Page 25 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)

Netherfield

The next morning

“Miss Bennet, Mr. Bennet,” the butler proclaimed.

Darcy, Bingley, and Wickham, who were conversing near the fire, hurried forward to greet their early morning guests. Bingley, of course, had eyes only for Jane, leaving Darcy to say, “I hope there were no problems escaping from Longbourn this morning, sir?”

Bennet chuckled and said, “None at all. My cousin, Mr. Collins, is hardly an early riser. I hope that all of the appropriate arrangements have been made with Mr. Allen?”

“Yes,” Wickham said. “I spoke to him last night, and he promised to be here by ten o’clock to preside over the wedding, though he said you would need to be present to assure him of your blessing on the marriage.”

“Excellent. Jane, my dear, perhaps you had better go upstairs to assist Elizabeth in dressing for the ceremony? ”

Jane, whose handsome face was even more beautiful than usual in her happiness, nodded, and with a gentle farewell, left the room.

Bingley watched her go rather piteously, causing Bennet to say, “My apologies for sending Jane away, but I wished to inform you of some news from Meryton.”

All three gentlemen turned their attention on him, and with a glance toward the closed door, Bennet said, “I sent two of my servants to the Pig in the Poke, the inn on the main street, to ask about any strangers in the last few days. There were three men who came several days ago and spent many hours in the tavern, drinking, paying for drinks, and asking about the local gentry of the area. They were particularly interested in Netherfield and her occupants, as well as the geography of the estate, such that Mr. Stone, proprietor, made special note of it. I think it almost certain that they were the advance guard for Lord Matlock, and that they were spying out the land so that Matlock could raid the house while you were busy elsewhere.”

Darcy sighed and said, “Colonel Fitzwilliam said that his father was employing the Bow Street Runners, so perhaps they were members of that association.”

“It is quite possible,” Bennet agreed. “I also took the liberty of speaking with Mr. and Mrs. Hill, who serve as butler and housekeeper at Longbourn. They know your servants well, Mr. Bingley, and have assured me that they are all honorable individuals. I think it unlikely that any of the local servants with strong ties to the community have betrayed you. So long as you are confident of the members of your own household, I think it sensible to assume that the attack came from outside your walls.”

Bingley nodded. “That is good to hear, sir.”

Darcy considered the other members of the mansion as possible spies for Matlock, and quickly dismissed them all. He was entirely confident of the loyalty of Mrs. Younge and Mrs. Lockwood, and George Wickham had proven himself the very best of friends.

/

Beaumont House

Russell Square

London

Cecil tapped gently on the door to the sitting room and then entered when a soft feminine voice invited him within.

He stepped in and cast an uncertain glance around him, then relaxed when he observed that the only persons present were the young nurse Deborah, and Lady Anne Darcy.

Mildred, the senior nurse, always looked disapproving when he entered the room.

Deborah was a far more good-natured companion.

“Good morning, sir,” Deborah said cheerfully as she carefully draped a blanket over Lady Anne’s recumbent form on the chaise. “I hope you are well?”

“I am very well indeed,” Cecil responded, allowing his gaze to wander appreciatively around him.

The sitting room attached to Lady Anne’s bedchamber was elegant, with a tan chaise and three matching chairs, with walls painted ivory, and curtains and carpet of scarlet and blue.

Cecil found it by far the most pleasant room in the house, especially given the woman bustling around; the more Cecil saw of the girl Deborah, the more appreciative he was of her remarkable beauty.

He had, in the last two days, made himself entirely at home in his aunt’s sitting room when Deborah was caring for his aunt.

In the ordinary course of things, it would be completely inappropriate for him to spend hours a day with a beautiful young woman, with the only chaperone being an insane, drugged lady.

In this case, since Deborah was but a servant, it was entirely appropriate.

“I am surprised to see you caring for my aunt this early,” the younger Mr. Fitzwilliam remarked .

“Yes, I fear that Nurse Mildred is not feeling very well today, so I was called from my bed earlier than usual. Not that I mind in the least, of course! It is my honor to assist in caring for Lady Anne.”

Cecil smiled at her and said, “You are doing a marvelous job. I intend to ask my father to employ you at the Matlock estate in Lincolnshire when Lady Anne no longer needs your assistance.”

“Oh, Fair Havens Park sounds marvelous, Mr. Fitzwilliam,” Deborah declared, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. “I would be honored indeed to serve your family there!”

“Yes, it is a fine place,” Cecil concurred, casting his mind absently toward the women who resided at Fair Havens.

His great-aunt Lavinia’s health was uncertain.

Perhaps he could prevail upon the Earl of Matlock to have Deborah assigned to his great-aunt; he ought to receive something in return for his assistance with his Darcy relations!

“Oh, I see it is time for Lady Anne to have some more of her medicine.”

“Shall I pour the lemonade?” Cecil inquired cordially.

“Yes, please, Mr. Fitzwilliam,” the woman responded gratefully .

He stood up and took the flask of lemonade from a nearby table and poured the liquid into a clean cup. Deborah moved tantalizingly close to him, close enough that he could smell her sweet scent, and carefully added a few drops of laudanum to the glass.

“You are very careful,” he murmured with admiration.

“Oh yes, sir,” the woman said, her expression serious.

“Laudanum is very helpful when used in the appropriate amounts, but can also be dangerous. The earl of Matlock was insistent that Lady Anne be given enough of the drug to keep her calm – it would not do for her to harm herself in a frenzy! But I would not want her to be injured either, of course.”

“You are most attentive to her needs,” Cecil breathed, gazing raptly at the girl’s beautiful countenance.

“Thank you, Mr. Fitzwilliam,” Deborah answered.

