Free Netherfield Park Revisited by Rebecca Ann Collins Page A

working at the hospital, Eliza had insisted that she leave her modest lodgings in the village and move into a guest room at Harwood House, not more than a mile from the hospital by road and only a short walk across the grounds.
    It had marked the beginning of a warm friendship between the two young women. Eliza, who had always been sensible and intelligent, even as a girl, found Anne-Marie’s new persona quite compatible with her own.
    For Anne-Marie, Eliza Harwood was a godsend. Educated and cultured, with an interest in Literature and Music, she opened up an entire new world for a young woman who had been given little encouragement by her mother to appreciate the Fine Arts. Despite her youth, Eliza Harwood was also practical and could be relied upon in a crisis. She was, indeed, exactly the sort of friend Anne-Marie needed.
    When Anne-Marie received no response to her urgent letter from her brother Charles, it was in her friend Eliza she confided.
    Her letter to Charles had been written two nights after the arrival at Rosings Park of Miss Bingley and her friend, Mrs Arabella Watkins, whom Anne-Marie had quickly dubbed “The Widow Watkins.”
    She was horrified by their influence over her mother and was determined to foil their plan to entice her to move to Bath, away from her husband and family.
    Eliza Harwood knew very little of the problems presently engrossing the Bingleys. Nevertheless, when she heard Anne-Marie’s story, she supported her friend completely.
    â€œI can well understand why you would wish to prevent it,” she said. “Why, your mama would know hardly anyone in Bath, and this would make her even more dependent upon Miss Bingley and this other person … Mrs Watkins, whoever she might be!”
    â€œThat is exactly my objection, Eliza, but how shall we convince Mama? How is she to be persuaded that it is not in her interest, nor is it in the interest of her family, for her to race off to Bath with Miss Bingley and her friend?”
    â€œCan you not get your brother to speak with her? Most mothers are willing to listen to their sons,” suggested Eliza.
    So desperate that she was willing to try anything, Anne-Marie agreed to write a note to her brother which Eliza would have sent round to Charles’ rooms in London.
    As soon as it was done and despatched, Eliza took her friend upstairs and insisted that she take some refreshment and rest before returning to the hospital, where she was due to work the rest of the day. She went with her hopes high that her brother would finally recognise the urgency of her request and come to her aid.
    Young Charles Bingley, still busy making arrangements for his journey to Edinburgh, where he was to continue his studies, was distracted and impatient on receiving his sister’s note. He wanted to help, but had neither the time nor the inclination to become involved in what he saw as a petty squabble. He had already suffered some embarrassment as a result of his mother’s activities and wanted no more. Perhaps even more pressing, he had an appointment with a young lady and took just enough time to write a hurried reply to his sister, which he handed to the man from Harwood House, before leaving in a hansom cab.
    When Anne-Marie, returning from her work at the hospital, read her brother’s note, she wept. She could not believe that Charles would leave her to struggle on alone, trying to persuade their mother not to destroy her marriage and their family.
    Hearing her come in, Eliza had come downstairs expecting to find Anne-Marie having her dinner, which was always set aside for her when she worked late. Instead, she found her weeping quietly, her meal untouched.
    Trying to comfort her, Eliza offered to accompany her to Rosings, to see her mother, but Anne-Marie was too distraught and tired to think clearly and after much persuasion partook of a small portion of food and a cup of tea before retiring to bed.
    Eliza had promised that