Free If Only In His Dreams by Melanie Schertz Page B

coming to Netherfield?”
     
    A laugh from his mother surprised him.  “My dear boy, I wished to know what sort of lady you had attached your feelings to.  I was concerned that she was a fortune hunter.  And I was able to see for myself that Lizzy is not.  She told me I could verify her statements, though I do not see the reason to bother.  I am certain that all reports I find throughout the neighborhood will confirm what I already know of her.  Miss Elizabeth Bennet is exactly what she appears to be. T here is not artifice about her, and it is quite refreshing to know that there are still people like her in the world.”
     
    “ It pleases me to know that you and Miss Elizabeth can be on good terms.  I was worried that perhaps you would not be able to, due to her lack of connections and not being of the same level of society as us.”
     
    “I admit that at first I was greatly concerned.  I feared that you had been taken in by her arts and allurement.  Now I see what attracted you to her, she is so different from the ladies of the Ton.  Does she truly visit the tenants and aid those who are in need?”
     
    “I have seen her do so myself.  And the people all seem to favor her efforts.  They were ever so grateful for her personal touches.  One elderly woman, who I later learned was recently widowed.  Miss Elizabeth had taken some gingerbread to the woman, which was the widow’s favorite.  The lady was ever grateful for Miss Elizabeth having remembered.”
     
    “She will do the same at Pemberley, as I have done for years.  I will be proud to have her as my daughter.  And I am so very pleased that you have found her.  William, I have feared for many years that you would never find someone due to your dream lady.  Now I see that it was worth the wait.”
     
    “Mother, did you tell Lord Matlock why you were coming?” Darcy was nervous.
     
    “I thought it wisest to inform my brother that we were traveling to spend a holiday with you, nothing more.  If he had known the true reason, he would have come here and insisted that you break the agreement.”
     
    “Why does he demand that I marry my cousin?  Anne does not wish to be married to me, and even Aunt Catherine has accepted this.  And it is not even his daughter that Uncle Henry wishes an attachment with me.  Anne told me in her latest letter that she has been enjoying her visits from a Mr Collins, the new clergyman at Hunsford.  At first, Anne thought he was a fool.  But she came to know that it was an act that he puts forward when necessary.  He is kind to her, sees to Aunt Catherine and Anne, as well as the needs of the congregation.”
     
    “I am pleased to learn this.  Though Anne has been ill since she had scarlet fever as a babe, she is quite intelligent and is nearly as wonderful a musician as our Georgiana.”
     
    “I know it is wrong to say such things, but Uncle Lewis dying so many years ago was the best thing that he could have done.  Since his death, Aunt Catherine has been a completely different person.  And sending for masters to instruct Anne was such a blessing to my dear cousin.  Even though it would be too much for Anne to endure to spend a great deal of time in Town, she at least was not lacking in her education.”
     
    “Catherine is much calmer now.  Henry was wrong in forcing Catherine to marry Lewis; and Catherine paid the price for that marriage with every injury she sustained.   I must say that my sister has never forgiven our brother for his behavior.”
     
    “I wondered for years why Aunt Catherine never remarried, though now that I know what she endured, I understand the reasoning.  She never wished to give another man control over her life.”
     
    “Yes.  Catherine told me once that she refuses any of Henry’s demands.  She did as she was told when she was younger and Henry had the right to make an arrangement for her, but now she is able to tell him to go fly a kite.  He may be the head of