by Kate Speck
“As you can see, Mr. Darcy is out of your reach now and you will not bother us again. Even with your mistakes in the past, you have a chance to start anew and find your own contentment. Although I could not fathom leaving my children under someone else’s care, I wish you every happiness.” Elizabeth stood and Mr. Darcy was on his feet also to dismiss the woman.
Mrs. Douglas curtsied politely, “Thank you, Miss Bennet. I hope we will be able to greet each other amicably next time.” She looked at the gentleman, “You have changed much, Dar...” The gentleman coughed loudly. “...Mr. Darcy, and I am glad for you. I hope to see you again soon.”
Mr. Darcy snarled, “Do not approach us, Mrs. Douglas. We will not acknowledge you and if you speak ill of my future wife, I will see to your downfall.”
Mrs. Douglas paled and turned to leave, when two officers entered the sitting room. “Lord Pemberley!” Colonel Fitzwilliam cheerfully shouted. “I just heard...” He saw the woman in the room and shut his lips with a scowl. “Mrs. Douglas.” He growled quietly.
Lieutenant Leigh jumped in from behind, not seeing the colonel’s change in expression, “Brigadier Darcy! The Prime Minister announced your barony to the Major General and we arrived immediately to congratulate you, sir. There is no one more deserving and we are proud to have you as our leader.”
“Brigadier?! Lord Pemberley?” Mrs. Douglas exclaimed. “How in the world is that possible?”
Mr. Darcy rolled his eyes at his men and motioned them to enter the sitting room. He glanced at his former betrothed, “I am both and it is none of your business. Off with you now.” He turned his back against her and wrapped Elizabeth’s arm around his.
Mrs. Douglas could do naught but leave the premises immediately, and Elizzbeth saw the woman shake her head in disbelief that she had made such an awful mistake in the past and that all her hopes of becoming Mistress of Pemberley was now lost. Elizabeth knew that the lady would repent her shameful conduct in the past and that she would suffer in infinite regret to lose such an eligible bachelor as her husband, who was not only handsome and rich, but a high-ranking officer as well as a baron. Letting go of the past, Mr. Darcy led her back to the couch to take a seat and enjoy refreshments with the officers.
~*~
“Anne Chapman? What the hell is she doing here, Darcy?” Colonel Fitzwilliam barked. “Did she try to...” He looked at Elizabeth, “Did she hurt you, Lizzy? I hope you did not take anything she said seriously.”
Elizabeth smiled, “I am well, Richard. I was initially concerned that she was here to try to win back Mr. Darcy but your cousin conducted himself most nobly and I am confident of his commitment to me. Thank you for being like a brother to me, Colonel. You will be my favourite cousin, I am sure.”
Richard Fitzwilliam smiled and nodded at Mr. Darcy. “Good. I would not hesitate to thrash a woman for my dear cousin’s honour and I am certain Darcy would have her transported to the colonies if she wounded you.” Elizabeth smiled broadly at this. “You two are meant to be together.”
“Thank you, and I agree completely. Now, I would like to check on Mar...” She saw her sister walk into the room at that very moment. “Here she is. How fortuitous of you to join us, Mary. Look who is visiting.” Elizabeth slyly eyed at Lieutenant Leigh who had a broad grin on his face. “I shall call for some tea.”
“Oh! How wonderful to see you all.” Mary curtsied with a blush. “I just saw a lady leaving and did not know we would have additional visitors today. Has something happened?”
Mr. Darcy laughed loudly and Elizabeth answered in merriment, “Not much at all, Mary, the afternoon was much ado about nothing, dear sister.”
The group moved to the drawing room to take tea together, with easy conversation and cheering for Mr. Darcy’s achievement and future prosperity with a deserving wife by his side. The officers were to stay for dinner with the Fitzwilliams to discover their involvement with Mrs. Jenkinson, and Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth could only look forward to their lives together as husband and wife in nine days.
Chapter 35
While waiting for Lord and Lady Matlock, Colonel Fitzwilliam spoke with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth while Lieutenant Leigh conversed with Mary Bennet quietly in the far corner of the room.
“Did you know I fancied myself in love with Anne Chapman at one point?” The colonel confessed while taking a sip of his tea. “She was sixteen and I had been visiting Pemberley when she arrived with her parents. She was and still is a beautiful woman.”
