“No, why would I need them? Longbourn is mine,” Collins spat back.
“Because, Sir, the entail states that the new master may not enter the study, employ any new servants, sack those employed at the estate, or make any sort of changes until the former master’s Last Will and Testament is read. Thereafter, everything not included in the entail is to be removed, and only then are you the master of the estate. Until then, as the master-to-be, the entail allows you to live in the house until all formalities are executed.”
“And if I ignore you and break down this door? What can you do to stop me?” Collins barked.
“I would do nothing, but you would then be breaking the terms of the entail, which will cause you to forfeit any claim to the estate,” Hill replied calmly.“If you feel you need to verify the veracity of my words, I suggest you go to the Phillips Law Office in Meryton. Mr Phillips will only return the Friday after next, but his head clerk will be able to show you a copy of the entail documents.”
As much as Collins wanted to throw the uppity butler from his property, he would not chance losing the estate he had just gained by doing so. As far as he was concerned, he would not have been told to go view the documents if they did not say what the butler said they did. He hated reading legal documents.
“Show me to the master’s chambers,” Collins commanded.
“Like the study, they are now locked until the reading of the will and all property which does not belong to the estate is removed.” Hill was only sorry that the late master had not left a copy of his will with him, so he would have known what needed to be done to protect the girls before Messrs Gardiner and Phillips arrived.
“Then have someone direct me to mytemporaryroom,” Collins conceded.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
At the same time Collins was attempting to assert his control at Longbourn, Jones and his loaded cart were on their way to Hatfield. A rider had come from the town, about fifteen miles north-east of Meryton, to tell him his services were needed thanks to an outbreak of scarlet fever.
He left a message with his housekeeper that he could only be disturbed if there was a life-or-death issue, as he would be in the area of Hatfield until the infection burnt itself out.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After he had changed but not washed—Collins believed it was unhealthy to wash or bathe too often—he desired to see Mrs Bennet. He was directed to the parlour which she used. On entering, Collins admired just how pretty she was, and from what he could see, she was not very old. He needed to discuss the problem of her children. He was a man who hated spending money he did not need to—unless it was for gambling, where he could earn far more than he spent—and he had no intention of paying for the upkeep of Bennet’s brats.
“I will call you, Fanny,” Collins decided uninvited and then sat.“It is only right if we are to marry.”
“May I call you Clem?” Fanny batted her eyelashes at the man coquettishly.
“That will do. Do you have a dowry?” Collins queried.“And if so, how much, or did my useless cousin spend it all?”
“In the horribly unfair settlement my own father signed, my dowry of five thousand pounds was kept in the funds, but the interest of two hundred pounds per annum was used by Mr Bennet. He refused to pay me any pin money.” Fanny dabbed imaginary tears from her eyes.
“When we marry, your dowry will be mine. I will give part of the interest to you as an allowance; however, you will pay for the upkeep of my late cousin’s spawn from that money. I will pay nothing for them or the servants who mind them.”
Fanny was horrified. She would be without any pin money again. She would not waste her money on the girls Mr Bennet gave her and suffer without. She remembered hearing some talk that her brother would take the girls if her husband passed away.“If you will allow me to use the carriage you rented, I will take them to a family member on the morrow. I will return without them by Friday or Saturday.”
Like everything else, the Longbourn carriage was not available to Fanny or Collins until after the reading of the will.
“You may use it, but I will deduct the rental cost from your allowance.”
“In that case, I will take the post to return and release the rented carriage when I arrive in order to save money.” Fanny was not happy about this, but she needed the money for her own purposes. Her wardrobe was woefully inadequate. She would have to look the part, as she would finally get her due and be mistress of the estate. How she looked forward to making Mrs Hill and the maids suffer before she sacked them.
“As long as they are not a drain on my money, I care not whether you pay for the brats or get rid of them,” Collins stated callously.
“I will need a little assistance from you to distract the nursemaids in the morning. That man did not have the wherewithal to have me birth a son, and he would not permit me to be alone with the children,” Fanny said.“As he never allowed me any money, I will need some help from you to pay for inns and the post to come home.”
“In the morning, I will assist you. And I willadvanceyou some of your allowance.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Fanny had told Collins where some laudanum was kept, left over from when her late husband needed it. She had also told him the two nursemaids enjoyed some tea in the morning while Fanny fed the one brat in a room off the nursery.
He waited until Fanny had been feeding the youngest one for a while until he saw a maid deliver a tray with steaming mugs of tea. As soon as the maid was gone from view after delivering the tea, Collins entered the nurseryaccidentlythrowing the door open with force.
Jane and Lizzy were already worried; they had not seen Papa for a few days. The bang made by the door set them both to crying.
As he expected, both nursemaids stood to go and comfort the girls. He walked over to the table with the mugs of tea and allowed a few drops of the drug to drip into each one. While the servants were busy, he shook each mug to mix them. He slipped out of the nursery.
