Rosings

by Karen Aminadra

  It wasn’t until James saw Anne’s eyes welling with tears that he calmed a little. “Oh, Anne. I am not angry with you. His behaviour was reprehensible. He is a bad man.” He reached out and took hold of her hands, and Anne’s heart skipped a beat. “I promise you here and now that I will help prevent a marriage between you and Monty, if it is the last thing I ever do.”

  Anne felt all the weight of his declaration, but could not help a little smile from forming on her lips at his dramatic words.

  “I jest not, Anne.” He smiled, too, realising that he sounded overly heroic. “I sound like a hero in one of Mrs Radcliffe’s novels, don’t I?”

  “A little, but I am grateful all the same. I do not know what can be done, though.”

  “At this moment, I cannot see clearly enough through my anger to suggest a course of action. Truly, he is a scoundrel.”

  Anne indicated that she wanted to walk some more and she was glad of the safe feeling of her arm through his as they continued along the path through the woods.

  “I would hope for you to marry a far gentler man, Anne.”

  “I would, too, and to stay at Rosings.”

  James smiled down at her and Anne thought she saw something in his eyes as he looked at her. James reddened and looked away. Anne was sad the moment was gone; she would have liked to know what he was thinking.

  Truly thankful that she had unburdened her heart and that James agreed with her assessment of Monty, Anne was reluctant to return to the picnic area for luncheon. The scowl on Monty’s face as he saw Anne return from a walk alone with James shocked her. Is he jealous of James and me? Anne suddenly realised with a jolt that she felt protective of James. She did not wish anything to happen to him and she liked the thought of there being a James and me. What am I thinking? She chided herself.

  Throughout luncheon, Monty rarely took his eyes from James and Anne. Anne did all she could to ignore him, and laughed and joined in with the conversation as much as possible.

  * * *

  After lunch, Henry insisted on showing Anne a bird’s nest that he and Lady Catherine found on their walk. Horace and Ernest made themselves scarce and Monty caught up with James just as he made to follow his father.

  Monty grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. “What the devil do you think you’re playing at, walking alone with my girl?”

  “Unhand me this instant!”

  Monty lowered his voice to a dangerous growl. “I will thank you to stay away from Anne in the future.”

  James’ own anger grew. “I could say the same thing to you.”

  “What are you talking about, man?”

  “I am sure Lady Catherine would be very interested to know one of her guests had bribed his way into her daughter’s bedchamber.”

  Monty’s face grew red and he balled his hands into fists.

  “I would suggest,” James continued, “that you stay away from Miss de Bourgh in the future.”

  “And if I don’t?” Monty smiled cockily at James.

  “I will go directly to Lady Catherine and tell her what I know. I will not allow Miss de Bourgh to be placed in harm’s way.”

  “Harm’s way, you call it?” Monty leaned forward until he was nose to nose with James, who noticed his breath smelled of whisky. “Let me tell you that Anne didn’t put up much resistance.”

  James had heard enough. Before Monty realised it, James pushed him back hard. Monty lost his footing and fell back against a tree.

  James almost bellowed at him. “Now sober up and learn some manners before I do indeed go to Lady Catherine with all I know.” He turned to leave, but had one more thing to say. He spun back to face Monty, sprawled on the ground. “And if I were you, I would learn to treat Miss de Bourgh like the lady she is.”

  * * *

  Anne noticed James was out of sorts when he finally caught up with them. “James, look!” She pointed to the nest. She was aware that James feigned his interest. Something had either happened or was said in their absence. She was curious to know what, but they were not alone. Lady Catherine and Henry were debating which bird made the nest. Anne was surprised at her mother’s knowledge and found their friendly sparring amusing. She was glad to discover it was also distracting James.

  “I believe Lady Catherine is correct, Father.”

  “Ah, my own son diplomatically sides against me!” They all laughed at Henry and Anne was glad to see James smile at her. She smiled back at him and he offered her his arm, which she happily accepted.

