Making sure she was not seen; Fanny entered the structure an hour later. The house and gardens had not been tended for over five years, so the vegetation around the house was wild and overgrown, rendering the structure invisible, even from close up. Luckily the Hills, who were the only servants who knew about the old dower house, had retired. Fanny neither knew nor cared where they had gone.
Water would not be a problem as there was a stream close by. For food, Fanny would forage as well as relieving Longbourn’s cook of some of the bread and pies she would place on the windowsill to cool. At night she would pick available fruit.
Fanny knew Elizabeth took long solitary rambles and she was certain if she was not caught for two or three weeks, she would be able to get close to her former daughter and dispatch her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Sir William sent a note to Bennet notifying him of his wife’s escape, then organised a search party. Colonel Forster provided some of his officers and soldiers to assist in the search for the escapee.
The searchers stopped at Longbourn to ask Bennet if he knew of any likely places on his estate where his wife might hide herself from them. Not having thought about the dower house for well over five years, Bennet did not mention it as a place to look and none of the searchers had an inkling of its existence.
Once the search was underway, Sir William made for Netherfield Park. “Welcome, Sir William,” Gardiner and Richard stood as the man entered the former’s study. “I asked your future son-in-law to join us, given his military experience.”
Sir William greeted Richard. “We are looking for Mrs. Bennet and no stone will be left unturned,” Sir William related after he sipped from the offered mug of coffee. “With Mrs. Bennet’s state of mind, I worry she may attempt to harm Eliza.” Fanny Bennet had ranted about only one thing during the days she had been locked up: how she would make her former daughter pay for putting her in gaol.
“Before you arrived, Richard informed me that he knows of some excellent men who have retired from the army. We are sending for a group of them to choose ten to twelve to serve as footmen-guards and grooms,” Gardiner informed Sir William. “As it is, Lizzy knows she is not to go out to walk or ride without escorts. As soon as the men arrive, those escorts will be augmented.”
“I sent an express to London just before your arrival, Father William,” Richard stated.
“Lizzy understood the reasons for not walking or riding out alone even before this, so I am not worried about her chaffing at the restrictions,” Gardiner informed the other two. “She was informed this morning just after I received the note. I am not one who thinks we protect others by withholding information.”
“With Colonel Forster’s help we have numerous men searching; let us hope we discover her soon,” Sir William expressed the wish of all in the area.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lady Catherine was at a loss as to how to punish the residents of the area, her tenants included, for refusing to tell Mr. Collins or his wife anything of interest to her. To make sure that Mrs. Collins was making the visits she claimed to have made, Lady Catherine had one of her footmen dress in the clothes of a labourer and follow the parson’s wife to confirm what she was doing.
She had lost the footman’s loyalty long ago, as she had lost that of most of her servants. Shortly after Mrs. Collins departed the parsonage carrying heavy-looking baskets, walking in the direction of a group of tenant cottages, the man approached her.
“Beggin’ yer pardon, Mrs. Collins,” the footman said as he stopped in front of the lady. He explained what he had been sent to do and by whom.
“What is your name?” Jane asked.
“Jennings, Madam,” he replied.
“Well, Jennings, I need some help carrying the baskets. You may accompany me and help if you would like to,” Jane offered. “That way, you will not be lying when you report back to your mistress I am making my visits as required. If she asks if the tenants I am visiting said anything of note, you may honestly answer you heard nothing. If I need to talk to anyone, it will be out of your hearing, so there will be no need to prevaricate.”
When the man changed back into his livery and presented himself to Lady Catherine, he was able to report with absolute truth the parson’s wife was making her prescribed visits and he had heard nothing of significance shared with her beyond the expected greetings.
Lady Catherine waved the man away with an annoyed huff. She had been sure she would catch Mrs. Collins not doing her duty. She was most displeased she had no reason to berate anyone, so she took her frustration out on her lackey, Mr. Collins, when he came for his daily meeting with her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It had been four days since Fanny Bennet escaped custody. She was dirty and grimy, but she was free. She found an old basin she could fill with water from the stream when she was sure no one was near to observe her.
She had held her breath on the first day as she heard a group of men searching for her. They came close to the old dower house but, went on their way eventually. Fanny had never been so happy she had not demanded her husband repair it, as it would have been easily visible had he done so.
She had managed to pick some apples from the trees in the orchard and had pilfered some of the small meat pies and rolls the cook had left to cool near the window. Fanny was aware she must exercise discretion when taking food from Longbourn, both so she would not be seen and not to take so much that it would be noticed.
‘Just you wait, Miss Lizzy; I will rid the world of you!’ Fanny ranted to herself. ‘I am the only one who sees how evil you are and I am the only one brave enough to deal with you.’
The more she raved about her former daughter, the further she descended into insanity.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On Monday morning, twenty men arrived for Gardiner to choose from to bolster the guards around his family. As soon as he saw the two enormous men, former sergeants, Gardiner knew he had found the men who would be Lizzy’s personal protectors whenever she was out of the house.
One was aptly named Biggs; the other was named Johns. Both were skilled with multiple weapons and were deceptively fast for big men, with lightning-quick reflexes. In the end, rather than choosing only ten or twelve as he had planned, Gardiner employed all of the men who had arrived for him to interview.
