Chapter 12
Dear Mr. Darcy,
I must thank you again for the opportunity you provided in recommending me to Miss de Bourgh as her personal solicitor. My daughter Cassandra and I find ourselves very content in our quarters here at Rosings Hall.
As you anticipated, it was necessary to discharge a number of household servants who refused to accept Miss de Bourgh’s authority, including the butler, three footmen and the head chef.
All are now serving Lady Catherine in the Dower House and have not caused any additional trouble.
Somewhat to my surprise, the housekeeper accepted the change with enthusiasm, and her respectful veneration of Miss de Bourgh has been of great assistance with the female staff.
The new steward, Mr. Cluett, is both sensible and knowledgeable, and we work very well together. There is some regrettable decay across the estate from indolence and poor management, but we will set it to rights in time.
The contract for felling wood was declared null and void since Lady Catherine had no legal right to make such an arrangement.
Regrettably, the lumber company in question sent a group of men who attempted to begin felling the wood regardless, no doubt in the hope that Miss de Bourgh would be bullied into accepting the document as written.
I worked with several local men to stop the woodcutters and only three trees were lost. There was some initial concern by the local magistrate regarding minor injuries on the part of the woodcutters at my hands, but legally they had no right to be on Rosings land.
The magistrate quickly recognized that my actions were entirely appropriate.
Respectfully,
Mr. Alexander Martyn
/
October 3rd, 1817
Dear Elizabeth,
I hope this letter finds you and your family well.
I know it begins to grow cold in Derbyshire in October, which is one reason I prefer the warmer climate of Kent.
I am also aware that you are a vigorous woman who enjoys striding through the frigid rains and chill winds of Pemberley land, and I trust that you are finding great pleasure in this new season.
I am doing well. No, that is not strong enough a word.
I am marvelously happy. Mr. Alexander Martyn is a miracle worker, and I cannot thank Mr. Collins enough for his suggestion on that score.
For the first time in my life, I feel that Rosings is truly my home.
No longer am I bullied and dominated by my mother and, realistically, by the servants.
I daresay the latter sounds incredible, but when Mother controlled everything, I was unable to give orders to upper level servants since they would run to Lady Catherine and twist my words so that I was scolded.
I am free at last.
As for my mother, she is ensconced at the Dower House, and I have not seen her in a month. In time, perhaps I will visit her, but for now there is much to do and learn, and I know that if I attend to her, she will merely screech and howl.
Perhaps I should not tell this tale but I will, dear Elizabeth; six weeks ago, shortly after we returned from Pemberley, my mother entered the house and began haranguing me.
I ordered her to leave and she refused, whereupon Mr. Martyn literally picked her up and carried her out to her carriage, shut her in, and ordered my mother’s coachman, John Seymour, to convey her back to the Dower House.
I watched the interaction with some concern, since the man is loyal to my mother.
Apparently, one look at my mighty champion, with his blazing blue eyes and muscular arms, was enough to convince Seymour that discretion was the better part of valor!
He drove Lady Catherine away, and as I said, I have not seen her since.
I have some concerns about Mr. Ware, the rector who replaced Mr. Collins.
The man was installed at Hunsford after I attained the age of five and twenty, and thus Lady Catherine did not have the right to give him the living.
I hesitate to take away the livelihood of the man, but while he is outwardly charming, I instinctively distrust him.
I intend to write Darcy on the subject as well but appreciate any thoughts you have on this matter.
With much love,
Anne de Bourgh
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January 18th, 1818
Dear Mr. Cluett,
… by all means, institute the four course system for the estate at Rosings.
It was sheer idiocy to disdain modern farming methods in the past, but then Lady Catherine is idiotic in her own way.
I will send a letter to Mr. Coke of Norfolk, and I recommend that you visit his estate there for a few days; the climate is quite similar to Kent, and Mr. Coke is a truly brilliant agriculturist. We have enjoyed a most pleasant correspondence these last years, and he is always willing to share his knowledge with others.
Sincerely,
William Collins
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February 28th, 1818
My dear Anne,
Thank you for your kind letter of two weeks ago.
