Trapped at Rosings

by Emily Russell

  Lady Catherine settled back in her chair as if the matter was now closed. Fitzwilliam’s lips twitched.

  “Not quite, Aunt. There is still the matter of Darcy and Miss Bennet and what their night together means for them.”

  Lady Catherine rounded on him, her mouth open in outrage, but Darcy nodded.

  “Yes, I have been thinking along similar lines.”

  “It means nothing for them. It was an accident,” Lady Catherine snapped.

  Fitzwilliam gave her an innocent look. “But you were quite clear on the fact that if Anne and Darcy were together, they would have to marry at once. It would irreparably damage Anne’s reputation. Everyone heard you say it as you repeated it to them multiple times. So surely if the situation would have required Darcy and Anne’s marriage, it must now require Darcy and Miss Bennet’s?”

  “Do not be ridiculous, Richard,” said Lady Catherine. She gripped the arms of her chair, her nails biting into the wood. “It is not the same situation. Anne is a lady.”

  “As is Miss Bennet. And she is a gentleman’s daughter. Her reputation has been compromised. Everyone in town knows she spent the night alone with Darcy. Mrs Swift and Mrs Sanders will certainly have spread the news far and wide by now. If you had not insisted so strenuously on so many people accompanying us, we might have kept the matter quiet, but…” Fitzwilliam spread his hands in a show of helplessness.

  “And even if they had not been there, I should still have offered for Miss Bennet,” said Darcy. “I would not have had her dishonoured without attempting to remedy the situation. I already had my mind made up that I should go to her and ask her to marry me.”

  “Darcy, you will do no such thing,” cried Lady Catherine. Her face was red and her voice so high with rage, it was almost a scream. “You will not marry that pert little upstart. Who is she? Who are her family and what are her connections? I will not have my sister’s son throw himself away on a Miss Nobody from Nowhere in Hertfordshire. And besides, you are already engaged to my daughter, even if you have been dragging your feet on the matter. You will marry Anne, and that is the end of it.”

  “Anne and I have agreed we do not wish to marry, Aunt,” said Darcy, calm in the face of her rage. “We spoke on the matter and agreed we should not suit.”

  Lady Catherine shot her daughter a poisonous look, and the girl visibly flinched. Fitzwilliam went to Anne at once and took the seat beside her. Unseen by her mother, he discreetly took her hand and squeezed it.

  “Is this true, Anne? You have once again defied my wishes?”

  For a moment, Anne looked too afraid to speak. Fitzwilliam gently squeezed her hand again to convey his support.

  “I have, Mother,” she said in a voice so quiet they could almost not hear her. “I am fond of Darcy, but I do not feel for him as I should for a husband. I do not wish to marry him.”

  “But you are engaged, whether or not you wish it. It has been arranged since you were in the cradle.”

  “Oh? Is that the case? I was under the impression it was an informal agreement; a wish between two sisters as they imagined their children’s futures. I was not aware it was a formal betrothal, signed by witnesses. May I see the documents?” asked Darcy in a dry voice.

  “Of course there are no documents,” said Lady Catherine. “You know there are not though you delight in vexing me. But it was decided for you by your elders, and you will not defy our wishes.”

  “Be honest, Aunt; there is no betrothal, and there never was. Two people saying ‘I think it would be a very good thing if Darcy married Anne’ is not an engagement. The only people who can decide such a matter are Anne and I. Anne is of age now and outside your control, though you fail to understand that. We will not marry against our wishes to satisfy you.”

  Lady Catherine’s eyes bulged, and her knuckles were white as she gripped the arms of her chair.

  “So this is the thanks I get for my notice of you over the years? All the times I doted on you as my favourite nephew? All the care I gave you? Will you throw that away and defy me for your own selfish wishes? I will not allow it.”

  “It is not your place to allow it or disallow it,” said Darcy smoothly. “This is a matter over which you have no say or control. And if your notice of me was only something you hoped I would repay you with obedience in the future, I should say it was not genuine enough to move me now. Fitzwilliam’s mother is also my aunt and has given me great notice over the years, yet she does not demand my marriage to Richard as payment.”

