Chapter 33 Anne
Darcy awoke with a jolt as the carriage rocked violently from side to side accompanied by the sound of swearing from Richard. With a second jolt came the clatter of the metal flasks hitting the floor after they slid away from the overturned food basket.
"What the...where are we?" Darcy asked groggily. He received no answer.
The carriage rocked again and threw Richard slightly off balance as he yawned and stretched. Muttering another curse, he righted himself, then copied his cousin who had turned to peer out the window.
Even though the skies had cleared somewhat, the drizzle that had accompanied them out of London must have been a full-on torrent here, Darcy thought.
The road was awash with both water and mud.
Then he spotted the source of the problem - one of the ditches had been blocked with the debris from a wall that toppled where a downed tree had fallen across it.
The water in the ditch had diverted from the channel and flooded out into the road.
The branches of the downed tree extended well into the thoroughfare.
Despite their relatively slow speed, the carriage rocked again with a fishtailing motion as the driver diverted the horses around the obstacle. Once past the blockage, they were on a slight uphill slope that put them back on dry land.
"That was a nasty spot," Richard said. As he sat on the backward-facing bench, he had been looking out the window and back the way they came.
"I am glad it is not on a section of road that is my responsibility," Darcy observed. "It is going to be difficult to get that tree cut up and out of the way, not to mention unblocking the ditch and repairing that fence."
"Let us hope we are not yet on a segment that is Aunt Catherine's responsibility, or we will have to oversee the job anyway," Richard replied. He yawned again. "Do you recognize anything? I am still feeling a bit sleep-muddled."
Darcy yawned as well before he replied. "We are no longer on the main road. That much is clear, but for the moment we are traveling between fields on both sides. Hopefully we will pass someplace more memorable than a pasture on one side and a field of barley on the other."
Richard nodded, then bent to pick up the flasks that still rattled across the carriage floor. On his side, Darcy righted the basket. "Good thing the food was wrapped. Are you hungry?" he asked.
"I could use a bit of that loaf and a slice or two of the cheese," Richard said as he tucked the flasks back into the basket.
He accepted the piece of bread his cousin offered to him.
They shared out the other contents of the basket and made a good breakfast of them.
By the time they rolled into a village they recognized, they both felt more awake and ready to face whatever lay ahead for them that day.
"That is definitely Stornham village," Richard said, spotting the distinctive architecture of the old church. "It looks like that downed tree will be a task for the owners of Stornham Court."
"Better them than us. I would say that at our current pace we have another half hour before we reach Hunsford."
"That sounds about right. No need to whip up the horses, we will be there soon enough," Richard laughed.
"How do you expect Aunt Catherine will respond to our arrival?"
"I suppose that all depends on how we present ourselves. Humble will probably be the best attitude, although it is not one that either of us are terribly proficient at presenting."
Nodding, Darcy huffed out a breath of air that was not quite a sigh. "She is going to lecture me. I know she will."
"Take it bravely," Richard teased. "The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can help Anne and find what she knows about our aunt's plans for the Bennets. You want to be a hero for Miss Elizabeth, do you not?"
"Were you ever her hero?" Darcy asked.
"A few times, when we were younger," admitted Richard with a smile.
"She and her neighbor, Miss Lucas, still sometimes call me Sir Richard as a teasing reminder of a time I helped them out of a little trouble many years ago.
I expect it will take much more to impress either of them now than it did back then. You have your work cut out for you."
As they waited for Hunsford to come into view, Richard responded to Darcy's questions about the personalities of the various Bennet family members.
Trying to view them without the lenses of prejudice that had colored his earlier judgment was difficult, but Darcy did his best. It helped that he was already acquainted with Miss Mary and Miss Elizabeth.
"Is it not unusual that four of the sisters are out in society at once?" he asked as Richard told him of the differences in personality between Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia.
"Perhaps a little, although with so many daughters that close in age, one could hardly expect the younger ones to wait in the nursery while their older sisters take their time finding husbands.
