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Darcy sighed. Keeping Elizabeth close, he turned them to face his cousin. “Only if Elizabeth agrees to remain for this conversation. She is and will be a part of my life henceforth, Anne. You must accustom yourself.”
“Yes, yes. I can see I have misjudged her reasons for marrying you. That is, if you are certain she is not a gross deceiver.”
“I am certain,” he said drily.
“I was certain once upon a time. I enquired of your father, the person I trusted most in the world. He had known Mr Wickham since he was a boy, and he gave his warmest recommendation.”
“Did you ask my father whether you ought to elope with him?”
She frowned. “Of course not. I knew he would not approve of that.”
“The very fact that Wickham would ask you to do such a thing ought to have been your clue that he was not worthy.”
“Oh, do not be a blockhead, Darcy.” Miss de Bourgh snorted. “Mr Wickham could have been the beau-idéal of perfection, and still never be considered worthy to be my husband. Neither his birth nor his fortune was good enough.”
“Goodness can be entirely unconnected to birth and wealth. Elizabeth refused my first proposal because she did not find me worthy of her. What is more, she was right to do so.”
Miss de Bourgh turned to Elizabeth. “But you were wrong, too! Darcy is the soul of decency! How is one to know?”
Darcy opened his mouth to answer, but Elizabeth put a restraining hand upon his chest. “Miss de Bourgh, can you truly say that over the entire course of your acquaintance with George Wickham—before the attempted elopement—you did not see any sign whatsoever that made you a bit uneasy, that awakened some small doubt in your mind?”
Miss de Bourgh bit her lower lip, frowning, a spark of recognition in her eyes. Elizabeth decided that it was enough of an answer.
“Just as you, in retrospect, can likely think of those little clues that he was not as upright as he tried to portray himself, I saw little clues, over time, that your cousin Darcy was not the arrogant churl I originally believed.”
“Thank you,” Darcy murmured, grinning, and Elizabeth took his hand in hers, squeezing.
“When I read of your engagement, I believed Miss Bennet must have perpetrated an extortion, for my sake, to force you to marry her,” Miss de Bourgh explained to him.
“What?” Darcy scowled. “How ridiculous!”
“Yes, yes, now I can see it. Welcome to my perspective, wherein any stranger could be villainous, and duplicity hides behind every visage. I am so weary of my own thoughts.” The other woman closed her eyes, leaning back. “By the way, I left Rosings without telling Mama where I was going, so I assume she has been frantic. I sent an express to her this morning, informing her, but I presume she started after me as soon as she realised I was gone; I suppose she will arrive soon to fetch me home. I am rather surprised she is not already here. I left a trail an infant could follow.”
Elizabeth looked at Miss de Bourgh and then met Darcy’s glance with a meaningful look. Frowning, he held out his arm, and she took it. Neither said another word to Miss de Bourgh, who, it appeared, had withdrawn from the conversation, if not the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
UNTO THE ALTAR
He led her into the garden, where they might have a modicum of privacy.
“You do not seem pleased at the expected appearance of your aunt. Will she oppose our wedding?”
Darcy glanced down at his intended. No, he was not pleased.
“It was irresponsible of Anne to depart without leaving word for her mother. Doubtless, Lady Catherine has been in a state of great alarm. I am certain she will arrive…noisily.”
“Miss de Bourgh apparently took neither her companion nor her maid as she travelled. That alone must have increased her anxiety.”
“I can understand why she did it. In Lady Catherine’s home, all servants are entirely under her command, including Anne’s personal maid and Mrs Jenkinson, her companion. Neither would have hesitated before betraying Anne’s departure, which her mother undoubtedly would have prevented. I am surprised her coachman agreed, and I will have to intervene to prevent his dismissal.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I do feel pity for her. I believe she still suffers for her mistakes of the past. Yet, she is such an odd mixture of arrogance and misery, it is sometimes difficult to know what to say.”
“She has taken too much of her mother as a model for behaviour. I have often thought that with a better companion capable of cultivating her mind, and her own home far removed from Rosings Park, she might improve.”
“We must encourage her in that direction.”
“In the meantime,” Darcy said, “what do you think of marrying me tomorrow?”
