Chapter 31
Darcy entered the house, his only desire to sleep for several hours before enjoying a peaceful dinner with Georgiana and Elizabeth.
The matter with Wickham was still not entirely resolved, with some details remaining to be discussed, but as he estimated, Miss King had not been swayed from her decision.
Therefore, after hours of arguments, tears, and shouting, the family had no other choice but to accept the unwanted engagement.
Colonel Forster had refused to allow Wickham to return to his regiment or to offer any recommendations for another assignment; therefore, the scoundrel had to be given a new way to earn a living.
Fortunately, Miss King’s family had many connections among wealthy tradesmen in London, and Wickham’s future was decided.
Darcy’s only involvement was to take the entire party to his solicitor’s, where, against Wickham’s will, a strict settlement was signed and sealed with witnesses.
With amusement and self-satisfaction, Darcy mused that the scoundrel had found his match.
Behind her plain figure, Miss Mary King hid a strong character which admitted no opposition.
Between her requests, her uncle and cousin’s visible guns, and the colonel’s threat with accusations of betrayal, Wickham had no choice left.
Even better, the settlement set out expectations for his behaviour towards his future wife, and breaking it would send him to prison for all his debts.
Darcy saw Miss King as perfectly capable of letting her uncle send her husband to prison if he wronged her in any way.
He anticipated relating all the details to Elizabeth and entertaining her with the unexpected chastisement of the scoundrel who had tried to dishonour a young lady for his own gain.
In the hall, not only the butler but also his valet and Mrs Penfield were waiting for him, with worried expressions and lowered gazes.
“What has happened?” he asked abruptly.
“Sir, there is something… Lady Catherine de Bourgh came to see you. You were out, and she spoke to Miss Bennet and Miss Darcy,” the butler mumbled.
Darcy frowned for a moment, cold shivers of panic running down his spine. “Where is my sister? And Miss Bennet?”
“They are both in their rooms, resting. Miss Bennet instructed us not to disturb her. She was very tired,” the housekeeper explained.
Tiredness turned into a headache that cut across his temples, and Darcy went to the library demanding that his servants follow.
“Close the door,” he told his valet. “Now tell me what happened.”
“Sir, I—”
“Mrs Penfield, please! I am too tired and too angry to have patience. I sense something wrong happened, and I want to know every detail of it. Every single detail. Every word. Speak!”
He could not even stand while the three, with reluctance, revealed to him the dreadful, horrible argument. With horror, he heard of his aunt’s accusations towards Elizabeth and with pride listened of his sister confronting their aunt, of whom she had always been frightened.
His head was spinning; after his anger towards Wickham and Mrs Younge, and his annoyance with Miss Bingley, now his rage overstepped the limit. His aunt had acted the worst of all, her resentment hurting Elizabeth.
“When Miss Darcy told Lady Catherine that everybody laughed at her for her insistence on the engagement between you and Miss de Bourgh, the lady seemed to wish to hurt her. I had no other choice but to ask her to leave. I know I was impolite. I went beyond my duty. I am ready to accept the consequences,” the butler said.
“You carried out your duty most excellently,” Darcy said. “All of you did, and I thank you for your loyalty. I appreciate the honesty of your narration. I hope there is no need to explain that my aunt’s accusations are as false as they are ridiculous.”
“Sir, such an explanation is not necessary. We deserve no thanks. I was devastated to see Miss Bennet so hurt, and I am sorry we could not protect her,” the housekeeper said with apparent emotion.
“It is my duty to protect my sister and her friend. Which I shall do immediately. Mrs Penfield, if my sister or Miss Bennet wakes up, please inform them I shall return shortly.”
He left the house again; the cold air of winter and the wind blowing in his face refreshed him. He hesitated between going to Lady Catherine’s townhouse or to the Matlocks’ and chose the second. Regardless of her whereabouts, he would find his aunt and settle the matter with her.
As soon as he entered the Matlocks’ residence, he heard Lady Catherine’s irritated and irritating voice.
He followed it before the servant had time to announce him and pushed open the door, finding the colonel, his parents, Anne, and her mother in the middle of a heated conversation.
“Darcy, here you are!” Lady Catherine exclaimed.
