Netherfield Park Quarantined (14 page)
Read Netherfield Park Quarantined Online
Authors: Melanie Schertz
room for my valet to come as well?” Bingley inquired.
“Of course. I have also sent word to Mr Gardiner, informing him of Mr
Phillips’ murder. I have also asked him to hire some men to come here and
guard our home. After we are finished with this meeting, I would appreciate
Mr Hill and one of the stable hands to speak with all of our tenants, inform
them of what is happening and to be on guard for anything suspicious.”
Mrs Phillips had been silent through the entire discussion until this
point. “Mr Bennet, do you know who killed my husband? I know he had a
meeting with someone wishing to see the contracts Mr Darcy signed for his
marriage to Lizzy. Does that have anything to do with my husband’s murder?”
“Unfortunately, I believe it does. I believe the people behind your
husband’s death are Mr Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and my
cousin, Mr Collins. Neither is pleased with Mr Darcy and Lizzy marrying, and I
do not trust either of them.”
“But Mr Collins was to marry Lizzy.” Mrs Bennet cried out. “Then we
would be secure when your time comes. He was devastated when he learned
she had married Mr Darcy. He is a clergyman though, how could you believe
he would be party to murder?”
“My cousin is not of sound mind. He may have been a silly and
ridiculous man before the epidemic, but his mind has been damaged by the
results of the high fever he had for so long. And we know he is devoted to his
patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. If she told him to throw himself off a
cliff, he would most likely do it.”
them. I will do what I can to protect them, as well.” Mrs Phillips stated.
“I am grateful, Sister.” Mr Bennet sighed. “And I know they appreciate
your support.”
Wickham yet?” Bingley asked.
“The last I heard from Darcy was they had discovered Wickham was
heading to Liverpool. He and his cousin were on their way. But there has
been no word since then.”
“I will pray, Brother, for Mr Darcy and his cousin, and for Miss Darcy and
Lizzy. If we stand aside and do nothing, evil will run free about the world.”
Mrs Phillips said. “And I know the men who killed my husband did not find
what they were looking for, as my husband was highly intelligent. He had
three secure places where he would keep important papers. And I am aware
of where the documents pertaining to the Darcys are kept.”
“And I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.” Mr Bennet said
as he took hold of his sister in law’s hand. “It is vital you stay protected. And,
as a precaution, I feel it is wise if we do not receive anyone for the time being.
I know there will be people come to pay their respects to you, but it would be
an easy access for the killers to come for you.”
“I do not wish to see anyone at this time, Bennet.” Mrs Phillips dabbed
at her eyes with her already soaked handkerchief. Mr Bennet pulled his from
his pocket and handed it to his sister in law. “I want a private service to be
held for Geoffrey, and, if you will approve, may he be buried here, at
Longbourn?”
“Years ago, your husband and I spoke of our final wishes. He spoke of
wishing to be buried with family, as he had none of his own. I promised him
that there would be room for him and you in our family plot. You will both be
amongst loved ones always.”
The room where the trunk had been taken was plain, as it had been
made clear to Wickham the need to isolate Elizabeth from being able to
escape. There were no windows, only one door, and inside the room was a
bed, a small table, two chairs, and a fireplace. No fire had been lit, leaving a
chill in the room. The trunk was unlocked and Wickham reached inside to lift
Elizabeth from it.
Her wound had taken an infection, and, with very little food and drink
during the journey, Elizabeth had become quite ill. Mrs Younge was
concerned with regards to their captive’s health. “What will happen if she
dies?”
“We cannot think that way.” Wickham said. “We only need to keep her
alive until he gets here. Once he is here, we are no longer responsible for her
care.”
Mr Wickham thought for a moment. “He is supposed to arrive a week
after us. How is our other guest? Is she well?”
“Weak, she needs food and drink. Otherwise, she will be well. I cannot
lift her from the trunk by myself though, I need your assistance.” Mrs Younge
replied.
