by Beth Massey
His audience listened attentively as he told of how long Darcy had been enamoured with Elizabeth and the only time they belayed any surprise was when Richard told them of the proposal in Kent and her refusal. He observed what he had hoped for with that tidbit. They both recognized that she was not marrying Darcy for either position or money.
When finished, he waited patiently for either his father or brother to comment. It was several minutes before the earl spoke. His face betrayed nothing of his feelings one way or the other. His words, however, did. “I have known the Earl of Blessing since I was twelve. He is a good man and we were once great friends. There was even hope, at least on Catherine’s part, that our families would be joined. He had no such desire; and your aunt harbours resentment toward him. We all know her to be a bitter woman and this is one source of her discontent. I fear poor Darcy and this Miss Elizabeth Bennet are situated in the eye of a thirty-year-old storm.”
Richard’s father stopped to sip his brandy and seemed to be remembering the past. “Your cousin has had to put up with Lady Catherine’s preposterous contention that she and my sister Anne had agreed their children should marry. Anne’s death gave her the opportunity to promote that myth. Lucky for you, James, your mother is alive and well; or she might have made the same contention with regards a marriage to you.”
Lord Elderton shook his head while wearing a bemused smile. “Probably not… she knows I would never have allowed her to get away with such a fabrication. Your uncle would not have put up with her nonsense regarding his son, if he was still alive.” His attention seemed to wander for a minute before he spoke again. “George Darcy and the Earl of Blessing were both adamant that marriage should be about love. They were the talk of ton for their beliefs.” His Lordship’s mind seemed to return to the present and his duty. “Fate can be cruel, and Darcy has had no protector from your aunt’s fantasy these past five years. I knew what his parents wanted for him and I am now shamed by my negligence. As head of this family, I should have put a stop to her nonsense. The irony of Catherine’s claim is that she was vehemently opposed to Anne marrying George at the time. As a young woman, titles were much more important than wealth to her.”
Again there was a lull in the conversation as all three participants seemed to be digesting the news that had been revealed. Finally James spoke. “Richard, when will Maria and I meet Miss Elizabeth? I have always admired Darcy. He has—and I know Father agrees with me—always been most cognizant of duty and honour, while at the same time eschewing that which is superficial and crass.”
Lord Elderton spoke to his oldest son’s request. “Tell Darcy we will see him and greet all his soon-to-be relations at Saint James on Sunday. Further, assure my nephew, I will caution Lady Catherine to behave when she arrives tomorrow. Lastly, tell him I would like to meet with him on Monday. I do not plan to object, but I would feel more comfortable hearing of this attachment from him.”
James told Richard he and Lady Lillebridge believed she was with child. The conversation then turned to the topic of hope for the next heir to Elderton. Richard confessed to his father and brother of his enjoyment at being often in the company of the Earl of Blessing’s daughter. The discussion that had started with a heaviness of purpose, ended with the sharing of joyful news, and Richard encouraged his father to tell his mother of the seriousness of his feelings for Lady Eleanor.
As the conference was breaking up, the Earl of Elderton winked at his younger son and said, “I hope to be able to reacquaint myself with the Earl of Blessing as well on Sunday. Perhaps, I will be able to put in a good word for my son.”
Richard’s face took on a look of sadness. “Father, I am not certain you will see him until the wedding. He is dying, and while he seemed lively and joyful enough at Blessing House the other night at dinner; he tires easily and is never far from his physician.
His father, who was of an age that hearing of the death of a friend from his youth was becoming more commonplace, sighed with regret.
Lady Catherine arrived the next day. Her brother greeted her warmly, but said he and James were off to White’s. With the promise they could catch up at dinner, Lord Elderton and Lord Lillebridge were out the door. The Countess had Lady Catherine and Anne shown to their rooms to refresh themselves and rest after their journey.