Elizabeth is somewhat uncomfortable from the new pregnancy, but she is well enough.
We are delighted and will gladly welcome either a son or a daughter.
I do ask for your prayers that this delivery goes better than the last one.
It is a source of great comfort that we have Mr. Collins on hand, as the man certainly saved our William’s life when the little lad was born with such difficulty.
I sometimes wonder if Princess Charlotte could have been saved if she had had Mr. Collins to assist her, but alas, we will never know.
Mr. Alexander Martyn and I have been corresponding regarding Mr. Ware, the current rector at Hunsford. We arranged for an investigator to probe his former life and there are indeed grave concerns about his character.
Only three days ago, I had a tête-à-tête with Mr. William Collins on the subject, and Collins is of the view that you have the moral right, and indeed responsibility, to remove the man from his post as the spiritual leader at Hunsford.
You know that Mr. Collins; before he fortuitously struck his head, fell unconscious, and awoke a genius; was a foolish man, yet he was not, at least, a villain.
If Mr. Ware were merely a dolt, it might be considered dishonorable to remove him from his position.
However, he is, according to our investigators, a complete rogue.
I have not met Mr. Ware, of course, but based on the reports of his character, he reminds me of George Wickham, the son of my father’s steward.
Wickham was an extremely attractive man with an ability to flatter almost anyone, but he was a miscreant and a vile seducer.
In the same way, it seems Mr. Ware was able to charm Lady Catherine into giving him the living when he most definitely ought not to be a clergyman.
I have no wish to sully your mind and heart with details, but Mr. Ware is not a good individual.
I hope you will not take this ill, dear cousin; please do not allow yourself to be alone with the man.
If you wish to be rid of him, tell Mr. Martyn, and he will deal most competently with the matter.
I am quite certain that Mr. Collins and I can find an excellent parson to replace him, but we await your decision on the matter. You are the mistress of Rosings.
God’s blessings,
Fitzwilliam Darcy
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March 8th, 1818
Dear Darcy,
You will not believe who was vomited onto England’s shores recently! George Wickham!
My naval friend, Captain Swithin, sent me a letter that the Southern Star was in port and that Wickham was back after two stints of duty under Swithin’s command.
I sought Wickham out near the Deptford Dockyards at The Wild Boar, a thoroughly grimy drinking establishment appreciated by sailors and their ilk.
I will be honest and say I barely recognized Wickham; gone is the swaggering, indolent, faux gentleman of old – he is missing several teeth, his skin is swarthy, his forehead and eyes wrinkled from squinting into the sun, and his slim figure now substantially bulked up.
All the same he is alive, and I confess to some surprise at that; I more or less expected him to expire on or off some faraway shore.
He recognized me with ease, but then I have not changed as much, I suppose. He was rather wary, as he should be. After all, some seven years ago I press ganged him and thrust him into the less than benevolent oversight of His Majesty’s Navy.
I confess that given his rumpled appearance, I find myself much more charitable toward the man.
His captain says he is an intelligent individual.
There was, of course, never any doubt of that – the problem was the way the ruffian used said intelligence!
Aboard the Southern Star, he quickly learned that the only way to survive and thrive was to work hard and, after a flogging or two, he submitted to the inevitable.
Captain Swithin says he is actually a competent sailor now.
I warned Wickham not to approach you or any of our family begging for money, but he seemed genuinely disinclined to do so; indeed, I gathered that the sooner I left him in peace, the better!
I must congratulate you again on your firmness many years ago, when you set me loose on Wickham. Or perhaps I should congratulate your Mr. Collins, who spurred you to action.
By the way, I will be on leave soon and plan for a visit to Pemberley; I do hope your domestic responsibilities have not led you to neglect the trout stream. I am eager to catch a prize fish.
Sincerely,
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam
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March 21st, 1818
Hunsford Parsonage
Kent
Mr. Gabriel Ware, former rector of Hunsford, sat silently in his study in the parsonage, a glass of rum in his hand and rage in his heart.