Author's note: thanks everyone for your kind words 3 I get migraines off and on - I'll go a month or two without them, but then have like two weeks where I'm popping triptans every day.

So for those unsure - Elizabeth does NOT know Darcy is in Kent, and Darcy has no clue Elizabeth is coming. They once discussed how his aunt was her cousin's patroness, but it was in the middle of a dinner and just mentioned casually.

And I promise I'm writing as fast as my kids let me lol! I've got 3 ages 8 and under that I homeschool. Plus a blog and a FB group of over 60k people I run.

My husband has the next few days off from work, so I'll either get a TON of writing done or NONE lol. And then I have a Remicade infusion for my Crohn's on the weekend.

But I'm doing my best! I want to know how the story ends just as much as you do!

Now, shall we meet Anne and Colonel Fitzwilliam? :D

Chapter 27

Darcy looked up as his cousin, Brigadier General Richard Fitzwilliam, came into the study at Rosings Park.

"Still here, Darcy? You haven't moved since breakfast, and you just missed the ladies going to bed!" Richard took a seat in the chair across from his cousin. "You work too hard."

Darcy gave his cousin a surly look. "Well, one of us has to do some work instead of just keeping Anne and Georgiana entertained."

Richard clutched his chest in mock pain. "A direct hit!"

Darcy only scowled in response. Richard's hand dropped to his side, and his ready smile faded away to a brow furrowed in concern. "Honestly, Darcy, what's gotten into you? You've been boorish and sullen since I arrived late last night. Surely you can't still be longing for Russian wheat and Bingley's jovial company?"

The only response Darcy made was to press his lips together, making his face even more dour.

"What happened while I was on the continent that turned you into such a curmudgeon? You're even testier than my father, and that's saying something."

When this failed to bring a smile to Darcy's face, or even reduce the irritation on his face, Richard let out a heavy sigh. "Well, there's only one thing to do."

He walked across the room and poured a generous amount of brandy from the decanter into two glasses. He walked across the table and placed one in front of his cousin.

"Drink up."

When Darcy didn't move, Richard's barked, "Now."

The glass was up and halfway down his throat before Darcy even realized he had automatically obeyed the commanding tone of Richard's voice. He choked slightly, then swallowed. "That was… disconcerting," he rasped out when his coughing fit passed.

"It comes in handy with green soldiers who are unaccustomed to following orders," Richard replied with a smirk.

As a warm feeling spread over him, Darcy's defenses began to drop. Richard's urging eventually loosened Darcy's tongue, and he began to tell his cousin everything that had happened with Elizabeth over the past several months at Netherfield.

"I just have to keep focused on completing my duties here," said Darcy. "Then I will return briefly to Hertfordshire to stand up with Bingley, then return to Pemberley where I can wait until after harvest. Then the Season will begin in London, and I will find a wife."

"Why not just marry Anne and be done with it?" Richard asked.

Darcy shuddered. "As much as I care for my cousin, she is too much like a sister to me to be a wife. No, a typical arrangement with a member of the Ton would be… tolerable, I suppose."

Richard snorted. "A pretty way of saying you prefer anyone to Anne?"

"I hope that's not what you were saying about me. It would be quite rude of you, you know."

Richard spun around in his seat and stared at the door. "Anne! Er, I thought you were going to bed."

She gave him an amused smile as she walked in and sat down. "Oh do stop gaping, Richard, and pour a glass of brandy for me as well."

Richard sputtered, and Darcy smirked. "You'll find our dear cousin is not as frail as she has appeared all these years."

"You should have seen Darcy's face when I asked him to pour some for me the first day he was here," added Anne with a sly grin.

Richard saluted and stood up. Once the drink had been handed to Anne, she took a sip before saying, "Now, what was this you were saying, Richard, about anyone else being preferable to me?"

He began to sputter and explain himself, but she laughed and waved her small hand. "I heard what you were saying before that. I know exactly what was intended by the comment, and I am not offended. I have very little desire to marry Darcy, as well."

Richard sighed in relief. "Well played, Anne." He raised his glass and toasted it in her direction.

She took another sip of her drink, then set it down as a coughing fit overtook her. Darcy calmly passed her a handkerchief, which she accepted gratefully.

"That sounds much better," he said approvingly. "The tonic from the new doctor seems to be helping."

"Yes, I agree. I must thank you again for sending for him."

"I'm just sorry it took so long to get him here from London. This dratted weather."

Richard watched the discussion between the two, but at Darcy's profanity, he exclaimed. "I say, now! Darcy, I'm usually the one people have to caution to watch their language in front of a lady!"

Anne let out a peal of giggles. "No need around me, Richard. I daresay my language could rival your own." She then uttered a string of profanities that caused Darcy to blush slightly.

The brigadier general looked between his two cousins in confusion. "I think I've missed something."

Coughing slightly from her laughter, Anne gestured for Darcy to explain. "When I first arrived, Anne took me into the study and informed me she had been given only a few months left to live. Her coughs were horrific, and most of them resulted in a fair amount of blood."