  * * *

  Later, the small groups reconvened at the picnic area for more refreshments before heading back to Rosings Park. Lady Catherine watched Monty and Anne and noticed there seemed to be a renewed tension between them. She assumed they had a lovers’ quarrel, but was curious to know what passed between them. Her curiosity got the better of her and she looked for an opportunity to speak with Monty.

  As the picnic things were packed away into the carriages, Lady Catherine seized her chance. Telling Monty that she would like to show him a fine view towards Westerham, she led him away from the prying ears of the others. “Do not presume that I have not eyes to see, Montague.”

  Monty turned to face her, his eyebrows raised and his face questioning. “Forgive me, Your Ladyship, but I do not know of what you speak.”

  Lady Catherine smiled and tapped his arm. “Come, now, Montague. I can see very well that you and my dear Anne have had a tiff.”

  “Ah.” He paled.

  “Now, I may be Anne’s mother, but I am a very good listener and may be the best person hereabouts to advise you on matters of the heart.” She smiled as kindly as she could. She wanted the ins and outs of the matter and she wanted it now. Kindness, she knew, was more likely to prise the information out of him than if she demanded to know what had happened between them both.

  Monty kicked at the ground with the toe of his boot. “I fear that Anne is not as taken with me as I am with her.”

  “Nonsense.” Lady Catherine knew she’d said it too sharply, but that was how she felt. This was a straightforward matter and all Anne had to do was acquiesce to his advances, and nothing more. “Perhaps she is nervous around you.”

  “That thought occurred to me, Your Ladyship.” He looked into Lady Catherine’s eyes and she thought she saw a flicker of mischief therein. “However, I am growing suspicious, and dare I say it, jealous, of the friendship that Anne seems to have struck up with James Watkins.”

  “James? My parson? Why would you be jealous of him? What is he to Anne?”

  “Well, that is my sentiment exactly. However, they do seem to be frightfully close. What if she were to fall in love with him? He is a handsome chap.”

  “Handsomeness is irrelevant, my dear boy. He is not a contender for Anne’s hand. I can assure you of that.”

  “Is he not?” He pouted. “I heard that he is to inherit fifteen thousand pounds from his father and has a small-ish house in the country from his mother.”

  “Tish! What is that to your fortune and estate, Montague?” Lady Catherine waved her hand as though dismissing the idea. “You have nothing to worry yourself over on that account.”

  Monty smiled weakly at her. “I wish I could be as sure of that as you are.”

  Lady Catherine smiled back at him. He had walked into her trap and now she had him. “There is one way in which you can secure her, you know.”

  Monty raised his eyebrows at her again. “There is? Do tell, Your Ladyship.”

  Lady Catherine found it difficult to feign innocence when she felt so triumphant, but she gave it her best. “It is simple, my boy. You must ask Anne’s mother for permission to ask for her hand. If her mother agrees, Anne has little choice but to comply.”

  “You are right, as usual.” He smiled with relief.

  Now Lady Catherine allowed a smile of triumph to suffuse her face. She stared at Monty, willing him to ask the question she was aching for him to ask.

  Monty bit his lip and stared at the groun
d. Lady Catherine could not imagine what was keeping him from speaking to her, and she felt as though an eternity passed before he took a deep breath and looked her in the eye.

  “Lady Catherine de Bourgh, it would be an honour and give me great pleasure if you would give me your blessing and consent to allow me to ask for your daughter Anne’s hand in marriage.”

  There, he said it. Anne was as good as married, as far as Lady Catherine was concerned. She could hardly contain her joy and almost embraced the young man standing before her. She paused for a moment to calm herself, and then nodded. “I give you my complete and whole-hearted consent, Montague. I pray you both will be very happy indeed.”

  Monty grinned with elation, reached out, took Lady Catherine’s hand, and kissed it. “I will go and seek out Anne immediately, and if an opportunity does not present itself before we depart for Rosings, I will strive for an audience with her there…before dinner!” He smiled again, thanked Lady Catherine, and almost ran off in the direction of the others.

