Author's Note: Real Life has been a lot this week, plus I'm working on getting Worthy of Her Trust ready to publish on the first of March. Between not having a lot of time to write, and just other stuff, this story got slid to the backburner this week. Hopefully, I'll be able to work on it more this coming week.

As always, let me know what you think!

Chapter 23

Sunday, 22 December 1811
Pemberley, Derbyshire

Elizabeth's first foray into local society as Mrs. Darcy occurred at church less than a week after their wedding. The reception she received was quite different from her expectations. When the rector announced their marriage at the conclusion of the service, many were astonished, but not in a negative way. Despite the fact that most attendees at the Kympton chapel did not belong to the same social stratum as Mr. Darcy, they warmly embraced Elizabeth. They were genuinely delighted to discover that the Master of Pemberley had chosen to marry such a pleasant and unassuming young lady.

The church in Lambton was not as peaceful that morning. Mr. Collins had gone to church along with Lady Catherine, though Mr. and Miss Bingley opted to remain at the inn. Darcy's influence in Lambton was significant, so, of course, at the end of the message, the rector shared the news that the Master of Pemberley had married in a ceremony the previous week. This was not news to most of the residents of the village, but the rector thought it his duty to announce the marriage of the most prominent personage in the area.

Both Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins vehemently protested this news, although their objections were in vain since the couple was already married. Despite the futility of their protests, they continued to voice their discontent, much to the displeasure of the rector, who interrupted the service. His stern demand for them to cease their shouting and refrain from disrupting the sanctity of the chapel finally silenced Mr. Collins' protests, although an additional threat was required to quiet Lady Catherine.

Most of those in attendance had heard about what happened at the inn the previous night and thought Collins inordinately foolish with Lady Catherine scarcely less so. The townspeople also had a poor impression of Mr. and Miss Bingley. They knew of the pair from their previous visits to Pemberley, and all found it odd that they were staying at the inn. However, it soon became apparent that Miss Bingley was no longer welcome at the estate, and most guessed, correctly, that it had to do with her behaviour.

The innkeeper had spoken to Mr. Bingley after the incident, insisting he depart the inn no later than Monday. When the gentleman protested, the innkeeper presented him with a bill for all the items Miss Bingley had broken during the sennight she had been in residence. "Sir, I run an honest business 'ere, but yer sister, she's drivin' away me guests. She's unpleasant and rude to me wife, me daughter, and everyone I employ. Frankly, sir, I want 'er gone. I know ye were friends with Mr. Darcy, and I'll send to 'im to ask for help if need be, but ye cannae stay 'ere beyond Monday."

Mr. Bingley was surprised but resigned. His sister had grown worse after being expelled from Pemberley; he had spent the last several days arguing with her about the need to remove from Lambton to return to Scarborough, but to no avail. When Lady Catherine de Bourgh had shown up at the inn on Friday, ranting and raving about her nephew's marriage, Miss Bingley had introduced herself and let Lady Catherine know her own connection to Darcy. The two had begun to plot ways to separate the two, while both hoped to manipulate Darcy for their own purposes.

When Mr. Collins crashed into Miss Bingley, tearing her dress and ruining her completely, Lady Catherine had been at first displeased, but changed her opinion on the match when she heard of Miss Bingley's dowry. Suddenly, the idea of having Mr. Collins marry her seemed the better option, and Lady Catherine would find someone else to marry Elizabeth Bennet once she separated the girl from her nephew. Although, she considered, it would not matter if Elizabeth Bennet never married again so long as she was permanently separated from Darcy.

Miss Bingley did not attend services, having been utterly mortified by the events of the previous afternoon and had no desire to encounter any of the "country rustics" who had ridiculed her the night before. While she comprehended that her reputation was genuinely tarnished and her only chance for recovery was to marry promptly, the prospect of marrying the cousin of "those Bennet harlots," particularly a man as objectionable as he was, did not appeal to her in the slightest.

She could not hope that the story of her ruin would not make it to London. Several people in the inn last night had made it clear they would be writing to friends and relations, and while they were likely not highly placed in society, the story would no doubt make the rounds due to the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. The fact that Miss Bingley had not made herself well-liked at the inn, and it would not surprise anyone to learn if the stories were exaggerated once they reached the ears of the society matrons.

Therefore, she was conflicted about which option to take. She could marry Mr. Collins and live under the rule of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. While she had believed the woman to be useful in persuading Darcy to separate from that chit, Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Bingley did not particularly care for the woman. However, if she did not marry Collins, it was unlikely she would ever marry — at least a man worth having. The more she considered her options, the more she began to wonder if travelling to the Americas would not be the best option for her.

