“Maybe one day... you...”
“Oh stop it; I am not here so you can pity me and fill me with false hopes. I am here simply to get my life back. I will no longer allow anybody to dictate how I should live. I am the rightful owner of this estate since I turned five and twenty. I am now eight and twenty and my mother has been a usurper long enough.”
Darcy was surprised and amazed to see so much strength in his docile and frequently drugged cousin.
“Whether my mother will hang for her crime I do not know. But one thing I do know is that she will no longer be in charge of Rosings. I cannot trust a madwoman who plans the murder of another human being to be the caretaker of what rightfully belongs to me.”
“I heartily agree Anne and as I supported your mother I shall support you.”
Anne smiled, “that is all I require from you Darcy. From this day forward please feel completely released from any imaginary engagement. You are a free man but I thank you for any support you can offer me as I take over my rightful place at Rosings.”
Darcy got up and hugged his cousin gently, “I am so pleased to see you in your right mind with clear thoughts and directions as to where you want to go from here.”
“Like you I yearn for freedom and I can already taste it. I like it Darcy; my mother, by being a complete mad woman has handed me the keys to my future once and for all.”
“Do you intend to marry?”
“No, I am not healthy enough to contemplate marriage and as I said before, I will no longer allow another person to dictate my life.”
“A husband may not be a tyrant as your mother was Anne.”
“I know but I have no wish to marry.”
“What about the future of Rosings? You will require an heir.”
Anne smiled, “Do not worry about that, for I have my own plans and in time you will hear about them.”
Darcy smiled back and nodded, “Very well Anne, you know you can count on me.”
“I do. Now for Miss Elizabeth, do not let her get away, cousin. The lady is simply too stubborn for her own good.”
Darcy nodded sadly, “That is one thing that I am not at all confidante that I can achieve.”
“You can, I believe you can achieve anything once you put your mind to it.”
“I have more than just my mind in this Anne, I have my heart.”
“Go to it then.”
Darcy smiled, “Do I have your blessing?”
“Do you need my blessing?”
“No but I would like to know I have it all the same.”
“In that case you most certainly do, God bless you cousin.”
He kissed her forehead, “God bless you too, Anne.”
Chapter 15
Lord Matlock arrived early in the morning the next day as he had been, luckily, still attending parliament in Town before removing himself and his family to the Matlock estate in Derbyshire.
Most occupants of the house where still asleep when he arrived.
He met with his nephew and son in the library, “How is Anne coping with all this?”
“Anne is actually doing much better than we all expected” Darcy replied “I believe she will be fine.”
