Free The Ladies of Longbourn by Rebecca Ann Collins Page A

sister, which I found to be extraordinary, since they are usually very fond of one another. I do not mean to suggest that there was any anger or hostility, but it was clear to me they were not at ease with each other.
    A day or two later, at Anne-Marie's request, he drove her to St Alban's, where they spent most of the day and, on their return, both appeared out of sorts. At dinner, Anne-Marie ate very little, said even less, and then excused herself and retired to bed, while Charles was almost morose. I was afraid they may have quarrelled, but was reluctant to pry. On the day following, Jonathan took all three girls over to Longbourn to visit their grandmother, and I had decided to do some work on some of the sketches I'd made on our last visit to Pemberley, when Charles appeared. Emma, from the very first moment I saw him, I knew he was seriously upset. There was none of his familiar lighthearted banter; he showed no interest in my work, which is unusual in itself, for he is always polite about such things. His face was pale and he seemed agitated, which caused me to ask if he was unwell. My simple question seemed to be sufficient provocation to open the floodgates of his injured feelings. It all poured out. He demanded to know how much Jonathan and I had known of Anne-Marie's marriage troubles, when we had become aware of her predicament, and why he had not been told the truth. When I explained, as calmly as I could, that we had had no inkling of the real situation, save for some vague uneasiness I had felt on my very first meeting with Mr Bradshaw, he revealed that he had known nothing until the previous day and now, he knew it all!
    He had heard it from Anne-Marie herself, on their visit to St Alban's, which she had, quite clearly, arranged for the purpose of speaking privately to him. You will recall that we discussed the matter of his appeal to her, on hearing of their engagement, not to marry Mr Bradshaw, pointing out several reasons why he considered him unsuitable.
    At the time, Anne-Marie had claimed she loved him and ignored her brother's entreaties. It appears however, that she now feels deep remorse at having deceived her brother and does not wish him to believe she is grieving at the death of a beloved husband.
    Emma, she has told him everything, all she had hidden from us and from him for many months.
To say Charles was shocked is an understatement. Having suppressed his anger for her sake, he was near to exploding with outrage at the actions of the Harwoods in promoting the match. He claims he once had a high opinion of them, believing them to be dear friends of his sister, whose concern for her when she had been ill was commendable. However, he regards their recent behaviour as a complete betrayal of trust; indeed his indignation is so great he was threatening to travel to Harwood Park and confront them. He was dissuaded only when I pointed out that such an action would only further add to his sister's unhappiness and seriously displease his father.
To quote his words, "Had I known at the time or even suspected the truth, I swear to you I would have stood up in church and objected to the marriage. I ask you, Anna, how could she promise to love, honour, and obey him, when she knew and he knew she did not and could not love him? It's outrageous!"
Emma, he was so agitated, there were tears in his eyes as he spoke, and I had to urge him to calm himself. So consumed is he with resentment, he could not understand why she felt any guilt, believing she was persuaded into the marriage by the Harwoods, seeking preferment for their friend, Mr B, through Anne-Marie's family connections. He declared quite confidently that they must have known through Eliza's parents, the Courtneys, that Mr Darcy's estate included more than one well-endowed living, and as Anne-Marie's husband, Mr Bradshaw might have hoped to benefit from Darcy's patronage.
    Even as she recounted it, Anna recalled with some trepidation the rage of young