To this end, she had written to Mrs Ellis, directing her letter to the village in Yorkshire, where she supposed her to be by the New Year. Seeking more information about the activities of Hartley-Brown and his clique, she proposed a visit to Ryedale and asked for directions so she may travel there. Kathryn was unsure what she might achieve by such a journey, but it was at least a chance to meet and speak of the problem with the only person she could trust to keep the matter confidential. In all her dealings with Mrs Ellis, she had found her to be honest and open; Kathryn hoped these very qualities may help preserve her from the nightmare of a further encounter with Hartley-Brown.
Meanwhile, Darcy found himself busier than he had anticipated, being called upon to settle two rather unpleasant disputes, each of a very different nature, both of which took up a great deal of time and effort.
The first involved the surreptitious efforts of a pair of stock-jobbers, working as agents for a developer from London, to purchase land without the authority of the council. Alerted by his brother-in-law Mr Carr, Darcy had had the steward at Pemberley make enquiries. He had been shocked to discover the extent of the deception involved.
Several parcels of land on the fringes of the Pemberley Estate, some of it leasehold and therefore not available to be sold, had been selected by the developer, seeking to make a swift sale and quick money.
The investigation revealed corruption of council officers, bribed to turn a blind eye to the illegality of the transaction, as well as the peddling of influence by some local landholders.
When the truth became known, Darcy Gardiner was instructed by his grandfather to have the miscreants brought before the magistrate, which was no easy matter, for some of them were rich and others had useful connections in the county.
It had taken days of legal argument, threat, and counter-threat to finally convince the developer that he was not going to succeed, and his minions of their great good fortune, that men were no longer hanged or transported for such offences.
“Mere incarceration,” said Darcy, “seems almost too mild a sentence for their misdeeds.”
Worn out by interminable days spent in discussions with attorneys and police officers, Darcy returned flushed with a degree of success, to find a note from his mother awaiting him. She asked to see him and suggested he dine with them that evening.
Having taken some time to bathe and change before leaving for Camden Park, Darcy despatched a note to Colley Dale. It had been almost a week since he had seen Kathryn and he had meant to visit her that evening.
His mother's urgent summons prevented him from doing so, and he made his excuses in a note reassuring Kathryn of his affections and promising to call on her very soon.
Arriving at Camden House, he found his mother in a state of high anxiety.
Cassandra Gardiner was not a woman to panic or become unduly anxious; however, her current state of mind was entirely understandable. A letter had been received a day or two ago from her brother-in-law Robert Gardiner, stating that his wife Rose was travelling to Derbyshire with a party of friends, intending to use the house at Oakleigh for the Spring, since their plans to tour Greece and Italy had failed to eventuate. He took it for granted that there would be no objection, assuming that his mother's house was still as it had been when she died several months ago.
Cassandra handed her son the letter. Robert wrote:
It will be less expensive than taking a town house in London, though not as convenient of course. However, Mother's servants will suffice and Rose will not need to hire new ones. If I hear nothing to the contrary, I shall assume that arrangements may be made for Rose and her party to arrive next month.
Darcy was astonished. “What does he mean, Mama? Does not my uncle know that Oakleigh passed on the death of my grandmother to my aunt Emily Courtney? Is he unaware that with Dr Courtney being unwell and likely to retire from the living at Kympton soon, the family are to move to Oakleigh in the Spring?”
Cassandra shrugged her shoulders and did not hide her irritation.
“Darcy, it is the most vexing thing; he is not only well aware of it, I have written to Rose myself over Christmas, a letter in which I mentioned that Emily was looking forward to the move, because Jessica could then be married from Oakleigh.”
Darcy recalled immediately that Mrs Courtney had been delighted at the prospect.
“Much as I love our little rectory, which has been my home for so many years, it is too small for a wedding party, and though I know cousin Lizzie and Mr Darcy have offered to host the wedding at Pemberley, I should love to have my daughter married from my home,” she had said.
