Page 56 of Intrigue and Inheritance (Crime and Consequences #3)
“Considered judgment!” Lady Catherine repeated with cutting scorn.
“What do you know of judgment? You who have spent your life protected from precisely the sort of decisions that might have developed such faculties. No, Anne. I shall set things to rights, as I have always done. The marquess is precisely the husband you require. His title will elevate you, while your fortune will restore his estates. Within a month, you shall be a marchioness, taking your proper place in society rather than frittering away your time discussing horse breeding with gentlemen of no consequence.”
Elizabeth watched with growing concern as Anne’s face crumpled at this pronouncement. The young woman’s hands trembled visibly where they clutched at her skirts, and her breath came in short, irregular gasps that suggested approaching hysteria.
“You cannot force me,” Anne whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “I will not marry him.”
“You will do as you are told,” Lady Catherine responded with implacable certainty.
“As you have always done. This temporary rebellion, encouraged by those who should have known better,” here she cast a condemning glance at Elizabeth, “will pass, and you will remember your duty to your family and position.”
It was, perhaps, the casual dismissal of her newfound independence as “temporary rebellion” that proved the final straw for Anne. A single tear escaped down her cheek before she rose abruptly, nearly overturning her chair in her haste.
“Excuse me,” she managed, her voice choked with emotion, before fleeing the room, her footsteps quickening to an undignified run as she reached the hallway.
Elizabeth rose immediately to follow, only to be halted by Lady Catherine’s imperious voice.
“Let her go, Mrs. Darcy. A private sulk will do her good. Anne has always used tears to avoid difficult conversations, a tactic I have never indulged.”
Elizabeth paused, torn between the social requirement to remain with her guest and her urgent desire to comfort Anne. In that moment of hesitation, she caught Mrs. Jenkinson’s satisfied expression and made her decision instantly.
“I must ensure Anne is well,” she said firmly.
“Her health remains delicate, and extreme distress can bring on her breathing difficulties.” The latter was not entirely true, but Elizabeth found herself willing to employ this fiction if it served to protect her cousin from further immediate confrontation.
Without waiting for Lady Catherine’s response, Elizabeth left the room and hurried upstairs.
She found Anne not in her bedroom as expected, but in the small adjoining sitting room that had become her private retreat during her stay.
Anne sat by the window, her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Elizabeth approached quietly, settling beside Anne on the window seat and placing a gentle hand on her trembling back. “She cannot force you, Anne,” she said softly. “Not legally, not morally. You have the right to refuse any suitor, regardless of his rank or your mother’s wishes.”
Anne looked up, her face tear-stained and blotched with emotion. “You do not know my mother as I do,” she whispered. “She always finds a way to achieve her purpose. Always.”
“Perhaps that was true when you were younger and more dependent upon her approval,” Elizabeth acknowledged. “But you are a woman grown now, mistress of your own fortune. Lady Catherine may scheme and pressure, but the final decision rests solely with you.”
“She will make my life unbearable,” Anne said, fresh tears welling.
“She will disparage every choice, undermine every small independence I have claimed these past weeks.” A note of fear entered her voice.
“She might even insist I return to Rosings immediately, ending all connection with Mr. Hislop before it has properly begun.”
Elizabeth considered this very real possibility with growing determination.
“Darcy and I will support whatever choice you make, Anne. If you wish to remain in London under our protection, we will ensure you may do so. If your heart inclines toward Mr. Hislop, we will facilitate proper opportunities for you to better understand one another’s character and compatibility. ”
“You would stand against Mother for me?” Anne asked, wonder breaking through her distress.
“Without hesitation,” Elizabeth assured her, squeezing her hand. “Your happiness and independence matter to us, Anne. We have watched you blossom these past weeks into a woman of conviction and clarity. Neither of us would wish to see that growth stunted by a return to your former constraints.”
Anne managed a watery smile, drawing a handkerchief from her pocket to dab at her eyes. “Thank you,” she said simply. “I have never had an ally before. It is... remarkable.”
“You have several allies now,” Elizabeth corrected gently. “Darcy, myself, Georgiana, even Kitty in her way, and I promise you, Lord and Lady Matlock too. And I rather suspect Mr. Hislop might prove steadfast in his admiration, should you wish to encourage it.”
A delicate blush rose in Anne’s tear-stained cheeks at the mention of Mr. Hislop. “He is unlike anyone I have known,” she admitted softly. “He speaks to me as though my thoughts have value. As though I am a person worth knowing, not merely Lady Catherine’s daughter or Rosings’ mistress.”
“That is precisely as it should be,” Elizabeth affirmed.
“And reason enough to resist your mother’s attempts to press the marquess’s suit.
” She hesitated, then added with careful honesty, “It will not be easy, Anne. Lady Catherine is formidable in her determination. But remember that you are stronger than she knows, stronger perhaps than you yourself have realised until now.”
Anne straightened slightly, drawing a deep breath that steadied her remaining tremors. “I must dress for dinner,” she said, a new resolve entering her voice. “Mother will be watching for any sign of weakness or indecision. I cannot give her that satisfaction.”
Elizabeth felt a surge of pride at this simple declaration of courage.
Anne might still tremble before her mother’s wrath, but she no longer surrendered to it without resistance.
That determination, more than any dramatic gesture of defiance, represented the true transformation in the young woman who had arrived at Darcy House merely months ago as a shadow of herself.
“I shall help you select a gown,” Elizabeth offered, rising and extending her hand to Anne. “Something that reflects your new confidence and suits the woman you are becoming.”
As they moved toward Anne’s bedchamber, Elizabeth found herself wondering how Lady Catherine would react to this subtle but significant shift in her daughter’s character.
The evening ahead promised to be challenging, but Elizabeth was determined that Anne would face it with all the support and encouragement she could provide.
Lady Catherine might have arrived intending to reclaim control over her daughter’s future, but she would find that the quiet, compliant Anne she remembered had been transformed by her time in London into someone capable of determining her own destiny.