Page 60 of The Next Mrs Bennet
O n the afternoon of the Tuesday after Easter, the younger set was having a picnic in the park. As was usual, both men took the opportunity to be close to his lady, Andrew was sitting next to Jane and Lawrence Portnoy was attending to Charlotte.
At the same time, William found himself inexorably pulled to sit next to Lady Elizabeth. As had become their usual practice, they were in a deep discussion about a book. This time, one he was currently reading, and Elizabeth had read some weeks ago. Although he suspected Lady Elizabeth had taken a position she did not hold which was contrary to his own to spark debate, William enjoyed debating with the beauty far too much to let her know he was aware of what she was doing.
“William,” Lydia called out. “Is it true you have fished in the lake at Lizzy’s estate many times before the day you met Lizzy there?”
“It is, why do you ask? Are you like your Uncle Edward who loves to fish?” William responded with a smile.”
“No, I have never attempted to fish. It is just unfair you have seen Lizzy’s estate and we have not,” Lydia pouted.
“Lyddie, it is not my estate,” Elizabeth corrected. “It is one of his estates.”
“He is not here so surely we can go and see the castle and the lake. I have never seen a castle before,” Lydia complained.
“One day, sooner rather than later, I hope, I will be able to show you the estate,” Elizabeth placated.
Before she could return to her debate with William, a footman from the house approached. “Your Grace,” he bowed deeply. “The master instructed me to inform you an express has arrived for you, which has been redirected from Castlemere.”
“Smithers, thank you for relaying the message to Her Grace. We will be right behind you,” William stated. He turned to Lady Elizabeth. “I assume you would like to see who sent you an express.”
“I hope it is not from him ,” Elizabeth responded, “but yes, I think I must.”
He stood and extended his hands to assist Lady Elizabeth in standing. As neither was wearing gloves, William felt a frisson of pleasure when he held her dainty hands in his much larger ones.
“Would you like me to accompany you, Dearest?” Jane enquired.
“You remain where you are,” Elizabeth looked between Jane and Andrew while the former blushed becomingly. “I am sure this big, brave, gallant man can escort me all the way to the house. If he suffers from hessian in the mouth again, John will be close by.” Elizabeth inclined her head to Biggs who was watching over her.
With a dimple-revealing smile, William offered his arm to Elizabeth. It was less than two hundred yards to the manor house.
Mr. Reynolds informed Her Grace and Master William that those who had remained in the house were in the green drawing room and the express was there as well. They thanked the butler and made their way to the indicated drawing room.
After greeting those seated in the room, Elizabeth looked around for her express and spied a silver salver on the sideboard with a missive thereon. She picked it up and her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she saw the name of the sender.
“What is it, Lizzy?” Madeline asked concernedly.
“If this is accurate,” Elizabeth pointed to the name on the outside of the letter, “it was sent to me by Mr. Wickham. I cannot imagine why he would write to me.”
“At least you know your husband has no idea you are at Pemberley,” Lady Anne stated. “The letter was directed to Castlemere.”
“That is the same conclusion I reached,” Lord Matlock agreed with his younger sister.
“The only way you will know why that man wrote to you is to open and read it,” Gardiner told his niece.
Elizabeth sat on an unoccupied settee. No one missed how William stood and watched Elizabeth protectively. She opened the letter, smoothed it out, and then began to read.
29 March 1807
London (By the time you read this I will no longer be in Town)
Your Grace,
Please excuse my presumption in writing to you, but I think you will agree when you read what I have to say, it had to be done.
It gives me the greatest pleasure to inform you that your husband is no longer alive.
Elizabeth sat frozen in place. She read and reread that line five times before it registered. As soon as it did, she began to sob uncontrollably as she felt a millstone lift from around her neck. Could it be true? She so wanted it to be true.
Without thinking, William sat next to Lady Elizabeth and pulled her into his arms as she sobbed. He watched as the offending letter fell from her hand and floated down to the rug. “What did he say that upset you so much?” William asked, trying to control his anger at the steward’s son.
The rest of the occupants of the room were all standing with concerned looks. No one mentioned the impropriety of William embracing an unrelated married woman.
“Please…read…it…aloud,” Elizabeth managed between sobs.
William stood and picked up the missive and skimmed it before he read it as she asked. “This upset you?”
“Cannot…believe…it…true,” Elizabeth averred as she fought to control her emotions.
William understood. She was not mourning him; they were tears of relief.
“William, read!” Darcy instructed. William stood and cleared his throat and began to read from the most salient sentence onward.
It gives me the greatest pleasure to inform you that your husband is no longer alive.
As much as everyone wanted to speak at once, those in the drawing room controlled their urge. Madeline sat down on one side of Lizzy while Lady Anne took the other side and each took one of her hands in their own.
My motivation for making sure your husband met his end was simple. To make amends for finding the information he used to force you to accept him and knowing what his plan for you was once he had an heir.
Your Grace, he chose you because of your spirit, strength, and impertinence. He wanted someone who would be a challenge when, after he had an heir, he would then break like one would a green horse. Each time you challenged him you only increased his anticipation of future pleasure.
