aristocratic engagement

In the middle of the night, the dance was over, and the guests returned to the room prepared earlier to rest under the guidance of the servants.

Without exception, they learned from the servants that Mr. Darcy had no intention of continuing to hold the ball.

The guests all "understood" and agreed to leave the next day.

Even if some ladies come for Mr. Darcy, they are not without success at the ball.

Gentlemen of the right age also use this ball as the best opportunity to meet young ladies.Of course the older ladies are happy to see it come true—they didn’t bet all their cards on Mr. Darcy.

Perhaps, in this ball, the only one who returned completely disappointed was Miss Caroline.

"Although Mr. Darcy is a cold-faced person, he is courteous and considerate, worthy of being a gentleman of noble origin.

"Yeah, he's danced with almost every girl of his age, even Rosa, an old girl who's almost 30.

"However, if you want me to say, this is his brilliance. He didn't take a fancy to any lady, but this made everyone give up.

"Even his cousin, Mademoiselle Anne de Bourgh of Rosings, only danced with him for the opening dance. Mr. Darcy is so haughty as to not even give Lady Catherine face.

"Miss de Bauer didn't give a damn, didn't you notice? She only had two dances with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley... I saw Mr. Hurst asked her too, but she was turned down." She is, I say, far more haughty than Mr Darcy."

Annie raised her finger and waved it a few times: "Okay, that's enough."

Du Li stopped her vivid retelling and took a big sip of tea to relieve the dryness of her throat.

Du Li was used to this kind of work, and she was also responsible for inquiring about some information that Miss de Bourgh could not get behind her back at the banquet in London.

Anne stood at the window and watched the Darcy brothers and sisters downstairs standing at the gate of the manor saying goodbye to the guests one by one. At this time, the Bingley brothers and sisters were walking out of the manor hand in hand, and a group of them met at the gate.

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy hugged each other and said goodbye, and hearty voices came from under the window.Miss Bingley took Miss Caroline's hand and planned to get into the carriage first, but Miss Caroline turned her head to look at the owner of the manor, and her legs that had already stepped into the carriage still fell to the ground.

Annie couldn't help but took a step forward, put her hands on the window sill, and leaned out her upper body slightly.

Miss Caroline did interrupt her brother's conversation, and said something to Mr. Darcy.

Everyone had different expressions on their faces, but they all faintly disagreed.

Darcy nodded, and stood face to face with Caroline a little away from the crowd.Miss Caroline happened to have her back turned in Anne's direction, and Anne could only see Darcy's expressionless face.

Annie frowned slightly, she couldn't hear anything, biting the soft flesh on the side of her cheek, but an inexplicable irritability rose in her heart.

Downstairs, the conversation ended quickly, and Darcy's eyes seemed to drift past Anne's window, and Anne immediately took a step back and hid herself behind the curtain.

"Tell the stable to prepare a horse. I'm going to the town." Annie turned her head and said to Du Li.

Du Li was slightly taken aback, and asked without thinking: "Is there anything you can entrust to me."

Annie shook her head: "I'm going to find the person in charge of the post station and ask them to keep the letters that belong to me under my name. I don't know how long my mother will stay here. I can't let Pemberley Manor always be my personal letter. Pay the bill."

"But..." Du Li wanted to say that Mr. Darcy would not mind the money, but seeing Anne's expression, she swallowed her words back.

Dolly could not understand what was going on, but she could see that Miss de Bourgh seemed to want to distance herself from Mr. Darcy.

Du Li's lips moved slightly, but she still accepted the order, and quickly left the room and walked downstairs.

Annie looked at her back and sighed deeply.She tried to push that emotion back into her heart, but it escaped from her eyes.

If Darcy hadn't been her cousin...

Did you just accept it like this?

she does not know.Annie has never tasted love, she dare not say, is that kind of emotion just a heartbeat, maybe it's just because of his favorable conditions?Perhaps because of all the hints of Lady Catherine and Georgiana?Maybe it was the influence of hormones that made her mood fluctuate like never before?

Annie tried to calm herself down for a while.

What if that was really love?

Anne came to Newton on horseback, followed her memory, and found the inn where she and Darcy had been together last time.Coincidentally, it was the person in charge who worked at the counter this time.

Annie explained her purpose, and the person in charge showed a troubled expression.

"Miss de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy ordered--"

"Those are my letters. There is absolutely no reason to ask other people to pay."

"However, those letters are all sent to Pemberley Manor. Here, the letters of each family are all settled together." The person in charge showed a smile.

"Is this your excuse? Or is it really a rule?" Annie asked.

"Of course it is..." The person in charge rolled his eyes and said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Darcy."

Anne frowned, she was not willing to go to see Darcy in private for the time being--in case the out-of-control feelings made her nowhere to hide and disturbed her mind.

