The Ashes of Longbourn (25 page)

             
“Wickham was not supposed to start the fire, he destroyed my home.  It would have been easy enough to have stopped Mr Bennet from exposing me, and Miss Elizabeth should have died long before the fire.  The fool made a disaster.  And Miss Elizabeth survived. The one that was supposed to die survived. She makes a fool out of me by refusing to marry me, and then she has the nerve to begin a relationship with Mr Darcy.  Anne is to marry Mr Darcy, so that she has the finances to aid me in rebuilding Longbourn.  Anne and I would be able to continue our relationship, if not for that upstart.  It was Miss Elizabeth’s fault that her father began to question my identity.  She is evil and should have died.  If you are a wise man, Colonel, you would see that she is put to death so that she can cause no further harm to anyone.”

             
“You are deluded.  What is your true name?  Who are you truly?” Colonel Forster asked. 

             
“I am Frederick Storm.  My family lived next door to the Collins family, and we were the best of friends.  I found young Collins had fallen from the loft in their barn.  As he lay dying, he begged me to take over for him.  Longbourn had no other heir and he did not wish to see it be lost due to his death.  It was at his insistence that I took over his life, coming to Hunsford to tend to the souls of those in the parish.  Miss Elizabeth should have been my wife, she should have married me.  Instead, she made me the laughingstock of her family and her neighbors.  I was forced to marry that nobody, Charlotte Lucas, to keep up appearances, but I will not be unfaithful to my Anne.  In my heart, Anne has always been my wife.”

             
“He is mine, and you, Cousin, cannot take him from me.  Mother will not allow it, I am sure, as Frederick is dear to me and I will insist on her protecting him.” Anne said as a dreamy look came over her expression.  “I insist that you, Richard, go back to Hertfordshire and bring Darcy here so that we can be married immediately.  I am quite put out with all of his excuses, he needs to come now.  And you can easily put an end to that chit Elizabeth Bennet.  It would be simple enough for you with all the training you have had, not to mention experience at war, killing people.”

             
“Anne, you are ill.  I will not murder Elizabeth for you, nor will I bring Darcy here.  You are delusional, and far too many people have paid a high price for your insanity.”

             
Anne pulled her arm free from the soldier who was holding her, reaching out in an attempt to harm her cousin. “I am Anne de Bourgh, and I will not be spoken to in such a manner, not even by you, Cousin.  I will see that you are killed for your insolence.”

             
Colonel Fitzwilliam was repulsed by his cousin’s behavior.  “Take her to the main house, the physician will need to examine her and determine what is to be done with her.”

             
“My mother will not allow your physician to tend to me.  She will not allow you to cause me any harm.  You had best leave me to my business and go prepare for your own demise.  And Darcy as well, if he will not abide by his commitment to marry me.  I will see him and that chit in the ground before I allow them to carry on in such a manner.  That little country nobody will not make me food for the gossips to twitter about.”

             
“Gag her and bind her hands.” Colonel Forster called out.  “Sgt. Winters, you go with them and make certain that the physician sees Miss de Bourgh.  You there, Johnson, you make sure that this man is taken to the stable until the magistrate can be sent to deal with him.”   The colonel pointed at Frederick Storm.

             
The soldiers took their captives from the cabin, bound and gagged and both of them fighting to gain their freedom.  Colonel Forster felt a deep sense of regret for his friend, as it was clear that Colonel Fitzwilliam’s family had a great deal to contend with.  “Shall we return to your father and inform him of what we have learned?”

             
Colonel Fitzwilliam nodded as he glanced around the room a final time.  He picked up his cousin’s gown from the floor where she had abandoned it, preparing to show Lady Catherine proof that her daughter was not taken advantage of and violated, as the gown had no tears or stains.  No, it was clear that Anne had participated of her own free will.

             
Entering the foyer of the main house at Rosings, Richard Fitzwilliam could hear his aunt ranting about the treatment of her daughter by men she had never met before.  Lord Matlock allowed his sister to rant until he saw his son.  Turning her attention towards her nephew, Lady Catherine unleashed her fury on him.

             
“How dare you allow these men to manhandle my daughter? It is clear that she has been violated; she has no clothing on and is irrational.  How could you allow someone else to bring her here, you should have done so yourself.  You have made matters worse for her by abandoning her to these soldiers.  And they bound her hands and gagged her. Oh, my poor dear Anne, to be treated in such a manner.  Richard, I hold you responsible for my daughter’s mistreatment.”

             
“And I hold your daughter responsible for the deaths of the Bennet family and the pain that has been inflicted on many others.  Anne was financing your clergyman, who admits to being Frederick Storm, not William Collins.  They wanted Elizabeth murdered to remove her from Darcy’s life as well as payback for her refusing Storm’s offer of marriage. They planned to force Darcy into a marriage of convenience for his money.  Is Rosings suffering financially?”

             
Lady Catherine looked confused.  “Rosings has never been in need of money, as I took care to protect it.  Anne took over the books nearly a year and a half ago.  But I cannot see that she would have made mistakes that would make her believe Rosings was in debt.  She would have come to me with concerns she might have had.”

             
“She has been financing Mr Storm’s schemes in Hertfordshire.” Richard said.  “And they have been lovers since before his marriage to Miss Lucas.  You may find that Rosings is in financial problems due to her giving Mr Storm a great deal of funds.”

             
“Anne would never behave so irresponsibly.  This man…Mr Collins…he must have stolen it or forced her to give it to him, for Anne would not have given it to him willingly.  Look at what he has already done to her, violating her and ruining her for all other men.  Darcy must be made to come immediately to marry her and save her reputation.”

