September 15, 2014 – Short chapter today.
Chapter 13
The moment Anne said yes, Darcy stood and pulled her into an embrace.
"You have made me a very happy man, Anne de Bourgh. Happier than I could ever have imagined."
"I could say the same of you, but then I would sound entirely unoriginal."
Darcy threw back his head and laughed. "Minx!"
Anne enjoyed seeing the unreserved, playful side of her cousin. Here was the man who had winked at her, twice! She leaned back just enough to be able to see his face.
"I like to hear you laugh. It gives me hope that our future will not be so dreary."
"With you by my side, I doubt that could happen. You have a joie de vivre that affects those around you."
"I dearly love to laugh."
"It was one of the things I found fascinating about you."
Anne pulled him close again, nestling her head against his chest. "Hmmm, tell me what else caught your fancy."
"Your wit, of course. Though I have long known how impertinent you are. I have seen how loyal you are; you went out of your way to befriend Miss Simpson for your cousin's sake.
"I am not alone in noticing these things. My good friend Charles Bingley likes you, but I think you rather intimidate him."
"How so? I like him very much." Anne asked, surprised.
"Has he ever flirted with you?"
"No, he has not."
"Bingley is a very amiable man, determined to be pleased with everyone he meets. To not flirt with a woman means he is either uncomfortable or completely uninterested. Since I know he thinks you are a lovely young woman, I believe he is a little in awe of you."
Anne looked up at him. "Then you are not in awe of me? How disappointing!"
"If I were, you would quickly grow bored. What challenge is there for you if the man you marry lets you have your way without resistance? No Anne, we are well matched. For I will not sit by idly while you do whatever you want, and you will certainly make known your opinions about my actions and decisions." Darcy placed his finger under her chin. "I would not want it any other way," he said softly, and then he brushed her lips with his.
The smiles on their faces disappeared, replaced by something infinitely more private. His lips descended upon hers and she met them eagerly. This kiss was not fleeting like the first. This was a kiss that unleashed the passion they had held in check.
Eventually he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. They were breathing heavily, their hearts racing in their chests.
"Oh lord, Anne," Darcy swallowed, "please, do not tell me you wish for some ridiculously long engagement! I fear for my sanity if we must wait very long to marry."
"One kiss, and we are nearly undone," she said, dazed.
"Soon?"
"Soon enough." Anne laid her head against his chest. She was still having trouble thinking clearly. If their relationship had changed when they began to speak of courtship, then it had been irrevocably transformed by what had just happened between them. They were lovers now, in everything but the final act of consummation.
"Come, let us walk again." Darcy offered Anne his arm and they resumed their ramble.
The day was warm, but not oppressively hot, and though the two were walking so close together it would have been hard to tell whether it was the temperature or their proximity that made them seek the shade. Anne pointed to a sheltered bench where they could sit.
"I will speak with your mother when we return to ask her for her consent. I will seek out our uncle when I return to Town for his consent as well."
"I think Mama gave her consent right after I was born," Anne quipped.
"Nevertheless, I will ask her, even if it is only a formality."
"Always the gentleman, Fitzwilliam." Anne reached over and caressed his cheek. He smiled tenderly, covering her hand with his.
"You deserve no less; but I would like to have your agreement on a wedding date before I face her. Otherwise, I am afraid she will demand I go secure a license and marry you tomorrow."
"Oh no. She will want to have time to glory in a match well made. I suspect I will be subjected to a plethora of calls and the subject of a great deal of correspondence. Are you certain you must leave me to face this alone?"
"I told you I must take Georgiana to her school. I also do need to speak with our uncle. He is your guardian and we cannot wed without his consent."
"Unless we eloped, but our family would never forgive us if we did. Very well, but can we not wait a little longer before we return to the house? I quite like this wicked feeling of being alone with my betrothed in the middle of the Park."
If ever there was an invitation for a man to kiss a woman, that surely was one. Darcy gladly accepted.
~~~/~~~
After the cousins had calmed down from their latest exploration of their newly acknowledged attraction, it was time to walk, and think, again.
"We should come to an accord on a wedding date before we meet with Aunt Catherine." Darcy laughed lightly. "I think I need decide how I will address your mother. I cannot call my mother-in-law 'aunt' after we marry."
