In London, the Earl of Matlock and Viscount Hilldale had just completed marathon sessions with solicitors, Bedlam’s governor, and their family physician. The new, and more importantly, competent physician who had been engaged to look after the health of the residents of Rosings Park had been invited to join them but had been unavailable to travel to Town.
Despite that, the Fitzwilliams had achieved all of their aims. Rosings Park and all its assets were now irrevocably in Anne’s name. As there was no entailment, Anne could do as she wished with the estate and will it to whoever she chose, whether she married or not.
The funds Lewis de Bourgh had hidden from Lady Catherine, with the Earl’s help, were transferred back into the estate’s regular accounts and were freed of any restrictions. Anne would be able to decide for herself if she wanted to continue to invest, and if so, how much.
Anne’s dowry was always protected, so only with the living Earl of Matlock’s approval of the groom would the funds ever be released. The additional funds earned at Gardiner and Associates on the investment of her dowry were released to her bank for her to use as needed leaving her original dowry intact still earning dividends with the company. As his father was hale and healthy, Andrew prayed it would be a very long time before he inherited the Earldom and had to make such decisions for all their family.
While the taking care of Anne was for him straight forward, Reginald Fitzwilliam was torn with regards to his sister. He loved Catherine, or at least who she had been before jealousy, avarice, and an absolute need to control everything and everyone took over her life.
There was never enough wealth for Catherine, so even while wasting and fritting away the wealth she controlled, she always expected there would be more. At the same time, she unfortunately thought she was a very capable manager of the estate, when the truth was the opposite. This was one of her biggest failings, the belief that she was infallible, that she knew all. Among other certainties about herself, she suffered from many delusions of grandeur.
The Earl and his heir were sitting in the study at Matlock house, alone now after the last meeting had been concluded and each was nursing a snifter of brandy. Lord Matlock thought back to when his brother-in-law, who even before he married Cathy had been a very good friend, Lewis de Bourgh, had asked him to be his executor and Anne’s guardian.
It had been about a year before Lewis finally succumbed to the disease of his heart that he had lived with for over three years knowing it was consistently getting weaker and weaker. His condition had been hidden from his wife, so the irony was she had needlessly murdered her husband.
Unbeknownst to his wife, Sir Lewis de Bourgh had come to London and he and the Earl had sat in Matlock House’s study as Lewis had asked him if he knew what had changed Cathy so much.
He used to call his wife Cathy even though she hated it, proclaiming it was undignified and suited to the lower classes, not to the daughter of an Earl. The men thought it may be that other than Anne, she was never able to bring another living child into the world, so she decided she had to control everything else around her. They had acknowledged it was pure speculation, but also opined mayhap she had always been like that but hid behind a mask until after she was securely married.
Together they had come up with a plan to protect Anne’s dowry and lock away as much money as they could so if Cathy spent to excess, drove tenants away, or made bad decisions for the estate, there would be money to set things to rights once Anne turned five and twenty and took possession of her inheritance.
Anne had an illness as a child, scarlet fever, and had recovered fully. It was possible she was a little weaker than some, but not nearly as bad off as Cathy postulated she was.
De Bourgh had expressed a worry Cathy would do something to physically hurt Anne to stop her from claiming her inheritance if she felt she would lose control of Rosings Park, which at the time she imagined she controlled even while he lived.
With the help of Sir Lewis’s solicitor they had drawn up an airtight last will and testament. The solicitor’s son would represent Anne’s interests once she came of age.
They had drawn it up in a way that even if Lady Catherine de Bourgh had attempted to challenge it, she would have failed. Copies of Sir Lewis’s genuine last will and testament were held by both solicitors and the Earl.
As the Earl snapped out of his reverie, he remembered at the time de Bourgh had not put it past Lady Catherine to try and forge a will to suit her purposes, as she in fact ended up doing.
Reginald Fitzwilliam was happy to finally discharge the duty he had promised to do in his brother’s stead those many years past. He thought about how he could have done more to intercede with Cathy, temper her excesses, or even council her.
He berated himself because he knew he should have done more to protect Anne, even if the abuse she suffered had only come to light now. Others had suspected and asked him to intervene, but he had been loath to interfere in the way his sister raised her daughter.
Was it his fault that things had got to this point? He thought about the advice he and Thomas gave to William and realised he too should heed it and not assume blame for that which was not his. Anne had not reached out to any of them, and he promised himself he would never again ignore a situation that caused concern in the future.
In front of him were the papers signed by the physicians committing his sister to Bedlam; to the secure, non-public wing of the facility. As much as he believed his sister needed to be locked away, he was unwilling to leave her at the mercy of those that came to gawk at the insane, who often would yell insults and throw rotten fruit at them.
Catherine would be locked away to protect others from her machinations, as well as to protect her from herself. Before leaving Longbourn for town three days ago, they had all discussed the options they had to deal with Lady Catherine. It came down to two viable choices only. A public trial resulting in his sister, the daughter of an Earl and widow of a Baronet, being led to the gallows, or the one they chose, Bedlam, where at least she would be looked after with compassion.
Far more consideration would be given to her than the lady had ever shown anyone. Luckily for her, her actions did not guide those of her relations. On the morrow they would return to Longbourn accompanied by the carriage and attendants that would convey his sister to her new home.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The carriages and outriders arrived at Longbourn in the early afternoon the following day. Both emotionally and physically tired, the two Fitzwilliams were glad to be back at Longbourn and were even more happy to be enthusiastically met by their respective wives.
As her husband was changing, Marie Fitzwilliam entered his dressing room, dismissing his valet and closing the door. On seeing his wife, Andrew enfolded her in his arms and gave her a lingering, passionate kiss. He loved her and while not as publicly obvious as Richard was with his Mary, he was just as grateful when he was able to hold his wife.
“Andrew, it is kisses like this that led to the state I am in now,” Marie teased.
“What do you mean kisses lead to...oh my, are you with child again?” He stared at his wife in awe.
“Yes, you silly man, I am. I have not felt the quickening yet, but all of the other signs are there. I’m very grateful that so far, I haven’t been sick in the mornings, although there are some smells, such as fish, that are starting to make me feel like I would like to cast up my accounts,” she admitted.
“This is the very best possible news, Marie,” Andrew stated as he hugged and showered kisses on his beaming wife. “David will love to be a big brother. Have you told anyone yet?” He looked down on her, his eyes alight with contented pleasure.
“I would never tell anyone before you, my dear husband. We told people prematurely the first time I was with child, and I had a miscarriage, so until I feel the quickening and have seen a physician, my personal preference is this should stay between the two of us, my love.” She looked up at him earnestly.
