Page 60 of A Different Impression

Over the next hour, the accountant compared the two sets of records. A clear pattern soon emerged: the steward had under-reported the estate’s production while inflating the costs of seed, supplies, and repairs to the tenants’ cottages. He appeared to have begun with modest sums before gradually increasing the amount when his deception went unnoticed.

Darcy shook his head. “I do not understand how my aunt could have remained blind to this. He concealed the genuine accounts, but he did not destroy them. Did he truly believe no one would ever search this office? Or could Lady Catherine have known what he was doing?”

Mr Edwards nodded in response. “I have dealt with Lady Catherine a few times through the years,” he said, his tone resigned. “She would never believe that anyone could take advantage of her. A sufficiently deferential manner and a liberal application of flattery might easily have prevented her from looking too closely at the accounts.”

Elizabeth moved behind her husband and gently rubbed his temples. “We now possess evidence of the theft, my love. The magistrate can have the man brought in for questioning, and Mr Edwards can determine what charges should be pursued.”

By the following evening, Anne’s suspicions regarding the butler and housekeeper had also been confirmed. The local magistrate had committed all three former servants to gaol pending further proceedings, and Lord Matlock, informed by express of what had been discovered, assured Darcy that he would act on Anne’s behalf to ensure that the charges were pursued.

While Darcy and Mr Edwards addressed the legal matters, Elizabeth worked with Mrs Jones and a senior maid to compile a list of the ornate furnishings Lady Catherine had purchased with estate funds. With Anne’s permission, Mr Gardiner would be asked to sell them, and the proceeds would be used to replenish Rosings’s accounts and improve the neglected tenants’ cottages.

As Darcy watched Elizabeth confer with Mrs Jones over the inventory, he felt the first stirrings of hope. Rosings had been neglected and exploited, but it was not beyond repair—and, for the first time in his life, he would not have to shoulder such a burden alone.

Once the most pressing business had been settled, Darcy turned his attention to Lady Catherine’s correspondence. He opened each letter in turn, setting aside those of a personal nature to examine later. Then he recognised a familiar hand upon one of the remaining missives. He broke the seal at once and began to read.

Lady Catherine,

I am certain you are unaware of the scandal your niece has nearly caused due to the lack of proper oversight by your nephew. This past summer, Darcy allowed Georgiana to be compromised by a fortune hunter, and the girl nearly eloped, which would have brought shame upon your entire family in the worst way. He has taken up with a trollop of the worst sort, and the little chit has coerced him into agreeing to marry her. You must act quickly, my lady, to prevent such a woman from becoming your niece and ruining your own plans for having your nephew as your son-in-law. You will find him staying at Netherfield Park in Hertfordshire, near Meryton. The chit is the cousin of your parson, and her presence would most definitely pollute the shades of Pemberley forever.

Sincerely,

A concerned friend

Darcy swore under his breath as he finished reading, drawing Elizabeth to his side. He handed her the letter before sitting at the desk to write to Colonel Fitzwilliam. If sent by express, his note should reach London before the day was out.

“Are you certain of this course, William?” Elizabeth asked as she continued reading. “Might the consequences be worse if he remains in England?”

“The agreement Wickham signed in Meryton required him never again to speak against the Darcy family. In return, I agreed not to execute the writ for his arrest, provided he fulfilled that and the other conditions. The date on this letter proves he has violated our agreement.” Darcy’s pen moved swiftly across the page. “If Richard receives my note before Wickham departs for Portugal, the writ will be executed. I have no doubt that several other creditors will bring forward their own claims once he is arrested.”

“But what of the accusations he might spread from prison?”

“Anything he says against my family will be recognised as retaliation and given little credence. Moreover, his opportunities to spread such tales will be considerably restricted.”

Elizabeth slowly folded Wickham’s letter. Darcy watched her, uncertain whether she wholly approved of his decision, but she offered no further objection.

“He was given one final opportunity to escape the consequences of his actions,” she said at last. “He chose to squander it.”

Richard’s reply arrived the following day. Darcy’s express had reached him before Wickham departed for the coast, and the writ had been executed at once. Several other creditors had already come forward, ensuring that Wickham would not soon regain his freedom. Darcy read the news with relief rather than satisfaction. He had given his former friend every opportunity to escape such a fate; Wickham had chosen otherwise.

CHAPTER 26

The Bishop Investigates

Afew days after Darcy sent his letter to Bishop Allen of Rochester, within whose diocese Hunsford lay, the man himself arrived at Rosings. He had already spent two days in the village observing Mr Collins and speaking with his parishioners. The account he gave Darcy confirmed everything he had suspected—and revealed that the situation was even worse than he had imagined.

According to the bishop, Mr Collins was thoroughly despised by his parishioners. Since his appointment in June, his interminable sermons had been written by Lady Catherine, and he had proudly displayed them to the bishop as evidence of her so-called guidance. From Mr Collins’s own boastful remarks, Bishop Allen inferred that the rector spent nearly all his time at Rosings, neglecting the needs of his parish, and repeating every confidence entrusted to him to Lady Catherine. His conversations with the parishioners had confirmed that impression. Several had even remarked that Collins appeared to hold Lady Catherine’s opinions in greater reverence than the teachings of the Church.

Darcy had expected Bishop Allen to be displeased. He had not anticipated the depth of the man’s disgust.

“I am astounded that such a man could ever have been admitted to holy orders, much less judged fit to hold a benefice with the cure of souls,” the bishop declared. “I intend to discover who examined him for ordination and how my own examining chaplain judged him sufficient when he was presented to Hunsford. I relied upon that judgement when I instituted him. Plainly, I should not have.”

Elizabeth placed the late Sir Lewis’s will and the accompanying estate papers before him. Bishop Allen read the relevant provisions twice before looking up.

“This appears to settle not only Rosings but the advowson of Hunsford upon Miss de Bourgh from her twenty-fifth birthday,” he said. “If these documents are valid, Lady Catherine possessed no right to present Mr Collins for the living.”

“Then his appointment is invalid?” Darcy asked.

“His presentation may be challenged, but I cannot simply order him from the living.” Bishop Allen drew a folded memorandum from his pocket. “Before leaving Rochester, I instructed my chancellor to examine the diocesan register. The previous incumbent died on the third of June, and Mr Collins was instituted on the twenty-eighth. Lady Catherine’s presentation identified her as the lawful patron, and no contrary claim or caveat was lodged.”