To say Elizabeth was shocked would be an understatement. This woman had barely spared her ten words before and now she was asking for her help?
"I am sorry that you are unhappy with your engagement, but I am not sure I am the right person to assist you, Miss de Bourgh."
The other woman's eyes bore into hers. "You are the only person I know to have succeeded in going against my mother's wishes. I know that she tried to put a stop to your engagement to my cousin, but you stood your ground and married him despite her displeasure. You are brave and bold of which I am neither. I know not how to tell my mother that I want to break off my engagement. What should I do? What would you do?"
"Um, well…" Elizabeth was having trouble figuring out how to advise her. She was no expert. She was barely two and twenty. "I guess you could have a frank conversation with your mother. Tell her you don't want to marry Lord Duffington."
Anne nodded. "I could and I should. Will you go with me? You don't have to say anything. Just knowing you are there will make me feel emboldened."
Elizabeth desperately searched her mind for a reason why she couldn't. She could use Alexander as an excuse, but she'd just finished feeding him. Besides, the poor woman was practically begging her for assistance. As undesirable as this task was, she felt she needed to help out however she could for the good of humanity.
"Oh...alright."
"Mother," Anne said nervously, approaching the older woman who was sipping her tea as she read her mail.
"Yes," her mother replied, not looking up.
"I have something I need to tell you."
"Go on. Say it." The other woman's eyes were still glued to her letter.
"I...I don't want to marry Lord Duffington."
Lady Catherine's hand stilled and she finally looked up. "What do you mean you don't want to marry Lord Duffington?"
"I...I don't love him," Anne replied falteringly.
"What does love have to do with getting married? And why is she here?" Lady Catherine said, looking pointedly in Elizabeth's direction.
"She's here because I asked her to be. Mother, I can't marry Lord Duffington. I don't love him. I love someone else."
Rising from her chair, the older woman stood and began to approach her daughter. "Someone else? Who?"
"Dr. Taylor. He says he wants to marry me and I...I want to be with him too."
"Dr. Taylor!" the old woman replied shrilly. "The man I welcomed into my home? The man I trusted with my daughter's health? And he repays me by putting foolheaded notions in your head? No, I won't allow it. You will marry Lord Duffington. I am sending away this quack. You will follow the path you were meant to follow, girl. I will hear no more of this."
Anne's eyes pleaded with Elizabeth's as if asking her what to do. Elizabeth just nodded in encouragement. If this doctor was important to her, she would figure out what she needed to say.
"I will not marry Lord Duffington," Anne resolved.
"Of course you shall. Don't be silly. If you don't, you will lose your fortune, your connections, your good name, your family, everything."
"She won't," Elizabeth said, chiming in for the first time.
"Excuse me?"
"She won't lose all her family. Mr. Darcy and I will stand by her." Of course, Elizabeth was not certain this was true, but she had a feeling she could convince Mr. Darcy to her way of thinking.
"I tell you now that if my daughter does not go through with this marriage she will no longer have a home at Rosings."
Elizabeth inhaled sharply. Those were harsh words indeed.
"Please, mother," Anne gasped, tears in her eyes. "I can't marry him. I love Dr. Taylor. I want to be with him. I want to marry him."
"Silly child! Your good name and reputation are more important than love. You have obligations to uphold as a de Bourgh. You have no choice. You will marry Lord Duffington. You will be no daughter of mine if you persist with this silly notion to marry Dr. Taylor."
Anne let out a broken sob and fell into a nearby chair, weeping quietly.
This overbearing woman was too much. Elizabeth was overwhelmed with pity and empathy for Anne. What it must have been like to grow up here with this woman as a mother, she couldn't possibly fathom. Memories of her own mother pressuring her to marry Mr. Collins flooded back. Her mother might not be the best, but she knew that no matter how angry her mother got she would have never been left to fend for herself. She sensed that was a very real threat for Anne.
Stiffening her spine and standing as tall as she could, she focused her gaze on Lady Catherine. "Miss de Bourgh is not friendless. If she is no longer welcome at Rosings, then Mr. Darcy and I will be happy to have her at Pemberley."
"Oh, thank you, thank you," Anne said minutes later as she wrung her hands and looked very much like she wanted to embrace the other woman. "You'll never know how much your support meant to me."
"No one should be forced into a loveless marriage," Elizabeth replied. "You are welcome to stay at Pemberley as long as you like."
"I don't think it will be long. William says he wants to be married as soon as possible. He is quite popular here and his patients are quite loyal to him. He has a very solid, steady practice. No, I won't have the finest things anymore, but I will have William and that is more than enough."
Elizabeth found herself quite intrigued by the whole matter. As she walked with Anne, she couldn't help but ask, "How did you and Dr. Taylor…"
"Fall in love?" Anne finished for her, smiling brightly. Again, Elizabeth was astounded by the profound changes love could bring upon a person.
Anne stopped by a window and stared down looking at the man in a black coat who was walking up the path to Rosings. Elizabeth turned her gaze to the man, figuring by Anne's dreamy, lovestruck look that that was Dr. Taylor in the flesh. The doctor looked to be in his late 30s. He was tall and thin and walked with long, purposeful strides. As he came closer, she saw that he wore spectacles and had light brown hair.
"I know that you and I were never friendly in the past. I own that it was largely my fault in that. Up until a year ago, I was a bitter, lonely woman whose sphere of influence was dominated by my mother. Then, I met Dr. Taylor. It started off professionally of course. He made recommendations to improve my health. He encouraged me to take daily walks and found time each day to come to Rosings and take them with me. I was shy at first and perhaps a little standoffish. The difference in our ranks was not lost on me. And I'm embarrassed to admit that at first I was quite haughty and thought him beneath me. But he is so warm-hearted and kind and his good humor is infectious that I found myself opening up and getting to know him like I had never done before with another person. He changed me, for the better. Mother had arranged the engagement to Lord Duffington shortly after your marriage to Mr. Darcy - who although mother seems to think jilted me never gave me any false hopes of marriage. I was resolved to the marriage but as my feelings for Dr. Taylor grew, I found that I could not go through with it. And so, I am most grateful for your kindness and support. I would not have a hope for a happy future without you. If you'll excuse me, Mrs. Darcy, I want to see if I can get a word in with Dr. Taylor before he speaks to my mother."
The woman started off down the hallway, but turned around, beaming. "Thank you again. You have been such a dear to me."
"Dearest," Elizabeth called as she walked over to the stables to greet her husband. "I must speak with you."
Darcy jumped off his steed, looking unbearably handsome with his wind-swept hair. If the situation wasn't so imperative, she would use this time to pick up where they had left off this morning before he'd gone hunting.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" her husband asked, grinning.
Seeing Lord Duffington heave himself off his horse, Elizabeth took Darcy's hand in her own, tugging it to encourage him to follow. "My love, I must need speak to you privately."
"Of course, my darling, I would not for the world miss an opportunity to speak privately with you. Our private talks are one of my favorite things about being married," Darcy murmured with a twinkle in his eye.
As they headed towards the gardens, she shook her head, for once not responding in kind to his flirtatiousness. "It's not that kind of talk. It's far more serious. I have done something of which you might not approve."