Lady Anne's Gambit

Prologue

Lady Anne, an Earl’s daughter in her debut season looked up at the tall, dark and handsome Mr Darcy as he led her to the supper set dance.

Like all the other young ladies attending the ball at Lord and Lady Ashurst’s town house, Lady Anne ought to have been intimidated by Mr Darcy who had the reputation of being too serious, taciturn and even unpleasant at times, but Lady Anne, the youngest daughter of Lord Matlock at eighteen years of age had the advantage of growing up under the insufferable and overbearing presence of her older sister, Lady Catherine.

The fact was Lady Anne liked the older, serious and no-nonsense gentleman. He represented a challenge… a challenge to make him laugh and make him look at a lady more than once and hopefully soften his eyes at her visage.

Less than three months later the rich and very serious Mr Darcy had succumbed to the tall, blonde and very beautiful eighteen year old Anne Fitzwilliam.

It had been a love match; Lady Anne not only had succeeded in making the gentleman fall in love with her, but had herself fallen desperately in love with him.

Within the first year, she had given birth to the heir of Pemberley, Fitzwilliam Alexander Darcy. Unfortunately, she had many failed pregnancies in following years; but twelve years later a little girl, Georgiana, was born to the couple and the family seemed complete.

***

Nine years later

Early October 1805

Lady Anne reached out and grabbing her husband’s cold fingers, sobbed bitterly, “Oh George, how could you leave me? You know very well how William still depends on you. He is nowhere near ready to step into your shoes. Pemberley will drain him of energy. It will rob him of his best years. At one and twenty, he should be having fun with friends rather than carrying the weight of responsibility of an enormous estate.”

She attempted to curb her bitterness but was aware that she failed most miserably, “What about Georgiana? She will grow up without the affection of a loving father. You know she is so tender hearted; she was created to love deeply, to care beyond the conventional. She forgives easily and feels intensely. How can I tell a precocious nine year old child that she has lost her hero, her inspiration to laugh and live?”

The lady looked around herself; the room had been overly warm for so long in an attempt to bring life back to his failing body. The smell of death and despair was already permeating into everything.

All had failed: the doctors, the medicine, the prayers, the tears, the entreaties, his own heart and finally, herself.

She had failed him above all else.

The infirmity that had ravaged her husband’s body had left not only an estate bereft of his direction, his two children orphaned, but above all a broken woman who had lost her anchor. She found herself utterly spent and desirous of following her husband into the grave.

But as she schemed on how to put an end to her suffering, she saw with her heart’s eyes a broken young man unable to live fully, unable to love, to carry on with even the semblance of a normal life, coupled with the added weight of the responsibility of a child thrust upon him.

As for Georgiana, she saw her precious daughter thrust upon the care of her Machiavellian older sister or her selfish younger brother or even worse, the uncaring heart of a paid companion.

She shivered!

Though she was now but the shadow of the woman she had been only a few short months before, when her beloved husband had still enjoyed the blessing of health, she resolved that she would not surrender to despair.

For the sake of their children, she would gather what strength remained to her and become their steadfast comfort, their truest friend, and their unfailing support in this season of profound sorrow.

As time, that gentlest of comforters, gradually softened the sharpest edges of their grief, she would remain beside them, watching over her son and daughter as they matured into the gentleman and lady Providence had designed them to become.

She would be their counsellor and guide, directing their steps with tenderness and wisdom.

She would become whatever necessary, whatever it took; if she had to gambit or even risk her own eminent position in the Ton for their sake, so be it.

Should either wander to the brink of hopelessness, she would strive to draw them back into the warmth and blessings of life, sustaining them with her love until, in God's good time they should each be blessed to discover companions worthy of their hearts, as she herself had once been so abundantly blessed.

For William she would be the voice of reason, and the sentinel who would move heaven and earth to protect him not only from the scheming ladies of the Ton, but most of all from himself.

She would be there to remind him that life was short and, once he found true love, she would do whatever was necessary to assure that he would grab it with both hands and live fully as she had with his father.

She would not shy away from the odd machinations, should all else fail.

She dried her tears and thanked God; her husband may be dead, but the rest of the family was not. They had life and health in abundance; they would make the most of it... that she promised before God and her dead husband with all her heart and strength.