Chapter 30 #2
At Elizabeth’s entrance, the lady’s eyes narrowed, and before Elizabeth even had time to greet her, a shout shook the walls.
“Miss Bennet, I presume. The country nobody who made my nephew lose his mind! Well, it is good he is not here, so we can talk properly! Come with me to the drawing room this instant!”
Elizabeth was stunned, glancing around at the servants, who were watching from a discreet distance.
“Forgive me, madam, there must be a misunderstanding,” Elizabeth replied harshly. “I shall certainly not go anywhere, and neither will you before you introduce yourself. Mr Darcy is not at home, and I shall not allow strangers in his house!”
The woman’s eyes widened, and her lips narrowed.
“I am no stranger, young lady! Do you know who I am? I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh, his aunt! His mother’s sister, which makes me his closest relative. I can go wherever I want in this house. Come with me. I must speak to you!”
The lady walked away decidedly, and Elizabeth had no other choice but to follow her. The lady was everything she expected from Mr Collins’s description.
“You will pack your things and leave today! You have no business being here. You have already embarrassed yourself and your family by spending weeks in a man’s house!”
Elizabeth felt a lump in her throat from anger and mortification. Such horrible accusations, coming from nowhere, left her speechless for a moment — long enough for the lady to continue.
“You must know your arts and allurements will fail. He might be entertained by you for a while, but he would never marry someone so below him in every possible way. Besides, he is already engaged to my daughter!”
Finally, Elizabeth found her voice, trembling with anger.
“Lady Catherine, this is either a misunderstanding or a ridiculous, mean, and vicious attack with no grounds. In such a case, I shall defend myself by walking away from this laughable argument. You must excuse me now.”
“I shall not excuse you! Misunderstanding? Have you not been in his house for weeks now? Have you not lied to everyone in your town by telling them you were staying with your uncle? Do you have no shame? It is no wonder Mr Collins chose another woman to marry! You hoped to marry better, but you will make a fool of yourself!”
“It seems someone misinformed you, madam! It was done either from stupidity or from malice, but it could not be further from the truth. I have come here for Georgiana, with no intention to marry anyone!”
“You make me laugh! For Georgiana? How could you have even known Georgiana? Such a ridiculous pretext! And Darcy! Bringing a woman into the house and imposing her on his sister. He must have lost all his sense and decency!”
“You have said enough, Lady Catherine. Your accusations are beyond sense and decency, and they deserve no consideration.” With her entire body trembling with devastating embarrassment and repressed anger, Elizabeth walked to the door, but the woman grasped her arm.
“Not so hasty, if you please! You must tell me if you are engaged to my nephew or not!”
“I must not tell you anything, but since I am fond of truth and decency, I shall answer. I am not, nor have I ever spoken to Mr Darcy about any engagement. This is absurd!”
The woman’s voice dropped a little.
“And will you promise me you will never become engaged to him?”
“Such a request is ridiculous, and my absence from your company is long due, madam,” Elizabeth replied, pulling her arm from the lady’s grip. But the woman grasped it again, and Elizabeth struggled not to simply push her away, as she deserved.
“Lady Catherine, release my friend this instant!” a small but strong voice demanded from the door. Georgiana Darcy was there, with Mrs Annesley, the housekeeper, the butler, and Mr Darcy’s valet behind her.
Lady Catherine stared at her niece, obviously surprised by the intervention. A moment was enough for Elizabeth to escape her grip and step towards the door.
“Please leave and return when Fitzwilliam is at home,” Georgiana continued. The effort of confronting her aunt was obviously too much for the girl, but she did not abandon it.
“Your friend? You poor, na?ve little thing!” the lady laughed jeeringly. “You are aware of nothing in this world, and you should not make a fool of yourself further. You have been nothing but a pawn in an indecent scheme planned by your brother and this woman!”
“Lady Catherine, you are making a fool of yourself, and you should know that the whole household is laughing at you. This is Elizabeth Bennet, who has been my friend since I was five years old. The one who saved my life when I almost drowned. The one whom my mother loved dearly, and you probably forbade from seeing me! The one who, with the exception of my brother, is the most important person in the world to me, and I would do anything to protect her!”
Although her voice was softer and weaker than the woman’s, the girl’s speech roused Lady Catherine’s interest enough to silence her and to increase her scrutiny with a trace of disbelief.
“You have offended my friend, and I expect you to apologise to her,” Georgiana requested.
“Apologise to her? Never! She is nothing to me! She is nothing at all, just a country nobody! And you have no right to address me in such a way. I am your mother’s sister!”
“I wonder what my mother would say of your behaviour, Aunt! Your accusations against Elizabeth are as ridiculous as your claim of an engagement between Fitzwilliam and Anne — something which everybody laughs at, including the two of them,” the girl continued.
The statement shook Lady Catherine so deeply that her face changed colour several times.
Elizabeth feared she would respond violently, and she moved in front of Georgiana.
Mrs Annesley was on Georgiana’s other side, while the housekeeper, the valet, and the butler stepped in front of the girls, as a barrier against any attack.
Lady Catherine’s fury grew to such a height that it left her speechless, and she only banged her cane, cursing.
“Lady Catherine,” the butler interjected calmly, “the master is out, and I have to follow Miss Darcy’s directions. It is my duty to do so. Therefore, I would kindly ask your ladyship to leave. I shall certainly inform the master of your visit, and I am sure he will call on you soon.”
While his voice was calm, he took another step closer, and so did the valet. The prospect of being carried out was obvious even for the lady, and she pushed the men away, then stormed out of the door.
Behind her, the servants removed themselves in silence.
Georgiana was holding Elizabeth’s arm tightly, and together they moved to the sofa, followed by Mrs Annesley.
“I am so sorry, Lizzy…so sorry,” the girl whispered tearfully.
Elizabeth forced a smile. “Do not apologise, my dear. You were extraordinarily brave and strong. I could not be more grateful and prouder of you!”
“Your friendship gave me strength, Lizzy. And I only spoke the truth. Except for Fitzwilliam, you are the most important person in the world to me!”
“Thank you, dearest. Now please excuse me, I need to rest a little. I have barely slept since yesterday,” Elizabeth replied, trying to conceal the tremble in her voice. She felt drained, exhausted by the mortification of such a dreadful offence being thrown at her in public.
Georgiana accompanied her to her room, and once there, Elizabeth entered and gently closed the door behind her. She needed time away from anyone, including her best friend.
As she lay in bed, she had to admit to herself that Lady Catherine was not entirely wrong; although the accusations were ill-grounded, her thoughts and hopes in regard to Mr Darcy were real.
And she felt guilty for her feelings and for exposing Mr Darcy and Georgiana to such horrible rumours.
With tears rolling down her cheeks, she understood it was time for her to return home.