Page 61 of Compromise & Consequence
“I am not proficient enough with this song for company, but I would gladly play something else when we repair to the drawing room.”
“On that note, shall we end the meal and let the gentlemen enjoy their port?”
***
As soon as the gentlemen were alone, Uncle Robert informed his butler that no express letter, note, or scrap of paper was to leave his house if it had been touched by his sister. Carlisle murmured his approval and bowed out of the room.
Richard poured each man a generous portion of port and handed them around, leaving Darcy to the last.
“What part of wooing your wife did you not understand?”
Darcy brought the glass to his lips but did not take a drink.
“You always did cut to the chase.”
“Given the stunned look on your wife’s face, I think it is safe to assume you have never told her that you loved her.”
“No.” He raised his gaze to see his cousin grinning at him andalmost groaned with mortification. “I knew I admired her but was unaware that it had morphed into love until I stood up to Aunt Catherine.”
Now Richard laughed outright, joined by Uncle Robert.
“You are lost, my boy. This reminds me of your father when he first met Anne. Oh, how the sparks flew between them. She was determined not to marry him, which made Cathy ecstatic. She always had her eye on the prize of Pemberley, but George was determined. If he did not marry Anne, then he would marry no one. Drove Cathy wild and infuriated Anne.”
“Mother did not want to marry father?”
“You, Fitzwilliam, are the image of George Darcy not only in looks but also in character. Your father, in his quest to win Anne’s hand, elucidated the numerous reasons why she was anexcellentchoice of wife. Good breeding, good blood, good dowry, I am sure you can picture in your mind the image of your father waxing eloquent on the benefits of marriage to my youngest sister.”
“Those are all good reasons to pursue a woman.”
“Are you daft, man?” Richard spluttered and looked toward the earl. “I do not know why you even try, Father. He does not understand.”
“Darcy,” Uncle Robert continued, “Not once did your father speak of his love for Anne. In her anger, she told him to attend Tattersall and purchase the best mare he could find, one of good breeding and good blood. As a wedding gift to him and his unnamed horse, she sent him five thousand pounds. She told him…” Uncle began to laugh so hard he had to wipe tears from his eyes. “She told him she hoped he and the horse would be happy.”
That would explain the cryptic remark made by his fatherwhenever his parents had one of their rare disagreements. ‘I am off to ride my well-dowered horse.’ Knowing their history, the comment became more poignant.
“She said yes to his proposal, bungled or not. I am a proof of her change of heart.”
“Her heart never changed. She loved your father deeply, but he placed more importance on tangible things rather than intangible ones. He loved her as the daughter of an earl, but he did not value her as a person. He had to learn that family was more than where you laid your head at night, it was who lay beside you that counted. He spent six lonely months in Derbyshire before he mounted the horse he’d bought from Tattersalls in a fit of anger and made his way to Matlock.”
“Was it a well-bred horse?”
All the men began to laugh at Richard’s quip.
“We have to stop,” Uncle cried holding his sides. “I can scarcely breathe.”
“I was only five at the time,” Ashton said, “but I remember Uncle George coming to Matlock with a magnificent horse. The only reason it stuck with me, was that Aunt Anne stood at the window as he rode up, and I remember her cursing. She never cursed.”
“What did she say?”
“She said,I cannot believe he bought the damned horse.”
Uncle Robert guffawed once more and slapped his thigh.
“It was more than a magnificent horse; it was one of the finest stallions ever bred by Tattersalls. As he dismounted, Anne stood on the stairs in front of the house. With the reins in his hand, your father swept a low courtier’s bow and said, ‘Woman, I have bought a horse as you suggested.’”
“I am sure she was pleased. Mother was an excellenthorsewoman.”
“Oh no, Darcy. You do not know the whole story. She said he must have hit his head as he bought a stallion. He replied he had made no mistake and bought the horse for breeding purposes. He then asked if she had a suitable mare.”
