaimed enthusiastically, leaping to her feet. “I know we greeted one another a few hours ago but it was rather a chaotic scene thanks to the numerous arrivals. You look very well, and I must congratulate you on your little son!”

“William is a darling, is he not?” her hostess replied, her fine eyes misty with adoration. “Fitzwilliam and I are so thankful for him. Speaking of the baby, however, I will need to leave in an hour to feed him, so perhaps we should get down to business?”

“Certainly,” Anne agreed briskly, returning to her seat. “You know I am now eight and twenty?”

“Yes?” Elizabeth inquired, making her way to the tea and pouring herself a cup.

“According to my father’s will, which I surreptitiously brought with me in the hopes that you might find a loophole, I will gain control of Rosings either upon my marriage or upon my thirtieth birthday. I have not yet met a man I am desirous of marrying, and my thirtieth birthday is still almost two years away. I have lived with my mother for decades and am quite used to her autocratic personality, but she is making some decisions that truly concern me. She will not listen to me. Indeed, she still treats me as a child, even though I have been reading up on estate management ever since you married. Rosings will come to me eventually, after all, and I truly believe I have more book knowledge, at any rate, than my mother, though of course she has much more practical experience.”

“What kind of concerns?” Darcy asked worriedly.

Anne huffed indignantly, “Some of them are long standing issues. She continues to let out the tenant farms on short leases, and given her autocratic and imperious nature, many good farmers are unwilling to take a short lease for fear of being evicted summarily. She also absolutely refuses to consider some of the widely accepted modern farming practices, and her steward, of course, does not gainsay her because he would only lose his job. Of more concern to me is that she has signed contracts to allow great quantities of trees to be felled on the southeast corner of the estate.”

Darcy sat up in shock, “What?!”

Anne sighed, “Mr. Ayles, our steward, is in close contact with our man of business, Mr. Bambour, in London; because of overseas tariffs, there is much need for lumber for ships. Mr. Bambour began talks with a timber concern and Mother signed the contracts only last week. They will begin felling the trees in about a month. I know that Rosings’ coffers have been diminished of late, but I still believe I should have a say in this decision since Rosings will be mine in less than two years.”

“I agree,” Darcy said heavily. “Those trees are magnificent and add substantially to the value of the land. If memory serves, the undulating nature of that section of the estate would make it difficult to farm.”

Anne shook her head, “I would feel better if there was a plan to plant small trees to replace what is being taken, but I have no such confidence. Mother would not let me look at the contracts in question, and indeed lectures me whenever I dare to ask questions!”

Mr. Collins lifted his head, “There is an additional concern, Miss de Bourgh. That section is the high point of the estate. If the trees are removed, the topsoil of that region will doubtless be washed away by the rains, which are usually prolific in Kent. That entire area would likely be desolate for many years.”

“Can that happen?” Elizabeth demanded on surprise.

“Yes, Mrs. Darcy,” Collins returned. “The roots of the trees hold the soil in place. Without their steadying presence, the rains will cause the fertile topsoil to slide down the hills into the valleys, leaving infertile soil behind.”

“That is all true,” Darcy agreed unhappily, “but I fear there is nothing to be done. Legally, Lady Catherine oversees Rosings until your thirtieth birthday, Anne. She is free to make whatever poor decisions she desires. All you can do is be prepared for the day you turn thirty years of age. Either that, or find a husband whom you can tolerate, but I would not advise mere tolerance, dear cousin. A true marriage of mind and heart is a great blessing.”

Anne shook her head decidedly, “I will not be pushed into any kind of marriage, Darcy, I assure you. I still feel giddy with relief that I was not forced to wed you, my dour cousin, and will not lightly give up my freedom. I thought it likely I could do nothing to stop Mother’s depredations of the estate, but it seemed wise to consult you. I only have to wait two and twenty months, though no doubt it will seem a lifetime at times.”

“Except you will not need to wait,” Mr. Collins claimed.

There was a startled pause before Elizabeth spoke, “Whatever can you mean, Mr. Collins?”

“I have been reading the documents provided by Miss de Bourgh. Are you aware that your father’s final will gave you possession of Rosings at the age of five and twenty?”

Anne frowned, “Yes, Mr. Collins, I am aware, but my father wrote a codicil two years later which shifted my age of possession from five and twenty to thirty years of age.”

Collins shook his head, his eyes glittering with excitement, “The codicil is a forgery, Miss de Bourgh. Your father did not sign it.”

There was a collective gasp from his rapt audience and Darcy shifted forward, “Are you certain, Mr. Collins?”

The rector nodded, “I am. I have inspected the signature carefully and while it is a reasonable facsimile of the autograph of Sir Lewis, I can see definitive differences in the way the ‘s’s and ‘a’s are written. However, you need not trust in that; the forger made a completely absurd mistake. Miss de Bourgh, would you please read this line aloud?”

Anne took the codicil from Mr. Collins’s hand and carefully read the indicated words.

“In the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and seven, under the holy rule of his Majesty King George the Third and the glorious Prince Regent, I, Sir Lewis de Bourgh, place my signature on this codicil.”

