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“That was wise, sir. There’s been no sickness at old Mrs. Darcy’s house and they’re provisioned well enough that they could last another month entire without having to venture out, even feeding a few more mouths.

There’s been no new sick at Pemberley House for six days now, but it’s better safe than sorry with the young ones, I’d say. ”

Mr. Darcy was relieved by these facts but remembering his surviving son led to thoughts on the fate of others. He turned his mind to more immediate issues. “Mrs. Reynolds, please come to my study. There is a great deal I must know.”

Though widely known as a jolly, social man, from that day forward George Darcy fought a melancholy that seemed to overwhelm him more often than not.

Even as he worked to bury the dead and rebuild his estate, he mourned his wife, denied even the comfort of attending her funeral as the bodies had been interred within hours of death for fear of contagion.

His mood was not aided by Lady Catherine’s attitude.

Years married to Sir Lewis had left that lady with a bitter antipathy toward the power of men.

In her mental and physical exhaustion, she had become convinced that only she could run the estate successfully.

When she was not ignoring George Darcy, she was haranguing him, blaming the epidemic on his neglectful management and her sister’s death on that lady’s marriage.

Weighed down by his own guilt, Mr. Darcy could only think that he somehow deserved such reproofs.

Such was the situation when old Mrs. Darcy finally returned to the main house with the two Darcy children.

Lady Edna was a force unto herself and Lady Catherine soon found herself waging a losing battle for control.

She was even more furious when her own brother arrived, having been summoned by Lady Edna.

Finding that his sister had commandeered the mistress’ study for herself, Lord Henry settled in a nearby chair and waited until she dismissed the maid whom she had been lecturing. When the door closed, Lady Catherine turned to him.

“Yes, Henry? What is it?”

The Earl reminded himself to keep his voice gentle despite his irritation at her tone. “I came to see how you are, Cathy.”

His sister gave him a look that expressed all of her impatience with her younger sibling.

Henry tried again. “Catherine, you have been working very hard. You must not forget to take care of yourself. You have lost as much as any of us; you must take time to mourn.”

“Must! MUST! I shall be the judge of what I must do, just as I have been for some time!”

He sighed. “Sister, you have held the place together, no one is disregarding your efforts. But Darcy is here now; it is time to step back and allow him to rebuild his life.”

“Step back! This is my sister’s estate! Her son’s legacy! How can you possibly suggest that I simply leave it to ruin?!”

Henry closed his eyes for a moment before leaning forward and taking his sister’s hand, only to have it snatched back.

“Catherine, you must listen to me. I loved our sister as much as you and I swear before God that I shall look after her children as if they were my own. However, we must remember that Anne’s husband lives .

George Darcy is the head of the Darcy family and master of Pemberley.

We may offer him our help but we must respect his position. ”

“His position!” sputtered Catherine.

She was gathering breath for a diatribe on why everything was George Darcy’s fault when her brother tried a different tact. “What about Rosings? With your sons gone, who is Sir Lewis’ heir?”

“What?! Whatever can you mean?!?” Lady Catherine had never considered that she might lose Rosings Park.

“Sister, I was not involved in negotiating the settlement for your marriage; our father dealt with Lord Maxwell and barely mentioned it in his letters to me. The only thing I know for sure is that the de Bourghs like to keep their land and money in the family and preferably the male line. Do you know anything about Sir Lewis’ will as regards to Anne and yourself? ”

Lady Catherine de Bourgh gaped like a fish. Had the circumstances been different, Henry might have found it amusing to see his sister speechless for the first time in her life. Before she could recover, however, there was a knock on the door.

Henry tensed, knowing what was to come. He had arranged for Catherine’s daughter to be brought down, hoping to remind his sister that she still had a living child.

Into this charged atmosphere came little Anne de Bourgh escorted by her very solemn cousin.

Fitzwilliam Darcy might have been slightly shorter and a few years younger than his female relative but he was clearly taking his duty as host of the nursery very seriously.

In all the turmoil, Catherine had largely forgotten her daughter. Upon arriving at Pemberley, the girl had been assigned rooms in the family wing. However, Mrs. Jenkinson had seen the pox before and had acted quickly to isolate herself and her charge at the first mention of a fever.

Still reeling from the idea of losing her home, Catherine focused on the two children standing uncomfortably before her. “Anne…”

For the first time that the girl could remember, her mother reached out a hand to touch her. They did not embrace; that would have been too much for either. The touch alone was enough to bring tears to Anne’s eyes.

“Anne… Are you well?” Catherine cleared her throat and gathered her wits about her. “Has Mrs. Jenkinson been caring for you properly?”

“Yes, Mama,” Miss de Bourgh spoke barely above a whisper .

“You are too thin. Have you not been eating properly?”

Having never received so much focused attention from her parent before, Anne could only mumble again, “Yes, Mama.”

Lady Catherine turned her sharp eyes upon her nephew. “And you, Fitzwilliam. You have returned to Pemberley House. Have you and Anne been spending time together?”

Something in Catherine’s voice vaguely worried Lord Henry but he was so relieved to see his sister showing interest in her daughter that he brushed it aside.

He watched his nephew answer her questions gravely, foreshadowing the serious, responsible man he was growing to be.

The Earl had spent quite a bit of time with the lad over the last month while Mr. Darcy and his son had been forced to remain at Matlock.

Although he would never admit it to anyone, Henry Fitzwilliam wished his own heir showed half as much promise as his nephew.

Lord Henry’s attention was brought back to the present when his sister stood abruptly and directed her most imperious expression at her brother.

“Henry— pay attention! I’ve determined that I and the children must return to Kent immediately.

I have done all I can here; inform Mr. Darcy that I shall spend the afternoon overseeing our packing and depart in the morning.

He may write to me at Rosings with his questions regarding the management of the estate and household. ”

With that, Lady Catherine de Bourgh swept from the room with the two children trailing along in her wake.

Henry grimaced. He might be the Earl of Matlock, head of the wealthy and well-connected Fitzwilliam family and honored in the House of Lords, but his elder sister would always treat him like an errand boy.

Chuckling for the first time in weeks, he left the room and headed to Darcy’s study to pass on the news.

From that day on, Lady Catherine was assiduously protective of her daughter’s health.

Her brother tried not to spend much time thinking about whether that care was due to its implications for her own position rather than maternal feelings.

To his widow’s horror, Sir Lewis’ will stated that if all of his children died without issue, Rosings Park would go to one of his brothers.

Unfortunately, Lady Catherine’s form of cosseting consisted of keeping Anne indoors, wrapped in thick blankets and dosed with every sort of physic that her apothecary might recommend.

Within a year, Miss de Bourgh could not sleep without a generous dose of laudanum and spent most of her days in an opiate-induced haze.

This detail did not deter her mother’s new crusade; to marry the heiress of Rosings Park to the heir of Pemberley.