  Lady Catherine stood and watched Monty’s retreating form, and the smile slowly slipped from her face. That word had appeared again. She herself said it. She wished them both very happy indeed. Happy. Would he be happy? Will Anne be happy married to him? Lady Catherine frowned at her train of thought. What on earth am I thinking? She mentally chided herself and began to walk back to the others. She was growing more and more concerned with how her mind was working of late. She took a deep breath and concentrated on the immediate future. Anne was about to receive a proposal of marriage. This day is a day I had begun to doubt that I’d ever see.

  TWELVE

  _______________________________

  The moment Monty reappeared from his conversation with Lady Catherine, Anne saw that he was seeking her out. She quickly busied herself overseeing the final packing of the picnic things and manoeuvred herself as far away from him as possible each time he neared.

  Anne saw his frustration mounting and had to think quickly. She spied Henry hovering near the lead carriage. Anne assumed he wanted to offer his help and headed towards him.

  “Mr Watkins, hasn’t it been a fine day?” she asked cheerily in an attempt to hide her unease.

  “Oh, my dear Anne. Indeed, it has been a wonderful day.” He drew near and laid his hand on her arm. “You know, I do not think I have felt so at peace since my arrival back in England. I confess to having missed India greatly. Today was a real tonic.”

  “I am heartily pleased to hear it.”

  “I hope that you too have enjoyed yourself.”

  “Indeed, I have, Mr Watkins. I am looking forward to getting home, though, for I do believe I caught the sun a little on my nose and wish to soothe it.” She laughed.

  “Yes, I can see it is a little redder than usual. However, one cannot avoid the sun when one is outside in the summer, eh?” He chortled.

  “Very true. Shall we see if everything is packed and ready to go?”

  Together they moved off to inspect the carriages and Anne almost walked straight into Monty, who was coming towards her.

  “Oh, I do apologise, Anne.”

  “Steady on there, young Monty. Watch your step!” Henry exclaimed.

  Anne was too surprised to reply.

  “I hope I did not startle you too much.”

  She shook her head. She felt what was coming and feared it was unavoidable.

  “Actually, Anne, I wondered if I might have a little word with you in private.”

  Anne reddened deeply and mumbled her reply. “Well, actually, Monty, I am helping with putting all our picnic things into the carriages.”

  “I am sure that the servants have that covered.” He looked up at Henry. “And Mr Watkins here can be of more assistance than a lady, I am sure.”

  That last remark needled her and she could not think of an excuse to get out of speaking to him alone. That was the last thing she wanted. Henry, to her dismay, smiled at her and assured her that he could cope while she took a walk with Monty. With her options for escape dwindling, Anne sighed and reluctantly agreed to speak with Monty in private. She knew what this was about and wracked her mind, trying to think of a polite and proper way to say no.

  They walked for a while in silence and Anne repeatedly turned around to look behind them. She did not wish to wander too far from the group, or to be out of their sight.

  After a while, Monty began to speak. He stuttered and Anne resisted the urge to run away.

  “Look here, Anne. I…er…I spoke with your mother earlier today.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.” She was determined not to make it easy for him. She also did not wish to ask him what they talked about; she was afraid she already knew.

  “Indeed, it was. Most enlightening.” He rubbed at the back of his neck and stared at the ground. “In fact, you were the subject of our discourse.”

  Anne raised her eyebrows; a scathing remark was on the tip of her tongue. “Indeed?”

  “Yes.” He looked up into her eyes and reddened. This was obviously harder for him than he’d anticipated. “We talked about marriage.”

  “You talked about marriage with my mother?”

  “Hmm…yes.” He looked pleased with himself.

  “Well, I am surprised – I didn’t know you felt that way about her, but I wish you both very happy.” Anne fought hard to resist the urge to laugh.

  “No, no, you misunderstand me, Anne. I do not wish to marry your mother.”

