Chapter Fourteen #2
“Good,” Lady Catherine said. “As to Mr. Collins’ possessions, I’ve had a list drawn up.
” She produced a folded page and handed it to Elizabeth.
“I shall leave it to you to decide what you wish to keep and what you wish to donate. Of particular interest is the painting that Mrs. Clegg apparently demanded. It doesn’t qualify as a miniature, but it is small.
It is in a gold frame. From the weight of it, the frame is not gilt, but solid gold.
If it is gold, it is the most valuable single item Mr. Collins owned, except for the house and land. ”
Elizabeth accepted the page, once more thoughtful. “Then her desire to have it may not be due to sentiment, but rather to greed.”
“We can assume so.”
Elizabeth tucked away the folded list. “Thank you for your diligence on Mr. Collins’ behalf, Lady Catherine.”
“To be an executor is a stern responsibility.”
“Indeed,” Elizabeth said with a nod.
“Now, before I leave you to that list, Darcy informs me that there have been extensive renovations to your home. I wish to see them.”
“Certainly,” Elizabeth said, standing.
She gave them a complete tour, from a root cellar Darcy hadn’t realized they had to the servants’ rooms in the attic.
Lady Catherine scrutinized every detail, often asking how long each project had taken, who had suggested what, and how much various improvements had cost. Elizabeth answered the first two types of questions willingly but claimed no knowledge of what her father had spent.
“Very impressive,” Lady Catherine said once they’d finished the tour and stood in the cramped entrance hall. “Precisely what I require.”
Darcy raised his eyebrows at that.
“But you, Miss Bennet, should pay more attention to cost. Being female is no reason not to have a head for expenses.”
“I concur.”
How, Darcy wondered, did Elizabeth manage to agree with his aunt without seeming cowed or as if she placated? Then again, his aunt’s statement, if lacking tact, held truth. Perhaps Elizabeth looked beyond the delivery, and even the intent, to the wisdom there.
Lady Catherine nodded, apparently satisfied with Elizabeth’s reply. “I will return tomorrow morning and require your father to be in, so we may discuss the details of your inheritance. Darcy, come. We’re leaving.”
Darcy turned to Elizabeth. “Thank you,” he said, meaning the way she interacted with his aunt more than for the tour.
Her eyes sparkled in a flash of amusement, making him wonder if she understood, and she nodded. “You are welcome, Mr. Darcy, and you, Lady Catherine. Again, thank you for all you’ve done for me, unasked and unexpectedly. Your actions on my behalf are appreciated.”
“Certainly, they are.” Lady Catherine looked Elizabeth up and down one final time, said, “Miss Bennet,” and turned to the door.
Darcy bowed and followed his aunt out. He handed her into the waiting carriage, then joined her. Taking his place across from her, it surprised him to find a hesitant look on her face. She rapped her lion headed cane on the ceiling, starting them forward.
“I’ve been debating how to broach this subject and, in light of our outing, have decided to be direct,” Lady Catherine said. “It is time for you to marry Anne.”
Far from surprised, Darcy felt a sense of resignation at his aunt’s choice of topic. She’d been trying to force him to marry his cousin for years. “I’m not going to marry Anne.”
“Your mother wanted the marriage.”
“True, and to head off your next point, yes, my father also felt it to be a sound idea.”
“And yet you resist,” Lady Catherine snapped.
Darcy sought a reasonable tone. “I do not need to marry for money, and I would like to marry for affection.” As Bingley had. “I like Anne, but I not only don’t love her, I am not attracted to her in that way.”
Lady Catherine’s scowl was clearly visible in the afternoon light coming in the carriage windows. “Love? What drivel, and you a man grown. You are honor bound to marry Anne. That is all that matters.”
“Even were that true, I am not. I have never agreed to marry her. I’ve never proposed. I have never treated her as anything more than a cousin.”
Lady Catherine seemed to deflate. “That is what Colonel Fitzwilliam claimed you would say.”
That they’d discussed his union with Anne surprised Darcy, but he didn’t object. Not only was Richard reasonable, he was adept at handling their aunt. “You spoke with Richard on the subject?”
Lady Catherine nodded. “I did, when he asked my permission to court Anne.”
Another surprise. Richard had never seemed inclined to wed their cousin, either.
In fact, he’d put forth the view that cousins wedding was undesirable, with which Darcy privately agreed.
“If Richard wishes to wed Anne, why press me to marry her? Richard will treat her well.” Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam was a good man.
“Given the choice of an Earl’s second son with little money or the wealthy nephew of that same Earl, I would prefer the wealth.”
“What would Anne prefer?” Darcy asked blandly.
“What does a twenty-one-year-old know of what is best for her?”
“She can know which man she would like to have for a husband,” Darcy said. “And by law and custom, her consent is required.”
Lady Catherine scowled. “Anne will do what I tell her to do.”
In view of all Darcy had seen of Anne’s interactions with her mother, that was likely true. “Will you tell her to refuse Richard?”
After a long moment, Lady Catherine shook her head. “No. Richard would not be a bad choice. He has the right bloodlines.”
Richard had more than that. He was an honorable man who would treat his wife well, but Darcy knew his aunt would put little weight on that recommendation.
This time, it was Lady Catherine who turned the conversation from a difficult topic to the safe topic of carpentry.
For the remainder of the ride, they discussed the Bennets’ renovations.
Lady Catherine made it clear that she sought people of the Murphys’ talents and expected Darcy to lend them to her.
He conversed freely, comfortable with the topic, neglecting only to mention that he allowed the Murphys to keep every penny of the money they earned, rather than taking a commission as their landlord and benefactor.