by Don Miller
“I am sorry, my Lady, but I know that they are in fact engaged and their engagement has been announced in the papers and at a ball last night given by Miss Dumont’s grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Denby. And, as I recall, Mr. Darcy has told many people both he and your daughter Anne have stated in the past they will not marry each other. What can possibly be done?”
“Whoever that insolent girl is, she needs to call off this engagement and allow Darcy to do his duty. It was his mother’s and my dearest wish that our two families be joined, and it is his duty to do so. Anyway who is this Miss Elizabeth Dumont who has apparently captured my nephew’s fancy?”
Pausing briefly, Elizabeth finally answered, “Actually, Lady Catherine, I am Elizabeth Dumont.”
Lady Catherine stared at her for a moment, and then angrily asked, “What game are you playing at here, Miss Bennet? I know who you are, and I know who your parents are. “
Barely able to contain her own anger, Elizabeth controlled her voice as best she could. “Obviously you do not. I cannot believe neither you nor Mr. Collins noticed the statements in the papers over two weeks ago that I have been recognized to be the legitimate daughter of the son of the Earl and Countess of Denby and the daughter of Baron and Baroness Monttard and, thereby the granddaughter of those illustrious persons. And I can assure you madam, my engagement to Mr. Darcy will not be revoked. And, furthermore, if I were you, I would be careful about any threats you might make, because in wealth, prominence, and influence my families are far beyond you. I am also known by and have been accepted into the circle of women who are personally acquainted with the Queen. So I suggest you go into the parlor to await Mr. Darcy or leave this house. But this interview is done.”
So saying, she turned to the door to summon the Darcy’s butler, when it was opened and Darcy entered the room. “Good afternoon, aunt. Have you come to give my betrothed and me your congratulations and good wishes?”
Feeling insulted and never unable to give up her dream, Lady Catherine said to her nephew, “Fitzwilliam Darcy, this young lady has insulted me and will disgrace the Darcy name. I demand an end to this engagement and you honor your mother’s wish and mine and marry Anne.”
Darcy stepped directly in front of Lady Catherine, and in his best master of Pemberley voice, said, “Aunt, Anne and I have told you repeatedly we do not intend to marry. And I believe it is you who have insulted my fiancé, not that she has insulted you. At this point as master of this house and head of the Darcy family, I give you two choices and only two choices. You can apologize to Miss Dumont and give us your best wishes, and we can tell you our future plans, or you can be escorted out of this house, never to return to this house or to be invited to Pemberley again. It is your choice.”
Lady Catherine looked disbelievingly at Darcy, started to say something, and then, changing her mind, stalked out the door, yelling as she left, “I will speak to my brother about this and tell him about the insolence of that woman you plan to marry. This is not over yet.” A few minutes later they heard the front door slam as she exited Darcy House.
Turning to the Elizabeth and Georgiana, he said with a smile, “Well, I can see you two have had an interesting afternoon.” At which time Georgiana flung herself into his arms and buried her head in his chest.
“She was just awful. I was so afraid, and Elizabeth was so brave. You should have seen her. I do not think anyone has ever talked to Aunt that way.”
Looking at Elizabeth a little sheepishly, he admitted, “I know. I was just outside the door for a good part of the exchange between Aunt and Elizabeth. I had intended to come in and rescue you, Elizabeth, but as I listened, I realized you were handling the situation better than I could have. I am afraid I would have shouted at her, and it probably would have become much more unpleasant than it was. I hope you are not very mad at me.”
She tried to look at him as if she was mad at him, but just could not do it, and suddenly she laughed. “I was pretty fierce, was I not? You know how I love to force myself to rise to the occasion when I am being challenged.” She reached up her right hand and laid her fingers on his cheek, “But seriously, I hope she does not cause trouble between you and the rest of your family.”