Several hours later, Lady Catherine met with her sister-in-law, Lady Elderton. Anne and Lady Lillebridge were both feeling poorly and remained upstairs in their rooms. It had been years since the two older women had engaged in a tête-à-tête without the presence of others. Lady Catherine’s plan to confront her brother this afternoon with her concerns had been thwarted. Instead, she decided to use her time alone with her sister-in-law wisely. The Countess was a sweet woman and a good match for Henry. The Lady Cassandra had also been the daughter of an earl when she caught her brother’s eye. In addition to her excellent connections, she had brought a substantial dowry to the marriage. A pretty face and a docile manner had been the attributes that had attracted her brother. Still even after all these years, he continued to have great affection for her.
The Countess of Elderton had one vice and her sister-in-law planned to exploit it. She enjoyed gossip… not gossip intended to hurt, but instead for its entertainment value. Lady Catherine knew Henry would not have chosen Cassandra if her tongue had been vicious in nature, but with a little encouragement perhaps there was some nugget she could dislodge that would help Catherine in her quest to break up both couples before the twenty-fourth. She had little concern for the damage rumours of weddings cancelled so precipitously would create for her family—particularly her niece, Georgiana. Her life was far removed from the talk of the ton. Her aim was pure malevolent revenge.
The opening to pursue her gambit came when she asked the nature of her brother’s visit to White’s.
He is testing the temperature of the gossip about Darcy and Lord Colton’s wedding. It seems Miss Lydia Bennet was fooled by the same young man that trifled with Georgiana.
Lady Catherine was pleased with her brother’s mission and his knowledge of the folly of the Bennet’s youngest daughter, “Yes I heard about that business. My parson is the Bennet’s cousin, and he said Miss Lydia was quite wanton in her ways. Is Henry gathering ammunition to object?”
Her pleasure soon dissipated with Cassandra’s next words, “No, he seems quite resolved to give his support, and just wants to be prepared for how best to accomplish that. Richard persuaded his father that Darcy has found the sort of woman Lady Anne and George would have wanted for their son. He says the entire Bennet family is delightful, and he is enjoying spending time with them as they prepare for the wedding.”
Lady Catherine was not to be deterred from her mission. She hoped her brother had not spoken of her pursuit of the Earl of Blessing. It had happened before he wed Lady Cassandra. With luck that bit of history had not been shared. If he had, her sister-in-law could become suspicious with her next line of questioning, “What does Richard say of Lord Colton and his family?”
Cassandra’s face was guileless as she said, “Not much except that he admires his sister, and is spending a great deal of time with her family. Blessing House is where he is currently residing until after the wedding. One other bit of information is that Richard told his father the Earl of Blessing is dying, and seemed particularly joyful he will see his son and heir wed.”
Lady Catherine realized as she heard the news of Lord Blessing’s impending death that she had no feelings for this man she had hoped to marry so many years ago. She schooled her face to register simple curiosity as she asked. “What of his sister, Lady Sarah? Is she participating in the celebration? I had heard some rumours about her, but I am unable to remember what they were.”
Catherine’s sister-in-law now had a very juicy topic about which to gossip, and her face registered her enjoyment. She lowered her voice to speak her next bit of intelligence. “Oh yes, she has a very wild history. Very few in London know, but she runs a very elite brothel
. Henry told me I was never to speak of her business to anyone. However, I am sure he did not mean you.” She leaned in to whisper. “George Darcy encouraged him to send James and Richard to her for an education in the ways of love. I was opposed at first. However, he won me over by suggesting that my boys would have an outlet for their youthful lust, and would not be rushed into marriage for the wrong reasons.”
Assuming the same whispered tone as Cassandra, she pursued this highly scandalous topic. “George knew of her place? Did he send his son to her?” She doubted that the Bennet family knew of this particular point of her nephew’s history. Could she use this to disrupt their daughters’ plans?
