The Darcy Cousins (13 page)

She had moments of intense panic too. It would seem to her then, suddenly, that the Season was all too close and that she needed far more time--a whole other year, really--to prepare herself if she was to avoid presenting herself as a tedious nobody.

And throughout, no matter what her disposition was, she continued to hear those words in her head-- dull as ditchwater--

and to picture the brief flash of pity on Mr Gatley's face when he realised that she had overheard them.

The next afternoon all the ladies except Lady Catherine walked together to Hunsford parsonage to visit Charlotte Collins, wife of the worthy vicar and an old friend of Elizabeth's. Anne did not go with them all the way. She picked a bench in an elevated location that gave her a view of the parsonage in the distance and informed them that she would meet them again when their visit was over.

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When they returned, however, Anne was not at their agreed meeting place. Surprised, they stood about, wondering if she could have returned to the house without them.

They had just concluded that this must be what had happened when Anne reappeared, breathing heavily as she struggled to climb to where they were standing.

"I am sorry," she said. "I grew tired of sitting and thought I would visit the small pond behind those trees over there. I used to wade in it when I was a child." She smiled as she met with incredu-lous looks from Caroline and Elizabeth. "Hard to believe, is it not, that I used to do such things? But I assure you, I did. Anyway, when it came time for me to return, I found I was too tired to hurry up the hill. You see the results."

"Then lean on me," said Elizabeth. "That will surely make it easier for you to walk back."

Anne objected that she only needed to catch her breath and then she would have no difficulty walking again. This proved to be true, for she kept up easily with them as they meandered slowly towards the house.

They arrived there just in time to see an unexpected rider dismount and enter the building.

"I wonder who it could be," said Clarissa.

"It looks like Colonel Fitzwilliam," remarked Elizabeth.

Anne confirmed that possibility. "My mother has been expecting him these three days," she said.

Georgiana was surprised that Lady Catherine had said nothing of the visit.

As they entered, they found Colonel Fitzwilliam speaking to Darcy, who had come out into the hallway to greet his cousin warmly.

"What news of Napoleon?" he was saying.

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Lady Catherine's voice arose from the drawing room. "Let us wait to hear the news until my nephew has had a chance to sit,"

said Lady Catherine.

Elizabeth held out her hand and greeted him cordially as well.

Robert Darcy stepped into the hallway at this point and came to stand at Caroline's side. Colonel Fitzwilliam bowed formally to them both, and they responded with equal politeness. Georgiana was surprised at the sudden tension between them, particularly when Robert was in general very friendly.

To Georgiana, however, he was his usual self, and she found herself more pleased to see him than she expected.

Clarissa, who was the only one who did not know him, eyed him curiously when he was introduced to her and asked him one or two questions, to which he responded pleasantly enough.

They all moved into the drawing room where, as expected, Lady Catherine was seated in her usual chair.

"So this is the famous Colonel," said Clarissa, nudging Georgiana in the ribs. "He is not very remarkable in looks, but he seems nice enough. I say you should marry him."

Georgiana frowned. "I have no intention of marrying him, thank you."

Clarissa grinned. "Why ever not? Think of all that money staying in the family. You must consider the future of the Darcys."

"Stop it, Clarissa," said Georgiana as Colonel Fitzwilliam turned his eyes in their direction. "He might hear you."

Lady Catherine ordered tea and refreshments, adding, with a quel ing glance at Clarissa, that they also required a single cup of coffee.

"Miss Darcy is from America. She does not drink tea," she said in explanation to Colonel Fitzwilliam.

Colonel Fitzwilliam, who knew nothing about Clarissa, replied 113

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that one could not expect the whole world to like tea and that coffee had its advantages.

"It seems the whole town of Boston has reached that conclusion," said Lady Catherine. "They destroyed all their supplies of tea." She chuckled, clearly thinking this utterly absurd.

Georgiana could tell Clarissa was getting ready to dispute this statement. She pinched her cousin on the arm to distract her.