Considering that the late Mrs Gardiner had arranged her affairs with a view to achieving just such a result, it seemed churlish for Mrs Rose Gardiner to want to thrust herself and a party of friends into the house right now, on a mere whim, thought Darcy.
When he discussed the matter with his father after dinner, Sir Richard was quite adamant.
“There is absolutely no question about it, Oakleigh belongs to Emily; our mother's will said so and neither Robert nor Rose nor anyone else can come in and presume to occupy any part of it for any length of time, unless Emily invites them to visit.”
“Do you believe she may have done so?” asked Darcy.
Cassandra was certain she had not. “I have spoken with Emily, though I have not mentioned this letter, and from all I could gather, she has sent no such invitation. Indeed, she is very busy packing in readiness for their move to Oakleigh.”
Richard Gardiner shook his head; he understood his younger brother and his wife less and less. With each passing year, they seemed to become more selfish and remote from the rest of the family.
“I suggest, Darcy, that you write to your uncle and explain the situation clearly and draw his attention to the fact that the Courtneys are moving to Oakleigh within the fortnight,” he said, and Darcy did not relish the prospect at all.
The unpleasantness that followed sapped his energy and enthusiasm, as he tried to resolve the situation. In a particularly nasty letter, Mrs Robert Gardiner had suggested that her sister-in-law Emily Courtney and her husband, being accustomed to the cramped conditions at the rectory, ought be able to use one of the vacant cottages on the Oakleigh manor for the duration of her visit in Spring.
She wrote:
After all, it is not as if they have ever enjoyed palatial accommodation, though I know Emily did spend some years at Pemberley as a house guest— it seems fair that they should put themselves out for a very short time, in order that we should share just a little of what should rightly have been Robert's country house!
Nothing he had heard about the increasing selfishness of his uncle Robert Gardiner and his wife had prepared him for this, and Darcy had grown weary of their complaints long before the matter was finally resolved. It was achieved by Richard and Cassandra Gardiner offering Robert and his wife the use of Camden House for a month in early Spring, after Jessica's wedding, when the Gardiners expected to travel to Standish Park in Kent, as guests of the Wilsons.
“A month, no more,” said Cassandra, and the offer was duly conveyed to Mr and Mrs Robert Gardiner. To the relief of just about every member of the family and all of the household staff at Camden House, it was abruptly refused. Rose and her friends were off to Bath instead, said Robert in a note that was barely polite.
Darcy's own relief was immeasurable as he looked forward to leading a normal life again. The practical problems of tenants on the estate and the possible onset of a recession in British agriculture paled in comparison with the unpredictable and so often unreasonable demands of Mr and Mrs Robert Gardiner.
Then there was his personal life, which, from a high point of happiness a mere fortnight ago, appeared to have gone into reverse.
He'd not had time to visit Colley Dale all week but had sent regular notes to his beloved Kathryn. At first, he received gratifying replies, in which she said she understood he had some intractable problems to deal with and would
await their resolution, when they could meet once more. Then he had no communication for two days and wrote again. But when, on returning to his apartments at Pemberley, he found no word from her had arrived in reply, he became concerned.
Had she grown tired of his absence? Was she hurt or angry at his silence?
He began by asking Jessica if she had heard from her friend, but no, she said, since school was out, she had had no word either. Besides, Jessica was busy with her wedding preparations and their subsequent departure for South Africa. She confessed she had been too engrossed in her own plans to notice that there had been no message from Kathryn all week.
“It is unusual, but I have been busy and did not think to ask,” she said.
Finally, Darcy, unable to settle down to anything, went himself to Colley Dale, only to find that Kathryn was gone and no one could tell him where!
Her mother, grave faced and anxious, received him in the parlour and declared that a letter had arrived for Kathryn, which had clearly brought serious news of a confidential nature. It appeared to have necessitated her sudden departure, but Mrs O'Hare could give him no indication of her destination. She could only hazard a guess, she said, because the letter had come from a Mrs Ellis, who had been the housekeeper at Lindfield Towers, that Kathryn may have gone to Lindfield.
