Chapter 78
There was no thought of taking dinner that night.
Everyone was so overwhelmed and occupied that Elizabeth thought it better to arrange for trays.
The following morning dawned bright and sunny, with no hint of the lingering rain clouds that had been in the air before.
Indeed, it had an air of festival to it.
For the first time, everyone in the house knew some of the conspiracies that had been woven together beneath Pemberley’s watchful eyes.
They all knew the truth about Georgiana.
Kitty had been introduced to her, and Lydia shamefacedly re-introduced, at Miss Darcy’s own request. Both Lydia and Kitty behaved themselves admirably, although their tact was rather lacking.
After an awkward apology for her earlier behaviour, Lydia bluntly asked Georgiana if she would like her to help with her hair.
“I am sure Elizabeth means well, Miss Darcy, but she has such boring taste. There are some wonderful styles I would love to try myself. Perhaps, since you have your own maid, we can practice them together? If we tease curls over your cheeks then you won’t even need to powder those scars, you can just smile at people and look pretty.
Elizabeth, I shall need new ribbons - Miss Darcy will look very fetching in pink, don’t you think?
And you know it is my favourite colour.”
Before the hour was out, the three young ladies were firm friends, at least in the younger Miss Bennets’ estimations.
Georgiana looked a little stunned but pleased to be free of the need for secrecy.
Now that the ball was over and the guests dispersed, she was at liberty to be brought downstairs once more.
Lady Catherine insisted upon it, declaring the pleasant bedroom to be in need of airing, and the curtains a questionable choice.
So, Georgiana sat with them at breakfast, and Mary helped her to eat some porridge before Lady Catherine came down. The middle Bennet looked serene, as if she was not the agent of Colonel Fitzwilliam’s abrupt absence.
It seemed that Mrs. Bennet had finally decided to defer to her husband and had sent Fitzwilliam to Meryton to formally ask for Mary’s hand.
Mary confided to Elizabeth that it was a cunning ploy on their mother’s part: when Fitzwilliam returned, he would know what was happening with Jane and Bingley.
Even if Mary did not gain a fiancé, Mrs. Bennet would get much needed news.
“But I think papa will say yes.” Mary had said diffidently, “He will be surprised, but there is no reason for him to refuse. Indeed, he will probably see the benefit of being rid of me and my endless scales.”
Mrs. Bennet was expected at Pemberley for luncheon.
So was Mr. Collins. It was that fact which made the atmosphere feel like static.
By now, everyone knew about Jane’s escape, and about the humiliation Mr. Collins had endured.
They had no idea how he would act but knew that it would be entertaining.
Their excitement grew when Lady Catherine finally came downstairs.
Although she had eaten from a tray, she sat down at the table with them and asked for a cup of black coffee.
Drinking it with the air of a sailor tasting his first mouthful of sweet water, she immediately demanded another and then let out a heavy sigh.
“Are you well, madam?” Elizabeth asked, moving to sit beside her.
“I have been informed that people are talking about the ball, Mrs. Darcy.”
“Have you? What are they saying?” Elizabeth pretended to be relaxed, but the words put her on edge.
She had both looked forward to and dreaded society’s comments upon their visit to Pemberley.
Apart from the rain, she felt that it had gone rather well.
That is, she was assured as much by Mrs. Reynolds and the servants.
Until the heavens opened, the guests were pleased and impressed.
The look on Lady Catherine’s face was far less reassuring.
“Your absence was noted, Mrs. Darcy.”
Lizzie paled and glanced around the table furtively. “I was managing the servants. The horses escaped, and then the rain…”
“Yes, and that unlikely tale is what most of them seem to believe. Do not make yourself uneasy; I have no wish to know the truth. They have no other complaints about you, madam, nor the ball itself. If I was unsure before about your management of this house, I have no concerns now. It was a triumph, and you should be proud of it. I assume you have congratulated your staff for their efforts?”
“Yes, madam, this morning I…”
“The furniture which was caught in the storm was not valuable, I trust. You had the foresight to think of the rain.”
“Yes, I…”
“No water was allowed to pool on the floor where the doors were open? The rugs in the hallways were chosen by Lady Anne with great care. They should have been taken up before wet shoes were allowed to trample upon them.”
“Naturally, the servants knew to…”
“Excellent. Then we may discuss the rest of the gossip. My maid made an early journey into town for the society papers and overheard a few things while she was there. The story people are sharing is that of Mr. Collins. I hear that he embarrassed himself rather publicly. Publicly! You assured me that he was hungover with a cold. Now I hear that he was chasing after a carriage. It is rather out of character for a man who complains at his short walk between his parsonage and my home, and takes twice as long to cross the distance than any young man ought. Running in the rain - what provoked it, madam?”
“What did the gossips say?”
“Only that he was drunk. They are satisfied; I am not. Not only will this expose my parish to ridicule, it reflects poorly on the indulgences he enjoyed at Pemberley. If you wanted to convince people that this is no longer a house of vice, Mrs. Darcy, then you have failed.”
