Chapter 53
“Catherine!” the Earl immediately reprimanded.
Lady Catherine had just arrived at her brother’s house and was incensed to see Elizabeth Bennet enter the drawing room on the arm of Viscount Bainbridge.
“Do not Catherine me, brother. You know very well that Darcy is engaged to my daughter.”
“Not that old nonsense again, Catherine. Darcy had never shown any inclination to marry Anne,” Lady Matlock commented.
“What has inclination to do with anything? Darcy must do his duty, I will not have this scheming girl interfere with my daughter’s future.”
“Lady Catherine, you seem to be labouring under the misconception that were I to withdraw from our engagement, Mr. Darcy would then marry your daughter. Let me assure you that if that is the case, I will happily withdraw but you should speak to your nephew first.”
“Insolent girl, you have ensnared Darcy with your arts and allurements and now shamelessly boast.”
“Catherine! Enough with the insults. Miss Elizabeth is soon to become Mrs. Darcy and our nephew will not take kindly to you insulting his betrothed,” the Earl spoke with a quiet conviction.
“I see now that she has hoodwinked all of you. Well, I will leave you to celebrate this degradation but I would not stay a minute. I know very well how to act now.”
“You may leave, but I am warning you, Catherine, do not forget your manners,” the Earl reprimanded.
A furious Lady Catherine walked out of the Matlock House much to the relief of all those present.
“I apologise for my sister’s behaviour Miss Bennet,” the Earl expressed his contrition.
“Lady Catherine is responsible for her own behaviour, your lordship,” Elizabeth replied with a smile.
“The question is, who is responsible for informing Lady Catherine? She would never demean herself to read the society pages,” the Viscount asked.
“She mentioned something about receiving an express from Hampshire. She was grumbling about a stranger being more concerned for Anne than her own family.”
“Who would write her from Hampshire?”
“Lizzy, you did say that the inn was quite full. Perhaps someone who recognised Mr. Darcy wrote to her,” Jane spoke for the first time since their arrival.
“You must be right, Jane,” Elizabeth absently answered, not quite convinced. She was convinced that this was not the last of Lady Catherine they had seen but refrained from speaking further.
Dinner was soon announced and after that the housekeeper showed Jane and Elizabeth to their chambers.
The excitement of the day had tired them both and they soon fell asleep.
The next morning Elizabeth was up early.
Seeing that Jane was still asleep, she decided to go down for breakfast. To her surprise Darcy was already present in the dining room when she entered.
It was just the two of them, and Elizabeth relished the opportunity of speaking to Mr. Darcy in relative privacy.
“I plan to leave directly for Hertfordshire.”
“Oh! Well, I hope you will not be teased too much by Papa. He has been cooped up in the house and will enjoy any opportunity of making sport.”
“I am not worried about your father’s teasing, Elizabeth, but do you think he will have any reason to withhold his consent?”
“I do not think so. I have already written to him, so he is aware of all the pertinent details.”
“There is one more thing I wanted to ask you, Elizabeth. The matter of a wedding date and from where you wish to get married.”
“Oh, Longbourn, of course. I have no wish to make our wedding a circus with every gossip in town being a witness.”
“You are correct; with all that is being spoken, a town wedding will be overrun with curious onlookers but Meryton is not that far from town. We may not be able to avoid onlookers completely,” Darcy replied, with a thoughtful expression.
“Do you wish for us to get married at Pemberley? I would very much like Papa to give me away and it will take him a while before he can journey so far.”
“No, no, you deserve to get married from your home county. I am just thinking if it would be better to get a licence or if at all possible a special licence.”
“Are they not very difficult to obtain?”
“Lady Matlock’s brother is the Archbishop of Canterbury. I will have to speak to her and see if she would be able to help.”
“What help do you require, Darcy?” the Earl entered the dining room and signalled a footman to fix him a plate.
Darcy quickly explained his concern regarding the wedding and his desire for a special licence.
“I am sure that can be arranged; it might actually be best, as it will allow us to avoid Catherine’s nonsense.”
“Lady Catherine is here?” Darcy asked, surprised.
The Earl raised an eyebrow towards Elizabeth, “I am surprised Miss Elizabeth has not mentioned the encounter yet.”
“There is nothing to mention, your lordship, in a mother’s disappointed hopes.”
“She has no reason to be disappointed and even less to be rude to you.”
“I can handle Lady Catherine, Fitzwilliam. You should just worry about your conversation with Papa.”
“Uncle, I hope you will make sure that no harm comes to Elizabeth while she resides here.”
“You have my word, nephew.”
Darcy finally took his leave and left Matlock house to travel to Hertfordshire. He was worried about Mr. Bennet’s reaction and decided to deal with his recalcitrant aunt once he was back from Hertfordshire.
Elizabeth spent some time in the library and then joined Jane and Lady Matlock in the drawing room to receive callers.
News had already travelled of her arrival at Matlock House for they were inundated with visitors throughout the day.
Everyone was curious about the incident at the inn, and while some were diplomatic most were not.
“I understand that Mr. Darcy chased you across the county and forced his attention to gain your hand,” Mrs. Mortimer quietly asked her once Lady Matlock was diverted by Mrs. Thornton.
“I had already accepted Mr. Darcy by then. His actions, though improper, were of a loving fiancé,” Elizabeth replied with a smile.
Lady Noddington was not so discreet. She spoke decisively the moment she was introduced to Elizabeth. “Miss Elizabeth, is it true that your aunt Mrs. Hardwicke was completely set against Darcy and considered him a rake.”
Elizabeth was surprised as this was closer to the truth than anyone had come. “My aunt had no reason to disapprove of Mr. Darcy. She is already related to the Darcys by marriage.”
“Thus in a better position to judge the gentleman. I must say that he had us all convinced of his sainthood,” another lady muttered.
“I can hardly answer for my aunt or the society in general but I have known Mr. Darcy for nearly a year now and I do not think there is a better gentleman in all of England.”
Thus Elizabeth continued deflecting the myriad of questions put to her.
It was the last caller that took her by surprise.
Jane had just gone upstairs when a footman informed them that Miss Caroline Bingley wished to speak to Miss Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was aware that the Bingleys were not acquainted with the Earl and Countess and hence Miss Bingley specifically asked to see her.
She bade the footman to let the lady in as the Countess decided to leave the room.
“Miss Bingley, how kind of you to come. Lady Matlock and Jane have just retired.”
“I am thankful for this opportunity to speak with you in private,” Miss Bingley replied to Elizabeth’s surprise.
“Please, Miss Bingley, feel free to speak your mind.”
“I was on Bond Street today and throughout the day more than one acquaintance mentioned to me about Lady Catherine and her diatribe against your character. It seems Mr. Darcy’s aunt has taken it upon herself to visit every acquaintance in town and besmirch your name.
While Lady Matlock’s approval is of far more consequence than Lady Catherine, I thought you should be aware. ”
“I thank you for letting me know,” Elizabeth replied, surprise evident in her tone.
“Miss Elizabeth, I have been aware of Mr. Darcy’s fascination with you since our time in Hertfordshire.
I resented you for it then, but there is no use in that now.
You are to be the future Mrs. Darcy and I would prefer if we are at least civil to each other,” Caroline Bingley said, taking her leave.
Elizabeth stood staring after her for a few minutes as she considered all that had occurred.