Free Darcy and Anne by JUDITH BROCKLEHURST Page A

could not get to her cousin; she could not get to Edmund. Anne's head ached, she could eat nothing; she could feel sickness coming on. Suddenly she heard kind Mrs Annesley's quiet voice: “Miss de Bourgh, I think you are not quite well. Come, let me take you upstairs, you should lie down on your bed.” Georgiana jumped up immediately, and insisted on taking her to her room, and got her maid. The housekeeper herself brought her up some lime leaf tea. She lay down; she slept.
    Later that afternoon, she woke. She felt quite well, and when she came downstairs, Mr Darcy took her on one side. “As far as Mr Colby and I can ascertain,” he said, “the original sum provided by your father must have been five thousand pounds. In the usual way, that would have given you an income of two hundred and fifty pounds—a very proper provision for a young woman of your rank, coming out into the world, to buy her clothes, etc, and get used to the handling of money.”
    “Two hundred and fifty pounds!”
    “Wait, there is more. In the normal way, that would have been the case; as it was, your mother decided to continue living at Rosings, you were never presented at Court, or brought out into society, and you never had the use of the money. With the interest never being spent, but always added back into the capital, the original amount—how long ago was it, when your father died?”
    “Ten years ago. I was fifteen years old, and am now five-and-twenty.”
    “Yes, we thought so. In that time, you see, the capital has increased to well over seven thousand pounds, and the income to almost four hundred: three hundred and eighty-seven, to be exact. Of course, you understand that, once you begin spending the interest, the capital will not increase.”
    Anne was not sure that she understood anything! The situation, her cousin reflected, was an excellent lesson in the power of compound interest, but was completely outside the range of Anne's knowledge and experience. The cottager's child who takes a shilling to the baker's, and brings home the change in pennies, he thought, probably knows more about money than she does.
    However, Anne surprised him.
    “Cousin, I must learn to keep track of my money. How can I do so? I might write a sort of list of the things I would like to buy, and how much they might cost. Do you think that would help me? If I do that, will you look it over for me?”
    “Certainly. In fact, I have a better idea, which is that you should consult with Elizabeth. From being brought up in a family that is not rich, she has a far better idea of the planning and spending of income than either Georgiana or I—she knows, for example, how much clothes ought to cost—and I know she will be happy to assist you. And if you wish, I will be your banker until an account is arranged for you. Would you like to have something now, to be going on with?” he asked. “Would twenty pounds suffice?”
    Twenty pounds! It was more money than she had ever seen!
    “And when you have your bank account, you can write me your first draft, to repay me. One other matter: Edmund Caldwell must go home tomorrow, his business does not allow him to be longer away. I have arranged for Fitzwilliam to ride with him, and go into Burley to visit your mother. It is time one of us went and enquired after her health. While he is there, he will talk to her about this business. Trust me, he will get her approval. She likes Fitzwilliam, and he can usually get her to see things from his point of view. But for now, this must wait. I see a carriage coming up the drive.”

L ADY LOUISA WAS A KIND AND SENSIBLE WOMAN. SHE HAD BEEN a close friend of lady Anne Darcy, and for her sake, held her son and daughter in affection. She had never been as fond of Lady Catherine, though she corresponded with her regularly, and Anne she hardly remembered. She had come to Pemberley out of concern for Georgiana. Mr Darcy, in his letter of invitation, had hinted that it was time