Under the bright afternoon sunlight, An Ning was happily sketching by the lake with her young cousin Georgiana.
Several months had passed since that visit, during which, at someone's invitation, An Ning had specifically visited the villa located in the Pall Mall area near Whitehall in London—the current residence of this Mr. Holmes.
And she had unceremoniously offered just a tiny bit of advice.
Back and forth , although their marriage hadn't been completely settled yet, perceptive people could already see something developing.
Lady Catherine felt somewhat regretful about this, as in this lady's view, among all the gentlemen in London, her precious daughter had seen far too few.
The selection range wasn't sufficiently abundant.
However, these regrets completely disappeared after Mr. Holmes made several visits, transforming into twelve parts satisfaction and pride for this future son-in-law:
"Oh, dear Anne, I must say, your judgment is truly excellent, my treasure! That Mr. Holmes is indeed the most sincere and polite gentleman!"
Lady Catherine praised enthusiastically, while also taking the opportunity to criticize the still-unmarried elder bachelor youth Darcy.
Especially after learning that her nephew had been entangled with some country girl for so long, and had even failed in two marriage proposals, in Lady Catherine's eyes, this nephew's status and even intelligence had secretly decreased quite a bit, particularly with such a comparison available.
An Ning at that moment: "......"
Sincere, gentle and considerate...
An Ning's lips twitched strangely for a moment.
Well... good, as long as you're happy, Mother.
The next day, when she received this "elder bachelor youth" Mr. Darcy's letter seeking help, An Ning's painting was only half finished.
Looking at her cousin who had clearly rushed here in haste, his clothes wrinkled and covered with dust without even changing, An Ning couldn't help but frown.
Because it had been too long ago, aside from the main characters, An Ning had mostly forgotten the plot of this novel. In her previous life, due to health problems, the original owner had been a young girl who never stepped outside her home, so she knew even less.
Thus she truly didn't remember this particular incident.
Taking a deep breath at this person's name, An Ning said:
"If I remember correctly, this is the same gambler who previously attempted to abduct Georgiana and tried to blackmail the Darcy family, right?"
An Ning deliberately emphasized the word "gambler" heavily.
Meeting his young cousin's unusually displeased gaze, the hurriedly arrived Darcy nodded with difficulty.
Having lived such leisurely days for so long in this lifetime, this was the first time An Ning felt so angry she almost laughed:
"So, dear cousin, you're telling me now that this person has now shifted his target to Miss Bennet, that is, the future mistress of Pemberley Estate, Miss Elizabeth's younger sister?"
"After attempting to seduce Georgiana and extort the Darcy family failed!"
"Dear Mr. Darcy, don't tell me that after all this happened, you truly didn't realize what his actual purpose is?"
Bennet? For a gambler burdened with massive gambling debts, what value does a country squire's daughter have?
What would make a gambler spend so much energy, time, and risk for this—any person could figure out the purpose.
Although Darcy was kind-hearted, he wasn't foolish, and naturally had some suspicions. Facing those sapphire blue eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything, this proud gentleman couldn't help but lower his head.
Perhaps the sunlight at Rosings Manor was too intimidating, as Mr. Darcy's tone was particularly strained as he said:
An Ning couldn't help but take a deep breath: "Fine, cousin, I can help you this time, but Mr. Darcy!"
"I only want to and will only say this once—I hope you understand clearly that Pemberley Estate isn't just your home and the future Mrs. Darcy's home, it's also the place where your own sister Georgiana grew up, both now and in the future."
"Of course, if you think that once Georgiana marries someday, she'll have nothing to do with Pemberley anymore, then consider my words today as never spoken..."