             
Lord Matlock could not tolerate his sister’s foolishness any further.  “Catherine, stop this caterwauling this instant. Darcy is married and will never be married to Anne. Anne was not violated; she willingly ruined herself by giving herself to this Mr Storm.  She has also been involved in the conspiracy of her own free will.  The physician we brought with us will examine her, but I believe it will be necessary for us to have Anne sent to a sanitarium.  From what I have heard here, that is the only way to keep her from the gallows for her crimes.”

             
“Anne was forced into all of this; she is a gentle and sweet natured girl who would never harm anyone else.”

             
“You may believe that all you wish, Sister, but the truth is that your daughter is deranged.  And you allowed her to do as she pleased, always making excuses for her behavior.  Now, I suggest that you go into the drawing room and calm yourself while we wait for the physician to give us his recommendations.”

             
As Lady Catherine turned, furious at what her brother had told her, Colonel Fitzwilliam shook his head.  “This is one day I pray I forget soon.  I cannot believe we ever worried about poor, sickly Anne.  I will never underestimate her again.”

             
                            ~~~~~~~ ** ~~~~~~~

Chapter 20

             
Darcy was awaiting news from his uncle and cousin the following morning.  He had thought that they would have sent an express the night before, and when he had finally fallen asleep, he was afraid of what could have happened to have kept word from being sent.  Had Lord Matlock or Colonel Fitzwilliam been injured or worse yet, killed?

             
He finally heard a horse approaching the house rapidly.  Darcy ran to the front door and waited for the rider to dismount.  The rider turned out to be Sgt. Winters.  “Good God, Man, you look as if you have ridden to hell and back.”

             
“Feels that way, Sir. I will be plum glad when this mess is over so that I can find some rest.  A message here from the Colonel.”

             
“You should go to the kitchen and have something to eat, before taking some rest.  I will let you know if I need you to return with a message.”

             
Sgt. Winters nodded his head.  “I thank you, Sir. I left Rosings quite early this morning.”

             
Breaking open the seal, Darcy quickly read the message from his cousin.  Disbelief was obvious, as he would never have thought Anne capable of such villainy.  But the description of Lady Catherine’s behavior was predictable.  Never had Lady Catherine accepted any blame for anything that had happened, nor would she accept that Darcy would not be the white knight, riding in on his stallion, to rescue them.

             
He decided to wait until everyone had gathered to break their fast, as this would allow him to repeat the information from the letter once.  Entering the breakfast room, Darcy found Bingley was the only one in the room, drinking his coffee as he read a letter which had arrived in the post.

             
“Ah, Darcy, good morning to you, how is Lizzy this morning?”

             
“She was snug in bed, dreaming good dreams from the smile on her face.”

             
“That is wonderful.  I must say, if you had not returned when you did, I am afraid that Lizzy would not have survived much longer.  And now, she is returning to us more and more every day.”

             
“Lizzy told me that she had a discussion with Jane concerning the two of you marrying soon.  I believe she is planning to continue working on Jane until she gives in.”

             
“Thanks to your dear wife, Jane has agreed to have our wedding next week.  We were planning to announce the news this morning.  I will need to write to Louisa and Hurst to invite them to come.  There will be a problem with Caroline, I am sure.  I was just reading the latest news from Louisa.  She is looking forward to becoming a mother.  You can nearly feel her joy leap from the pages of the letter.”

             
“I am pleased for her and Hurst.  Will they remain in Town for the confinement or will they travel to Hurst’s family estate?”

             
“Most likely stay in Town, as Hurst is insisting on all the latest medical care for my sister.  Louisa says that he is as nervous as a wet hen.”

             
“Should be interesting to see, as most of the time I have been in the presence of Hurst, he has been asleep, drunk, or eating.” Darcy said as he laughed.

             
“Actually, Hurst pretends to be asleep or drunk for Caroline, so she leaves him alone.  It has caused problems at times for Louisa and Hurst, but they are now working towards a wonderful life with a family.”

             
Hearing voices coming towards the breakfast room, a smile came to his face as he saw his wife conversing with her sister.  The carefree manner which Elizabeth spoke was one of the signs that her spirit was nearly restored to before the fire.  It made his heart soar to hear the musical notes as she spoke.

             
“Good morning, my love.” Darcy said as he leaned over to place a kiss on his wife’s lips.  “Did you have any difficulty coming downstairs without me?”

             
“Mrs Hill sent for one of the footmen to help me down, and Jane aided me with the chair.  Jane said that I have gained enough weight back that she can no longer lift me by herself.” Elizabeth said with a smile.  “Now I need to be careful not to over eat and gain too much weight.”

             
“I believe having a little more to hold on to is much nicer for me.” Darcy said teasingly.  “And, as long as you do not become as large as the side of the house, I will not complain.”

             
“What if I become too large to fit through the door to our bed chamber?”

             
“Then there are two solutions. Either the door would have to be made larger, or you would have to remain in our bed chambers for the rest of your life, with me at your side, of course.”

             
“Of course.” Elizabeth said with a laugh.  “You are in a chipper mood this morning.  Has there been any news from your uncle yet?”

             
“There has.  I was waiting for everyone to join us before I read it out loud.”

             
One by one, their family members entered the breakfast room, and, after everyone had arrived, Darcy related the news from Rosings. Lady Matlock, Georgiana and Elizabeth were shocked at the news that Anne, not Lady Catherine, was the culprit.  None were surprised to learn the physician’s evaluation determined that Anne was insane.  She would be delivered to a secure sanitarium to live out her days.  It was also learned that she was with child.  Lady Catherine was nearly catatonic from the news, collapsing when she heard that she was to be a grandmother.