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Post by Anne on Oct 21, 2008 19:20:47 GMT -5
"Touche," *said Anne, for once having the grace to know when she was argued into a corner. Anyone else may have stood a good chance of having her temperamental "logic" being flung at them with a healthy dose of vitriol.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 10:17:01 GMT -5
Darcy waited for more. Surely someone with Miss Shirley's silver tongue had more to add. When it didn't come, he raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
"Is that all?" he queried. "You have changed, Miss Shirley."
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 10:23:18 GMT -5
"...am I used to arguing for the sake of arguing?" *she asked, giving him a sly look.* "You are in the right, Mr. Darcy."
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 10:45:02 GMT -5
Darcy's smile answered hers. "Forgive me, Miss Shirley. That was ungenerous of me." He held her gaze for a moment that was perhaps longer than was comfortable.
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 11:18:23 GMT -5
"Perhaps, but not unforgivable."
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 11:26:31 GMT -5
"I'm glad to hear it," he said, then let his gaze wander away, back across the pond. "You are fortunate, too," he began after a short pause. "You have all this. Your family. Your community. By some measures, Miss Shirley, you have come out on top as well."
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 11:42:53 GMT -5
"Indeed I have," *agreed Anne.* "...I remember I once told Diana when we were sixteen that we couldn't enjoy the glory of a sunset any better if we were richer than Midas."
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 12:49:32 GMT -5
Darcy chuckled gently.
"Indeed," he said. "I don't mind working. And I don't miss the money; I never spent nearly as much as I could have. But I do miss Pemberley; and I worry for those to whom I have a responsibility and provide a living."
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 13:01:55 GMT -5
"The estate will not lie vacant, will it? Has it not passed to another master who will oversee it fairly?"
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 13:14:21 GMT -5
"The matter is... complicated," Darcy said. "Things are by no means settled. The estate has been in my family for generations; I do not intend to let it go without contest. But it will take some time, and some ingenuity. I am doing what I can, from here. I have an excellent overseer, as well, though I can no longer pay him all that he deserves. I intend to make it up to him."
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 13:26:20 GMT -5
"Of course," *said Anne, hesitating slightly before she ventured further.*
"...it pains you to be so far from your home, does it not?"
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 13:47:57 GMT -5
"I do not know if 'pain' is the word I would use," he mused. "There is a longing. But Avonlea is not without its comforts. I cannot entirely regret my circumstances."
He fell silent, wondering if he had said too much. But even if Miss Shirley would only ever be his friend, and Georgiana's, she was a valuable friend to have. He did not wish to lose that.
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 13:52:47 GMT -5
"I think Avonlea the loveliest place in the world--and you shall too, given time. I am sure of it," *said Anne encouragingly.* "If you will stay and give the town a chance..."
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Oct 22, 2008 14:01:18 GMT -5
"Am I not?" Darcy asked. "I would not hope for it to supplant Pemberley for me, Miss Darcy; it is, I am certain, to me what Avonlea is to you. But I do appreciate your town, and its people. It's natural beauty and the honesty of its inhabitants remind me very much of my own home. You do not object to our staying then?"
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Post by Anne on Oct 22, 2008 14:03:41 GMT -5
"How could I be anything but pleased?" *cried Anne.* "When you and your sister have been so good to us?"
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