“You did. May I have the pleasure of knowing who I am addressing?”
She glowered as if displeased to be addressed so by such an impudent upstart.
“I will ask the questions if you please. Is it true that Darcy House has a new mistress? And that mistress is a girl of no connections and no family, whom Mr Darcy married because he had a ludicrous notion that he was responsible for her father’s death?”
My heart twisted as it always did when I thought of my father.
“Yes, that is true.”
The lady released a breath. She tapped her gloved hands on the glass with such force I was sure she would break it.
“I hoped it was just a rumour by that idiot clergyman who cannot be trusted to know anything,” she said. “What is Darcy about? I suppose his wife conducts herself poorly, does she? She cannot do otherwise considering her background.”
My amusement vanished. I drew a breath.
“Is Mr Darcy expecting you, Lady Catherine? I am sure he would be here to receive you if he were.”
“How do you know who I am?” she snapped, as though I had fooled her. She relaxed before I could answer, looking mollified. “I suppose it is a foolish question to ask though I am not prone to foolishness. Of course, you will know who I am. The de Burgh name is known wide and far.”
“That, and the descriptions of your ladyship proceeds you,” I said archly.
She preened at that. “Yes, no doubt news of my frankness is widely known. What do you mean my nephew is not home? I am exceedingly displeased. He should be here to receive me.”
“That he is not suggests he did not know to expect you,” I said shortly. “I am sure no one in the house has been expecting your arrival.”
Lady Catherine looked at me with such astonishment I was sure she was about to explode. She narrowed her eyes.
“I see I shall have to speak to my nephew about the impertinence he allows in his house. But if he is not here, that is all the better. I wish to speak to this upstart young women alone and demand an explanation for why she thinks she is worthy of marrying into the Darcy and Fitzwilliam families.”
I smiled and tilted my head. “Then I am sure I shall be delighted to receive you, Lady Catherine.”
Lady Catherine stared at me for a long moment before my meaning became clear. Her face dropped, and she stared me up and down. I had worn my old cloak before leaving the house, wanting to feel as close as possible to my old self as I could.
“You! You cannot be Mrs Darcy. I took you for a servant. No, even in my wildest imaginings, I did not imagine my nephew’s wife looking like you. No, you are not Mrs Darcy.”
“I assure you, I am, Lady Catherine.” I smiled and added, “Or should I call you Aunt?”
“You will do no such thing,” said Lady Catherine. Her eyes bulged with outrage. A door opened, and I saw a fashionably dressed couple appear on the steps nearby. They glanced in our direction, observing Lady Catherine’s carriage with curiosity.
“Shall you come into the house or shall I continue the walk you have interrupted from taking?” I asked in a low voice. “Because standing here squabbling on the street while I absurdly assure someone of my identity is not an option.”
“How dare you suggest I do not…”
“I shall see you at the house then,” I finished crisply. I turned on my heel and walked back towards the house. My walk would have to wait until another day.
33
I was seated in the drawing-room when Lady Catherine was shown in. I gestured towards the table.
“I do not know what you prefer, so I rang for both tea and coffee.”
“I prefer tea at this time of day,” Lady Catherine snapped. There was a triumphant note in her voice as though she had somehow caught me out.
“Then I suggest you select the tea,” I said smoothly.
She narrowed her eyes.
“You are an impertinent girl. My foolish clergyman warned me I would find you so. I believe you were to marry him until you saw an opportunity to land a bigger fish.”
“Not that it is any of your concern, but I was to marry Mr Collins in his imagination alone. I never agreed to be his wife.”
“Ha! So you intended to trap my nephew from the start! You used Mr Collins to make yourself appear more desirable to my nephew. I see the way of it. I see how it is now.”
“I assure you, my opinion of Mr Darcy is far higher than yours is if you think anyone could trap him with such a weak and transparent scheme,” I said, struggling to keep the testiness from my voice. “You know as well as I that he is far too clever for that. Women far more intelligent than I have tried to trap him, I am sure, and to no avail. You would do well to give him more credit.”
“Do not presume to teach me about my own nephew. I held him when he was a baby. I sang to him when he cried. I know him far more than some upstart young woman of a new acquaintance can ever hope to know him.”
“I will allow you to consider how far a wife can know her husband better than someone who held him as a baby, but as you say you are so close to him, you must know Mr Darcy is an intelligent man who knows his own mind very well. He would never fall for the scheme you accuse me of. Mr Darcy asked me to marry him of his own free will. I even rejected his first offer, not believing it to be serious. One person was working to prevail on the other to marry them, but it was not me.”
Lady Catherine opened her mouth to respond, but the door opened, and the servants came in with the tea tray. She, at least, had the grace to bite back her words. She contented herself instead with watching the servants and offering criticism and unsolicited advice as they performed a duty they had carried out perfectly well for years, each time, throwing a look at me as though she had caught me in lapse mistress skills.
“That young man is not up to scratch,” she said as the door closed behind them. “It is to be expected, I suppose, with such a mistress who can have no experience of how to manage a house like this. I understand your estate in Hertfordshire is very small and not at all to be thought of. Or, I should say Mr Collins’s estate as he is now the master.”
