The Darcys of Pemberley by Shannon Winslow Read Free Book Online Page B

right to expect that you will
acquiesce to her designs than that I should have. How did you
answer her?”
    “I was so surprised that I could hardly
think! I told her she must be in error, for it was the first I had
ever heard of such a plan. Her ladyship, of course, reminded me
that that she is never mistaken. She said I should have
understood which way the wind was blowing from her recent marked
attentions to me. At all events, she referred me to my father for
any further explanation. I left the place at first light without
even waiting to say goodbye to Anne, and here you see me, two days
later, still unable to compose myself.”
    “But what of Anne? Does she desire this match
herself, do you think?” asked Elizabeth.
    “I have not the least idea,” replied the
colonel. “She was cordial to me, certainly, but I noticed no signs
of extraordinary regard. It is possible that she is as much in the
dark about this plan as I myself was until so recently. Still, I
can hardly imagine that she has the courage to defy her mother … in
this or in any other matter.”
    “So you will be alone in opposing the idea,”
Darcy surmised.
    “Yes, I suppose so,” the colonel said
thoughtfully, stopping in place. “Such a match would never have
occurred to me. Although, now that I have had time to think about
it, I can see that from a certain point of view it makes perfect
sense. Lady Catherine wants noble blood for her daughter. If she
cannot get one nephew, then the other is almost as good. Anne has a
large fortune and does not need money from me. My lack of fortune,
in fact, becomes my inducement to accept the arrangement. What
could be more logical?” he concluded with a bewildered look.
    “Surely, you are joking, Fitzwilliam,”
said Darcy, facing him squarely. “You cannot seriously be
considering going along with this farce.”
    “I honestly do not know. I believe that is
why I am in such turmoil. Once the shock wore off, I began to think
it at least possible that I should accept the bargain. It would
obviously solve my money problems as well as satisfying my family’s
demands. With every passing year, the pressure from my father
increases. ‘You must get yourself a wife,’ he says, ‘the right kind of wife,’ by which of course he means ‘moneyed.’
If I must marry, I could do much worse. Anne is a sweet girl and
vastly improved of late. In any case, it would be an enormous
relief to have things settled; I could at least take comfort in
that.”
    “But to marry without love, Fitzwilliam?”
questioned Elizabeth.
    “I must face facts, my dear. Although I have
known many charming and attractive women, I have never come
remotely close to being in love. Perhaps I am not designed for
grand passion. I do have a certain fondness for Anne, which in time
might develop into something more. Many highly successful marriages
begin on similar terms, so I suppose we might be just as content. I
daresay we cannot all expect to be blessed with the uncommon
felicity that you and Darcy have found together.”
    The three puzzled over the colonel’s dilemma
late into the night, canvassing every inch of ground backwards and
forwards and ending where they started, with no satisfactory
solution to the problem.
    “At least remain and take your ease at
Pemberley for a few days, until you are rested from your journey,”
said Elizabeth at the conclusion of the conference. “Allow us to do
that much for you.”
    “Yes, we will not hear of you leaving until
your mind is more at peace,” agreed Darcy.
    “I thank you, but I am determined to press
ahead tomorrow. Pemberley can afford me neither peace nor rest at
the moment. I will not be easy until I confer with my father about
the question at hand.”
    Fitzwilliam would not be dissuaded. However,
before the three parted for the night, Darcy secured his pledge
that he would neither decide in haste nor consent to the marriage
under duress. Yet the colonel’s sagging shoulders and hanging