"You could call her 'Mother' as I do, or 'Mama'."
"My mother will always be 'Mother' in my mind," Darcy stated.
"'Mother de Bourgh'?" They both shuddered; Anne stumbled. Once Darcy knew she was unharmed, he made sure he had a tighter grip on her arm as he led the way down the path.
"Perhaps 'Lady Catherine', while more formal, is the best choice. I can address her as 'madam' a majority of the time. But to return to the issue at hand, what is your opinion on the length of our engagement?"
"It will take some time to make all the arrangements. The marriage contract, for one thing, will not be the work of a day. And while my apartments here at Rosings are comfortable, it is not what the master and mistress of the estate should occupy. Mother still resides in the same rooms as when she was married. I will need to have work begin on our new chambers as soon as possible."
"We can make do, and we will not spend all of our time in Kent."
"I understand that, Fitzwilliam. Surely we will reside mainly in Derbyshire when not in Town."
"Does that disappoint you?" he asked, concerned. "Rosings is your heritage."
"But Pemberley is yours. Besides, we can leave Mama to continue comfortably at Rosings while we live primarily in Derbyshire."
"I did once mention that the distance between the two estates was an advantage of the match," he said smugly, "but I digress."
"Surely if I need time to prepare Rosings for you, you will need time to prepare Pemberley for me?"
Darcy had anticipated her argument. "I made provisions with my steward before I left. All that is needed is a letter from me and they will be put into practice. Pemberley will be ready to claim you sooner than you think. Two months is all I need."
"Two months! I cannot possibly be ready in two months!" Anne cried. "I was hoping a date in April would be acceptable."
"April! That is nearly eight months away! No," Darcy shook his head, "April is simply out of the question. December, before winter."
"Three months is nearly as unreasonable as two for what needs to be done!"
"I would insist on a date before the new year if the situation on the Continent were not so precarious. I would like to take you on a wedding trip to Italy, but it is too dangerous to consider it now. We could go before the stifling heat of summer hits and be back in England when the weather is the nicest. However, until Napoleon is defeated, I will not risk such a journey. Besides, Aunt… Lady Catherine will never rest until she sees us married. She will support me…"
Later that afternoon in a parlor at Rosings
"… April would be the ideal month for you to marry. I will have plenty of time to have your new chambers here at Rosings prepared for your habitation and still be able to personally take Anne to Town for her trousseau. You have Pemberley to prepare, and your house in Town as well – though that place has the least to do. My sister had impeccable taste and Anne should be happy with her new chambers, at least until she has a chance to decide how she wishes to redecorate. Of course, my brother and I must work out the details of Anne's settlement. Yes, April would give me just enough time to arrange everything. I am excessively attentive when it comes to Anne's happiness."
Anne sat through her mother's recitation with a rather smug look on her face. She knew her mother well; Lady Catherine would be planning her crowning achievement and no one, bride or groom, would stop her. Fitzwilliam Darcy had underestimated his future mother-in-law.
Darcy and Anne had resolved to approach her together with the news of their understanding. Neither expected her ladyship to take the news tranquilly. Her long-held dream had come to pass and she would let everyone know it.
Thus they were a little taken aback when he asked for her consent and blessing and Lady Catherine said serenely, "Of course you have both. I gave it to you long ago, Fitzwilliam. Now about the wedding…" They had expected more effusions; Lady Catherine acted as if it were only what was expected. She did, however wear a satisfied smile the entire interview.
It was decided that a wedding in March would suit. They would be married from Kent and travel to London afterward. Lady Catherine suggested they could stay in Town for the Season, but neither Darcy nor Anne would say whether they preferred to stay in London or continue north to Derbyshire.
One thing was certain. Darcy did not get his way about an earlier wedding date. Belatedly he realized he never stood a chance.
~~~/~~~
If Anne thought she had escaped her mother's raptures over the match, she was sorely mistaken. That evening, after Anne had retired, Lady Catherine came to see her in her chambers.
"It was about time you stopped dithering and came to an understanding."
"Mother, I was not ready to give him an answer before now," Anne said in her defense.
