Page 28 of The Secret Diary of Anne de Bourgh

“Rub along tolerably? Such ambitions for your future happiness you hold, Anne!”

I swiped at his arm gently, laughing. “Do not tease me.”

He sobered. “I do not, in truth. I should not like you to settle for so little. You deserve nothing less than a love match with a prince of a man.”

“I have not met any of the princes,” I said, deliberately misunderstanding him, “but I believe all the unmarried ones would look higher than such as I for a wife. Princesses from Europe or the daughters of dukes, at the very least.”

“None of the princes would deserve you,” Richard said, “for all their wealth and titles.”

That made me laugh harder, and then we rounded a corner to find Kitty and Georgiana there, admiring the blooming roses.

7 June

We visited the kittens at Longbourn again today. They have grown astonishingly in the ten days since we first saw them. Kitty has been allowed to keep Darling.

“Shall you bring her to Pemberley?” Georgiana inquired.

“I had not thought of that!” Kitty frowned. “I must ask Lizzy whether I may bring her to Pemberley. I should hate to leave her behind all summer, and I want her with me in London too.”

“Will she be old enough to leave her mother when we go?” I asked. “It is only a few more days.”

“John Coachman says they eat meat now, so they should manage very well. His brother, who works for the Gouldings, wants the largest male, the tabby with white paws.” Kitty lifted him for us to admire, and I laughed when he reached for my curls. “His brother will collect him on his next half-day.”

“Do you have homes arranged for all of them?” Georgiana asked, and I heard my own wistfulness echoed in her tone.

“Not yet.” Kitty put down the white-pawed tabby, who promptly leaped upon another kitten and bit his ear. “John says their mother has kept the stable almost free of mice. I daresay they will take after her.”

“Georgie,” I said, “do you think maybe...?”

“We can but ask.” Georgiana tucked the smallest kitten, a pale smoky grey, beneath her chin. “Brother is indulgent, and Pemberley has room for more than one mouser.”

I tried not to hope too much. Darcy might have no wish to bring three kittens into the house. Kitty urged me to choose a favourite, but I could not yet bear to do so.

We stayed through dinner and returned to Netherfield eager to ask Darcy about the kittens, only to find that he and Elizabeth had gone upstairs.

“Elizabeth has not been feeling well all day, I’m afraid,” Jane told us, though she seemed quite serene about it, sitting with a bundle of white fabric in her lap.

“Perhaps those long walks in the mud have finally told on her,” Miss Bingley said. “I wonder whether Darcy is beginning to regret his choice.”

There were no gentlemen present save Mr Hurst, snoring as usual in his armchair near the fire. Mr Bingley was, I daresay, in the billiard room with my uncle, and perhaps my cousin if he too had not retired.

Jane made no answer, but colour rose in her cheeks and her fingers tightened on the white fabric in her lap.

“Is that a christening gown?” Georgiana asked suddenly.

“It is.” Jane smoothed the cloth. “I thought to put this lace along the hem.”

“A christening gown!” Mrs Hurst let out a little squeal and clapped her hands. “Have you news to share, dear Jane?”

Jane raised her chin. “No, Louisa. This is for Elizabeth’s child. I should like to have it ready in good time.”

Miss Bingley’s face lost its colour. She had liked the news of Elizabeth’s child no better when Darcy first announced it.

I laughed before I could stop myself. Georgiana looked at me, startled. I had heard Caroline speak against Elizabeth often enough; still, there was no kindness in laughing at her now.

Caroline shot me a look filled with rage before jumping to her feet and storming from the room. Mrs Hurst scurried after her at once, leaving her snoring husband behind.

“That was unkind, Anne,” Jane said quietly.