“Very well. Come with me, and bring some hot water for Miss Darcy to
clean herself up a little. I will speak to the cook, have her fix something filling
that will aid in reviving everyone. If this one does not improve, we may
require an apothecary.”
cleaning. I do not want to be a servant, when we will soon be so wealthy.”
“Just assist me with tending to our guests for a little longer, and then we
begin our new life, my dearest.” Wickham smiled sweetly at his cohort,
knowing Mrs Younge could never refuse him anything when he smiled so.
Lady Matlock stated as she entered her husband’s study, unannounced.
“Has something happened? Is someone hurt?” Lord Matlock was
shocked at his wife’s behavior, and believed an emergency had happened.
“Hopefully not, though if they have been, it is your doing. You and your
sister, I should say.”
clearly of what you mean. What has happened?”
Lady Matlock held out her hand, a letter was clinched in her fingers. “I
received this express from my second son today. Please, please, tell me you
had nothing to do with our niece being abducted. And William’s wife was
abducted by the same man. Richard and William are in pursuit of the villain,
praying they are able to retrieve Elizabeth and Georgiana. Oh, and two men
attempted to force William into a sanitarium. Fortunately, Richard was able
to rescue our nephew and made it clear to the men that they had best forget
what their employer had said with regards to William’s stability. Please tell
me you had nothing to do with all of this. It has become clear your sister has
been paying George Wickham for abducting Georgiana, and then Elizabeth.”
“Nonsense. Why would Catherine do something such as that? She
would never endanger Georgiana’s safety, and I cannot see her putting the
Bennet girl in danger either. Catherine is more the sort to attempt to pay the
fortune hunter off.” Lord Matlock stated.
“Well, if it was not Catherine who has given Wickham the money to
travel from London to Liverpool, and then go by ship to Dublin, tell me who
has been paying him. Was it you? Have you lost your mind? Why are you
behaving so poorly with regards to William?”
“I have nothing but Darcy’s best interest in mind. He is ill, and can no
longer care for himself, Georgiana, or the estates. And this country chit, this
fortune hunting nobody, has taken advantage of our dear nephew during this
time of illness. I side with Catherine to protect Darcy and Georgiana from this
chit.”
“Your sister is the biggest fool of them all. She is angry over Darcy’s
choice of a wife. She demanded he marry Anne for so many years, and, due to
his refusal to comply, she is in a fury. She is creating false information, making
you believe her lies. And that imbecile clergyman of hers is the one with fever
damage to his mind, not William. He was never betrothed to Elizabeth. Her
mother suggested it, and desired the match, but Elizabeth’s father would not
hear of it. He knows what a ridiculous fool the man is, and Mr Bennet, when
he thought he was going to die, asked William to marry Elizabeth to protect
her. As William already loved Elizabeth, and had planned to ask for her hand,
he agreed, knowing that if Mr Bennet had died before they married, Mrs
Bennet would force a marriage between her least favorite daughter and the
clergyman. There is a special license, the contracts were all legally done, and
all involved were of sound mind when all of it came about.”
to believe his sister would deceive him so badly.
“Both William and Richard have told me the information. You know I
correspond with William on a regular basis, and he speaks freely with me. I
cannot wait to meet Elizabeth, I plan to welcome her as my niece, no matter
what you and your sister say. William loves his wife. There is no reason for
an annulment, and there is nothing wrong with William’s mind. It is your
jealous sister who is behind the lies. Mr Collins only added fuel to the fire and
increased Catherine’s delusions.”
“But I know she has claimed our sister wished the marriage between
Anne and Darcy, that she and Catherine had planned the union of their
children since they were born. Darcy has never openly denied the
attachment.”
Lady Matlock shook her head. “Henry, Anne and Catherine were not
close. Truth be told, Anne never could stand your elder sister. You know that
Anne and I were the best of friends. If there had ever been an arrangement for
William and Anne to marry, would not your sister tell her dearest friend? And
William has denied the arrangement, but Catherine has refused to accept the
truth. The only thing the poor boy has not done was take out an ad in the
papers saying he was not engaged to Anne de Bourgh. That would have
humiliated Catherine into retaliating if he had done such.”
