to Miss Bennet. Mr. Darcy’s concerns were her lack of connections and the difficulty she would have making her way in society. As to matters of the heart, I can assure you I am totally sympathetic. I was fortunate enough to marry for love. Although Hannah is the daughter of my tailor, I have never had a moment of regret. On the other hand, Louisa married for prestige and look what it got her. Well then,” George said, standing up, “the matter is settled. If you love Miss Bennet as ardently as you say you do, then you should marry her. So I say, go to it.”
As George walked his brother to the door, he remarked, “Charles, I can provide you with guidance, but in the end, the decisions are yours, as are the consequences. I only ask that you not judge Mr. Darcy too harshly. He thinks of you as his brother, and in that capacity, believed he was acting in your best interest.”
Charles left George’s office with a spring in his step. During their visit, the rain had stopped, and the sun had come out. It was a good omen. After his visit to Pemberley, he would continue to seek Darcy’s advice but with the understanding that any discussion was between equals. His only concern was for Miss Bennet. Knowing the financial situation of the family, Charles was hoping that in all these months no one else had made her an offer of marriage and that he had not lost her forever.
Chapter 14
Whenever Anne came to town, Darcy always met her carriage at the inn at Bromley because as soon as Georgiana was with Anne, he would hardly be able to get a word in edgewise. So he greatly valued the uninterrupted time they shared traveling the London road. While waiting for the carriage from Rosings Park to arrive, Darcy had been going over their last meeting in his mind. Following Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of his proposal and her accusations regarding Wickham, Anne had cautioned him that it would be imprudent to write a letter to Elizabeth while he was still smarting from the events that had taken place at the parsonage. But his character had been called into question, and he was determined to rebut her accusations. In the time it took for him to walk to the manor house, he was already regretting the tone of the letter, especially that part where he had written of “the total want of propriety so frequently betrayed by your mother, your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father.” In his haste to defend himself with regards to Bingley, he had made Elizabeth’s case for his showing “a selfish disdain for the feelings of others.” Anne was wiser than he.
Darcy saw through the window that Anne’s carriage, with the de Bourgh coat of arms emblazoned on its doors, had arrived. Assisted by Tetley, one of the many servants at Rosings, who would do anything for their mistress, and the ever-faithful Mrs. Jenkinson, Anne stepped out of the carriage and onto the dusty courtyard of the inn. The diminutive figure searched among the faces for her cousin, and a smile signaled when she had found him.
Because so much time passed between visits, Darcy was always taken aback by how frail his cousin was. That had not always been the case. She had been in robust health until she was nearly fourteen when she had become so ill that everyone believed that she would die. The realization by Lord and Lady de Bourgh that they had come very close to losing their only child resulted in the hiring of Anne’s nurse and constant companion, Mrs. Jenkinson, a sensible woman who understood Anne’s needs better than anyone. But the young Anne, who had raced Richard and Will through the gardens of Pemberley, was no more as the illness had taken its toll on her lungs. After her recovery, she sought to reassure her loved ones that the restrictions on her activities really did not matter because it was no longer proper for a “woman of her age” to be found chasing after boys.
After sharing a board of bread and cheese washed down with a pint of ale,
As George walked his brother to the door, he remarked, “Charles, I can provide you with guidance, but in the end, the decisions are yours, as are the consequences. I only ask that you not judge Mr. Darcy too harshly. He thinks of you as his brother, and in that capacity, believed he was acting in your best interest.”
Charles left George’s office with a spring in his step. During their visit, the rain had stopped, and the sun had come out. It was a good omen. After his visit to Pemberley, he would continue to seek Darcy’s advice but with the understanding that any discussion was between equals. His only concern was for Miss Bennet. Knowing the financial situation of the family, Charles was hoping that in all these months no one else had made her an offer of marriage and that he had not lost her forever.
Chapter 14
Whenever Anne came to town, Darcy always met her carriage at the inn at Bromley because as soon as Georgiana was with Anne, he would hardly be able to get a word in edgewise. So he greatly valued the uninterrupted time they shared traveling the London road. While waiting for the carriage from Rosings Park to arrive, Darcy had been going over their last meeting in his mind. Following Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of his proposal and her accusations regarding Wickham, Anne had cautioned him that it would be imprudent to write a letter to Elizabeth while he was still smarting from the events that had taken place at the parsonage. But his character had been called into question, and he was determined to rebut her accusations. In the time it took for him to walk to the manor house, he was already regretting the tone of the letter, especially that part where he had written of “the total want of propriety so frequently betrayed by your mother, your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father.” In his haste to defend himself with regards to Bingley, he had made Elizabeth’s case for his showing “a selfish disdain for the feelings of others.” Anne was wiser than he.
Darcy saw through the window that Anne’s carriage, with the de Bourgh coat of arms emblazoned on its doors, had arrived. Assisted by Tetley, one of the many servants at Rosings, who would do anything for their mistress, and the ever-faithful Mrs. Jenkinson, Anne stepped out of the carriage and onto the dusty courtyard of the inn. The diminutive figure searched among the faces for her cousin, and a smile signaled when she had found him.
Because so much time passed between visits, Darcy was always taken aback by how frail his cousin was. That had not always been the case. She had been in robust health until she was nearly fourteen when she had become so ill that everyone believed that she would die. The realization by Lord and Lady de Bourgh that they had come very close to losing their only child resulted in the hiring of Anne’s nurse and constant companion, Mrs. Jenkinson, a sensible woman who understood Anne’s needs better than anyone. But the young Anne, who had raced Richard and Will through the gardens of Pemberley, was no more as the illness had taken its toll on her lungs. After her recovery, she sought to reassure her loved ones that the restrictions on her activities really did not matter because it was no longer proper for a “woman of her age” to be found chasing after boys.
After sharing a board of bread and cheese washed down with a pint of ale,
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