September 3, 2014 – In case I haven't made it clear before, this in not a newly written story. I finished it about 5 years ago. Geez, I'm getting old.
Time to find out what Darcy has to say for himself.
Chapter 8
As promised, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Major Andrew Fitzwilliam called the following evening. After exchanging pleasantries, Darcy asked to speak with Anne alone. Lady Catherine was only too happy to accede to the request.
Darcy stood near the fireplace while Anne sat on the settee.
"You have me alone, Cousin," Anne said with trepidation.
"I have come to make you an offer."
"You really do want to marry me?"
Darcy laughed. "I said an offer, not a proposal of marriage."
Anne visibly relaxed. She was not looking forward to the strife that would have ensued with a refusal of marriage. Darcy came and sat down next to her, gently holding her hand.
"Anne, have I ever given you the appearance that I was courting you?"
"No, but Mother…"
"… has made it very clear that she expects a match between us. I know. But I do not think you agree."
"No!" A hand flew over her mouth as Anne suddenly realized what she had said. "I mean no offense, Cousin."
Darcy squeezed her hand and let it go.
"No offense was taken. Yet you have proven the reasonableness of my motives for speaking with you today. Anne, you are not yet eighteen and only just out. This must be a very exciting time for you. It is a time to be admired and pursued and to discover just what it is that you seek in life and in a partner. Even if you and I were prepared to come to an agreement, if you did not have this Season, I believe you would come to regret our union.
"Cousin Anne, I want you to spend these next several months enjoying yourself. See what London and the ton have to offer. If you find someone you wish to marry, I will do all I can to help the match along. However, if you come to the end and are not attached, then we will talk again to see if a courtship is something both of us desire. This is my offer."
Anne was shocked. This is exactly what she had wanted! A season unencumbered by any promises.
"Have you nothing to say?"
"I am amazed you have come up with an arrangement that exactly matches my desires! I accept, though my vanity is somewhat stung by your failure to fall hopelessly in love with me without any encouragement on my part."
To this impertinent reply, Darcy laughed heartily.
"You will not be totally rid of me. I will remain in Town and attend some of the same events you will. It is expected of me and I cannot escape this responsibility. I am afraid you will occasionally be forced to dance with me and bear my disinterested looks. We, each of us, have a role to play." He stood. "Come, let us call your mother and explain our understanding."
"She will not consider it an understanding."
And she most certainly did not!
"I am not happy with this decision. You two were formed for each other," Lady Catherine responded when they returned to the parlor and informed her of their agreement.
"Nevertheless, Aunt, Cousin Anne and I have agreed. We will discuss the possibility of a courtship after the Season, and only if my cousin is so inclined."
"So much can happen. Who will protect Anne from unscrupulous fortune hunters and rakes?!"
"I thank you for such little confidence in my abilities to judge the character of men."
"You have no experience in these matters."
"I may not, but how else will I gain it if I am not allowed to try?"
"Anne will not be left alone. The Earl, Martin, Andrew and I will not just disappear and leave Anne to fend for herself. Neither will you, Aunt."
"As my duties allow, I will be happy to attend events with my cousin," Major Fitzwilliam volunteered.
"There, it is settled. Anne shall have her Season and her family will see to it that she is protected." Darcy knew the battle had been won when Lady Catherine rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I would still prefer you were formally courting her, Darcy, but it seems I have no choice. Very well, it shall be as you wish."
Anne beamed at her cousins and then at her mother. "Thank you, Mama!"
"It remains to be seen whether you will feel the same way in a couple of months."
It was not until later that Anne realized the full import of her cousin's offer.
He is amenable entering a courtship and has given me the Season to decide if I am as well! But I had decided I did not wish to marry him, let alone anyone.
Then the words of her Aunt Anne, spoken on her twelfth birthday, came to mind.
"Never say never, Anne. I did once."
I have not agreed to anything other than to discuss a courtship in the future if I am not attached. Before then, there will be plenty of men to meet and to fall in love. Almacks awaits!
~~~/~~~
Unfortunately for Anne, the next morning she awoke to the unpleasant task to saying goodbye to Mrs. Stuart.
"Must you leave?" Anne whined. Maggie laughed.
"There is no reason for me to stay any longer. I came to see you through your ball. Now it is time for this old housekeeper to return to Kent where I belong. Besides, I would only be in the way here. Mrs. Barker has been very gracious in tolerating my presence this long. If I should stay any longer, I might forget this is not Rosings and start giving her suggestions on how to run her household. And as you know, that is her Ladyship's favorite prerogative. I dare not infringe on my mistress's need to be useful."
Anne would not give up so easily.