"I believe you misunderstood, Lady Catherine," said Robert calmly. "The Bostonians only object to tea provided by the British. We are perfectly happy to drink it if is supplied by our own ships."

Lady Catherine regarded him as though an insect had suddenly decided to stand up and speak.

"Well, there are no American ships now to bring you your supply here," she said. "But I suppose Mrs Darcy has cured you of these strange notions by now."

It was Caroline's turn now to look indignant.

"You must tell me the latest news of Napoleon, Fitzwilliam,"

said Darcy quickly, hoping to avert a skirmish.

Fortunately, Colonel Fitzwilliam answered readily. "News out of France is scarce, with much of it conjecture. Those fools Whitbread and Ridgely are agitating in parliament and are still determined to prevent us from going to war, but they won't succeed. Mr Whitbread, I heard, was hissed when he rose to speak.

The general consensus is that a British army will have to be assembled--perhaps in Brussels--under the command of Wellington.

My regiment may possibly be sent over, which is why I came here to see everyone before leaving."

Georgiana did not like the sound of those words. They held an ominous tone. She wanted to ask him if he really thought there 114

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was any danger of Napoleon invading Brussels, but Lady Catherine jutted in before her.

"We are very happy that you have done so, for I have been meaning to speak to you about something important before you leave. In fact, I was planning to send you a letter. But then you wrote to tell me you were coming, and I did not have to do it."

The tea things were brought in, and the conversation was postponed until everyone had been served.

"If you are planning to go off to war, then there is something urgent that needs to be resolved," continued her ladyship. "I have thought the matter over and reached a decision."

Colonel Fitzwilliam, who was used to his aunt's pronouncements, continued to sip his tea and gave her his polite attention, hoping to be able to return to the subject of Napoleon very quickly.

"I had originally thought Georgiana would make you a good wife. But I have since realised that she is too young and too raw to be suitable for you. Besides, you are one of her guardians, and that creates some awkwardness. Someone closer to your age will do better. I have, therefore, decided, after a great deal of thought, that I will bestow Anne's hand on you in marriage. I think it would be best for everyone if we settle everything now, before you leave.

I can arrange matters with Mr Collins. You need not wait for the bans to be called."

Colonel Fitzwilliam choked on his tea. In the midst of concern over his welfare, pats on the back, and offered handkerchiefs, nobody thought to look at Anne.

With the crisis over, however, all eyes turned to Anne, who had stood up, and, with a white face, wrapped her shawls about her, and, for once brushing aside the hovering Mrs Jenkinson, left the 115

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room with small quick steps, murmuring something about being suddenly taken ill.

General dismay greeted Anne's reaction to Lady Catherine's announcement. Clarissa rose to follow her out of the room, but her ladyship stopped her in her tracks.

"You may remain here, Clarissa," said Lady Catherine.

Their eyes met. Georgiana tensed, preparing herself for an outburst.

"Clarissa," said Robert gently. He winked at her and smiled faintly.

She nodded as though he had said something and sat down.

Lady Catherine was the only one not perturbed by her daughter's sudden departure. A look of immense satisfaction had settled on her face.

"You must not mind Anne, Fitzwilliam," she said, turning to the Colonel. "Her nerves are easily shattered. My announcement gave her so much pleasure, she was completely overwhelmed. You know she is very fond of you."

Georgiana wished she could think of some way she could help Anne. On the one hand, she was more than glad that Lady Catherine no longer considered her a candidate. On the other, she had the same response as Clarissa. She wanted to go to Anne and talk to her and to convince her to stand up against her mother.

But what was the likelihood of that happening? Besides, what could she offer to do? Beyond asking Anne to come and live with them--which was quite impractical, especially when Georgiana would be caught up in the events of the Season--she did not see any way out.

Colonel Fitzwilliam gave no further indication that evening whether he welcomed the arrangement or opposed it, and Lady 116

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Catherine did not raise the subject again. But after dinner the gentlemen did not join the ladies in the drawing room, clearly preferring to stick to their port.

