Page 7 of Miss Gardiner
Albert Belmont was the senior attorney in a successful legal practice in the City. In his richly furnished office, Mr Belmont, and three associates sat across the table from a rich and powerful client, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. With Mr Darcy on his side of the table were two men, the first man was another attorney from Belmont’s firm and the second his personal secretary, Benjamin Clemmons. At the end of the table, seated separately from the two groups of men sat three more attorneys representing Crown Prince Bank, a financial institution in London with a tarnished reputation. Darcy would never do business with them and wondered at the machinations used to arrange this meeting.
“Mr Darcy, we appreciate your time today,” Mr Belmont said to begin the meeting. He motioned toward the three men from the bank and said, “Our colleagues from Crown Prince Bank have pressed forward a claim against the Darcy estate that we must bring to your attention.”
Darcy did not bother to glance toward his attorney. The man claimed no knowledge of the cause for the meeting when questioned. Clemmons looked harried–he had searched through all records in the house in Mayfair after Darcy received the summons two days previous but there was nothing about any contracts or papers concerning properties in Gravesend, an important town in Kent along the Thames River.
“Six years ago, just before he died, your father, Mr George Darcy, agreed to be guarantor for a mortgage that Lady Catherine de Bourgh took on five properties in Gravesend. These properties were part of her dowry from the Matlock estate and not connected to the deBourgh estate.”
“What terms are on the mortgages?” asked Mr Clemmons and this question caused the banking attorneys to explain the principal, interest and penalties included in the contracts.
“After the first year, Lady Catherine ceased making any payments on the loan.”
Clemmons asked indignantly, “And for five years you failed to send statements or notices to MrDarcy…”
“Our agreement with Lady Catherine and Mr George Darcy was that only Lady Catherine would receive notices until such time as Crown Prince Bank was forced to being foreclosure on the properties.”
“What concern is it of mine if you foreclose on Lady Catherine’s estate? Will you seize her properties…?” Darcy asked but he was interrupted by one of the attorneys from the bank.
“Unfortunately, the properties have not been properly maintained in the last eight years, and their value no longer meets the value of the debt. We shall apply in the courts for Mr Darcy to make good on the loans.”
After considering the man’s statement, Mr Darcy asked, “Would these mortgaged properties be the two warehouses and the three residences in Gravesend that belong to my aunt as her personal property?”
After a moment of discussion between the bankers, they admitted these were the properties.
“Why do you think the properties have declined in value?” asked Clemmons.
“The rents have not been collected in the last two years,” one man replied.
Darcy’s left eyebrow shot upwards after hearing this statement. The steward of Rosings Park in Kent collected the rents each quarter, and every pound and shilling were recorded in his books, as well as receipts with Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s signature where she received the money; each summer, Fitzwilliam visited his aunt and reviewed the books of accounts himself, seeing her signature written in her precise hand.
“Bring me the papers that bear my father’s signature,” Darcy stated and the men from his own law firm across the table produced the papers, rather than the gentlemen representing the bank. He examined the papers carefully; they were sequential and appeared to bear authentic signatures, but he paused when he noted the witnesses were Lady Catherine and Mrs Rowles, the woman who acted as Anne de Bourgh’s companion at that time.
Darcy recognized his aunt’s hand in this matter; she hoped to embarrass or anger him after defrauding him–with the aid of his own attorneys.
The banker continued speaking, “Lady Catherine does not have any monies of her own outside these properties and we cannot attach any claims to her daughter’s estate. Miss de Bourgh’s estate no longer provides Lady Catherine with funds.”
Clearing his throat, Darcy interjected, “My aunt has great control over the income of Rosings Park.”
“Only because your cousin allows Lady Catherine this control,” the attorney replied. “If Miss de Bourgh married, her husband could cast Lady Catherine from the house without a sack or a sock.”
“But she has a widow’s portion from the estate,” Darcy replied. “It is seven hundred a year.”
“She returned the right to the estate,” the banker said. “Lady Catherine took this action before she defaulted on the mortgage. This means the Darcy estate is liable for the payments, interest, and penalties.”
“Or you seize my aunt’s properties,” Darcy declared.
The banker shrugged and said, “Again, they are not worth the value of the loans with the interest and penalties.”
“What is the total figure to clear the debt?” asked Clemmons, making notes on paper with a quill he always carried.
“Just over seven thousand pounds.”
“The exact amount?” insisted Fitzwilliam Darcy.
“Seven thousand, three hundred and eight pounds, four pence due before Christmas this year,” replied Belmont in a resigned tone, as though he were sentencing a man to the gallows.
‘If he hopes to retain a single one of my accounts or legal matters Mr Belmont will aid my efforts to clear this debt, fire the men dealing withCrown Prince Bank, and end all services for Lady Catherine,’Darcy decided.‘I knew it was a mistake to leave my legal matters with the same men that handled Lady Catherine…Lord Matlock’s estate is here as well. Is there another mortgage waiting there to sap Darcy wealth?’
Darcy’s face remained unreadable by every man in the room. Unfortunately, his secretary’s face was not as stony, and the attorneys knew Mr Darcy was short the necessary cash to settle the debt.
