A Hasty Decision

by Wynne Mabry

  “Have you been in contact with any of your family?”

  “No. I have heard that my aunt is looking for me, but so far, I have successfully evaded her.”

  “She came here actually.”

  He looked at her with dismay. “I should have realised that Bingley would not be spared. What did she say?”

  “It was more a matter of what she did. When he said that you were not here, she demanded to search the house and see for herself, so he let her.”

  “He should have shut the door in her face.”

  “No, it was perfect. He allowed her to look in every room and every closet. She even went down to the kitchens in case you were hiding there. Eventually, she had to accept that you were not here, and she has not bothered us since.”

  “I must concede the soundness of Bingley’s methods. Hopefully she will not disturb you again. Nor me for the time being. I must face her sooner or later, but I would rather do so with the trial concluded successfully. She will want me to drop my suit, but I will be making it clear to her that I intend to pursue this all the way.”

  An Irrefutable Case

  “Please let Elizabeth be spared any humiliation,” Mr. Darcy thought as he sat in the court, waiting for the crim. con. trial to begin. “Whatever happens to me, do not let her name be brought into this.”

  The proceeding began with a statement from his lead counsel, who confidently declared an expectation of proving the accusations against Mr. Upton without any shred of doubt. Mr. Darcy was confident of this as well. The drawing master had been slow to extricate himself from an extremely delicate situation. This clear evidence of wrongdoing had been witnessed by the two servants who had been present when Mr. Darcy opened the door, and by three others who had arrived on the scene in time to see their mistress and her lover desperately collecting clothing and trying to cover themselves.

  Each of these five people gave valuable testimony. The unfortunate two who had witnessed an act of intimacy in progress had some difficulty choosing the words to describe it, but they found ways to convey the full extent of what they had seen.

  Their embarrassment was obvious enough, but it paled in comparison to that of a very young maid who blushed crimson as she described having seen her mistress’s person uncovered and exposed for all to see. That redness spread to the tips of her ears, and her voice squeaked with discomfiture when she spoke of the gentleman being without trousers and exhibiting a certain body part, of which she had previously had no knowledge.

  The colour drained from her face as she declared, “I never saw anything so horrifying.”

  The butler, older and more worldly, stated things a little more plainly. “The gentleman was obviously in a particular state of stimulation.”

  Mr. Darcy wondered what the newspapers would make of that.

  An older and more assured maid confirmed these facts with less embarrassment than the younger girl, but with strong disapproval in her voice. She also gave evidence that after Mr. Darcy had gone to Pemberley, Mr. Upton had begun to visit almost every day, and that Mrs. Darcy had frequently received him without actually having her drawing things at hand. She had also instructed her companion to stay away and not interrupt her lessons.

  Each time that these witnesses were cross examined, Mr. Darcy was on the edge of his seat. It was soon clear that the defending counsel had no intention of trying to challenge such irrefutable evidence. He did not ask any questions concerning what had been seen that day. As anticipated, his efforts were instead directed toward establishing that the marriage which had been set asunder was of a little value in the first place. Obviously, Mr. Upton was resigned to being found guilty and was primarily concerned with minimizing the amount of damages awarded. But that was where the main danger lay. Would his counsel attempt to make anything of Anne’s ridiculous suspicions?

  “Is it true that Mr. and Mrs. Darcy argued very frequently?” was asked of each servant in turn.

  “They argued occasionally, but no more than any couple might,” replied the footman, to whom this question was put first. Mr. Darcy did wonder about the young man’s perspective, but perhaps he had been used to hearing arguments at home.

  Polly, the elder maid, went so far as to say, “Mrs. Darcy is a very difficult person. She is always complaining about something, but the master is wonderfully patient with her.”

  “Can you truthfully say that he has never lost his temper with her?”

  “I did not say that. He has lost his temper a few times, but for good reason, and never in any violent way. Most of the time, he is much nicer to her than she deserves.”

  To substantiate this, Polly gave some examples of Mr. Darcy’s thoughtfulness, which seemed to make a favourable impression upon the jury. To this was added some examples of Anne’s complaints, which made her sound like a very shrewish person. Mr. Darcy perceived some looks of sympathy being thrown his way.

  There was also an attempt to make it seem as though Anne had been left behind in London as part of some collusion between her lover and Mr. Darcy, but that effort failed also. The servants all testified that Mrs. Darcy disliked travelling, and they had heard her declare herself incapable of going to Derbyshire.

  “He was very solicitous about arranging for her travel to Kent instead,” the butler said.

  His servants were also asked if they had overheard him say this his wife was free to do as she pleased. Two of them had, which almost pleased Mr. Brown, the defence counsel, until they cited the circumstances.

  “It was about the purchase of some new hats,” said the younger maid, which only served as testimony to Mr. Darcy’s generosity.

  Polly, who obviously heard a great deal, had heard him say that she could suit herself about where to take her meals. “It was not like Mr. Darcy was giving her permission to get herself a lover,” she added contemptuously before Mr. Brown could stop her.