Struck dumb with consternation, Darcy could not imagine why Kathryn would ever return to Lindfield and place herself in the power of the people she loathed. It was beyond belief.
So dejected was he, that he neglected to ask when exactly Kathryn had left, and had to go back inside again to enquire.
“She was going to catch the train from Derby on Saturday,” was all her mother could tell him, and afraid even to think what might have caused Kathryn to depart so suddenly, without a word to him, Darcy walked out of the house in a mood of deep despondency.
He was about to mount his horse when he caught sight of Elena some distance from the house, obviously attempting to stay out of sight of her mother, within the shadow of a clump of trees by the gate.
Waiting until he approached, she darted out and handed him a note, folded over and enclosing another piece of paper.
He was about to ask her about her sister's whereabouts, when she said quickly, “Kathryn's gone to Yorkshire… she left this for you. No one else knows and you are not to tell anyone please, else she may be in great danger.”
When Darcy tried to question her, she shook her head and ran back through the shrubbery towards the house.
Wanting desperately to open it, yet unwilling to do so in full public view, Darcy rode down to the inn and, having purchased a pot of ale, sat down to read his note. He first read it through very quickly and was relieved that it contained nothing that reflected upon their engagement nor had anything untoward happened to Kathryn. He then re-read it, trying to understand its purpose. It told him very little, except that she had decided to travel to Yorkshire to meet with Mrs Ellis, the onetime housekeeper at Lindfield, and would return to Colley Dale later in the month. She assured him she was quite safe and he was not to worry about her.
Contained within it was a note from Mrs Ellis to Kathryn, giving simple, clear directions to the village of Ryedale, including a small, roughly drawn map of the area.
When he had re-read them so many times, as to almost know them by heart, Darcy decided to proceed to Rushmore Farm and consult his brother-in-law, Mr Carr. He could think of no other course of action, so bewildered and dejected was he. His sole relief came from knowing that it was plain, from both the tone and the content of her letter, that Kathryn had not run away from him. As far as he could ascertain, she still loved him and their engagement was intact. That at least was a relief.
When he had met Mr Carr and shown him the letter explaining the circumstances in which he had received it, he asked, “Can you think of any reason why Kathryn may have gone to meet Mrs Ellis?”
Darcy had no answer, except that Kathryn had spoken well of the housekeeper and trusted her. He was in turmoil, unable to understand her problem and therefore to devise a plan to resolve it.
What was he to do, he asked. Should he follow her to Yorkshire? Or remain here and look to her return, as promised in her note?
Mr Carr persisted. “Could Mrs Ellis have been the bearer of bad news regarding a mutual friend, perhaps? Is that why Miss O'Hare has gone to Yorkshire to see her?” he asked.
“In which case, there must have been another letter, one she received before this one with the map… one which detailed the bad news…” Darcy mused and then Mr Carr said, “I see it now—of course, Mrs Ellis has already left Lindfield and returned to Yorkshire. Having done so, she has written to Kathryn, giving her some significant news. Perhaps she is in some trouble and needs help. It is this that has prompted Kathryn to go off to Yorkshire to see Mrs Ellis, perhaps to help her in some way.”
“But what could she have told her that has made her race off like this? Who is it about and what of Elena's warning that I should not reveal this to anyone else, or Kathryn might be in some danger? What do you make of that?” asked Darcy, to whom the situation was not much clearer. The most vexing thing was his complete ignorance of Kathryn's predicament.
They pondered these matters for a long while but came up with no credible answers. Darcy was about to leave, when a young lad he had seen helping the innkeeper with his chores, appeared running up the road to the farm. He approached Darcy and handed him a note. He had followed him from the inn, he said, missed him at the crossroads and doubled back to Rushmore Farm.
