The group grew quiet again as they continued to skim their journals. Darcy went into the strong room again and returned with a leather folio with a few papers sticking out. This, he sat on the desk as he began to scan the contents.
“I found the letter where she lambastes her ‘fool of a husband’ for appointing Father as Anne’s guardian and complains about Rosings being left to Anne. In it, she mentions Anne’s being ‘too unwell’ to be the mistress of the estate, yet in the next paragraph, she proclaims that she will do well when she takescontrol of Pemberley as its mistress. There is another letter with it—I would presume that Father pointed out that inconsistency to her, and she did not appreciate his doing so. She is rather … colourful … in her language to him.”
Elizabeth looked up from the journal she was reading. “Your father found it odd that Anne was sick each time he visited. He questioned her about this several times, he says, on his last visit to Rosings but had to cut his visit short when he became very ill with some sort of stomach ailment. This was not long before you returned from Cambridge, William.”
“The doctors believed he had some sort of ulcer or cancer of the stomach. They were uncertain what aggravated it; I never knew the illness started at Rosings,” Darcy replied.
Everyone was quiet for several moments. It was Anne who broke the silence, blurting out, “I think Mother uses a tonic to keep me sick, so I cannot insist upon her allowing me to do more. I would feel better, but the moment I defied her on anything, she insisted I needed my tonic to calm me down. I had no intention of travelling to Pemberley, but she ensured I drank it frequently on the journey here. However, with Mrs. Jenkinson spending most of her time in her room and without Mother ordering me to drink it, I have felt much stronger and healthier.”
Lord Matlock looked at his niece in concern. “Do you know what is in this tonic? Do you have it with you?”
“Mrs. Jenkinson likely has it with her. And no, Mother did not think I needed to know what it contained. “
Darcy frowned at this. His poor cousin had been sorely used by her mother. “Anne, with this will and the letters Father kept, it is certain that Rosings is yours. By withholding your inheritance,she has, in essence, stolen from you. I must investigate further because surely my father would have done something to protect your inheritance. Uncle, when you return to London, can you aid Anne in doing what is necessary to claim the estate?”
“I will, Darcy, and I will deal with my sister while we are at it. She is guilty of theft and likely of deliberately making her daughter ill. I am concerned, however, that she somehow brought about her husband’s death and that she might have hastened your father’s. He was not well before he went to Rosings that year, but I wonder if she attempted to give him something to stop him from asking questions, and it exacerbated his condition. To openly accuse her of such would be to invite scandal, and I am unwilling to do that.”
Darcy paled, as did Anne. “You cannot …” Anne said after a moment. “Do you believe Mother somehow killed Papa?” Darcy felt sick.
“I cannot prove anything conclusively; it is merely a supposition based on what I have heard here today. A person who would give her daughter ‘medicine’ to keep her ill cannot be above doing the same to her husband. Perhaps, though, she gave him too much. It is only a guess, and I doubt Catherine would admit to it.” Lord Matlock sighed heavily before continuing. “Anne, your father left your mother her jointure in the will and nothing else. That would give her approximately one thousand pounds per annum. Setting her up in a cottage with several servants would be enough. Given the nature of what we have learned today, I suggest she be sent to the Outer Hebrides or somewhere equally distant.”
“I do not have to allow her to live in the dower house?” Anne asked.
“You do not. She has her jointure, and that will see her provided for. Perhaps not how she prefers, but it will be enough.”
Those gathered in the study had spent a further half hour discussing Lady Catherine’s fate before Lady Matlock sought them out. After learning of her sister-in-law’s actions, her anger surpassed any level her son or nephew had witnessed. That lady nearly demanded her husband go to the inn immediately to inform his sister they knew what she had done. Despite her distaste for scandal, she was ready to prosecute Lady Catherine to the fullest extent of the law. While the prospect of seeing Lady Catherine in Newgate might offer satisfaction, the family agreed that condemning her to a life in exile would likely be the greater punishment.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Several hours later, a note arrived from Lord Matlock addressed to Darcy. As soon as he began to read, however, he immediately called for his wife, aunt, and cousin to join him.
