Chapter 33 Death at Rosings Park
Elizabeth and her two sisters sat beside the great bed in Lady Catherine’s darkened chamber and kept vigil with their friend.
Anne occupied the nearer side of the bed, clutching her mother’s hand between both her own while tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
There was no need for Dr. Miller to inform her that death was near.
Lady Catherine’s breathing was labored, and the only mercy lay in the fact that she appeared free from suffering.
Richard and Georgiana sat on either side of Anne. The day before, Richard had sent for the Earl, and the Fitzwilliams were expected to arrive that afternoon. He had also dispatched word to the cabinetmaker to prepare a coffin.
The room remained silent save for Anne’s subdued weeping and Lady Catherine’s labored breathing when Fitzwilliam entered.
Elizabeth watched him take in his aunt’s condition before he moved to the bedside and pressed a kiss upon the top of Anne’s head.
“I am sorry, Annie.”
She rose from her chair, and the cousins embraced.
“Please let me know how I may assist you.”
Anne resumed her seat beside the bed. Darcy lifted his gaze and found Elizabeth watching him. He smiled before drawing a chair beside hers and taking his place there.
They remained at Lady Catherine’s bedside until the butler entered the chamber.
“Mr. Richard, sir, the Earl has arrived. His carriage was seen approaching the lane.”
“Was Phillip with him?”
“The Viscount was not observed upon horseback, sir. He may be traveling in the carriage.”
Richard smirked.
“I doubt it, Drake. Phillip would never endure traveling with my father for so many hours in such a confined space.”
Richard pressed his wife’s hand and stood, stretching his back. “Annie, I shall go down to receive my father.”
The three Bennet sisters and Georgiana all rose and followed Richard from the chamber.
Elizabeth paused beside Anne.
“We shall grant the Earl privacy with his sister, Annie. We will wait below in the drawing room until you send for us.”
Anne pressed Elizabeth’s hand before they left her.
Elizabeth did not encounter Mr. Darcy again until they gathered in the drawing room, awaiting the summons to dinner. Richard entered with Mr. Darcy.
“Drake, neither my father nor Annie shall come down to dinner. Neither feels inclined to eat at present.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mr. Darcy poured drinks for himself and Richard before crossing the room to join Elizabeth.
She asked, “Mr. Darcy, is there anything my sisters and I may do?”
“No, darling, there is nothing to be done at present. My uncle sits with Annie. He loved both his sisters dearly and bears this loss heavily himself. He said he had expected the two of them to grow into a pair of old crows together. She was only a year younger than he, and they were very close throughout their childhood.”
They were summoned to dinner when Richard’s mother joined them in the drawing room.
Richard performed the introductions to the Countess of Matlock.
Elizabeth straightened when Lady Helen’s eyes fixed on her nephew. “Fitzwilliam, you are standing too close to Miss Elizabeth. You are behaving most improperly, sir.”
Darcy bowed. “Yes, Aunt Helen.”
Richard escorted his mother into the dining room. The lady’s brows rose nearly to her hairline when Darcy took Elizabeth’s hand and placed her arm within the crook of his own, and escorted the woman he loved into the dining room.
Georgiana slipped her hand through Elizabeth’s other arm and leaned close to whisper, “Lizzy, I am afraid.”
Elizabeth looked into the girl’s anxious eyes.
“What do you fear, my dear?”
“I have never before occupied the same room as a dead person.”
“You have nothing to fear, Georgiana. Lady Catherine shall suffer no more pain, nor will she struggle for breath, when the time comes. She shall be at peace. There is nothing for you to dread. During the wake, your brother shall remain beside you, and you need not approach the body too closely if it distresses you.”
The young girl searched Elizabeth’s face.
“Will she become a ghost, Lizzy?”
“No, my dear. You need not fear such things. I have attended several wakes over the years, and I have never experienced anything untoward. There is nothing to fear.”
“Will you remain with me during the wake?”
Darcy overheard the conversation and answered before Elizabeth could speak.
“You shall have me upon one side and Elizabeth upon the other, so you need fear nothing, sweetling.”
This appeared to comfort her, but then she said, “Fitzwilliam, you and Lizzy shall not be able to marry this week as you hoped. Annie believes Aunt Catherine will not survive the night.”
Elizabeth lifted her eyes to meet his.
He pressed her hand and whispered, “It is true, darling. We shall not marry tomorrow, even should she survive, for my uncle would consider it a grave mark of disrespect. He sanctioned Richard’s marriage because it offers protection to our orphaned cousin, but I have no such justification.