  “Well, why speak of marriage to her then? I say, Monty, it is frightfully bad form to speak of marriage to a lady if you do not intend to be true to your word.” Now she was enjoying herself immensely, but knew it wouldn’t last.

  “Anne, please!” He raised his voice and Anne stared at him with undisguised frustration. “You’re not making this easy for me.”

  Anne clamped her mouth shut.

  “I… I…” Monty stepped forward and took hold of Anne’s hands. “Anne, it’s you that I wish to marry. What do you say? Will you marry me?”

  Is that it? The proposal that every girl dreams of, spurted out in such an unromantic fashion? She shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “Now don’t be rash, old girl.” He frowned. “At least think about it.” He stepped closer to her and Anne tensed. “You know how good we’d be together, Anne.”

  Memories of the night before flashed through Anne’s mind and her anger roused. She stepped back. “No, I cannot. I am sorry, Monty, but I simply cannot marry you.”

  “Don’t be so rash, Anne! Your mother consented, you know.”

  Anne’s face grew red with annoyance. How dare her mother consent on her behalf? Anne felt backed into a corner. She simply stood, staring at him and shaking her head.

  “Come on, old girl. You know it’ll be for the best. Think of all the advantages.”

  Anne stepped backwards. Where was James when she needed him? Where were her cousins? Why did she feel so alone?

  “Just promise me that you’ll think about it. We’ll talk again in the morning. Perhaps then your mother will have managed to persuade you to do the right thing.”

  Anne could see that Monty grew increasingly irritated with her non-compliance.

  “No.” She continued to shake her head, turned around, and fled.

  Monty called after her, “I could always let slip and embellish what happened last night – then you’d have no choice, Anne!”

  * * *

  Anne was grateful the carriages were ready to depart as soon as she returned. She fought hard to keep the tears from coming, and the sight of her mother’s jubilant face made her want to scream. Sadly, deep down, Anne knew she had no choice but to accept Monty’s proposal of marriage. The thought terrified her. A small voice in the back of her mind said, still, when the children come along, they will be some consolation. Oh, she screamed in her mind, what I will have to endure to beget those children! A shiver ran down her spine despite the heat of the day and she yearned to be at home in her room so she could cry in
peace.

  Anne ignored her mother and could not even look in her direction on the way home. She felt far too betrayed. She sat, slightly turned, and looked out of the carriage. She did not hear a single word uttered by her travelling companions. She knew they were enjoying themselves, as the occasional laugh permeated her cloud of misery, but she could not rouse herself to join in.

  She watched every landmark draw near and pass, counting down the time until she could run and hide in her room. Anne felt a childish desire to pack a bag and run away, but what would that solve? She had nowhere to go and her mother would have spies all over the country. She would be discovered no matter where she went, and forced to return and marry Monty.

  Much to Anne’s relief, when she felt she could not stand to be in the presence of her mother a moment longer, they rounded a corner and Rosings came into view. The carriage barely stopped at the front steps when Anne was out, unaided, and running up to the house. The butler was startled to see Anne come flying through the door as soon as he opened it, and she did not apologise but kept running until she got to her room and locked the door behind her.

  Anne ran to the bed, threw herself face down upon it, and sobbed her heart out.

  Close to an hour later, Anne raised herself up on her elbow and wiped her face with the back of her hand. Reluctantly, she climbed off the bed and rang the bell for water to wash her face. Once Jeanette arrived and was dispatched again to fetch hot water, Anne undressed slowly, feeling very dejected. Gradually, the realisation that she had no way out filtered down into the core of her being and she began to resign herself to an unhappy future. She would endeavour to pull herself together during dinner, and afterwards, she would seek Monty out and tell him she accepted his proposal of marriage.

  * * *

  Anne was glad Henry and James returned home that evening so they would not see firsthand her embarrassing herself with the announcement of her betrothal to Monty. She wanted to spare James. She had begun to care about him, and knew he’d be deeply disappointed in her. All throughout dinner, Anne hardly ate a thing for fighting the lump that kept rising in her throat.