"Anne! How did you get in here?" Darcy asked.
"When Mother told me to prepare for a trip not long after we both received your letters, I knew she was coming either here or to Netherfield. It was my chance to leave Rosings. I packed everything I valued into my trunk. You know Mother never travels light on the rare occasions she goes anywhere, so she did not even notice I used the largest trunk the servants could find for me. As usual, she had me wait in the carriage with Mrs. Jenkinson. I saw you arrive, but before I could say anything you were already inside. I got out as Georgiana pulled up in your carriage, and I asked the servants to quickly transfer my trunk to it. They took the carriage on to the stables and I came inside with Georgiana, Mrs. Annesley and Mr. Bingley. That pleasant housekeeper assured us Mother was outside with your betrothed, so we joined the ladies in the sitting room. We had just completed all the introductions when we heard the carriage leave."
"What about this Mrs. Jenkinson?" Elizabeth asked. "Will your mother not blame her for your actions?"
"We considered that, but I requisitioned enough from the housekeeping money to give Mrs. Jenkinson a very nice parting bonus before we left. She felt adequately recompensed no matter what happens. She also plans to leave when Mother stops for the night again in London on her way back. Mrs. Jenkinson had her belongings crated up before we left Rosings and they will be forwarded on to her sister's house. She was planning to leave anyway, so this gave her the opportunity to do so without feeling guilty at leaving me alone." She turned to her cousins and added, "Would one of you please introduce me to Miss Elizabeth, for I assume this is she."
Darcy complied with her request and the ladies made their curtsies. After that, they all took seats as Anne continued to tell her tale.
"I was very glad to receive your letter. It was smart of you to have the messenger deliver it directly into my hand or I would have never had the chance to read it before Mother threw it into the fire along with the one that she received from you. You said to ask you if I needed help, and I do. I want to live somewhere away from mother's control, but I am not willing to marry to do so. Will you help me make the arrangements? Even if mother refuses to release my allowance, I should be able to access my dowry if you and Richard will assist."
"You must stay here with us for a time, Miss De Bourgh," Mrs. Bennet insisted. "Mr. Bingley does not have a hostess, or at least Miss Darcy is not really old enough to count, so it is not right for you to stay at Netherfield with your cousins and Mr. Bingley. We have plenty of room."
Anne looked to Darcy and Richard. They looked at each other before Darcy responded.
"Mrs. Bennet has a point. It would be best if you were here instead of at Netherfield, especially since your companion is leaving your service. You will be safe with the Bennet family."
Anne stood and curtsied to Mrs. Bennet. "I am pleased to accept your gracious invitation," she said before sitting down again.
Mrs. Bennet smiled at her before pulling the bell for Mrs. Hill. The housekeeper must have been close by, for she responded almost immediately.
"Hill, have Miss De Bourgh's trunk removed from the Darcy carriage and taken up to one of the guest bedrooms. She will be staying with us for a time."
After Mrs. Hill left to make the arrangements, the party broke up into smaller groups. Georgiana and Miss Maria left to join Mary and Kitty in the music room, where they had been through the entire episode. Darcy, Richard and Elizabeth quietly told Anne and Miss Lucas about the confrontation with Lady Catherine, while Bingley and Jane talked with Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Annesley. Darcy expected the servants at Netherfield would have quite a tale to tell when their party returned that evening. Like Anne, he wondered when Lady Catherine would notice her daughter was missing and if she would return to Longbourn when she did.
Chapter 28: Misdirections
Richard enthusiastically gave Anne and Miss Lucas his rendition of the breaking of Lady Catherine's first walking stick, with comparisons to the most recent performance. They were all trying to keep their voices down, but even Darcy could not help a little laughter escaping him as Richard brought out several details of the experience – the wide-spread scatter of the wood splinters, the way Lady Catherine milled her arms around as she tried not to fall the first time she tripped over the handle, how she tangled her feet in her travel cloak as she fell the second time she tripped.
"Her mode of breaking a walking stick has certainly improved with practice," Richard finished.
