Henry Amestrey entered the breakfast parlor at Rosings to find he had not escaped the ordeal of dining alone with Miss Bingley after all.
She was seated at the table and upon his entrance, her face became animated with delight. “Viscount, how lovely to see you this morning. A most wonderful start to my day, I must say.”
Henry nodded to her, hoping to keep his distance and finish the meal quickly. As he filled his plate and turned to sit on the other side of the table as far as he could politely manage without giving offense, Caroline Bingley stood but a few steps away.
He nearly dropped his plate in surprise, but kept a firm grip on the dish. Caroline took a step closer and he instinctively took a step back.
“Miss Bingley,” he said, “is there something I might do?”
Caroline laughed and took the plate from his hand. “My dear man, you might do all that you wish with a lady such as myself.”
Henry felt the solid wood of the buffet press into his back as Caroline advanced. She set his plate down with a clatter and closed the distance between them, her words causing him to panic. “Come now, sir, deny your attraction if you dare.”
Henry ducked as her hands came to rest upon his shoulders. She laughed and spun round to continue her pursuit. No longer caring whether he offended the woman, Henry moved quickly to place the dining table between them. “Miss Bingley! I see Mr. Darcy was correct in warning me of your nature. See here, there is but one in this house who may claim my heart and I assure you she is far more appealing than a desperate spinster with questionable motive chasing a gentleman about the room.”
Caroline pretended shock but Henry could see he had hit his mark. The woman traced a finger along the fine white tablecloth before remarking. “That may be true, but I have no need of your heart. Only your name and position.”
Henry heard voices in the hallway and called out for a footman. Caroline laughed again and slowly returned to her seat at the table. Henry moved toward the breakfast parlor doors and met the footman as he entered.
“Please have a horse ready for me, I would like to ride this morning before I break my fast.”
The man hurried on his errand and Henry followed him into the entry. Mrs. Collins had every reason to warn them against Miss Bingley as she had the night before in the garden. The woman was set upon parting him from Anne. He hoped that today, after the physician came, he and Anne might leave Rosings never to return.
Henry turned and took the stairs two at a time in hopes of speaking to Anne before his ride.
“Mother, your physician from London shall come as quickly as he might for I have sent an express to him early this morning.”
Lady Catherine scowled at her daughter, upset that the child she’d always controlled now exhibited a mind of her own. The lie fell easily from her lips. “He has been to see me recently, Anne. There is nothing to be done save rest and the passage of time.”
Lady Catherine shifted beneath her covers, the irritation of pretending to be ill causing her to become restless. A maid entered the room carrying a tray of tea for her mistress.
“I cannot abide another cup of tea,” Lady Catherine nearly shouted, startling Anne and the maid. “Come help me. I would go downstairs and break my fast.” The maid glanced at Anne before hurrying to do the lady’s bidding lest she was severely punished.
“Mother, you must not! You were so unwell last evening you did not recall my arrival,” Anne said as she hurried to her mother’s side.
“Nonsense! Leave me be. If you wish to discuss my health further, I shall be in the breakfast parlor in half an hour’s time.”
Anne left the room, unable to argue with her mother and eager to know the woman was not as ill as she had first seemed. If she was truly able to take breakfast in the parlor downstairs, the physician from London could only confirm Anne’s suspicions.
Hoping to see Henry before her mother came down, Anne looked in the library first and then the parlor. There was no sign of the viscount, but Miss Bingley sat by the fireplace. Before she might avoid the woman, Miss Bingley turned and saw her by the door.
“Miss de Bourgh, do come in and sit with me. I had breakfast with your viscount this morning. I must congratulate you on your engagement. It is quite easy to understand your attraction for he is a most attentive man. Has your mother come round to the idea of your marriage?”
Anne stepped into the room, refusing to discuss Henry with the impertinent guest. “Miss Bingley, my mother’s physician will arrive from London later today to tell us if she is well enough for Henry and I to return to Pemberley. I imagine you would be pleased to aid in her recovery if her illness is a minor concern.”
Caroline noted the dismissal of her words regarding the viscount. “I have not the experience to be useful in such a task. Perhaps Mrs. Collins might be pressed into service? She is better suited to such an endeavor than I.”
Anne turned to leave the parlor, regulating her emotions as best she could.
Caroline tried another barb aimed at the retreating back of Lady Catherine’s daughter. “Your viscount and I had a most interesting morning meal. He is quite a remarkable man.”
Anne de Bourgh turned, her face composed in spite of the anger that consumed her heart. She knew then that her mother had invited Miss Bingley to Rosings for a purpose, a very particular one at that, and the knowledge broke and buoyed her at the same time.
No longer did Anne feel the need for her mother’s approval. She knew the ache in her heart would heal because Henry would see to it. She would build a family, the likes of which she ought to have had, and would love her children unconditionally.
With her full attention on Miss Bingley, Anne smiled sweetly and sighed. “He is quite a man, Miss Bingley, and I can only hope that someday you find your own Henry. Every woman deserves the love of a good man.”
The young woman quit the parlor before Caroline might make a reply. She jumped from her seat and paced the room, angry that her words had not penetrated the woman’s heart.
If the physician arrived this afternoon and declared Lady Catherine well, there was little time left to take the viscount for her own.
Caroline left the parlor and hurried upstairs to her guest room. She called for a maid to pack her trunks, leaving only her dinner dress and a chemise on the bed.
She would perform at dinner as a courteous guest might with no attempt to garner Henry’s attention while being most gracious to Miss Anne. After they had all retired to bed, Caroline would wait and find her way to the viscount’s room. She grinned with satisfaction at her plan and sat before the fire with a fashion magazine to bide her time.
