Page 57 of A Different Impression

“Are you certain, Anne?” Darcy asked after a moment. The news unsettled him. Part of him still felt Rosings ought to pass to Richard, if only because it would give his cousin the means to leave the army should he ever wish to do so. Richard had always been reluctant to accept any provision from his family, but perhaps managing the estate on Anne’s behalf would seem different. Darcy resolved to discuss the possibility with Elizabeth at the first opportunity.

While Darcy considered this, Anne merely nodded, and for a moment, silence settled over the room. Elizabeth squeezed his hand, drawing his attention back to her.

“I thank you, Anne,” he said quietly.

Only then did he notice the strain in Anne’s breathing.

“Do you need anything, Miss de Bourgh?” Elizabeth asked. “Shall I summon your aunt or the physician?”

Anne coughed and waved one hand weakly. Elizabeth hesitated, clearly uncertain, then hurried to the door and requested that the countess be summoned.

Lady Matlock arrived quickly and called for the restorative tea and draught prescribed by the London physician. Anne’s breathing soon eased, although the episode had clearly exhausted her. When Darcy offered to carry her upstairs, she shook her head, and Lady Matlock summoned the footmen who had assisted her earlier.

Darcy and Elizabeth were all but forgotten as the countess and servants tended to Anne and settled her in her room. Left to themselves, they helped themselves to the tea that had arrived amid the earlier chaos and quietly discussed Anne’s revelations.

“I have never wanted Rosings, Elizabeth,” he said. “I have enough to do with managing Pemberley—I will need a man I trust implicitly in charge. Richard would be ideal, and I confess to a deep desire for him to leave the army. Perhaps I can persuade him to oversee Rosings on Anne’s behalf and later act in my stead until one of our younger children is old enough to assume responsibility for it.”

The thought of their future children warmed Darcy. He raised Elizabeth’s hand to his lips before drawing her briefly into his arms.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Darcy drew back just far enough to speak, although he did not release her.

“I look forward to having you all to myself, my love,” he whispered.

His cousin Richard entered and grinned when he saw Darcy with his arms around his wife. “Congratulations, Darcy,” Richard enthused. “I still do not know how you convinced such a lovely lady to become your wife. I would offer my condolences to you, Elizabeth, but it appears that you rather like my reticent and dour cousin.”

Elizabeth laughed at his antics even as Darcy scowled and held his wife closer, making Richard laugh. “Come, cousin, I will not abscond with your wife,” he cajoled.

With a scowl, Darcy greeted his cousin and sat more appropriately beside his wife, although he continued holding her hand. “My wife already knows better than to listen to anything you say, Richard,” Darcy retorted. Despite his irritation, the word wife still filled him with almost absurd happiness.

“We have spoken briefly with Anne. She is frail and had to return to her room after only a short conversation. We hope to speak with her again.”

Darcy studied his cousin for a moment. “She has named me as her heir to Rosings because she believes you have no desire to leave the army. Is she right?”

Richard’s expression did not change. “She is.”

“You could oversee Rosings on her behalf now,” Darcy said. “And if you chose, it would give you the means to sell your commission.”

“But I do not choose it,” Richard replied. “The army is my path, Darcy. I neither wish to inherit Rosings nor to leave my commission.”

“You are well prepared to manage an estate,” Darcy asserted, dismissing Richard’s objection.

“Perhaps,” Richard answered with an insouciance Darcy found particularly irritating. “And if I eventually leave the army, I may agree to help you oversee Rosings. But I will not shape my life around an inheritance I do not want.”

Darcy regarded him in frustrated silence. He could not comprehend Richard’s refusal, but before he could renew the argument, Elizabeth intervened.

“While neither of you desires the estate, Miss de Bourgh has made her wishes clear. Perhaps this discussion should wait until she is well enough to participate in it,” Elizabeth said firmly. “Colonel, has your father told you what is intended for Lady Catherine?”

When Richard answered negatively, Darcy explained what had been decided earlier that day.

Lord Matlock would take Lady Catherine to his estate soon and then arrange for her to travel to Ireland at some point in the spring since travel in the winter could be difficult. “He may ask you to accompany him,” Darcy warned his cousin.

“And what of Anne?” Richard asked.

Again, Darcy sighed. “She does not wish to return to Rosings, and Uncle’s country estate will not be suitable while her mother remains there. I am not certain she would be strong enough for the trip to either Matlock or Pemberley, so she will likely remain in London for a time. Nothing is definite yet; there are still a number of decisions to make. Elizabeth and I will be travelling to Rosings at the end of next week to settle things there.”

The earl and countess joined them, and Darcy informed them of all that had been discussed. Lady Matlock relayed Anne’s request that Darcy and Elizabeth join her again the following day.

Once they were assured that Anne was resting comfortably, Darcy escorted Elizabeth home. They dined privately before retiring for the night.