“Do you mind if I leave you for a few minutes, sir? I need to arrange for Molly to purchase more laudanum at the apothecary’s shop, and she is to leave the house to run errands at eleven o’clock.

We are running a little low of laudanum, you see, and it would be dangerous to run out. ”

“Indeed it would,” Cecil agreed, and walked over to where his aunt Darcy was reclining on a chaise lounge near the crackling fire.

His aunt was, as usual, asleep, with her chest rising and falling steadily.

Poor Aunt Darcy was very unwell, though at least she could walk.

Every few hours, Mildred or Deborah guided her patient into a nearby water closet to deal with her more intimate needs.

Cecil sighed as Deborah left the room. The girl’s company was welcome, but he was growing impatient with the lack of information from the earl of Matlock.

His father had sent him a short letter the day before but the note had merely ordered him to stay at Beaumont House and wait for further instructions.

The man wandered over to a small table against the wall and poured himself some port wine from a bottle. At least Mr. Beaumont’s cellars were decent.

He was just lifting the glass to his lips when a feminine voice exclaimed, “Cecil!”

Cecil spun around with an inarticulate cry of fear, and his cup dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers, causing the brandy to splash copiously on the lush carpet.

A moment later, he took a cautious step back because Lady Anne Darcy was standing next to the chaise, her eyes full of life, her back straight, her expression firm.

“Lady Anne,” he said awkwardly, glancing nervously at the door, “I ... erm ... your nurse will be back very soon and...”

“Do not be foolish, Cecil,” the lady interrupted, stalking over to the door to turn the key in the lock. “I am neither insane nor ill, and deliberately waited for Deborah to leave before I spoke to you.”

“Erm, w…w…hat?” he sputtered in confusion.

“Cecil! Pay attention to me!” the lady ordered.

Cecil glanced at the key in his aunt’s hands and forced himself to relax. She was but a sickly, middle aged woman and if necessary, he could take the key back by force. For now, it was best to humor her.

“Lady Anne,” he said gently, “I do beg of you to sit down. You are not well.”

“Cecil, I have no time for this nonsense,” Lady Anne said briskly, taking a few steps forward to stare up into her nephew’s eyes. “You need money, do you not? I will pay you three thousand pounds if you return me to my son and daughter at Netherfield Hall in Hertfordshire at once!”

Cecil’s protestations died on his lips. “Three thousand pounds?” he asked feebly.

“Yes, three thousand pounds. I will also arrange for a yearly allowance in excess of the one your father gives you now.”

Cecil was not a particularly clever man, but he had a rudimentary understanding of math. “I am to marry my cousin Georgiana, Aunt Darcy. Her dowry is thirty thousand pounds.”

“Consider the situation you are in, Cecil,” Lady Anne said with a tolerant smile.

“There is no possible way that my son will permit you to marry Georgiana. She is but sixteen years of age, and he loves her a great deal. You would not, if you will forgive me for saying so, prove a very good husband to anyone, especially a young girl. Nor, based on your conversations with the nurse Deborah these last days, do I think that you even wish to marry my daughter. My brother has forced this all upon you.”

Cecil’s mouth drooped open foolishly and he gasped, “You heard all of our conversation?”

“Much of it, anyway; I have been pouring the drugged lemonade into that rather unhappy potted plant next to the chaise when in this room, and into the chamber pot when in the other room. Thankfully, my jailers have left me alone enough such that I was able to avoid drinking myself into a drugged stupor.”

Cecil turned his stunned attention on the plant and shook his head. “I do not understand.”

“It is simple enough, nephew. I am not insane, nor am I ill. Your father abducted me from my domicile and ordered the nurses to drug me into compliance, all in an effort to blackmail my son into forcing Georgiana to marry you. As I said, he will not prevail under any circumstances.”

“My brother Richard is Georgiana’s other guardian,” the young man said weakly.

“Yes, and Richard is firmly on our side in this matter. Come, Nephew, you must make a choice. Will you assist me to return to my son and daughter, or will you continue to align yourself with your father, thus making an enemy of the Darcys and your older brother?”

Cecil cast a piteous glance at the door of the sitting room. He could, he suppose, call for help, but most of the servants were employed by the Beaumonts and would likely side with Lady Anne Darcy, sister of the earl of Matlock, over his own dandified person.

“Perhaps we should discuss this with Nurse Mildred?” he inquired desperately. “She is a more experienced nurse than Deborah and I am concerned that you are too ill to …”

“The woman is in the embrace of a drugged sleep,” Lady Anne interrupted.

“I exchanged cups of lemonade with her an hour ago, and she drank up the laudanum. She is obviously one of your father’s minions.

As for Deborah, she is a charming girl and I think has a good heart.

If you like, we can bring her with us and Darcy will make sure she is safe. ”

“Safe from whom? ”

“From your father, of course,” his aunt said, and added cynically, “Matlock always had an eye for pretty young redheads.”

Cecil shivered squeamishly and said, “But if I assist you, my father will be very angry with me.”

“I daresay he will,” Lady Anne answered, stepping closer still.

“But your father is ruined, Cecil. I pretended to be asleep through the journey from Netherfield to Russell Square, and Matlock spent the entire journey complaining about his financial affairs and blaming me for all the ways his life has gone off course. Matlock will shortly be in foreclosure of the family estates and will not be able to provide your yearly allowance. Darcy, on the other hand, is a sensible, careful man with vast resources. If you side with us, you will benefit financially and socially. If you do not, I promise you that my son will destroy you.”

Cecil, staring into his aunt’s blazing eyes and set countenance, made one of the best decisions of his life.

“How can I be of assistance, Lady Anne?”