Sir William remained in Hunsford for only a few days before returning to Hertfordshire, pleased at the match his daughter made.
As Easter approached, so did the anticipation of Lady Catherine’s nephews visiting. Elizabeth felt a bit anxious, as she now knew for certain the confrontation in her dream occurred at the parsonage, which she had recognised immediately on herarrival. She wondered how she would feel when she saw Mr. Darcy again.
A few days later, she received her answer.
Although he was notcertain that Elizabeth would, in fact, be in residence at the parsonage during his visit, he hoped she would be. As he and his cousin rode in the carriage toward Kent, he could think of little else than how he would act if he saw her again.
Bingley had still not called on Miss Bennet, but surely Elizabeth could not hold that against him. He had tried, but when Mr. Gardiner replied to Bingley’s letter, nearly a week after it was sent, Bingley was too busy with his sister to pay a call. Mr. Gardiner and Bingley had exchanged another round of letters, but when Darcy departed for Kent, they had still not settled on an agreeable time to visit. He could not understand his friend’s reasoning; had it been Elizabeth, Darcy would have done everything he could to see her.
That was the primary thought in his head as the carriage journeyed toward Rosings. He was a little concerned how he would court Elizabeth while at his aunt’s home, but then he remembered her propensity to walk. Maybe he could devise a plan to meet her along one of the paths surrounding Rosings.
Darcy was anxious to see her and speak to her. Over the last several months, he had dreamt of her often. Lately, the dream had shifted from their argument to a less tense meeting. It was not the declaration of love he would wish for, but now inhis dreams she was greeting him with at least a modicum of pleasure. Once more, he pondered the purpose of his dreams—were they a prediction of the future, or a warning of what might be?
Chapter Six
Lady Catherine was as difficult as she always was. Immediately upon their arrival, she began complaining about their tardiness.
“Aunt, we are an hour earlier than anticipated. The roads were in good shape due to the lack of rain, and we suffered no delays as a result,” Fitzwilliam retorted.
Darcy did not reply to the comment, but merely offered a short greeting to his aunt and cousin.
“Anne is looking well, is she not?” she asked Darcy leadingly.
Again, Fitzwilliam was the one to reply. “She is. How are you, Anne?”
As usual, Anne replied in a whisper. She looked tired, but she always appeared tired. Darcy briefly wondered what was wrong with her. He had never heard what made her so. He heard Elizabeth’s words from his dream ringing through his head and wondered if he had treated Anne with the same selfish disdain that she accused him of.
He had spoken with Anne once or twice of Lady Catherine’s proclamations. At least once on each visit, Richard managed to occupy their aunt long enough to allow him and Anne a private conversation. He knew a marriage between them was not the wish of either of his parents, and Anne had little desire to marry him or anyone. Last year, she had told him she wished he would find a bride soon so her mother would stop attempting to force the marriage.
He hoped to tell her soon that he had found someone, and he likewise hoped that he could convince the lady to agree.
The sharp voice of Lady Catherine forced Darcy to pay attention. “I understand, Darcy, that you have met my rector and his new wife.”
Darcy nodded, but did not say anything else.
“He married a pretty enough young lady, and her sister and friend have come to pay her a visit. Mrs. Collins is a good sort of girl, perfectly amenable to my direction, and her sister is quiet, but her friend is entirely too impertinent,” his aunt said in her imperious tone.
Darcy struggled to contain a grin. Yes, he had little doubt that his Elizabeth had been quite impertinent to his aunt. She was not the type of woman to demurely listen to his aunt’s ridiculous edicts. He wondered if she had already begun to hear all the things his aunt would have been proficient in “had she ever learned.” Again, the grin threatened to break through.
Judging from the confused look on the faces of both his cousins, he was not as adept at hiding it as he hoped. Since meeting Elizabeth, Darcy found himself doing all manner of things henever thought he would. Nearly laughing at his aunt was likely the worst, though.
Thankfully, his aunt did not notice as she continued to complain about Miss Bennet’s failure to pay proper deference. When he could take no more, he requested that he and Richard be allowed to go to their rooms for a brief time to refresh themselves from their journey. She grudgingly agreed to the request, though her voice followed them from the room.
“You were nearly grinning back there, cousin. What is going on?” Fitzwilliam whispered as the two made their way to their rooms.
“My Elizabeth is here, I am certain of it,” Darcy replied, his face breaking out in the smile he could no longer restrain.
Fitzwilliam spluttered for a moment. “How can you know that?”
“Mr. Collins is her cousin. He married a friend of hers, and she is the impertinent miss who is visiting the parsonage.”
His cousin looked at him in shock. “When might we pay a call?”
“As much as I would wish to do so today, I know our aunt would never condone it. We will have to wait until tomorrow. Since I have already made Mr. Collins’s acquaintance and met his wife and company in Hertfordshire, it will be proper for me to pay a call tomorrow.”
Fitzwilliam raised a brow at him in question. “I am shocked to seeyouso eager to pay a call on a young lady.”
He wished to judge for himself what Elizabeth thought about him. He needed time with her, time where they could freely discuss matters that stood between them. First, he would need to make an apology for his initial insult of her, his rudebehaviour while in Meryton—truly, he needed to apologise for his entire acquaintance of her to this point.