Richard looked at Anne in alarm, who shrugged. "This winter was quite severe, and I was often chilled, even in front of the fireplace. I've always had a bit of a cough, but it became extremely severe this time. The doctor's tinctures were useless, and he finally said there was nothing more he could do for me."

"At the same time, as you know, Lady Catherine suffered an attack and became bedridden. The servants and tenants had all but abandoned Anne, and she had only a few elderly maids and footmen who had nowhere else to go. Anne wrote to your father several times, but she never heard a response. Finally, certain she was about to die, she sent an express to me."

"Which you promptly ignored for two weeks," Anne teased.

"What?" exclaimed Richard.

"Anne can laugh about it now," Darcy said, giving his cousin a severe look, "but I cannot help but look upon the entire situation with horror. I received the express late one night and intended to read it the next morning, but that was when Bingley's sister died."

"Ah," said Richard. "I can only imagine how needy and inept your puppy was to handle the situation."

Anne, who had been about to take another sip of brandy, snorted into her drink at Richard's euphemism for Darcy's friend. Darcy ignored the slight and said, "Yes, it was quite eventful. I entirely forgot about the express until my valet pointed it out to me two weeks later."

Richard grimaced, to which Darcy said, "Precisely. I came immediately, and Georgiana insisted on coming along as well. As soon as Anne informed me of her health, I sent for my private doctor in London. It took several weeks for him to get here, what with the late snow. In the meantime, we made sure Anne and her mother were kept comfortable and warm, which helped her improve slightly until the doctor could arrive."

"What did he say about your mother?" Richard asked Anne curiously. "I tried to see her earlier today once I awoke, but her maid said she was sleeping."

Anne shook her head. "He said there is nothing he can do for her. She will remain this way until she dies."

"I'm so sorry, Anne," Richard said.

"I'm not," replied Anne bluntly. "She was a harridan, and you know it. Ever since Darcy arrived, and the doctor has given me something to improve my health, I am free! I am happy. I have laughed more in the last week than in my entire life together. I may not have been legally allowed to manage Rosings, but I should have been to London, had a season, and met someone. Sometimes I think she has kept me here and hired an incompetent doctor just so I cannot marry and inherit the estate."

"But she insists on you marrying Darcy!" Richard objected in disbelief. "Why would she make such a demand if she didn't want you to marry?"

"Because she knew Darcy would say no. Or she wanted me to leave with him so she could remain in command here."

Richard turned to Darcy, his eyes wide, and Darcy nodded. "I've always suspected that to be the case. If she really tried to force my hand — a compromise, for example — I would have threatened to sell Rosings and move her to a cottage in Bath or Brighton."

Anne let out a bark of laughter, but quickly stifled it to ward off another coughing fit. "She hates the ocean."

"So what did the doctor say about Anne's health, then?" Richard asked.

"The first doctor said it was consumption— " Darcy began.

He was interrupted by Richard's cry of dismay. "No!"

"— but the second doctor has said it was pneumonia. Based on Anne's response to his unique medications, she is starting to improve."

Richard sighed in relief. "Thank God for that. But what does this all mean now?"

"Mother has, at most, only a few days left to live. After her attack, she was able to speak, but she has grown increasingly weak. Now she sleeps almost all the time, and she refuses to eat or drink anything when she is awake. She is mostly incoherent when she tries to speak, but that rarely happens anymore."

"What a horrible way to go," Richard said solemnly.

"More for me than for her," Anne retorted. "Until her death, I can do nothing for Rosings. I had hoped your father would be able to persuade the lawyers to give me some access to her accounts and management of the estate, but he sent you instead."

"I'm not completely useless," Richard protested.

"You are to me!" Anne threw her frail arms into the air, but there was a small smile on her face.

"Why didn't your father come?" Darcy asked. "I sent him letters myself about this situation, but we haven't heard a single word."

Richard let out a sigh. "The earldom is in complete disarray at the moment. His seat on the House of Lords has been extremely time-consuming with all of the riots and protests in London. I am not sure he has even read your letters, either of you. He just told me that he was sending me here to get you to stop bothering him. In his defense, he is swamped between managing the estate and trying to prevent the other Peers from raising taxes and imposing harsher punishments on those who are just trying to feed their families and keep from freezing to death."

Anne sighed. "I can see why that would be difficult. It's not as if Harry is of any use."

"I should probably defend my elder brother — given that I will one day be dependent on him when he inherits — but I cannot object to the truth of your words."

"If only you could inherit," Darcy said. "Your family's properties would be in much better hands."

"I know," Richard replied.

The three sat in solemn silence for a few moments before Richard clapped his hands together and said, "Enough of this melancholy! We cannot change the situation — we can only make a plan of action to move forward. So what shall we do?"

"Until Lady Catherine passes, there isn't much more we can do," Darcy answered. "Today I was finally able to finish the last of the business for putting accounts in order — the ones I have access to, at least."

