Chapter 7
After the meal, the guests retired to the drawing room without the usual separation of the sexes, which Lady Catherine deemed unnecessary for such an occasion.
Guests clustered to drink their tea or play cards, and a few ladies chose to display their musical accomplishments while the hired string quartet rested from their set.
Richard spotted Miss Bennet sitting alone on the settee facing the fireplace.
“May I join you?” he asked.
“By all means,” she replied, gesturing to the open seat.
Taking care not to spill his cup of tea, he eased himself down, crossing his legs comfortably.
“Such a celebration,” she remarked. “Her Ladyship has quite outdone herself. That dinner was so sumptuous, I do not think I could have eaten another bite.”
He smiled. “She will be pleased to hear it. If there is one thing my aunt loves, it is to impress others with her hospitality.”
Miss Bennet nodded. “I will be sure to thank her before the evening is over. I suppose she will be planning something equally extravagant for the wedding breakfast.”
“Oh, no doubt about it,” he said. “A wedding is a proper excuse to display one’s wealth; she has told me so herself. I suppose she would think it ill-bred if she did not go to great lengths to impress her neighbors on such an occasion.”
Miss Bennet gave a slight chuckle. “She sounds much like my mother. My sister’s wedding breakfast was the most lavish our neighborhood has seen. She insisted it was necessary, to reflect our family’s standing and Jane’s as the new Mrs. Bingley.”
“She must have been pleased with the match. I am not well-acquainted with Bingley, but I know his fortune is splendid. His father did well for himself, and Bingley has done well to carry on his father’s business after him.”
“Oh yes, she made no secret of her aspirations for the match,” Miss Bennet said, with a hint of bitterness. “Why must marriage always come down to how much money one has?” she suddenly asked.
Her question took him by surprise. Perhaps it was the wine he had imbibed during dinner, coupled with the champagne before, that made him speak freely in response to her.
He commended her, stating the reality that there are few who can afford to marry without some attention to money.
His own bitterness on the subject made it difficult for him to divulge too much, but he allowed himself to say, “The trouble is, those who have no money want to marry someone who is rich, but those who are rich want to marry other people who are also rich.”
“Unless they happen to fall in love with a poor person,” she quipped.
Her laughter made him wonder if she had guessed the truth of his situation somehow. Caught in embarrassment, he chuckled along with her, until he realized that perhaps she spoke only in general.
Clearing his throat, he continued. “True. But all too often, even in the case where that happens, their family or other forces may conspire against them.”
This was certainly true for him and Anne.
Perhaps it had been true for herself and Darcy.
Though Darcy had claimed that it was Miss Bennet’s own choice to release him from their engagement, perhaps her family or others had persuaded her to give him up.
Perhaps even Lady Catherine had a hidden hand in it somehow, he did not know.
She nodded. “Yes, I have witnessed this. But one has to hope that in the end, the strength of their love will enable them to prevail.”
“Do you believe that love conquers all, then?”
“I must say that I do. As long as the couple has true love for one another, they can overcome any obstacle, whether wealth or poverty, family interference or their own pride.”
Her optimism was endearing, and deeply revealing. It warmed his heart unexpectedly. “You give me hope, Miss Bennet.”
If Elizabeth Bennet could yet hold out hope for a love with his cousin, whom she had broken her engagement to, who was he to give up hope for his relationship with Anne?
They both needed to find their way with the people they were meant to be with, before it was too late.
Richard was a fool to think that he could ever be happy to stand and watch someone else marry the woman he loved.
To think that he had agreed to be Darcy’s best man even!
As if reading his mind, she asked archly, “Do you have a lady in mind, then? Has someone captured your heart, Colonel Fitzwilliam?”
What had he to lose by telling her? Perhaps his own admission might spur her to act.
Lord only knew needed courage himself. “Aye, there is. For years, I have thought the obstacles before us too great to overcome, but your words make me realize I ought to act soon, before I regret my lack of action for the rest of my life.”
He would not make the mistake of letting Anne go. He would find a way for them to be together, if it took every breath he had.
He cocked his head, catching a glimpse of Darcy standing just behind them out of the corner of his eye. How long had the sly fellow been listening in on their conversation? Knowing exactly what he was about, he asked the question that might reveal all.
“And what of you, Miss Bennet? Is there someone you are secretly holding a candle for?”
Miss Bennet’s color turned a becoming shade of pink as she grew flustered.
“Forgive me, Miss Bennet,” he said with a slight laugh, “I fear my question is too impertinent.”
Dipping her head, she murmured, “No more impertinent than mine was. In truth…there was someone…is someone…but…”
“But what?” Richard prompted.
“I waited too long to tell him my feelings. And I do not believe that he ever returned them.” Her regret was written on her face.
Richard glanced at Darcy, then back at Miss Bennet, before softly encouraging her. “If you never told him, then how do you know that he did not?”
“I suppose I shall never know,” she answered.
The answer must have been enough for Darcy, who stealthily moved from them lest his observance of their conversation be discovered by Miss Bennet. Richard did Darcy the favor of changing the subject to distract her, all the while hoping that the seeds had been planted for his cousin to act.
As for himself, he knew what he would do. Engagement or no engagement, Anne would not be allowed to marry the wrong man on her wedding day.