“I cannot but agree with you, Mr. Lucas,” Sir Lewis nodded his head.
“You were travelling from London, if I understand correctly,” Lucas verified. Sir Lewis nodded it had been so. “You and your daughter had sojourned at your home in Town for two days?” Again, Sir Lewis nodded. “That makes it certain the axle was tampered with in London or after,” Lucas surmised.
“My coachman opined it could have occurred in London. Whoever did this only sawed about one-third of the way through the axle,” Bennet explained. “As the roads are in good condition, there could not have been as much jarring as there normally would be, which accounts for your reaching here before it broke all the way.”
“You stopped at the Bull and Spectacles Inn about two hours before here, did you not?” Lucas enquired.
“Yes, we did,” Sir Lewis responded. “My late coachman along with the footman remained with the conveyance while Anne and I were inside. It would have been impossible for someone to meddle with the coach there, it was in a public courtyard.”
“I assume you do not have the equipage watched overnight at your house in London, do you?” Lucas pondered.
“No, I have never felt the need, until now that is. I could not believe that not only myself but Anne too would be targeted,” Sir Lewis shook his head sadly.
“Why would someone do this to you and your daughter?” Philips asked the question all three men wanted to hear the answer to.
“In a word, avarice,” Sir Lewis spat out. “As I told Bennet yesterday, I am doubtful I will be able to prove it. What I did not say was I believe this is the handiwork of none other than agents of my wife.”
All three men who were in happy and loving marriages had a hard time imagining a wife trying to murder her husband, and even worse, her daughter—her own flesh and blood.
“If you choose not to answer, I will understand,” Bennet prefaced, “but why would you suspect your wife?”
Sir Lewis explained how his wife had been demanding more and more of late that he change his will and make her the beneficiary, citing their daughter’s weakness as a reason Anne should not be the heir. As he spoke he remembered some pointed references to Bedfordshire.
“I believe she has discovered I own Oak Hollow in Bedfordshire as well. I purchased it so Anne and I would have a peaceful retreat away from Catherine,” Sir Lewis elucidated.
“You have not amended your will per her demands, have you?” Philips enquired.
“No, I have not, and never will!” Sir Lewis insisted.
“Then her only hope would be a forgery,” Philips opined. “I wonder if she is proficient at replicating your signature.”
“She thinks she is, but the truth is my wife’s abilities are all in her head,” Sir Lewis shook his head. “Even if she could forge my signature, it would do her no good.” The three men looked at him quizzically. Sir Lewis explained that not only were copies held by his solicitor and two brothers, but he had filed one with the courts with the stipulation that only a will held by the court would be deemed legitimate, regardless of the date being later than the one held.
“In that case, you have the right of it. She would never be able to substitute a forgery for your true last will and testament,” Philips stated.
“If it cannot be proved your wife had a hand in this, will she try again?” Lucas wondered.
“Knowing her and her opinion she is never wrong and that anything she does is sanctioned, yes, I believe she will,” Sir Lewis responded. He turned to Bennet. “Would you object if I were to ask my brothers to join me at your home? I need to speak to them before I take any action against Lady Catherine.”
“Fanny and I would be happy to host them,” Bennet assured his guest.
“If you want, I can have the information forwarded to the Bow Street Runners for them to investigate, but I am not hopeful anyone would have seen the man or men who sabotaged your coach,” Lucas offered.
“The mews and carriage house are in the rear of my home in London, so I do not believe there will be any witnesses found. I appreciate your diligence Mr. Lucas, but there is no need to contact Bow Street,” Sir Lewis decided.
Lucas and Philips took their leave. “Will you really go back and live in a house with the woman you suspect tried to murder you and your daughter—a person who succeeded in causing the death of your coachman?” Bennet questioned.
“No, I have no intention of putting myself, or more importantly, Anne, in such danger again,” Sir Lewis stated stoically. “As I stated, I will involve my brothers in that conversation, and you as well, if you would be willing.”
“Anything I can do to be of aid, I will do,” Bennet affirmed. “If you feel up to moving, would you like to write your letters in the study?”
Getting up slowly was imperative. Sir Lewis had found out the hard way if he rose too quickly, his head would complain with pain, or he would come close to passing out.Making sure he stood slowly enough to not cause him an issue, Sir Lewis then followed Bennet to his study.
An hour later, a groom was sent to Meryton to engage an express rider.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Why have I not read about the death of my disobliging husband and my weak daughter yet?” Lady Catherine demanded when she read the morning papers which had arrived from London.