Gently pushing Georgiana away from him, he took Elizabeth in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Dearest Elizabeth, the only other people in this family whom I care about are just as upset with Aunt as we are, and they will be overjoyed at the way you put her in her place. I loved your warning to her about making threats being dangerous. I had not thought about it, but it is true.” And then stepping back and looking at her, he made a serious face and continued in a teasing voice, “I guess I had better be very careful about the way I treat you.”
She responded by poking him in the chest with her finger and saying, “And do not you forget it!”
Georgiana laughed at their playfulness, seemingly to already forget the unhappy scene she just witnessed. Pulling on Elizabeth’s arm, she said, “Let us go perform the songs we have been practicing lately. I know how much Will likes to hear you sing.”
At about the same time they were finishing their third song for Darcy, Lady Catherine’s carriage pulled up in front of Matlock House. The footman opened the door for her, and she sat there pensively for a while, started to get out, and then, changing her mind, sat back down again and ordered her driver to take her to her townhouse.
Ellie, the upstairs maid, was looking out the window and recognized the carriage and saw Lady Catherine start to get out and then decide against it. Thinking it very strange, she decided she should tell her mistress about it, so a few seconds later, she knocked on the door to the sitting room next to Lady Matlock’s bed chamber, where she and Lord Matlock were enjoying a light lunch. Getting a request to enter by Lady Matlock, she let herself in, curtsied, and said, “I thought you might like to know what I just seen. It was Lady DeBourgh herself that pulled up in front of the house and started to get out and then did not. It seemed sorter strange to me, so I thought maybe you should know.”
Lady Matlock looked at her husband with a questioning look while she said to Ellie, “Thank you, Ellie. That was very observant of you, and I am glad you thought to tell us.” And Ellie left the room, very pleased with herself that she had been able to please her Ladyship.
“That is strange, indeed,” said Lord Matlock, “very strange. I am sure I know why she is in town, but what do you suppose prompted the strange behavior in front of our house?”
They sat for a moment pondering the unusual occurrence, and the suddenly Lady Matlock clapped her hands together and gave a little laugh. “I am sure that once she arrived in town, she went directly to Darcy House to confront Darcy and tell him he had to give up notions of marrying someone other than Anne. But I remember Elizabeth telling me last night she had promised Georgiana she would go to Darcy House late in the morning to tell Georgiana all about the ball, because Georgiana would want all the details, and William would give so few. Do you suppose she ran into a very determined young woman named Elizabeth who would not be intimidated by her huffing and puffing? And then she came here to complain to you, but somehow she realized she had lost and there was no use in coming in.”
“If that is the case,” said Lord Matlock, “I would have loved to have been a little mouse in the corner to hear the confrontation. I wonder what Elizabeth could have said to her that would cause such unprecedented behavior in my sister. Of course, this is all speculation. It could have just been that Darcy talked with her, but many times in the past those two have had confrontations, and it has never affected Catherine like this.” He paused for a moment, stood and walked to the window, and turned back to his wife with a big smile on his face, and continued,” You know, I am really beginning to love that girl. Even if it is just that she forced Darcy to finally have it out with Catherine, she is causing big changes in this family, and I heartily enjoy it.”
They were still speculating on just what happened when a somewhat blear
y eyed Col. Fitzwilliam walked into the room. “I cannot believe I slept so late. I cannot remember the last time I slept until noon. I was not able to fall asleep until about 5 o’clock, and for some reason I am totally drained of energy, and I have a very important meeting this afternoon at 3 o’clock.”
“A meeting you say. Would not it be better to call it an assignation? I assume you are going to see Margaret.”
“Yes. She convinced me to go riding with her and her cousins. I am sure you know them: the Palfords. I think Mrs. Palford is her eldest uncle’s youngest daughter, probably about the same age as Margaret.”
“So how long is this courtship going to last?” asked his father, in a teasing voice. “Will you give it at least a week or two before you make her an offer?”
Replying in kind, Col. Fitzwilliam said, “I will try to hold out for at least a week, but you know us soldiers, we’re really suckers for really pretty girls. She may manage capture me in a couple of days, if what has happened so far is any indication.”