"Well, Mother always says practice is vital," Anne replied, causing both Richard and Darcy to snort in laughter. Elizabeth joined them simply because it was so funny to see the two men trying to keep their mirth in check.
From her side of the room, Mrs. Bennet wondered at what they found so funny. She had just started to ask if anything was the matter when they all heard a heavy carriage pulling into the drive.
"It is Mother!" Anne said nervously. "She must have noticed I was not in the carriage. Please do not let her take me."
Darcy and Richard both stood. "Stay inside and out of sight. Leave this to us. Richard and I will speak to her outside."
Darcy had a quick word with Mrs. Hill, who they meet in the hall as they were heading to the door. On his instructions, she stayed inside, closing the front door behind them as they went out with all the solemnity of one barring the gates of the castle keep.
Lady Catherine's carriage pulled to a stop as they came down the steps from Longbourn's front door. The two men made a show of standing respectfully as the footman jumped down from his place and opened the carriage door. Before offering Lady Catherine his hand to assist her from the carriage, Richard winked mischievously at Darcy. She slapped his hand away petulantly and descended on her own.
"I am surprised to see you back so soon, Aunt," Darcy said as she straightened and glared at the two men. "Have you come up with new arguments to advance your cause? I assure you they shall prove as futile as any you have already used."
"I have come for Georgiana," Lady Catherine said in frosty tones. "The servants at that Netherfield place told me she came here with you today, although they were most unobliging in all other respects. Of course, given his background, it is no wonder that Bingley fellow cannot find any better. Now, send the gel out to me at once."
Darcy looked at her disbelief. Apparently, she still had not noticed Anne's absence from the carriage. "What possible reason would I have to allow you to take Georgiana?" he asked calmly.
"Well, someone needs to look after her interests. Your father was a fool placing two men in charge of a young gel like her. She requires my guidance before you ruin her entirely. It is certainly not proper for her to be in a household with three single men, after all."
"Two of whom are close relatives and her guardians," Darcy insisted. "She is also accompanied by her companion, who assures propriety is maintained at all times."
"Hmph!" Lady Catherine snorted. "You are a fool if you think that. No, she must come with me. You will not want her underfoot after you marry Anne, anyway. I shall see to arranging an appropriate marriage for my niece. Now, send her out!"
"No, Aunt Catherine," Darcy said calmly, with a pitying smile. "You have no power here. Georgiana is my sister. I am her legal guardian. She stays with me."
"Nonsense! She needs a woman's guidance. Send her out, I say!"
"She will have a woman's guidance when I marry Miss Bennet. Until then, she has her companion."
"Miss Bennet! That trollop will ruin her utterly!"
"It is time for you to leave, Aunt Catherine," Darcy said, stepping forward as if to assist her back into the carriage. He heard Richard softly whisper to him to play along and so halted his motion while his cousin stepped forward.
"Before you go, Aunt Catherine, I should like to pay my respects to Anne. That is, if she has joined you?" He made a show of craning his neck to see the luggage on the back of the carriage. "I do only see one large trunk, and even for a short journey it is unlike you to share."
Lady Catherine looked taken aback, although she did not answer at once. Instead she turned and peered into the open door of the carriage, still held by the footman, who stood at attention trying not to show he was enjoying this encounter. Of course, the man knew Anne was not inside as he had helped transfer her trunk to the Darcy carriage earlier. Lady Catherine tried to unobtrusively get a look at the back of the carriage, but both men saw her do it. Richard winked at Darcy again as she turned her head away from them.
"Did you leave her at Rosings Park?" Richard asked innocently.
Lady Catherine's head snapped around and she glared at him. "Of course, not," she said imperiously. "I left her at Darcy House after we stayed there last night. Too much travel is dangerous to her health and she is to be mistress of the house soon, after all."
"You stayed the night at Darcy House?" Darcy asked incredulously, but Richard elbowed him to be quiet.