  “I would not have you anyway, Darcy,” said Fitzwilliam.

  “Do not speak nonsense at such a time,” snapped Lady Catherine. “Marry Richard indeed. What sort of talk is that?”

  “She also does not demand I marry Sophia or Julie or Louise as repayment for her kindnesses,” said Darcy. “Her warmth and notice of me have been genuine. But that is irrelevant. What it comes down to is there is nothing you can say or do that will make Anne, and I marry. I am honour bound to Miss Bennet. Even you would not see a lady destroyed and her family’s reputation in tatters? Come, I know you are too good for that.” Darcy knew no such thing but flattery often worked on his aunt, and it was worth a chance.

  “What do I care for them?” demanded Lady Catherine. “Who are they? Nobody! A family whose estate is entailed on that ridiculous clergyman of mine. Marry into merchants and shopkeepers! It will not do for the son of Lady Anne Darcy and the grandson of an earl. You are expected to raise your family by your marriage, and I will not see you throw yourself away.” She released a breath, and as Darcy raised an eyebrow, she softened her tact. “I am not without feeling, Darcy. You must forgive me. It has been a difficult day for me, believing harm had come to my daughter and nephew. I have still not recovered from the horror. I mean no disrespect to Miss Bennet. But you exaggerate the matter. She is safe in Hertfordshire from any rumours in Kent. I can send her home at once, and the matter will be forgotten about. And,” she said in a triumphant tone,” I can see to it that even if it follows her, it will not harm her or her family in any way. I will arrange a dowry for her beyond anything her family can provide. I can arrange introductions to eligible men who will be more suited to one of her station. I shall see to it she shall not suffer.”

  But Darcy shook his head. “No, that will not do. Word will spread beyond Kent, you know that. If she attracts a man with this stain on her, it will be the sort of man who wants a wife for her fortune and will spend his life forgiving Miss Bennet for her apparent transgression. And it will also cost me. Everyone will know I abandoned Miss Bennet after damaging her reputation. Oh, I will face nothing like the censure she will, but I will lose all right to be seen as an honourable man. I will not abandon Miss Bennet, and it is pointless of you to ask me. I will go to her this afternoon and offer for her so she has no anxiety on the subject.”

  “Darcy, I forbid it!” Lady Catherine screamed, all pretence of control lost. “You will not do this. You will not — I will not allow you to — you will be the ruin of this family! Think of Georgiana! If you think of no one else, think of her. How will it affect her to have a sister who is descended from greengrocers and solicitors? Who will take her with such a family connected to her?”

  “I am not at all concerned about Georgiana’s prospects,” said Darcy. His face was white with anger that his aunt would try to use his affection for his sister against him in such a manner. “She has a considerable fortune. She is pretty and talented. And I believe Miss Bennet will be a wonderful sister for her to have. She is lively, clever and kind. She and Georgiana will be great friends, and her influence will only benefit my sister. Yes, Miss Bennet’s family has low connections, and they are not what a sensible man might desire, but…”

  “Well, it is nice to know people wholly unconnected with me have been busy planning my future,” came a tart voice behind him. Darcy turned around to find himself staring into the dark and angry eyes of Elizabeth Bennet. Mr and Mrs Collins and Maria Lucas stood beside her, their faces
white. Elizabeth turned on her heel and walked out.

  “Cousin Elizabeth!” called Mr Collins. He looked horrified that anyone would dare walk away from Lady Catherine’s august society. He made to go after her to order her to return, but his wife laid a restraining hand on his arm.

  “I will go after her, my dear,” she said.

  “But I am the head of the family,” he protested.

  “I think Lady Catherine needs you here right now,” she whispered. “She has been through a dreadful ordeal and will desire your counsel.”

  Mr Collins was diverted at once. “Yes, yes, of course, she will. How good you are to think of it. I hope you will go after my cousin, dear Charlotte. I will stay here with Lady Catherine.”

  “An excellent idea,” said Charlotte. She threw a wink at Maria and followed Elizabeth.

