Expectations: The Transformation of Miss Anne de Bourgh (Pride and Prejudice Continued), Volume 1
Page 14
Chapter Twelve
To Anne’s dismay, Lady Catherine’s dismal predictions became manifest when, on the last afternoon of the old year, Lady Fairfax withdrew her approbation for her daughters’ journey. Under no circumstances would they be allowed to go on the dangerous and absurd mission.
Everything was in an uproar. The excursion must be canceled. Anne could not possibly travel without suitable companions. Lady Catherine appeared torn between anger that all her plans had been overthrown and relief at having an excuse to keep her daughter at home.
A devastated Anne had to discuss the terrible turn of events with the Fairfax sisters. There had to be a way to save the excursion…to save her life. However, fearing she would be outmaneuvered again, Lady Fairfax forbade the girls from traveling to Rosings. Lady Catherine closed ranks with her friend and insisted that Anne respect a mother’s right to decide what was best for her children and not go to see her friends.
By the first afternoon of the new year, however, the blubbering Fairfax girls had impressed on their mother that she had ruined Anne’s dream in addition to their own. Hoping that her objection would be completely overturned, they argued that it had been entirely unfair for their mother to make so precipitous a decision for their friend.
In the confusion that followed, Lady Fairfax repented the harm she had done to Anne. While more than willing to put up with the wailing of her obstinate girls, she could not bear to think of Anne’s suffering. With a deft precision that would have awed the most seasoned quartermaster, she arranged for a substitute. Harriet Armistead, a cousin on Sir Robert’s side and a fine, sensible Cheshire girl of three-and-twenty who happened to be in London for the holidays, would be offered for Lady Catherine’s examination and approbation as a traveling companion.
For Anne, this news offered little comfort. Yes, she might be able to go to Naples, if her mother approved the cousin, but she wanted her friends with her, not a stranger. The tear-stained notes from Emily and Frances tugged at her conscience as well as her heart. After all, this scheme had been theirs. How could she go without them? However, when it became clear that Lady Fairfax would not yield, Anne agreed to meet the cousin.
Dining at Rosings with Sir Robert and Lady Fairfax as her escort, the freshly-arrived Harriet glowed with warmth and anticipation. This was the farthest south she had ever been, she declared, but to be certain she would enjoy the excursion to Naples as much as she would enjoy watching over Anne with the utmost of attention. Anne thought Harriet shared Emily and Frances’s high spirits, but she seemed to have a smaller portion of their sensible concern about what others thought. However, Harriet gave Lady Catherine all due deference and tolerated her mother’s lengthy interrogation regarding her family, her history, and two score other topics.
Anne believed her mother would decide against Harriet, thereby settling the nonsense about leaving once and for all. However, after the guests departed, Lady Catherine announced that she had found the girl acceptable…but only if Anne approved. So now the entire matter rested on Anne’s shoulders.
What decision could Anne make? Perhaps her mother had approved of Harriet, confident that Anne would turn her down as a favor to her dear friends. That would mean the destruction of Anne’s dream would be her own responsibility and her mother would have no part of the blame. If that was Lady Catherine’s logic, Anne knew her mother had no inkling of her desperation. Given the choice between going to Naples with a total stranger or staying here with her moping friends, who would be leaving for London soon anyway, Anne would do whatever it took to go to the warmth and sunshine. To her mother’s evident surprise, Anne agreed to Harriet as her traveling companion.
When word arrived at Fairfax House, the elated Harriet accepted in a grateful note but admitted that neither her family nor the Fairfaxes had servants to spare for the journey. Fearing that this was a sign of things to come, Anne looked over the roster of servants her mother had arranged to accompany her. Only one had the skills to be a lady’s maid, so she agreed to share her own maid, Dolly.