Lady Elderton continued to bleed information her husband had told her in confidence. “Yes, he took him when he was sixteen. James and Richard were a few years older when they went. Later, Henry became quite concerned he had made a mistake. It seems Richard and Darcy became enamoured of one of the young women there. I remember her name was Bella because Henry related a story about the two and the young woman. It seemed Richard always called her ‘beautiful Bella’, and Darcy insisted every time he heard the phrase that it was redundant.” Lady Cassandra seemed to be chuckling at some of the antics she had observed between Darcy and Richard over the years. “Those two boys are closer than even James and Richard.”
Lady Catherine began to develop a plan. If her brother would not intervene, she would. Cassandra told her Henry planned to meet with Darcy on Monday. She would wait until that meeting was concluded, and her nephew was lulled into a sense of security. Then she would strike on Tuesday. Should she blackmail her nephew with revealing his dalliance with this Bella, or devastate Miss Elizabeth with the news?
Tuesday morning found Lady Catherine travelling to Darcy House to confront her nephew. The past few days had allowed her to craft her plan of vengeance. She decided to confront her nephew and threaten to expose his visits to Lady Sarah’s establishment. He would most certainly brush that aside, but then she would tell him of her knowledge of his plan to marry this country nobody and continue his relationship with Bella, the harlot, on the side.
That was what Sir Lewis had done to her. He had told her shortly after their wedding that his reason for marrying her was he believed she was the type of wife who would not complain. He knew all she wanted was his estate and wealth, so certainly she did not expect loyalty. She had not, but her mortification at the excesses of his degeneracy, had forced her to rarely leave Kent.
Her nephew was very different. His reputation as an honourable man was most important to him. He would not want Miss Elizabeth Bennet to know of his depraved plans. No, not she who had rejected him once… what a revelation that had been from her sister-in-law… she was certain Darcy would break off their betrothal rather than subjecting her and himself to a public humiliation because of his need to satisfy his lust. Cassandra had divulged that Henry had seemed to consider her rejection most pertinent information in defence of this marriage.
When she was arrived at Darcy House, she could hear the lilt of girlish laughter somewhere in the house. This momentarily confused her, but she proceeded on her course. She asked the footman for her nephew and was told he was not at home. Just then Miss Elizabeth Bennet dressed to go out for a walk appeared. In that instant, Lady Catherine changed her plan.
Donning her most haughty expression and curling her lip in disdain, she sneered at the young woman before her. “Miss Bennet, I see you have already made your arts and allurements available to my nephew by moving into the mistress chambers. What a clever way to ensure he is unable to back out of this preposterous marriage.”
Elizabeth was speechless. The only thing she could think of at the moment was keeping this confrontation from her sisters, Georgiana and Lady Eleanor. Lady Catherine had just accused her of wanton behaviour in front of a servant. How could she ever be the mistress of this house now that she had been so cruelly exposed? Her voice cracked the first time she attempted to answer. Finally, despite every fibre of her body shaking with a combination of anger and mortification, she managed to speak. “Lady Catherine, please come with me. We should have some privacy if we are to discuss my betrothal and wedding.” Elizabeth took the older woman’s arm and proceeded to drag her in the direction of Fitzwilliam’s study.
Lady Catherine continued to speak most indiscreetly as they moved out of the entrance and down the hall. “Your own conscience, must tell you why I come. My nephew must be protected from you and your disreputable family; and you need to know exactly why he is willing to lower his standards to offer for you."
Elizabeth stopped pulling Lady Catherine. Those last words had caused Elizabeth to look at her with utter astonishment. Her words were ominous and filled with venom. Suddenly, she realized for Georgiana’s sake she must remove this woman from the hall.
When Elizabeth had her within a few feet of her destination, she spoke again. This time Lady Catherine’s words were expelled in an extremely loud and angry tone. "Miss Bennet, take your hands from me. I came here today to confront my nephew with my knowledge of his outrageous plan for your marriage. Now that I am here, I realize things are worse than I suspected. It is obvious Darcy has been seduced into engaging in scandalous behaviour before he has said his vows. The depth of his depravity is beyond belief… that he would engage in such acts with my niece in the house. You and your sister are obviously very adept at making men desire you. My character has never been celebrated for that kind of skill, but instead for its sincerity and frankness.