"It was wise of you not to bring her all this way," Richard continued smoothly, but with an edge of steel in his voice. "Although I wonder at you bringing her even that far at risk to her health, which you have often said is quite fragile. I should not wish Georgiana's safety left in the hands of someone who would treat her daughter so. Perhaps you should return to London and take your daughter home. There is no further reason for you to be here."
"I shall take Georgiana!" she insisted, drawn by his comment from her surprise at the absence of her daughter.
"No, you shall not," stated Darcy. He nodded to Richard. They each took one of Lady Catherine's arms at the elbows and lifted her, turning her around and gently placing her back into the carriage. She had been so surprised by the maneuver she did not even struggle, although she recovered enough to say, "You have not heard the last of me! You will marry Anne, and I shall have Georgiana!"
The men saw no point in responding. Stepping quickly back, Richard motioned for the footmen to close the door as Darcy directed the driver to take her ladyship back to London posthaste. As the driver turned the carriage, they heard the conversation inside.
"Where is Anne?" Lady Catherine asked, in a voice that was soft for her, but which carried nonetheless.
"You told the gentlemen she is at Darcy House," came a voice they both recognized as Mrs. Jenkinson. "As you see, she is not here, nor is her luggage."
"Then why are you here?"
"You told me this morning to get in the carriage with you, so I did," the companion replied. Anything else was drowned out by the sound of the horses and the creak and rattle of the vehicle as the driver set off down the lane.
Richard was trying to keep a straight face for as long as it was possible Lady Catherine might look back at them through the windows of the carriage, but suddenly he could do so no longer. His laughter burst forth in great guffaws and Darcy joined in, as much from the humor as from the sudden removal of stress.
"Oh, that was priceless!" Richard gasped as they turned back to the door. Mrs. Hill opened it before they could knock.
"It was," Darcy replied, leaning against the door frame for support as he caught his breath. "But what happens when she gets to London and discovers Anne is not there?"
"That is where our strategy comes in," Richard said, stepping into the hall behind his cousin as they allowed Mrs. Hill to close the door behind them. "You need to send a fast messenger to Darcy House at once. Tell them they are not to allow Lady Catherine inside again, no matter what threats she makes. Have them confirm Anne is not there now, but neither confirm nor deny whether she left in the carriage with her mother this morning. Your butler, Barlow, is just the man to pull that off. Tell him if she insists on staying the night, he should suggest that if she does not wish to go to her own townhouse, she can stay with her nephew, the Earl."
"Bertie will kill you for that," Darcy warned, still chuckling.
"Oh, let him put up with the old cat for a night. Without her walking stick she can do little harm." Richard started to laugh again."
Anne poked her head out the sitting room door. "Stop cackling like chickens out there and come tell us what happened. We could not see very much hiding behind the curtains, and the carriage was in the way."
"My, my, Anne," Richard said teasingly. "You sound almost as demanding as your mother."
"Do I?" she asked, bringing her hand to her mouth as if to stop her own speech.
"A little," Darcy said, giving her a wide smile. "But staying at Longbourn will take that out of you, if you will let it."
Anne looked as if she did not understand the comment. She shook her head slightly, but her voice was less imperious as she said, "Well, come join us anyway. We are all dying to know what happened."
They entered the sitting room to find all the occupants waiting expectantly for them. Even the four who had been in the music room had returned and awaited the tale.
"I thought I heard her shout my name," Georgiana said. "What happened?"
"First, I need to send a messenger to London. Elizabeth, might I have some paper and writing tools?" Darcy asked.
"I can tell them what happened while you write, Darcy," Richard said, grinning widely. "Your task is important, and I had more action in this tale anyway."
Darcy nodded as Elizabeth motioned him to a small writing table in the corner and provided him with the items he needed. She sat down close by to keep him company, although she was very interested in what had happened outside and listened to it as he wrote. Richard immediately launched into a detailed rendition of the encounter with Lady Catherine, playing it for all the humor he could get. He soon had his audience giggling at the absurdity of the confrontation, although Georgiana was a little frightened at first by the thought that Lady Catherine had wanted to take her away.