Thanking the lad and giving him some coins for his trouble, Darcy tore open the note. Together, he and Mr Carr read it aloud.
The innkeeper, who had been known to the families at Pemberley and Oakleigh for many years, had seen fit to inform Darcy Gardiner that a certain Mr Bellamy of Lindfield in Sussex, with references from Mr Hartley-Brown, had been staying at the inn and asking several questions.
I thought it wise to draw this to your attention, Mr Gardiner, sir, because he introduced himself as a close friend and associate of Mr Hartley-Brown, who was here last year and became a source of some concern to you, as I recall.
Furthermore, Mr Bellamy has also been asking about the family of O'Hare and has been heard to mention the name of the same lady—Miss Kathryn O'Hare.
It is not possible to believe that this is simply a coincidence, sir.
He added in closing:
Mr Bellamy has paid for his room in advance and expects to stay at least a week.
This communication threw them into even greater confusion, since neither Darcy nor his brother-in-law Mr Carr had heard of Mr Bellamy, nor knew how he might be connected with Kathryn's departure for Yorkshire.
“How is it possible to resolve a problem, if the problem itself is hidden from one?” Darcy asked helplessly. “I cannot comprehend it at all.”
It was Mr Carr who, after some thought, made the first practical suggestion.
“Darcy, since you have been given the map and directions by Miss Elena, on the instructions of her sister, one may assume that the lady would not be displeased if you turned up in Yorkshire. How would it be, then, if you were to go there yourself, find Mrs Ellis, and discover if Kathryn is there with her?” he asked, and his friend's eyes lit up at the suggestion.
“If this were the case, I am sure she would explain everything to you, which she may not have been able to do in a letter or at her home in Colley Dale, with her family present overhearing your conversation.”
Darcy agreed it was a plausible proposition.
“And, while you are gone, I could set a watch over the activities of this Mr Bellamy and should he in any way whatsoever transgress or break the law, I'll have the police after him. If he is an associate of Hartley-Brown, he must be here as his emissary and is probably waiting for an opportunity to approach Kathryn, unaware she has left the area. He may try to visit her family at Colley Dale or approach them in the village. If he does, I'll have him! Once we have hi
m in custody and before the magistrate, he will tell us everything—his kind generally do, they're no heroes,” said Carr.
Darcy thought this over and concluded it was probably the best idea they'd had, but so many unanswered questions swirled through his mind, he was prevented from thinking clearly. He wanted time to consider it and promised to return to Rushmore Farm on the morrow. Tired and downcast, he was at the end of his tether and his brother-in-law bade him good night and let him go, urging him to get a good night's rest.
It was into this unhappy state of affairs that Darcy's elder brother Edward Gardiner intruded again, with yet another letter; this time addressed to their mother.
Cassandra Gardiner arrived at Pemberley, shortly after breakfast, to see her son, knowing that he had spent the previous two weeks in a continuing state of anxiety and aggravation. She was aware that the unpleasantness generated by her brother-in-law Robert Gardiner and his wife Rose had taken its toll on the generally amiable and obliging young man. Darcy had found it particularly difficult to confront the couple, whose self-indulgent behaviour was totally at odds with his own standards and those of the other members of his family. His mother was well aware of this.
Which was why, on receiving Edward's letter, Cassy had decided to come to him, instead of summoning Darcy to Camden Park again. She hoped for some explanation, which might set her mind at rest. She had, for the same reason, refrained from disclosing her concerns, and the contents of the letter that had raised them, to her husband. Instead, she had chosen to let Darcy see his brother's letter first.
Edward Gardiner, successful and married well, advancing both his personal happiness and his professional status simultaneously, was not averse to giving members of his family, and especially his younger brother Darcy, the benefit of his opinions.
His sister Lizzie, having married the man of her choice without feeling the need to consult her elder brother, was immune to his gratuitous advice.
Postscript from Pemberley Page 23