Page 151 of Bitterness of Spirit & The Painting

The mere thought of Elizabeth sharing a carriage with him, of her smiling at him so unrestrainedly and embracing him as Julia had, gave him shivers and stirred all his senses. He tried to shake off such musings and quickly saddled his horse. Less than half an hour later, he tied his stallion to the side of Julia’s carriage and joined her inside.

“You do not look like Lady Anne at all,” Julia said, looking at him.

“No…My sister does. She inherited my mother’s beauty and gentleness. And her talent at the pianoforte.”

“Did she?”

“Yes. Georgiana is exceedingly talented. And you are too,” Darcy offered.

“Thank you. Did Lady Anne teach your sister to play?”

“No…Sadly, Georgiana was only three years old when my mother passed away. And she had been ill for several months before.”

“Of course! How silly and inconsiderate of me, I should have known.”

“Please do not make yourself uneasy; how could you have known?”

“We received the news when your sister was born. I was already out at that time. I was in London with my mother and Mrs Crawford, and we even tried to visit Lady Anne.” Julia tried to hide a brief shadow on her face under her smile. Darcy did not miss the failed attempt.

“You tried?”

Julia averted her eyes. “Yes…”

“And you did not see her?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I cannot remember exactly. We knew her health was delicate…”

“Julia, please. Since you agreed to call me Will, please let us speak openly. I only met you two days ago, yet I feel I cannot trust anyone else more in regard to my mother. If you were in my place, would you not have wished to know the whole truth?”

“Very well then. Be it as you wish. We called on her but Lady Catherine and Lord Matlock were there. They told us that Mr Darcy, as well as Lady Anne, did not wish for any guests outside the family, which was perfectly reasonable under the circumstances. And…”

“And?”

“They suggested that we could not claim our acquaintance with Lady Anne in Brighton as a friendship. That the circles of society in London could not be disregarded and that a simple boarding house owner could not be seen with Lady Anne Darcy. They suggested we should not bother either Lady Anne or Mr Darcy again unless they asked for us.”

The confession and the pain behind her words hurt Darcy. For a moment, he imagined that something perhaps related to his mother’s hidden secret had upset his father and caused him to forbid the relationship. All sorts of worrisome assumptions—some worse than others—spun in his head, while Julia continued.

“Of course, two years later, we discovered we had not been told the whole truth. My mother and Mrs Crawford—by pure coincidence—met Lady Anne and Mr Darcy outside a shop. Lady Anne was so happy to see them that she embraced them in full view of the street—much to their astonishment. And Mr Darcy insisted that they visit—which they did several times during their stay in town. My mother was certain that neither Lady Anne nor Mr Darcy seemed aware of the request to end the friendship.”

“I see…” Darcy whispered more to himself, while new reflections troubled him. It was also very likely that his aunt and uncle had forbidden a connection that they considered so below their situation in life. Just as he—as an arrogant fool—had done with Elizabeth’s family. Three arrogant fools, unworthy of his parents’ kind hearts.

“And?”

“There is nothing more to say, unfortunately. My mother and Mrs Crawford returned to Brighton, then the winter came and the next summer we heard the devastating news about Lady Anne passing away. We grieved for her for so long and we still do.”

Tears were heavy in her eyes and slowly fell onto her cheeks. Darcy watched her, heartbroken and deeply impressed by the young woman’s loyalty.

“I called my daughter Anne after her, you know,” Julia continued.

“Yes, I wondered…Thank you…”

“And I play the pianoforte for her and because of her, you know… The first time I can remember meeting her was when I was three years old—did I mention that? When I heard her playing for the first time, I was mesmerised. I barely spoke when she put my fingers on the keys. I think I first learned to play charmed by her sweetness and her beauty. In my mind as a child, she was a fairy.”

“I did not know that…” Darcy murmured. “Thank you for telling me. I am forever grateful.”