Mr. Darcy harrumphed, “I had no idea, Richard. It would have saved me a world of trouble if you had pursued her and she might have been a good wife to you. Why did you not court her?” He squeezed Elizabeth’s hand.
Richard chucked, “Everyone knew Anne Chapman was off-limits, Darce. She was your mother’s namesake and that damned prophecy that you were certain was true made me believe that I was forbidden to approach her. She was and still is a harridan and I doubt she would have changed much, even if I had married her. I was about to receive my assignment in the continent and was in no position to court anyone. She exposed herself as a loose woman and her indiscretion saved you from making the biggest mistake of your life.” He sipped from his cup again and looked at Darcy’s betrothed, “I would have married you, Lizzy, if you would have had me. I thought Darcy a fool for choosing Hertfordshire to be near a lady and he had called you a ‘distraction’ in the beginning, but he fell for you quickly and I wish for a wife like you.” He laughed as soon as his cousin scowled. “But I know you are not for me, Lizzy. You would have never settled for someone like me and I will wait for a lady who will inspire me and challenge me and put me in my place if I should misbehave. It is only too bad that your younger sisters are nothing like you and far too young for me. You are taking the best woman off the market next week, cousin.” Elizabeth laughed as Mr. Darcy protectively wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Mr. Darcy replied with a smile, “I know it, Richard. Elizabeth knows I will be dedicated to her happiness for the rest of my life and I know what we have is extraordinary and will not lose focus of that fact. We will not take each other for granted but work hard to build our marriage and resolve our conflict while respecting each other’s views. I find it the greatest challenge of my life to spend the rest of my days with her and all my wealth and title mean nothing to me without her. I am most eager to be her husband.”
“I am glad to hear you say it, Darce. Although you are my favourite cousin, Lizzy is like a sister to me now.” The colonel beamed at them both. “Once we get this business with my parents resolved, you can be a leisurely baron to attend parties and mingle with the pompous peers.” He laughed, “Father will be exhibiting his favourite nephew all over town till no end!”
Mr. Darcy chuckled, “After the formal ceremony the week after our wedding, I plan on taking Elizabeth to Ramsgate for absolute peace for a month and then go to Pemberley and be unseen for at least a year. When we return for Georgiana’s debut, I hope to arrive with a son or daughter in tow and perhaps another on the way. I plan on keeping my wife very busy with travel to Scotland and exploring my favourite parts of Derbyshire.” He winked at his betrothed with a dashing smile and she laughed loudly.
“That is a good plan. I know you have quite the spirit that matches Darcy’s enthusiasm for adventure, Lizzy, and you two will be unstoppable.” Richard agreed then asked with a serious countenance, “Now, how do you wish to handle my parents? Do we approach them before dinner or during or wait until after? Your cook has the best dishes and I would hate for my appetite to be ruined, should my parents need to be arrested and hauled to Newgate this very night.”
“No, let us enjoy our meal first.” Mr. Darcy answered. “We will speak with them after our meal and discover the truth. I do not wish to bring shame into our family but I also know that justice must be served. Lord Liverpool told me that Mrs. Jenkinson’s trial begins tomorrow and will be found guilty. She has not been repentant of her actions and her anger has made her ma
d for revenge. As long as your parents did not deliberately place her under Lady Catherine’s employment for the purpose of treason, I believe it will all be well.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam stood up to stretch his legs, “I hope so. I truly do, Darce. I am very curious of the connection, as I have never heard anything about a relative before and I am sure many questions will be answered. Let us tell Leigh of our plans and we must chaperone the couple better since they are not in formal courtship yet. I want my lieutenant to be focused on his task and not be distracted by the lady at his side!”
The gentlemen and Elizabeth smiled at the young couple and awaited the dinner party to begin. There were only a few missing pieces of the puzzle and Mr. Darcy was most eager to finally put all of his questions to rest.
