From Admiration to Matrimony

by APRIL FLOYD

  Here Anne stopped and placed her napkin over her mouth, sobs wracking her thin frame. Elizabeth rose from her seat and hurried to kneel beside the grieving young woman. “I am quite sorry to have brought the memory of her death into this room and into the heart of one so kind.”

  Anne dried her tears and shook her head. “You could not have known of our connection, Miss Elizabeth. Lady Anne is so unlike my mother you would not think them sisters. Georgiana, rest her soul, was as close to me as if we were sisters. The last time I saw Georgie was at Easter last. I would have gone to Pemberley did I know how little time she would remain upon this earth.”

  Elizabeth embraced the only friend left to her and fought the tears that gathered in her own eyes. She recalled her words of dying spoken so easily to this young woman in her self-pity only yesterday. She knew then, as now, that life was precious no matter the troubles one might face.

  Anne dried her eyes and patted Elizabeth’s hand. “We must send word to my cousin and his mother at once, for they will have to come from Pemberley.”

  Elizabeth stood and returned to her seat. “The Darcys left for London before my sister and I left Derbyshire. Lady Anne assured me they would come to Netherfield before returning to Pemberley. Mr. Darcy did inquire as to any promise I may have with another. Do you believe he would have spoken so without reason?”

  Anne’s happy laughter lifted Elizabeth’s spirits further and hope blossomed in her heart at the joy in the young woman’s face. “My dear, it can only be that Fitzwilliam has feelings for you. He is not a man of idle chatter and false adoration. My mother seems unaware of a terrible trouble that shall surely come to Rosings on your account. You must not worry, for you shall never be the wife of my mother’s parson.”

  Chapter 10

  The Darcys rode for Kent with all haste. The hours passed in a slow march for Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne was most displeased with the entire situation, furious over her sister’s part in Miss Elizabeth’s kidnapping. This would be the last time they would meet, she promised herself with satisfaction.

  Mr. Darcy’s mind was filled with thoughts of vengeance against the parson and his aunt. He had believed Miss Elizabeth’s words that day at Pemberley regarding her lack of promise to another. Her father’s letter had set this event into motion, he was certain of it, and Elizabeth had not known the trap that awaited her at Longbourn.

  As they stopped at an inn to change horses, Mr. Darcy helped his mother from their conveyance and led her inside. They sat and Mr. Darcy glanced about deeming the establishment satisfactory. He wondered whether Collins had stopped here and decided he would inquire. “Mother, I will speak with the innkeeper to find whether Miss Elizabeth was brought this way. I can only think it so, for we are near unto Rosings now.”

  Lady Anne nodded her agreement and worriedly worked a handkerchief in her lap. The idea of a man, whether betrothed or a suitor, absconding with Georgiana angered her deeply. She pushed the memory of one George Wickham from her mind before she might sink into despair. Miss Bennet was not her daughter, but the young woman was in need of a mother, one who might consider her prospects with a sharper eye.

  Lady Anne knew Elizabeth’s family must have a reason for accepting the parson’s proposal but the manner in which she had been taken from her home was a pity.

  She would not rest until she spoke with the young woman regarding her own thoughts and feelings on the matter. She would take her as her own daughter if it came to that. The Darcys of Pemberley could provide a more satisfying settlement than some parson aligned with her overbearing sister.

  Mr. Darcy returned to the table, the expression upon his face much grimmer than before. Lady Anne waited for him to speak, though the patience required was a burden. “They were here. The innkeeper recalled them readily, for Mr. Collins told him Miss Elizabeth was mad and the man did not doubt his word.”

  Lady Anne pounded her small fist upon the table. “Of course he did not. What protection has a young woman against the lies of men?”

  Mr. Darcy was startled by his mother’s words. Indeed, Miss Elizabeth would have no power against the parson and his aunt save her own wits. His anger burned hotly and he pitied the foolish man for the fate he would soon suffer.

  Lady Anne stood with her son’s assistance and beckoned him to hurry. “I cannot rest until we arrive to the front door of Rosings. My sister has no right to keep our friend captive in that mausoleum of a home. I have a mind to take Anne back to Pemberley with us.”