Seeing that she was unwilling, the person in charge said slyly: "I'm not stubborn, Miss de Bourgh, but you have to think about me too. We all depend on Mr. Darcy and his land for survival. Dare to disobey his opinion. However, if you have his handwriting..."

Annie raised her eyebrows: "Okay."

Anne turned around and planned to go back to the manor to find Darcy, maybe in time for lunch, and mentioned this matter to Darcy at the dinner table.

Just as she was about to step out of the door with one foot, Annie turned her head and asked, "Is there any letter from me now?"

The person in charge looked down on the counter for a while, and held up a letter: "Yes, a letter from Mr. Smith, Central Street, London."

Anne put the letter in her pocket, took out a shilling, put it on the counter, turned and strode away.

"Miss de Bour! Miss de Bour! You don't need to pay, it's already—" The person in charge of the post station chased him out, but only saw the back of the horse going away.

The black ponytail and black cloak swayed in the wind.

Back at Pemberley Manor, it happened to be lunch time, but Anne didn't see Darcy on the table, and she didn't even set the plate.

Anne took off her cloak, sat down in her seat, and asked, seemingly unintentionally, "Where's Cousin Darcy? Has he already eaten?"

"Darcy has gone out." Madam Catherine showed a surprised expression, "He still decided to see off the Bingley brothers and sisters... You went out today?"

"I went to town." Annie waved the letter in her hand.

Lady Catherine asked no further questions.She had known about Anne's business for a long time, and to be honest, she didn't approve or disapprove of these things.

Anne's business genius comes from her husband, and Lady Catherine is delighted to see in her the shadow of his late husband.However, she sometimes regrets it a little. What kind of gentleman can such a well-informed lady like?

She has too much on her mind to hold another person.

Besides, how many gentlemen can control such a shrewd lady?I'm afraid her mind will scare off many people - those who only know how to suck wealth from their wives and sit on the mountain - so it seems good to stay away from these people?

Lady Catherine was utterly conflicted.

Therefore, she is very optimistic about Darcy. His family is superior, and he will not covet the family property of Rosings Manor at all; Isn't it the best thing?

However, after so many years, Annie has never responded to her well-meaning "suggestion".

——Well, it seems that after returning to Rosings Manor, it is bound to hold a ball for Anne.

A series of names flashed through Madam Catherine's mind, but within the time of lunch, she had already drawn up the invitation list out of thin air.

Mr. Smith's letter was indeed related to the mine mentioned last time.

Mr. Smith has entrusted his relationship and secretly asked someone to go to the manor where the coal mine was discovered for testing. The result is gratifying-a large number of high-quality coal mines!It couldn't be more suitable for mining!

"Mr. Richter, do you know? Your wealth is about to increase by [-]%! - if the mining goes well and it is shipped to Manchester!"

"Ha, the latter sentence is the most critical and difficult to realize." Annie's joy only surfaced for a moment, and then she rationally suppressed it.

It is true that there is such a gold mountain to be happy, but mining and transportation are the biggest troubles.It would take a lot of manpower and material resources--the estate is all flat instead of hilly, which is something to be happy about, but there are no canals there either.

Without a natural canal, a man-made one must be dug.

Otherwise, the cost of transporting hundreds of tons or thousands of tons of coal to where it is needed by land transportation will be even more alarming.

Where do people come from?How do the various joints need to be opened?

When the earl was still there, Anne must have shared the business with him without saying a word.With the earl's contacts, these are not fantasy.

But now...

Wait, does this have something to do with the count's death?

Annie frowned, no matter what happened now, she couldn't help but doubt it.Little Guli's letter strengthened her doubts, but it also solved a hole.

Sure enough, someone is playing tricks behind the scenes!Annie's suspicion was not superstitious.

However, if it is because they want to hinder the excavation of the mine, how do they know that it happens to be the property of Mr. Richter?Did anyone already know that Mr. Richter was closely related to Rosings and Earl Fitzwilliam?

Is it Alan Edgerton?

Annie's hair stood on end.

——"There is another thing, I don't know if it is worth telling you, Mr. Richter. My men found another group of people near the Earl's Palace, and they are always watching the Earl's Palace.

You needn't be alarmed, it's Mr Darcy's man.My people have talked with them and learned that they have been ordered by Mr. Darcy to take any suspicious persons to torture immediately if they approach the Earl's Court again.

After that robbery, the guards went to patrol from time to time, and all three waves of us did not find anything unusual.

That's all I have to report to you.If you have new instructions as to what to do with the estate, please write back to me as soon as possible. "

Annie stuffed the letter back into the envelope and pressed it against the bottom of the small suitcase.She was at a loss for a while - she turned around, she still had to go to see Darcy, for the earl.

