Chapter 25 #2
Elizabeth suppressed an amused smile. “I have always found Latin fascinating, and far more useful than French. Of course, should Napoleon conquer England, which I believe is implausible at present, I will likely come to regret my neglect of the modern languages. It would be most inconvenient, would it not, to be under French rule and yet unable to speak a word of French.”
“Are you a bluestocking, Miss Bennet?” the countess demanded in alarm, her hand fluttering to her neck.
“No, your ladyship,” Elizabeth told her, resisting the urge to laugh at the scandalised expression upon her countenance, “but I am of the opinion that if women possess a greater capacity for sensibility, compassion, and virtue than men, surely we must also possess an aptitude for academic enlightenment.”
Lady Carlisle frowned. “Were you educated at a seminary in town?”
“I was not.”
“Did you have a governess?”
“I did not.”
“Hmph,” was all her ladyship had to say in response. She scrutinised Elizabeth for several moments, then said, “Tell me what you thought of my nephew when you first saw him.”
Elizabeth raised one finely arched brow. “Not much, madam.”
“Oh, come now,” said the countess crisply. “Darcy is handsome and rich! Surely you were taken with him.”
“Handsome though Mr Darcy may be, I can assure you that I was quite perturbed with him. Any lady would be had he proclaimed her ‘not handsome enough’ to tempt him.”
“He said that to you!” Lady Carlisle exclaimed, and to her credit, she appeared truly horrified to have received such a shocking account of her nephew.
“Mr Darcy was speaking to his friend, but his voice carried over the din of the musicians. As I happened to be sitting nearby, I overheard his comment. I am afraid it could not be avoided.”
“But that does not sound like Darcy at all! I have never heard him mention a young woman by name in public, nor openly criticise one! I trust he was mortified his comment had been overheard and apologised at once.”
“He did not,” Elizabeth replied. “In fact, I did not receive an apology for his remark until recently.”
“Did he not slight you when you first knew him?”
“He did.”
The countess appeared genuinely confused. “Yet he did not apologise until now?”
“That is correct.”
“And you have known one another for a year at least?”
“A little longer than a year, yes.”
“And in all that time, Miss Bennet,” Lady Carlisle proclaimed incredulously, “my nephew did not see fit to apologise to you at all!”
“It does appear that way.”
“That is very singular behaviour! Very singular indeed!”
Elizabeth could tell the countess was extremely displeased, though whether the source of her displeasure was owed to Elizabeth’s frankness or Darcy’s ill manners she could only speculate. She offered a polite inclination of her head. “Mr Darcy is a very singular gentleman, your ladyship.”
“This business is quite distressing! But tell me, Miss Bennet. My nephew informed me that he proposed to you once before. Is that correct?”
“It is.”
“He also claims you refused him, but that cannot be right.”
“I assure you it is true. As you must know, Mr Darcy abhors deceit of any kind. There is nothing to be gained by his lying about my refusal of his proposal, though one might wonder why he mentioned it in the first place.”
Lady Carlisle appeared thunderstruck. “Why on earth would you refuse such an offer?”
“I am afraid Mr Darcy’s proposal left much to be desired.”
“Left much to be desired?” she repeated dubiously. “It was a proposal of marriage, Miss Bennet, was it not?”
Elizabeth pursed her lips. “Yes.”
“Then I fail to see the problem. Did you not comprehend the honour my nephew had bestowed upon you by asking for your hand?”
“I was not insensible of it. Quite the opposite. I assure you Mr Darcy’s first proposal would have been received far more favourably had I actually liked him.”
“You did not like him?” The countess’s tone revealed the utmost astonishment.
“No, I did not.”
Lady Carlisle stared at Elizabeth as though she had never seen anyone quite like her in the entire course of her life. “You did not like him? You did not like him at all? Not even a little bit?”
“I did not. In fact, I considered Mr Darcy the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.”
“I find that positively shocking!”
