Chapter 34 Manipulations
Darcy's determination had to carry him through what ended up feeling like a very long day.
With their plan for the following day settled, Anne had sent her maid to prepare the last of the personal luggage so Richard would be able to smuggle it out to Darcy's carriage later that day.
Mrs. Jenkinson remained in the conservatory with the others for propriety's sake, but she sat a little back from the other three and enjoyed watching the cousins converse and plan together without additional comments from her.
After Polly left, Anne insisted on hearing the whole of Darcy's interactions with Lizzy.
While Darcy weighed what and how much to say, Richard jumped in and retold the full story he had heard from his cousin the day before.
He, of course, played up the more amusing aspects of Darcy's recent experience – his misunderstanding regarding her name, the unintentional insult, the search for Lizzy under the wrong name, the many missed opportunities to find her and Richard's own role in identifying the mystery woman.
With his storytelling style, it ended up sounding like a Shakespearean comedy and Anne frequently found reason to laugh even as she questioned the truth of some of Richard's statements.
While his cousins talked, Darcy was torn between feelings of humiliation at having his folly exposed yet again and an unexpected sense of companionship.
He realized that neither Richard nor Anne was mocking him.
They were amused by the events and his errors, to be sure, but under the teasing he could hear both sympathy and affection.
It was a new feeling for him and not an entirely comfortable one.
As if realizing he was in danger of pushing Darcy too far, Richard excused himself when he and Anne finished going over the tale.
"I am certain Aunt Catherine has someone watching to be sure I do not stay here with you too long," he said.
"I also think we need to warn Mr. Bennet of Wickham's presence in Meryton.
After I write a note to him, I will go out and have your men inspect the carriage for possible damage from the rough ride this morning.
Mention of that downed tree near Stornham can lend veracity to the tale for any listeners.
Your men will find a problem and a part they need to replace, which will give me a reason to send one of them off to Maidstone.
Once there, your man can hire an express rider to carry my note to Longbourn. "
"Good idea, Richard," Darcy agreed. "You and I will want to leave for Meryton directly from the wedding tomorrow.
There is too much chance of delay or problems if we come back here first. The only question is how to avoid having Aunt Catherine institute a search for all of us if we disappear without prior warning. "
"I had thought it might be best to let her wonder," Anne said, and Mrs. Jenkinson nodded agreement. "If she is busy searching and wondering where we are, she will be distracted. If we give her warning or have someone notify her, she may accelerate her other plans."
Richard nodded. "I agree, but I will leave you three to talk over any concerns with that plan. I need to go write that note." He quickly left the room.
"It seems cruel to simply leave your mother to wonder," Darcy observed after Richard closed the door behind him. "All the same, I think you are probably correct about it providing a necessary distraction."
"It is nowhere near as cruel as Mother can be," Anne said.
"It seems with every passing minute I understand that more and more," Darcy replied.
"I am sorry I never made the effort to be closer to you as we were growing up.
I have always cared, just not in the way your mother wanted me to.
Seeing you with Richard, I envy the ease you have in each other's company. "
"Oh, Will," Anne said, smiling, "Richard is a different person, and it was easier for us to be in contact because his father was able to help.
I have always known you cared in your own way.
You and Georgiana are my cousins, and I would have loved being able to write or spend time with you both over the years.
However, with Mother being who she is, that was almost as impossible as making a visit with the Bennets. "
"Richard told me that despite the lack of contact, you consider the Bennet sisters your friends. You certainly speak of them in a way that implies close familiarity."
"We are friends - through intermediaries anyway - Lizzy and Mary in particular.
Over the years we have exchanged messages through Richard or Uncle Peter and even a few letters.
Yes, it is not ideal or everything I might wish, but Mrs. Jenkinson has taught me I have a choice in how I look at my life.
I can whinge and cry over all the things I do not have.
I can become my mother, trying to control everyone to ensure they are as miserable as I.
