Chapter 5 Love Inestimable Despite Flaws #2
The older lady nodded. “That is a relief. You will do.” Lady Catherine laced their arms and pulled Elizabeth farther away from the house.
“We shall be great friends, you and I, but the rest of the family might oppose your marriage, even if you descend from an ancient line. Longbourn is a modest estate, and your father has no title. Do you have any other connections worthy of mention?”
If Lady Catherine thought that insulting her and then affecting a friendship would induce her to be explicit, the lady’s string of disappointments was only just beginning. She was no more inclined to be duped than intimidated.
“Certainly!” Elizabeth had no relatives to be ashamed of, if one overlooked Lady Catherine’s own toad of a parson. “I have one uncle in Meryton, who is the town’s solicitor, and another uncle in London. Mr Gardiner resides in Gracechurch Street, close to his warehouses.”
“That is unfortunate indeed…”
“Not at all,” Elizabeth emphasised every word. “I—”
“Lady Catherine!” a winded male voice called from behind. A footman in the de Bourgh livery was hastening down the path, almost breaking into a run. “Miss de Bourgh is suffering one of her fits, your ladyship.”
The lady on her arm stiffened, then hauled Elizabeth in the direction whence they had come.
The grand lady was sprightly for her age, and they returned to Longbourn with due haste, whilst Elizabeth pondered what sort of fit Miss de Bourgh was enduring.
Was she heartbroken after the news of Mr Darcy’s engagement? Or jealous?
Lady Catherine steered them to her carriage and opened the door. Inside, an elderly woman fussed over a pale lady, who was clutching her stomach. The next moment she retched, though nothing left her body but violent trembles.
“We must move her inside at once,” Elizabeth ordered, wondering what had possessed a mother to travel so far with an ailing daughter.
“We cannot possibly impose,” the young lady protested meekly between the bouts.
“One does not impose where an invitation is freely given,” Elizabeth asserted. “Can you walk?”
Miss de Bourgh nodded, and with the aid of Elizabeth, Lady Catherine, and the woman she soon learnt was Mrs Jenkinson, the party proceeded slowly into the house.
Miss de Bourgh was taken to a guest chamber, where she quickly dismissed her mother and companion.
The former was shown a room where she might refresh herself, whilst the latter joined Mrs Hill in the kitchen to prepare a special tisane.
Miss de Bourgh rested on the bed with a deathly pale complexion and a taut expression.
“Is there anything I can do for your present relief? A glass of wine perhaps? Or shall I send for the apothecary?” Elizabeth offered once they were alone.
“I thank you, no. I know perfectly well what ails me, and I have brought half a dozen tinctures with me, though little good the vile concoctions do me.”
“I am grieved to hear it. You are not too cold?”
“No, I am as well as can be expected… You must allow me to thank you for your hospitality, though you must wonder why we have come so far to visit you.”
“I have a fair inkling as to the purpose of Lady Catherine’s journey. We did speak at length in the garden about the impediments, real and imaginary, to my impending marriage to Mr Darcy.” She refrained from mentioning Miss de Bourgh’s equally obvious reason because that would be cruel.
Miss de Bourgh chuckled, which sent her into a racking coughing fit. Elizabeth poured a glass of water from the ewer and helped the lady to sit up to drink it. Once the bout had passed, Miss de Bourgh sank back into her pillow and closed her eyes. Elizabeth moved to leave when she spoke.
“As you can see, my time is limited,” Miss de Bourgh croaked. “I love Darcy dearly and could not rest easy until I had seen for myself what kind of bride my cousin had chosen.”
Elizabeth did not stifle her gasp as well as she ought. Poor Miss de Bourgh—she loved Mr Darcy too!
“I must emphasise that it is a cousinly love and not the sort you find between a husband and wife. Still, I would be grieved to know he was unhappy with his choice of partner, or indeed that it was not truly his choice.”
Elizabeth fisted her hands at the unjust accusation.
“In defence of my concern, Mr Collins’s report of you was most unflattering. I should have known that the fool was not to be trusted… My mother took him on as a project, to prove that she could better his understanding, but I fear in this case it has proved to be a futile endeavour.”
“Perhaps we should become better acquainted before judging each other’s characters,” Elizabeth demurred.
“My mother obviously likes you or she would not have introduced you to me, her favourite—and might I add, only—daughter.”
Miss de Bourgh had not been present when Lady Catherine had spouted her vitriol. She had only observed them after her illness had tempered both ladies’ vexation.
“She does not suffer fools—my mother that is.
She is known for her frankness and intimidates most of those she encounters to cow to her will.
But I can see that you have a will of your own, which will serve you well in dealing with my stoic cousin.
He is used to getting his way, and being subjected to resistance now and again will not injure him in the slightest. I love him, but I am not blind to his faults.
“I can see the objections in your expression, but all gentlemen have propensities both good and evil. It speaks well of your feelings that you believe him to be perfect. You have a compassionate nature, and I can say that with certainty due to your excellent care for me, whom you must perceive as a threat to your felicity— Do not look so surprised! I am familiar with my mother’s wishes.
In her defence, she is only trying to protect me and is unwilling to admit that it is too late.
She stubbornly believes that I shall outlive her, and my dear father left me under the protection of my uncle, the Earl of Matlock, until I marry.
Needless to say, my mother and her brother do not agree on most subjects. ”
“I am sorry,” Elizabeth remarked, wondering whether Lady Catherine had any friends at all.
