Chapter 8
Lady Catherine
Learning Darcy’s destination, it turned out, was more difficult than Lady Catherine de Bourgh would have supposed.
Her second paid agent at Darcy House was especially useless, because he had been ill for more than a fortnight and, having kept to his room and his bed, had heard nothing of value.
He did not even appear before her; instead, he had sent a note.
“I cannot take a chance on spreading my illness to you, Your Grace,” he had written.
He made a mistake in how he addressed her, but Lady Catherine forgave him that gaffe. But to be ill at such a time was unforgivable!
Demanding that Darcy House’s stablehands and stable master attend her at the Clarendon did not pay off.
She received back polite rebuffs. Each worker she summoned claimed to be “busy” doing his work on behalf of his master—although what could keep them all so occupied when their master was gadding about the country with that woman was anyone’s guess.
The stable master sent a written response that declined on behalf of all the workers, but that invited her to come to them.
Continuing to feel vexed at all the people who failed to afford her the distinction and the cooperation that was her due, Lady Catherine decided to make another appearance at Darcy House.
But although a parade of workers appeared before her as she kept to a gravel path near the stables, none of them seemed to know a single thing about the itinerary of the bridal tour.
She was convinced that it was, indeed, a lack of knowledge that stood in her way, for her most intimidating manner and veiled threats should have turned up the information she sought, if anybody knew it.
Thoroughly exasperated, Lady Catherine strode away from the stableyard. The footman who had gone with her stepped forward and opened the carriage door for her, but she heard a thoroughly uncultured voice: “You want some information from this ‘ere ‘ouse?”
Turning, she saw a grubby little ragamuffin, perhaps ten or twelve years old. She stuck her nose in the air and asked, “What could you know? Someone the likes of you does not belong in this neighbourhood!”
“No ma’am, it’s true, but my ma got a position at that grand ‘ouse, over there—” he pointed in the opposite direction of Matlock “—and I come most days to see ‘er, just fer a bit, and the folks at this ‘ouse are always kind.”
Lady Catherine frowned, and the lad backed up a bit.
He looked more likely to steal her reticule than to know anything useful, but…
. She said, “The master of this house left with his…bride…a few days ago. There would have been a lot of bustle, rushing about, and trunks up onto carriages. Did you see any of that?”
“Yes, ma’am, I did. ’Twas two days ago. I allus offer to help out, for a coin or two, but they allus have enough help, and turn me down, but I still get a coin, sometimes.”
“Well, I wondered if anyone knew where they were heading, and which way the carriage turned onto the street, information such as that.”
Sticking out his hand, the boy said, “I can tell you a bit.”
Lady Catherine deeply despised trusting anything from such an unrefined source—no matter what he said, she felt certain that it would be a lie—but she nodded at her footman, who gave the boy a penny.
The boy’s face brightened, and he said, “I can tell ya shoor that the carriages turned this way.” He pointed towards the west. “But when I went to th’ stables, to ask if they needed help, and they said no, like they allus do—well, I overheard a footman type fellow say somethun’ when he was handlin’ the trunks. ”
Lady Catherine still felt sceptical of the boy’s honesty, but she impatiently asked, “Well, what did you hear them say?”
“’Twas just a fragment—I wasn’t ‘ere long—but the fellow said, ‘Maybe it’s a gift, for when they get t’ Oak ‘Aven.’”
“When they get to Oakhaven?”
“That’s right.” The boy nodded.
And thus, Lady Catherine managed to prevail, after all!
She felt so smug that she indicated that her footman should give the informant another penny, because she knew that this must have been an honest overhearing—not a lie.
No ragamuffin would happen to know that Darcy had a smallish sort of estate named Oakhaven.
Of course Darcy would take his bride to one of his other estates on the bridal tour!
Indeed, many people seemed to find Cornwall, the location of Oakhaven, picturesque—even sublime.
But she knew that such wild and terrifying lands should be viewed from a safe distance—from a painting hanging in a polished mansion on a manicured estate in a truly lovely place such as Kent.
She saw no appeal to seeing, in person, rougher landforms at the ends of bumpy roads.
Still, for the sake of the family, Lady Catherine would brave the awful ride to one of the wildest corners of England.
Back at the Clarendon, she made arrangements to leave the next day.
She assumed that Darcy would take his time, show his bride sights along the way; Lady Catherine would not.
She would set out early and stop for the night late and do no sightseeing at all.
Changing horses would be necessary, but she would probably be able to reach Oakhaven the same day or even the day before the Darcys’ arrival.