Chapter 60 Settlements
Lady Catherine's funeral was accomplished with little fuss, bother or fanfare. In every way, it was the opposite of what Darcy was certain his aunt would have wished.
Before retiring after the party, Mrs. Hill and one of the maids took the time to wash the body and arrange it decently.
They dressed the deceased woman in a fine gown Anne picked from her mother's luggage, although when asked, she admitted the gown was her mother's least favorite of all those that had been packed.
After the body was dressed, Mrs. Bennet provided lengths of plain muslin to use as a shroud and complete the preparations, although, of course, Lady Catherine would have preferred something more extravagant, like silk.
While this was happening, Bennet had a few of the stable hands put together an appropriately sized box to serve as temporary housing for the return to Kent.
Darcy knew his aunt would have turned her nose up in disgust at the thought of even touching such a rough construction, let alone being laid out in it.
She would have been slightly mollified by the finer, ready-made casket her brother purchased for the shop of a casket maker they passed on the way to Rosings, but only slightly.
It should have been custom made, with a high-quality lining and plenty of gilding on it to have fitted with her ideas.
On arriving at Rosings Park, Peter immediately sent for the curate who had been tending to the parish as they waited for Mr. Collins to arrive.
Peter and Sir Phillip had a brief conference with the man and arranged things to their satisfaction.
A few hours later, Lady Catherine was quietly interred in the de Bourgh family plot as the small group of her male relatives looked on.
The following morning, the villagers in the Hunsford church seemed unsurprised when the curate announced the news of Lady Catherine's death.
There was a bit more of a stir and some mutters and grumbling when, at Peter's special request, the clergyman asked them to offer up prayers for her eternal soul.
On the way out of the church, Darcy listened with interest as the villagers and tenants talked among themselves.
"Well, he had to ask. The new Earl of Matlock is her brother, after all."
"Do you think Sir Phillip will make many changes at the house?"
"He will be the best change of them all, but no doubt many of her favorites will soon be looking for other homes."
"Sir Phillip is a good young man and a true de Bourgh. It will be a little like having Sir Lewis back again."
"The new master's mother is a proper lady. She will see to the poor as should be done. Better times are coming for all of us, I say."
"When will we see that new rector her Ladyship put in? No one has heard a word of him or his wife since the house was put to rights for them. The poor curate has been stretched thin tending to everything in his absence."
"I just hope the new rector is a far better man than her usual choices."
Darcy took careful note of the last comments.
He and the other men had searched Lady Catherine's study that morning but could find no evidence of any document granting the living to William Collins.
Despite her other faults, Lady Catherine was a meticulous record-keeper, so it was unlikely the document existed.
All the same, it was no guarantee the man did not have his own copy of an appointment.
Being guided by Peter and as the new owner of both the estate and the advowson for the living, Sir Phillip drafted a letter to the local bishop asking if the now-vacant living had formally been bestowed.
Even if it had, Darcy thought, the evidence they had of Collins' intended wrongdoing in Meryton would probably be enough to convince the bishop to revoke the living.
It would just be easier if the problem never came up so Sir Phillip could appoint a man who would properly tend the people under his care without delay.
They left Rosings Park on Monday pleased with how easily matters had been handled. As they all rode back together in Peter's carriage, having left the carriage Lady Catherine had been using at the estate, Richard spoke what all of them had been feeling.
"After all these years of fighting against Aunt Catherine, I kept expecting her to rise up from her casket and start complaining about our arrangements or to have something happen like the box she was in fall off of the top of the carriage.
Yesterday I fully expected her to summon me to her favorite sitting room for a dressing down or to have her ghost wake us by wailing in the halls. It all seems too easy."
"I think we have so many old habits built around circumventing her that it will take a long while for all of us to discover what it is like to live our lives without reference to what she may do," Peter agreed.
"It may be some time before I can step out of her shadow," said Sir Phillip.
Richard suggested, "You will probably want to stop all payments to her spies in short order.
At the same time, it would be a good idea to find out who and where they are.
I would like to know if she had any agents other than Wickham in Meryton.
I would not be surprised to discover Colonel Forster was on her payroll. "
"Her banker could best point us to the agent she used to make payments," Peter said.
"A man named Hayward has been a regular visitor over the years, but was not a social acquaintance," Anne said.
"I remember the man I placed in the Rosings Park stables mentioning the name," Peter confirmed. "Mr. Hayward will certainly bear investigation."
A large part of the return journey was spent helping Sir Phillip prioritize the many tasks that needed to be done to return Rosings Park to its former glory.
Lady Catherine had managed things with a heavy hand and a general wish for profit over prosperity.
From staffing changes to contractual updates and repairs to tenant farms, roads, and other physical property, the list was long and varied.
"I am beginning to be glad Mr. Bennet has insisted I wait a year before entering a formal betrothal or marriage to Miss Kitty," Sir Phillip said once he had a good handle on the items of the highest priority.
"I will be so busy with all of this I hardly know when I will get to visit with her.
Planning or starting a marriage would simply be too much to add on top of the work. "
"Make time for occasional visits, lad," Peter suggested.
"The work is important, but you will need breaks as well as the reminder of why the work is important to you.
