Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Lady Catherine was the first to show up at Darcy House to vent their displeasure within days of the wedding announcement.
That lady arrived Friday morning and, finding no knocker at her nephew’s house, still tried to demand entrance.
William and Elizabeth were still in bed when she called, and her knocks were ignored by the butler, who had been told to admit no one, especially not Lady Catherine.
Unsatisfied, she went to her brother’s house. He, too, was prepared for this arrival but, as head of the Fitzwilliam family, had wanted to spare Darcy the frustration of dealing with his aunt on his honeymoon.
“Henry, I am most alarmed by what is being published in the newspapers about my nephew’s marriage to this country upstart.
He has been engaged to my daughter since they were in their cradles, and I am shocked by the report that he has married elsewhere.
This woman is the daughter of my parson who has been turned out of her own home by her parents,” Lady Catherine began.
“Cathy, first of all, he has never been engaged to Anne. Both have told you repeatedly they would not marry the other, and our nephew has found and married a woman he loves. Be happy for him and get over this ridiculous idea of an arrangement made while they were in their cradles. No one in the family has ever supported that match, and now that he has chosen elsewhere, you will have to learn to live with it,” the Earl replied.
“He is married; he was married by his great uncle on the Darcy side, the archbishop. I witnessed the marriage myself, and I have rarely seen a couple so in love. Not only that, but I have never seen William as happy as he is with Elizabeth. My wife and I support the marriage wholeheartedly.”
Lady Catherine spluttered in her rage. “You attended the wedding? How could you betray your own family like that? You knew William was to marry Anne.”
“Catherine, you are still not listening. If you continue in this farce and spread this rumour, I will have no choice but to send you to Bedlam. William and Anne were never engaged. Such an arrangement has only ever existed in your own warped mind. No one will force William to marry your daughter, especially now that he is married to another,” Henry said.
With that pronouncement, Catherine shrieked and attempted to attack her brother with her cane.
Footmen, who had been warned to be on guard whenever she arrived, subdued her quickly and forced laudanum into her mouth to calm her.
Others had already retrieved her daughter from the carriage outside since she had left her sitting there, and she was in a bedroom resting when Lady Catherine was carried upstairs.
A doctor was sent for, and footmen were assigned to keep watch over the rooms of both ladies.
Another footman was dispatched to Darcy House with a note letting the residents of that home know what had transpired there that morning.
That couple was breaking their fast when the messenger from Darcy House arrived, followed by a messenger from Longbourn.
William read the note from Matlock House to Elizabeth and was pleased to know they had been spared that confrontation.
As Lord Matlock had it in hand, they were no longer worried about that quarter.
The note from Longbourn was unexpected, and William opened it hesitantly.
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy,
I see you have defied me and married without my blessing or consent.
While my second daughter was of age, my consent was unnecessary but the Elizabeth that I knew would have never dreamed of marrying under these circumstances.
Elizabeth Bennet is no more, and I will not think of her again.
Thankfully, few in Meryton read the London papers.
I do not know why you have chosen to marry under these circumstances or at all and this is my final word on this subject.
My only hope is that neither of you will come to regret the other as I came to regret my choice of wife.
With Elizabeth dead and Jane leaving home soon with her marriage to Mr. Bingley, I foresee little of sense crossing over my threshold in the foreseeable future.
Thomas Bennet
Elizabeth’s face fell when William read the letter out loud. “He still believes us to be unsuited, but to hear myself being proclaimed dead so coldly is shocking,” she said.
William scooted his chair back from the table and pulled her from her seat and into his lap, drawing her tightly into his arms. “I am sorry, Elizabeth,” he said, stroking her hair, which was still down.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I will be fine, William. Clearly, this letter has been the least shocking since it is the first one you or my Uncle Gardiner have permitted me to hear.” She took another deep breath, attempting to shake herself from any melancholy.
