“Yours? It was never yours, Catherine. The moment you attempted to dishonour my family name, it was to be lost to you for the rest of your life.” Mr. Darcy retorted. “Lewis had initially wished for Fitzwilliam to inherit it all but I convinced him that my son will have Pemberley and Netherfield as well as the townhouse. He knew Richard loved being in the army and when he wishes, when he is ready to retire, he will reside at Rosings Park to enjoy his retirement in comfort. Your retirement, unfortunately, will not be so comfortable. As soon as Anne returns to Kent, we will carry out Lewis’ final will and testament and you will get what is coming to you. Do you wish to attend Lewis’ funeral? You are his wife and everyone will talk if you are not there.”
“Of course, I will attend!” Lady Catherine exclaimed. “I am still the rightful mistress and of course I will see to the details and ensure Lewis’ wishes are carried out.”
Mr. Darcy sneered at her self-importance once again. “Although, if you think carefully on it, everyone already knows you left the estate as soon as Lewis passed and certainly your servants have gossiped to everyone they know. Perhaps it is best if you remain in town.”
She replied as she resignedly sighed, “Yes, yes, I have no wish to go to Kent now, George. I will stay at Darcy House while you see to the funeral and I will have my belongings moved to the dower house and send my maid with you. Dawson will know what to fetch and transfer it to my new home.”
“Ah, about that,” Mr. Darcy grinned, “I should tell you that Lewis’ wishes were very explicit regarding your future. He stipulated that should you be difficult, should you cause trouble for Anne or your nephews, particularly my son, you will lose the dower house as well as the income from the estate. Your annuity is to be lowered to £300 a year and you will never set foot in Rosings again, Catherine. Lewis was to have explained all of this to you already.”
“£300... a year... I will be left destitute. He mentioned something but...” she began to splutter. “You cannot do this to me, George! He did not say... Lewis said something about the income and dower house but I did not... I do not recall...”
Mr. Darcy harrumphed, “As usual, you failed to listen to anyone else than your own voice. You will lose your £1,000 a year because you are a fool. I will do what Lewis wished and you will suffer for your wrongs, Catherine, and Henry will return in four days after we have buried your husband. You are to stay here and your maid can stay with you but you will not leave this boarding house and you will not be allowed inside my homes. This is the last time I will see you, Catherine. I only came in honour of Lewis’ last words to care for Anne and I have done my duty. You will be far from civilisation and will cause no more trouble where you are going.”
“Where am I to go?!” Lady Catherine shouted, “You cannot leave me here, George!”
Mr. Darcy nodded to the burly man who was still standing in the room. “Roger will stand guard outside of your rooms until his replacement arrives. Mr. O’Connor is making arrangements with Mrs. Younge to ensure you stay in the room and to remind her that we are aware of what her husband does not know.” He smirked. “You did already pay for a full week, Mrs. Jones.” With that, he left the room and the guard closed the door behind him to stand outside the door.
Lady Catherine could do naught but sit and contemplate what her future was to be.
Chapter 10
December 1805
“What in the world are you doing, Lizzy?” William yelped in surprise. “Why do you have candles all around you and laying there as if you are dead?”
Lizzy shushed him, “Quiet, Will! I’m pretending to have a Viking funeral after my death. My favourite naval leader has been shot dead and I mourn for him. There will never be a greater hero than Admiral Horatio Nelson of His Majesty’s Royal Navy and he should be given a proper memorial. He might have been a man of small stature but he will be the tallest hero in our history books.”
William chuckled as he sat next to her while Snowflake was eating the grass at a distance. “Should you not be completely engulfed in fire if you were a true Viking?”
“I don’t actually want to be burned, silly!” Lizzy closed her eyes and lay still. “I wonder who will grieve for me when I pass this life.”
“I would grieve, Lizzy,” William softly answered. “I probably would not cease crying for days if something happened to you.”
Lizzy smiled as she began to rise, “Of course you will be fine, Will! I know you will miss me but since you are so much older,you will die long before me!” She stood and ran off after her tease.
“Why, you merciless child!” William chased her around the tree and down the hill several yards. He easily caught up to her and swung her around in circles as they broke out in laughter.
He lowered her to the ground and kissed the top of her head. “I would be very sad to lose you, indeed, Lizzy. I thought about mama dying for many years and I believe my father would have followed along soon after. I see the way my father loves my mother and I wish to find love like theirs more than anything in life. I hope my future wife will be young and hearty and live for many, many years with me. You have to help me choose wisely, remember? My Uncle Lewis chose poorly and his wife was disgraceful and
