The Phantom of Pemberley (22 page)

Mr. Worth rose to acknowledge Anne’s speedy exit. He had watched the interaction between mother and daughter closely. Anne de Bourgh evidently sought release from the control her mother exerted over her, much to Her Ladyship’s displeasure. He wondered how he might fit into the equation. He had developed a fondness for Miss de Bourgh, but he did not wish to be an instrument for the lady’s rebellion. As he considered the possibility, he quickly ascertained the disparity in their social status—something he had not considered over the past few days. Being thrown together, society took a back seat to the storm. Now, he saw the futility
of such a suit. As the younger son of a minor lord, he had nothing to offer her in rank. He would meet Miss Anne as he requested, but he would make it clear to the lady that he did not have—could not have—designs on her.

 

“And where is Mrs. Darcy?” Lady Catherine asked sarcastically. “Does she keep city hours in the country?”

“No, Your Ladyship, I do not.” Elizabeth swept into the room, pausing only long enough to squeeze Darcy’s outstretched hand before taking in the morning table’s offering. “I have been in the east wing seeing to the renovations of the last three guest rooms we will be remodeling this winter.” After filling her plate with ham and buttered toast, Elizabeth returned to the table, taking the seat on Darcy’s left.

“Mr. Baldwin, Mrs. Darcy needs her favorite chocolate.” Darcy winked at Elizabeth.

“Yes, Mr. Darcy.” The butler motioned to one of the footmen to fill Elizabeth’s cup.

Tsk.
“Mrs. Darcy should be more observant of her appearance; she should look to her waistline,” Lady Catherine observed.

“Actually,Aunt, I find my wife’s curves most befitting her position as the mistress of Pemberley. No true citizen of Derby would take orders from a waif of a girl.” He gave Elizabeth an enigmatic smile.

“Thank you, my Husband.” Elizabeth bit back the laughter bubbling up. They shared a secret regarding their future, and it was lusciously satisfying to know Darcy’s devotion to her.

“Well, I still believe a woman who has been
raised
to Mrs. Darcy’s’s standing should be more cognizant of the image she creates.” Lady Catherine attacked the eggs and ham on her plate.

Elizabeth feigned humility. “I will take your advice to heart, Lady Catherine.” She quickly turned her attention to Mr. Worth. “Do you plan to see the conservatory today, sir?”

“I shall, Mrs. Darcy, with your permission, of course.” Worth placed his cutlery beside his plate in preparation for his departure.

Elizabeth smiled at how she had maneuvered Worth and Anne together. “I am most eager for your opinion of my horticultural adventures.”

The man chuckled. “Your
manipulations
, Mrs. Darcy, will be carefully noted.” He left before he betrayed to the others what he suspected of his hostess.

When the man departed, Lady Catherine observed, “I am not sure that I approve of Mr.Worth’s attentions to Anne.”

“Why not?” Georgiana spoke before she thought. Elizabeth had asked Darcy’s sister’s help in convincing Anne of Mr. Worth’s sincerity, and the girl thought the whole situation quite romantic.

Lady Catherine glared at Georgiana as if the girl had sprouted horns. “The man is obviously not of the proper social class.”

Darcy placed his cup down hard enough to draw his aunt’s attention. “Your Ladyship,” he spoke in hushed tones, “I have dealt with Mr. Worth previously, and I judge him to be an honorable man. He holds a respected position, and although as a younger son, he has no title, the man would offer the woman he chose something more important—his esteem. If Anne were the object of his affections, I would have no fear that he would run through her fortune. In this age, could a woman ask for more?”

 

“Mr. Worth?” Anne came up behind him. He stood admiring a set of armor proudly displayed in the access hall.

He turned to smile at her, and Anne felt a certain calm steal over her. She had wondered what he thought of her after her verbal exchange with her mother earlier. “Ah, there you are, at last.” He reached for her hand, placing it on his arm. “I feared you might have changed your mind.”

“Would that have been a disappointment, sir? You might still enjoy the Darcys’ conservatory.” She allowed him to lead her along the passageway.

“I cannot imagine the beauty of the place being nearly as inviting without your presence, Miss de Bourgh.” He leaned close,
speaking softly only to her ears. Less than an hour earlier, he had vowed to make it known to the lady that he would seek his suit elsewhere, but as soon as he had heard her voice behind him, Worth’s reason left him.