“When do Jane and Mr. Bingley marry? I am anxious to see my dearest sister again. She is the only one I have truly regretted. And you and Mr. Bingley have ensured I have been able to contact her despite my father’s prohibition. ”
He hugged her tighter. “Soon - a week or two yet, I believe. I will have to look at his letter again to confirm the date. Bingley is not the easiest correspondent. They plan to stay at Netherfield for the first sennight after their marriage and then travel to London to stay in Bingley’s townhouse for a month or so.
His sisters are still in the north and will stay there for a time.
We can invite Mr. and Mrs. Bingley here for a celebratory dinner once they arrive in London unless you would like to attempt to attend the wedding. ”
Elizabeth shook her head and sighed. “No, I think it best we not create a scene by arriving, even if just for the ceremony. I do not know how my father will react, and I prefer not to ruin Jane’s day by upsetting my father.
No one has mentioned what my mother knows about the situation, and we know she would not be quiet if we were to show up unexpectedly.
” She raised her head and kissed him slowly.
“I hope when Jane comes, we will be able to talk to her about the circumstances at Longbourn, and perhaps she will be able to explain things.”
William sighed and rested his cheek on top of Elizabeth’s head. “I love you, Elizabeth,” he told her. “Have I told you today how happy I am to have you as my wife?”
She laughed her tinkling laugh. “No, you have not yet today, William. I am happy to be married to you and am looking forward to attending the theatre tonight to see Much Ado About Nothing, one of my favourite plays with our family. We were supposed to dine with your aunt and uncle after, but will we still do so since Lady Catherine is there?” Elizabeth asked.
Just then, a knock at the door delivered another note from Matlock.
William laughed as he read the missive. “My aunt had the same thought and asked if they may dine here instead. We need to let the Gardiners know of the change in plans. She has also asked if Georgiana may return to Darcy House since Lady Catherine is in residence at Matlock House for the present. Lady Catherine is sedated, but Anne plans to join us for the theatre. She, it seems, is very pleased by our wedding and sends her congratulations.”
“I look forward to knowing Anne better,” Elizabeth replied.
“And we can easily move the supper here. I will also be pleased to have Georgiana at home, although that will mean we will have to be more sociable now and leave our rooms more frequently.” She grinned up at him.
“She can come this afternoon at teatime if she likes—will she join us at the theatre tonight?”
“She was not planning to attend, but perhaps we may persuade her to do so with Anne also in attendance,” William offered. “And I will be pleased to have her back at home as well, but you are correct—that will require us to eat more meals in the dining room rather than our sitting room.”
“In that case,” Elizabeth began. “Perhaps we should retire to our rooms to rest before anyone else arrives.”
William adjusted his arms around his wife and stood, carrying her back upstairs. It was nearly teatime before the staff saw them again that day.
One lady most pleased with the new Mrs. Darcy was Anne de Bourgh.
She had liked the lady in April when she had visited and wondered then if Darcy was interested in her.
Despite their discussions of the matter, Anne had worried that her mother’s claims were preventing Darcy from offering for that lady, but since she and William rarely spoke, she could not be confident about the state of affairs between them.
Together with Richard, Anne had thought it seemed the lady in question had not particularly cared for her cousin in April, and Anne, at least, still wondered what had led to the change.
Now, away from Rosings and, for the first time in her life, out of her mother’s control, she felt good and was looking forward to attending the theatre that night.
It would be a night of firsts for her, as her mother hated travelling and had rarely travelled as far as London for any reason.
She spoke to her Aunt Matlock about the possibility of attending other events while in London, and her aunt had promised her a trip to the modiste in the next week.
Arriving at Covent Garden in company with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, Anne spent several minutes in awe of all she saw.
Dressed in a hastily altered gown of her aunt’s and with her hair carefully arranged, she looked far more beautiful than she ever had in the dresses chosen by her mother.
Walking into the theatre on her Cousin Richard’s arm, she was pleased to be in attendance but yet felt a tremendous amount of trepidation at all the eyes on her.