Chapter 12 #2
“I agree with Richard; we will need to wait until he lifts his head above ground again. Now how do we help Anna?” Darcy queried.
“Certainly not by indulging her and allowing her to wallow in her self-pity,” Lady Matlock said firmly.
“You, William, are partially to blame, as is Anna for going against everything she was taught to allow the miscreant to court her without your permission, and we will not even mention that she agreed to elope with him. That being said, by far the most blame must be affixed to that Wickham character and his paramour, Mrs Younge.” She looked at her son and nephew and was gratified to see they both nodded their agreement.
“Anna is to be brought here to Matlock House. I will not allow her to continue as she is now. Next, I will ask for the names of a few companions seeking work from among my acquaintances. I will chuse them based on word of mouth, not by placing an advertisement in the broadsheets. Once their characters have been thoroughly verified, then I will present three or four candidates to you boys so you can make a choice.”
Even had he wanted to disagree, Darcy was aware from the look in his aunt’s eye that she would not be gainsaid. “I agree,” he responded meekly.
“As do I,” Fitzwilliam added.
“Before you boys go, we can never allow Catherine to hear a whisper of this. You know she will attempt to use it as leverage to force William to marry Anne,” Matlock warned. “I may have to step in and intercede there soon. Certainly, I will need to do so when Anne reaches her birthday in November.”
It was well known in the family that Lady Catherine’s claim of a cradle betrothal was a story made up of whole cloth in an attempt to retain control of Rosings Park.
She seemed to forget that William was three years older than Anne so he had been long out of his cradle before his cousin had been born.
“Why do you think you will need to step in, Father?” Fitzwilliam asked.
“Read this.” Matlock pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to his son. “It is from Anne.”
Fitzwilliam and Darcy stood next to one another so they could both see the paper.
They knew their Aunt Catty—as they liked to call her—was not always reasonable, but stealing over two thousand pounds from her new sycophantic rector was far beyond the pale.
It was not as bad as ordering him to marry a cousin.
Their aunt really thought she was a deity.
“Why would Aunt Catty need to steal her parson’s funds? Has she finally bankrupted Rosings Park?” Fitzwilliam questioned.
“No thanks to her, the estate is solvent. However, in my role as the late Sir Lewis’s executor, I have restricted how much estate funds she is allowed to waste on her ideas of art and décor.
That was the impetus, I am sure, for her relieving, from what Anne writes, the very stupid man of his savings,” Matlock explained.
“Reggie has the right of it. Catherine is so selfish that she would not think twice about embroiling the family in a scandal if it served her aims.” Lady Matlock turned to her beloved husband.
“I think the time is near that she will be put somewhere she cannot harm herself or any others. Sometimes I wonder how she could have come from the same parents as you and our dear, departed Anne. She is nothing like either of you.”
Matlock looked uncomfortable. “That is a story for another time.” Leaving no room for argument, the meeting came to an end.
Lady Matlock knew her much-loved husband would share when he was ready.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Anna Darcy burst into uncontrollable tears when the only parts of what she heard from her guardians were that she was being sent away.
After all, after being so very bad, she deserved to be cast out, but it did not lessen the pain of the blow.
At least when she shared her worry with William—between sobs—that she may be with child, he had assured her that being kissed by a man and even allowing him the liberty of touching the top of her breasts could not lead to her being in the family way.
William had been angry enough, so she did not share that she had agreed to anticipate their vows—whatever that entailed—later the same night William arrived.
She gave thanks that she had seen George’s—no, Mr Wickham’s—true colours before she took that step.
Her brother’s arrival had put paid to that part of the liar’s scheme.
Then, her brother had told her everything he had learnt from Mrs Younge and Anna had realised what a silly little girl she was. A silly and bad one!
Richard shaking her—gently—caused Anna to stop her sobbing and look at him with wide, wet eyes.
“You are not being sent away or banished!” Fitzwilliam told his young cousin firmly as soon as she ceased the wailing. “Mother and Father are to have you reside with them for a time so that Mother may help you come to terms with everything.”
“Do Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie really want one as bad as me in their home?” Anna asked with her eyes pointed to the floor as the tears began again.
“Did you do things that your upbringing and education should have told you were wrong? Yes, you did,” Fitzwilliam replied gently.
“However, that does not make you a bad person. Those who manipulated and lied to you are evil incarnate. You are just a young lady who made some errors in judgement. Mother intends to assist you to see where you went wrong.”
“Also, you must know that I blame myself more than I do you,” Darcy admitted. “But as Richard said, the lion’s share of the culpability is to be laid at the door of Wickham and Mrs Younge.”
“Mother will seek out some candidates to be your companion, and before we chuse one, we will make sure that she is exactly who she says she is,” Fitzwilliam added.
“Anna, did William tell you why your late father broke with the bas…seducer?” He saw his cousin shake her head.
Fitzwilliam looked at Darcy, who shrugged his shoulders but said nothing.
“While we were at Cambridge…” Fitzwilliam unfolded the story, sans any colourful words.
“So, you are telling me that if he is caught, he will end up hanged for theft?” Anna verified.
“Yes, that he will,” Darcy confirmed.
Anna bit her lip. “W-what if h-he t-tells what I-I agreed to?” She was worried. She deserved to be ruined, but William and the Fitzwilliams did not deserve to be stained by her mistakes.
“When he is arrested, we will make sure that Wicky is gagged. Father will see to it that the trial will be held in a closed courtroom. It does not hurt that Andrew’s new father-in-law, the Duke of Bedford, will throw his support behind that request. The sentence will be carried out as soon as the verdict is delivered,” Fitzwilliam assured his cousin.
“We will make certain the judge informs the gentlemen of the jury that if they repeat any of the condemned’s lies, they will be arrested. No, Anna, I agree with Richard; you have nothing to worry about,” Darcy stated. “That wastrel will not be allowed to slander you or any of his other victims.”
Relieved and moved that her family were all acting in concert to help her, rather than casting her from their midst, Anna calmed, and with the aid of her maid she began to pack.