by Lory Lilian
“I will leave this instant—and now I know what I have to do! Netherfield is close by, and once I find my nephew, I will make him see reason!”
“Netherfield is only three miles away, Lady Catherine. You may walk if you wish. It is a very pleasurable path, and your chances of meeting Mr. Darcy will increase, as he seems fond of walking lately.”
“Walking? Preposterous!” she yelled as she exited the room like a whirlwind, unable to breathe from rage.
“Lady Catherine!” called Mr. Bennet with such a determination that she had to turn to him.
“Please send my best wishes to Mr. Collins when you see him.”
Lady Catherine slammed the door so violently that the windows indeed trembled this time.
Mr. Bennet poured himself another glass of port and resumed his place in his favourite chair with his favourite book. He was suddenly almost content with his wife. He might have chosen much worse when he married—he could now see that clearly.
However, for only a ten-minute meeting, Lady Catherine was certainly the most amusing woman he had ever met—but only for ten minutes. I pray Darcy inherited his character from his father’s line.
In her carriage, Lady Catherine could barely breathe. Rage was suffocating her, and her mind refused to accept what that ridiculous country gentleman had told her! Darcy could not be engaged to his daughter!
A few minutes later when the carriage stopped in front of Netherfield, she bounded from the vehicle and pushed the doorman away, demanding to be told where her nephew was. The poor man remained frozen in shock, not understanding who she was or who her nephew might be. When she repeated, “Where is Darcy?” a maid, who arrived in a hurry, managed to articulate that she had seen Mr. Darcy walking in the direction of the library.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh had no difficulty discovering the location of the library or in thrusting open its door until it pounded back against the wall. However, she had great difficulty in remaining on her feet when she observed her nephew, Mr. Darcy, intimately occupied with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. And it was clearly his own will—as well as hers.
Chapter 22
Lady Catherine had departed Netherfield hours earlier, but the effects of her visit were still evident.
The sight of her nephew embracing Miss Elizabeth Bennet had turned her ladyship quite wild, and the main recipient of her anger was “that impertinent country nobody who uses her charms to defeat the respectability of honourable gentlemen.”
The preoccupied couple was utterly astonished by Lady Catherine’s abrupt entrance—which neither of them noticed for a time—and could do nothing to interrupt the furious invective that followed.
Darcy attempted to greet his aunt politely and have a reasonable conversation; he even apologised for not informing her earlier of their engagement and expressed his wish that Lady Catherine would soon understand and accept his decision. At that, her storm of words continued with greater force against Elizabeth and Darcy.
Never in her life had Elizabeth been abused in such a way, and the offense she felt was even worse because of Darcy’s presence. And never had she been more tempted to put aside any trace of civility in response to the attack. She cast a quick glance toward Darcy and saw his angry face darkening; instantly her hand slid into his and he entwined his fingers with hers. At that moment, she no longer cared about Lady Catherine’s presence.
“You cannot possibly consider marrying this woman! Honour, decorum, prudence forbid it. She will never be noticed by your family or friends! She will be censured, slighted, and despised by everyone connected with you. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any of us ever again! Do you not care about all that? What has she done to you to make you disrespect your mother’s memory and wishes?”
“Lady Catherine, you will end this scandalous argument at once.” Darcy’s tone was icy and sharp. He took a step toward his aunt as though to protect Elizabeth from her abuse. “I shall not tolerate another word against Miss Bennet, so please allow me to accompany you to your carriage.”
“To my carriage? I have no intention of leaving—I still have much to say about this subject.”
“No, you have not! If it were not for our close family connection, this conversation would have been finished in a less civil way long ago. Come, Aunt, we have already exposed ourselves to ridicule with this scandalous debate. Let us maintain some slight appearance of civility!”
“Not so hasty, if you please. What about her sister’s elopement with Wickham? Would you accept the son of your father’s steward as your brother? Heaven and earth—of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? Has this woman’s charms blinded you?”