  Chapter 11

  Charlotte assumed Elizabeth was walking back to Hunsford Lodge, and she started in that direction when a voice called her name. Elizabeth was sitting on a bench. Her face was pale and tired as her friend came to join her. Charlotte said nothing as she sat beside her. Elizabeth sighed and linked her arm through her friends.

  “I am sorry for running away like that.”

  “Do not apologise. You have had a dreadful time of it, and I am only sorry any of it should have happened. I wanted you to enjoy your stay with me.”

  “I have enjoyed it, apart from something that is not your fault.” Elizabeth gave a shaky laugh and raised her head. She looked back towards the house. “How did my cousin and the great lady take my sudden departure?”

  “Oh, who cares about Lady Catherine,” said Charlotte with sudden impatience. “Why she should feel the right to dominate everyone’s lives is beyond me. And as to my husband, do not concern yourself. I can manage him.” She gave her friend a mischievous look. “You rejected that task after all when you refused to marry him.”

  Elizabeth smiled as Charlotte hoped she would. “Yes, I relinquished it to you. And you do it far better than I ever could.” She poked at a clump of daisies with the toe of her boot and sighed. “I cannot believe this is happening,” she said. “So many people know I spent the night with Mr Darcy. My reputation will be in tatters. And if that were not bad enough, my disgrace will also mean my sisters’ chances of happiness have lessened even more than they already were. I cannot bear the thought that I am the one who will injure Jane and prevent her from ever finding a husband who will love her. Her heart is still broken over Mr Bingley. When news of this reaches her, she will not think of herself right away. She is too generous for that. All her concern will be for me as always. But it will not be long before she realises the price she will have to pay. I could not endure the thought of doing that to her.”

  “From what we heard, it seems Mr Darcy is ready and willing to remedy the situation,” said Charlotte carefully.

  Elizabeth scoffed. “Oh, yes. How grand of him. Willing to redeem the fallen woman and take on her ridiculous family. It is precisely what I always dreamed of finding. I am the most fortunate girl in the world.”

  “Perhaps it will not be so bad?”

  Elizabeth looked at her sceptically, and Charlotte smiled. “Come, you must know I have not always disliked Mr Darcy as strongly as you do. I have always thought him a decent man even with all his arrogance.”

  “A decent man would not have cheated another man out of his inheritance and left him to make his own way in the world,” Elizabeth retorted. Her mind flew to Wickham. His handsome face and his eyes that lit up at the sight of her. For the first time, she was sincerely glad he was to wed Mary King. She did not know if she could have endured the situation if he were free.

  And yet how would he take the news when he learned she was to marry the man who ruined his life? Even if they could not wed, he was a dear friend to her. She did not like to think of the hurt in his eyes when he discovered her plans. She could only hope he married Mary King as soon as possible and went with her to Liverpool where they would never have to see one another again.

  Charlotte sighed and patted her friend’s arm. “We do not know everything that happened. I told you before you would be a fool to allow your fancy for Wickham to slight a man of ten times his consequence. I still believe that. Do not allow a man who is to marry another woman to come between you and whatever may happen that might help your family and perhaps make you happier than you can imagine.”

  “Help my family, perhaps, but let us not pretend this will lead to my happiness. Come now, Charlotte, you were never a romantic. Do not tell me foolish fancies now. I will know you do not mean them.”

  Charlotte hardly knew what to say. She did not consider Mr Darcy the black-hearted villain Elizabeth did, and she had always suspected his partiality for her friend. But it seemed the feeling of being forced into a path she did not choose was making Elizabeth see only the bad parts of the situation. Her mind would not allow her to consider any advantages.

  “He did save your life,” she said softly. “He tried to save you and injured himself in the process.”

  Elizabeth’s anger softened, and she nodded. “Yes, he did,” she mumbled. She recalled how he had held her the night before and how safe she had felt with him. He had been so gentle with her. She thought he had been about to kiss her and she had wanted it. Her face flamed, and she looked away as if suddenly interested in some sparrows squabbling in the grass. She could not allow Charlotte to see her reaction. She had been terrified, and it was only natural she sought comfort from the only other person present. It was nothing more than that.

