Over Breakfast
On the morning after the third birth announcement in five years for Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy was published in the paper, Catherine de Bourgh rose from her bed in her childhood bedroom at Matlock. She pulled on her pink morning dress (her favourite) and padded through the halls towards the sun room, hurrying down the stairs in thin white slippers and spinning through patches of sunlight that spilled into the halls through the windows.
She was not surprised to find Anne, her sister Anne, already at the breakfast table. Anne Darcy glowed in the morning sunlight, the picture of health. Her yellow dress rustled as she rose and hugged her elder sister tightly.
"Catherine!" said Anne. "I've been waiting for you. Whatever took you so long, my dear?"
"I had to see the children grow up," said Catherine, clutching at Anne's hand as they made their way to the breakfast table. "I had to ensure that they would be alright."
"And how is little Anne?" asked the younger sister. "Is she well? Would you like tea?"
"Tea would be lovely," said Catherine. "My Anne is not well. She has not been well since Lewis died. Lemon, please."
"He'll be sorry to hear that," said Anne. "All he could talk about when he arrived was her. Oh, he won't be here for a while, have no fear. It's just us for breakfast."
"It has been far, far too long since we have had breakfast together," agreed Catherine. "I have missed you so, Anne. I have been so very lonely."
"And who but I knew you had a heart?" said Anne. "My poor sister, without friends or a lover to comfort her when I died."
"Who could I have shown my heart to?" demanded Catherine. "I, the daughter of a peer, wealthy and well bred beyond the dizziest daydreams of many - "
"You," said Anne, "were also my sister. Mine and Henry's. You were Lewis' wife, though I shall never understand your marriage, and you were Anne's mother. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana's aunt. Could you not have opened your heart to them, your own blood?"
"I am not you, Anne," said Catherine. "I have never found it easy to love others."
"Neither have I," said Anne. "But I could not learn to be lonely any more than you could learn to forgive the faults in yourself and let yourself be loved in spite of them."
Catherine sighed. "You are the only person I will ever concede that point to."
"Tell me about the children," said Anne.
"Anne I have spoken of," said Catherine. "She is unwell. I shall not be surprised if she joins us very soon."
"I think she shall surprise you," murmured Anne.
"Andrew lives a life of utter depravity," continued Catherine. "I have neither seen nor heard from him in many years. Cecelia is married to Viscount Esterhazy, and has two children, but again, she does not write to me, nor does she visit. Richard comes every year, though he insists on being promoted through the ranks of the army based on merit rather than a patron's funding. But he is well, and good enough to see an old lady every year at Easter."
"I am glad that Henry's children are doing well, for the most part," said Anne.
"Georgiana made her grand debut into society a few years ago," said Catherine. "I was invited, and so I went. It was a wonderful ball, Anne. Georgiana was so beautiful, so graceful on the dance floor. She is a little shy, but she made conversation with her partners. You would be, I think, so very proud of her. She is engaged to a young man, the heir of a dukedom, I think, and due to be married next summer."
"So soon?" sighed Anne.
"It is an exceptionally long engagement," said Catherine. "But then, arranging the wedding will take time. She was not sure of him, you know. She was not sure of his character when they first met, and when he began courting her. But Georgiana accepted him, in the end."
"Tell me about Fitzwilliam," said Anne.
Catherine huffed. "Oh, he married, but to such a girl! No fortune, no connections, nothing to recommend her at all save her pretty face. The foolish boy should have bowed to my wishes and married my daughter. I am quite ashamed of him."
"I am sure that she is not as bad as that," said Anne. "Unless my son is very changed from when I last saw him, I do not doubt that he put great thought into his choice of a wife."
"He likely did," admitted Catherine. "He married an Elizabeth Bennett, a nobody from Hertfordshire with relations in trade. Trade! She is pretty enough, and clever, and is very sure of her opinions. I do believe that Fitzwilliam liked her ability to argue sensibly with him on a number of subjects."
"She sounds like a lovely girl," sighed Anne. "I do wish that I could meet her."
"She did well enough with Georgiana's ball," said Catherine, "and somehow secured herself a membership at Almacks. I dare say that Felicity has done much for her."
"If the Matlocks like her, then surely she isn't a bad sort of woman at all," said Anne. "Henry can spot a fortune hunter a mile away, and Felicity has no patience for women who love wealth more than the men it's attached to. Have they children?"
