Love and Prejudice--Prologue

“London, England

October 10th, 18—

Dear Mr. Darcy,

My name is Thomas Brambles, Esquire, solicitor and executor of the estate of Lord Matthew Farthington. I write you to inform you of an inheritance left to you by Lord Farthington and to relate to you my employer’s final request.

Lord Farthington, as a close friend of your father the late Mr. Darcy, with whom he made several charitable and business investments, has bequeathed to you in his death his property on the island of New Sussex in the Caribbean. The property encompasses the entire island of thirty square miles and is rich in farmland. As owner of the entire island, Lord Farthington decreed that New Sussex a free island and its remaining so is a condition of the inheritance. The farms are tended by tenants of freed blacks and whites and clear fifteen thousand pounds a year. The island is currently under the direction of Mr. Krimpton, a capable and trustworthy steward who has served Lord Farthington for over twenty years. I will provide papers formalizing the bequest should you accept and meet with you at a time you may set.

Lord Farthington has also made a final request of a more personal nature. A letter detailing his request is enclosed with this missive written by his own hand. As a loyal employee of Lord Farthington and as a friend I pledge to lend my services to aide you in whatever capacity is needed in order to grant his request.

Please write to me at your earliest convenience informing me of your decision.

Sincerely,

Thomas Brambles, Esq.”

“Loland Manor, New Sussex

 

May 15th, 18—

Dear Mr. Darcy,

If you are reading this letter, noble sir, than I have lost my battle with consumption. I write to you as a dear friend and colleague of your father. I held your father in the highest respect and esteem, and was honoured to be made your godfather upon your christening. His innate sense of justice and concern for his fellow man garnered him the admiration of his peers and made him as dear to my heart as any brother could be.

Your father was proud of you, and described you as a gentleman of deep conviction who held fast to the ideals of truth, honour, duty and fairness. It is to these ideals that I now make my plea for assistance.

My request regards a young woman to whom I have given my name and protection, Miss Mary Caroline Farthington. Miss Farthington came into my care and protection in infancy, after the passing of her mother, a most noble and respected woman who suffered greatly at the hands of the institution to which I have devoted my life to defeating. During the time in which I have served as her guardian, I have come to love and admire her as if she were my own flesh and blood. She is a remarkably educated and accomplished young woman, having received the best education I could afford her. She is fluent in Latin, French and German, knowledgeable of world affairs and English politics and laws, and well-versed in philosophy and history. She also takes great delight in literature and also possesses a talent for the English language. She is also artistically gifted; she paints and embroiders, plays the harp and pianoforte with both passion and skill, and sings beautifully.

While I have been able, I have protected and nurtured her as a most beloved daughter. In passing, my greatest fear is that she will be left unprotected at the tender age of 19.

I have left Miss Farthington a generous inheritance. She will have 5000 pounds a year - more than enough to ensure that she is well provided for – and the family estate in Sussex will pass to her possession upon her twenty-first birthday. Were circumstances different, her inheritance and accomplishments would make her a most desirable match for a gentleman of consequence and ensure her protection. However, Miss Farthington is the daughter of a Negro slave whom I purchased to secure her freedom from a most brutal master in America. Her heritage places her in a most precarious position under English law and I dare not risk leaving her unprotected until she achieves the age of majority. She is without family or friends in England. It is my sincere request that you serve as Miss Farthington’s guardian, extending to her the same protection and guidance I strove to offer her.

It would give me great comfort to know that my Mary will not be left so wholly unprotected once I depart from this life. Should you fulfill my request, both my undying gratitude and that of Miss Farthington are yours.

Sincerely,