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“Lady Catherine is no longer the mistress of my estate; in fact, she is not here and will never return,” Anne revealed. “My cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr Collins will verify my statement.” As each man was named, he nodded his agreement. “I am sorry for any suffering that Lady Catherine caused you and your family. I cannot change the past, but I most certainly can and will change how things are done going forward. On examination of the ledgers, I was able to see that the former mistress demanded double what the rent should be. To make up for that, you will have two quarters rent-free, then two quarters at half of what the rent should be. After that, I will reevaluate the situation. Once that is done, the rents will be set at an acceptable and affordable rate.

“Also, the days of anyone being scolded by the mistress of Rosings Park when they need assistance for things beyond their control, or caused by landlord neglect, are over. Mr Collins has told me what he has observed regarding the repairs needed to the cottages. In fact, he told me he knows what needs to be done per tenant. I promise you here and now that every item will be repaired. In addition, I want you to know that you will never be censured for bringing a problem to my attention.”

Fallstead had to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming. After years of suffering under Lady Catherine’s dictatorial ways, could this be true? Before he could move, his wife Betty ran towards Miss de Bourgh, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Thank ye, Miss de Bourgh. Ye be an angel sent from ‘eaven,” Betty Fallstead managed between happy sobs while hugging the new mistress.

Rather than push the woman away, Anne placed an arm around her shoulder. “I am very sorry the former mistress caused you suffering, but those days are past,” Anne promised the crying woman. When she saw the four children standing in the doorway of the cottage, their eyes huge as they watched the scene unfold before them, Anne was sorry she had not brought a bag of sweets with her. She turned to Richard and Mr Collins, both of whom had dismounted. “How do I begin?”

“Miss de Bourgh, there are builders and other labourers in want of work in Hunsford,” William Collins related. “I suggest that you put the word out you need men, and you will have as many as you require. I am willing to liaise with them to make sure the needed work is done as speedily as possible, and that you are not cheated.” He paused. “As I told you, the need is great. How much is done in the initial phase depends on the budget.”

“The money my uncle is withdrawing from the de Bourgh fortune will be used to make my tenants’ health the priority as we near autumn and winter. All needed repairs will be made so that they will be able to live in dry and comfortable homes,” Anne insisted. “If you need more help from those who live here, or even from Westerham, I give you leave to employ as many men as necessary.”

With a nod to Miss de Bourgh and the colonel, William mounted his stallion and headed towards Hunsford. There was no time like the present. Thanks to his visits to all the tenants since taking up his post, he had an extensive list of the needed repairs for each and every tenant cottage.

Hearing this, Fallstead’s eyes became moist. His family would live in a repaired cottage, and thanks to Miss de Bourgh forgoing two quarters’ rent, there would be more than enough money to buy food and clothing. He realised that one quarter would cover the autumn harvest when the most money would be earned. If this was a dream, he did not want to wake.

Anne de Bourgh did something her mother had never deigned to do. She accepted an invitation to take tea with Mrs Fallstead. When she saw the conditions a family of six had been forced to live in because of Lady Catherine’s cruelty, Anne was disgusted. The roof was leaking in one corner, leaving water stains on the wall. At least two panes of glass in the window were cracked, and the fireplace did not draw properly. The tea was weak and watered down—apparently it was all the family could afford—but Anne drank it. She complimented her hostess before joining the maid in the phaeton, and she and Richard departed the farm.

By the time Anne and Fitzwilliam reached the next tenant cottage, word of the incredible changes coming to Rosings Park had swept over the tenantry. Evidently, the two eldest Fallstead boys had run across the fields to their two closest neighbours, and the good tidings had spread from there.

As Anne and Richard went from farm to farm, rather than being greeted with trepidation like they had been when they arrived at the first tenant they visited, they were welcomed with cheers.

By that same afternoon, men and materials began to arrive to begin the very necessary repairs to the tenant cottages.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

On the final Monday of June, William Collins departed from his parsonage at first light on Vulcan for the four and fifty mile ride to Collins Hollow near Faversham to attend his brother’s wedding to Miss Bethany Osborne. Keating would care for the parish but would not have to conduct a Sunday service at St Cuthbert’s for William. The latter had preached the Sabbath services just past, and William would return to his parsonage on the final Saturday of June, meaning that he would be in the pulpit for Sabbath, the next day.