Once he finished the note, Darcy considered the fastest way to get it to Darcy House. Richard was just winding down the story as Darcy decided.
"I need to get this on its way quickly," he whispered to Elizabeth even as he heard Anne asking if her mother truly did not know she had stayed at Longbourn. Elizabeth joined him as Darcy rose and made his way out of the room.
"Do you need one of our people to take it?" She asked as they entered the hall.
"I think not. I plan to send one of my footmen on my own horse. He can make all speed to Darcy House as he knows the quickest ways. After spending the night in London, he can return with my horse in the morning. I will join Georgiana in the carriage on the way back to Netherfield this evening."
Another great burst of laughter could be heard coming from the sitting room. Darcy shook his head. "Richard does love playing to an audience. He could have been an actor and done well at it."
Elizabeth was unable to respond before her father came down the hall saying, "What is all this racket? I am used to shrieks and shrills, but not to this repeated outpouring of mirth."
"Let me tell you all about it, Papa," Elizabeth said, "While Mr. Darcy goes to have a word with one of his servants." She turned back to Darcy. "I love to tell a good story as well, and Papa will be a most appreciative audience. Come join us in the study on your return."
Darcy lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss, winked at Mr. Bennet, then turned away to deal with his errand. Behind him, he could hear the older man already chuckling in anticipation of what was to come.
"First off, Papa, are you aware we have had a noble visitor today?" he heard Elizabeth ask as they disappeared in the direction of the study.
Mrs. Hill came up as Darcy neared the front door. She had heard his discussion with Richard as they came in and clearly knew he would need someone to carry a message.
"Your men are in the kitchen, sir. Is there a particular one with whom you wish to speak?'
"It is probably fastest if I just follow you there," Darcy replied. "While I give him my instructions, would you have someone notify the stables that I need my horse saddled immediately?"
"Of course, sir," she said, bobbing a curtsy. "This way, please."
Darcy's arrangements were quickly made. Soon
his man, Hoban, was galloping away, clearly relishing the chance to ride the master's fine stallion even if he did have a long trip ahead. Darcy watched him pass over the first rise in the lane before returning inside to join Elizabeth in her father's study.
As he arrived at the study and knocked on the door, which sat slightly ajar, he could hear Elizabeth retelling the tale of Richard's misdirection to confuse Lady Catherine about Anne's location. Mr. Bennet laughingly waved him in.
"Did your cousin really tell your aunt that the single trunk was proof she was alone because Lady Catherine does not like to share?' he asked Darcy.
"That he did. The implications of the comment sailed right over Aunt Catherine's head. She was too busy wondering when she had last noticed her daughter's presence, although it is possible that she might have taken it as a compliment to her consequence if she had noticed, instead of as a comment on her known selfishness."
"So, does your aunt still not realize your cousin is a guest here?"
"That is the best part, Papa," Elizabeth said. "They confused her because she had been too upset to pay any attention on the drive and now she probably doubts any memories of Miss de Bourgh being in the carriage at all. They sent her off before she could think about it."
"Yes, my aunt pays little attention to anyone around her unless she needs something from them. And, according to Anne, when she is upset, she tends to sit with her eyes closed, focusing on the anger in her head as she grumbles and complains out loud. She has been very angry ever since she received the news of my betrothal yesterday."
"What happens when she gets to London and finds out her daughter is not there, having left with Lady Catherine this morning?" Mr. Bennet asked.
"Ah, that is what I was just handling," Darcy said. "I sent word to Darcy House to prevent my aunt from entering and telling them to simply confirm Anne is not there without committing one way or the other as to whether she was in the carriage this morning, along with a few other instructions. I do not know why I am surprised, but it caught me off guard earlier to learn she had the effrontery to insist on staying at Darcy House last night despite my not being home to host her. She must have bullied my staff into it. The de Bourgh family has a townhouse, but she does not like to use it. Still, since I did not expect it to happen, I gave no instructions to the contrary and they would not want to let me down by refusing hospitality to my aunt in the absence of instructions."
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