"Their third child was just baptized," said Catherine. "Another girl. I believe they named her Frances Anne, after both her grandmothers."
"Grandchildren! Tell me more, please Catherine."
"I know only their names. Bennett Richard was a honeymoon baby - born ten months after the wedding - and I am told by Felicity and by Georgiana that he is very sweet and most loving towards his sisters. He should be about four now. Dear Madeline Elizabeth is two and a half, and very nearly killed her mother. None the less, she is a darling girl, and the apple of her father's eye."
Anne dabbed tears from her eyes. "God has been so good to my family. Such happiness for Fitzwilliam, and more to come for Georgiana. I am so grateful, Catherine, so very grateful that all has turned out well for them."
"Well! How can you say well, Anne?" gasped Catherine.
"All I have ever wanted," said Anne, "was for my children to be happy. My wish has been granted. I have grandchildren, Catherine, and I know that I shall have more in the future. That is a blessing. My grandchildren will grow up in houses filled with love and will know goodness through it. I can rest easy, knowing that all is well on Earth. Do try a tart, Cathy, they are delightful."
Lewis de Bourgh and George Darcy walked into the sunroom through the open French doors that led out into the grand gardens. Anne's face lit up when she saw her husband, and Catherine's heart twisted with longing. Lewis sat next to her.
"It's good to see you again, Catherine," he said. "I trust that Anne is well and happy?"
Catherine sighed. "She is neither. And it is no one's fault but mine. I, who smothered her, controlled her, pushed her at a man who did not want her, I alone am at fault for our daughter's unhappiness."
"Perhaps she shall find happiness," said Lewis, patting her hand. "I am not about to start a fight with you, my dear, not when breakfast is so well prepared and the day is so fine."
"I confess, i had not expected to see you for quite some time," said George, scooping marmalade onto his toast. "How is the family, Catherine?"
"Fitzwilliam is married, with three children," said Catherine, "and Georgiana is engaged to an appropriate young man."
"Are they happy?" asked George.
"I believe so," said Catherine. "Certainly, there is never a dull moment in Pemberley, what with Mrs Darcy's wit and Fitzwilliam's rediscovered sense of humour. Never mind that family of hers!"
"We have grandchildren, George!" said Anne excitedly. "A boy and two little girls. Is that not delightful?"
"I can hardly believe it," said George. "And little Georgiana, engaged to be married. We shall have to attend the wedding."
"Indeed," agreed Anne. "Shall we play lawn bowling after breakfast?"
Lady Catherine de Bourgh's funeral was attended by the entirety of her extended family. Fitzwilliam Darcy held Madeline, and Elizabeth cradled Fanny while little Benny clung to his mother's skirts for the entirety of the service. Anne de Bourgh was supported by Richard Fitzwilliam, and Henry and Felicity Fitzwilliam attempted to console her. Andrew Fitzwilliam thoughtfully did not bring his mistress to the service; Cecelia Esterhazy held the hands of her two children, despite her daughter's best efforts to investigate Benny Darcy. The little ones were particularly excited about throwing dirt on the coffin, though the adults were significantly subdued.
"I feel quite guilty for never writing to her," Cecelia confided to Elizabeth. "I simply assumed that she would always be there, that I could make time for her later."
"Indeed, I rather thought that Lady Catherine would bury us all," said Elizabeth.
"Still, we cannot entirely take the blame for not communicating with her," said Andrew. "She refused to speak to us."
"That does not excuse the rest of the family," Henry Fitzwilliam replied. "Not one of us, save perhaps Richard, had a good reason to neglect Catherine. And yet we did."
"I shall forever be grateful to Aunt Catherine," said Darcy. "Without her interference, Elizabeth and I might never have married. In her own way, she ensured my happiness."
"Her one great, good deed," said Anne.
"Well, not quite," said Richard. "She made you, after all."
"I am not sure if I am grateful for that yet," said Anne. "Shall we tell them?"
"Last night," said Richard to the family as a whole, "Anne and I discussed her future. We have decided to marry at the end of the mourning period."
"That's wonderful news!" said Elizabeth. "Will you marry from Rosings, then?"
"Indeed, we shall," said Anne.
"Oh, may I stay for a while and help Anne with her wedding plans?" asked Georgiana.
"That is a lovely idea," said Elizabeth. "Between the two of you, this wedding cannot but go well!"
Above in Heaven, Anne and Catherine began planning a dinner party of their own to celebrate.