"Yes, well. It is done now, as I always knew it would be. After all these years of vowing never to marry Fitzwilliam, you came to your senses at last. Oh, I know you could have aspired to marry a titled gentleman, but many titled gentlemen come into a marriage with empty coffers. Your future husband is too much like his father, conscientious in all things, to ever worry for money. You will be well looked after and your children will not suffer from a lack of dowry like I did."
Anne always wondered why her mother had married her father. Lady Catherine rarely spoke of her late husband and when she did, Anne never detected any fondness. Was her choice purely a matter of money? Anne pitied her mother if it were true.
"I am not marrying Fitzwilliam for his money. I like him very much."
"Of course you do. You have practically grown up together. He will be a good husband, not bothering you with too many demands. Give him a few heirs and you can live in peace."
"Mother!"
"Be sensible, child. Men have this insatiable desire to produce a child to carry on the family name. Once they have one or two sons, the need becomes less consuming. You will not be forced to suffer from excessive attention."
Anne was not about to engage her mother in a conversation about children and how they were begotten. There would be time for that later and Anne had a suspicion that her mother's experience would not be repeated by her, not if Fitzwilliam's kiss was any indication of the pleasures of the marriage bed to come.
"At least you were not too stubborn for your own good. I am very relieved that Rosings will be in such capable hands. I knew Fitzwilliam was the perfect man to become the new master. He will not let you have your way."
"I thank you for your confidence is me."
"Oh, you are ready to be a fine mistress in my stead. I have spent years preparing you to someday take my place. All you need is a husband, and soon you will have one. It is all as I have hoped since the first time I held you in my arms.
"Now then, Fitzwilliam will speak to your uncle after he has seen Georgiana to school. The dear child could have no better sister than you. But until your cousin has seen my brother, we must keep the news of your betrothal to ourselves. I expect that we will journey into Town at the end of the month. That gives us plenty of time to visit all of our neighbors before we take our leave for London again. Any remaining details of your settlement can be addressed at that time."
~~~/~~~
There was one thing Anne was determined to settle before Darcy left Kent. It concerned the marriage settlements and the disposition of Rosings. She hated bringing up an issue she knew would lead to a disagreement, but it could not be helped.
"Darling," she began, "before your departure, there is one thing I wish to discuss. I fear it will be unpleasant, but it needs to be resolved."
"This sounds serious."
"It is; we need to discuss Rosings."
"Rosings? Rosings is yours and will be given to one of our children, hopefully a second son. What else is there to discuss?"
"As of this moment, if anything were to befall me before we married, Rosings would devolve to my cousin, Arthur de Bourgh."
"I am not surprised; I doubted you would name your mother as your heir. He is your nearest relative on the de Bourgh side of your family. Have your wishes changed?"
"Not in the least; that is what I wish to settle before the wedding settlements are finished. I wish for Arthur to remain my heir should anything happen to me before we have a child."
"You want Arthur to have Rosings, instead of me?"
"You have your Pemberley. Why cannot Arthur have Rosings? This should be a moot point. Once we have children, they would have first claim to the estate. I only wish for Arthur to be the heir presumptive."
"I do not know if this is wise, Anne."
"Nevertheless, it is what I want. I warn you that I am perfectly willing to postpone the wedding indefinitely until you agree."
"Do I have a choice?"
"No. It is for the best. And Rosings is his family's ancestral estate, too."
"Your mother will not approve."
"My mother is not the heiress of Rosings Park – I am. Until we marry, it is mine. I only want my wishes to be carried out in the unlikely event of my demise. Please, Fitzwilliam?"
He sighed, resigned to the fact that he would forever be acceding to her wishes. "Very well, it shall be as you ask, but only if you agree that Rosings should be given to a second son.
"Agreed, or a daughter if there is no other male."
"As you wish. Are you content now?"
"Oh yes, that is a great worry lifted from my mind. It is important to me that the de Bourgh line continues in ownership of the estate, either through me or through Arthur. You would wish the same for Pemberley."
"I would, indeed!"
"Come, I will not detain you any longer. You need to leave and I am not helping you prepare."
Thus Darcy left his future bride to collect Georgiana and then saw his sister established in her school. Until Anne and Lady Catherine arrived in Town, he continued to prepare his London household to welcome the new mistress.
The next chapter will be the final one in Part II. Things will get a lot more serious in Part III, but I think you all have been expecting that at some point.