Chapter 3 A Most Unpleasant Surprise #4
Good God, what audacity! Did she hope to intimidate me? I did not doubt my husband’s love. Still, how could I not be daunted by the lady’s eager interest in him? “I hope he will return soon.”
My gaze shifted to Lady Catherine. “Will the two of you be staying with us for a few days?” My breath suspended. Mayhap they meant to stop at Pemberley on their way to another destination such as the Fitzwilliam estate. I crossed my fingers.
“We expect to be here for a fortnight.”
Two whole weeks. I controlled my facial muscles to conceal my dismay.
Lady Catherine sipped from her tea cup. “I have instructed your housekeeper to have two rooms prepared in the family wing.”
No doubt as the former mistress’s sister, she had grown accustomed to having her choice of accommodations here. “How mindful of you.”
“Well, I always pay attention to these matters, and since we had no one here to greet us, someone had to take charge.”
With effort, I discarded the impetuous retort on the tip of my tongue. “If I had but known you were coming, I should have been here to greet you, and all preparations would have been made well in advance.”
Lady Catherine put a generous slice of cake on her plate. “You should have been expecting me. I wrote to my nephew to let him know.”
No, that could not be true. “I am certain he received no letter from you.”
“Well, Darcy must not have seen fit to inform you. That does not surprise me. Gentlemen have no obligation to share every little detail of their lives with their spouses.”
What nonsense! I did not bother to make a reply. While my father often kept secrets from my mother for one reason or another, Fitzwilliam would never withhold information so relevant to me and my position. Would he? No, of course not.
My husband burst into the room. His eyes sought me, and I managed to produce a smile for him. He strode to his aunt. “Lady Catherine, this is a surprise.”
She stood and offered her hand, over which he bowed.
“Darcy, you know very well I wrote to you and informed you of my intentions. Regardless, I want to make you known to my friend.” She took Lady Rebecca’s hand and brought her before him.
“Lady Rebecca Seymour, I am pleased to present my nephew Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
He bowed. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Rebecca.”
In horrid fascination, I stood with my hands clenched at my sides and gaped at the spectacle before me: with an amatory glimmer to her eyes, Lady Rebecca gave Fitzwilliam a pert smile and positioned herself in an affected fashion designed to push her ample chest upwards to within a few inches from him. The insolent hussy!
“Your aunt described you as handsome, but she did not do justice to your impressive figure and stature.” Her voice had a purring quality that grated on me.
He took a step back. “I thank you.”
The simper Lady Catherine aimed at me inspired an image of a cat holding a mouse helpless within its jaws.
She turned her attention to my husband. “Darcy, Lady Rebecca inherited an estate near Manchester. I told her that you would show her around Pemberley and teach her the fundamentals an estate owner needs to know.”
“Oh yes. I am eager to learn from you.” Lady Rebecca grasped Fitzwilliam’s arm.
He stiffened, stretching his upper body away from her.
“My wife and I should be glad to show you Pemberley. I am sure you can learn a great deal from her with regards to running the household of an estate and establishing a rapport with the tenants. Mrs. Darcy has proven herself to be an excellent mistress.”
“That is not what my friend needs.” Lady Catherine’s abrasive tone pierced the air.
“An efficient housekeeper can attend to those duties, but she wants to learn all aspects of running an estate lest an unscrupulous steward robs her blind.” At that remark, Lady Rebecca winced and gave Lady Catherine a sharp look.
“Very well.”
A self-satisfied smirk raised Lady Catherine’s cheeks.
Graham’s “mmm” sound drew my gaze. He partook of a pear tart with apparent delight, and his glittering blue eyes evidenced the amusement he derived from our guests’ antics. But they failed to entertain me. Why had Lady Catherine come, and why had she brought Lady Rebecca?
“Now then, you must realize I am anxious to meet my grand-nephew.” Lady Catherine cast her gaze upon me. “I should like him to be brought here now.” Her imperial deportment made it clear she would brook no refusal.
My stomach tensed, and my sight flitted to Fitzwilliam.
A desire to voice a protest welled up within me.
Are we to expose Bennet to this woman? She is certain to frighten him.
Yet Fitzwilliam’s assured bearing conveyed no qualms for introducing our child to Lady Catherine.
She was his aunt, after all. However, I should bring Bennet myself and prepare him to meet several strangers.
I forced myself to rise. “As you wish. I shall go and retrieve him.”