With so many young men away in the military or lost to the war, the competition for husbands is fierce in the country villages.
Under Mrs. Gardiner's guidance, the Bennet sisters have also done their coming out in stages, so it is not as if they were all out in the height of the London Season at once.
The first year or two was in just the local society among people they have known all their lives.
That is the stage Miss Kitty is at now. Next year, Miss Lydia will join her.
Over the next year or two the older girls were slowly introduced to Mrs. Gardiner's contacts in London. "
"As Miss Mary was this year?" Darcy asked.
"Exactly. And the older two girls were later introduced into the higher levels of society by Mrs. Gardiner's mother and aunts. They have gradually built up their confidence until they felt comfortable moving in any sphere."
"I wish I could arrange a gradual approach like that for Georgiana.
She is so frightened of facing a Season in London.
Having the company of girls like Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia would be good for her, as would having the guidance of someone like Mrs. Gardiner or the Damasks.
The sudden immersion into Society that she is likely to receive under the arrangement my father made will not be at all easy for her. "
"I think what you hope for can all be arranged, even if you cannot convince Miss Elizabeth to accept your suit,” Richard said confidently.
"Through your connection to Father and me, you are now considered a distant part of the family.
And Georgiana is already friends with Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia.
She would be happy to share her first Season with them either in the country or in London. "
"What do you mean? How does she know them?" Darcy asked.
"So far as I know, they have only met through correspondence, but Father told me they have developed a strong friendship all the same. I hope you will not be upset with Georgiana for maintaining the relationship clandestinely. It was Father's idea."
Darcy shook his head in confusion. "You have all been working around me and my mistaken beliefs just like we are about to work around Aunt Catherine. I hardly know which way is up anymore."
"You have been a bit like a sunflower cultivated in a glasshouse.
You used to track the brightest light available, no matter what the source.
Now you are out under the sun and following it, just the way you were meant to do all along.
Keep the position of the sun in mind. We are about to head back into Aunt Catherine's glass house.
Do not let her turn your head." Richard gestured outside the window where the houses of Hunsford village could be seen.
"I shall do my best," Darcy assured him.
~o~
"To what do I owe this visit?" Lady Catherine asked sharply, looking at Richard and Darcy with suspicion. She had not risen from her chair to greet them when they entered the room or made any mention of them being welcome.
Richard bowed again. "Is our visit so unusual?" he asked. "I have just returned from the Continent and, having some accumulated leave, thought it only proper to come pay my respects to my aunt. When Will learned of my intent, he decided to join me in making you a short visit."
Lady Catherine glared at Darcy and snorted slightly, conveying disbelief. "I am surprised that Fitzwilliam would tear himself from the delights of the Season. Do not think me ignorant of your search for that Rose woman and your flagrant disregard for your betrothal to Anne."
It was now Darcy's turn to bow. "I learned I was deceived by appearances," he said in as humble a tone as he could manage. "Miss Rose was not at all who I believed her to be. I can safely say that I have finally come to my senses."
That final phrase, the one that Lady Cather had so often used when insisting on the supposed betrothal between Darcy and Anne, did the trick.
With an irritated wave of her hand toward the nearby settee accompanied by what was almost a smile, she said, "Sit.
Sit. I am tired of craning my neck to look at you. "
They took their seats, both doing their best to avoid allowing relief at having passed the first test to show on their expressions. They would have to keep her thinking she had them where she wanted them.
They spent the next half hour and more undergoing an intense grilling regarding their recent activities and current plans.
Lady Catherine also asked several questions and offered even more criticisms regarding the arrangements Darcy had made for Georgiana and his foolishness in removing her from school the year before.
Darcy thought they did well in answering her questions without revealing either their plans or their suspicions.
When the inquisition seemed to be winding down, Darcy said, "Richard and I should like to pay our respects to Anne, if we may."