Elizabeth stared speechless upon hearing the words of indictment coming from her betrothed’s aunt.
“Since my nephew is not here, I will inform you of the degenerate scheme he has concocted for this union. A report of a most alarming nature became known to me when I arrived in London. You are someone with whom he can trifle, and with such low connections you will be in no position to question his dalliances after you are wed. He will be married to you, but will be free to continue to frequent a certain courtesan named Bella. They have been involved with each other since they were sixteen. I believe Lord Colton has a similar plan for your sister. What could be more perfect for their degenerate needs than to be wed to two country simpletons who will play the role of loving complaisance to cover their illicit affairs?”
Outside in the hall all of the young women and Mrs Annesley had heard Lady Catherine’s last words. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other with round eyes and open mouths. Jane took command of the situation. She sent Lydia and Lady Eleanor to Blessing House to bring Mr Darcy. She told them to go as quickly as possible and asked them to stay there until the crisis was over. She asked Mrs Annesley to take Mary, Kitty and Georgiana upstairs where she would join them shortly. Jane was particularly worried about Georgiana, for she was pale, trembling and looked as if she might faint. Before Mrs Annesley took them upstairs, The oldest Miss Bennet told her that she thought Miss Darcy might need some laudanum.
Elizabeth was finally able to close and lock the door. Lady Catherine’s hateful words were swirling in her head, and she struggled to make sense of them. Everything she knew of Will Darcy said her words were untrue, but still there was this niggling doubt that perhaps… Her Ladyship sat in one of the two guest chairs as though it was a throne. “When do you expect Mr Darcy to return? It is he I came to see.”
Elizabeth continued to stand in defiance. She wondered whether it was a betrayal to answer her questions. The need to defend her honour won out over thoughts of loyalty. If this vicious woman knew there was no impropriety in the sleeping arrangements, perhaps she would leave. Her next words were delivered in a quiet voice while staring at the floor, “Your nephew is not staying here. He is across the square at Blessing House.”
The older woman’s cane was rapped on the floor like a sceptre. Elizabeth startled by the noise, lifted her eyes. “So you say. Tell your lover I expect him to pay a call to his uncle’s house. I must be allowed to express my disapproval of his behaviour in person. If my siste
r were alive, she would never tolerate such wanton licentiousness in her son. It is his father’s fault. He promoted these proclivities.”
Elizabeth was struck by her mention of Lady Anne and realized there was a flaw in Lady Catherine’s allegations. Screwing up her courage, her hope was to confront the harridan. She forced her voice to be firm and even a bit commanding. “Why if Mr Darcy is so depraved were you hoping for a marriage between him and your daughter?”
Lady Catherine paused and seemed to attempt to recover from Elizabeth’s most impertinent question. “I only just learned of his long time liaison with this Bella woman. Colonel Fitzwilliam told his father, the Earl of Elderton, of her. It seems they have shared her for many years. Now that I know of their degenerate ways, I will never let either of them visit my daughter again.”
Doubt crept back up Elizabeth’s throat. She could taste the bile of uncertainty. While fighting those feelings, she made a valiant effort to defend both herself and Will. Gathering herself up to her full height and donning her own haughty expression, she spoke. “I refuse to believe there is any foundation for your accusations.”
“This is not to be borne! Miss Bennet you must think me a fool. In a moment of infatuation with your wanton ways, you made Darcy forget what he owes to his family."
Once again Elizabeth heard an inconsistency in her ladyship’s argument. She pounced on the discrepancy and gained some momentum in taking on this vile woman. “Lady Catherine of what, exactly, are you charging me? Am I your nephew’s fool, or am I a woman of ill repute who has captured his lustful eye.” She paused and pointed at his imperious aunt. “I believe you are saying anything that suits you. None of your accusations contain any truth.” Elizabeth knew at least one thing she had said was valid, but she refused to allow her to observe any hint of her guilt.