He had been three weeks in Kent when the Lucases arrived at Hunsford to visit Charlotte again. Darcy could not wonder that Charlotte was finding the sole company of her husband rather tedious.
His aunt had invited the Hunsford party to afternoon tea, but he excused himself, citing estate business.
When he finally joined his aunt for dinner, she was thankfully only accompanied by his cousin Anne and her companion, Mrs Jenkinson.
However, Darcy quickly saw he would have no peace when his aunt started with: "Sir William tells me you have just purchased an estate near Meryton called Netherfield."
Darcy nodded while silently cursing Sir William. He had not been happy when Dr Gregory wrote that he had joined the hospital's governing board. The man had loose lips.
"What possible use can you have for a property in that part of England?" asked his aunt. "Its only virtue is its convenience to London."
"Exactly," replied Darcy. "I believe property close to London will increase in value as the population of the city continues to increase. I used the proceeds from the recent sale of another property in Yorkshire."
"Land that your grandfather inherited!" carped his aunt.
"The tenant made an incredibly good offer. It would have been the height of folly to turn it down."
"You are squandering your fortune!" shrieked Lady Catherine.
"It is my fortune to squander, Aunt, not yours," replied Darcy coolly.
"When are you going to come to the sticking point with Anne?" badgered his aunt.
"Reiterating your plans of a projected marriage between Anne and me will not turn them into reality, Aunt. We have never discussed marriage, and we never will. We are cousins and have grown up together. That is the sum of our relationship."
"It was your mother's dearest wish," retorted Lady Catherine.
"Thank you," said Darcy, pushing away his empty soup plate. "I have had enough."
"You have not yet tasted the main course!" howled his aunt.
"I believe I am suffering from dyspepsia," said Darcy. "I will be leaving tomorrow. My under-steward will arrive the following day to take up his duties here. Treat him well or I will take him back."
Lady Catherine spluttered in indignation.
"Good evening, Aunt," Darcy said, giving her a courteous bow. "Anne, Mrs Jenkinson," he said as he nodded to the other two ladies.
One morning, about a week after the Bingleys departed for Yorkshire, Elizabeth was amusing herself in the Netherfield library after updating the ledgers. Selecting a book to read from the shelves, she cast an admiring glance at the handsome spiral staircase that had recently been installed leading to the master's chambers.
When the Bingleys had vacated Netherfield, Dr Gregory had finally been able to view the master's chambers for the first time. He had been quite taken by the sumptuous bedchamber and had decided to leave the suite intact for the benefit of any important guests who might visit. He might also need to use it occasionally himself, if any critical situation should require an overnight stay at Netherfield. In addition, he thought a quick nap in the middle of the day, after burning the midnight oil, might set him up nicely for the rest of a busy afternoon. Although he always liked to maintain an appearance of momentum, and indeed worked himself to the bone, he was human; and Lizzy had occasionally found him collapsed on top of a book at his desk. There was only so much coffee a man could drink.
When Lizzy described the wonderful library at Pemberley with its spiral staircase, it had occurred to the good doctor that such a staircase would be very handy, allowing him to access the library in his nightshirt during overnight stays without having to encounter any of his patients or staff on the set of common stairs in the hall. He could also have a midday nap with no one the wiser, maintaining an appearance of the superhuman.
Thus Dr Gregory had quickly agreed to the inclusion of such a staircase, and Lizzy had done a superlative job in ordering and overseeing the installation of it with taste and flair.
Giving it a final appreciative glance, Lizzy began looking through one of the tomes by the Muslim physician, Avicenna. Dr Gregory had moved the more important historical texts of his growing collection to Netherfield, leaving more practical books at the infirmary.
Her attention was suddenly drawn by the sound of a carriage, and she perceived the distinctive sound of a chaise and four in the drive. Elizabeth was not expecting any new patients, but she decided to investigate.
Carefully re-shelving the volume, she rose and crossed the carpet, but she had scarcely reached the door when it was thrown open, and Fletcher announced Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Elizabeth could only surmise that Lady Catherine had come on a tour of inspection, which Dr Gregory occasionally arranged for potential patrons. He usually alerted Elizabeth if one of these was imminent, but he had failed to do so when he arrived on the premises an hour earlier.
Lady Catherine entered the room with an air more than usually ungracious, made no other reply to Elizabeth's salutation than a slight inclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word.
"Lady Catherine," said Elizabeth. "What an unexpected pleasure. I presume you are here for an inspection. Shall I ring for Dr Gregory?"
"Where does that staircase lead?" asked Lady Catherine abruptly.
"To the master's chambers," replied Elizabeth honestly.
Lady Catherine inhaled noisily and pursed her lips.
"You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason of my journey hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I come."
Elizabeth looked at her with unaffected astonishment.
