“Such a plan is obviously not ideal for the sacrificial lambs,” Elizabeth said, “but that sort of thing is often done in high circles. Even in my own, I must sheepishly admit my mother tried relentlessly to push me into an unwanted marriage. Can you tell mewhyyou consider it ridiculous?”
“Come now, Miss Bennet. You are a master of logic and mathematics.Think!”
Elizabeth laughed, and Anne’s countenance eased.
“Aha!Unless Mr Darcy was a particularly sickly child, I doubt he was in his cradle at 3.”
“Discussing our supposed union in our cradles was temporally impossible. And even if not, you would think Aunt Anne would have mentioned it to Fitzwilliam if there truly was an agreement. That does not seem the sort of arrangement a mother would neglect.”
“That makes sense.”
“We discussed the possibility of following through with the mad plan and mutually decided we would not suit. He noticed Mama became more strident if he vehemently denied it, so I eventually asked him to mostly ignore us, as long as it did not affect him. He reluctantly agreed. When his father died, he took up the care of his estate and his sister. He barely kept his head above water for years and we fell into the habit.”
Elizabeth sighed and took hold of her friend’s arm. “It seems you chose the least objectionable solution you could devise,though the whole idea fills me with sadness. It is not as if you have a surfeit of family and friends at Rosings.”
Realising her tongue had once again run ahead of her good sense and manners, Elizabeth amended, “I apologise. That was unkind.”
“No apology necessary. In fact, it is a good opportunity. May I ask something of you that may bedifficultto deliver? I shall ask nonetheless—on the advice of my cousin Darcy, by the way.”
“You may ask, and I will render an opinion about my willingness.”
Her friend wore a look of intense concentration, and perhaps a touch of fear. “I ask that you, if at all possible, even if it is difficult, praydo not lie to me, or even shade the truth. Whether your last remark was unkind or not, it wastrue. I shall beg another favour of you soon, but it will require more than the usual level of honesty between people who have known each other only weeks. It is much to ask, but between us, I would like to suspend propriety and politeness.”
Elizabeth looked carefully at her friend, trying to judge if the offer was sincere, and estimating the size and weight of the spring on the mantrap she suspected she was sticking her leg into. At least her mind was concentrated on the here and now, which was more of an accomplishment than it might be for some.
“Very well, I shall agree when we are in private. I will be polite and noncommittal with your family.”
Anne let out a big sigh. “Thank you. I deeply appreciate it. Nobody speaks honestly to me.”
“Is that their fault?”
“Not really. They do not offer, I do not ask, and my environment does not encourage it.”
“I lost track of where we were in our line of questioning.”
“You were going to tell me what you did to my cousins.”
“You ask a lot, Anne.”
“Too much?”
Elizabeth thought about it for some time. Anne drove the phaeton with a groom in the back who was deaf as a post, so there were no privacy concerns. The pony was the most docile creature Elizabeth had ever laid eyes on. Without encouragement, he walked at a pace Elizabeth could easily outstrip on foot, so she had time to think.
“Not too much,” Elizabeth finally replied, “but to truly answer your question, I must extend you a level of trust currently reserved for very few. I will think on it for a moment.”
Anne seemed perfectly willing to wait all day, and rather than thinking about whether to trust her, Elizabeth became diverted by the source of such patience. The answer was obvious after a little directed reflection. Rosings was not aspiritedenvironment; patience must be not only a virtue, but a survival skill.
“If it helps, I will withdraw the question,” Anne said timidly, “but before I do, I should mention that I plan to trust you with something I trust tonobody. Not a single person has seen what I wish to show you.”
Eventually, curiosity got the better of her, so Elizabeth placed her foot gingerly on the trigger of the mantrap.
“Very well, I will answer,” she said, clutching at her middle in an old nervous habit hard to dislodge. “Both cousins advance the theory that I am amirror.This means I say and do things that force people to look at themselves in ways they are not accustomed to. In the colonel’s case, he relayed some rathernasty gossip to me, and I subtly made it known that I did not appreciate it.”
Anne laughed gaily and even slapped her knee. “That is hardly shocking. I always suspected his glib tongue would get him into trouble sooner or later.”
“He is notin troubleper se. I did not especially think much of him, good or bad before, and I still do not. I believe whatever disquiet he feels is over his own self-image, which I suspect is not so bright and shiny as he prefers.”
Anne chuckled. “I am happy that someone finally took him down a peg or two. It was long overdue.”
