He did not mistake the consequences of such a conclusion. He had considered them already and found they no longer held the weight they once had. What might have restrained him before now appeared only as something to be acknowledged and set aside.
Across the table, Georgiana sat composed beneath their aunt’s watchful eye, her spine straight and her expression calm. Her resolve seemed greater for having withstood the test of Lady Catherine. Colonel Fitzwilliam, untroubled by ceremony, attended to his breakfast with easy good humour. Perhapsit would take more than Rosings Park stiffness to trouble a man equally accustomed to taking breakfast at an earl’s table and in a rugged tent shortly before facing Napolean’s troops.
When Lady Catherine had satisfied herself that nothing had been neglected, she turned her attention to the company. “Let us arrange the day to best advantage,” she proposed, in a tone that said she did not intend to brook disagreement. “Fitzwilliam, have you plans?”
Colonel Fitzwilliam looked up readily, giving a one-shouldered shrug that made their aunt frown at his informality. “None that cannot be altered at your pleasure.”
“You will attend me after breakfast, then,” Lady Catherine said. “There are matters in the village which require inspection.”
“I shall be happy to accompany you.”
She inclined her head, then turned to Darcy. “And you, Darcy?”
“I intend to walk to the parsonage this morning,” he said.
Lady Catherine’s expression sharpened. “Again?”
“Yes.”
“I cannot conceive what occupies you there so frequently.” Her gaze held him. “You have alreadyshown every attention that civility requires. It is not necessary to repeat it daily.”
Darcy did not look away. “It is not civility alone that engages me.”
She paused, measuring him now. “I should have thought your time might be more properly employed. Anne has not been out this week. She will take the carriage about the countryside. It would be a very suitable arrangement for you to attend her.”
Anne lifted her eyes briefly. “Mother, I do not wish to go out in the carriage this morning.”
Lady Catherine turned sharply. “My dear Anne, you must not be guided by inclination alone. The air would be of the greatest benefit to you.”
“I would rather remain within. I had intended to write my letters, for I owe several.”
The refusal did not please her mother. Lady Catherine turned back to Darcy. “You see how necessary it is that she be encouraged,” she said imperiously. “A short drive would do her a great deal of good. You may easily postpone your visit.”
Darcy met her gaze. “I shall be glad to attend my cousin later in the day, if she wishes it. But I am expected at the parsonage this morning.”
She studied him more closely. “Expected?” Lady Catherine repeated. “By whom?”
“By Miss Bennet.”
A dark look crossed Lady Catherine’s face at the name. “I was not aware that such expectations had been established.”
Darcy gave no explanation.
Fitzwilliam, who had been watching with interest, leaned back slightly. “Do you not think, Aunt Catherine, that we ought to be particularly attentive to Miss Bennet? After all, she injured herself on Rosings land and in Darcy’s company. I think my cousin makes Miss Bennet a very proper apology.”
Lady Catherine snorted. “That is quite absurd.”
“I should not wish Miss Bennet to feel lonely or dull when she must not walk anywhere,” Georgiana volunteered, though very softly. “And it is so very pleasant to talk with her. She is so sweet, and yet so very clever!”
Lady Catherine did not seem much pleased by this intelligence. “A lady ought not to be too clever in conversation, Georgiana. Then she will be called pert, and no one enjoys the company of a pert and argumentative woman.”
Though Georgiana looked down shyly, she refused to retreat. “I find her company very agreeable,” she said softly.
Though Lady Catherine opened her mouth, looking very much displeased, Darcy fixed her withso speaking a look of warning that the rebuke she might have given Georgiana remained unspoken. “You are easily pleased, my dear,” she said instead.
Georgiana did not shrink. “I hope I am not improperly so.”
Fitzwilliam smiled. “If so, I shall be in danger of the same fault.”