“Lady Catherine!” he thundered, taking another step toward her.
“William?” Elizabeth’s light voice fell like a summer breeze in the library and Darcy turned to her.
“If you have no objection to my family, Lady Catherine’s opinion on this subject has no effect on me—so please do not allow her offensive words to affect you.”
He looked at her, obviously surprised at her calm voice and cheery expression; her eyes sparkled with amusement, and he felt not only love but also admiration. “You are too kind and too wise. How could I object to your family when my own is so lacking in decorum?”
“I heard that, Darcy! Do not dare ignore me. I shall make my disapproval universally known in Town and—
Elizabeth’s lips twisted into a smile, ignoring her ladyship’s presence as she continued speaking.
“Lady Catherine’s obvious disapproval is a great misfortune indeed, and I am sure it will be painful to endure; however, I am also sure that, as your wife, I shall have such extraordinary sources of happiness that, upon the whole, I shall have no cause to repine.”
Under Lady Catherine’s shocked stare, Darcy lifted Elizabeth’s hand and placed a soft kiss upon it.
“I shall leave you two now,” Elizabeth continued. “Lady Catherine’s situation seems quite pitiable at present, but unfortunately, I can offer no remedy for her distress, so I will beg you to excuse me.”
She curtsied politely to Darcy and to a stone-faced, livid Lady Catherine and smiled sweetly to her.
“Lady Catherine, I hope we shall meet again soon. Please give my regards to the Collinses—in fact, I should write a letter to Charlotte. Would your ladyship be so kind as to deliver it?”
No coherent answer was forthcoming, and Elizabeth left the library with perfect composure, followed by Darcy’s admiring gaze. In the hall, an entire gathering of servants apologised and disappeared instantly. Embarrassed, yet struggling to keep a light expression, Elizabeth was at least grateful that Jane and Mr. Bingley had not returned from their stroll, and Miss Bingley and the Hursts were still in their rooms. It was fortunate that only servants were present to witness Lady Catherine’s openly expressed disapproval!
Elizabeth went directly to Cassandra’s chamber, where she found Georgiana keeping her friend company; fortunately, it appeared the scandal had not reached that wing of the house.
“So—the old bat finally made her appearance. I wondered when this moment would come.”
“Lady Catherine is here? Oh dear—that cannot be good,” whispered Georgiana.
“Yes, she came to express her disapproval of my engagement to your brother.”
“I imagine she was very displeased. I am so sorry, Elizabeth. Where is William? Does he know she is here?”
“William is in the library with Lady Catherine. And yes, she was displeased—more than displeased.”
“Dearest Elizabeth.” Georgiana took her hand and squeezed it warmly. “I can see you are distressed. Was it so bad? Did she offend you? I know sometimes my aunt can be very—
Cassandra interrupted her. “I am sure she was more than displeased. She must have been as she always is: rude, impolite, inconsiderate and insufferable.”
“There is no need to worry, Georgiana; I am perfectly able to handle Lady Ca
therine’s displeasure.” Then she turned to Cassandra with a meaningful look. “I see you know Lady Catherine very well.”
“Indeed, I do. I first met her twenty years ago. As a small child, I was quite frightened by her, but by the time I was seven, she started to amuse me with her constant scolding of everyone and her pretensions of grandeur. I am sure you are amused, too, Elizabeth; you are too wise to allow yourself to be affected by Lady Catherine’s reproaches.”
“Well, I confess the entire situation was more embarrassing than amusing.”
“But where did you meet Lady Catherine?” asked Georgiana.
“William and I were in the library when Lady Catherine entered.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks coloured slightly as she explained the situation, and Cassandra watched her with an amused twist of her lips. “I can only imagine what scandal Lady Catherine aroused. I wonder if there is a single servant left in the house who is not aware of her opinion. Did she happen to mention that Darcy must marry Anne?”
“She did.”
