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It was then that she had unleashed her apparently long-held contempt for him. Laughing maniacally, she cried, “It is a miracle! I am no longer ill! Are you not deliriously happy that I am not dying?”

At his look of bewilderment, she added, “From that look on your face, one would think you were not pleased.”

She walked over to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips. “The truth is, Fitzwilliam, what you see now is my true self. Moreover, now that I have secured you as my husband, I plan to make you wish that I were dying. You will pay every day for the rest of your life for how you humiliated me all these years.”

“I-I do not understand; I have always been kind to you.”

“Kind?” Another hysterical laugh ensued. “I kept silent for years whilst you refused to even consider marriage to me. Any fool with an ounce of sense knows the perfect strategy would have been to unite Pemberley and Rosings. I heard there were even bets at White’s about whether you would be foolish enough to marry an ill-favoured woman just to secure such an empire.”

“I never said you were …”

“Ugly? You never had to. I saw the disgust in your eyes every time you looked at me. Thus, when Mother suggested I resort to feigning illness to get you to the altar, I had no remorse about going along with her scheme. Nevertheless, despite sitting in that confounded chair for almost two years, you never gave me a thought. Your unwillingness to do what was expected made me a laughingstock of the ton from my very first season and each one that followed. And why not? If my own cousin would not lower himself to wed such a hideous creature—even to gain Rosings—why should any other man?”

“That is not true. You received two offers of marriage.”

“Please! Repulsive, old buffoons with mountains of debt and no other choice. Were it possible, they would have taken my wealth and tossed me aside in a matter of days! Besides, I wanted a handsome husband to make all those women who had laughed at me green with envy!”

“I am sorry you felt slighted.”

“Being sorry is not enough. You must pay. To that end, you should know that I do not intend to consummate our marriage. Too many women die in childbirth, and I will not be one of them.”

“If you will not consider bearing an heir, I can always have the marriage annulled or, at the least, pack you off to my estate in Scotland.”

“Obviously, you failed to read the marriage contract my mother had drawn up before you signed it. As long as I live, I retain all monies and properties I brought into the marriage; therefore, should you decide to toss me aside, I will not suffer from the lack of a place to live or funds to live on. Moreover, should you try to punish me with abandonment or an annulment, I will counter by charging you with the inability to carry out your husbandly duties.” She laughed again. “I will be happy to tell one and all that I have come to the conclusion you prefer men to women.”

“No one will believe that!”

“You might be surprised at how many will. After all, you waited until you were eight and twenty to marry, and you were never tempted by any of the beautiful women who threw themselves at you. And even if they do not believe it, every man in England will enjoy discussing the issue. Think how hilarious those bets at White’s would be. I swear I will keep your enemies talking about your sexual preferences for years! And just think! It could affect your precious sister’s chance for a good match.”

“I thought you cared for Georgiana.”

“I do … as much as she cares for me!” Anne declared, laughing once again. “She is just as spoiled and selfish as you are and cares only for her own happiness.”

Before William could object, she continued. “If you fight me, I shall gladly keep you in court with one charge after another until you are sick of being the headline of every newspaper in England, not to mention suffering the loss of a goodly portion of your wealth defending yourself. As an added benefit, Georgiana’s chances of finding a good match would dwindle along with your status and wealth.”

“Darcy, are you going to tell me what traumatised Georgiana or not?” Richard’s voice transported William back to the present, and he began to explain.

“The afternoon of our marriage, unbeknownst to me, Georgiana was waiting in Anne’s sitting room to welcome her new sister into our family. The door happened to be ajar, and when Anne began to reveal her true feelings about me … about both of us, Georgiana heard every word—including the threats made to buy my silence.”

Richard walked over to grasp his cousin’s shoulder in a show of sympathy. “I am sorry. I cannot imagine what hell you have gone through, but it may help me understand your reaction, and Georgiana’s, if you tell me everything.”

William did just that, and once he had finished, Richard was unusually quiet. Rising to fill his glass again, he gulped the second brandy down before saying, “Surely, you know I would never have revealed anything you shared with me in confidence. Why did you shut me out?”

“Knowing how angry you became when George Wickham threatened Georgiana’s reputation, I was afraid to take the chance that you might let slip something that would get back to Anne.”

Richard nodded silently. “So, Georgiana voluntarily told you what she had overheard?”

“She had no choice. As you know, two weeks after the wedding I went to Matlock House to arrange for her return to Pemberley. I hoped that if Georgiana joined us, Anne might act like her former self or at least put on a performance in front of her new sister. However, Georgiana refused to return with us. She stated that she never wanted to be around Anne again. Fearing what Anne might have said or done, I demanded to know why.”

“I can only imagine that watching her cousin transform from a quiet, shy creature into a woman intent on destroying you must have been horrific,” Richard interjected.

“To Georgiana, it was. She was simply unable to reconcile the Anne she had known all her life with the one we now faced.” William sighed heavily. “It was my fault. I will forever blame myself for ruining our family when I married Anne.”

“Anne’s deceit was not your fault. If any charges can be laid at your feet, it is that you have always been too kind. You believed you were helping Anne by granting her dying wish.”

“I cannot believe that after all our aunt’s attempts to force a marriage, I was gullible enough to fall for Anne’s last, grand performance.”

“Do not be too hard on yourself. You were not the only one deceived. Our entire family thought Anne was an invalid—for at least the three years preceding your marriage. Damnation! The only reason I did not fight to prevent your marriage was because Anne appeared so near death. I figured you would be free of her within months, perhaps weeks, and you would gain her dowry and Rosings in the bargain.”