Elizabeth fell silent. She looked sidelong at Darcy, who nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth looked Lady Catherine directly in the eye and told her the whole story.
It began with Mr. Collins’s claim to Longbourn, and then the way that he slowly sank his claws into everything else in that house.
His treatment of Jane was confirmed by the younger girls, who added details which Elizabeth had not witnessed herself once she moved away.
The weakness of their mother was not disguised; their own schemes were described unapologetically. Darcy confessed to getting the man drunk and setting the horses loose. Elizabeth admitted to encouraging Bingley and Jane towards their attachment, even though Jane was spoken for.
Finally, they told the lady of news from the dower house: Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins were at odds.
Mrs. Bennet had no wish to help him any more on his crusade.
In turn, wracked with pain and fury, Mr. Collins had redoubled his insults towards the family as a whole, and Jane in particular.
His comments on her character were slanderous, and it was only his relative captivity in the dower house which had kept the whole story from becoming public.
“It cannot become public knowledge.” Lady Catherine interrupted at this point. Her voice was flat, her eyes as hard as nails. “Our association with the man must prevent it.”
“What of my sister’s reputation? That, surely, is our principal concern!”
“Having never met her, Mrs. Darcy, I cannot say whether she deserves our protection. Certainly, if she has been treated as poorly as you assert, I cannot fault her for running away.”
“She didn’t run away!” Lydia burst out, her eyes aflame, “She…!”
“Hold your tongue, child.” Lady Catherine cut her down at once, “This is not the time for debate. Mrs. Darcy, when is Mr. Collins expected?”
“At noon, madam.”
“What of your mother?”
“The same.”
“No, that will not do. She must wait. Until we deal with him, we cannot know how to speak to her. It seems like she will be reasonable. Send a note to the dower house and ask Mr. Collins to attend on us at once.”
It was done, with many raised eyebrows shared between the ladies in the room and a third cup of coffee ordered by the superior Lady Catherine.
After a small delay, seeing that his aunt had no patience, Darcy ordered that a small pony trap be readied and sent to the dower house without delay.
Otherwise, he muttered to Elizabeth, Mr. Collins would have a long and wearisome hop ahead of him.
“Something puzzles me, aunt.” He said, stopping his habitual pacing about the room to linger beside the woman’s chair.
“You wrote that you had heard stories about Georgiana, and that they concerned you. Horrible stories, by the sounds of it. Now that you have seen my sister, can you tell me if they were accurate?”
“They were not.” Lady Catherine sniffed.
“They exaggerated a great deal! They said that she was…” she caught sight of Georgiana, who was sitting beside the window pretending to watch the birds.
Sighing, the older woman shook her head.
“They were falsehoods, and I shall ensure that they are not repeated again in my hearing.”
Elizabeth frowned at the expression on Lady Catherine’s face.
It was, temporarily, unguarded. However blase she pretended to be about the horrible stories she had been told, it was clear that Georgiana’s plight had utterly traumatised the poor woman.
Controlling the rumours - and the people who had made them - was the only power that still remained to her.
Lizzie cleared her throat, drawing Lady Catherine’s attention back to the present.
“We thought to dispel such rumours ourselves, by allowing Georgiana to go to the ball. She watched from the balcony, but many people saw her there.”
Lady Catherine blinked, and then a slow smile crossed her face. “That was well done, Mrs. Darcy. I am sure that it will silence most wagging tongues. The most spiteful ones will, I think, take longer to silence - if you think it worth the attempt.”
“What do you mean, madam?” Elizabeth asked, frowning. The woman took a sip of her coffee.
“The most malicious rumours are being spread by Miss Bingley. I understand she was lately at Pemberley and claims she saw Georgiana while she was here. It was she who spoke to me, claiming to know all of the particulars and offering to share them with me in exchange for protection from her brother’s anger. ”
Elizabeth exchanged a resigned look with Darcy. They had guessed as much; it was obvious that Caroline would not simply disappear just because Bingley had sent her away. Lady Catherine saw their worried expressions and held up a hand.
“Do not meddle in this. I shall deal with it in the appropriate manner. Such people are like the hydra. If you cut off one head, another one springs up. It is best to simply ignore them. No doubt she was anticipating my visit here, and will visit me again as soon as I return home. I shall let her know that she was incorrect, thank her for her concern, and wish her the best of luck with her brother.”
“But…”
“She is wrong, Mrs. Darcy. There is nothing wrong with Georgiana, and no reason for people to gossip about her treatment here. Scores of people saw her at the ball, after all. Did they see any of the horrors which Miss Bingley described? Of course not!”
Elizabeth fell silent. Her stomach felt very odd.
It fluttered nervously one moment, and the next was completely at ease.
Lady Catherine wielded rumour and fact with such careless skill that the whole world seemed to bow inwards towards her narrative.
If she declared that Lydia had a beard, then Lizzie was convinced that whiskers would spring forth in an instant.