Darcy did not seek out Bingley the day after he made his confession to his friend, the day he anticipated that Bingley would be attending at Gracechurch Street to make his addresses to Miss Bennet. Indeed, he thought Bingley would call at Darcy House the day after that to receive his congratulations and best wishes, and so he stayed home to so receive Bingley.
When Bingley did not appear as anticipated, the next morning Darcy decided to seek him out. There was a chance Bingley was now spending all of his time with Miss Bennet at Gracechurch Street without a thought or care for his friends - although with a twinge of regret Darcy considered that perhaps Bingley might no longer consider him to be a friend – but he would see if he could catch him at Bingley House before he left to further his suit. He was forestalled by a politely worded request, in truth, a command, to forthwith attend at Matlock House to discuss the current state of the Rosings estate and its denizens.
Every year, Darcy was called upon to report to his uncle, the Earl of Matlock, and his cousin, Viscount Mintlaw, the findings from his annual visit to Rosings. Every year the report was the same save for the actual monetary amounts: all rents had been collected in full; all tenancies were in good standing (which is not to say the tenants were happy, how could they be with a titular landlord such as Lady Catherine, but they were satisfied that all of their concerns had been dealt with by Darcy or the steward appointed by him); all debts had been paid in a timely matter; there had been no changes in the household staff (all of whom were paid a premium to put up with the abuse they suffered from the tongue of Lady Catherine); the Hunsford parish was well run (say what you would about the man himself, Mr. Collins seemed to know his business); all tithes, taxes, and expected charitable donations had been made; Lady Catherine had continued her never ending redecoration of the Great House, but without exceeding the limits of her jointure; cousin Anne had not even made a dent in her pin money; all legitimate complaints of Lady Catherine had been taken care of (those lacking legitimacy were ignored in reliance on that lady's tendency to forget about old complaints when new ones arose, as they so often did); all of the estate books of account were in balance; Lady Catherine remained irascible; and, Anne remained sickly.
At Matlock House Darcy gave the usual report; the usual questions were asked; and the usual answers were given; however, the pro forma nature of the proceedings were leavened by the comedic stylings of Colonel Fitzwilliam whose interjections were amusing, if lacking in any substance whatsoever.
After having dealt with the present state of Rosings, Darcy thought his duty was satisfied and he could leave but the discussion, unlike it had in the past, shifted to the future. Anne de Bourgh was the true owner of Rosings, subject to certain contingencies, although her mother refused to acknowledge it. All of the physicians who had examined her, including one brought down from Edinburgh at great expense, had agreed that Anne's illness was chronic and inevitably would take her life sometimes within the next ten years. It was further agreed by those learned men that childbirth would be fatal to her. Anne was aware of this and absolutely refused to marry. This was a problem since under the terms of Sir Lewis de Bourgh's will, if Anne died without a legitimate heir, or a husband, the estate would go to a distant de Bourgh cousin. Everyone in the Fitzwilliam family knew this, and knew what the solution was - Anne must marry one of her two Fitzwilliam cousins. Of course, Darcy was a cousin, whom Lady Catherine favoured for Anne to the point of irrationality, but he had made it clear, over and over again, to all concerned (including Aunt Catherine, although she would never acknowledge and accept it), that he would not, under any circumstance, marry Anne and his refusal was buttressed by the legendary Darcy stubbornness. Lord Mintlaw, as heir to the Earldom of Matlock, needed an heir of his own, and given the distinction and prominence of that title, he needed a hostess vis-à-vis the ton, a role Anne could never fill, so he would not offer for her. This left Colonel Fitzwilliam and the levity with which he had been participating in the meeting fled as he was fixed with three pairs of gimlet eyes.
The Colonel needed a rich wife to maintain the lifestyle to which he aspired. Anne could be that wife. His own need for an heir was waved away – on Anne's inevitable passing he could marry a young, fertile debutante and fill his nursery with an heir and a dozen spares. In the meantime, he could keep a mistress to take care of his manly needs, Rosings being only half a day's ride from London. Besides he would live much longer as the squire of Rosings, even with Lady Catherine as his mother-in-law, than he would fighting the French in Spain.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was tempted; he was sorely tempted. He had been at war against the French for the better part of sixteen years and he was tired of the military life. In January he had barely escaped death during the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and he had been greatly relieved to have been ordered to England by Wellington. He had a premonition that if he went back to Spain he would never return to England. The life of a well to do country gentleman was very tempting. But Lady Catherine! He would be exchanging what would hopefully be a quick death in battle for a lingering death of ten thousand tongue lashings.
The Colonel shared his concerns with his father, brother and cousin. Over the course of many hours, and the demise of more than a few bottles of brandy, the terms of a marriage settlement were hammered out. Colonel Fitzwilliam would marry Anne and assume ownership of Rosings. His will would provide that, if he died without a male heir, Rosings would pass to Lord Mintlaw's second son, and failing such a son, to Darcy's second son; and thus Rosings would stay in the family, at least unto the next generation. Lady Catherine would be moved to the dower house at Rosings and if she squawked too much she would be moved to a house on the coast, the Irish coast (although no one thought that could be legally done, but the thought that it might be done was comforting).
The agreed upon settlement was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a fait accompli. Anne would have to be convinced to agree to a platonic marriage in which she would receive every comfort and consideration she might desire and further, that Colonel Fitzwilliam would not embarrass her with any extramarital activities he might engage in. And Lady Catherine would have to be compelled to accept the situation – no one thought she would voluntarily agree to it.
While Colonel Fitzwilliam was making his addresses to Anne the task of bearding the lioness in her den would fall to Lord Matlock. As the head of the Fitzwilliam family, and executor of Sir Lewis de Bourgh's will, the Earl was the only person who had any sway over Lady Catherine. Lord Mintlaw would support him. To his great relief, it was agreed that Darcy should not be part of the party to Kent – his presence would be a distraction as Lady Catherine would be insistent that he marry Anne instead of the Colonel.
If Anne proved amenable to Colonel Fitzwilliam's suit, but Lady Catherine proved intractable, then Anne would be swept away to town, where the marriage would take place quickly by special licence, and then the law would be set upon Lady Catherine.
The Colonel's forthcoming nuptials were celebrated with several bottles of contraband champagne and so by the time Darcy escaped Matlock House he was much too foxed to think of seeking out Bingley. However, he was sufficiently foxed to fantasize about allowing his Fitzwilliam relatives to arrange a marriage for him; provided of course, that the bride had the personal attributes of Miss Elizabeth Bennet in addition to the usual and expected wealth and connections. He was not so foxed that he would actually give them leave to do so.
When he got back to Darcy House, he went straight to bed without bothering to read his mail, which included a rather terse note from his friend.