Page 240 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

“Annie, what is wrong?”

“I overheard two gentlemen talking about me. They were discussing Rosings and my thirty thousand pounds.” Anne looked at him. “I thought they liked me, Richard. I thought perhaps they found me pretty, or amusing, or simply pleasant to be with.”

Richard took her hand.

“You are a beautiful woman, Annie, and you are good company. You cannot help it if you are also an heiress. Never mind them. They are not worth your notice.”

Anne looked down at their joined hands. “I wanted people to like me for myself.”

“It is rarely that simple, Annie.”

Richard drew her hand through his arm and stayed beside her.

Lady Helen joined them a few minutes later, followed by the Darcys.

Elizabeth took one look at Anne and asked, “Has something happened?”

Anne told her what she had overheard.

“I suppose I was foolish,” she finished. “I knew my fortune would make some difference, but I did not expect to hear gentlemen discussing it as though Rosings and thirty thousand pounds were the whole of me.”

“You were not foolish, only unprepared for the realities of the marriage mart.”

“I was so enjoying myself. That is what makes it so disappointing.” Anne glanced toward the dancers. “For a little while I thought I had suddenly become very interesting.”

Richard pressed her hand.

“How can one ever know whether a gentleman truly cares for her when he has so much reason to care for her fortune?”

“I imagine time reveals a great deal,” Elizabeth said. “A man may be interested in your fortune before he knows you. What matters is what interests him after.”

Anne considered this. “That is sensible, although not particularly convenient.”

“No. Courtship seldom arranges itself for our convenience.”

Anne glanced around the ballroom and noticed two ladies watching Elizabeth. Both were frowning, and one leaned toward the other to whisper behind her fan.

“Do women do the same thing?” Anne asked.

“Certainly. Do you see the lady in green near the musicians? She has disliked me since Fitzwilliam brought me into the room. The woman beside her has disliked me since dinner.”

Anne looked at her. “What have you done to them?”

“Married Fitzwilliam.”

Darcy placed his hand over Elizabeth’s.

“I trust I have been worth the trouble, darling.”

Elizabeth was caught by her husband’s expression and the rakish grin that accompanied it. “Yes, sir, you are worth every bit of gossip and every disapproving look I have endured this evening.”

The musicians began preparing for the waltz, and Richard offered Anne his hand. “I believe this one belongs to me.”

As they moved onto the dance floor, Darcy and Elizabeth followed close behind.

Richard’s hand settled at Anne’s waist as she rested hers on his shoulder.

Richard guided her into the first turn.