He would regard my marriage as an act of selfish indulgence on my part. ”
She lowered her eyes and worked to keep her disappointment in check. They were to have married on the morrow, but now they must wait for months, and perhaps his aunt and the Earl would turn him against her, and the marriage would never transpire.
At dinner, no further opportunity arose to discuss the matter, for the Countess of Matlock presided over the conversation. The lady directed Fitzwilliam to the seat on her right and Elizabeth to the one on her left, then subjected Elizabeth to close questioning.
“Miss Elizabeth, how is it that you and your sisters are residing at Rosings Park?”
“Lady Catherine invited me to stay with Annie, for she was brought low by the loss of Mrs. Jenkinson.”
“Indeed? Do you reside in the neighborhood, ma’am?”
“No, my lady. My sister married the rector of Hunsford parish. Mrs. Fitzwilliam befriended me and asked that I remain with her during her companion’s final days.”
“I see. Have you known my nephew long? The two of you appear remarkably close.”
Elizabeth lifted her eyes toward Mr. Darcy, but he remained silent.
“Not long. Lady Catherine introduced us to her nephews.”
“Ah, I see. And where does your family reside, Miss Bennet?”
“My father’s estate lies in Hertfordshire, and my sister is married to my father’s heir.”
“So, the estate was entailed away from the female line?”
“Yes, my lady.”
The Countess sniffed. “I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. Thankfully for Richard and Anne, it was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s family.”
The lady then inquired how many sisters she had, whether they were older or younger than herself, whether they were all as handsome as the sisters who were present, where they had been educated, what carriage her father kept, and what had been her mother’s maiden name.
Elizabeth’s cheeks colored beneath the lady’s relentless examination, but she answered with politeness and kept her gaze from straying toward Mr. Darcy lest he perceive how deeply this treatment, and his silence throughout it, offended her.
When dinner finally concluded, the ladies withdrew together. Elizabeth was sorely tempted to plead a headache and retire upstairs, but she would not abandon her two sisters to face the Countess alone.
Once they had settled in the drawing room, the lady asked, “Do you play and sing, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes, my lady.”
The Countess addressed Georgiana.
“Niece, I should like to hear both you and Miss Elizabeth perform. You may turn pages for one another.”
The two young ladies crossed to the pianoforte. While Elizabeth seated herself upon the bench, Georgiana whispered, “I am certain I shall not be able to play before my aunt. She is exceedingly particular, Elizabeth. She unsettles my nerves.”
Elizabeth answered in a low voice, “I shall remain beside you and shield you from her view, so you need not look at her. Imagine yourself at home performing for your brother.”
“I shall try, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth began to play, and then her voice rose in song. The music swept away her irritation with both Mr. Darcy and the Countess, and before long, she lost herself entirely in the song.
When she finished, Lady Helen said, “You possess a very fine voice, Miss Elizabeth. Listening to you was no hardship. I should like to hear another.”
Elizabeth offered no reply. She merely began to play again and sang a second piece.
The lady requested two more songs, and by the time Elizabeth finished, the two gentlemen had joined them.
She saw that Mr. Darcy’s gaze was fixed upon her. The expression in his eyes and the smile upon his lips revealed his pleasure in her performance, and her resentment lessened.
She turned toward the young girl beside her.
“Georgiana, have you decided what you shall play?”
“Yes. I shall perform a simple Irish air for her, for my nerves remain quite unsettled.”
Georgiana played “Robin Adair” very prettily. Elizabeth remained seated upon the side nearest the Countess so the girl need not face her aunt directly.
When she finished, Georgiana released a breath.
“There. I accomplished it without a single mistake. Come, Lizzy, let us sit down before she requests another.”
Elizabeth laughed under her breath.
“You may always claim fatigue from the trials of the day and ask to be excused.”
Georgiana looked at her hopefully.
“I shall. She interrogated you throughout dinner, and now it shall be my turn, and afterward Fitzwilliam’s. She has long attempted to marry him to some suitable bride. I do not wish to witness the moment he informs her he is already betrothed.”
Elizabeth drew in a sharp breath.
“Nor do I, my dear. I shall excuse myself as well, and I believe my sisters would feel exceedingly grateful to join our escape.”
“Aunt, I have spent the entire day with Annie, and part of last night besides. I must go to bed before I fall asleep upon the couch. May I be excused?”
“Of course, my dear.”
Then Jane and Mary stepped forward and stood with Elizabeth.