She could only hope that Colonel Fitzwilliam was strong enough to stand up to his aunt, and that Anne's fortune would not prove to be too great of a temptation.

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Chapter 11

The next morning Anne did not send them a note, nor did she join them on their accustomed walk through the grounds. This inevitably gave rise to the darkest kind of conjecture from Clarissa.

"She is back in her prison. She has been forbidden from meeting us," said Clarissa dramatically. "Lady Catherine intends to force Miss de Bourgh into this marriage, and she will brook no opposition."

Georgiana worried over this. "Perhaps. It is too early to say.

Possibly Anne is simply ill," she said. "Or very likely she is staying away because she does not want to encounter Colonel Fitzwilliam.

She was quite mortified yesterday at Lady Catherine's announcement, particularly since the Colonel did not take it very gracefully.

Why did she have to announce it so publicly?"

"To force the Colonel's hand, of course," said Clarissa. "Anyway, if she only wanted to avoid Colonel Fitzwilliam, she could still meet with us. I think it most likely that Lady Catherine has locked Anne in her room. She has put her on bread and water until she gives in."

Georgiana frowned at her cousin. "This is no time for flights of fantasy. We are facing a serious problem here."

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"Flights of fantasy? Do you not believe Lady Catherine will force Anne into this marriage?"

Georgiana knew Lady Catherine had set her mind on the marriage.

"She may not force her--at least, not in the way you think. But she will certainly make her life very difficult if she tries to refuse."

She hesitated, knowing Clarissa would object to what she had to say.

"I spent the whole of last night considering Anne's problem. I hardly slept a wink for thinking about it. At the end, I concluded that it is not such a great sacrifice for Anne to marry Colonel Fitzwilliam, if he is willing to marry her, that is. My cousin is a very pleasant gentleman. He will make her life as comfortable as he can. It would certainly be far better for her than staying under her mother's thumb."

Georgiana expected outrage at her statement. Clarissa, however, pressed her lips together for several moments and considered it.

"That would all be very well," said Clarissa slowly, "if I could be sure it would be a regular marriage. But I would not count too much on it. Colonel Fitzwilliam has no residence of his own, and he is a soldier. Anne can hardly follow the drum! And Rosings Park is Anne's inheritance. Lady Catherine will arrange for him to be established at Rosings once the two are married, which would mean they would both be under her thumb." She shuddered delicately.

"He would be a fool to agree."

"One cannot choose, when one has little money to live on," said Georgiana. "And the prospect of a huge fortune such as Anne's is enough to tempt any man, let alone someone who is a younger son and has no resources of his own."

Georgiana's spirits were depressed by her own words. The constraints of a gentleman such as her cousin weighed heavily upon 120

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her. With no options for work but the Church or the military, money had to be the decisive factor in his marriage. He would be a fool not to agree to such an opportunity as marriage to Anne, however much unhappiness it would entail. A gentleman with limited funds cannot afford to consider niceties such as happiness.

"It is too bright a day to be gloomy," said Clarissa. "Let us go riding and enjoy the outdoors while the sun shines."

They set out for a long ride. It was indeed a beautiful day. Puffs of white clouds dotted a blue sky, and the scents of cut grass, earth, and blossoms intermingled in the air around them. The moment they left the shadow of Rosings, their youthful spirits returned.

They raced each other across a meadow, the wind playing havoc with the pins that held their hair. The groom that accompanied them was forced to exert himself to keep up with them.

"Shall we go into the village?" said Clarissa, as they reached the borders of Lady Catherine's property.

"No, we cannot." Georgiana was intensely conscious of her windswept hair. "That would not do at all."

"I need to see people. I need a change. No one has come to call on us for more than a week."

Despite herself, Georgiana had to laugh. "Considering that we were just discussing a new addition to our party--Colonel Fitzwilliam--I don't see how you can say that. We can return to Rosings, tidy ourselves up, and walk into the village afterwards if you wish."