Anne blushed thoroughly. “I suppose I should have asked one of the maids to accompany us,” she noted while looking back over her shoulder, almost expecting one to materialize.

“You have nothing to fear from me, Miss de Bourgh,” he assured her.“We have already spent several hours alone together, in a perfectly proper way.”

Anne shook her head. “No, Mr. Worth, I can charge you with nothing.You were the perfect gentleman.”

He held the door for her. “Then join me, Miss de Bourgh. We will continue to let nature take its course.”

Anne took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “To nature,” she said softly.

 

For thirty minutes, they strolled among the plant rows, admiring the predictable, as well as the more unusual offerings. Worth watched as Anne’s delicate fingers caressed an orchid’s leaves.“Your touch is so tender,” he remarked. “It is like the kiss of a butterfly.”

Anne paused, hand extended. “I have never been allowed such freedoms,” she whispered.

“The freedom to know a flower?” He seemed confused.“Surely you deceive me, Miss de Bourgh.”

“I wish I did, Mr.Worth.”Anne turned to face him.“My mother convinced me and everyone else that I was of a delicate nature. She would consider this time we spend together as an endangerment to my health—the warm moisture in the air—the exotic plants. Other than to occasionally smell the fragrance of the flowers cut and displayed in vases about Rosings Park, I have never truly experienced the beauty of nature.”

“Surely you have elaborate gardens at your home, Miss de Bourgh.”

She turned away slightly, ashamed of her assertions.“For years, I have been forbidden to take a brisk walk, spend time in the garden, practice music—to experience life. Is that not strange, Mr. Worth? I am nearly eight and twenty and know less of life than my seventeen-year-old cousin. Until recently, I have never even been anywhere without my mother’s presence or without her permission.”

Nigel Worth’s heart went out to the woman. He directed her to a nearby bench, where they sat in silence for a few moments. “Might I ask, Miss de Bourgh, what prompted you to defy Her Ladyship?”

Anne sat with her eyes down, studying her hands as they rested in her lap. “In truth, the thing that changed everything was Mr. Darcy’s marriage.You see, from my earliest memories, I have been told that I was to marry my cousin. My mother claimed that it was his mother’s hope, as well as hers. And although I have never felt anything beyond admiration for Mr. Darcy, I accepted my mother’s assertions about my future. Her Ladyship protected and cajoled and demanded and loved in her own way, and I am a product of all her ministrations and admonitions. And it never occurred to my mother that Mr. Darcy showed no desire to marry me—barely even spoke to me when he called at Rosings. I experienced no Season—had no taste of Society—possessed not even a friend until Mildred Jenkinson came to stay with me. I have had no flirtation—no broken heart—no great love.”

Anne brought her eyes to meet his steady gaze. “Then Fitzwilliam fell in love with Elizabeth Bennet. If you could have seen how he pined for her when she visited her friend Charlotte Collins at Hunsford! Mildred and I spoke of it often over the weeks that Miss Bennet stayed there in the Collinses’ household. Fitzwilliam was besotted with the woman, and I knew then that, no matter what my mother did, my cousin would never propose marriage to me. I was an old maid before I had ever experienced my first relationship. Miraculously, Mr. Darcy married his love, and my mother bewailed the
merits
of having a daughter with no redeeming qualities.” Mr.
Worth started to correct her, but Anne’s glance stopped him cold. “Do not protest my words, Mr. Worth. I know what I possess: I am an heiress of considerable wealth. So I decided that I might use that to my advantage.

“Another cousin, Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam, called recently at Rosings, and with him came an associate, Lieutenant Robert Harwood.The lieutenant gave me the type of attention for which I was starving—the kind I had never known.To make a long story short, he asked me to go with him to Liverpool when his orders changed. Of course, I refused. How could I chance a flirtation of the heart? I had no reason, I thought, to trust the gentleman’s sincerity. Yet, within days of the lieutenant’s departure, I realized that he could be my only chance to marry; so despite Mildred’s adamant warnings, I covertly devised a plan to follow the lieutenant.”

Anne straightened her spine. “It is not something of which I am proud, but my mother found me in a Liverpool inn with the gentleman. She took me out of the establishment before the lieutenant returned. I am a ruined woman, Mr. Worth—not ruined in the strictest sense of the word, but ruined just the same. Because I enjoy your company, I had to tell you the truth. It would be unfair of me to do otherwise.”