~*~
“Congratulations, Darcy!” Lord Matlock loudly announced as soon as he entered Darcy House. He kissed Elizabeth’s cheek and beamed, “You shall be Lady Pemberley soon, my dear, and I cannot imagine a more worthy woman to receive the honour. Even if it is only a courtesy title, he is of noble blood and will finally be recognised for his services to King and Country. It is such a rarity but with the war, several baronies became vacant and of course the Prince Regent was most insistent in Darcy obtaining a title. I have known of Darcy’s heroics for many years but was not allowed to share much of it outside of family, and now, I will be able to boast to all of my friends of his accomplishments!”
Elizabeth laughed, “Thank you, my lord. I will strive to be worthy of him and to be a helpmeet to my dearest husband but I know I will need much guidance and wisdom from you and Lady Matlock.” She kissed the countess’ cheek. “I would like to believe that you will both have the best intentions for our family always.” She subtly eyed Mr. Darcy and then introduced her sister to the nobles.
Dinner was filled with pleasant conversations, with discussions about their outing to the theatre and plans to travel to Ramsgate after the wedding then finally go home to Derbyshire. Elizabeth had yet to see Pemberley and was extremely excited to see her future home, of which it had been described by many as the most incredible estate in all of England.
Declining the separation of the sexes, Mr. Darcy guided everyone into the drawing room. “Uncle Harold, Aunt Eleanor, we have a very serious discussion that must be addressed before the evening is complete.” He turned to Colonel Fitzwilliam who stood by his side. “As you know, my investigation of an assassination attempt of King George let us to capturing George Wickham and I had him in Hertfordshire to learn of an attempt on the Prime Minister’s life. What you do not know is that there was a woman who funded and guided the assassination plot and she helped Wickham escape from my custody, and I had to track him down quite a distance to catch him again the next day. He was found and was killed by Richard when he attacked me with a knife.”
Lady Matlock gasped loudly and Lord Matlock bellowed, “That fiend! I am glad you got him, son!”
Mr. Darcy continued, “What we had uncovered after his death is even more shocking, I am afraid.” He faced his aunt who was sitting in shock, “Aunt, what is your relationship with Anne de Bourgh’s companion? Who is Mrs. Jenkinson to you?”
Lady Matlock stood up abruptly, “How did you know that she is related to me? No one knows of it! Are you saying that Henrietta is responsible for planning to assassinate the Prime Minister?!”
“Who the hell is Henrietta?” Lord Matlock shouted. “How do you know this woman, Eleanor?”
Lady Matlock drew out her handkerchief from her dress-sleeve and wrung it after wiping her face. “Henrietta Jenkinson, the poor woman that I recommended to Catherine to be Anne’s companion... she is... she begged me a few months before taking the position to help a girl to be Anne’s maid, you see, and when she told me that she desired to become a companion to live peacefully in Kent, I thought... I never knew her to be so deviant. Henrietta is... she is my step-sister.”
“Good lord...” Lord Matlock covered his eyes, “Is that the woman that... the one who shamed the family by eloping with some older man?”
His wife nodded, “Yes. Father was devastated but he had wished to ensure she was secure and left her a small inheritance before he passed.” She looked at the group. “I will start from the beginning. As you know, my mother passed when I was fifteen years old. My father remarried a lady who already had two daughters from a previous marriage and formally adopted them to give them the Cornewall name. The eldest daughter was ten years younger than I and the second daughter, Henrietta, was only two at the time of their marriage. He doted on them both and the elder girl, Margaret, married well and is distantly related to Lord Seymour. The younger, I am afraid, turned out very wild after my father spoiled her too much and her mother continued to indulge her after my father passed ten years into the marriage. As my father had retired into the countryside and was rarely seen in town, very few knew of his second wife and step-daughters, and I had already been married to Henry and hardly saw them for years. I heard from Margaret years later that Henrietta ran off with a married man at the age of fifteen and was not seen in society again.