As he rode, he felt a sense of accomplishment, one that went far beyond his duties in the parish. Yes, in the month or so he had been the rector of the Hunsford parish, he had been accepted by all his parishioners, and they had not stinted with their compliments to him for the way he conducted himself as a clergyman. More than that, he had gained their trust. That meant they confided in him without worrying he would share what they told him with anyone without their expressed permission to do so.

However, it was so much more than that. Rather than just deliver pretty words to the tenants, Miss de Bourgh had delivered action. Each and every cottage had been repaired so that it was better than the day it had been built. As a majority of them had minor leaks in their roofs, some of the repairs had been major. As a safety measure, all the roofs had been made over with slate instead of thatch. To say that there was palpable joy among the tenants in their newly repaired cottages would have been an understatement. To add to the pleasure of the tenantry, Miss de Bourgh had signed new leases with them assuring them of her promises for six months’ free rent, six months at half, and following that period, a reduction from the first quarter they needed to start paying full rent again.

A new steward, a well-experienced man, had been employed with assistance from Lords Matlock and Hilldale. At the same time, a good percentage of the servants at the manor house had been relieved of their positions, while a few had resigned when they saw the writing on the wall.

Lady Matlock had sent an under-butler and assistant housekeeper from Matlock House for Miss de Bourgh to interview. They had been employed. As soon as they were in place, they had been charged with employing those servants who were needed for the house. Within a fortnight of the butler and housekeeper being employed, all servants were in place.

A few days after Lord and Lady Matlock had departed, a Mr Edward Gardiner had been sent to Rosings Park by said earl. He was the owner of a very successful import-export business which also had a subsidiary which was an auction house.

Mr Gardiner and a clerk had inspected all the furniture and décor Miss de Bourgh wanted removed from her house, which turned out to be practically everything.

During the time Mr Gardiner and his clerk had been at the estate, William had opportunities to speak to him. He knew that his own father invested with him, but he had never met Mr Gardiner before. He had found the man to be an intelligent, gentlemanlike individual. In the course of one of their conversations, Mr Gardiner had mentioned that his sister was the mistress of an estate named Longbourn, and he had five nieces. William had not mentioned that he was the heir presumptive, as their conversation had not tended in that direction, and William did not want to seem like he was boasting.

By the time the inventory was completed, Mr Gardiner had opined that he could sell it all and recover most, if not all, of what had been expended to acquire the pieces, even after his commission was paid. Miss de Bourgh had, without delay, authorised Mr Gardiner to sell everything.

With so much done, a few days before William departed for his father’s estate, Miss de Bourgh and Colonel Fitzwilliam made for London to be with the Fitzwilliams at Matlock House while the manor house was emptied of everything that needed to be auctioned off. In London, Miss de Bourgh would order new, comfortable furniture from Chippendale’s, and when she redecorated her house at the estate, it would be done with understated elegance. During the same visit, she intended to inspect de Bourgh House in Berkeley Square to see if it needed a complete redecoration as well.

Thanks to all his ruminations, before he realised it, almost three hours had passed, and it was time to stop and rest his stallion. William allowed an hour and a half to pass before remounting and continuing his ride. It was a little more than three hours later that William saw the gateposts of his father’s estate.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Being back at Collins Hollow felt very comfortable for William. As much as he liked his home at the parsonage, being among family in the house in which he grew up gave him a feeling of familiarity and warmth. His parents and brother had welcomed him home enthusiastically. It had been less than two months since he had seen them and had not realised how much he had missed his family until he saw them again.

On his first day home, there was a dinner at Willow Ridge, the Osbornes’ estate. Clem’s betrothed, Bethany, was the only child of Paul and Emily Osborne, and thanks to the estate not being entailed, she was the heiress who would one day inherit it. His brother, Clem, had promised that as long as they had more than one child, the estates would be kept separate. However, Mr Osborne had not asked that the future master of his estate take the Osborne name. Willow Ridge was a smaller estate than Collins Hollow, bringing in about two thousand pounds per annum less than the Collins’ estate.

The couple was to marry from Willow Ridge, where the wedding breakfast would be held. William was sanguine with not conducting the ceremony, as he was standing up with his brother, and he would not have attempted to insert himself into another man’s parish. The church was in the Collins Hollow Village, which was situated between the two estates.

The next day, William made the relatively short ride to St Peter’s in Faversham to see his friend and mentor, Davidson. After greeting Mrs Davidson and their three children, William was invited to join Davidson in his study.