Notes: Half chapter.

April 1813

Early in the spring, Colonel Richard was sent on a special mission to the continent, and Darcy had to go alone to Rosings. He had to check the ledgers, meet with the steward, visit some tenants, and get everything ready for the harvest.

On the second day, Darcy went for a walk along the roads of Rosings and inadvertently ended up in front of the parsonage. His face darkened when he saw where he was, so many memories that place had… he remembered the times he went to see Elizabeth there and especially his marriage proposal followed by Elizabeth's rejection… Although a year had passed, he still had not managed to forget her.

Since the Collinses still lived in Hunsford, he decided to visit them to ask Mrs. Collins about Elizabeth. All Mrs. Collins knew about Elizabeth was that she had gone to live with her uncle in London and had a dowry of over £3,000. Unfortunately, after the Longbourn fire over a disagreement between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins over the £1500, Mr. Bennet had saved - Mr. Collins argued that money should be used to repair Longbourn - they ended up on bad terms. Although Charlotte knew her husband was wrong, she decided not to contradict him and not continue her friendship with Elizabeth.

He returned to Rosing's content as Mrs. Collins had assured him that Elizabeth's uncle had a good income and had a dowry that enable her to live modestly for the rest of her life.

On the third day, he had the first of several arguments with Lady Catherine. His aunt had heard rumors from London's acquaintances, and even Lord Matlock, that he was looking for a wife among the ladies of the Ton and persistently insisted that he must do his duty once and for all and marry his cousin. Because of these arguments, Darcy eventually decided to shorten his stay at Rosings to just two weeks instead of three.

The night before he returned to London, after hesitating, Darcy decided to have a serious conversation with Anne about Lady Catherine's wishes and what he thought were Anne's wishes but was surprised to realize how little he knew his cousin.

"Anne, I came to take my leave since tomorrow morning I return to London." Darcy took a deep breath and said, "I also want to talk to you about your and your mother's wishes and expectations..."

Before Darcy could speak further, Anne waved her hand and cut him off, "Cousin, you don't have to worry about my wishes and expectations, as I do not wish to marry you."

Darcy's eyes widened and he blushed.

"Are you surprised that I don't want to marry you?" she smiled slightly, "Why would I want to marry a gentleman who obviously doesn't want to marry me? Besides, what would I gain if I married you? The way I see it, I only lose if one day I get married." She looked him straight in the eye, "I have my own estate; If I marry it will be my husband's estate, I have £50,000 at my disposal which if I marry will be my husband's money, and most importantly, I have a frail constitution and would probably die in childbirth. "

Very confused, Darcy replied, "Why did you never protest when your mother demanded that I marry you? Everything would be so much easier for me if you told your mother that you don't want to marry me."

Anne shook her head, "Why would I bother arguing with her?" and with a smile, she added, "I am only going to protest the day you want to marry me."

Darcy stared at her even more surprised by her response; He definitely didn't know his cousin Anne…and there was definitely another woman in the world who didn't want to marry him. They parted on very good terms and were happy to have had that frank conversation.