“As you say, Lady Carlisle.”
“But you like him now, Miss Bennet. You like him and want to marry him.”
“Very much,” Elizabeth told her warmly, unable to repress her smile. “I have found Mr Darcy improves upon further acquaintance.”
Lady Carlisle shook her head as though to clear it.
“How much of an acquaintance?” she demanded, and in her tone, Elizabeth not only heard a note of accusation, but a hint of smugness as well.
“Darcy is very rich and owns a vast deal of property. Pemberley is one of the finest estates in all of Derbyshire. Surely, you are not ignorant of its existence. Is that what changed your mind about marrying my nephew? His estate? His wealth? The pin money and notoriety you will surely have as his wife?”
Elizabeth’s smile slipped from her face.
That his aunt could so easily overlook the richness of Darcy’s character while championing his worldly riches pained her.
For the first time during their exchange, Elizabeth felt affronted rather than entertained by the countess’s manner.
“I have had the pleasure of visiting Pemberley, Lady Carlisle. It is certainly not without its charm, but as I am sure you must know, there is far more to Mr Darcy than his estate, his income, and his handsome figure. He is warm and caring and the most honourable man I have ever known. Had I met him at Pemberley, I believe I would have loved him far sooner. Not because of his stately house or beautiful grounds, but because it was at Pemberley where I first had the pleasure of seeing him completely at ease.”
“Enough.” It was one word, uttered quietly but with an unmistakable air of authority.
Elizabeth felt a wave of relief. Darcy was striding towards them from across the room, his footsteps echoing upon the pristine marble floor. She was startled to see his eyes were fixed upon her, not his aunt, and that his expression was not only open, but fervent and tender.
Lady Carlisle sat a little taller in her chair. “Darcy. It appears Miss Bennet has quite a talent for putting words in your mouth. I recognised the foundation of the speech you gave the other day in hers just now. It cannot be a coincidence.”
He claimed a seat beside Elizabeth, then shifted his focus to the countess. “It is no coincidence.”
“She claims to know you well, Nephew.”
“Except for Bingley and Fitzwilliam, there is no one who knows me better.”
“I cannot pretend to know anything of Mr Bingley’s powers of discernment,” said Lady Carlisle to Elizabeth with a haughty air, “but my second son and Darcy have always been extremely close. Richard speaks highly of you, Miss Bennet. It should come as no surprise to hear he was quite taken with you last Easter when you met at Rosings. I daresay he admired you so much that, had he his brother’s fortune, he might very well have proposed to you himself.
” She cast an artful glance at Darcy and folded her hands primly upon her lap.
Darcy stared at her. His shock was clearly displayed upon his countenance. Obviously, his aunt’s design had been to discompose him. It appeared she had succeeded.
It was Elizabeth who responded. “While I am flattered Colonel Fitzwilliam thinks highly of me,” she said, her voice a combination of archness and sweetness, “I happen to know his friendship with Mr Darcy runs deeper. He and I were not thrown together so much as your ladyship seems to believe. You have quite mistaken the matter.”
Lady Carlisle offered her a small, conciliatory smile.
“Perhaps I have,” she replied. She looked at Elizabeth then—really looked at her—and raised her chin.
“You are not at all what I expected, Miss Bennet. I will admit I was not pleased when I heard Darcy had chosen you. I thought he was acting the fool, fancying himself in love, and throwing himself away on an unknown country girl of little consequence. I did not believe you could honestly love him, and I certainly did not think it was possible he could really love you. How could he?”
“Lady Carlisle,” Darcy warned, “I did not introduce you to Miss Bennet so you could disparage and insult her. Yesterday, you gave me reason to hope you were truly interested in knowing her. I see I have mistaken your intent.”
“You have mistaken nothing,” the countess replied. “Calm down.”
Darcy glared at her. “After the inquisition Miss Bennet was subjected to just now, and the blatant insinuations you made at my expense, I do not know how to believe you. You have failed to show even an ounce of kindness to her.”
