Chapter Two
M r. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived at Rosings Park in the later part of the afternoon. They had taken their time on this journey, stopping to rest the horses and to take meals, as neither felt any urgency to arrive at their destination. In truth, Mr. Darcy had rather hoped the journey would last another day, at least. But here they were. He had sent his valet, Evans, on ahead with his trunks in a separate carriage; doubtless Evans had arrived at least a full day earlier.
Upon exiting the carriage, Mr. Darcy took a deep breath as he stared up at Rosings’ imposing entrance. He thanked the coachman and suggested that he go round the back to the kitchen for a well-earned meal after bringing the equipage to the carriage house.
The front door opened as the two cousins mounted the front steps, and a man dressed in a dark suit stepped outside to greet them. Mr. Darcy paused and frowned at the man at the door. “Where is Partridge?”
“Retired, sir. I am Morton. You are Mr. Darcy, I presume? And Colonel Fitzwilliam?”
“Correct.”
“Please come inside; I will announce you.”
The two gentlemen followed Mr. Morton into the opulent drawing room where Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her daughter, Anne, waited. Mr. Morton intoned, “Mr. Darcy of Pemberley and Colonel –“
“Yes, yes, Morton, we know who they are. Darcy, what took you so long?” Lady Catherine thumped her heavy walking stick on the floor as she spoke.
“I saw no reason to push the horses, Aunt,” Mr. Darcy replied, calmly, surveying his surroundings with a frown. His aunt had a partiality for what she considered elegant colours – dark red and gold – but he disliked the somber ambiance, and he knew the furniture to be too stiff with brocade to be comfortable.
“Anne has been waiting for you, you know,” Lady Catherine continued, thumping her stick again.
Anne looked up from her position near the fire and said, “Hello, cousins. I looked out the window, all day, every day, yet you never appeared.”
Mr. Darcy winced at the whining tone in her voice. Anne tended to whine when she was unhappy, and she was unhappy a good deal of the time. He supposed he would grow accustomed to it once they were married.
“I will call for refreshments,” Lady Catherine announced.
“I, for one, would like the opportunity to clean up a bit first, Aunt,” Colonel Fitzwilliam interposed.
Mr. Darcy turned to him, gratefully, saying, “As would I.”
“You have your usual rooms,” Lady Catherine said, waving them off. “I will have refreshments brought here in half an hour.”
As the two gentlemen mounted the staircase, Colonel Fitzwilliam spoke to Mr. Darcy in a low voice. “You still mean to propose to Anne?” The two cousins had spent a good deal of time discussing the matter on the journey from London.
Mr. Darcy inclined his head. “It will make my mother happy.” This was possibly the hundredth time he had said so.
“But will it make you happy?” the Colonel asked, for possibly the hundredth time.
Mr. Darcy shrugged. “I will have done my duty to my family. That is enough.”
“You are wrong, Darcy. It is not nearly enough. But I fear that by the time you understand that, it will be too late.” The Colonel shrugged, knowing that there was no more he could say.
***
Half an hour later, Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam were back in the drawing room as the tea tray was brought in. Lady Catherine asked Anne to serve, doubtless to show Mr. Darcy that she was able to function as his hostess. Anne managed to serve her mother, but unfortunately, she bobbled the cup as she was passing it to Mr. Darcy and the hot liquid splashed onto his trousers. Anne gasped in dismay, and put her hand over her mouth as Mr. Darcy rose, bowed, and silently made his way to the staircase to change his clothing. He hoped Evans had packed a good many pairs of trousers.
“Never mind, Anne,” he heard his aunt say as he walked away. “When you are mistress of Pemberley, you can have the maids serve the tea.”
Have the maids serve the tea? At Pemberley? At Darcy House? A maid would assume the duties of the hostess? Mr. Darcy shook his head. But he supposed he would grow accustomed to it once they were – well, he would grow accustomed to it.