Chapter 41
Drawing Room
Matlock House
Three Weeks Later
Richard sank comfortably into his wingbacked chair and put his feet up on a convenient footstool.
He admired his mother’s sense of fashion and was confident Buckingham Palace itself could not be furnished more elegantly than was Matlock House.
However, unlike the great palace, Matlock House was also supremely homelike as well, as the mistress made a point of incorporating comfort into everyday living.
Richard looked around the room, relishing these hours taking place in the bosom of his family.
His brother and sister-in-law, Lord and Lady Radway, maintained their own establishment, but his sisters Rebekah and Rachel still lived at Matlock House, and they were currently each reading a novel as the family waited for dinner to be announced.
Richard basked in the presence of his family.
He had missed them all whilst he was away fighting the Corsican tyrant.
The fight was thrilling and exhilarating and exhausting and terrifying, just as furlough was restful and satisfying and tedious.
It was a pleasure to be once more near those he loved, to be attending the parties of the London Season, and to enjoy the company of his friends.
On the other hand, the old sticklers in the War Office objected strongly to any man having unfettered free time, and a considerable part of Richard's day saw him assisting with the reams of paperwork that any army, especially one in wartime, naturally generated.
The work was more dull than onerous, and certainly no comparison to slogging through mud over one's knees in pouring rain or facing down enemy fire, but the very tedium took its own toll.
At any rate, the food was far better than it was on the Continent, particularly tonight; it was laughable to compare the food served by Matlock's excellent cook to what passed for army rations.
Richard had already informed his superiors that he would be unable to work the following morning.
He would instead be attending his cousin's wedding.
Darcy had acquired a common license and would be marrying Miss Elizabeth Bennet on the next morning at St. George's in Hanover Square.
Darcy did not need Richard's blessing, but he had it nonetheless.
It was, in Richard's opinion, a very good union. Even if she had been penniless and in truth the daughter of a mere country squire, Elizabeth would be an excellent wife to Darcy. Her understanding was superior, her liveliness a welcome contrast to Darcy’s more sober demeanor, and her charm immediately apparent to all who met her.
Yet beyond these considerations, she was kindly, God-fearing, and surprisingly wise for one so young.
Darcy need have no qualms for Pemberley with Elizabeth as mistress, and as for Serena and Georgiana, Richard had never before seen them cast into such transports.
Moreover, in addition to her other admirable qualities, Elizabeth came with quite a fortune and connections to the lesser nobility.
Rather to Richard’s amusement, his female Darcy cousins were so pleased at their brother's impending marriage that they had insisted on acting as hostesses for the wedding breakfast. Lady Matlock, well aware how shy her nieces were, had offered to host the breakfast in the Matlock House dining room, but Serena had stated that it would be better at Darcy House.
Richard was confident that it would be a lovely affair, though not a crush.
While both the Bennets and the Darcys boasted many acquaintances in Town, Darcy was of a more private nature, and Miss Elizabeth was neither cruel nor crass enough to bid her disappointed suitors to her wedding celebration.
Close friends and connections of the families would be attending, of course, which included all of his family, including his estimable parents.
Jane Bennet would be there, too, and Richard felt his interest pique at the thought.
She truly was a lovely lady, Miss Bennet, not only in her strikingly beautiful countenance but in her very character.
Richard had met many acknowledged beauties before, and they were usually conceited, haughty, altogether too aware of their own appeal, and completely vain.
No trace of such arrogance tainted Miss Bennet's manner, which was unfailingly kind, and sweet, and soft-spoken.
Richard was accustomed to the hard men and life of the army, and as such, found a soft, gentle lady like Miss Bennet enormously appealing as a prospective wife.
He was not sure if she returned his regard in any measure, and part of him was eager to search out an answer immediately.
A more prudent part acknowledged that it would be better to wait and ponder the logistics.
Miss Bennet's dowry was a mere ten thousand pounds; not at all a paltry sum, but it would not bring in an income at all comparable to the Earl of Matlock's, and as such would not support Jane and her husband in the same style as Richard had known in his youth.