“Ah, so she is the aggressor in this one, is she,” asked his mother, “and you are just the poor innocent who cannot resist her charms?”
“That is about it. I have been totally seduced and outmaneuvered and can see no way to honorably withdraw from the battlefield, and, of course, being an officer in His Majesty’s Service, I must do the honorable thing. I think I am hopelessly trapped and will surrender to my fate with dignity.”
Both his mother and father laughed and commiserated with him. And then, his father told him of the strange behavior of Lady Catherine, saying nothing about their speculations about what had happened.
It did not particularly surprise them at all when their son said, “Ha! I sense a not so implacable force meeting a totally immoveable object. I fear my aunt may have tried to intimidate the wrong young woman and was batted down. What do you think?”
They chuckled at his analogy, and told him they had speculated much the same thing. They all agreed if it were the case, they would love to know the whole story. At the end of their discussion, as Col. Fitzwilliam was about to leave to prepare for his ride with Margaret and the Palfords, he said to his parents, “I assume you know I think highly of Elizabeth and once thought I might have designs on her myself, if it were not for Darcy. But in my soul I know we would not have been a good couple. She is, quite frankly, too much for me, but perfect for Darcy. I think she knew that and never really would have considered me. But I want you to know I have no regret and am only thankful she has helped me find a woman who has made me forget any yearnings I may have had for her. As I told Darcy and Elizabeth, I hope Margaret and I work out and that our relationship is at least half as good as theirs.”
After he had gone, Lord Matlock looked at his wife and said, “You know, I sometime despaired Richard would ever really grow up. But I think he has, Helen, I truly think he has. I do pray this courtship he is pursuing with Margaret ends up with a marriage.”
At that very moment Margaret was thinking exactly the same thing, as she prepared for her ride with Col. Fitzwilliam,…no, Richard, her Richard. She knew he thought highly of Elizabeth and might even have had feelings for her. But she also knew he would never consider coming between her and Mr. Darcy. She did worry he might be comparing her to Elizabeth, and she knew she was not as beautiful as Elizabeth, or as intelligent, but she had a feeling Elizabeth was too intelligent for Richard, too strong-willed. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she knew she was pretty and smart, and she knew she was considered witty and well spoken. She could certainly play the piano and the harp very well, and she could ride well enough to keep up with even a cavalry man. She was not Elizabeth, did not want to be like Elizabeth, and had no desires to help solve the problems of the world like Elizabeth. She just wanted to have a loving home, with lots of children, and make her husband, hopefully her Richard, happy. And she felt her Richard needed a woman like her—no not like her, exactly her.
As she finished dressing and left her room, she was praying this would be the first of a lifetime of horseback rides with her Richard.
Chapter 18: A Visit from Longbourn
On Tuesday morning after the ball, Elizabeth, Lady Monttard, Margaret, and Georgiana were gathered in the sitting room of Monttard House, awaiting the final three women, Lady Denby, Lady Matlock and Mrs. Gardiner, who were to meet to plan the wedding. Elizabeth knew Lady Monttard, Lady Denby, and Lady Matlock would be doing most of the planning, but she knew Margaret and Georgiana would like to be part of the discussion, and she wanted to honor Mrs. Gardiner for all she had done for her. She thought Mrs. Gardiner, and indeed, Mr. Gardiner, should be recognized by her current family as people who had a very important influence on her previous life and her development into who she was.
As the four of them were discussing the success of the ball, the butler announced Mrs. Gardiner. When she entered the room, Elizabeth introduced her to Margaret and Georgiana. Shortly thereafter, Lady Denby arrived, and was introduced to Mrs. Gardiner, and as that introduction was ending, Lady Mattock was ushered in the room. As Elizabeth was about to introduce her aunt to Lady Mattock, she was surprised when Lady Mattock said, “Madeleine, it is so good to see you. So you are the Gardiner who was Elizabeth’s aunt. When she told me she stayed with her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, I thought about you, but she said they owned a bookstore, and because I thought your husband dealt in wines and dry goods, I assumed it was another Gardiner. And the address to which we sent the invitation for Elizabeth to come to tea was not an address I associated with you. Clearly I should have questioned her more about it.”
