Chapter 16
A LITTLE MISTAKEN
Weeks later, Mrs. Bennet was sitting alone and feeling forlorn, for her Lydia had departed for Newcastle with her husband the prior day, when a loud disturbance in the hallway interrupted her reverie.
An older woman with a haughty, noble mien stormed into the room with Mr. William Collins trailing close behind her, thus granting Mrs. Bennet the sole privilege of receiving her.
The tall, heavy-looking young man was a mixture of contrition and excitement.
He went directly to the lady of the house and bowed deeply.
“I beg your pardon, Mrs. Bennet. I wish to acquaint you with my noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
Mrs. Bennet promptly stood and dropped a curtsy. “Oh! This is such an honour to receive you, your ladyship. Mr. Collins speaks exceedingly well of your benevolence.”
Her ladyship’s countenance contorted with disdain. “This is not a social call. I am here for a single purpose of which you can be at no loss to understand.”
“Why, I would have supposed you were in the vicinity, and you meant to convey word of how Mr. and Mrs. Collins are getting along. Yet, as Mr. Collins is here, I can only suppose that his wife, Charlotte, is visiting her family at Lucas Lodge. I suppose she thinks too highly of herself to call on Longbourn out of fear that she might be distracted with notions of all the many changes she wishes to make once my dear husband departs this earth. Wishing to ascertain the condition of the estate, you decided you would call on Longbourn for yourself.”
Lady Catherine’s mouth gaped. “Nothing in your ridiculous ramblings has anything to do with my purpose in being here. My nephew Fitzwilliam Darcy is foolish enough to suppose he is in love with your daughter Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I have come here to persuade the young lady to think better of my nephew’s scheme to offer his hand in marriage. ”
Hearing only that which she wanted to hear, Mrs. Bennet’s face ignited with elation.
“Mr. Darcy and Lizzy are to be married?” She placed her hand on her bosom.
“Two daughters married to such handsome gentlemen! I shall go distracted. Oh! Wait until I share my happy news with all my friends and neighbours. Did you know that Mr. Darcy has ten thousand a year? My Lizzy will be so very rich, and she will have many fine carriages and such pin money. She will have no need for Lady Barrett’s fortune now.
Oh! And she will put her other sisters in the path of many rich gentlemen. ”
She covered her mouth with her handkerchief to calm her nerves. “My God! We are saved.” Mrs. Bennet glared at Mr. Collins and jutted her chin. “You and your scheming wife are welcome to Longbourn. I can imagine it is nothing to Pemberley.”
“Do not get ahead of yourself! I merely mentioned my nephew’s plans. Nothing has been decided, and nothing will be decided if I have a say. That is the purpose in my being here. I insist upon seeing Miss Bennet this instant.”
“Then your ladyship will be quite disappointed.”
“Nonsense—I am not in the habit of brokering disappointment. Summon your daughter at once!”
“I wish that I could, for we have much planning to do if we are to have a proper wedding. However, Lizzy is not here.”
“Where on earth is she if she is not here?”
“My daughter has travelled to visit her aunt.”
Enraged in having missed Elizabeth, Lady Catherine headed straight to the door without taking a proper leave of Mrs. Bennet.
Her faithful servant trailed along behind her.
She insisted that Mrs. Bennet deserved no consideration after having wasted so much of her precious time.
Her ladyship was gone as quickly as she had come, leaving Mrs. Bennet in quite a state.
Elizabeth, in fact, had begun her journey of only twenty-four miles early that morning.
How she had missed her Uncle and Aunt Gardiner since she last saw them at Longbourn this past December.
Several years had passed since she and her sister Jane were last in Cheapside.
Her being in the Gardiners’ home after so long a time was a painful reminder that her dearest Jane would never pass through those hallways again.
Elizabeth knew that if she allowed herself to dwell on such matters for long, then she might not possess the courage to accomplish what she meant to during the visit.