Annie fell on the bed and covered her face with the pillow angrily.

Last night, what she said to him in the garden made Anne blush just thinking about it.He swore to deny his feelings like that, but his duplicity was exposed by his simple piano piece.

She didn't dare to face it, and wanted to get herself out of this hot-headed state, but just after half a day of execution, a letter broke the plan.

"God, stop playing tricks on me..."

Annie murmured.

For the first time, she made a wish to this god who had never believed in it.

"What? Darcy hasn't come back yet?" Anne was speechless in surprise, "Didn't he go see off the Bingley brothers and sisters? The last time we greeted them was only half a day away, why..."

"He ordered someone to send a letter, saying that he would stay at Bingley's house for a while."

"Why?!" Could it be because of the conversation with Miss Caroline...

"I don't know." Lady Catherine put down her knife and fork, and asked strangely, "Why are you so surprised? What, you have something to do with Darcy?"

Annie immediately shook her head in denial.

Seeing this, Georgiana jokingly said, "Annie, I don't even miss my brother, what about you?"

"I didn't miss him." Annie said every word.

"Oh~" Georgiana and Mrs. Catherine looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

Annie's face darkened.

After a while, Madam Catherine suddenly said: "When Darcy comes back, we are going to pack up and go back to Rosings Manor."

"Ah?!" Georgiana and Annie cried out in unison, "Why?"

"Why?" Madame Catherine repeated suspiciously, "Of course we have to go back! Have you forgotten that I came here this time just for this ball. Now that the ball is over, of course I have to go back... At least when we arrive Come back and bid him farewell in person."

"What about me?" Georgiana immediately dropped the tableware in her hand and came to Madam Catherine, "I can't bear to part with you... I will go back to Rosings with you!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lady Catherine stroked Georgiana's hair affectionately. "Your brother has returned, and you have something to rely on. Of course, you must stay at Pemberley Manor and live with him."

"But, but, I can't imagine living alone with my brother, without you!" Georgiana shook her head again and again, "That's terrible, my brother always has his affairs, just like now, he is often not in the manor .Who should I talk to?"

"Mrs. Black will stay here." Anne said after a long silence.

"Mrs. Black can't understand my jokes, and won't tell me what's in my heart!" Georgiana's tears rolled in her eyes.

"...One day." Annie said in a low voice.

She also hated Georgiana very much.But Georgiana was Miss Darcy after all, and since her brother had returned, there was no reason why she should not stay at Pemberley.

If Darcy had never left England, Georgiana would not have lived so many years with her aunt and cousin.

"No, I want to tell my brother, I will go back to Rosings Manor with you!"

"Do you want Darcy to live alone in Pemberley?" asked Anne.

"..." Georgiana was speechless.

After a long while, Georgiana muttered, "Then why don't you stay in Pemberley... Otherwise, I'll go to Rosings with my brother?"

Annie laughed dumbfounded, but her heart sank.

These days, waiting for Darcy to come back has become the most important thing for everyone in Pemberley Manor.However, one day, two days, three days... The clever servant waited for many days at the boundary of Pemberley Manor, but he did not see the figure of the master.

Du Li told Anne that there was even a saying among the servants that Mr. Darcy had an eye for Miss Caroline at the Bingley House, and it was for her that he stayed.As it happened, old Mr. Bingley was there too.Perhaps when he returned there would be a new mistress at Pemberley Park.

After Annie heard this, she only ordered a few words: "Check it out, who is the source of this rumor? Why don't I know that the servants of Pemberley Manor are so creative?"

Georgiana reacted more than anyone to the rumour, and wished she could kill the Bingleys at once.

"Why, you don't like Miss Caroline?" asked Anne.

Unexpectedly, Georgiana nodded resolutely: "She always praises in front of me how beautiful the decorative sculptures are, how old the oil paintings are on the wall, how strong and powerful the horses in the stable are... God, she Is there only those things in her eyes? If I live with her, I will definitely go crazy!"

"Is it worth your anger when others praise Pemberley Manor?"

"I might not have disliked her so much if she hadn't whispered to herself how many pounds those things cost." Georgiana wanted to say hate, but she changed it to a softer word.

No matter how much people expected Mr. Darcy's return, all they waited for was a letter, a letter from an unknown address.

The letter was sent to the table in the morning, and Anne ordered the servant to send the letter to Darcy's study, but the servant said awkwardly: "This letter is addressed to Miss Darcy."

"Mine?" Georgiana opened her mouth in surprise.She had never exchanged contact information with anyone - except Wickham!

Georgiana took the letter with surprise and suspicion.

Lady Catherine gave Annie a puzzled look, and Annie just shook her head.

She was also unfamiliar with the address on the envelope, but the surname... Clark seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it before.