In the afternoon, Anne and Henry welcomed the physician, a Mr. Sampson from London, and offered the man to sit for tea. He joined them in the parlor for his trip had been a surprise but he would never refuse a visit to the mistress of Rosings Park in Kent.
“Miss de Bourgh, how is your mother? It has been some time since I was last here. I hope she is well, though if that were the case my presence would not be required.”
Henry nodded to the physician and glanced at Anne before speaking. “Sir, Lady Catherine appears to be unwell but we are unsure of her malady. She has been abed since we arrived.”
The physician sipped his tea happy for the refreshment after the bustle of his trip from London. “I shall go up directly and see to her. Has she been eating and taking tea?”
Anne placed her cup upon the table between them and addressed the man. “She tolerates weak tea but was quite ill before last evening. This morning she demanded to break her fast in the breakfast parlor.”
Mr. Sampson appeared thoughtful but carried on polite conversation for nearly the half of an hour before he stood to attend Lady Catherine. “The examination should not take long. I will meet with you here to inform you of her state and my recommendations.”
Henry followed the man from the parlor and returned to sit with Anne. “Your mother came down this morning? I say, that gives me hope that we might soon be bound for Pemberley.”
Anne stood pacing before the fireplace. “If mother is well, we must go to London first. Aunt Anne and Lizzy have gone there now that the Bennets have left Pemberley. I believe Lizzy was unhappy with myself and William gone.”
Henry stood and took Anne’s hand, gently caressing circles on her palm with his thumb. “It is my sincerest wish that your mother is well and someday we might make amends with her, but I am eager to be away from Rosings and the antics of Miss Bingley.”
Anne smiled at Henry’s wishes for reconciliation with her mother but in her heart she knew she would never again seek her mother’s approval.
She gazed into Henry’s eyes and lost herself for a moment. Shaking her head at the circumstances of the past months, Anne led Henry to the sofa and sat placing a hand on her heart.
“Your strength and wisdom drew me to your side yet your desire for a peaceful life holds me. I came to understand earlier in this same room, standing before Miss Bingley, that mother must carry her own burdens. I cannot help her with them. I have offered the love a child has for their mother no matter the cost, but now I may peacefully walk away.”
Henry leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “You mention Miss Bingley, what has one as disingenuous as she done to guide you to such a truth?”
Anne cherished the moment between them before answering. “She attempted to fill my heart with doubt and fear where you are concerned but I withstood her assault.”
Anne had never seen Henry smile so broadly and for the first time in weeks she allowed their shared joy to fill her heart. “I cannot lie and say I am grateful to Miss Bingley, but I am quite proud of you my dear. You have come to slay your dragons and not a one has so much as singed a hair on your head.”
Anne laughed then, a sound Henry treasured and hoped to inspire for many years to come as her husband and the father of their children.
“Miss Bingley tried me in the breakfast parlor this morning. The woman is simply too direct to effectively practice the art of seduction nor does she know the way to win a man’s heart, I assure you. Her tactics are likely the reason she remains a spinster living on her brother’s kindness.”
Before Anne might speak, Mr. Sampson appeared at the parlor door with Miss Bingley at his side. Henry and Anne stood, their faces hopeful for the man’s report. He did not make them wait too long.
“Would you prefer Miss Bingley leave us to our discussion?” he asked as he entered and sat across from the couple.
Miss Bingley stepped inside the parlor with a nod to Mr. Sampson. Anne glanced at the woman and smiled, unable to keep herself from taunting her mother’s guest. “As she may remain at Rosings for a time and help carry out your recommendations, sir, Miss Bingley is welcome to stay.”
The physician nodded but his expression was doubtful the woman would be bothered to care for Lady Catherine. He noticed the scowl on her face and thought she might take care with her appearance did she wish to marry one day.
“Miss de Bourgh, your mother appears quite well and I cannot find a reason for her discomfort. Tis likely a passing cold though she exhibits no symptoms. I am confident in saying she is well if by no other sign than her peevish demeanor. You are welcome to send for me in the days to come should she worsen, but today I confidently and without reservation assure you she is well.”
Mr. Sampson accepted Anne’s grateful words for his trouble and Henry asked him to visit in the library. “We would be delighted to have you stay for dinner, sir. And for the night should you wish. I believe we shall have rain in but an hour’s time.”
Having arrived on horseback, Mr. Sampson agreed and accepted the invitation so kindly given.
Anne breathed deeply, for finally she and Henry were free of Rosings. They would go to London in the morning to Darcy House.
Caroline sat staring at Anne, her face still held in a scowl. “It has been lovely to see you again, Miss de Bourgh, but I shall leave for Town in the morning.”
Anne rose from her seat and spoke to the woman before leaving the parlor. “We shall do the same, Miss Bingley. I am sorry my mother was unable to visit after you took the trouble to travel so far. Henry and I would not mind seeing you to Hunsford where you might get a post-chaise to Town.”
Caroline’s mouth dropped open at the suggestion she take a rented conveyance. “I had thought perhaps I might accompany you and your viscount to London.”
Anne shook her head. “Oh my dear, no. I know of your intentions toward Henry and the reason you came to Rosings. I would not suffer your company all the way to Town.”
Caroline watched the wretched woman as she quit the parlor. Anne de Bourgh was certain she would be the one to leave in Henry Amestrey’s carriage come the morn, but Caroline’s plan might have the precious daughter of Rosings waiting in the road for a post-chaise instead.