“Uncle James and Richard will travel with Lady Catherine to the estate in Wales. It is a close enough distance from Matlock that someone can easily check on her when necessary and they will hire staff there to keep an eye on her. Should she attempt to leave, she will forfeit any remaining funds from her and face prosecution. Uncle believes her decade-long appropriation of Rosings’ income undoubtedly constituted a charge of theft, not to mention potential additional allegations arising should there be an inquiry into the deaths of Sir Lewis de Bourgh and George Darcy. While they may not be able to prove she had done anything to either man, the mere suggestion of such would ruin the de Bourgh name and prevent anyone from seeking to assist her,” Darcy told them.
“She is going willingly?” Lady Matlock inquired.
“Not exactly,” came the response. “Uncle told her she did not have a choice and threatened her with either this or Bedlam aftershe ranted about how Pemberley ought to have been hers in the first place and how she deserved to keep Rosings as well for ‘putting up with’ Sir Lewis. Richard came in and made allusions to what we discovered about her poisoning Anne and possibly others, and well, she did not exactly deny the claims.”
This confirmation of what they had deduced from the journals made everyone stop for a moment. The silence grew heavy, and finally Darcy broke it by saying: “It would seem that Lady Catherine did not intend to kill my father, but her tonic did hasten his demise.” His tone was devoid of emotion.
Elizabeth stood behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders in support. Darcy reciprocated by covering one of hers, and they exchanged a brief glance. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly as he attempted to recover his equanimity. “I had just finished university and returned home to find Father ill. He could still speak, and we spent hours discussing Pemberley, at least when he was not sleeping. I spoke to the steward, the tenants, and anyone concerned about my father during the day, then spent hours in the evening sitting with him as he told me all he could. I vaguely recall him mentioning something about his journals, but we never discussed Rosings except for him advising me not to marry Anne.” He cast a sympathetic glance at his cousin, and she returned it with a sad smile.
“He warned me about Lady Catherine, but I believed it had to do with her claim that Mother arranged our marriage, not because he believed my aunt was drugging people. It took years for me to feel as though I had things under control, though I still dutifully visited Rosings each Easter and exchanged letters with the steward in between. That first year, I had to replace the stewards at both Rosings and Pemberley, though thankfully, I had under-stewards in both places, making the transition smoother. Frasertook over easily here when old Mr. Wickham died, and the transition at Rosings was simple. However, it was not always perfect, and I spent nearly as much time on Rosings’s business as I did on Pemberley’s. Uncle provided some assistance, visiting Kent on my behalf after the harvest for a year or two, but still, it was all overwhelming. I never read Father’s journals unless I sought something specific, but that was rare.”
“You had much to contend with that first year or two,” Lady Matlock agreed. “It is disturbing that the letters your father sent your uncle never arrived, but if he sent them from Rosings, I can easily imagine Catherine tearing them up. Your father was a good man, but it may not have occurred to him that if Catherine was capable of poisoning her daughter, she was equally capable of destroying a letter.”
“Speaking of that, we have discovered my missing messenger and the letters I sent informing those at Pemberley of my arrival. The young messenger took ill along the way and turned up a little while ago, much recovered. He was very apologetic, but apparently, it did not occur to him to let anyone know or to send the letters to anyone else. I am not upset about the letters, but we have been most concerned about the messenger since no one knew where he was. I have also had a report from Netherfield about how Miss Bingley obtained my letters,” Darcy informed the group.
“I have not heard from Bingley again after that first letter. He intended to go to Scarborough immediately after he departed from Pemberley, but perhaps it was fortunate he remained long enough to hear Lady Catherine’s plans and inform us. However, I do not know what his plans are after that or when he will return,” Darcy finished.
“Jane was saddened by this second departure,” Elizabeth said quietly.
Darcy took her hand and squeezed it. “Come, we should all join the others. There is little we can do for the moment, and your sisters will not remain at Pemberley much longer.”
They all stood and began to exit the study. Darcy held Elizabeth back for a few moments. “I am pleased that we have had family to visit, especially given all that we have had to deal with over the last few days, but I am looking forward to the day they all depart. I find that I am looking forward to having you all to myself for a month or two.”
Elizabeth grinned at him. “Then, should we retire early tonight, my love?” she teased.
Darcy pulled her into an embrace. “Yes, my dear. You are clearly very, very tired.” Her giggle was cut off when he kissed her.