  Elizabeth sat quietly in her friend’s sitting room as her eyes wandered over the pages of a book Anne had given her. An express had been sent to Darcy House in London after their luncheon and Elizabeth hoped Lady Catherine would not come to know of it. She did not like to think of Anne de Bourgh being punished for her caring nature.

  Elizabeth slept in Anne’s bedroom now and she worried over how often the young woman cried out in her sleep. Although she appeared well each morning, Elizabeth wondered at her pale skin and slight frame. Spending the mornings and afternoons together had taxed her more than Elizabeth would have imagined.

  After she awakened, Elizabeth would inquire about the gardens of Rosings and whether the young woman walked in them from time to time.

  She placed her book upon the table and wandered to the wide windows. The view through the many panes made Elizabeth’s heart ache for even a moment’s time outdoors. She had never been made to stay inside, even in inclement weather, and she fought to remain calm at the reality of her future.

  The door to the sitting room opened and the maid entered holding the express her friend had arranged for the day before. Elizabeth’s heart sank as the woman placed it upon the table before her.

  Lady Catherine entered the room then and dismissed the maid. “You are to be married this day, Miss Bennet. While my parson wished to marry you here with a fine turn out of his congregation, it shall not be. There will be a private ceremony this evening in the parlor.”

  Lady Catherine turned to leave and Elizabeth’s hand went to the express. The woman spoke, her voice as cold as any winter wind Elizabeth had ever felt skitter down her spine. “As for my sister and her son, I can assure you they will not care for your fate. William is to be married to my Anne, not some pitiable country lass without a home.”

  Elizabeth willed herself to remain still and avoid the cold stare of her captor. It would be of little benefit to anger her further. Lady Catherine turned and left the room, her parting words to the maid causing Elizabeth further worry. “Send my daughter to me when she awakens. Her judgment has been altered by our guest.”

  She must find a way to escape her fate, for there was little time left to her. The door to Anne’s bedroom opened cautiously and the young woman beckoned her inside. Elizabeth obeyed and Anne drew her into the room, closing the door gently and speaking in a whisper. “I shall get you free from Rosings, Miss Elizabeth, but where shall you go?”

  Elizabeth wiped the tears of frustration from her eyes and thought for but a moment. “I would not have you know. I cannot bear to think of the censure you shall face from your mother on my behalf. You have been a loyal friend, Miss Anne.”

  “You mustn’t worry for me, Miss Elizabeth. I would lie to them as easily as though I were an innocent child.”

  “I must not, dear friend. Your assistance in my escape shall be crime enough in your mother’s eyes, I am certain.”

  Elizabeth embraced the young woman and they sat together to plot her escape. Anne reached into her pocket and drew out a small purse that clinked as she placed it in her Elizabeth’s hand. “There is enough money there to allow you to travel with ease but you must stay out of the roads until you have left Hunsford. Is that possible?”

  Elizabeth nodded, her delight with the plan complete. “I have walked many a mile on a whim, Miss Anne, have no fear on that account.”

  Anne smiled and rose to cross the room. She opened a drawer in her writing desk and withdrew a small parcel. She returned to Elizabeth a
nd placed the parcel upon the table, unwrapping it to reveal a wicked ivory-handled blade. “You must take this as I do not have a pistol to give you. It offers a bit of protection and I pray you shall not have cause for its use.”

  Elizabeth took the knife and handled it carefully. Her surprise that the slight young woman before her owned such a thing was plain upon her face. Anne’s eyes twinkled in merriment as she took the knife and showed Elizabeth how to hide it in the folds of her skirt. “My cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, was thorough in his lessons of self defense.”

  There was more to Miss Anne de Bourgh than she’d thought and Elizabeth was truly sorry their acquaintance had happened under such circumstances.

  Anne nodded to the door of her bedroom that let out upon the hallway. “We shall escape through a passage in my father’s study that is seldom used. Come, we must go now.”

  Elizabeth stood to follow her angel of mercy and whispered softly before they stepped into the hallway. “I shall never forget you, dearest Anne, and I would see you free from the shadow of this house were it in my power.”