"Indeed, you are mistaken, madam. I have not been at all able to account for the honour of seeing you here."
"Miss Bennet," replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, "you ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. However insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness, and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from it. A report of a most alarming nature reached me two days ago. I was told that not only has your sister most advantageously married a rich tradesman from Yorkshire, an acquaintance of my nephew Darcy, but that you, Miss Bennet, have recently agreed to become his mistress."
Elizabeth froze in horror.
"Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood," continued Lady Catherine, "though I would not injure him so much as to suppose the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you."
"If you believed it impossible to be true," said Elizabeth, colouring with astonishment and embarrassment, but unwilling to be bullied, "I wonder you took the trouble of coming so far. What could your ladyship propose by it?"
"I came at once to insist that you cease and desist."
Now Elizabeth was truly angry, a state which boded no good.
"Your coming so flagrantly to Netherfield," said Elizabeth coolly, "will be rather a confirmation of it, if, indeed, such a report is in existence."
"If! Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it? What have you so industriously been doing upstairs with my nephew, Miss Bennet?"
Elizabeth was about to answer that she hadn't been doing anything, anywhere, with Lady Catherine's nephew, when she remembered their kiss at Hunsford and guiltily realized this wasn't quite true; so she said instead:
"I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship. You may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer."
"This is not to be borne!" shrieked Lady Catherine. "Miss Bennet, I insist on being satisfied. Have you been shagging my nephew?"
Elizabeth had never heard the word shagging before, but she could guess pretty well what it meant from the context.
"Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible," she retorted.
"It ought to be so; it must be so, while he retains the use of his reason. But your arts and allurements may, in a moment of
infatuation, have made him forget what he owes to himself and to all his family. You may have drawn him in."
"If I have, I shall be the last person to confess it."
"Miss Bennet, did my nephew not purchase this property to indulge his sinful lust for you?"
"What?!" yelped Elizabeth, unnerved by the fantastical nature of this novel accusation. "Who on earth told you that?"
"Miss Bennet, do you know who I am? I have not been accustomed to such language as this. I am almost the nearest relation he has in the world and am entitled to know all his dearest concerns."
Elizabeth was fuming, but she kept her voice low and steady.
"But you are not entitled to know mine; nor will such behaviour as this ever induce me to be explicit."
"Let me be rightly understood. I will not tolerate this association. No, never. Mr Darcy is engaged to my daughter. Now what have you to say?"
"Only this; that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose he would have anything to do with me."
"Do you pay no regard to his tacit engagement with Miss de Bourgh? Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy?"
The accusation of lack of propriety was too much, harking back to Mr Darcy's earlier denouncement of her as a hoyden. How dare this old woman barge in here and accuse me of such things?
A small devil prompted Elizabeth to wind Lady Catherine up.
"If Mr Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination confined to his cousin," she said; "why may he not make another choice?"
"Because honour, decorum and prudence forbid it. You will be censured, slighted, and despised by everyone connected with him. Your alliance is a disgrace."
"These are heavy misfortunes," replied Elizabeth. "But the mistress of Mr Darcy must have such extraordinary sources of happiness necessarily attached to her situation that she could, upon the whole, have no cause to repine."
"Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your gratitude for my attentions to you last spring? Is nothing due to me on that score? Let us sit down. You are to understand, Miss Bennet, that I came here with the determined resolution of carrying my purpose; nor will I be dissuaded from it. I have not been used to submit to any person's whims. I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment."
"That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable, but it will have no effect on me."
"I will not be interrupted! Hear me in silence. I will not have my nephew delayed in meeting his commitments by useless dalliance with you! Promise me that you will break off this unholy alliance with my nephew immediately."
"I will make no promise of the kind."
"Miss Bennet, I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman. But do not deceive yourself into a belief that I will ever recede. I shall not go away 'til you have given me the assurance I require."
"Allow me to say, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which you have supported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous as the application was ill-judged. You have grossly mistaken my character. How far your nephew might approve of your interference in his affairs, I cannot tell; but you have certainly no right to concern yourself in mine. I must beg, therefore, to be importuned no farther on the subject."
"Not so hasty, if you please. I have by no means done. To all the objections I have already urged, I have still another to add. My nephew is descended, on the maternal side, from a noble line, and, on the father's, from respectable, honourable, and ancient, though untitled, families. You may think that once you have your claws into him, he will succumb to matrimony like Lord Berwick, but I can assure you that the Darcys and the Fitzwilliams are venerable lines that will not be thus tainted! Heaven and earth!–of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? You are nothing, Miss Bennet, and my nephew will leave you a disgraced woman!"
Elizabeth took several deep breaths.
"You can now have nothing further to say," she resentfully answered. "You have insulted me by every possible method. I must beg you to leave this house."
Her ladyship was highly incensed.
"You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?"
"Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say. You know my sentiments."
"You are then resolved to have him?"
"I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you or to any person so wholly unconnected with me."
"It is well. You refuse, then, to oblige me. You refuse to obey the claims of duty, honour, and gratitude. You are determined to ruin him in the opinion of all his friends and make him the contempt of the world."
"Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude," replied Elizabeth, "have any possible claim on me in the present instance. Your presumption is outrageous."
"And this is your final resolve! Very well. I shall now know how to act. Do not imagine, Miss Bennet, that your ambition will ever be gratified. I came to try you. I hoped to find you reasonable, but, depend upon it, I will carry my point."
With this final sally, Lady Catherine stalked from the room, slamming the door.
Feeling more than a little shaken, Elizabeth collapsed onto the chaise longue as she heard the carriage drive away.
Chapter 48: Lizzy's reaction
When Fletcher opened the door of the Netherfield library to announce Lady Catherine, Elizabeth had immediately assumed she had arrived on official hospital business. But once she began her diatribe, it became increasingly obvious that she had an axe to grind. Elizabeth had frozen in horror when Lady Catherine had finally got round to accusing her of being Mr Darcy's mistress. How could she have discovered his offer? None of the servants had been present that evening at Hunsford, and she was sure her friend Charlotte would never have betrayed her…
Elizabeth believed Lady Catherine could only have become aware of her nephew's offer by hearsay, and her accusations were largely speculation. The salient point, she reminded herself, is that I am innocent.
Indeed, not only had Elizabeth not taken up Darcy's offer, she had soundly chastised him for making such an improper proposal! Thus she was not about to admit anything to Lady Catherine and set about making a May game of every statement his aunt made in typical Mr Bennet fashion.
However, she had been momentarily discomposed when Mr Darcy's aunt alleged that he had purchased Netherfield as a love nest.
Could not this stupid woman see that she was in a hospital? thought Elizabeth in amazement.
Looking around herself now, Elizabeth realised the Netherfield library was much as it ever was; and, she realised, the foyer also. Nor, she reasoned, had any sign declaring the existence of the hospital been erected at the entrance. Apprised of the soldiers' sensibilities regarding their permanent residence there, Dr Gregory had been keen to avoid the appearance of an institution. Presumably, Mr Darcy's aunt believed she had walked into a typical country estate. But where on earth could Lady Catherine have got the notion that her nephew had purchased it for me? It belonged to Dr Gregory's patron!
Then the grand dame had walked out, slamming the door and leaving Elizabeth to collapse on the lounge, trembling slightly after the onslaught.
But her spirits could not be oppressed for long. Sitting up on the chaise, she thought over the confrontation once more. Elizabeth could not be sanguine that she had handled the situation well at all. Maybe she should have denied outright that she was Mr Darcy's mistress? She could just imagine Lady Catherine screaming back that she was a liar. Perhaps the guerrilla tactics she had instinctively adopted had served her well after all? At least she had not openly lost her temper with Lady Catherine…
Blast Mr Darcy and his family! Why should they continually put her in these situations? She was a complete innocent! First, he asks her to be his mistress. The
n, his aunt comes along, accusing her of taking up his offer. Such language from a lady! She began to wonder if Lady Catherine’s information might have come from her nephew. What had Mr Darcy told her, and why?
Elizabeth began pacing up and down in an agitated manner and was still doing so when Dr Gregory walked in.
"Are you well, Elizabeth?" he asked. "You look upset. Have you had bad news?"
"The most bizarre thing has happened, Douglas. I cannot account for it. Mr Darcy's aunt has just stormed in here and accused me of… She believes he has purchased this property for me!"
"Ah!" said Dr Gregory, sitting down. He frowned and seemed to be considering something grave.
Then he looked at Lizzy, "Mr Darcy does own this place. I pay him a peppercorn rent."
"What!? So he is your benefactor?"
She stared out the window, recovering herself. "Indeed, I am surprised. I would not have thought it of him…"
Silence reigned.
"I still cannot understand why his aunt jumped to such unwarranted conclusions," Elizabeth averred. "She must be mad!"
Dr Gregory sighed. "Nor can I. But there is one other thing you ought to know…"
"Yes?" asked Lizzy.
"There was a stipulation on the agreement. It was to be kept secret, and indeed I may lose the use of the property if I divulge it, but in the circumstances…"
Elizabeth fixed her attention on the good doctor.
"The property was made available on the condition that you be allowed to return as my assistant."
A flash of anger streaked across Elizabeth's face when she realised that her life had been ordered behind her back, but she calmed when she realised that the arrangement was consistent with her own wishes.
"Why would he do such a thing?" she asked.
"I asked him the same question. He merely said that you had done him a great service by giving him some advice, and he wished to return the favour."
I Met Mr Darcy Via Luton Page 27