Winnifred Fitzwilliam, Lady Matlock, alighted from her carriage and straightened her pelisse before taking the proffered arm of her son, Richard, who told her briefly of what had transpired that afternoon. “Some women should not be mothers,” she muttered.
Richard smiled at the determination he could see on her face.
She turned to her abigail and instructed that only what was necessary for tonight and tomorrow morning be taken to her rooms. The rest of her belongings should be stored and ready for transport to the dower house at first light.
“Well, then, shall we, my son?” she asked as she turned her attention back to Richard. “Take me to my niece.”
“You do not wish to greet Aunt Catherine first?” He barely contained a chuckle, knowing full well that his mother had no desire to call on her sister-in-law before seeing Anne.
She sighed in exasperation. “If you think we must, but I do believe she will be more put out if I greet her daughter first.”
Richard allowed himself to chuckle at her response. “Then allow me to escort you to your niece.”
Mr. Kellet opened the door to Rosings and bowed low. “My lady, this is an unexpected surprise.” A small smile played at his mouth. He lowered his voice. “Mrs. Kellet has had your room prepared both here and at the dower house. Shall I have your things delivered there directly?”
“Whatever you deem best, Mr. Kellet. I will trust your judgement to arrange matters.”
“Yes, my lady.” He bowed once again. “Do you wish to be announced, my lady?”
“No, thank you, Mr. Kellet. I shall attend Miss de Bourgh first. I do apologize for the disturbance my arrival will cause.”
His eyes twinkled with amusement. “‘Tis no hardship, my lady.” With one last bow, he left to make arrangements for Lady Matlock’s things to be taken to the dower house.
“He must have the patience of Job to put up with Catherine as his employer,” she whispered to Richard. “The next master of Rosings will have a treasure in that man should he have the sense to retain Mr. Kellet. Your father tried to hire him away from Catherine, but Mr. Kellet would hear none of it. He said he promised his master to look after the ladies of Rosings, and he is not a man to go back on his word. He keeps a close eye on things. If you ever need information on any who visit here, he is the person to see.”
Richard’s eyes grew wide at this information. “Indeed?”
She laughed softly, and her eyes twinkled. “How do you suppose I always knew what you and Darcy were up to when you were young?”
Richard shook his head. “I should have known you had a spy working for you.” He opened the door to Anne’s sitting room and allowed his mother to enter before him. Before she even spoke a word of greeting, she gathered Anne into her arms.
“How are you, my darling? Richard has told me you have had a trying day.”
Anne felt the tears well up in her eyes. How she longed for such motherly compassion on a regular basis. “I am well, Aunt Winnie.”
“And my son and his cousin? Are they caring for you?”
Anne smiled at Richard. “They are. Richard more than Fitzwilliam.”
“Indeed?” Lady Matlock raised her brows and gave Richard an assessing look. “Darcy is falling behind my son in seeing to duty? What has the world come to?”
“Darcy is doing his duty, Mother. But his attentions are divided at present.”
He saw the curiosity in his mother’s eyes. “So this Miss Bennet has finally snared the elusive Mr. Darcy, has she?”
Anne laughed. “It is more a matter of our besotted cousin snaring the lovely Miss Bennet.”
“Besotted? Oh, this I must see!” She giggled at the thought. “And he has had to work for it? I imagine he never expected with his money and connections to have to do such a thing. I cannot wait to meet her.”
“He has not won her hand yet,” cautioned Richard.
“Ah, but he will,” said Lady Matlock. “I understand your mother has some objections to her? And this has led to your removal to the dower house tomorrow morning?”
Anne nodded. “I expected she would be trying once she knew of my decision to not marry her choice, but to have him happily attached to another was more than she could pretend to abide.” Anne sighed. “Miss Bennet has been a friend to me these last three weeks. She accepts me for who I am. She makes no claim on me other than friendship of the truest kind. As Fitzwilliam said, she is without guile. She possesses great intelligence and wit. She is everything that would complement my cousin. That she loves him as completely as he obviously loves her makes it all the sweeter.”
“If she is all that, what objections does your mother have other than the obvious that she is not you?”
“She is a gentleman’s daughter, but the gentleman is of little standing. She is the second of five daughters, and her dowry is minimal. Her mother has one brother who is a solicitor and another who is in trade. Mother claims that Miss Bennet is beneath Fitzwilliam and not worthy of the Darcy name.”