"I wish you could stay. You are the only person I can talk to."
"You do remember you have a companion."
"Mrs. Jenkinson? Surely you jest. I could never tell her all I tell you."
Maggie raised an eyebrow in question.
"Oh, I do not dislike her, but neither does she inspire any desire for me to confide in her. How can I say this? She is … she lacks a certain liveliness and I find her perfectly boring."
Maggie could not help herself; she laughed.
"Oh, Miss de Bourgh. I will take that as a compliment to my 'liveliness', as you so charmingly put it. Even so, not everyone is the same. Mrs. Jenkinson is a very conscientious woman. She does have your best interests at heart, you know."
"I suppose. But I wonder if she discovered I had done something dreadful, not that there is anything dreadful to discover, but if there were, would she keep the confidence or would she run to tell my mother?"
"Miss de Bourgh, if she were worried about your safety or reputation, she would tell Lady Catherine as, I would add, would I. Do not underestimate her value. She can be a great ally if you would just allow it. Besides, as your companion, it is her duty to protect you, especially when you are in the company of eligible young men."
"Yes, that is another matter that concerns me." Anne furrowed her brow. "How is it that I have said I do not wish to marry and here I am entering into Society, which is tantamount to entering the marriage market?"
Maggie laughed again; her little Miss Anne could look so adorable when she did not get her way.
"Have you only just now realized this?"
Anne looked at her sheepishly and added, "I supposed I was so enthralled with the idea of parties and balls and dancing that I failed to comprehend the natural consequences of a Season."
"The main object being to match eligible females with equally eligible gentlemen."
Anne groaned.
"What have I done?"
Maggie grew serious. "You have done what every gently bred young lady has done. You have accepted your place in the world into which you were born. Is it so onerous to be pampered and admired? You enjoyed it at your ball."
"You know me well enough to know I am too vain to refuse such attentions. Do you not see, this is why I need you to stay in Town, to talk sense into me! I still must make my curtsey at St. James's. Not to mention Almack's!"
Maggie sighed.
"My dear, my place is at Rosings. I have long accepted my lot in life." Maggie paused to gather her thoughts. "You will be perfectly fine without me. We both know I know nothing of Court or of the assemblies at Almack's. Your family will guide you through and you will scarce have time to waste any thoughts on me.
"Miss de Bourgh, I must return to Kent where I belong."
Anne knew her oldest and most loyal friend would not be swayed from her decision, but she could not let her go without telling her how important she really was. She returned Maggie's conclusive statement with a seriousness to match.
"You will always be more than just a servant in my eyes. I value your friendship and will see that you will always receive what is your due for all the years you have faithfully served my family and me."
Maggie gripped her charge's hand, for once unwilling to meet her eyes. Anne thought it was due to emotion. She had no idea it was due to Maggie's guilt, fear and shame.
~~~/~~~
One morning when the de Bourgh ladies were at home to receive callers, a Mrs. and Miss Simpson were announced. Anne immediately looked at the daughter. She recognized the name and wondered if the creature in front of her was her Cousin de Bourgh's would-be bride. Neither young woman was comfortable. Each was curious about the other; Miss Simpson was wary.
Anne decided to draw Miss Simpson into innocent conversation; it was not yet time for more direct questioning.
"Do you play, Miss Simpson?"
"Yes, I do, Miss de Bourgh. Do you?"
"My mother would not allow me not to play."
"Perhaps one day I shall have the chance to hear you."
"I have no doubt Mama will insist I take every chance to exhibit." Anne laughed lightly. "She is a great lover of music and provided the masters to teach me. I was not allowed to sit idle and follow my inclinations to not practice. She grew tired of how I would fudge and slur my way through pieces and I was told that was unacceptable. Thenceforth I was forced to apply myself and I can now say that I play tolerably well."
"My experience mirrors your own."
Both ladies relaxed in the discovery of their shared trials of a gentlewoman's musical education. The conversation became friendlier as they compared the methods of their teachers.
Anne asked Miss Simpson about her experiences in London. Being older, she had much to relate to Anne.
"Surely you have had many men admire you?" Anne probed after a while.
"Enough to know what it is like to enjoy their attentions."
It was time for Anne to broach the subject both knew was coming.
"By any chance, Miss Simpson, do you know my cousin Arthur de Bourgh?"
"We are acquainted." Anne noted a tinge of a blush on Miss Simpson's cheeks. The poor thing could not look her in the eye. Anne decided a little sympathy was in order.
"So you really are the Helena Simpson. I've heard much about you from my cousin."
"Mr. de Bourgh was all kindness, I am sure."