  At the sound of the door’s hinges, the maid turned her head and left the chair by the sitting room door. “Your mother has left strict instruction. Miss Bennet is not to leave your rooms. And you must go to your mother at once.”

  Anne eyed the maid with disdain and took Elizabeth’s hand. “We are eager to sit in my father’s study and read. You will take us there and stay with us.”

  The maid began to disagree but Anne strode down the hallway with Elizabeth hurrying along in her wake. The maid caught them up and mumbled under her breath about the women of Rosings Park. Anne smiled sweetly and winked at Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth sat in the study with Anne and the maid, her gaze held by the clock upon the mantel. Nearly half an hour gone by, and she had become a bundle of nerves awaiting the time when she would make her escape.

  Anne cleared her throat quietly and Elizabeth glanced her way. She inclined her head slightly towards the maid and stood, a finger to her lips.

  Elizabeth was delighted to find the maid had nodded off in the warmth and quiet of the room. Their plan must work the first try or the woman would surely send for Lady Catherine.

  Anne led her slowly across the room and behind an ornate bookcase that was taller than both of them. She pushed lightly upon a paneled section of the wall and it swung gently open.

  Elizabeth shivered as a gust of cold air greeted them and Anne removed her wrap, placing it with care around her friend’s shoulders. She turned and took a candle from a table behind them. “Take this and go slowly, for the stairs are steep. You will come out near the stable. The door will not open from the outside so you must be certain before you step into the open. Follow the footpath that runs behind Rosings to the north. You will arrive in Hunsford through the woods and must be on a post-chaise before my mother and Mr. Collins discover our plot.”

  Elizabeth embraced Anne de Bourgh and held the candle aloft as she stepped into the inky darkness, her heart racing from the hope and fear surrounding her task.

  Moments later, Elizabeth stood as still as any statue in the garden beyond, a lovely breeze bracing her as she glanced carefully about. Voices carried from the stable, but she was alone in the shadow cast by the great house. Slipping quietly from the door, she eased it shut and kept her back against the wall.

  Giving one last sweeping glance to her surroundings, she lifted her skirts and ran for the far side of the stable. Once protected from sight of the house, Elizabeth hastened to the woods without pause. If she could reach the shelter of the forest, she was certain it would only be a matter of days until she arrived at Brambling Hall. Her cousin would assume she had returned to Hertfordshire, but with the money provided by Anne de Bourgh she would be safely home in Derbyshire.

  The Darcy carriage arrived in Hunsford as Elizabeth hurried through the woods nearby. Lady Anne Darcy took the hand her son offered and attempted to quell her anger. They would see Miss Elizabeth soon and put an end to the parson’s plot. “William, I have decided that we shall speak with Miss Elizabeth’s parents once we have settled this business with my sister. There is no offer the parson may make that we cannot exceed.”

  Mr. Darcy nodded, relief at his mother’s words flooding his mind. He believed Miss Elizabeth’s second entrance into his life was more than a matter of chance. Besides the benefit of having his mother whole again, he would not be forced into a loveless marriage with his cousin Anne de Bourgh. He adored her, but the idea of a marriage between them had never appealed to him.

  “I can only hope we have not arrived too late to intervene,” he said as the carriage passed quickly through Hunsford, bringing them closer to Rosings.

  As the light of afternoon faded to evening, Mr. Collins paced before a window in the parlor providing much annoyance for Lady Catherine. “I say, Mr. Collins, cease with your pacing. Surely you would not play the part of a nervous groom at this late hour.”

  The man sat nervously and smiled at his patroness. “The maid ought to have returned with Miss Bennet by now. And the vicar should arrive at any moment.”

  At his words, the parlor door opened and the maid crept in, her face cast to the floor. Lady Catherine stood and crossed the room. “Where is Miss Bennet?”

  Anne de Bourgh entered the parlor and nodded to her mother. “She has gone, mother. We were in father’s study reading and I nodded off. Her voice as she read to me was most pleasant and I was certain the maid would not allow her to escape.”