Her aunt eagerly welcomed Elizabeth in the drawing room.
Mrs. Gardiner was an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman and a great favourite with all her Longbourn nieces.
With Elizabeth, there was a particular regard.
There was so much to tell, and they spoke on many subjects with alacrity, though none of it as seriously as the matter of Lydia’s elopement.
“I am surprised your father consented to the newlyweds calling at Longbourn before taking their leave to Newcastle, not to mention their staying an entire week, after the way the marriage came about.”
“As scandalous as it was, it is so fortunate that Lydia was married in Gretna Green, but wait until you hear what I need to tell you.
“It appears my family’s good fortune is all due to a gentleman named Mr. Darcy.”
“Mr. Darcy? Would this be Mr. Darcy of Pemberley and Derbyshire?”
“Yes. How do you know of him?”
“You will recall my having spoken of growing up in Lambton. It is a small town but five miles from Pemberley. The larger question is how does Lydia know Mr. Darcy?”
“She did not. The day he called on her, as she so foolishly asserts, was the first time she ever laid eyes on him.
“Lydia said that she did not think they would ever make it to Gretna Green, and it was a good thing Mr. Darcy called on them; otherwise, she suspected she and Wickham might not be married still. Mind you, she had not intended to tell me because it was meant to be a secret, but once she inadvertently mentioned Mr. Darcy’s being in Gretna Green, I would not let it rest until I knew the full account. ”
Elizabeth had heard such a jumbled mixture of ridiculousness from her youngest sister as to be exceedingly puzzled.
She uttered foolish ramblings of having had a rivalry for her Wickham’s affection with Mr. Darcy’s sister and having emerged the victor.
Lydia continued on about how she was much prettier than the other young lady, for her Wickham had always told her so.
What on earth did Mr. Wickham have to do with Miss Darcy?
Whatever it was, could it have been the impetus for Mr. Darcy’s strong dislike of the man?
None of this was anything she might share with her aunt.
For all Elizabeth knew, her sister may have contrived the entire story—not without some encouragement from that husband of hers.
Elizabeth simply detested the man after his despicable behaviour towards her youngest sister—even if she was obliged to refer to him as her brother forever more.
“It would then appear that we all owe Mr. Darcy a debt of gratitude.”
“Indeed. I do not get on one bit with the notion of Mr. Darcy taking so much upon himself. I know Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy have been acquainted since their youth.” Elizabeth shrugged. “I do not know much about their history except to say that Mr. Darcy abhors the gentleman.”
“How do you know how Mr. Darcy feels about Mr. Wickham? Lizzy, have you an acquaintance with the gentleman that you have yet to confide in me?”
“Oh, dearest Aunt Gardiner, if you only knew.”
“I have all day.”
Elizabeth commenced telling her aunt all there was to tell about her acquaintance with Mr. Darcy. The only question in her mind was why he had gone to such lengths on behalf of her family. Surely the endeavour could not have been very pleasant for him.
“It seems to me you know perfectly well why the gentleman behaved as he did. My question is why will you not admit it?”
“I am afraid to allow myself to hope. I believe I treated him abominably when attempting to persuade him of my indifference: first in Bosley when I refused to give him the assurances that I would remain there and wait for his return and again in Hertfordshire when I spurned his offer to be of service to my family in Lydia’s recovery.
While he proclaims to be a patient man, I fear I may have exhausted him. ”
“Why do you say that? You will concede that neither of your attempts served as a sufficient deterrent. When you did not await his return in Bosley, he came to you in Hertfordshire. When you tried to persuade him that his assistance was not required, he took it wholly upon himself to recover Lydia and at considerable expense, I would imagine.”
“Yes, but it has been weeks since Lydia and Wickham were married. Mr. Darcy must find the idea of aligning himself with the Wickhams an abomination, or else he would have returned to Hertfordshire by now.”