Immediately, Nigel Worth caught her hand, bringing her fingers to his lips.“My dear Miss de Bourgh, if you think anything you just said affects my growing fondness for you, you are mistaken. I would deem it an honor to be allowed to show you the world’s simple pleasures. As far as your so-called ruination, I count it as only one of life’s lessons. Our time together may also prove to be another of those lessons, but I would prefer to see where this initial interest leads. I am successful in my profession, and although I could not offer you the kind of luxury you have in Kent, I could provide a modest home in Cheshire. You could be the mistress of your own house if that is what you choose. I am to run for the House of Commons in the next election. I have my supporters and my detractors, of course, but I hold a reputation as an honest man, and
most people deal with me as such.Would you consider such a life, Miss de Bourgh? Could you see yourself as the wife of a country gentleman—a solicitor by trade?” Anxiety filled his voice.

Anne instinctively caressed his cheek. “How has a man of your integrity escaped marriage for so long?”

He squeezed her hand and returned it to his arm. “Unlike you, I knew love as a young man. However, the object of my affection, despite the understanding between our fathers, chose another. I could not force the lady to share herself with me if she affected another, and so I withdrew my suit. She married the other fellow and has four children about her all the time.”

A twinge of jealousy rocked Anne’s being. “Then you see her regularly?”

“The occasional country assembly or that sort of thing,” he admitted.

Anne’s cheeks flushed. “You must have loved the lady violently if you have never married.”

“I cannot say that I loved Marion. I think I loved the idea of her, but she needed to know happiness so I released her to Jacob Crumb.To settle my life, I concentrated on my profession, and time went by. In the past few years, however, I have been more open to the possibility of finding a life partner.”

“Tell me of your home, your family, and your friends. I wish to know everything about you.” Anne spontaneously rested her head on Worth’s shoulder. He slid his arm about her and pulled her closer to him. They sat in the conservatory’s center, where no one could see them. He relaxed into the recitation, telling her amusing anecdotes about his cousin’s fetish for Gothic novels, his mother’s favorite bread pudding, and his best friend’s recent courtship of the local baronet’s daughter. For nearly two hours, they laughed and commiserated and shared and became intimate friends. They compared their tastes in food and in music and in art. Many things they held in common; others, they did not, but their differences were minuscule in the scope of what they accomplished that day.

“I suppose we must return to the main house,” he said as he eased Anne away from him.

She bit her lower lip.“We have been here so long; it is probably for the best if we return separately. I would not wish to meet my mother unexpectedly.”

“I imagine Her Ladyship would not approve of our keeping company, even if we were chaperoned.”

“My mother disapproves of so many things,” Anne observed matter-of-factly.

Worth stood to make his leave. “Lady Catherine will see our relationship as one of disparity. My family is landed gentry, but nothing of your quality. My older brother inherited with my father’s passing, and I attended the university with the purpose of studying law and building my life around that profession.Yet, you must realize Miss de Bourgh, that when I look at you, I see an interesting woman. I see Anne de Bourgh, an adventurous spirit, not Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s only child and heir.” He extended his hand to her.

Anne gladly accepted his outstretched hand. “I never thought otherwise, Mr.Worth.”

 

He moved through the darkened passageways, the single candle offering little light. He had traversed these tunnels dozens of times the past few days.Today, he searched for weapons. His friend Gregor MacIves had managed to remove the silver sword displayed with the suit of armor.A bit heavy for normal usage, it could still be used to exact justice. James wished that he had more guns than the two he had brought with him. The chances of locating others in the house appeared slight. He knew from past experience that Darcy kept several under lock and key in his study, but gaining access to that particular room had become difficult since the first death.

Like James, MacIves had foolishly allowed several of Darcy’s staff members to see him and even speak to him in the early hours of the operation. At the time, both he and Gregor had thought it quite amusing to move among Darcy’s trained staff without being
apprehended. Now, James wished they had kept more to themselves. Because of their carelessness, he could no longer move freely through Pemberley’s hallways, making it more difficult to find food and additional candles. Plus, the darkened tunnels were cold and uninviting, and he sorely wanted to be free of them for a few hours.