***
They had not been in pursuit long when the area became a little less wholesome. Mr Goude knew the streets quite well and knew how to get from polished society to unpolished society very quickly and Catherine and Fredrick now found themselves in an area of town that was mostly taverns and billiard rooms. Shrill laughter and crass conversations could be heard from most of the open doors and windows, but they had temporarily lost sight of the gentleman they were seeking as they scanned the area. “He’s not here” Fredrick Westwood said again. He had not stopped trying to convincing Miss Bennet to give up on her reckless mission and return to the safety of the manor since they had left.
“He must be.” She responded.
“Penny for the poor” a scruffy looking man said holding a filthy , shrived hand out to them. Fredrick held out a small coin for him to see.
“We’re looking for someone. My guess is he’s quite a regular down here. Names Goude ” he gave a brief description of him to the man who reached for the coin, but Fredrick snatched it away. “Have you seen him?” he asked again.
“Many a gen’lmn come daan ‘ere when they think none’s watchin’” replied the man.
“Yes I know that, but any matching the description?” he asked again.
“Some o the time” replied the man. ‘Many go t’ crown o’er there” said he eventually.
“Thank you sir” said Fredrick giving him the coin. “ma’am ,” He said to Kitty , leading her away not wishing to reveal her name down here in case someone heard it.
“I thought you handled that man very well.” Said she as they headed to The Crown Inn.
“You just have to know how to talk to them. Even the walls have ears down here and the peasants know a lot more than you’d think and are willing to share most information if the price is right.” Said Fredrick. “And how do you know all this?” asked Kitty.
“Remember when I told you about my friend Mr Croft?” he asked.
“Oh yes. His father owned the shop.” Replied she.
“Exactly . I’m quite familiar with this part of town.” Said her companion.
“Now come, let’s find him quick so I can get you home” he said as they reached their destination.
The Crown was a largish tavern that was crowded with an assortment of people from soldiers to lawyers with quite a few tradesmen and the odd rowdy peasant. Kitty felt quite out of place and kept hold of Fredrick quite tightly. She was getting rather unsettled and with still no sign of Goude she began to wonder if perhaps she’d been following the wrong person and Mr Goude was in fact nowhere near. However Fredrick made enquires to the Barman, who stated that the said ‘gentleman’ often requested a private room upstairs where he often entertained ‘company ’. There was something in the way he said ‘company’ that made Miss Bennet think that he perhaps didn’t mean gentleman, smoking and cards, unlike the usual company the people in her society kept. Indeed her suspicions were correct because less than a minute later a rather greasy looking man in a rather flamboyant suit entered. With him he had a scrawny blonde woman in a very tight red dress revealing a little too much cleavage than was considered respectable and rather too much paint on her face. They approached the barman who said the gentleman who had put in the request had arrived and was seated in his private room.
The woman then ascended the staircase and the other ‘gentleman ’ if such a word could be used to describe such a man ,was seated at the Bar . Fredrick knew this was to await his whore’s return and to collect his payment, but he did not wish to affect Miss Bennet’s delicacy and innocence by explaining the situation in such detail . Instead he urged her to quit this dreadful place having found all the proof she had come here for. He was very anxious to return her to the safety of the manor.
He may have been successful if at that moment another rather alarming event of which no amount of concealment could protect the young maiden took place. Just as they were getting ready to leave , Henry Westwood came through the door arm in arm with a very pretty sort of woman similar to Miss Bennet’s age. As their eyes met it was not entirely obvious who was the redder of the two. There was a stillness all around them ; everyone could feel the tension. The young woman released his arm and he awkwardly took a step towards Kitty with the intention of saying something, but she just shook her head. She steadied herself on the brother’s arm. Fredrick glanced at his elder brother and reached towards Kitty reassuringly, but she just let out a sob and fled the building. “Damn it” cursed Frederick under his breath. “Nice going brother” he said quite harshly to Henry and ran after the distressed young woman.
“I’ll return” Henry said to the young woman he had been with and followed after his brother.
***
Panic crossed Fredrick’s mind as he exited The Crown for there was no sign of Catherine, but her sobs soon gave away her location and she was found crouched down behind a parked carriage. He knelt in front of her and held his handkerchief out to her which she took gratefully. “Come now Miss Bennet.” He said soothingly as she dabbed frantically at her eyes. “Catherine… please allow me to explain…” it was Henry’s voice now. “... Susie...Miss Kingsley is a close friend, she was my fiancée a few years back...” he tried to explain , Kitty stiffened. “Fiancée ? Do you make a living out of proposing to young women?” she said coldly. “Catherine...” he tried again. “I was very young, it could never have worked I...” he tried to explain but Kitty sniffed and rose to her feet. “Do not presume to address me by my Christian name Mr Westwood.” She said defiantly. “No further explanation is necessary. Your actions were clear enough.” She snapped.
The conversation was then interrupted as two figures came around the corner. One was that of Julia she was scared and in tears and was being supported by a young man of about Fredrick’s age. “Good god, it’s Croft.” Fredrick exclaimed. The young man let go of Julia, who ran to the arms of her brother. John Croft approached the little group.