  Lady Catherine raised her hand to the maid who cowered before her but her daughter stepped between them. “Mother, twas not her fault. You had her keeping watch day and night.”

  A commotion in the hallway outside the parlor drew Lady Catherine away from the matter at hand. The angry voice of her sister echoed across the entry. The butler arrived with Lady Anne and Mr. Darcy behind him, his face red with the effort of delaying their intrusion.

  Lady Anne brushed past the man, her eyes taking in the scene in the parlor. “Catherine, we must speak at once. If the news I have been given is indeed fact, you have done a terrible wrong to a particular friend of the Darcy family.”

  Mr. Collins jumped from his seat and began his pacing once more. Anne glared at him and dismissed the maid and butler before taking her cousin’s arm. “Come sit with me dearest William, our mothers have much to discuss.”

  Mr. Darcy turned to the parson, his face a mask of anger. “First, I would speak with the gentleman. He has an explanation for the wrong he has done, I am sure.”

  Mr. Collins, hearing Mr. Darcy’s words, attempted to avoid the man by quitting his infernal pacing to hurry across the parlor.

  Mr. Darcy moved with great speed to stop him before he might escape. His hands itched to close around the parson’s neck but he held the man with one large fist by the cloth of his jacket. Mr. Collins struggled to free himself but Mr. Darcy tightened his grip, his face within inches of the parson’s. Lady Catherine’s voice thundered her nephew’s name and the sound of several sets of feet could be heard scurrying away from the closed parlor door.

  “What nonsense is this, Anne? I cannot imagine any situation where a friend of the Darcy family has been wronged at Rosings Park. We have but one visitor, an unwilling and ungrateful one at that.”

  Lady Anne held her hand up to stop her sister’s explanation. “Where is this visitor, Catherine? And what could you mean by unwilling? I received an express from Hertfordshire with news of a young lady by the name of Elizabeth Bennet taken against her will by your parson only a week ago.”

  Lady Catherine pointed to her daughter, her finger shaking. “Tis your namesake there who has allowed the young woman to escape her rightful future. Miss Bennet was welcomed at Rosings until she behaved worse than any scullery maid I have laid eyes upon. Come to think of it, I am pleased she has gone. I would not have such a horrid match for my parson.”

  Mr. Darcy released the unfortunate parson, though still blocking the man�
��s retreat, and turned to his cousin. “Anne, where has she gone? Do you know?”

  Anne, her hands behind her back, raised her head. She blinked back tears that blurred her vision and shook her head at Darcy. “I know not, William. She would not say as she did not wish for me to suffer for my assistance. I did give her money enough to travel safely.”

  Lady Catherine advanced upon her daughter at this news but Mr. Darcy moved to stand in front of his cousin. “You will not continue your abuse of my dear Anne,” Mr. Darcy warned his aunt and turned to Lady Anne. “Mother, take her and wait in the carriage. Aunt Catherine and I must speak in private.”

  Mr. Collins hurried from the room, his anger at Elizabeth’s escape softened by Lady Catherine’s dismissal of his cousin as a suitable match. He did not wish to remain in reach of Mr. Darcy now that he knew of Elizabeth’s acquaintance with the family.

  Mr. Darcy’s voice caught him up short at the parlor door. “Do not misunderstand, Mr. Collins. You shall receive swift and just recompense. You might wish to reconsider your living here in Kent.”

  Mr. Collins trembled at the threat and hurried from the parlor, bewildered by the events of the evening having gone horribly wrong.

  Lady Anne caught his arm, surprising the man, her countenance one that frightened him more deeply than her son’s words. “You best get on your knees and pray, sir, that no harm comes to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. My sister cannot save you from my son’s retribution should she come to harm. And should there be a shred of you left when he has finished, you shall stand before me.”

  Collins drew himself up and bowed to the lady, and Miss Anne de Bourgh, before taking his leave. He cared not where his cousin might be, but would heed Lady Anne Darcy’s advice, for Elizabeth’s safety insured his own.

  In the parlor, Mr. Darcy stood before his aunt and considered his options. “I have not the time to argue the terrible wrong you have done. Anne shall leave Rosings with us and we will search for Miss Bennet diligently.”