“Lady Helen, it is good to see you. Yes, I was her aunt, and she often came to town to visit us. Mrs. Bennet is my husband’s sister. Also, we moved into our present house a little over two years ago and only bought the bookstore recently, so, unless you happened to be in our wine and coffee store in the last few months, you could not have known about the bookstore.” She briefly paused, as a sudden thought came to her. “Now that I think of it, if you remember, the last place we saw each other was at the Aynsbury Society charity auction.” At Lady Matlock’s acknowledgment she remembered that also, Mrs. Gardiner continued. “Elizabeth was at that charity auction, but working in the back helping organize the whole process, thus I never had a chance to introduce you. But we did talk about her. When Elizabeth sent the note to me inviting me to attend this meeting, she mentioned you would be here, and I have been looking forward to seeing you again.”
The expression of surprise that appeared on Lady Matlock’s face indicated she remembered, and she exclaimed, “Oh, this is beyond belief. I had forgotten about that. So Elizabeth is the niece you told me was so incredible? Even if I had remembered, I do not think I would have remembered you told me her name was Elizabeth or that her last name was Bennet. What a coincidence this is!”
She turned to Elizabeth. “You may not believe this, but at dinner that day after the auction, I told Lord Matlock that Madeleine Gardiner had told me about this niece she had who sounded like she would be a perfect match for Darcy if only she had some dowry and a little higher social standing. How prophetic that was, because here you stand, with a huge dowry and a very high social standing and engaged to be married to him. And I am so glad you invited Mrs. Gardiner to our little meeting, because I doubt if there is a better organizer in all of London than her.”
“Lady Matlock,” responded Elizabeth, “the series of coincidences associated with my life the last few weeks are becoming too many to count. It is almost as if I have had a guardian angel watching over me and decided it was time for everything to come together according to some celestial plan. I only hope I can figure out what that plan is and what my part in it is.”
“I am sure you will, my dear,” Lady Monttard told her granddaughter. “And now that we are all here, it is time we contribute to that providential sequence of events over the last two or three weeks. Whatever the overall plan may be, I know this part of the plan is to create a wedding, a weddin
g breakfast, and a wedding ball which will be fitting beginning to your new life with Mr. Darcy. So I suggest we get to work and decide the various roles that each of us is to play.”
The rest of the morning and all through lunch, there was discussion of who would be invited, sending out invitations, what the timing of the events would be, what the themes of each of the events would be in terms of colors, flower arrangements, etc. Lady Denby had confirmed that the church was available the morning of Saturday, July 9, so the wedding breakfast at Matlock house would follow the wedding, and the ball would be held that night at 8 PM. At Lady Matlock’s insistence that Mrs. Gardiner had more contacts than any of them in the commercial world, she was the one who was given the responsibility for making all flower arrangements, and assured she had an essentially unlimited budget with which to work. The guidance given her was to make it the most beautiful set of venues she could imagine. Margaret and Lady Denby would take care of church arrangements, Lady Matlock and Georgiana would see to the wedding breakfast, and Lady Monttard and Elizabeth would arrange for the ball. When they parted after lunch, they were all confident they could make it one of the social events of the season. Among the three Ladies, they had almost unlimited resources to make these events the talk of the town.
As she was leaving, Mrs. Gardiner told Elizabeth she had received an express from Mr. Bennet the day before, stating the Bennet women were going to come to town on Wednesday to shop for wedding clothes. Mr. Bennet had also sent his congratulations, and said the others would be expressing their congratulations to her in person. Jane expressed the hope she could stay with Elizabeth for their three night stay, because, as Elizabeth knew, the Gardiners only have two guest rooms, and Jane did not want to ask one of her sisters to sleep on the couch in the library, and she certainly did not want to do it herself.