  There was only one small point of concern. Each of these witnesses was also asked if they had ever seen Mr. Darcy in a compromising situation or observed him paying particular attention to any lady. They all answered in the negative, and the subject was not pursued further.

  “He will not dare to risk a defamation suit by going too far,” Mr. Darcy had been advised. “We had a little chat with him about the undesirability of bringing up any name without reason.”

  His own counsel did not call Mrs. Jenkinson, who was not a useful witness to them, but they knew she was to testify later.

  “We shall tear her to strips in the cross-examination,” he had been told. Knowing that Mrs. Jenkinson would happily destroy his reputation if she could, he had not felt overly guilty for his lack of compassion upon hearing this.

  They called Colonel Fitzwilliam next, and he described some of the efforts which Mr. Darcy had made to ensure his wife’s comfort, as well as his attentiveness to her on various occasions.

  In anticipation of the cross examination, he was also asked about the marriage not being a love match.

  “It was not,” the colonel said honesty. “My family has no value for love, but they do have a great regard for honour and proper behaviour. There was every reason for my cousin to expect that his wife would always conduct herself with dignity and propriety.”

  Another acquaintance testified that marrying for connection rather than affection was the sort of thing still done by people of Mr. Darcy’s stature, but that in no way diminished the expectations they had of a wife’s loyalty and faithfulness.

  “Indeed, when one has a vast property, it is especially important to be certain of one’s offspring,” he said.

  As the jury in crim. con. cases was made up from men with some wealth and property, it was not surprising that several of them nodded their heads in agreement with this statement.

  This man also related a conversation in which Mr. Darcy had expressed his disapproval of another acquaintance who had been known to have a mistress.

  The last witness for the plaintiff was a well-known rake.

 
“Really?” Mr. Darcy whispered to his counsel, who had only said that they would get a couple of character witnesses.

  “Just wait and see,” Mr. Drummond whispered back.

  “Have you ever seen Mr. Darcy in a brothel?” the rake was asked, after cheerfully admitting that he spent much of his time frequenting brothels and enjoying the favours of mistresses galore.

  “Never, but I once saw him go out of his way to avoid walking past one,” was the answer.

  “Are the two of you well-acquainted?”

  “Not at all. I am too bad for his taste, and he is too good for mine. I think he avoids me, to be honest, but one has to forgive him. He is everywhere spoken of as a highly principled man, which even a rake like me cannot help admiring.”

  Mr. Darcy wondered if he should feel obligated to invite this gentleman to dinner. Perhaps not, but he should at least have a bit of a chat the next time they encountered each other. The man might be an unrepentant rake, but he seemed like a very amiable person.

  After a short break, the defending counsel made his effort, but as his primary witness was Mrs. Jenkinson, it was a doomed one.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Darcy argued all the time,” she said. “He never attended to her opinions, and he was always refusing to do what she wanted. She told him time and time again that his friends were unsuitable people, but he would not give them up, even though she could not bear to be around them.”

  The entire jury was looking unfavourably upon her, but oblivious to this, she was already launching into some further vitriol against Mr. Darcy, which the defending counsel desperately tried to stop. He looked more hopeful when his witness finally came to say, “Mrs. Darcy was very frightened of her husband.”

  “Why was that?” he asked.

  “He was always wanting to go into her chamber.”

  The counsel looked at her with surprise which showed that he had not been expecting this answer. “Was she also afraid of his temper?” he asked.

  “Oh, she was. He was always nasty to her.”

  “Are you quite certain that he wanted to go into her chamber? Was it not actually the case that he chose to keep away from his wife’s bed?”

  “He did,” she agreed. “He told Mrs. Darcy that he would stay away as that was what she wanted.”

  “Was it not what he wanted?” the poor man tried helplessly.

  She looked at him in puzzlement. “He said he would not do what she did not like.”

  “The silly woman is doing our work for us,” Mr. Darcy’s counsel whispered to him. I may not have to ask her anything.”

  Before the defending counsel wrapped up his questioning, Mrs. Jenkinson also declared that Mrs. Darcy had known her husband had a mistress and wanted to obtain an annulment of their marriage. “He wanted to marry Miss B–”

  “No names,” the unhappy man shouted, hastily cutting her off. “We want to establish the facts first. Did you ever observe Mr. Darcy in an improper situation with this person?”

  “He always talked to her when she came to dine with us.”

  “She will have poor Mr. Brown in tears in a moment,” Mr. Drummond whispered.

  The cross examination was brief.

  “Did Mr. Darcy once buy his wife a phaeton because she asked for one?”

  “He did,” she said grudgingly.

  She was compelled to admit to numerous other gifts and favours, and then to confirm that she was always sent away when Mr. Upton visited. She gave this testimony with notable reluctance, offering the excuse that Mrs. Darcy needed the privacy of her lessons because she had become a true artist with a great passion for her work. It was an unfortunate choice of words. The judge himself could not quell the ensuing hilarity since he was struggling to contain his own amusement.

  Mr. Perkins was called next, but his testimony was not of as much use as the defence must have been hoping. He confirmed that an annulment had been contemplated, but in cross examination, he described Mr. Darcy as exceptionally considerate of his wife’s difficulties in the marriage bed.