“Poor Anne—her mother will never cease to expose her to ridicule with this hilarious nonsense. You know, when we were infants, I was the main recipient of Lady Catherine’s anger, as she was certain I planned to steal Darcy from Anne and marry him myself. Of course, I was ten at the time, and though Darcy and I were inseparable, marriage was not among my priorities.” Cassandra laughed.
“Cassandra, I truly do not understand how you can blithely dismiss all of this,” said Georgiana. “It is very serious indeed. I wonder what Lady Catherine will do now.”
“Come now, sweetie—I would say it is time to stop worrying about Lady Catherine. I feel pity for Anne; that is true. But otherwise, I am merely diverted by this woman who travels fifty miles to make a fool of herself and become the amusement and gossip of Meryton.”
“Cassandra, I admit I am worried, too—not for me but for Georgiana and William. Lady Catherine insisted she will make her disapproval universally known in Town, and the rumours—
“Elizabeth, Lady Catherine speaks a great deal, but fortunately, most people have the good sense to ignore her. As for her disapproval, the moment your engagement was made public, everybody acquainted with Lady Catherine must have guessed her disapproval; it will be no surprise to anyone.”
“I surely hope so.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of a troubled Darcy who almost ignored his sister and his friend and moved directly to Elizabeth. His countenance was still dark, and he avoided looking at Elizabeth. She rose from her seat and tried to meet his eyes.
“William? Is everything well? Where is Lady Catherine?” Georgiana inquired with no little distress.
“Lady Catherine has left. But no, everything is not well. Elizabeth, will you ever forgive me for what happened?”
He took her hand and held it while his apologising glance fixed on her face. Elizabeth smiled sweetly and, without considering the presence of the others, gently stroked his cheek.
“Surely you will not apologise for something that is not your fault, sir.”
“It is my fault. I should not have allowed her to—
“You know as well as I that nothing would have stopped Lady Catherine from expressing her opinion. Besides, I have a confession to make to you. There is something that makes me feel deeply ashamed of myself.”
“What confession?” He sounded equally puzzled and worried.
“Last spring, when we were in Kent—when I first met Lady Catherine—I thought I saw a resemblance between you and your aunt.” Her voice tried to be light and teasing, but she could not hide her embarrassment. “It was a time during which I had grossly misjudged many things…and many people,” she whispered.
“Do not worry; you were not wrong.” Cassandra’s gleeful voice interrupted Elizabeth’s confession. “I also can see some resemblance indeed. You do look like Lady Catherine sometimes, Darcy.”
“We are not speaking to you, Cassandra, so please do not interfere,” Darcy scolded her.
“Yes, I noticed you are not speaking to us, which is quite strange considering you are in my room,” she replied, and Georgiana covered her mouth with her palm to prevent a peal of laughter.
Facing each other mere inches apart, one of her hands still in his, Elizabeth and Darcy continued to look at each other. Her cheeks coloured; she was embarrassed by the impropriety of her own behaviour, her eyes sparkling with emotion. Elizabeth daringly rose on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Darcy’s cheek.
“You do not look like Lady Catherine at all,” she whispered to him tenderly, and Georgiana chuckled while Cassandra burst out laughing.
“Yes he does, but love makes people blind, so you cannot see it,” Cassandra concluded.
Darcy ignored her, and taking Elizabeth’s hand, he lifted it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. “Cassandra?”
“Yes, Darcy?”
“You are very annoying.”
“Thank you, Darcy; you are very kind…just like Lady Catherine.” This time Georgiana could not hold back her laughter, and a moment later, both Darcy and Elizabeth had no choice but to return their attention to their companions and join them in their gaiety.
“Darcy?”
“Yes, Cassandra?”
“May I ask you one last question regarding Lady Catherine’s visit?”
“Can I prevent your asking?”
“No, indeed.”
“Then please do.”
“In precisely what kind of conversation were the two of you engaged when Lady Catherine happened upon you in the library?”