Annie looked at Georgiana, and saw that her expression changed from initial surprise, to dullness, to doubt, and finally to anger.

"What's wrong?" Annie asked softly.

"Damn Wickham!" Georgiana blushed with anger, and almost tore up the letter, but Anne snatched it away.

Annie glanced at ten lines, and her eyes widened.

"What the hell is going on!" urged Lady Catherine.

"Miss Clark asked Georgiana if she could give Wickham... to her?!" Annie's doubts turned into shock. What's going on?

"Clark? Rosa Clark?" The name suddenly popped out of Annie's mind.

She remembered that she had mentioned this name when she helped Darcy write the invitation letter before.

"Rosa? That old girl who is almost 30 years old?" Madam Catherine was also shocked.

"She's almost twice my age! Why is she as blind as I am?" cried Georgiana.

Lady Catherine burst into laughter at her words, but Anne did not.

——Including her previous life, her real age is even older than this "old girl Rosa"!

But that's not the point. The point is, even if she and Wickham looked at each other at the dance, how would she know about Georgiana and Wickham?

What was Wickham talking about outside?

Even though they once had an ambiguous relationship, it was strangled to death in the cradle by Darcy and Anne at an early age... and Miss Clark's tone clearly means that Georgiana and Wickham are still lovers Relationship? !

"Georgianna, tell me, are you still in touch with Wickham?" Anne asked seriously.

"Of course not!" Georgiana suddenly reacted, and her face turned pale, "I have never had anything to do with him since I talked to you that day! Annie, you have to believe me, how could I be so stupid ..."

"This bastard!" Annie held back even dirtier words.

"What to do..." Georgiana panicked now, she never thought that her momentary infatuation would have such consequences, "How, how could he tell others about us ? And people misunderstood our relationship? I..."

"We can never have hope for such a vile character, Georgiana." Anne threw the letter back in front of her. "Adding oil and ambiguity is their specialty. Maybe in his mouth, Pemberley Manor is ashamed. He, Darcy, despises him, and you're just playing with his feelings!"

Georgiana's eyes filled with tears, and she took up the letter in bewilderment, and read it through again.

Tears rained down.

Annie didn't know how to comfort her, her mind was running fast, how to solve this matter, this Wickham who killed a thousand knives.

"Georgianna, write and tell Miss Clarke that you have never been more than brother and sister with Wickham, and that if she wishes to marry him, she will do as she pleases! Pemberley Park will not hinder her, Because Wickham was never from Pemberley Manor!" Lady Catherine snapped, "In the name of the noble Miss Darcy!"

"But, will this not be good for Georgiana's reputation..."?

"Hmph, the toad wants to eat swan meat! Does a servant who has been blessed by his father's family and lives in Pemberley Manor dare to think that he is his master?" Lady Catherine sneered, "Such a person is like a leech! It cannot be completely removed , will continue to suck other people's blood! What is his identity? It is different from the Darcy family. It is not surprising that such a person whose eyes are dazzled by the wealth of his host family will say anything stupid. "

Georgiana bit her lips white and nodded tremblingly.

"It's best to write another letter to Mr. Clark in the name of Darcy." Mrs. Catherine narrowed her eyes, "Miss Clark dares to slander Miss Darcy's innocence? Let's see if her father dares to offend Darcy! "

"I'm going to write a letter to Cousin Darcy! Although I have already made a plan on how to deal with Wickham, he is the only one who has the final say." Annie slapped the table and stood up.

"What plan?" Georgiana whispered.

"I'm about to open a mine, let him be the first batch of miners." Annie snorted coldly, "I think he won't refuse a serious job. Such a person, it's better not to harm Miss Clark Already!"

"I don't agree with you!" Madam Catherine looked into Anne's eyes without any intention of joking, "Miss Clark is going to be thirty and hasn't married yet. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Clark are happy to see it happen!"

Annie's heart sank.

"Brother won't object." Georgiana wiped away her tears, "As long as it's your plan, he will definitely agree."

The author has something to say: On the first day of 2021, start with diligent updates!

This chapter is not fat~!

PS. After much deliberation, I decided to let Georgiana suffer (much better than the original book); and Darcy's character design... In fact, I also came to figure out the original work. He is not good at words, and he is destined to turn some corners. But I will always pay for the person I like in a place where I can't see it; I don't want to write Wickham's oral candied fruit as completely stupid, just like the original work, he is a person who can turn black and white.Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-12-3104:40:57~2021-01-0123:58:36~

Thanks to the little angels who threw mines: Yi1;

Thanks to the little angels of irrigation nutrient solution: Su Ranqi 10 bottles; Meow Meow 5 bottles; asteri□□2 bottles; Qianxi, 231552661 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!