Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
Old enough, yes, but experienced enough? At least his butler had said she’d brought a maid and a groom. “Still, your mother will be terribly worried. Perhaps we should—” He broke off as footfalls sounded in the hall.
“Lady Catherine de Bourgh to see you, Sir,” his butler said, appearing in the parlor doorway.
Mouth pressed in a stubborn line, Anne said, “Bring her in.”
Dremel looked to him, and Darcy gave a slight nod. The butler turned to go, but more footfalls, accompanied by the distinctive rap of a cane, came down the hall. Dremel stepped back from both, aggrieved.
“Darcy, you must help me locate Anne.” Lady Catherine’s voice rang out in the hall. “She said she was going for a drive, but that was ages ago and she took—”
Lady Catherine broke off as she entered the room. Her eyes went wide, then narrowed before taking on a look of relief. She rushed into the room and up to her daughter. “Anne, thank goodness you’re here. You frightened me.”
Tone firm to the point of anger, Anne said, “I’m not going to marry Thomas.”
“You would be a fool not to. You would be a countess.”
“He’s not even out of deep mourning,” Darcy pointed out before tempers could flare.
Lady Catherine awarded him a nod. “Which is why I hadn’t considered him, but he brought up the possibility when he wrote about Richard.”
“He betrayed his father’s trust and asked for Anne’s hand all in one letter?” Darcy said, disgusted.
“I will not marry him, Mother,” Anne reiterated.
“And I wouldn’t have forced you to,” Lady Catherine said.
“No, you wouldn’t, because you cannot. You did dangle the threat of making poor sweet Georgiana marry him if I did not, though.”
“She cannot make Georgiana do anything of the sort,” Darcy reiterated.
“I did not threaten to force that arrangement,” Lady Catherine protested. “I merely wished you to be aware that you could lose the chance to be a countess if you dawdle over the opportunity.”
“Marrying Thomas is not an opportunity. It’s a sentence.”
Disgruntled, Lady Catherine waved off Anne’s words. “If you are so opposed to Thomas, you do not need to marry him. I will find you someone else with a title. With your wealth and background, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
“I will marry Richard,” Anne said firmly.
“I won’t allow it.”
“I’m of age and you can’t stop me.”
Darcy took a step back, feeling a touch trapped between the two, very angry, women.
“Richard doesn’t have the bloodlines,” Lady Catherine said. “Now that we called off the wedding, too many people know that. I will find you someone better.”
It grimly amused Darcy that Lady Catherine would use her outing of Richard’s parentage as a reason he couldn’t marry Anne.
“Anyone you find will be a fortune hunter,” Anne said. “No matter what face he puts on when he’s with me, my fortune is the only reason he’d have for marrying me.”
“Richard is a fortune hunter,” Lady Catherine snapped.
“Yes,” Anne said. “But if Thomas married me, it would be for my fortune, which would make him a fortune hunter as well, regardless of how much money he has and can expect from his father.”
“By that logic, no man will suit you, so you may as well have Thomas.”
Anne shook her head. “I’ve known both Thomas and Richard all my life.
Richard is uniformly kind, not only to me but to everyone.
I’ve seen Thomas be unkind to people, including his wife.
Except when he wanted to get her with child again, each time she recovered from bearing the last, he always ignored Emily, but the servants whisper that he doesn’t ignore young and pretty maids. ”
“You should not listen to servant gossip,” Lady Catherine gasped out.
“The servants aren’t the only source of information about Thomas. Abigail warned me not to bring a pretty maid when I visited if I didn’t want her to bear Thomas’ child.”
“But you brought Lucy.”
“Who cried when she found she wasn’t pregnant. Thomas gives them fifty pounds to find a husband. Lucy had a husband in mind and wanted a dowry.”
“The hussy,” Lady Catherine cried. “Plotting to rob an Earl of his seed. To think I gave her ten pounds when she married.”
Darcy decided the conversation was getting a bit far afield. “Lady Catherine, surely you know Thomas would not make Anne a good husband.”
Both women turned to him, appearing a touch surprised, as if they’d forgotten he was there.
Lady Catherine scowled. “I do.”
Triumphant, Anne whirled back to her mother. “And just as surely, no matter what his lineage, you know Richard will make me a good husband.”
Lady Catherine’s scowl deepened.
“Aunt Catherine,” Darcy said, doing his best to sound persuasive even though he generally lacked the skill. “Much like me, Anne does not need to marry for money, or even connections. She can marry for affection.”
Lady Catherine snorted. “You mean throw her prospects away on someone whose father can barely be considered a gentleman, and who has no wealth of which to speak?”
“I mean, give herself the very best opportunity to find someone who will love her and respect her. Who will help her manage her estate, and will make her happy.”
“Richard, the son of a nobody, master of Rosings,” Lady Catherine moaned.
“Richard, who you are a good enough manager to know, will do far better than Thomas would,” Darcy corrected.
“You know he’s right, Mother,” Anne added.
“Speaking of estates,” Lady Catherine said, ignoring her daughter.
“Mr. Collins’ property sold.” She tugged an envelope from her skirt pocket.
“The next time you see Miss Bennet, give her this. It’s the details of the account I had set up for her.
It’s in her name. The money from the property and everything else that sold is in the account. ”
Darcy accepted the envelope. “Thank you.”
“Mother,” Anne pressed, the word clipped and hard with anger.
For a moment, it appeared as if Lady Catherine would continue to ignore her daughter, but then she turned to Anne. “Very well. It is a mistake, but you are old enough to make mistakes of your own. You may marry Richard.”
“I remind you that I do not actually require your permission to do so.”
Darcy cast Anne a reprimanding look.
She let out a sigh and added, “But I am pleased to have it. Thank you, Mother.”
“Harrumph,” Lady Catherine muttered and, turning, tromped back out the parlor door, her cane tapping the way beside her.
Anne let out a long sigh and seemed to wilt, sinking down onto one of the long sofas. “I’m glad that is over.”
Darcy took the sofa opposite her. “Does Richard know where you are or that you still want to marry him?”
“He doesn’t know where I am, but I imagine he has enough faith in me to know I still wish to marry him.”
“If not, he’ll never doubt you again after you drove all the way to London and the way you stood up to your mother.”
Anne looked away, into the fire on the far side of the room.
“I suppose I always knew I would need to someday. Richard is important enough, I had to finally do it.” She scrubbed her hands over her narrow face.
“But now what? The banns were ready, but we missed our wedding date, and Richard isn’t even in London. ”
“I’m certain you can set a new date. If it’s soon, it won’t even give your mother’s cook too great a headache.”
“But I don’t know that Richard, or I, will wish to marry in town with so many of my mother’s and uncle’s friends, all judging him.”
Impulsively, Darcy said, “Come to Hertfordshire and marry with us, next Tuesday. It’s already a joint wedding, with Miss Mary and Mr. Murphy, both of whom you’re quite fond.
I’ll make all the arrangements.” The arrangements might include a special license, but Darcy had a contact who could and would accomplish that for a reasonable fee.
Anne smiled. “I must write Richard first and ask his opinion, but I’m certain he’ll agree. Thank you, Darcy.”