At first, I would, and did, do anything and everything the late Duke asked of me. The money was good and to my shame, I cared not who got hurt as long as I was well paid. That all began to change when I was witness to your kindness, grace, and thoughtfulness to everyone around you.
No one was below your notice and you treated everyone with respect and compassion regardless of who they were or what their position was. That included myself, as much as I did not deserve your condescension.
I am well aware Biggs and Johns are not the only servants you have assisted with whatever help you were able to give. It did not go unnoticed how you used your own allowance to have repairs made to the tenants’ cottages when your late husband refused. It was never for others to see you doing good, it is just who you are.
I have been a selfish, uncaring, and even a criminal being for much of my life. Such I would have still been had I not met you. The way you treated me and others was the genesis of my determination to begin to try to repair some of which I had helped to cause.
When we arrived in London after you were sent to Castlemere, the late Duke spent time with his mistresses (3 of them!) When he was tired of abusing them (he quickly found no enjoyment in the activities as they were paid to be compliant and he only took true enjoyment when there was genuine resistance), he called me into his study and instructed me to get him into Jersey House so he could defile Lady Jersey as a way to exact revenge on the Earl.
He lamented the fact Lady Matlock and Lady Anne Darcy were away from London as he would have liked to have had his way with them as well.
“If he was not already dead, I would kill the bastard!” Lord Matlock boomed.
“You would be in a queue behind me!” Darcy insisted.
“Please tell me Sarah was not harmed,” Lady Matlock pleaded.
“He was so much worse than we imagined, and we knew he was terrible,” Edith Portnoy stated.
William returned to the pages in his hand.
I went directly to Lord Jersey… The whole plan was laid out and explained in detail how the trap for the vile man was made ready.
To maximise the pain to Lord Jersey, the late Duke demanded his plan be carried out on Easter Sunday. The plan explained above worked to perfection and Lord Jersey shot the intruder dead when said man tried to cock his pistol.
Hence, Your Grace, you are free. All I can do is beg your pardon for the part I played in causing you to be married to such a man. I cannot change the past, but in the future, I will try to be a better man.
To that end, I will make my way to the Americas and seek my fortune (honestly) in the United States.
I know of the provisions you had placed in the settlement thanks to your intelligence, so I worry not for your security. Your sisters are safe and their futures assured, Your Grace. At this point, I will relate a conversation I had with the late duke soon after the settlements were signed.
When I asked him how he could agree to all you demanded, he simply said: I will make sure she does not survive me. He had to die.
I ask you for nothing regardless of how wealthy you are as of the day the scourge which was the late Duke was washed from the earth. I did not do this to seek a reward from you. I will keep the ?4,000 your late husband was simple enough to hand me.
The last thing I need to do, is to wish you a happy life now you are free.
Sincerely,
George Wickham
No one spoke for some minutes after the reading was completed.
“Lizzy, what did young Wickham mean about the terms you had inserted into your settlement?” Gardiner enquired.
“As happy as I am, until we see the reports in the Times of London, I want to reserve my celebration, just in case,” Elizabeth responded. “If all is as Mr. Wickham has reported, I will free Uncle Frank from his promise of confidentiality to tell you all.”
“Robert, when will Monday’s papers arrive here?” Lady Anne queried.
“On the morrow,” Darcy averred.
“In that case, I will plan a celebratory dinner for the morrow,” Lady Anne decided.
“I suppose this means Lydia will get to see the castle,” William stated in an attempt to ease the tension in the room.
In that moment, Elizabeth’s and William’s eyes locked as each was starting to consider what this news may portend for a shared future.
“Yes, she most certainly will,” Elizabeth agreed. Seeing the looks from those who knew not to what they were referring, Elizabeth elucidated.
“If, as I believe it will be, it is confirmed, how long will you mourn him?” Lady Matlock questioned.
“Not one single day,” Elizabeth replied firmly. “When I was presented, Her Majesty and I had a conversation.”
“We were present,” Lady Anne shared. “We always wondered what the Queen said to you, but never felt it was our place to enquire once we met you.”
Elizabeth related a condensed version of the conversation. “I intend to request a royal decree stating due to his crimes, no mourning is required. There is one more thing I intend to ask. I will share that if and when Her Majesty grants my request.”
“He will not be buried in consecrated ground,” Hubert Barrington, the barrister informed everyone. “When his past and intended crimes come to light, I am sure the Archbishop, with the royals’ encouragement, will excommunicate him.”
“I always thought he would go to hell when he died, now I am certain,” Elizabeth reported.
“Lizzy, shall we wait until the morrow, before I share what you authorised me to do?” Philips verified.
“That seems best, Uncle Frank,” Elizabeth responded.
She smiled as she noted the look on Aunt Hattie’s face. Elizabeth was sure she would do everything in her power—unsuccessfully—to learn about the clauses before the rest of the party.
“Will you share the news of the Duke’s demise with everyone else?” Maddie asked.
“I see no reason why not. I will be sure to tell them we are waiting for the papers to be completely sure,” Elizabeth averred.
“And Jane?” Gardiner added.
There was no doubt in her mind what her uncle was referring to. “As soon as I see it in the papers, I will have a long, private conversation with Janey,” Elizabeth decided.