Page 123 of New World Tea Company
“I have received this letter from Mr Darcy with details of an expensive fraud that has occurred in London. He askedme to share with everyone in Meryton that George Wickham defrauded Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Miss Caroline Bingley of many thousands of pounds.”
Shocked to hear of crimes and lost wealth again, Elizabeth fell silent. Mr Bennet allowed his daughter to read the letter–Mr Darcy’s words were clear that no investor with the New World Tea Company would receive dividends or recover their investments. Worse, it appeared that Mr Wickham murdered his confederates and then disappeared with the stolen wealth.
Lizzy continued reading:
I shall return to Netherfield to continue my visit with Mr and Mrs Bingley, and my calls with your family. Before the end of May, I shall provide documents from government officials in London to each gentleman in Meryton who purchased shares in the fictious company. These documents include statements concerning the murders of Mr Wickham’s confederates, affirmations from the London harbour masters that there have never been any ships at the London docks with goods belonging to the New World Tea Company, and the statement of the innkeeper at the Sleeping Dog concerning that last day.
~~~
“Murder!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
Then she asked, “Papa, why would the innkeeper’s statement be included?”
Her father explained, “That man spoke with Wickham and both murder victims. He is the one who discovered the bodies and the disappearance of Wickham from the inn.
Confused Elizabeth asked, “Did the innkeeper not see Mr Wickham leave through the door?”
“Apparently, the Sleeping Dog has a back staircase that allows gentlemen with less honourable intentions to slip out the back.”
Elizabeth looked confused by the statement and Mr Bennet added, “I imagine the innkeeper requires everyone to pay for their lodgings, food and drink before they are given a room.
“The man knows some guests slip out the back!” Elizabeth complained. She grimaced and confessed, “Jane and I used the back staircase to escape from the house many times…even today, I went down those stairs and out through the kitchen.
“Of course you did,” Mr Bennet stated. “I climbed down the trellis until I was eleven years but then used the same backstairs until I married your mama.”
Blinking with surprise to hear her father’s confession, Elizabeth was distracted by a knock on the front door. Mr Bennet and his daughter turned as Mr Hill opened the door of Mr Bennet’s library and announced, “Sir, Mrs Bingley has come for tea, and she is escorted by Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Georgiana Darcy.”
The look of surprise on Lizzy’s face pleased Mr Bennet greatly as his second daughter rose and straightened her gown but ignored the curls that had escaped from the combs in her hair. She waited for her father to lead the way into the hall to greet their visitors. From the staircase, she heard her mother exclaiming about the pleasant surprise of visitors in time for tea, Jane’s laughter, and the pleasant tones of Bingley’s voice.
The happy smile on Elizabeth’s face was matched by the smile on the tall gentleman’s face as she curtsied to Mr Darcy before she turned her attention to Georgiana for a moment.
~~~
Chapter 59.Mr Bingley Returns
It was two more days before the Bingley coach and four appeared just before luncheon and Jane greeted her husband with tears and kisses at their front door. Because Elizabeth had walked over for the day, she and Georgiana shared a few tears as they watched the couple reunite. As he watched the emotional reunion of husband and wife, Fitzwilliam Darcy admitted to himself that there was a genuine love between his friend and Jane Bingley née Bennet. He glanced at Elizabeth who comforted Georgiana and realized he wanted the same feeling with the second Bennet sister.
While Jane sent for tea, food and spirits for her husband, Charles relaxed for a moment. He was pleased when no one demanded to know the details of his trip to London and that there were no public conversations about the events that had forced Bingley and Mr Darcy to rush to the city.
The manor house was filled with laughter and smiles that afternoon as happiness of Mr and Mrs Bingley’s happiness was shared with everyone. Over tea that afternoon, Elizabeth steered the conversation toward normal tasks around the estate and Charles spoke about a meeting with the gamekeeper the previous week.
Bingley explained, “Netherfield does not have a pack of fox hounds but there will be a surplus of partridges in the hedgerows this autumn. Chartwell – the gamekeeper’s name is Chartwell – asked for a couple young men to help clear some saplings out of the shrubbery so the partridges keep their nesting grounds. And he has set traps for stoats and weasels that kill the hens on the ground.”
Darcy asked, “Does he coop any hens with their chicks?”
Confused, Charles asked, “Why put them into coops?”
Elizabeth explained, “Charles, with the protection of the coop and plenty of grain, more of the chicks survive the first weeks, especially if the gamekeeper has hunted off the predators. Once the chicks have grown their first feathers, the gamekeepers release the hen and her chicks back into the hedgerows.”
Bingley grinned and said, “So with a good start, my guests and I shall have a large number of birds to shoot this autumn.”
Miss Darcy asked about hunting partridges and her brother answered, “A gentleman is expected to provide opportunities for exercise for his neighbours and guests. The partridge hunt begins in the morning with ale and hot drinks around the stable yard. Then the gentlemen walk out with the gamekeeper and several beaters who direct them to the fields and hedgerows where the partridges spend the day. When the birds take flight, the gentlemen shoot rifles loaded with shot – multiple small pellets. When a pellet or two hit the bird, it falls to the ground.”
Fitzwilliam concluded his explanation saying, “At Pemberley, our gamekeeper has a pair of dogs that are trained to retrieve the birds after they fall to the ground.”
Charles grinned and said, “Last autumn Darcy and I both played the role of retriever when we shot partridges while Chartwell reloaded the guns and directed the boy to flush out more birds.”
“It is an excellent exercise for gentlemen,” Elizabeth added with a grin.