“How fortunate, as we were just talking about you. Come, sit. Let me tell you about the abominable manner in which I was treated by your sister, your servants, and that woman who, for some inexplicable reason, lives in your house. Georgiana’s impertinence is outrageous!
I have never suffered such an offence, and I insist you take the most severe measures! ”
Darcy looked at his other relatives — who seemed quite distressed — and at Anne, who was silent and pale. To her, Darcy nodded in a friendly gesture before he responded, struggling to temper his rage.
“Lady Catherine, I have no intention of sitting. And I have not come here to listen but to speak. You have embarrassed me — and Anne! — many times over the years, but today you overstepped any boundaries of decorum. Whilst I hold Anne in affectionate regard, I am ashamed that you are my aunt.”
Lady Catherine gasped for air, and her eyes opened wide in shock.
“Excuse me! What are you talking about, young man? Have you lost your mind?”
“I am talking about you breaking into my house and offending my sister’s guest, the same one who saved Georgiana’s life twice.
You offended her with all the servants as witness.
Furthermore, you accused me of bringing a woman into my home for a dishonourable purpose and imposing her on my sister against her will. How dare you!”
“Do not be ridiculous. How could I have known who she was? Miss Bingley wrote to me about a woman living in your home, and I questioned Mr Collins, who had heard a different report. What should I have assumed, especially since I found the woman in your house?”
“You should have minded your own business, as you never do!” Darcy shouted in such a way that all the ladies gasped, and even the colonel and the earl stood up and tried to calm him. Yet, he was too tired to mind his words, so he took a few steps away and continued.
“It is not for you to question me or my life. You have hurt and embarrassed poor Anne with this ridiculous pretence of an engagement, which everybody has laughed at. You should know once and for all that I shall always take care of Anne, but I shall never marry her!”
“How dare you, ungrateful boy! It was your mother’s desire as much as mine—”
“Oh, stop this nonsense, Catherine,” the earl intervened. “You and Anne spoke a few times as a joke about your children marrying. Darcy is right. You have taken this foolishness too far. You should apologise and be done with this unfortunate situation.”
“Apologise? Me? Never! Not in a hundred years! You have all lost your minds, and I suspect it is that woman’s fault!”
“I have no intention of forgiving you, Lady Catherine,” Darcy answered.
“However, I must thank you. You see, I have long admired Miss Bennet, but I have never dared to confess my feelings to her, as I was uncertain of hers. I have never treated her other than with the utmost respect as my sister’s friend, but I would probably not have gathered enough courage to speak to her so soon without your intervention. ”
His words had an extraordinary effect on the others, who were all staring at him with either disbelief or amazement.
“However, due to your actions, I shall have to apologise to her on your behalf. And I shall take this opportunity to reveal my admiration to her. Furthermore, if her response encourages me to do so, I intend to propose to her this very evening,” he ended calmly.
“You will not do that! You would not dare!” Lady Catherine cried.
“Darcy, let us not be hasty,” the earl interjected. “Let us ponder all this with reason and wisdom.”
“Uncle, I am not being hasty. I have pondered over this more times than I can count. As I said, the only reasons that prevented me from addressing Miss Bennet were that she is my sister’s friend and guest, and I did not want to embarrass her, and also that I was uncertain of her opinion of me. Now please excuse me. I must leave.”
He turned to walk away, while Lady Catherine and the earl called after him.
Reluctantly, he stopped and added, “If Miss Bennet does me the honour of accepting my marriage proposal, it will be a great blessing to me. I do not expect you to approve of it, and I understand this comes as a shock to you all. You are entitled to your opinion. I understand such a marriage will affect our family relationship. As long as you treat Miss Bennet politely, I shall respect your decision. However, I shall cut all ties to anyone who ever offends Miss Bennet again.”
He bowed again and exited the house with a huge sense of relief. Now, he could finally return home, to Georgiana and to Elizabeth.
***
When he entered his house, the scene that met him was most disturbing: his sister was alone, waiting for him, her face betraying the signs of profound distress, such as he had not seen in more than a month.
“My dear, why have you been crying? You look very ill! Did something else happen while I was gone?”
“Brother, Lizzy wants to leave. She said she cannot stay any longer… Mrs Annesley is helping her pack her luggage—”