“You cannot do this!” Lord Matlock cried.
“Why ever not? You were the greedy fool who valued wealth above all else. You have attempted to manipulate this family intodoing what you wanted without thought for whatwewanted. We could have retrenched, we could have found any number of honourable ways to keep Matlock self-sufficient, but instead, you chose to trade in human lives. Should your actions become known, it would create a scandal that would ruin everyone connected with the name Fitzwilliam. Father pointed out that your actions could be considered treasonous, resulting in not only your death, but potentially the seizure of everything we own,” Lady Julia insisted. “You would have done that to your family without thinking of how it affected any of us. It has cost us one son; would you have it cost us another?”
There was truly little Lord Matlock could say. Before he could think of a response, he collapsed into his chair and clutched at his chest. At first, everyone in the room sat and watched him, unsure what was happening, but nearly as quickly they realised he was genuinely in distress and began to move into action.
Elizabeth was the first to recognise what was happening. She stood from her seat, crossing to stand in front of Lord Matlock and put her fingers to his throat. “Call for an apothecary! Or a physician if there is one near enough—I believe he is suffering from an attack of apoplexy. Fitzwilliam, help me get him laid down. Richard, bring a glass of water; perhaps another of brandy or whatever you have in that decanter.”
That spurred the others into action. There was little they could do to make Lord Matlock to provide assistance, but they continued to watch him to ensure he was breathing. It took nearly an hour for the physician to arrive, and by that time, they had Lord Matlock in his bed, as comfortable as they could make him.
After the physician examined him, he confirmed that the earl had suffered an apoplexy. While they could only make himcomfortable, a full recovery seemed unlikely. The physician provided a tonic, but its effectiveness was uncertain. With little known about such attacks, all the family could do was hope and pray for the best.
However, deciding what the "best" outcome might be was complicated. If Lord Matlock fully recovered, their plans to remove him from society would still be necessary. Given that a second apoplexy was likely, he would need extensive care for the remainder of his life.
On the other hand, should Lord Matlock die, it might be the best situation for everyone. Fitzwilliam would then inherit the earldom, and between his grandfather and cousin, they would be able to loan him enough funds to get Matlock back on its feet.
After Lord Matlock was comfortably settled in his bed, his relatives gathered in a sitting room attached to the room shared by the Darcys to discuss matters. They were far enough away from the sickroom to be assured of their privacy from servants coming and going from that room.
“What do we do now?” Fitzwilliam asked. As a soldier, he was a man of action, and being forced to wait to act was weighing on him.
“As of now, you are the acting earl. With Silas’s fate being uncertain, I think it is best that we act as though you are the one in charge,” the marquess stated authoritatively.
“I agree; we intended for this very thing to happen, though perhaps without the additional complication of the earl’s uncertain health. You must travel to London to sell your commission, and we will use this time to make it known that you are the one now in charge of Matlock. I expect the men to whomyour father owed money will approach you, since as far as they know, you know nothing about the situation. We can use that to buy time while we discover if there are additional funds at Rosings,” Darcy inserted.
“Fitzwilliam and I will travel with you to London and proceed from there to Kent,” Elizabeth agreed.
Darcy fixed his wife with a hard glare. “I thought we decided we would not make the journey this spring,” he said.
“Oh, pish,” was her reply. “I suffered no ill effects from traveling to Matlock. We can take the journey slowly, but you do not intend to leave me at Pemberley while you travel for nearly a month, do you?”
Darcy frowned, having not considered that. “I might travel more quickly without you,” he argued, though there was little force behind it.
“We would be apart above a fortnight. I have no wish to be separated for that long,” Elizabeth murmured, leaning into her husband.
Lady Julia watched the exchange with interest. “Do you have news to share, Elizabeth?” she asked.
“Not at present,” Elizabeth replied, winking at her new aunt as she did so. Lady Julia watched the couple for several more moments, before opting to simply nod.
“Let me know when there is news to share, Elizabeth. I suppose you are correct to wait, and Darcy, all will be well.”
Though Darcy had told his cousin his suspicions, it took several minutes for that gentleman to understand the subtext of the conversation taking place. Lord Hawthorne simply listened withinterest, but since Darcy and his bride were of no true relation to him, opted to keep silent on the matter, though his lips quirked slightly upward.
That settled, the five continued to make plans until it was soon decided that on Monday, three of the five would begin their journey south into London, making a brief stop at Pemberley along the way. This would extend their journey by at least half a day, but Elizabeth felt she needed to speak directly to her family about their plans, as well as the servants to ensure that everyone understood that Mrs. Bennet could make no changes whatsoever to the house while the Darcys were away.
In fact, their guests and Georgiana would be moved into the dower house until the Darcys were able to return, making the excuse that several changes would need to be made and it would be more comfortable for the ladies if they were in another location, away from the noise and mess. This was done for a two-fold purpose—first, to remove Mrs. Bennet from the main house to avoid any conflicts between her and the servants, and secondly, because the dower house was smaller and therefore easier to protect. There was a small chance that the Darcy family could be targeted by those who had kidnapped and killed the former viscount.
Chapter Forty-Seven
MONDAY, 20 JANUARY 1812
When the Darcys, accompanied by Colonel Fitzwilliam, departed for London by way of Pemberley early Monday, there had been little change to Lord Matlock’s condition. He was able to open his eyes although he remained unable to communicate. His physician was uncertain if he understood what was being said to him; however, it was evident that he could react to stimuli, such as a needle pricking his skin.
Knowing this and trusting Lady Julia to keep them informed regarding any changes, they left, intending to put their plans into place.
They arrived at Pemberley to find it in a state of chaos. In her daughter’s absence, Mrs. Bennet had attempted to command the servants into making some of the changes she wished, and, having listened to the mistress’ commands that nothing be altered in her absence, they had refused. This led to a stalemate between Mrs. Bennet and the servants with both Jane and Mary attempting to convince her mother that she had no right to act in such a manner.
With a deep frown and mounting irritation, Elizabeth went to confront her mother after hearing troubling reports from the household servants. She found Mrs. Bennet seated in the room designated as the mistress’s study, a space meant for Elizabeth’s use. Her mother was surrounded by papers and giving imperious instructions to a flustered maid. It was evidentthat Mrs. Bennet had decided to assert herself as if she were mistress of Pemberley.
“Mama, this absolutely will not do,” Elizabeth began firmly, her tone brooking no argument. “This is my home. Fitzwilliam and I are the master and mistress here. You are a guest—one who will soon become unwelcome if you continue as you are now. If you wish to be in charge of a household, you might return to Longbourn, but you will not take over here. Fitzwilliam and I have agreed upon several changes, and while those are being implemented, you and my sisters will move to the dower house. We must travel to London on business.”