Lady Matlock gasped, her hand flying to her chest. She looked first to Anne and then Richard. “She did not say that to Darcy?”
“She most certainly did,” replied Richard.
“Oh, dear. Is he still in residence?”
Anne nodded. “He spoke very directly to my mother about what he expects of her in the future if she wishes to keep a family tie to him.”
“He did? Darcy threatened a breach in the family?” Lady Matlock’s eyes were wide with surprise as she shook her head in disbelief at the thought of Darcy doing anything to disrupt the family’s peace.
“You would have been impressed, Mother,” said Richard. “After his initial outburst, which rattled the windows, he was very forthcoming with his thoughts.”
“Darcy raised his voice?”
“He did.” Anne grasped her aunt’s arm. “His defence of Miss Bennet was quite romantic, Aunt Winnie. He even told Mother if he were to be fortunate enough to secure Miss Bennet, it would be Miss Bennet who would decide if my mother would ever be accepted into any of his homes, so it was in her best interest to treat Miss Bennet with kindness.”
Richard rolled his eyes as both women sighed.
“Then, he told me I would always be welcome, and that is when mother figured out I had played a role in bringing Fitzwilliam and Miss Bennet together. That is when she told me I was forbidden to continue my friendship with the lady. Oh, those are not the exact words she used, but it was her meaning.”
“And that,” said Richard with respect colouring his voice, “is when Anne took her stand and why Anne, Darcy, and I will be moving in the morning.”
Lady Matlock patted Anne’s hand reassuringly as she noted the admiration not only in her son’s voice but also his features. “Now, tell me of the plans for the move. I know there is a party to be planned.”
Richard took this as his cue to leave. He had done his part in writing his invitation. He was quite happy to leave the remaining details to the ladies. “I shall inform Darcy of your arrival. He should be back from his ride now.”
Lady Matlock smiled and waved him off, but not without noting how his gaze lingered just a little longer on Anne and the smiles that were exchanged.
~*~*~
Richard knocked his normal pattern on Darcy’s door, waited for a count of ten, and then entered. “Mother is here. She is visiting with Anne and has not yet greeted our aunt.”
Darcy looked up from the book he was reading.
“Did you not go riding?”
“I did. Stopped in the village for a pint with old man Coburg. It’s tradition, you know.”
Richard nodded. “How is the old chap doing? Still running the place or has he finally given it over to his son?”
“His son is in charge, mostly. You know Coburg will not give up control before he ceases to breathe.”
“You do not smell like horse, so I assume you have been back for some time. Why did you not come to Anne’s room? Surely you saw the coach and knew Mother was here?”
Darcy looked at the wall behind Richard and worried his lip with his teeth.
“Out with it, Darcy. You do not need to smooth over whatever it is for my sake. I can handle whatever horrid news you have to share.”
“Who says I am about to impart something unpleasant?”
“You are biting your lip and looking past me. You always do that when you are unsure how someone is going to react to whatever it is you have to say. So out with it.”
Richard drew a chair closer to where Darcy sat and made himself comfortable.
“I overheard a conversation in the pub. You know how the backs of the benches are so high that you cannot see over them?”
“Makes it a nice cozy spot for discussions.” Richard winked at Darcy.
They had always teased each other about kissing the barmaids behind the benches though neither had.
“Yes, well, there were none of those sorts of discussions taking place,” said Darcy with a small smile and shake of his head.
“Never are in Coburg’s.”
Darcy agreed and then sighed. “The conversation I heard has left me feeling uneasy. I am not quite sure what to do about it.”
“Did you see who was talking?”
Darcy nodded. “Barrows and another man he called Clarke.”
Richard felt a sense of dread settling in his stomach. He did not like nor trust Barrows. The man was far too friendly with Anne despite Anne’s attempts to dissuade his interest.
“It seems someone has told Barrows of Anne’s financial situation. He seems quite interested.”
“Exactly what did he say?” Richard sat near the edge of his chair and leaned toward his cousin.
Darcy shifted uneasily. “Remember I am only repeating what was said.”
Richard nodded and attempted to assume a more relaxed posture.
“Barrows was sitting behind me. Coburg had gone to help his son with something. There were only a few patrons in the place, and none was near where I sat. Barrows says…”
“Did you hear Rosings was left to de Bourgh’s daughter? But only if she doesn’t marry that prig Darcy?” Barrows sat his mug on the table with a definite thud.
“No, thought it was entailed away or some such nonsense. Never heard specifics.”