My stomach churned as it always did when I was reminded of my father’s loss. I would not allow her the triumph of seeing how upset I was, so I occupied myself with pouring the tea and offering her a cup. I did not know if I could ever think of him without pain.
“I am surprised you are not pleased with Thomas,” I said. “I find him perfectly delightful. He told me he used to work for your house before he joined Mr Darcy’s staff.”
Thomas had cautiously, and without saying it in too many words, told me how difficult it was to work for Lady Catherine. She had been a tyrannical mistress with exacting requirements, and anyone who fell short of them was punished. I discovered from Kate, who was being courted by Thomas, that his pay had often been docked for silly slights such as not bowing to the exact height Lady Catherine required. When Thomas protested and begged her to consider his elderly parents who relied on his pay, Lady Catherine had been unmoved and suggested he beg for forgiveness that his impudence should have cost them so dearly. I discovered that quite a few of Darcy’s staff were former members of Lady Catherine’s household. That Darcy had seen their plight and offered them alternative work even at the risk of his aunt’s wrath was why they were so devoted to their master. Though I had still been in the deepest part of my dislike for my husband when I discovered this, I had felt a fierce rush of pride in him when I learned the news. It had given me hope that I could honour such a man even if I never loved him.
Lady Catherine drew herself up, her thin fingers drumming on the top of her parasol as if she were contemplating using it as a weapon. Her lips pressed so tight together they almost disappeared into a white line.
“I released Thomas as I was not happy with his service,” she snapped. “I found him to be neglectful of his duties and prone to untruths. I could not tolerate such dishonesty in my household.”
I barely suppressed a smile. In my lov
e for studying characters, I had often observed that the more one was eager to paint someone as untrustworthy, the more likely it was that they feared what the other might say about them and their actions. No doubt Lady Catherine suspected Thomas might have mentioned what it was like to work for her. And from what I had seen of the lady so far, I knew who I was more inclined to believe.
“I am sorry you found him so. I find him to be dutiful and respectful, and he brings a cheerful presence around the house. My husband thinks highly of him.”
Lady Catherine drew herself higher at the mention of my husband.
“Where is my nephew?” she demanded. “He should be here to greet me.”
“If he did not expect you, it should not surprise me he is not here, waiting by the windows day after day in case you should call,” I said innocently.
Lady Catherine glared at me. If her grip on her teacup tightened any more, I was sure it would break.
“You can at least tell me where he is,” she said. “You can do that much.”
I tried to hide my grimace. I was a married woman, and I already could not answer for my husband’s doings. Where was he and why had he not left a note to tell me? I waited a moment for the worst of my aggravation to pass before I spoke again.
“My husband was called away this morning. He did not wish to disturb me beforehand in his usual considerate manner. He will return soon.”
Lady Catherine sat back in her chair. There was a look of satisfaction about her that made my face burn.
“Then I shall take the time to tell you that no one in our family will accept your marriage. Do not think I seek to wound you, Mrs…” Her mouth twisted as though the word physically pained her to say. “Mrs Darcy.” She spat my name as though it were something foul. “I am celebrated for my frankness, and I will not be less so with you though what I have to tell you is far less pleasant than anything I can tell anyone else. You have disgraced my nephew with your marriage. You have sunk him in the eyes of everyone who knows him and cares for him. You have made him an object of ridicule. He will never command respect again. Do not expect any of us to notice you. I promise you you shall be a stranger to our family; more than a stranger. None of us shall receive you. There. Does the prize seem worth the winning now?”
I recovered my annoyance at Darcy enough to smile. My new aunt’s words were so ridiculous I could not find it in me to take offence.
“I am sorry to hear that, Lady Catherine. I am sure the Matlocks will be sorry to hear it. They have not received your edict, or I would not have been invited to the ball they gave last night. I am also sure they should not have taken such care to receive me with all the honours due to a new bride and a member of their family. Shall you travel to their house when you leave here to scold them for their kindness to me?”
Lady Catherine’s face had grown paler and paler as I spoke. She gripped the parasol so fiercely I eyed it with wariness.
“I cannot believe that,” she said.
I shrugged. “Many might assure you of its truth. It is not a lie I could hope to keep for long.”
“I cannot believe my family would receive you in such a manner. No, if what you say is true, it can only be that they do not realise your connections. What; my brother, the Earl of Matlock, invite and welcome a young woman who has relatives in this very city who work in trade and live within sight of their own warehouse? No, I cannot believe it. My brother will be furious when he discovers how he has been deceived.”
“If it makes you feel better to imagine him deceived, I shall not deprive you of the comfort,” I said. “But your brother was not deceived in the slightest.”
“He cannot know,” Lady Catherine insisted. “No one in my family would welcome an upstart who comes from trade and has no family or connections to speak of. I considered you fit for my idiot clergyman, but I gave you no thought beyond that. I thought you should be on your knees in gratitude at your good fortune. But your ill-breeding and ill-raising led you to believe you deserved something finer and now you have sunk your claws into my nephew, my dear sister’s child and ruined him forever. My poor sister is turning in her grave to know how her only son has disgraced himself. You should have kept to your station instead of insinuating yourself where you did not belong. You are not fit to bear his name and sit here in my sister’s place as mistress of Pemberley. You do not deserve even to speak her name, never mind bear it and sit in her place.”
