A sob escaped her. This had to be a dream. A cruel dream she would wake from any minute. Except his touch felt real and his nearness warmed her.
“I demand an explanation! Stand away from my daughter!” Mother protested.
Anne smiled. Her mother’s anger was real. He was real.
Richard turned to Mother. “You do not recognize this gentleman? He is so much in demand in society, I had difficulty prying him away from their clutches. Not that I blame them for wanting to honor a celebrated captain whose acts of bravery have made the papers.”
Mother huffed, quite recovered from her earlier shock. “I know everyone of consequence.”
“Excellent, then you will have no difficulty remembering Captain Patrick Gibbs of His Majesty’s Royal Navy.”
Patrick doffed his hat, tucking it into his arm. “Lady Catherine. My mother sends her regards.”
Several times Mother opened her mouth to speak. “Anne’s nurse? You are the son of one of my old servants?”
Patrick treated her insult lightly, swooping an elegant, impertinent bow. “At your service, madam.” He never had been intimidated by Mother.
Looking at Anne, he added, “I have risen in rank and have earned the respect of both my subordinates and my superiors. The Navy was good to me. I have won a fortune and am now in possession of a comfortable estate very near Bath.”
Anne’s stomach fluttered. “Bath?”
His smile deepened. “You spoke so often of the place, I could hardly purchase a residence elsewhere.”
He reallyhadthought of her. After all these years. Anne thought she would burst.
She yielded her hand to him freely, gladly, feeling like a maiden in the bloom of her youth. Pressing her palm against his heart, he said, “It took bodily injury to recognize how fortunate I was to be forced into retirement. Otherwise, I would still be aboard my ship instead of here with you. I have never been a man of superficial emotion, Anne. If you will allow me to court you, I will ask for your hand in marriage. It is my intention to love you every day for the rest of our lives.”
Joy swelled in her throat, flooding her eyes.
He took her other hand, caressing them to his chest. “There is nobody else for me but you, Anne. If you will have me.”
Mother shouted, “I object!”
Of course she did. But for the first time in Anne’s memory, she paid her mother no heed.
“Yes!” she answered.
“No, you will not! You are engaged to Darcy.”
Anne pulled her gaze from Patrick to her mother. “I have not, nor have I ever, agreed to marry my cousin when my heart has long belonged to another.”
“Are you so selfish you will forsake your family? The position you were born into? What will society say?”
Anne smiled up at Patrick. She had never felt braver or bolder. “They will say I have made quite a catch, I daresay, but, really, Mother, I do not care.”
“Obstinate, headstrong girl!”
Her mother compared her to Miss Elizabeth? Anne felt reborn. “That is the best, kindest compliment you have ever bestowed upon me. Thank you, Mama.”
Darcy pushed awayfrom where he was listening at the window, allowing more room for Mrs. Bennet and her younger daughters to elbow each other for the best vantage ground. He had heard enough.
Elizabeth pulled away from the bunched crowd, wearing the expression of one smugly satisfied with her plan. She ought to be proud.
“You did that,” he said, full of wonder for his bride’s thoughtfulness for another when she had had sufficient obstacles of her own to overcome. “You know my aunt would never accept our union. She would have blamed you for separating me from Anne, and she would have made her life unbearable. She would have despised me, straining our relationship beyond reparation and isolating herself from anyone who supported my decision to choose you over her.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “Lady Catherine will have to adjust her expectations.”
Darcy shook his head, his grin widening. “She will come around. Eventually.”