“Thank heavens” he exclaimed. “We’ve been wandering around here for the last half hour.” Said the stranger who was quite tall and lean with dark brown hair, a little longer than usual but not unbecoming, that was thick and wavy, he wore a beard and was dressed in a loose shirt, long jacket, breeches and boots . He looked a bit like the loveable pirate rogues from old sea tales. He was a friendly man with big blue eyes, but as a stranger, you wouldn’t fancy running into him on a dark night.
“Julia what the devil are you doing here?” Henry said taking his sister, so Fredrick could greet his friend.
“I followed Freddy” replied the young girl.
“Julia ! How could you!” cried Kitty.
“I wanted to know where you were going.” Julia replied petulantly. “But I got lost. Thank goodness John found me. I was getting quite upset”
“It’s good thing he did. This place is dangerous, suppose something happened to you? It was very foolish of you. What would Tom say?” scolded Fredrick, Julia sniffed and burst into tears.
“I’m sorry.” She wailed.
“Well, no harm done. I guess, but really. You should know better.” Said Henry turning to face his sister and wiping her eyes.
“Well since we’re all here. Miss Bennet” exclaimed Fredrick, “allow me to present to you my good friend Mr John Croft.” He said. Mr Croft smiled and bowed deeply.
“Good evening Miss Bennet” replied he. Kitty returned the bow.
“Good evening Mr Croft and thank you so much for rescuing dear Julia.” She said gratefully.
“It was the least I could do.” He then turned to Fredrick. “What the devil are you all doing here and at this time too?” asked Mr Croft.
“That is a very long story.” Answered Fredrick to his friend. “Miss Bennet” he continued. “I know you and my brother probably have a lot to discuss but perhaps now is not the best time. We had all better return to the manor.” He finished offering his arm to her.
“Discuss?” said Kitty suddenly angry again. “Not at all. T
here is nothing to discuss. Come Julia, I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one night and it’s a long walk back” she finished with a scowl towards Henry.
“Walk !” exclaimed Mr Croft. “Heavens no. Please allow me to escort you all back to your lodgings. I have a carriage with me. It’s perhaps not as grand as you are used to Miss Bennet but its sturdy enough and safer by far.” He said.
“Thanks Croft but I have my own carriage with me and my business is not quite concluded yet” replied Henry declining the offer, Kitty stiffened again.
“Indeed, I’m sure.” She said bitterly. “Thank you Mr Croft, we are much obliged. Come Julia.” she said calmly with a smile and then turning to Henry she bowed coolly. “Mr Westwood, since you have been otherwise engaged as of late, I presume you have not had time to call upon my father at Longbourn. As there is really no longer anything you need to ask him you no longer need to make the trip. Goodnight.” And with that she turned and climbed into the carriage that Mr Croft had, brought round and they returned to the manor and Henry returned to the Inn. All affection between the former lovers seemed now dissolved.
Chapter twenty-five
John Croft was a polite young man, not at all wealthy but he was gallant, and Julia certainly felt much better having seen him again. He had been in town to speak with the chief officer in the area. He had a wish to join the navy and upon learning this Fredrick insisted that they should head to sea together when the time came. Meanwhile, after the upset, Kitty was very shaken. She found herself unable to speak about it and pretended it had never happened. She only mentioned that she had broken off her engagement and begged for there to be no questions asked about it.
And so life continued in London Town. There were balls and parties, Kitty was socialising as much as ever, even though everyone knew something was wrong, she was trying far too hard to cover it up, but no one pressed her for an explanation.
Indeed she was so angry and so hurt that it was many months until she could think on it again. It was early in the new year when she wrote in her diary thus:-
February 12th, the winter came so suddenly it took us all quite by surprise. The snow fall was heavy and made travelling difficult. We remain in town and will do so for the whole winter. Mr Westwood has left now, and I cannot say I am sorry to see him go. He is to be ordained and then he will take over Maplebrook Rectory, as he always dreamed…Lizzy is worried about our sisters . Jane’s son is just a few months old and Lydia’s child even younger, with such cold weather we fear the worst. I do hope it starts to improve.
We are continuing to examine Mr Goude’s actions but have discovered nothing of any value and I cannot tell anyone what I saw. How could I explain what I was doing in that part of town at that time? Only me, Freddy, Julia and Mr Croft know. As far as everyone else knows , I happened upon Henry one day when I was out with Fredrick and Julia and that’s how I found out about the other woman. On a happier note Mr Croft is a nice young man, poor, but I can see what Julia sees in him. I hope for the best with them. Back to Mr Goude. At every possible opportunity he is out on the town and getting further into debt I suspect. I find I am distracted a lot of the time. I go over to the Westwood’s townhouse almost every day when weather permits. I will not let my feelings for Henry disrupt my friendship with his younger siblings…
She would have continued but as she looked up at the clock and saw the time she snapped her diary shut. Is that the time… Lizzy will be so cross. She said to herself, getting up and running out of the room.