"We will be receiving guests of a sort at the end of the week," Anne added.

"Guests?" Darcy and Richard exclaimed.

"Well, not here at Rosings. Our parson did not survive the winter, and his relatives have finally been found. They will stay at the parsonage while they remove any of his personal belongings. Then we will need to find a new parson, but again, I cannot do that until my mother is gone."

"Perhaps we should all retire, then?" suggested Darcy.

"But we're not finished," Anne protested with a wink to Richard.

"We're not?" Darcy asked in confusion.

Richard, catching on quickly, said, "Of course not! We still haven't fixed your love life!"

Darcy groaned. "I was hoping that discussion was finished."

"Not at all," Anne said. "I cannot let you throw your life away because of a lack of funds."

"Do you have sixty thousand pounds you can give me?" Darcy retorted. "Because unless you do, I cannot see any way to marry her and keep Pemberley."

"Is it really that bad?" Richard asked softly.

"Not yet, but it could be," Darcy said grimly. "The Russian wheat, along with the rice, were a significant investment. I may recoup some of the costs if the wheat harvests well, but even then, I won't be able to bring in any rents until the fall. And that's only if this blasted winter ever ends."

"You could just marry her now and deal with whatever comes as it comes up," Anne suggested.

"I think you've been reading too many novels, Anne," Richard said in wry tone. "Unfortunately, love does not conquer all."

This statement turned into a minor squabble as Darcy's two cousins tried to prove the other wrong with examples from literature. This gave Darcy a few moments to regain his equilibrium.

The truth was, no matter how hard he worked, he was never fully able to banish Elizabeth from his thoughts. Each time he ran into an issue, he imagined how she would respond. When a tenant or a servant had difficulties, he would think of her kindness and try to follow her example.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Richard said, "Why don't you just marry someone from the Ton, then set this girl up as your mistress? Best of both worlds."

Anne let out a gasp of dismay, and Darcy turned red with anger. "I would never consider acting so dishonorably! It was bad enough to marry for convenience when I love another, but it's something else entirely to be unfaithful to that wife!"

"Plenty of men do," Richard said flippantly.

"Not. Me." Darcy seethed. "And if you speak so callously of her again, or even insinuate that she would be of such low character to agree to such a thing, I will call you out."

The room went silent. Darcy's furious eyes bored a hole into Richard's, who met his gaze calmly. After several seconds, he said, "I'll be buggered. You really do love her."

The rage in Darcy's face was replaced with confusion. "Excuse me?"

"I wasn't sure if you pining over a girl with whom you took a fancy, or if you really did love her. A passing admiration is one thing, and one often mistakes it for love — as your friend Bingley does quite frequently — but true love is rare. I was merely seeing which of the two it was. If it were mere attraction, you would have leaped at the idea of taking her as mistress."

"Richard! That's was really quite a rotten thing of you to do!" Anne scolded. "As if poor Darcy doesn't have enough on his plate."

"It was for 'poor Darcy's' benefit that I did it," responded Richard lazily. "And he isn't poor — not yet, at least."

This last comment was enough to ease the tension in the room as everyone laughed perhaps a bit more loudly than the pun warranted. However, it served its purpose, and Darcy's tone was easy again as he asked, "Why was your little test for my benefit?"

"To see if I should help you or not," Richard replied. "Now that I am free from military service — thanks to the beautiful Frenchman who killed Napoleon — I am at my leisure. And I think I will accompany you back to Hertfordshire in order to help you find a way to marry your Elizabeth."

Darcy sighed. "It's impossible. If it were as simple as you make it seem, I would have thought of it already."

Richard scoffed. "There's a reason I was made a brigadier general just before the war ended; my cunning and skill are unmatched."

"This isn't war!" exclaimed Anne.

"Miguel de Cervantes would disagree with you. After all, 'el amor y la guerra son una misma cosa' — or so he says in Don Quixote," Richard promptly replied.

"Since when do you speak Spanish?" Darcy asked incredulously.

"Forget Spanish!" Anne cried. "When did you learn to read well enough to finish a book?"

"Oh, direct hit!" Richard snickered, holding his chest in mock pain. "Since the army felt fit to send me where I was needed."

Darcy and Anne both stared awestruck at Richard, who shrugged and said, "I'd tell you more, but I'd probably have to kill you to preserve national security."

There was silence, then Richard burst into laughter. "Oh, you should see the expressions on your faces!"

They joined him in uneasy chuckles, eying him warily. It took several minutes, but Richard finally composed himself and said, wiping the tears from his face, "No, Darcy, in all seriousness, I refuse to let you become a miserable man because you were forced to marry for convenience when you had love at your fingertips."

There was a hint of emotion in Richard's voice that made Darcy look sharply at his cousin. Before he could ask any further, however, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Darcy called.

Mrs. Jenkinson rushed into the room. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Darcy, sir, but have you seen - oh, Miss Anne! There you are! Please, come quickly! It's her ladyship. She's — she's gone."