Lady Catherine returned from church services frustrated and angry. With the marriage announced in Derbyshire, it would not be long before it became public knowledge in London. That her brother backed Darcy's ridiculous marriage to anyone other than Anne and that neither he nor Darcy would bow to her wishes had added to her growing fury. It had been comical when the tradesman's daughter, who thought herself good enough to marry her nephew, had compromised herself with her parson, though even that was not enough to cool the Lady's ire.

She wanted Pemberley, and she did not care to be denied!

As she contemplated how to force the men in her family to do her will, she considered again the benefit to her if her fool of a parson married that Bingley woman. It would take little to persuade him to hand over his wife's dowry, and she could use that twenty thousand pounds to force others to fall in line.

However, Anne was still at Pemberley. In her anger, she had left the girl there, and while Collins had returned to her, Anne had not.

Lady Catherine had many secrets — one of those was that Anne had directly inherited Rosings upon her father's death. His will had left the estate to his daughter unconditionally, naming George Darcy her guardian. That was one of the reasons Fitzwilliam Darcy visited each year, since his father's will informed him that it was his responsibility. However, it had not been in George Darcy's will or in any other papers that Darcy saw upon inheriting that Rosings was, in fact, solely Anne's.

If her brother and nephews were to learn this fact, they could force Catherine into the dower house, or even away from the manor entirely, since Sir Louis de Bourgh's will had left her nothing but her jointure, a pittance compared to the income of Rosings. It was necessary for Lady Catherine to keep her daughter in her control and she needed to find a way to get Anne back.

She was under no illusion that Anne would want to return. The two had begun to argue frequently, including at the start of this trip, and Lady Catherine resorted to giving her a tonic with a dose of laudanum in it. This was how she always controlled her daughter, but with Anne at Pemberley for the last day or two, she likely had not received any since her arrival. Catherine did not think her family would discover how she kept her daughter controlled, but she wondered what they would learn if Anne remained much longer.

Her mind made up, she determined to send a note to her daughter demanding she attend her at the inn in Lambton immediately. She could not imagine Anne refusing and believed her brother would likewise insist Anne do as her mother demanded.

Sunday had been peaceful at Pemberley until mid-afternoon when a note from the inn arrived. Anne immediately sought out her uncle and cousins. Most of the family had gathered in the sitting room after services and were discussing plans for Christmastide.

After informing her uncle of what was needed, he indicated his son and nephew should join him in a quiet corner with Anne.

"Uncle, my mother is demanding I return to the inn so I can travel with her to Rosings. I do not wish to go. In the short time I have been at Pemberley, I have already begun to feel better, and I imagine part of that is no longer being subjected to my mother and her tonics. I have, at times, wondered if she was drugging me, and my improved health makes me believe she may have been. I have not had her tonic in more than forty-eight hours now, and while I am not strong, I feel much improved. Do I have to do as she commands?" Anne asked.

"You are of age, Anne; you can do as you wish. I recall at one time Louis mentioning that he intended to leave Rosings to you, but even if he did not, you should be able to live off the interest of your dowry. You are always welcome to remain at Matlock with your Aunt and me, and I dare say your cousin here would allow you to stay at Pemberley if you wished," Lord Matlock replied, nodding toward Darcy.

Darcy nodded. "Of course, Elizabeth and I would be pleased to have you stay as long as you might like. I seem to recall my father mentioning an obligation in his will to care for Rosings until it was time for you to take it up, but he did not say anything about when that was. Perhaps we should seek out Sir Louis's solicitors in town to find out what his will did say. If Rosings was left to you, surely it would have passed to you on your twenty-fifth birthday at the latest."

"Mother always said that Rosings was hers for her lifetime. Although I thought Papa told me before he died that he intended for Rosings to pass to me. Uncle George once asked me about it once; it was one of the first times he visited after Papa died. I became very sick not long after he arrived, and I was not able to see him again during that visit. "

Lord Matlock frowned, while Darcy merely looked thoughtful. "I wonder if he would have a copy of Sir Louis's will somewhere in the study. When he passed, I had the steward put away any papers that we did not immediately need into the estate office. I know there are also papers in the strong room that he stored there. Old Mr. Wickham would have been the steward at the time, but Fraser was his understeward for a time. However, I am not certain he was here when Sir Louis passed away. We can ask him."

That said, Darcy pulled the bell cord and instructed a footman to summon Fraser, requesting his presence in the study.