“None was given. A shadowy business it was. Seems the daughter just found out and finally called off her engagement to Darcy. So, this is my chance to acquire an estate with very little effort.”
“The other man, Clarke, laughed rather loudly and called for two more pints. They did not continue talking until the barmaid had delivered their ale. Then Clarke says to Barrows….”
“I wouldn’t call getting leg shackled very little effort. Perhaps you can worm your way into a marriage, but marriage is not for the short duration. I would not be tied to that harridan of de Bourgh’s for an estate twice Rosings. And you have to get her to accept you.”
“She’ll accept me. Her mother is already promoting me, what with her and my own mother being friends and all. And, I also have some information that neither mother or daughter would wish to be spread far and wide.”
“So you force their hand. You’re now stuck not only with two women in your care, but two angry women. Like I said, marriage is not for the short duration.”
“Yes, it is ’til death do us part.” There was a moment of extended silence.
“What are you playing at, Barrows?”
“She’s frail. It is unlikely she will survive childbirth. Her mother, of course, will be overwrought with grief. It is a simple matter of having her committed to Bedlam or hiring the finest actor of questionable standards to medicate her into an early grave. Thus, the estate should be free and clear of all entanglements within a year.”
“That is all I heard as a group of men came in and took a table near us. Barrows and Clarke left shortly after. I waited another quarter hour before exiting so they would not know I had been there.” Darcy rose and walked to the window, turning his back to Richard to allow for some privacy as Richard processed all that he had just heard. “You know she will not accept him without coercion. We need to discover what secret he knows.”
“He would kill her for an estate?” Richard still sat in his chair staring at where Darcy had been. He shook his head to clear the fog from it. “I expected we would need to protect her from fortune hunters, but I never expected them to be murderous in their intent.”
He rose and paced the length of the room. His heart could not or would not stop pounding within his chest. He felt as though the contents of his stomach might, at any moment, choose to be no longer confined within him. He had not felt this unsettled since his first foray into battle. His desire to relieve a man of his life had never been so strong. But this was not a battle where he could run the enemy through with his sword; no, they must think of tactics and plans. They had the advantage of their enemy being unaware of their knowledge of his plans, however. Finally, the room stopped its spinning, and he was able to begin to think.
“You are right, of course, Darcy. If we knew what information he holds, we might be able to limit his ability to force Anne into an acceptance of his suit.” He pulled at his neckcloth. The room was standing still, but it was so unreasonably warm.
“He could not present a suit at all if she were to marry before he has time to put his plan into action,” suggested Darcy.
Richard stopped his pacing to concentrate his efforts on that bothersome cravat. “But whom would she marry? She has no suitors. There are the men we invited to the house party, but it does not give her a very large selection from which to choose. I will not force her to make an uninformed choice. She deserves better than a rushed marriage to a man she barely knows. What if he does not love her? What if she does not love him? She would be condemned to a life of misery. I cannot be part of that.” The offensive piece of cloth finally found its way to the chair, but now it seemed his jacket had suddenly become uncomfortably snug.
“And what if there is one there whom she loves, and he loves her?” Darcy tried not to look at his cousin. This discussion was of a serious nature, but Richard’s tugging at his clothing was humorous. His cousin would not appreciate a smile or a laugh at this particular moment.
“Do you really think one of the men in attendance will suit?” Richard’s coat had joined his cravat on the chair, and he had begun working at the fastenings of his waistcoat.
“Indeed I do, but we should still try to discover the information of which Barrows speaks.”
Richard’s hands stopped. “Kellet.”
“What?”
“We must speak to Mr. Kellet. If anyone around here ─ other than our aunt, who I assume will not speak to us of secrets ─ knows anything, it will be Mr. Kellet.” Richard turned to exit the room.
Darcy cleared his throat and held out Richard’s jacket and neckcloth.
“You may get further if you are attired appropriately, Cousin.”
Richard smiled sheepishly and after tying his cravat, allowed Darcy to assist him with his coat.
Darcy smoothed his hands across the tops of Richard’s shoulders and gave each seam a slight tug, removing any remaining creases. “Truthfully, it is much easier to listen.”
“Listen?” Richard looked at his cousin in confusion. Of course, he planned to listen to what Mr. Kellet had to say.
Darcy shook his head. “Your heart, Richard. You. Love. Anne. And not as a cousin.” He opened the door and motioned for his dazed cousin to exit ahead of him.