Or I can accept that while my life has limits, obstacles and challenges, I can still be happy with what I do have, even as I strive to overcome them. "
"I am curious about your upcoming marriage to Mr. Hanson. Is it a marriage of love or is it a way to overcome the obstacle that is your mother by escaping her control?" He asked in as neutral a tone as he could manage, trying not to sound judgmental.
Anne responded very seriously, "It would be no true escape without love, and I would not marry Martin if I did not also love him deeply."
Darcy sighed slightly with relief at the answer. "I am glad to hear that. If I am going to help, I do not want my role to be one of enabling you to exchange one prison for another."
"I appreciate your caution. If it does not turn out as planned, I will not blame you, cousin. I am actively reaching to grasp my own happiness, and I will shape it to be what I need. See that you do the same." She said the last teasingly. Darcy smiled in response.
"I will do my best. Perhaps you can put in a good word for me with Miss Elizabeth," Darcy said, more joking than hopeful.
"I will write to her and let her know how much help you are being," Anne replied. "If all goes well, I will be free to do so after tomorrow. You cannot rest on your laurels or my recommendation, however. Others, including Lizzy, need to be protected and freed from my mother's plots."
"I will do all I can," Darcy assured her. "I just wish we had a clearer idea of how those plots are intended to unfold so we can counter them."
"You begin to understand why Richard, Uncle Peter, Mr. Bennet and the rest have had to wait and see how she manipulated events before taking action.
We cannot stop her plotting, we can only stop the plots she sets in motion and that, only after she has revealed them.
Jane's impending wedding has forced her to accelerate her plans.
If Jane is able to marry without incident, it lessens the impact of any non-physical means mother can take to ruin the family's standing or the chances of the others to marry. "
"Miss Mary is being courted by my friend Bingley," Darcy informed her. "Not officially, yet, but he seems smitten enough that I have no doubt it will be within the next few weeks."
Anne clapped her hands with delight and, off to the side, Mrs. Jenkinson smiled broadly. "Truly?" Anne asked. "Is he a good man? Will he treat her well?"
"Yes, yes and yes," Darcy confirmed. "He is genial and kind.
He will treasure her while doing all he can to make her happy.
We have known each other for several years, ever since Richard recommended him to me as a friend.
Bingley stood by me and kept me company when Father died and he can always be relied on to look for the good in any event. "
"I am so glad to hear that. Of course, we must not let Mother catch wind of it, not before a match between them is certain, anyway. She has always been dismissive of Mary, but that would change with the prospect of an advantageous match."
"No, I do not wish to make either my friend or Miss Mary end up as targets of Aunt Catherine's plans. I will not say anything about the match in her hearing, and I am certain Richard will not either."
"Good. Then, while we have privacy, you must tell me how they met," she said, looking as excited to hear him speak as she had when Richard told his story earlier. Darcy accepted the challenge and began with a description of the Parkhurst ball.
Although he knew neither the subject nor his delivery was as amusing as Richard's tale of his own misadventures, Darcy thought he conveyed a good impression of Bingley, and Anne seemed to enjoy hearing it.
He drew on what Bingley had told him of the initial meetings with Mary before describing his own observations from dinner with the Gardiners.
Anne was equally interested in hearing about them and the rest of those present at the dinner.
"I should like to meet Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner some time," she said. "They seem like such wonderful people. They are the ones who helped Richard keep in contact with his father, with Mr. Bennet and with me, all without my mother suspecting a thing."
Shaking his head in wonderment, Darcy said, "Do you know, if it were not people I care about who are the targets of her displeasure, I would almost begin to feel sorry for your mother. What hope does she have to prevail with so many intelligent and determined defenders ranged against her?"
"Do not discount her plans, connections and general sneakiness," Anne warned.
"We must continue to be both determined and careful.
I am hoping at some point she will slip up in a way that will allow us to stop her for good, but right now the only way I can see that happening is for her to actually cause significant harm to someone and be caught at it. "
Darcy nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose Richard and his father have already put much thought into ways to neutralize the threat she poses," he mused.