Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
“What a perfectly dreadful notion,” declared Lady Matlock.
Lord Matlock was surprised. “We need to protect both her and the babe.”
“So you will put her in prison? I hear Newgate is rather secure. Shall we ask her to have her child there?”
The earl looked at his wife with his mouth open.
Lady Matlock continued to speak. “A confinement is a very delicate time for a lady, and in this case, the lady is scarcely more than a girl, a few years older than Georgiana. Would you have someone send our niece off to the country for the birth of a child, alone save for some hulking soldier to watch over her? No. She requires another lady, someone experienced in such matters.”
“A companion could—”
Lady Matlock made a sound of disgust. “Not some hired lady! She needs family, someone who is a comfort to her. Her mother, perhaps? To send the poor thing to the country alone when she grieves for her husband is utter cruelty. I am surprised you would support such a thing, James.”
Lord Matlock kept to himself the fact that he had conceived the scheme. “We shall refine the plan a bit. I shall see what I can do.”
A day later, the solution was in hand.
Lady Matlock accompanied her husband to Towton Hall, the London town home of the Courtenays, where she made the acquaintance of the young lady of whom she had heard much. Given the sensitivity of the matter, it was decided a lady’s hand might be needed, and the countess was glad to be of use.
Observation of mere seconds convinced her of the lady’s genuine grief over her loss, and Lady Matlock soon concluded that, unless the girl was a remarkably skilled actress, she could have had nothing to do with the assassination of her husband.
The poor dear was nearly in a stupor of sorrow as she listened silently to the arrangements that had been made for her.
Since the investigation had led to the happy news that Mrs Gardiner, Lady Courtenay’s aunt and the wife of a tradesman, was also increasing, it had been decided that Lady Courtenay and Mrs Gardiner would be sent to the country for the birth of their children.
From there, if Lady Courtenay gave birth to a daughter, she would return to town—or wherever she wished to go—to remain under the close protection of men of the Home Guards while Mr Francis Warren and his band of traitors were pursued.
The earldom of Courtenay would then be no more, assuming the traitors met their just end.
If, however, Lady Courtenay delivered a male child, he would be the next earl and require the highest level of protection.
To hide him from his uncle and any others who sought to corrupt or kill him, it would be reported that Mrs Gardiner had given birth to twins who would reside in Cheapside while their cousin, young Miss Elizabeth Bennet, returned to Hertfordshire, having assisted her aunt through her confinement.
Upon leaving Towton Hall, Lady Matlock voiced her concerns for this plan as well.
“Surely, you do not think Lady Courtenay will be able to pass herself off as a maiden in Hertfordshire among friends and relations who have known her since she was a babe! They all knew of her marriage, did they not? It is more than six months since then.”
“They do know, of course,” Lord Matlock admitted. “Villages of that size cannot help but induce intimacy among its inhabitants. Furthermore, my understanding is that her mother, Mrs Bennet, was rather proud of Lady Courtenay’s elevation to the peerage and spoke of it often.
“Naturally, the best way to manage it would be simply to hide her away in Scotland or somewhere remote.
However, given her youth and inexperience as a mother, such a scheme would be too cruel and unjust. So a plan has been formed that will, in essence, hide her in plain sight.
We shall depend upon the good citizens of Hertfordshire—who, by all reports, uniformly esteem her—to aid us in this cause.
“Parliament will pass a decree mandating the concealment of her identity.
Neither Elizabeth nor any of her acquaintance will be permitted to so much as mention the Courtenay name.
To speak of any connexion of that family to her will be considered treasonous as it could endanger both Elizabeth and the young earl, and it will be dealt with accordingly.
“The people of Hertfordshire are her friends and relations. They would surely not wish to place her in danger. The insignificance of these people—they do not, by and large, go to London, nor do they see many strangers—is to our benefit. They are far enough from the London road that there is no cause for outsiders to travel through the town. It is not a perfect plan, but it is the best we can do, short of causing further pain to Lady Courtenay and the child.”
Lady Matlock sighed dubiously. “What of these Gardiners? They live near Cheapside! Hardly an area of town suitable for the rearing of a young earl.”
“We have investigated the Gardiners and see nothing objectionable in their doings.
Their home is fine, and the family is prosperous and well mannered.
It will surely be no more than a few months, and the earl will be a babe in a nursery.
It cannot matter whether that nursery is in Cheapside or Carlton House.
“Furthermore,” the earl explained, “anyone seeking out what remains of the Courtenay family will be looking for a mother and her son. In separating them, we disguise their identities. A young boy in an undistinguished area of town will be more easily overlooked, as will a young, unmarried lady living in the country.”
“And once all the instigators have been dealt with? Will she resume her life as a dowager countess or remain as Miss Elizabeth Bennet?”
“This is where you will come in, my dear.” Lord Matlock smiled at his wife.
“If Lady Courtenay successfully delivers an heir, it will be paramount to see her married—and married well—to a gentleman of consequence from a good family with unquestioned loyalty to the monarchy. To have such extensive property and large fortune in the hands of some young country girl of whom nothing is known is not ideal. Such a girl could perhaps be persuaded by rogues or reprobates to raise her son to espouse a revolutionary creed. She is at loose ends now and will require the guidance of the right sort of husband to maintain the Courtenay name properly.”
The earl sighed and shook his head. “These widows one sees about town… If there can be a greater argument for the fact that a lady requires a gentleman’s hand to keep her steady, I know not what it might be. These widows can be nigh unto wanton if the reports I hear at my club are true.”
Lady Matlock rolled her eyes. “Might I mention that if you are hearing these stories at your club, the gentlemen speaking them are equally guilty of poor behaviour?”
Lord Matlock chuckled. “Just so. In any case, Lady Courtenay will require a husband post-haste for the benefit of her son, assistance with the lands and fortune over which she has control, and to keep her in hand. She is only eighteen, as you have so noted.”
“Have I been distinguished as a matchmaker for her?”
The earl nodded. “Only the best, my dear, can be entrusted with so important a mission.”