***
Three days before the wedding, a disaster happened at Longbourn. Just an hour before dinner, an accident took place in the kitchen and ruined two of the main dishes. Nobody knew exactly what occurred because Mrs. Bennet almost fainted from distress while she blamed first Hill and John, and then the entire staff and, finally, the whole world.
With great effort, Elizabeth and Jane persuaded their mother to rest in her chamber while Hill—tearful and apologising continuously—hurried to prepare a new meal.
“Oh Lizzy, I knew something would happen! What will Mr. Darcy say now? He will certainly believe I am not able to manage my own household and that I taught you nothing about these duties.”
“Mama, I am certain Mr. Darcy has a good opinion of how well you are managing Longbourn; he has told me so many times. You have absolutely no reason to be distressed for such a small incident.”
“Small incident? We have dinner guests and nothing for dinner!”
“Please calm yourself, Mama. Hill will surely prepare something for us shortly, and to tell you the truth, this delay is quite welcome as I was not hungry at all.”
“Nor am I, Mama.” Jane also attempted to console her mother.
“Oh, I am not worried about you, girls! I am concerned about Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. They are hungry; I am sure of it.”
“Well, I am certain they will survive another hour or so,” laughed Elizabeth.
“Oh, vexing child, you like to torture me with your inconsiderate jokes! You would do better to find a way to keep your betrothed’s attention before they leave!”
“Do not worry, Mama; I have serious doubts they will consider leaving for that reason.”
“You should take them for a turn in the garden, Lizzy! I noticed Mr. Darcy is always willing to take a stroll with you—which is very strange if you ask me! But then again, Mr. Darcy has some unusual habits—very similar to yours, Lizzy.”
“Thank you, Mama; I shall follow your advice immediately. I would very much like a walk in the garden. Jane, will you and Mr. Bingley accompany us?”
“Yes, I believe so…if mama does not need me any longer.”
“Oh, of course I do not need you, silly child. Go and take care of your betrothed at once.”
Elizabeth grabbed Jane’s hand and hurried from the room. Mrs. Bennet continued complaining of her nerves and the lack of understanding from her family.
***
“Well, well—you are back. Is Mrs. Bennet well?” asked Mr. Bennet with obvious amusement.
“She is resting, Papa; I dare say all is well.”
“What extraordinarily good news, Lizzy. So, gentlemen, should we retire to the library for another hour or so? My port is waiting for us.”
Darcy cast a quick glance at Elizabeth while considering how to reply, and she blushed slightly but did not hesitate to intervene. “Papa, Jane and I were thinking that maybe a short walk in the garden would be beneficial…I mean, if Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley would agree to join us.”
For a moment, Mr. Bennet was tempted to insist the gentlemen keep him company, but he quickly decided that having fun at the expense of his dearest daughters would have been too cruel.
“Of course you are right, Lizzy. A quick stroll before dinner would be more beneficial than an hour indoors—more beneficial indeed. And I have a book I intend to finish this evening.”
Less than five minutes later, the couples were outside, each lady taking the arm of her betrothed.
“It is a very nice evening.” Bingley started the conversation.
“Yes, very nice, though quite cold,” Darcy agreed instantly, covering Elizabeth’s hand with his palm. Their gloved fingers entwined and Jane, who did not fail to notice the gesture, blushed violently.
“Miss Bennet, Bingley—would you please excuse us for a few minutes? There is something of great importance about which I would like to speak privately with Elizabeth.”
His request took the other couple by surprise, but Darcy did not wait for an answer before he directed Elizabeth to take an alternate path toward the back of the house.
Elizabeth started to laugh. “That was not very gentlemanlike of you, William—not to mention most improper. Poor Mr. Bingley looked quite shocked, and Jane was equally distressed.”
“My dear, I finally have the chance to spend a few minutes alone with you and do not intend to waste them worrying about Bingley’s state of mind. As for Miss Bennet, I am truly sorry if I offended her, but I hope Bingley will succeed in alleviating her distress.”