"My cousin admires you very much." Anne leaned forward and spoke quietly. "Arthur and I have always got on famously. People misconstrue it to mean something that it does not. You have nothing to fear from me. I have always considered him the closest thing to a brother I will ever have. He certainly feels it his duty to tease me like a younger sister."
"He does like to tease," Miss Simpson agreed, visibly relieved by Anne's words of consideration.
"I have always observed that they who like to tease their helpless younger cousins as children are bound to become hopeless flirts as adults."
"He does like to flirt." Miss Simpson was smiling by then.
"That he does," Anne agreed.
From that moment, the young ladies were on their way to forming a lasting friendship. Anne found her first impression of the object of her cousin's affections was accurate. Miss Simpson was an educated, intelligent woman and would be well matched with Arthur, should he ever gain her hand. Therefore, Anne gave in to her predisposition to like the woman and determined to further the acquaintance. Perhaps she might even be of use to the would-be couple.
~~~/~~~
Before her first appearance at Almack's, Anne de Bourgh had a more pressing engagement on Thursday afternoon in the drawing rooms of St James's Palace. It was only the trifling matter of being presented at Court, a watershed moment for every young lady of the English upper classes, all of whom braved the hoops, trains and feathers of the required apparel demanded by the Queen. For all the time and energy devoted to this singular event, Anne was ever so relieved when it was over! Her curtsey accomplished, it was time to enter Society.
Then again, Society had a way of finding her. Anne was surprised at how busy her days became. When she was not out with her mother returning calls, visiting shops, or being seen at one of the various parks Lady Catherine deemed acceptable, she was at home receiving callers. She knew many of the older women who came to visit; they were longtime friends of her mother's that she had met in previous visits to London or in Kent. Only now they came with daughters, nephews, nieces, and most especially – sons. Anne was slightly surprised at the number of young, single women who came to make her acquaintance. She had expected the gentlemen, but not the ladies.
After one particularly tiring day, she spent the time preparing for bed thinking on all her new acquaintances and comparing their various situations. While she sat and brushed her hair, it dawned on her that her wealth and status made her a desirable connection to women seeking to augment their places in society. Such a realization could have made Anne cynical, but she reasoned that she should not be too surprised; after all, she had seen such behavior towards her mother for most of her life. Fortunately, her disposition would not allow her to resent such fawning social climbers; instead, she chose to laugh at their transparency – though never to their faces – and to befriend those women of like-mindedness, intelligence, and wit who did find their way into her drawing room.
~~~/~~~
Miss Anne de Bourgh had arrived at Almack's with her mother and her aunt and uncle in good time to be allowed admittance. She had met a couple of the Ladies Patronesses of the establishment. She had been introduced to men of the highest quality and had danced with many of them. She found the conversation was stilted, especially since so many subjects were taboo. Gossip seemed the most suitable topic. The food and refreshments were utterly forgettable. In short, the reality of the insipidness of Almack's could not compare to the fantasy of the place. Social respectability must be maintained and she must return, but that was no longer something she looked to with eager anticipation.
Unfortunately for Anne, there was one acquaintance from the evening who looked forward to calling on her at his earliest convenience.
His name was Sir John Whitby, a baronet from Surrey, and as besotted a young man as could be after so brief an acquaintance.
He had all the qualifications to be a suitable match; he was wealthy and held a large estate of seven thousand pounds a year. Furthermore, both of his parents were obliging enough to have passed away, leaving him in possession of his inheritance without the interference of a scheming mother. He was in the bloom of life, and while not overly handsome, his features were not displeasing.
For all these advantages, Sir John had one small thing not in his favor – no, make it two. First, he was, well, small. Anne had never in her life met a man of such short stature. She would not have held this against him had he not taken measures to increase his height. Instead, he wore the strangest shoes she had ever seen. The soles looked as thick as part one of the three-volume novel she was currently reading. This would not have been so bad had it not affected the man's balance. Several times he had stepped on her toes while they were dancing. Her last outburst of pain brought embarrassment.
His second disadvantage was that his breath smelled truly horrid. Anne had a hard time breathing normally when he spoke to her. She had to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling though her mouth rather than her nose. This in turn made her thirsty and she was forced to quench it with the tasteless concoction that Almack's called lemonade. She was more than relieved when she was able to escape his company.
The next morning, then, to Anne's great horror, the butler announced the first caller.
"Sir John Whitby of Slaton Manor."
When Lady Catherine and Anne rose from their curtseys, they were still looking down.
Yeah, I know, it's not Sir John's fault that he is short. Anne needs to learn that, though. First Impressions and all that. Just trust me on this one. Sir John Whitby is a great favorite of mine.