***
She had arranged a walk with Elizabeth in the garden that morning. The frost was heavily on the ground but there was a cold winter sun and no wind, so it was not entirely unpleasant. When Kitty arrived her sister was standing beneath the big old tree. She was clutching a letter in her hands; quite old and worn now, a few years old at least thought Kitty as she ran along the path and hurried over to her. She was a little tired and out of breath, her skirts were a little muddy and some of her hair was loose. “Sorry I’m late Lizzy… Claire didn’t wake me this morning when she was supposed to… oh I do miss Alice ... and I was late to meet Georgiana for our walk which I promised her the other day. And then… I got distracted…” she said out of breath.
“Its fine, it took me a little longer than I planned to find what I wanted this morning” replied her sister. “What’s that?” Kitty asked motioning to the letter
“Who’s it from?” Lizzy hesitated for a moment and began to pace for a moment before leaning against the tree and looking up at the sky.
“Did you know , Kitty that Mr Darcy proposed to me once before?” she asked her sister.
“He did?”
“Aye he did. While I was in Kent with Maria and Sir William” she began
“Visiting Charlotte and Mr Collins? What did you say?” Kitty asked.
“I of course rejected him, though at that point I had just learned that he had separated Jane and Mr Bingley and in a conversation where I bluntly and in the most unforgivable speech I have ever given, pointed out every single fault in him. Of my opinion of him, of how he treated Wickham and declaring that he could not have proposed to me in any way that would have tempted me to accept him had he behaved in a more gentleman like manner.” Elizabeth quoted remembering that fateful day. Her sister asked why she’d not been informed of this before.
“I didn’t think it really important; we weren’t exactly close as sisters at the time now were we? And besides I never expected to see him again, or that my feelings would ever change. Oh how I hated the man. I didn’t even tell Jane immediately and I certainly never mentioned that he separated her and Mr Bingley.” blurted Elizabeth. Kitty listened intently, fascinated by this side of the story.
“Well the morning after he met me in the grounds of Rosings Park...” continued Elizabeth. “…I was quite surprised after our last conversation, as you can imagine.” She explained. Kitty then asked if he had begged or been very romantic or grovelled at her feet and her sister scolded her over dramatised reaction and continued to explain. “It wasn’t in the least bit romantic. You forget my dear, at this point neither of us were particularly fond of each other. He simply addressed all the charges I’d given him and defended himself. Here have a read.” She said handing Kitty the letter . She read over it and her expression changed from being intrigued to being shocked and she sank down onto a log. The reason Lizzy had revealed this information was so Kitty would understand the comment she had made at the ball about young men preying on Georgiana’s fortune.
“Mr Wickham? After Georgiana’s fortune as well! That is worse than a simple elopement! Had I known this then... no wonder you were so against Lydia going to Brighton. Does papa know?” she asked eventually. Lizzy replied that he did not and explained that she had only told Jane, but they thought it best not to mention it to anyone else. “But then why did you accept his second proposal?” enquired Kitty. “If he really was so unpleasant?” Lizzy sat down beside her sister. She knew that she should really explain this to Kitty now and felt the time was right.
“He was the one that actually found Lydia and Wickham in town and paid for their wedding, Wickham’s commission and settled his debts, as well as laid down a substantial sum of money to help them, and not our uncle gardener.” She explained. Kitty was shocked
“Good lord. Mr Darcy? Who’d have thought it? Why are you telling me this now?” she asked. “Because you’ve been brooding lately. My husband is a good man, though he may have done some stupid things in the past. Haven’t we all?” said her sister.
“Mr Darcy did not conceal a previous engagement with another woman from you…and get his brother and sister to lie about why he hadn’t written in a while.” Muttered Kitty.
“I wish I would have been there…Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. Mr Wickham wasn’t, and neither is Mr Goude.” Lizzy tried to reassure her.
“Henry … Mr Westwood was certainly not what I thought…and I wish you’d been there too t
hen maybe you’d know.” Replied Kitty still hurting after so many months.
“Fitzwilliam was not what he seemed… he was much better.” Said Lizzy.
“Oh I know. But still, I feel betrayed…”
“You have every right to be, but don’t let your pride blind you…Mr Westwood is a good, man as is my husband.”
“You’re right Mr Darcy is a very good man. Oh but how can he be deceived by Mr Goude?”
“We were all deceived by Wickham Kitty, remember that. Come now we had best be getting inside for it looks like rain.”
“I promised Julia I’d go around today. If I hurry I may just make it before the rain starts.”
“Shall I send for the carriage just in case?”
“I see no reason for that. I’m sure Julia will be glad of my company for a while; it’s just her and Fredrick at their town house this winter. Josephine is staying with some friends in another part of the country. And their older brothers are elsewhere.”
“Fredrick... Kitty, you know it isn’t considered respectable to refer to a gentleman by his first name.”
“Lizzy. Fredrick and I are good friends he’s a bit like the brother I never had and besides he asked me to call him Fredrick. He is not one for formal titles...” explained her sister.
“Very well then, if he has agreed to it. But I dislike it and I do not wish you to be out late. There’s a chill setting in and I promised father that I’d keep you safe and well.”
Catherine Bennet Page 14