Free The Ladies of Longbourn by Rebecca Ann Collins

respected one another more sincerely than most sisters and brothers did and their children followed suit.
    Whenever the two families spent time together, they always parted reluctantly, and yet, each seemed to leave with the other some portion of their shared delight to temper the sadness of separation.
    On this occasion, the sadness was further assuaged by the arrival, a few days later, of Teresa and Cathy returning from Ashford Park, accompanied by their governess and their brother Charles, who was to spend a week or two at Netherfield, before proceeding to London to take up an appointment as an assistant in a medical practice. To both Anna and Jonathan, Charles's return was doubly pleasing, since they had not seen him since Christmas. His relationship with his father by now completely restored, he was warmly welcomed. Having had the benefit of being spoilt by their brother for the space of two days, as they journeyed from Leicestershire via Cambridge, where he had proudly shown them around his college, his two younger sisters were prepared to part with him to their parents, while the household staff, with whom he was universally popular, planned to celebrate his return with an appropriately festive dinner.
    For Anne-Marie, however, her brother's arrival was not an undiluted pleasure. Though he greeted her with affection and remarked upon her improved appearance, she was aware that there were between them unresolved matters. She had confessed to Emma that Charles, on hearing of her engagement to Bradshaw, had arrived at Harwood Park and strongly discouraged her from marrying him, declaring at one point, "The man's a cold fish, Anne-Marie; he speaks only of church matters, and he will never make you happy."
    But Anne-Marie, resentful of her brother's interference, had turned stubborn and protested that she loved Mr Bradshaw and was determined to marry him. Charles had said no more, but it had been clear that he was unhappy, and when Bradshaw had died suddenly, he had appeared shocked, but had seemed unable to sound genuinely sorry.
    Now, Anne-Marie realised that Charles knew little of the harrowing detail of her marriage and would have to be told the truth, by her. She could not let him continue to believe, that she was a grieving widow, mourning the loss of a beloved husband, while both her father and Anna knew otherwise. How this was to be accomplished, she knew not, but that it had to be done, she knew for certain.
    Anna learned of her determination almost by chance through Charles, who sought her out one warm afternoon, when Jonathan had taken all three of his daughters to visit their grandmother, Mrs Collins, at Longbourn. Charles had spent several hours with his sister on the previous day, when she had asked if he would drive her to St Alban's. She had claimed that she wished to see again some feature of the cathedral they had visited on a previous occasion and discuss with her brother the campaign she was planning for the children's hospital. On their return, Anne-Marie had been tired and spent the rest of the evening in her room, while Charles had disappeared into the library.
    On the following day, Charles resisted his younger sisters' invitation to accompany them on their morning walk and, when the girls left with their father for Longbourn, went upstairs to find Anna.
    She saw at once that he was troubled, and it did not take her long to discover the reason for his disquiet.
Writing some time later to Emma Wilson, Anna recounted the manner in which Charles Bingley had revealed to her his full knowledge of the dismal circumstances of his sister's marriage to Mr Bradshaw.
My dearest Emma , she wrote,
    You are still the only person with whom I am able to discuss these matters frankly and openly, especially since I am reluctant to curtail by this means the happiness my dear husband has enjoyed since Anne-Marie's return to Netherfield. When Charles arrived a few days ago, I sensed a certain reserve between him and his