Chapter Nine
T hey walked with Miss Bennet for a time and then all three of them went to the parsonage.”
Lady Catherine’s brows drew together. “And how long were they there?”
The gardener replied, “They were in the parsonage for about an hour.”
“You will tell me if you see them meet again.”
“Yes, your ladyship.” The gardener bowed and left.
***
At dinner that night, Lady Catherine said, “Darcy, I did not see much of you today.”
“No, you did not,” was the succinct reply.
“And I do not think you spent time with Anne. Anne, did you see Darcy today?”
“Not until tonight in the drawing room, Mother,” Anne grumbled.
“What did you do all day, then, Darcy?” Lady Catherine’s tone sharpened.
Darcy was now presented with a quandary. Did he lie to his aunt? Or tell her the truth? He was silent, wrestling with his conscience.
The Colonel came to his rescue. “Darcy and I walked out of doors for a time and came upon Miss Bennet. We then escorted her, as good manners dictated, to the parsonage, where Mrs. Collins welcomed us and provided refreshments. We then returned to Rosings, where we changed clothes and came down to dinner. Is there anything else you wish to know, General?” And he leapt up to salute his aunt, palm out. His tone was too sarcastic to be mistaken.
“Insolence! Bad manners!” was his aunt’s furious response, as she rapped her stick on the carpet.
“I could not agree more,” the Colonel answered, sharply. “Are we expected to account for every minute of our time here, Aunt? Darcy and I have been to Rosings many times over the years, but we have never before been interrogated in such a manner. Are we to expect a daily repeat of this unpleasant experience?”
Lady Catherine sputtered, unable to formulate a response.
“Will we see the parsonage party again here at Rosings?” the Colonel asked, innocently.
Lady Catherine’s eyes sharpened. “Why?”
The Colonel replied, cagily, “I enjoy the company of Miss Bennet and Mrs. Collins.”
“Anne and I are here to provide you with company.”
“Does that preclude us from enjoying the company of others as well?” the Colonel asked.
“Let us stop this nonsense at once,” Lady Catherine said, with a thump of the stick. “Darcy, when will you propose to Anne?”
“Is this really a discussion for the dining room?” Mr. Darcy finally managed to speak. With a nod, he indicated the footmen, who were clearly straining to catch each word.
“Very well,” Lady Catherine acquiesced with bad grace and snatched up her wine glass.
***
When dinner was finally over and the company was assembled in the drawing room, Lady Catherine again accosted her nephew. “Well, Darcy? What are you waiting for?”
Mr. Darcy took a deep breath. “Aunt, must we have this discussion in Anne’s presence? Surely this is in very bad taste.”
“Surely it is appropriate to discuss her future in her presence,” Lady Catherine insisted.
“Very well, but please recall that you insisted upon this. Aunt, you ask what I am waiting for. Frankly, I am waiting to understand why anyone thinks Anne would be a good mistress for Pemberley.”
“ What ? She is the daughter of an earl!”
“She certainly is not,” Mr. Darcy replied. “ You are the daughter of an earl; Anne is the niece of an earl. Moreover, even if she were the daughter of a Duke, that alone would not make her a proper mistress of an estate. She has not been trained for such a role, and I think I can safely lay that fault at your own door, Aunt Catherine. Has she been taught to keep accounts? Has she ever visited your tenants? Can she plan meals? Can she organise entertainments? These are all the things that my mother now does, Aunt Catherine, as the mistress of Pemberley. My wife must be prepared to take on these tasks, and if you expected me to marry your daughter, you should have trained her for the role.”
Lady Catherine was too outraged to speak, but her daughter said, “Darcy, I have spent my life waiting for you to propose to me! And now you are telling me that I am not good enough for you?”
Mr. Darcy looked agonised. “Anne, you are right; we should have had this discussion years ago. I suppose I hoped that it would be unnecessary.”
“Meaning what?” his cousin demanded. “That I would die, so you would not have to be discomfited? Or that I would choose to marry elsewhere, when you know full well that I meet no one? What had you in mind?”
“I hoped that everyone involved would realise the impossibility of such a match.”
“My mother, do you mean?”
“And my mother, yes.”
“So you waited, hoping for some sort of intervention; is that it?”
“It does not speak well of me, I fear,” Mr. Darcy allowed.
“It certainly does not. And I do not understand this, cousin. You are the master of an enormous estate. You make decisions all day, every day. I assume you have no difficulty in making your wants known under those circumstances?”
Mr. Darcy was astonished; he had never heard her speak so long and so decisively. But she certainly deserved an answer. “Anne, I beg you to understand. My mother has lost her husband. Her entire happiness rests on me. To disappoint her in such a way as this is almost more than I can bear.”
“You need not bear it – we can marry.”
“No, Anne. Not if it means that Pemberley will not have a capable mistress.”
The Colonel said, “Can we not all see that Darcy is caught between his mother’s desires and his own? Not to mention Pemberley’s needs?”
Mr. Darcy looked at the Colonel. “Richard, we will leave tomorrow.”
Lady Catherine had finally gathered her thoughts. “Do not decide now, Darcy. Spend more time here with us. Spend time with Anne.”
“That will not alter my decision, Aunt.”
“As a favour to me and to Anne, then. You have injured Anne most grievously; you owe her at least this much. I do not doubt that your mother would agree with me.”
Mr. Darcy sighed. “Very well; but I insist that you have no expectations of me.” Privately, he thought that the opportunity to see more of Miss Bennet would not go amiss.