Upon her return to the Grand Parade, her friend having long been forgotten—and for all that could be known, was still waiting aimlessly at the weir—she observed to herself with some satisfaction that her mother was quite discomposed and displayed none of her usual hauteur. Anne betrayed no outward sign of being aware of the events of the day, only asking if Lady Catherine were feeling a little fatigued? Should she call for tea? She sat quietly beside her mother, took out her needlework, and in a few words began describing her morning walk along the Promenade. She saw her mother’s close inspection of her countenance, seeking confirmation that Anne was indeed ignorant of the day’s events. Upon receiving satisfaction that Anne knew naught, Lady Catherine felt able to claim that she was somewhat distressed upon receiving a letter from her brother, which, in its retelling of the circumstances of his elder son’s recent return from London, detailed the shock and horrors of fast company and the increasingly pressing demands for money. As Anne knew—without the reminder again on the present occasion—her mother held the respectability of all her family dear, and felt personally responsible for the Fitzwilliam family’s good name and its honourable reputation; she was, therefore, severely affected by the news that her nephew persisted in his almost-certain descent. Her avowed consolation was in her proclamation that—despite a liberal allowance of advice for their benefit—her nephews seemed in a conspiracy against her, and were all, hence, reaping just rewards for their united iniquity. Darcy was beyond redemption as a result of his own folly; Colonel Fitzwilliam persisted in relying upon his own counsel as to his future happiness and was, in any case, not responding to her letters. And now, her only other nephew, the Viscount, was given up to a life of dissipation and depravity. Really, she felt quite ill-used by everybody; her brother’s letter had quite overset her, for she was, as Anne surely knew, the most selfless woman in the world, and had devoted her life entirely to the improvement and dignity of all her family.