“The man soon tired of her and abandoned her to return to his wife, and Henrietta tried to go back home to her family but with her older sister’s engagement to Mr. Seymour, her mother had no choice but to disconnect herself from the shame and Henrietta did what she could to support herself, becoming a mistress to several men before Mr. Jenkinson proposed. His family was against the union and Mr. Jenkinson’s father threatened to disinherit him but he still married her and they had a child together. I heard very little of her until a year ago when she found me while I was shopping and begged me to help a girl find a position at Rosings. She had known somehow that Anne needed a maid and I met the girl before recommending her to Catherine. She was a genteel maid and I thought her good for Anne’s constitution. About a month later, Henrietta said she wished to become a companion after hearing good things about Anne and I felt sympathy for her situation. I spoke with Catherine, who was furious that Anne’s companion was stealing from her, and gladly hired Henrietta last year and I had not heard anything from my step-sister during the entire time. Catherine never wrote of her and I did not think of her since then. She was out of sight for most of my life and only due to my father’s fondness for her, did I recommend her as Anne’s companion. How is it possible? Why would she want the Prime Minister dead?”
Mr. Darcy calmly replied, “Mrs. Jenkinson’s name is not random. Her late husband was cousin to Lord Liverpool and it was the Prime Minister’s grandfather who disinherited Mr. Jenkinson, and she has held a grudge against the family for that injustice. She hired Wickham and promised him £5,000 for the service.” He looked at his uncle, “You knew nothing of this? I know you are responsible for communicating many of my secrets to Aunt Catherine and it is most likely that Wickham found out about Georgiana and my plans to capture the spies through Aune Catherine’s gossiping.”
Lord Matlock rapidly shook his head, “No! I knew nothing of it and I only recalled something about Eleanor’s step-sister many years ago and never met her. What are you accusing me of, Darcy? I would never betray my country!”
“I do not mean to accuse, Uncle. I only need to be certain of both of your innocence to report to Lord Liverpool.” Darcy stated. “Mrs. Jenkinson will be found guilty of treason and will be put to death.”
Lady Matlock plopped onto a seat and shook her head, “I cannot believe it. I thought her sincere when she said she wanted to live a quiet life in the countryside. How was she able to fund such a plot? My father left her only £1,000 and I do not know where she could have obtained any funds to pay someone to kill the Prime Minister. Do you know what happened to her child? I was told she had a child with Mr. Jenkinson, a son or daughter, I know not which. Henrietta would not reveal anything of her life except that she needed assistance.”
Elizabeth quirked her brow, “But the maid that you set up for Anne is Mrs. Jenkinson’s daughter! Sarah Jenkinson?”
&nbs
p; Lady Matlock froze, “She never mentioned her as her daughter! I knew of her first...” She closed her lips tightly for a moment while the others wondered what was wrong. She stood up and took a deep breath, “As I am opening up all my family secrets, I will tell you something that I have not told a soul before. Henrietta, when that girl ran off with that married man when she was fifteen years old, carried his child and had a daughter. She sent the baby to the father, believing that her family would take her back as if nothing had happened and completely abandoned the babe. Margaret was well-aware of all of the secrets and made me promise to keep it to myself so that it would not bring shame to the Seymour and Fitzwilliam family names.” She faced Mr. Darcy with a small smile, “Had you never wondered why I always despised one woman of our acquaintance above all others? Why I could never stand to be in the same room with her? You know of whom I am speaking, am I right?”
Mr. Darcy gasped, “She is Mrs. Jenkinson’s daughter?!”
“Who, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth asked with a quizzical brow. “Do I know her?”
Mr. Darcy turned with broad eyes, “Miss Caroline Bingley, now Mrs. Robinson. Aunt Eleanor detests her and even when cordial to the most scathing gossips in town, my aunt refused to acknowledge her and was exceedingly upset with me for bringing Miss Bingley to the Winter Ball last year.” He shook his head in disbelief, “No wonder you were so against her being seen with me even though I never had any designs on her. I cannot believe it. Do you think Bingley knows?”
Lady Matlock answered, “I doubt it. Even if he has suspicions because she is so different in appearance than Louisa Hurst and himself, very few knew of it and Mr. Bingley did leave Miss Bingley a large dowry. It seems he spoiled her too much and she turned out as awful as Henrietta had been raised.”
Elizabeth blew out her breath, “Now that I know of the connection, I can see the resemblance. Miss Bingley attempted to assault me once while we were in Netherfield and Mrs. Jenkinson was quite disdainful of her. Even with a reunion in Netherfield, Mrs. Jenkinson refused to think fondly of her own daughter and barely tolerated being in the same room. At least Miss Bingley is married now and we will not have to see her often.”