Chapter 1.21 #7
“Lady Catherine, thank you for making your sentiments so well and clearly known, but I am still at a loss as to what I can do to help you. This rumour might be scandalous, but it is not at all a falsehood. The engagement was made public in front of a hundred people, and Mr Darcy himself seemed unusually pleased with it.”
“Of course he seemed pleased, as your daughter—with her arts and allurements—has made him forget his duty to his family! But I will tell you what you can do—what an honourable father should do—you should advise your daughter not to aspire to quit the sphere in which she has been brought up.”
“Sphere? What sphere?” Mr Bennet asked genuinely. In truth, he had not been so diverted in years.
“Your family’s sphere!”
“I am afraid we do not have a sphere, Lady Catherine. Longbourn is nothing to Rosings, I know...”
Lady Catherine stared at him, her mouth gaping in shock.
“Mr Bennet, you ought to know that I am not to be trifled with. Do you know who I am? I am Darcy’s closest relative!”
“I do know that; you are also Mr Collins’s noble patroness, as I had the honour to be informed last autumn. I can see your ladyship is somehow displeased with my obtuseness, but I still do not understand how I may help you, as we now agree that we do not possess a sphere at Longbourn!”
“Mr Bennet, I can see this marriage to be profitable for you all. You desire it because Mr Collins will inherit the estate should your demise occur, and your wife and daughters will be homeless.
“Well, let us hope I survive a little longer.”
“This marriage will never take place as Mr Darcy is engaged to my daughter! What do you have to say now?”
“I am truly shocked, your ladyship! He is engaged to your daughter, too? When exactly did the event occur?”
“Their engagement is of a peculiar nature—it was the dearest wish of his mother and me since they were infants.”
“Now I am truly puzzled, your ladyship. Mr Darcy’s engagement to my daughter is of a common nature, and it appeared to be his dearest wish—and hers.
This seems a hopeless situation to me, and I see no satisfactory resolution to it.
But let us sit and have some refreshments.
Mr Darcy will arrive soon as he spends most of his time here.
That would be a good time to demand an explanation from him. ”
“I will certainly not stay and have refreshments with you, sir! I am most displeased with you, as I can see you are as unreasonable and inconsiderate as I remember your daughter to be last spring. But you must understand that I came here with the determined resolution of carrying out my purpose and will not be dissuaded from it.”
“I am sorry to ask once more, but what is your purpose again? I am still not clear on that aspect—
“I want this engagement to be broken and any understanding annulled! Are you clear now?”
“I am indeed. I thank you for your kind explanation. Should I call for those refreshments now? And perhaps a glass of wine? It does miracles for a lady’s nerves; I can testify to that.”
“I will leave this instant—and now I know what I have to do! Netherfield is close by, and once I find my nephew, I will make him see reason!”
“Netherfield is only three miles away, Lady Catherine. You may walk if you wish. It is a very pleasurable path, and your chances of meeting Mr Darcy will increase, as he seems fond of walking lately.”
“Walking? Preposterous!” she yelled as she exited the room like a whirlwind, unable to breathe from rage.
“Lady Catherine!” called Mr Bennet with such a determination that she had to turn to him.
“Please send my best wishes to Mr Collins when you see him.”
Lady Catherine slammed the door so violently that the windows indeed trembled this time.
Mr Bennet poured himself another glass of port and resumed his place in his favourite chair with his favourite book. He was suddenly almost content with his wife. He might have chosen much worse when he married—he could now see that clearly.
However, for only a ten-minute meeting, Lady Catherine was certainly the most amusing woman he had ever met—but only for ten minutes. I pray Darcy inherited his character from his father’s line.
In her carriage, Lady Catherine could barely breathe. Rage was suffocating her, and her mind refused to accept what that ridiculous country gentleman had told her! Darcy could not be engaged to his daughter!
A few minutes later when the carriage stopped in front of Netherfield, she bounded from the vehicle and pushed the doorman away, demanding to be told where her nephew was.
The poor man remained frozen in shock, not understanding who she was or who her nephew might be.
When she repeated, “Where is Darcy?” a maid, who arrived in a hurry, managed to articulate that she had seen Mr Darcy walking in the direction of the library.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh had no difficulty discovering the location of the library or in thrusting open its door until it pounded back against the wall.
However, she had great difficulty in remaining on her feet when she observed her nephew, Mr Darcy, intimately occupied with Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
And it was clearly his own will—as well as hers.