Lord Matlock stood and walked over to the sideboard, pouring himself a
glass of brandy. He offered one to his wife, who declined. Once he returned to
his chair, Lord Matlock took a sip from his glass before he continued. “Are you
completely sure Darcy is well? Are you sure he has not permanently damaged
from the fever he contracted in Hertfordshire?”
“I have told you, but I will do so again. Fitzwilliam Darcy is as sane and
healthy as I am. The fever did nothing to his mind, and he actually smiles
when he speaks of his wife. You might not have noticed it, but I did. He is
devastated at the moment. How would you feel if I had been stolen away from
you, whisked away to another country, because your sister did not approve of
me to be your wife?”
Taking another sip, Lord Matlock looked down at his desk. Finally, he
looked up at his wife. “May I read the letters you have received from our
nephew? I wish to know all that you do, so I might better judge for myself.”
“Of course, I will have my maid bring them down. I was prepared for
you to ask and have them already gathered together.” Lady Matlock smiled
sweetly. She knew her husband would see the truth when he read their
nephew’s words, his description of the love he felt for the young lady. She
stepped to the door and asked the nearby footman to send for her lady’s maid.
Within a half hour, Lord Matlock was seated at his desk, reading the
letters Darcy had written to Lady Matlock. Tears welled in the man’s eyes as
he read the words of love, of the admission from Darcy of how lonely he had
been since his father’s death, how empty he felt until he met Elizabeth Bennet.
None of the young ladies of society came close to the impertinent, witty,
intelligent and beautiful young lady from Hertfordshire. There was no
pretense in the young lady, she did not care about his money or property, she
only wished for his heart.
For over two hours, Lady Matlock watched the emotions flowing over
her husband’s features. The smile and small chuckles at the tales of
Elizabeth’s behavior after William’s foolish words at the assembly, the tears
for the pain he admitted to having suffered without ever turning to his family,
the admiration for the way William described his wife, including the sparkle in
her eyes when she teased him.
The anguish that flowed through Lord Matlock when he read of
Elizabeth’s devotion to her husband when he took ill, her refusal to leave his
side, how he woke after the fever broke to her napping at the side of his bed.
It was clear that William’s words showed that he was the same as he had ever
been mentally, only now, he knew what it was like to be truly loved and
desired for himself, not what he was.
“What a fool I have been. I must speak to Catherine, convince her that
we were mistaken. She must be stopped from her behavior. I knew nothing
about her hiring Wickham, or having him abduct Georgiana and Darcy’s wife.
I would never have allowed her to do such a thing. And Collins, he knows how
to spin a tale to make himself convincing.”
“Perhaps it would be wise for us to journey towards Ireland. I believe
Richard and William will need all the support they can find in retrieving the
ladies.”
“Yes, I agree with you. My being there, using my influence to
countermand my sister’s orders, may be of assistance to our nephew. Besides,
I know the location of the small estate Sir Lewis owned some twenty miles
from Dublin. Shall we leave in the morning?”
the trip.
In the carriage, making the final leg of his journey to his future, William
Collins was quite pleased with how things were turning out.
When he became ordained, and was made a generous offer by Lady
Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Collins knew his life was improving. After his
father’s death, he knew he was the heir to his cousin’s estate, and, though it
was nothing in comparison to the likes of Rosings Park, it would be his own
estate, allowing him to be a gentleman.
His visit to Longbourn was not as he had planned. It was his intension
to find a bride from his cousin’s five daughters. When Mr Collins arrived, the
eldest two daughters were staying at Netherfield. Then the epidemic broke
out. Mr Bennet became ill, and, after he was moved to the makeshift hospital,
Mrs Bennet became nervous. It was then that the lady agreed to see that
Elizabeth married him as soon as possible. Mrs Bennet admitted that her
eldest daughter, Jane, was the prettiest, but she claimed there was soon to be
an engagement between Jane and Mr Bingley. Mr Collins also learned of Mrs
Bennet’s dislike of her second eldest daughter.