If the goal is to give your prospective bride a proper and prosperous home, you will work all the harder for taking the time to tell her about what you are doing every now and again. "
The other men all nodded. Darcy thought it was very good advice.
~o~
They arrived back at Longbourn in the early afternoon.
Darcy was unsurprised to find the usual crowd of family visitors there, although he did not understand the air of excitement in the sitting room at first. After the greetings and a report on the accomplishment of their purpose by Peter, Lizzy pulled Darcy away and out of the room to enlighten him.
"We have made some important decisions and plans while you were gone. If you object, you and I can make other arrangements, of course, but I must admit I hope you will not object."
Darcy smiled in amusement at her excitement, knowing he was unlikely to object to any reasonable thing she might ask of him. "If it is important to you," he said, "I probably will not object, but you must tell me what it is that I may be agreeing to."
"Oh, yes," she said, slightly flustered.
"Well, Lady Sheldon, Mrs. Damask and Aunt Madeline were all discussing Jane's wedding on Saturday, shortly after all of you left.
They said that since we already had all the guests present and the arrangements were made for a huge event, we ought to take the extra step and make it into a triple wedding.
Jane and Sir Barnaby are both agreeable to the plan. "
"I expect Bingley had no objection either," Darcy surmised.
"He was thrilled at the idea," Lizzy confirmed. "In fact, he and Uncle Phillips drew up Mary's settlement this morning and Papa signed it immediately after."
Darcy grinned broadly. "It looks like I will need to employ your uncle as well. After all, you and I cannot get married on Friday without a settlement in place." Briefly glancing around to make sure they were unobserved, he stole a kiss in which Lizzy eagerly participated.
~o~
The next few days passed swiftly with all the work that needed completing.
Darcy and Lizzy went to see Mr. Holbert, the clergyman who would be performing the weddings, and obtained a common license on Tuesday morning.
Immediately after, Darcy rode to London to collect the financial documents he would need for preparing the settlement and to notify the staff to prepare for the arrival of the new mistress.
While there, he also selected a ring for Lizzy out of the jewelry stored in the townhouse safe.
It had been one of his mother's rings and he thought it would suit his new bride well.
Wednesday was spent conferring with Mr. Phillips and Mr. Bennet in the latter's study.
Darcy knew the attorney was both delighted and amazed by the extent of the provisions Darcy wished to include.
He modeled the settlement after his mother's which he had found in the legal documents in his files in London.
More than once, Mr. Phillips noted that, while he had no objection to a particular provision as the bride's uncle, it was his duty as the attorney drawing up the papers to make certain Darcy understood the implications of a particular clause or amount.
Sometimes these notices prompted them to change the wording or to clarify the intent.
At other times, Darcy insisted on leaving the item as he chose.
No matter what the result, Bennet found something to tease him over, although Darcy could tell that the older man appreciated the care Darcy could take of his daughter.
Overall, it turned into a satisfactory collaboration for all three men. By midday on Thursday, they had a clean copy drafted, finalized and signed by all parties plus the witnesses. Of course, with a house full of guests, there was no problem finding appropriate witnesses.
~o~
While the men worked on their preparations, the women were not idle.
Although most of the planning and work for the event was already done, they still had plenty to do for the two additional brides.
Darcy learned that, as soon as the idea for the triple wedding was suggested, Mrs. Gardiner had sent a messenger to her home in London to retrieve some fine lengths of silk she had purchased as future gifts during the original shopping trips for Jane's trousseau.
From these, the women worked together to sew gowns for Lizzy and Mary of equal quality to the gown Jane planned to wear.
Lizzy updated Darcy on their progress during the early morning time together in the garden each day.
"It is amazing how quickly we get on while working as a team, even for such fancy gowns as these.
The straight sewing would have been easy enough to complete, but doing all the finer decoration on our own would have been impossible in this short time.
Everyone has contributed to the embroidery and finishing touches, even Miss Bingley. "
"I am surprised at that," Darcy said.
"Oh, she was not exactly pleased at first, but the idea was strongly suggested by Lady Sheldon. However, once we all thanked her for the help and complimented her on her truly fine embroidery, she became much more reconciled to the idea."
"So, she did learn something of use in that select seminary she attended?" Darcy asked.
"Oh, several things. It is primarily her attitude Lady Sheldon is working to adjust."
"Well, Miss Bingley will soon have more sisters than she knows what to do with who can help her with that if Lady Sheldon cannot."
"Oh, we shall take care of her, all of us, although I am certain Lady Sheldon will give her a good step up in society so she can eventually help herself. At any rate, I will treasure this gown because it contains the work and love of so many people who are dear to me," she told him.
"I suppose that is what this celebration is all about," he said, "Here we have all those who are dear to us seeing us off to a future together. What we make of it then is up to us."
~o~
By the time Darcy left Longbourn after dinner on Thursday evening, he felt everything was well in hand for the celebration the next day.
Bingley was bouncing with excitement, but Darcy primarily felt a sense of happy calm.
This was exactly what he was meant to do.
All the time spent alone, all the time spent searching for his mystery woman, it all led to this.
After the next morning, he would not be alone.
It was both a frightening and awe-inspiring idea.
With Lizzy at his side, Pemberley would be a home such as it had not been since his mother's death.
He went to bed with one thought circling repeatedly in his mind - "I am getting married tomorrow! "