Perhaps he could be happy in these reduced circumstances, with a wife whom he loved and who brought peace to their home, or perhaps straitened circumstances would wear on him.
It was a matter that would require further consideration before Richard tried to discover the bent of the lady's heart.
Richard glanced at the clock thoughtfully. The family had gathered early, and it was still thirty minutes until dinner. Rather a pity that; he was already very hungry.
Suddenly, through the open door which led to the vestibule, Richard heard a loud, painfully familiar voice declare, “Announce me immediately!”
Richard straightened his back and turned an alarmed look on the Earl of Matlock, whose own eyes were bulging in surprised distress.
Footsteps approached, the butler entered with a female guest at his heels, and the he intoned plainly, “Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
Richard rose to his feet along with his father, while Lady Matlock and the two Fitzwilliam daughters remained seated.
“Sister,” Lord Matlock said flatly, “this is a great surprise.”
Lady Catherine, a tall, commanding woman dressed in fine traveling clothes, stepped forward, her face twisted in a ferocious scowl, and she began speaking in a voice that was as much a growl as it was words.
“I cannot imagine why it would be a surprise, Brother! You must have known I would come up as soon as I heard the dreadful news. Not that I should have been required to travel on such short notice. I had assumed that you would have the sense to nip this unfortunate affair in the bud, but it seems that my high expectations for your competence were wrong. What possible reason could you have for allowing this travesty?”
Lord Matlock stared at his sister in genuine bewilderment, and it fell to Lady Matlock to say calmly, “Husband, I believe Lady Catherine is speaking of Darcy’s upcoming marriage.”
Lord Matlock blinked and then shook his head. “Catherine, you cannot possibly have rushed here because Darcy is engaged.”
“I most certainly did!” Lady Catherine snarled, her nostrils flaring. “From their infancy, Darcy and Anne have been meant for one another. From their cradles, my sister and I planned their union! And now, at the moment when the marriage was on the cusp of being accomplished…”
“Sister, please do sit down,” Lady Matlock interrupted incisively. “You have traveled quite a long way and doubtless are in need of refreshment.”
Lady Catherine turned an outraged face toward her hostess, but Lady Matlock’s face was calm and collected and grave, and after a moment, their unwanted visitor took a seat near the fire with wild eyes and a huff of indignation.
“Rebekah, Rachel, would you mind having tea sent here?” Lady Matlock asked.
Both girls nodded in unison and fled the room in haste, their eyes still stretched wide at the scene that had just unfolded before them.
Richard also relaxed in relief. He did not mind Lady Catherine’s shouting, as it was far less noisy than the regiment’s drill sergeant, but his sisters were more than a little intimidated by their domineering aunt.
“Well, Brother,” Lady Catherine demanded as soon as the door had closed behind the Fitzwilliam daughters, “what do you have to say for yourself? Why did you not do something about this preposterous so-called engagement of Darcy’s?
Even if you were too lazy to interfere, you could at least have written to me.
As it was, I only learned of this ridiculous betrothal this morning when Mr. Collins informed me of it, after he learned of it from his wife! ”
Lord Matlock literally ground his teeth at these words, and Richard decided to step in.
“Lady Catherine,” he said.
She turned a fulminating glare on him. “What?”
He leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees.
“Darcy is engaged to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who is the granddaughter of the fourth Viscount Langdon. She is also a substantial heiress with a fortune of nearly ninety thousand pounds. She is one of the great prizes of the Season, and I know Darcy feels blessed to have won her hand in marriage. The engagement is a legitimate one, and Darcy will certainly not draw back. Your trip here is in vain.”
These were very blunt words indeed, but Lady Catherine de Bourgh was the sort of woman who tended to hear what she expected to hear. Bluntness was required to have any chance of success of penetrating her stubborn mind.
Their visitor’s eyes were now slits of outrage. “That is absurd. Entirely absurd! Darcy is engaged to Anne, and…”
“He is not,” Lord Matlock interrupted firmly.
“You and Lady Anne dreamed up this idea that Darcy and your daughter would marry, but there were never any official papers drawn up. Moreover, given Anne’s poor health, I am not certain she should be responsible for providing an heir for both Pemberley and Rosings. ”