  Behind them, someone cleared his throat.

  “Miss Bennet,” said a voice Elizabeth had come to recognise all too well. The girls looked around, and Elizabeth rose from her seat at once. Charlotte stood up.

  “I will leave you to talk.”

  “There is no need for that, Charlotte. Mr Darcy cannot have anything to say that you cannot hear.”

  Charlotte took a step towards her. To Elizabeth’s surprise, she kissed her on the cheek.

  “Do not be a goose, Lizzy,” she whispered. Elizabeth looked after her as she walked away and suppressed a sigh of resignation. Her friend was right. There was no way for her to avoid this. She raised wary eyes to Darcy. He looked surprisingly nervous. He gestured for her to sit down again and at the sight of his bandaged hand, Elizabeth felt some of her own anger melt.

  “You are well?” he asked. He looked genuinely concerned.

  “I am. There was nothing wrong with me that some sleep would not put to rights,” she said. “And Charlotte insisted I receive that as soon as I returned to Hunsford. But you who were injured and stayed awake most of the night…” she broke off, and her cheeks glowed. “… most of the night,” she continued. “I hope you are well? Has the physician been to see you?”

  “He has. Nothing but some bruises and scratches. He is almost positive I will live.” Darcy smiled faintly and as upset as Elizabeth was, she could not resist smiling in return at his rare joke.

  “Do they know anything of the men who did it?” Elizabeth asked. “Surely someone in the town will recognise their description?”

  “We did not have much of a description to give them,” said Darcy with a regretful shrug. “They were covered up. The magistrate will send a warning to other towns nearby, so I have hope the fellows will be captured.” He still looked at her. “Miss Bennet,” he said, and his voice was softer and warmer than she had ever heard it before. “Are you sure you are well? Is there nothing I can do for you?”

  “I am well, Mr Darcy.” Elizabeth paused to compose herself. “It was a dreadful ordeal, and I sometimes cannot help thinking of what might have happened, but I know the impression will lessen in time.” She hesitated and fiddled with a bloom on the bush beside her. “I did not expect to emerge from the cottage to find the entire village waiting for us,” she said.

  Darcy shook his head, sharing her surprise. “Nor did I. I expected Fitzwilliam and Mr Collins but no more than that.”r />
  Elizabeth lapsed into silence. Darcy stared at her. God, but he had never felt so nervous in all his life. Why did it have to come about like this? A forced proposal brought about to save Elizabeth’s reputation. What an excellent start to married life. His throat was dry, but he forced himself to press on. He took a deep breath, and his usual aloof mask settled over his face to hide his extreme nervousness.

  “Miss Bennet, I think we must discuss what will happen now,” he said. To his relief, Elizabeth nodded. He could not have endured it if she had pretended to be coy. “By now, the news that we spent the night together will be widespread. It would not surprise me if it has travelled as far as London already. I do not say this to alarm you, but I think we are both brave enough to look situations in the eye and face the truth of them.”

  Elizabeth lifted her eyes to his but said nothing. Her face was expressionless, giving no clue to what she was thinking.

  “I hope you know I will not abandon you. I will not walk away to leave you to face shame and ruin. We both spent the night together. Miss Bennet, I am asking you to — I am telling you I am prepared to marry you.”

  Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if she was trying to lessen the impact of a mighty blow. Darcy hesitated. It was not the most flattering response to a proposal. But he thought he understood her. No woman would like to be married under such circumstances. He did not wish it himself, and he was deeply in love with the lady.

  “A marriage to avoid degradation and disgrace,” said Elizabeth slowly. “It is not what either of us dreamed about, I am sure.”

  “No, but…”

  “And I am sure you certainly did not dream about it,” said Elizabeth. “To have to ally yourself to a family you find ridiculous and beneath you. You will be degraded by this match.” She did not speak with sympathy. Her tone was scathing, and Darcy’s heart sank. So she had overheard his words to his aunt. Well, he spoke honestly. He was not about to play the hypocrite and pretend to be ashamed of such feelings.