“What is this?” Lady Catherine’s brows came together. “Why not ring for a servant?”
“I prefer to go myself.”
Fitzwilliam stood. “I shall accompany you.”
“Now that is ridiculous!” Lady Catherine’s outburst had a strident sound. “There can be no need for this, Darcy, unless you cannot trust your wife to accomplish a task so trivial on her own.”
His shoulders straightened as he glared upon his aunt.
Much as I appreciated his desire to accompany me, we could refrain from annoying his aunt in this instance. “Fitzwilliam, you have not seen your aunt for a long while. You ought to remain here.”
His eyes met mine for a moment. “Very well. You are correct.”
Lady Catherine’s forced exhalation made her exasperation known. “What you ought to have said is that I am correct, Nephew! No one is more attentive to propriety than I.”
My husband positioned himself out of the two ladies’ view to make a facetious expression for my benefit.
I could not keep from grinning. How I loved him! He had an uncanny ability at times to know precisely what I needed from him. My hand brushed along his arm as I walked past him.
Graham set down his plate, shot to his feet, and strode towards me. “I could do with a short walk. Do you mind if I go with you?”
“Oh…um…not at all.”
Darcy
I ground my teeth as Graham followed my wife from the room. The rascal waited to be certain I should remain before rising to accompany her. If I had known his intention—
“Well, Darcy, have you seen the error of your ways?”
My aunt’s query broke through my rumination. “What do you mean?”
“Will you now acknowledge you erred in marrying so beneath yourself?”
Confound it. How dare she pose such an insulting question? I attempted to restrain my temper. “In the event I failed to make myself clear in my last communication with you, I expect you to provide my wife every due courtesy. Elizabeth is everything I could have wished for in a wife and more.”
She came before me. “I received your letter, but you had not yet married back then. You may have had cause to change your mind.”
‘That is not the case.” I lowered my voice. “I had hoped your appearance here meant you had resolved to accept my wife. If that is not the case, you ought to leave without delay.”
She blanched and ambled back to her seat. “There is no cause for you to be so petulant. You mistook my object. I meant to satisfy myself that you have no regrets and are not keeping the woman to maintain appearances.” My aunt’s frown belied her words.
“You will refer to her as Elizabeth or Mrs. Darcy.”
“Of course—Elizabeth.” Lady Catherine gestured to a spot on the settee next to Lady Rebecca. “Now will you stop towering over us and sit before you give me a sore neck?”
I chose a nearby chair instead. “Is Anne well?”
My aunt’s face took on a pinched expression. “Her health has declined of late.”
“I am sorry to hear that.”
“Perhaps you will come to see her at Rosings one day soon.”
“That is a possibility. I shall discuss the subject with Elizabeth.” First, though, you must show my wife the respect she deserves during this stay.
Lady Catherine squeezed her lips together with such force, they seemed to disappear altogether.
I took a quick glance at Lady Rebecca, who sat in an august position like a statue. Why had my aunt brought her here? To my knowledge, she had never before travelled with a lady other than Anne.
“I must say, Darcy, you are far more liberal, or perhaps lax is the better word, than I should have expected. Few husbands would allow their wives to gad about alone with a handsome gentleman friend. Most would be concerned—if not for his wife’s fidelity, then for the indecorous nature of her actions. ”
A blazing heat seared me from within. By Jove, I should not allow her infernal statements to perturb me. “My wife’s conduct is above reproach.” At the sound of footsteps, my harsh mien relaxed, and I rose to my feet. Elizabeth entered the room holding Bennet’s hand. Graham and Miss Hunter followed.
My son walked behind Elizabeth, his body hidden by her skirt as he peeked at the unfamiliar ladies. The moment he caught sight of me, he smiled and ran towards me with his arms outstretched. “Papa!”
I grabbed Bennet under his arms, lifted him to my chest, and resumed my seat with him upon my lap.
“Why would you encourage such an undignified display?” Lady Catherine wrinkled her nose. “It is never too soon to teach the boy the proper way to greet his parents and guests. You do him no favours by treating him like a baby.”
I stroked Bennet’s back, glaring at her. “My son is not yet two years old. He knows the proper way to greet people but is shy in the company of strangers. For now, his most important tasks are to play and be a contented child.”
Lady Rebecca looked askance at my aunt. “Indeed, the boy is yet so young. No doubt he will learn manners in good time.”