She lifted her face to gaze into Mr. Collins, “I do not see the problem, Mr. Collins.”

“This document is purported to be written in eighteen hundred and seven, Miss de Bourgh, but the Prince of Wales did not attain the position of Regent until eighteen hundred and eleven.”

There was a short silence before Elizabeth cried out in astonishment, “Oh, Mr. Collins, you are entirely correct! That is quite an idiotic mistake though I would not have caught it.”

“Neither would I,” Darcy said, his brow in a forbidding frown. “May I see both the will and the codicil?”

Collins handed the documents over to his patron and waited. Darcy carefully skimmed the ends of both documents before leaning back with a sigh, “You are assuredly right, Mr. Collins. The codicil is a forgery and Anne has been the rightful owner of Rosings for more than three years.”

“Do you believe my mother arranged for this counterfeit?” Anne demanded in outrage.

Darcy bit his lip, “I do not know, Anne.”

“She might have done so,” Collins stated dispassionately, “but then again, perhaps not. I do not have my dear Charlotte to help me with my verbiage, so I will bluntly state that your mother is not a particularly wise woman. She is also prone to manipulation via flattery. It is possible that your man of business forged the document so that he could influence your mother for his own ends; you are an unknown cipher to most, Miss de Bourgh, and thus he might well have desired an additional five years of your mother’s rule over Rosings.”

Anne grimaced, “I doubt that my mother will admit her guilt if she is at fault.”

“Nor does it particularly matter,” Elizabeth pointed out gently. “This affair is entirely reprehensible, but your mother, at least, you will not cast into prison.”

“No,” Anne replied with a dry chuckle, “though I confess that the thought of her occupying a cell in Newgate for a time is vaguely appealing. Dislodging her from her position of power will not be easy.”

“We will assist you,” Darcy assured his cousin. “Legally, Rosings is yours. Lady Catherine’s lawyer is definitely involved in this business and he, at least, will be called to account. It will be an ugly business without a doubt, but we will prevail.”

Anne sighed gustily, “You do not think that ... that I ought to leave this all be? She is my mother, and we are called to honor our parents.”

All turned to Mr. Collins, who leaned back judiciously and stroked his chin, “I am reminded, Miss de Bourgh, of the difficult situation of Jonathon, son of King Saul and heir to the Israelite throne. He developed a close friendship with David, son of Jesse, who was anointed by the prophet Samuel to take the throne after Saul. Saul, jealous and afraid, ordered the death of David. Jonathon maintained his loyalty to his friend and protected David repeatedly, even going so far as to deceive his father to protect his friend from being brutally murdered. My belief is that Jonathon was entirely in the right, since David did not deserve death at his father’s hand.”

Anne considered this for a minute.

“It is not quite the same,” she mused. “My mother is not actually trying to hurt anyone ...”

“But whether she is trying or not, she is bringing harm upon the tenantry of Rosings,” Elizabeth asserted decidedly. “I am no expert, but outdated farming practices harm the soil and the fruit of the earth, which in turn brings harm to the tenants. And this forestry project sounds as if it will cause major upheaval to the land.”

“I agree with Elizabeth, Anne,” Darcy said, casting an adoring glance at his wife. “For the sake of those who depend on Rosings, you must act.”

Anne lifted her chin bravely, “I will, though I may well need a solicitor of my own to combat the one who drew up the false codicil.”

“I can help you with that,” Darcy assured her. “Of more concern is the timing. We do not wish this deforestation to begin in the next weeks. Perhaps I should travel to Rosings to speak with my aunt, but it is a difficult time given that we have a house party set for this very week.”

“Oh,” Anne returned, coloring slightly. “I suppose now would be a good time to tell you that my mother will arrive at Pemberley tomorrow.”

There was a shocked pause followed by a surprised question from Elizabeth, “Truly? I thought she said she would never return to Pemberley so long as I am mistress of the estate. And she is not ... fond of Mr. Collins.”

Anne shrugged, “That was before you planned a house party with multiple, single, eligible, wealthy gentlemen in attendance. She is very keen to marry me off appropriately, but she does not want a son–in–law with too much interest in Rosings. Indeed, I believe one of the reasons she wished me to marry you, Darcy, was that she hoped you would carry me off to Pemberley and leave her to rule in Kent. She is afraid I will accept the wrong offer from the wrong gentleman, so will be hovering over me this entire week; it will make this time much less pleasant for me.”

Darcy leaned forward and placed his steepled hands on the desk, “On the contrary, dear cousin, it is Lady Catherine who will find herself most uncomfortable. I have no intention of being particularly gentle over this matter of the will, and Mr. Collins is quite incapable of being tactful.”

“That is true enough,” Collins agreed mournfully, his eyes fixed on the bowl of sugar lumps. He was inspecting them for symmetry, but raised his eyes to address the others, “If my dear Charlotte is available, that would help me be more diplomatic in my words.”

“I believe that the time for diplomacy and consideration are at an end,” his patron declared. “Lady Catherine should not have disdained Anne’s concerns with the estate even if she believed the codicil to be legitimate. Certainly, your mother does not waste time on subtlety. It is time to fight fire with fire.”