“Kindness?” Lady Carlisle repeated. Both her tone and expression hardened.
“You expected kindness? Do you think the society matrons who had their eyes on you for their daughters will be kind? Do you think Lady Harrow will be kind? Or your uncle? You are na?ve if you think they will feel anything less than resentment towards your choice.”
“I gave none of them any indication I favoured their daughters,” Darcy said heatedly. “Especially Lady Harrow. I gave Lady Eliza no encouragement, paid her no notice! In fact, I never showed any lady even a modicum of preference, not once!”
Elizabeth laid her hand upon his arm. It was nothing more than a fleeting touch given with the intent to soothe Darcy’s temper.
While she understood his anger, she also understood the importance he had long placed on his family connexions.
She saw no reason for him to be at odds with his aunt as well as his uncle if it could be avoided.
“That may be,” said Lady Carlisle as she observed Elizabeth with an indecipherable expression, “but you are in London, Darcy, not Derbyshire. There is a pecking order, and there are certain expectations attached to it. Lady Harrow was not pleased to see you arrive at Covent Garden with a mysterious, beautiful young woman on your arm. While you were making love to Miss Bennet in Hertfordshire, Lady Harrow spent a vast deal of time intimating that you admired her daughter above everyone’s.
Our entire circle heard her insinuations, just as they saw where your admiration truly lies—quite obviously not with Eliza.
Everyone is talking about it. There was mention of it in the paper. Lady Harrow is livid.”
“Let her be livid, then. She is a hateful, scheming woman. It is high time she learned that just because she wants something does not mean she will have it, most especially where I am concerned. Considering my total lack of interest in her daughter’s society—and hers for that matter—it should come as no surprise to either that I have chosen a wife elsewhere.
Lady Harrow ought to have kept her tongue in her mouth.
This situation is entirely of her own making.
Whether she is mortified or furious, I care not. ”
“You ought to care, Nephew! Lady Harrow is not to be trifled with. She can be quite mean-spirited when she sets her mind to it. I ought to know. I have seen what she is capable of—how she thinks, how she acts.”
“As have I,” Darcy muttered.
Lady Carlisle looked disapprovingly at him. “However poorly Lady Harrow treats others, she has been my friend for many years. But you are my nephew, my family. Blood will always be thicker than the diaphanous bonds of friendship.”
Making a show of adjusting the lace on her sleeves, her ladyship proclaimed, “I care for Eliza and want to see her well settled, but not at the expense of your own happiness and prosperity. Despite any hope I once harboured that you would marry her, I now see I would be doing you both a disservice were I to continue to promote a match between you. Miss Bennet suits you in ways dear Eliza never shall. I would rather see you married to a clever young woman who genuinely likes you and makes you happy than saddled with an immature young girl whom you cannot respect, and whose ignorance of the world will only incite your ire. Believe me when I tell you that a union without respect for one’s spouse is no way to pass your life. ”
Lady Carlisle returned her attention to Elizabeth.
She appeared to hesitate, then squared her shoulders.
“I was not disposed to like you when I first learned of your existence, Miss Bennet. Then I saw you at the theatre. Darcy was smiling at you, and you said something that made him laugh. He looked into your eyes. He touched your hair. It was clear to me that he was besotted with you. It was entirely out of character for him to behave in such a forward manner in public. I was shocked, as was everyone who saw you together.”
Her ladyship’s gaze had grown intense, so intense that Elizabeth found herself resisting the urge to fidget. She folded her hands upon her lap instead, raised her chin, and looked Darcy’s aunt in the eye.
“It was necessary to take your measure,” the countess insisted.
“I needed to see what you are made of, so when the naysayers do all in their power to test your mettle, you will not only know how to handle them, but you will also do so with dignity and poise. If you are to be Pemberley’s new mistress, you have much to learn, though perhaps not quite so much as I had originally feared. ”