“From all I know of the gentleman and even by your own account, Mr. Darcy is a rich and powerful man. Have you allowed for the possibility that he has obligations and responsibilities that make it impossible for him to return to Hertfordshire at this time?”
“For once, I have decided against rushing to judgment, hence my presence in Town. If I could see him, then I would be able to judge for myself if he still holds me in esteem or if the promises he made were nothing more than words—words erased by the brush of scandal.”
“My dear, if you have come to London as a means of putting yourself in Mr. Darcy’s path, then I am afraid I will not be of much service to you.
We live in very different parts of town.
All our connections are so different. As you well know, we go out so little that it is very improbable that you should meet at all, unless it is made known to him that you are in Town, and he comes to see you. ”
“Actually, I have taken matters into my own hands in that regard. I have written the young lady I met in Bosley when I was staying with my aunt Lady Vanessa Barrett. She and Mr. Darcy have connections which are very much the same. She remains in Town. I shall call on her tomorrow.”
The next day found Elizabeth in a fashionable Mayfair establishment visiting her friend.
Elizabeth and Lucy sat upon the latter’s canopied bed, just as had been their wont in Bosley.
Months had passed since they last saw each other, but time had done nothing to diminish their affection for each other, likely a consequence of their frequent letters as well as the ladies’ understanding of the inner workings of each other’s heart.
Elizabeth said, “I always supposed Lord Holland and you would make an excellent match, Lucy. You are so much alike in temperament.”
“I could not agree more. Alas, my parents have deigned I am to marry Mr. Franklin Lloyd. I am obliged to honour their wishes.” Lucy took both of Elizabeth’s hands in hers. “I envy you in being free from such restrictions. I truly do.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Surely you are no stranger to the fact that Lady Vanessa and Lady Clarissa intended you for Lord Holland.”
“Close to the end of my stay in Bosley, I suspected as much, but I began to consider it rather a fond wish rather than anything more compelling.”
“Nevertheless, you follow your own counsel when it comes to matters of the heart. Otherwise, we might never have met. You would be known as Mrs. Elizabeth Collins, and you would be residing in Kent as the wife of a parson.”
Elizabeth laughed at this image of herself. “Perish the thought, dear Lucy.” She could not believe she had confided in Lucy the awkward embarrassment she endured in rejecting her ridiculous cousin’s hand in marriage.
“I wish very much that Mr. Darcy had not been so obtuse. The two of you might have—” Lucy sucked in a quick breath. “Oh, Elizabeth, I am so sorry to touch upon what must surely be a sore subject. I am not unaware of his being the reason you went away from Bosley.”
“Lucy, you need not worry ever much over me. I suppose I should have mentioned before that I have since seen Mr. Darcy.”
“You have? Well, that is wonderful news. Is it not?”
“I suppose that depends. You will recall meeting his friend Charles Bingley.”
“Yes, he was a delightful man and so very handsome. But his sister—” Lucy turned up her nose in a manner eerily reminiscent of Caroline Bingley herself. “Wherever did she come from?”
“Caroline Bingley does leave much to be desired. She is nothing compared to her brother, for he is one hundred times her worth. However, I mentioned Mr. Bingley because his estate in Hertfordshire is next to my father’s estate. Mr. Darcy was recently in residence there.”
“That is wonderful. Surely he came all that way to see you. What other purpose would he have in Hertfordshire? Did the two of you reach an understanding?”
“I am afraid we did not. There was hardly any time. He left Hertfordshire rather hastily for matters I have come to learn were of grave importance.”
“Oh! I have a wonderful idea! I understand Mr. Darcy is in Town, both he and Lord Holland, and you know his lordship rarely ventures to London if he can help it. I expect the two of them will be at the Langley’s garden party tomorrow.
You should accompany me. My mother shall have no problem securing an extra invitation.
Lord Holland, Mr. Darcy, you, and I will be together again just as we were in Bosley. We shall have a gay reunion.”