“You need not be. I am resigned to my fate, but now I need to rest.”
“Of course. Shall I send for Mrs Jenkinson?”
Miss de Bourgh shook her head. Elizabeth showed her the tassel she should pull to summon a servant and closed the door carefully on her way out.
Lady Catherine and her attendants stayed only the one night. The weather was unusually fine for early December, and the ladies thought it wise to return to their own home before it turned foul.
#
Mr Darcy returned three days after Lady Catherine left.
He entered Longbourn’s parlour looking windswept with an animalistic wildness Elizabeth found utterly intoxicating.
He must have missed her as much as she had missed him.
She met him in the middle of the room and divested him of the hat he was maiming in his hands.
“Pray, how is your sister?”
Mr Darcy stared at her as if he had not understood the question, then he snatched his hat out of her hands. Elizabeth’s concern he would only stay for a short while rose immediately.
“She is well. It is a lovely day—would you take a turn about the garden with me?”
Elizabeth glanced out of the window at the threatening clouds and agreed. Mr Darcy guided her a distance away from the house before he spoke.
“I must beg your forgiveness. My aunt—”
“Lady Catherine’s visit was unpleasant and confusing, but it is not your duty to beg my forgiveness.”
“I beg to differ, but your letter was vague… You must tell me at once what atrocities she accused you of and what abominable behaviour she subjected you to.”
“Lady Catherine accused me of usurping her daughter’s rightful place as your bride but was interrupted by the aforementioned daughter’s turn of ill health.
They stayed the night and left the following morning.
Miss de Bourgh is a pleasant young lady,” Elizabeth allowed, deciding to defer sketching Lady Catherine’s character until they became better acquainted.
Mr Darcy gaped unbecomingly, but he must have known about his aunt’s wishes; even Mr Collins had sputtered similar nonsense.
“Do you know whether she left for Kent or London?”
“Rosings Park. As I mentioned, Miss de Bourgh became frightfully ill, and with the day being so fine, they chose to return home.”
Having said all she wanted to say about the baffling ladies of Rosings Park, she changed the subject.
“I hope you are long for the neighbourhood because my uncle Gardiner and his family will join us for the festive season. They are due to arrive on Christmas Eve and will remain as long as Twelfth Night.”
The Gardiners were relations for whom she need not blush. Even though they were in trade, they were fashionable people and good company, unlike the rather vulgar Mr and Mrs Phillips.
Mr Darcy looked aggrieved. “I am excessively sorry that I cannot oblige you. I only have four short days before I must leave for an unfortunate prior engagement. I promised to celebrate Christmas with my sister long before you and I reached an understanding. I would have brought her to Netherfield if not for the presence of a certain rake. I am therefore obliged to spend the festive season with the Matlocks, who would not hear of my sister and me remaining in London alone. Because of the long journey and the short winter days, we must leave for Derbyshire no later than the nineteenth. My aunt is renowned for her Twelfth Night ball, and it would be terribly rude of me to leave before the event…”
Elizabeth’s heart plunged into her stomach.
“Of course, you cannot miss it,” she agreed, even though it meant she would not see Mr Darcy for weeks.
It would not do to compel him to snub his illustrious relations on her behalf.
It was to be hoped that he had some family members who would not despise her, and demanding he break his promise would not induce them to approbation.
Mr Darcy grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the hedge for an ardent embrace. By the fervency of his kisses, Elizabeth discerned that he resented the separation as much as she did.
Four days later, Elizabeth bid Mr Darcy farewell and Godspeed knowing full well that all the speed in the world would not return him to her in less than a month…
Her aunt and uncle Gardiner could hardly replace Mr Darcy, but they were pleasant company, and the children occupied her to such an extent that, for brief moments, she forgot to miss him.
#
Due to Mr Darcy’s prolonged absence, the wedding date could not be set before the end of January.
Mrs Bennet refused both Elizabeth’s and Jane’s pleas to marry during the same month the vile Mr Collins would marry the interloper, Miss Lucas.
She had yet to forgive Mary for rejecting the clergyman, and the thought of Charlotte Lucas usurping her place as Longbourn’s mistress was a thorn in her side.
Mrs Bennet’s loud lamentations had created a rift between her and her long-time friend Lady Lucas that would be difficult to mend.
As a result, the rivalry between them hung like a cloud over Meryton’s small society and divided the four-and-twenty families into opposing factions.
Mr Darcy returned at the end of January and was hauled from one engagement to another by her tenacious mother. Elizabeth did what she could to shield him from the loquacious Sir William and all the supporters of the Lucas family.
Mrs Bennet still did not speak to Mary. Elizabeth was not entirely certain such a punishment was so terrible, as her mother talked to her without drawing breath.
The date for their double wedding with her sister and Mr Bingley was finally set for the seventh of February, but due to a bout of ague sweeping through Meryton, that date was postponed.
Then the queen announced she would be hosting a presentation on the twentieth of February.
This had become an increasingly rare occurrence as the king’s madness proceeded into a permanent affliction.
Miss Darcy might never have another chance for a proper coming out, and Mr Darcy begged for another delay.
It was then decided the ceremony would be held on the seventeenth of March.
By then Elizabeth was desperate to leave her excitable mother and interfering sisters.
She had managed to spend hardly a moment alone with Mr Darcy, whose patience proved akin to that of a saint.
Elizabeth was not a saint; she was a woman of flesh and blood who yearned for the right to call Mr Darcy her husband.