I rose, struggling to master my anger. “You have said quite enough, madam,” I said. “You have insulted me in every way possible. I ask that you leave my house at once. If you wish to return, and I shall not forbid you, you can speak with my husband. I shall not be in your presence again until you can speak to me with cordiality. I shall ring for your things.”
Before I could cross the room to ring for the bell, Lady Catherine rose at once.
“You shall not turn me out of my nephew’s home. How dare you? I have more right to be here among my sister’s things than you ever will. I have not done with you yet. There is still more I wish to say, and I will say it though you cannot bring yourself to hear the truth. You have tainted Pemberley forever. Your low connections and your blood will ruin everything for the future heirs of Pemberley who will now descend from your disgraceful line. My nephew should have married my daughter as he was obliged to do due to their engagement, and they could have united their houses. Their children would have had the finest breeding in the land. There are no heights they could not have reached. Instead, I weep to think of my daughter jilted, my nephew destroyed, and Pemberley to pass into the grubby hands of ill-bred mongrels…”
“That is enough, Aunt.”
34
I looked to see my husband standing in the doorway. In the heat of our discussion and in my fury, I had not noticed his entrance. He stood there now, still wearing his coat, looking more furious than I had ever seen him. A thrill ran through me as he glared at his aunt, his face white with rage and more than a match for her own. His hat was in his hand. Judging by the way he clenched it, I had never seen him so enraged. Lady Catherine was so astonished to see him and so wrong-footed that for a moment, she merely gaped at him.
Darcy crossed the room to my side. He took my hand in his and, before his aunt, he leaned towards me. He paused for a moment, his eyebrow raised. I was so confused by the situation that I could only nod. Before his aunt’s astonished eyes, Darcy pressed his warm, firm mouth to mine in a deliberate kiss. He lingered there for a moment as my heart thundered so loud I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. When he drew back, I gasped a little, and it took me a moment to steady myself. I coloured and hoped Lady Catherine would put my confusion down to the situation rather than my flustered feelings at experiencing my first kiss after over a week of marriage.
“Darcy,” Lady Catherine snapped.
Darcy turned to her. He took my hand in his and held it against his chest in a show of support.
“You will apologise to my wife,” he said in a cold voice. I had never seen him behave in such a manner.
“Darcy…”
“You will apologise to my wife, or you will never enter this house again.”
“You do not mean that,” said Lady Catherine. “This upstart has you in her toils right now, and you are overcome. The first few days of marriage can be like that. But you will come to your senses soon, and you will realise how much you have thrown away for a low woman. Come, Darcy. I love you. I implore you to see sense.”
“I will not ask you again,” said Darcy, his voice low. “You will apologise to Mrs Darcy for the disgraceful way you have treated her and spoken to her. You will apologise and beg her forgiveness for the dreadful things you have said. And you will prove to her you are worthy of being her aunt or you will go from this house, and I shall not receive you again.”
“Darcy…” I began in a soft voice. Darcy caressed my hand but kept his gaze fixed on his aunt who stood there trembling with rage and fear.
Lady Catherin
e looked between the two of us, and her eyes lingered on her nephew.
“I cannot believe you mean what you say,” she said. “You do not know what you are about. Perhaps I spoke too hastily, but I cannot be a hypocrite and deny the truth of what I have said. But I shall forgive you for your cruel words to me. You are not the first young man to be enthralled by such a woman. You will come to your senses soon enough and realise what a mistake you have made. When you do so, you may ask for my forgiveness.”
“That will not happen. Elizabeth is the wife of my choosing, and nothing at all will ever give me cause to regret her. I consider myself the fortunate one that she has accepted my hand and I shall apologise to her myself for your disgraceful behaviour. You are not in a position to criticise her or her connections when I have given her a relation who can behave as you have done today. I will ask that you go from the house at once and do not come back.”
“Darcy,” I said urgently.
Darcy paused and looked down at me, his eyes softening. He waited for me to speak.
“There is no need for this,” I said. “We are all feeling rather heightened right now, and we are not in the right frame of mind to decide anything. I would much rather we go our separate ways with your aunt until cooler heads can prevail and we can talk rationally. Do not make hasty decisions you might regret.”
Darcy nodded. He turned back to his aunt.
“You have a niece you do not deserve,” he said. “But my wife will guide me. You should leave now, and we can talk again in a few days. But when we do, I insist you treat Mrs Darcy with the utmost respect and courtesy. Any disrespect towards her and I will have to insist you have no further contact with us.” Darcy glanced down at me again, and I nodded reluctantly. I felt intense discomfort at the thought of him cutting off his aunt on my account, but she was an adult. She would have time to cool off and consider the consequences. If she could not behave, then Darcy was right to cut her, at least for a little while.
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