  “He was very desirous of not causing her any distress,” the vicar said.

  The understanding that she had once had a fear of performing her marital duty elicited laugher in the audience, and from a few members of the jury. Even the judge looked amused again. Mr. Perkins, who had presumably not meant to be amusing, blushed uncomfortably before continuing to describe Mr. Darcy as having been very sensible of his marital obligations.

  “I saw nothing in his behaviour to suggest that he only wished to rid himself of his wife,” he replied in response to Mr. Brown’s suggestion that this had indeed been the case.

  Mr. Darcy felt uncomfortable about this faith in his character. He had most certainly wanted to rid himself of her. But he had continued trying to make his marriage work. He had looked for ways to make Anne happy, sometimes to the point of sacrificing his own interest. He had chosen to behave honourably, and she had chosen infidelity.

  In his summing up, Mr. Darcy’s counsel referred to the establishment of his virtuous character and his distaste for affairs. “I would not have even thought it necessary to produce such character witnesses had the defence not first given a hint of thinking that the situation was otherwise. The subsequent failure of that effort demonstrated the lack of evidence to support such a claim. This is because no such evidence exists. Mr. Darcy has never had a mistress or even entertained the idea of having one.”

  He went on to clarify that it was quite natural to consider an annulment where there was such an impediment to procreation as had initially existed in the marriage. “It was reasonable of Mr. Darcy to consider taking this step, with which he ultimately did not proceed.”

  In a very brief effort, Mr. Brown referenced the couple’s history of disagreements and Mr. Upton’s inability to afford any large sum of damages.

  The judge swept this aside, declaring that ability to pay was not of relevance. He then gave his opinion that this was not a case for light damages. “The jury might take into consideration that Mr. Darcy appeared not to have suffered a loss of companionship or comfort, but there is no doubt that he has been grievously injured. A small award would create the suggestion of collusion or condonation, for which there is no evidence.”

  A decision was quickly reached. The jury found in favour of Mr. Darcy. Despite the defendant’s meager finances, damages were assessed at ten thousand pounds, which reflected the judge’s first point, but also sent a clear signal that Mr. Darcy was not considered to be in any way culpable. The first stage of his ordeal was over, but its aftermath was yet to come.

  Recriminations and Threats

  Waiting in the street outside the courts, there was a carriage which Mr. Darcy recognised. The moment of facing his aunt had come.

  As he approached, she called out of the window for him to get in. “And you too,” she cried to Colonel Fitzwilliam.

  “You need not face the recriminations with me,” Mr. Darcy said to his cousin.

  “I shall stay by your side,” the colonel insisted. “Besides, we might as well get this over with in one fell swoop. l also expect to be very much out of favour with our aunt.”

  They opened the door and saw that Lord Matlock was also with his sister. He looked severely at the pair of them, but as soon as they were in the carriage, she spoke first.

  “How could you have done this to Anne?”

  “How could I have done this?” Do you not think that is a question you should be asking her?”

  “I have dealt with her, but you are the one who has blown this out of all proportion. I do not know how you could have addressed our family’s private business in public for all the world to know.”

  “Because I want a divorce. I do not wish to have an unfaithful wife.”

  “She will be faithful now. I shall see to it.”

  “Do you intend to keep a constant watch over her?”

  “I have employed somebody to do exactly that, and I have also replaced Mrs. Jenkinson with a lady of strong
er character.”

  “A jailor, you mean? And a spy? You really think that is sufficient to settle the matter? You take a very strange view of things. There is nothing that will persuade me to continue any relationship with Anne after what she has done.”

  “You will not get a divorce. I shall see to that. If you are determined to pursue this matter further, Anne will have the best representation that money can procure, and the court will hear about your mistress. This trial was a botched business, but you will not get through another one so easily.”

  “I doubt that you will find any counsel willing to besmirch their own reputations by accusing me of having a mistress without any evidence to back up that allegation. The most botched thing about today’s trial was the feeble attempt in that direction.”

  “He is right about that, Catherine,” Lord Matlock said. “Without proof, that line of defense is useless, and I am extremely dubious that it can be proved. I really do not think that Darcy ever had a mistress. It is just not like him. Anyway, your agent was unable to find any evidence of it.”

  Mr. Darcy looked sharply at this aunt. “Your agent?” he queried. “Have you had somebody watching me as well?”

  She looked not the slightest bit abashed. “It was necessary. I wanted to be certain that you had ceased carrying on with Miss Bennet.”

  “It was never a case of ceasing to do so, since I was innocent of your accusation in the first place.”

  “If you were innocent, you would not have refused to give up your acquaintance with her.”

  “Have you no concept of friendship? I was not going to insult my friends and give up the pleasure of their company just because of a ridiculous notion that had no basis in reality.”

  “One should choose one’s friends like one’s clothing,” Lord Matlock said. “They should be of impeccable appearance and in the best style. I believe that you never had a mistress, Darcy, but you made some poor choices in your friends. Mr. Bingley is not descended from any distinguished family, and his wife and her sister come from a very questionable one. I also think that you should give them up. The connection does not throw a good light on your family.”