Chapter 15 #3
“Lizzy dearest, how can you say that? You have done nothing wrong; it was not your fault!” As Elizabeth shook her head in disapproval, Jane continued with a determination that defeated her emotions.
“As for a scandal, you must not worry. Lady Cassandra has been so wonderful. Oh Lizzy, you have been too harsh with her. She talked to Charles privately; she called him into the library and then came and told us that Lord Markham had retreated to his rooms and you were not feeling well, so Charles invited us to stay the night. I was surprised at first, and I asked about you; Lady Cassandra accompanied me to you. You were already in this room—apparently the colonel brought you here—so you see…neither Caroline nor Mr Hurst and Louisa truly know what happened.”
“Where is he?” she asked, afraid to pronounce his loathsome name.
“Lord Markham? He is locked in a guest room in the north wing. His man is with him, and two of Charles’s people are watching the door so he cannot leave. So you need not worry about him. He will never harm you again. You see dearest? Everything is settled.”
Elizabeth listened to her sister, both tearful, holding their hands in comfort.
As always, Jane was inclined to believe everything was well, but such a scandal could not be kept secret; she knew that.
The servants would talk, and by the next day, they would be the subject of gossip in the entire county.
Their good name would be lost forever, especially after what happened to Lydia a month earlier.
If only Mr Bingley would not break his engagement with Jane.
As for her own engagement, there was nothing left.
The mere thought of William returning and facing her like this…
She began crying so violently that she frightened Jane, who desperately attempted to calm her.
When she had no tears left, she finally spoke with perfect composure.
“Jane, I want to take a bath. I need to clean myself.”
∞∞∞
“My Lizzy has been hurt?” Mr Bennet stared blankly at the two young men gathered in the library. “Who the hell is this man, and what does he hold against my daughter? She has done nothing to him!”
The colonel proceeded to explain to him what had happened, assuring him that Lady Cassandra had intervened in time and Miss Elizabeth was now well and resting. The elder gentleman instantly swallowed a second glass of wine while pacing the room, his agitation growing every moment.
“Where is he now? I will kill him,” Mr Bennet finally burst out, throwing the glass in the fireplace. Bingley and the colonel looked at him in shock.
“Mr Bennet, please do not give me more trouble, sir,” said Lady Cassandra, entering the room unannounced.
“I barely managed to calm down the colonel and Bingley here—as both shared the same intentions regarding Markham. I hoped I would be able to count on your support to settle things before scandal could arise. Your daughters do not need that with only a month before their weddings.”
“I beg your pardon?” he cried. A moment later, Mr Bennet frowned seeing the bruises on her face and neck. “What on earth happened? Did he hurt you too? And you want to keep us from killing him?”
“Mr Bennet, I am well. There is no need to worry about me. As for killing Markham—if you want to do so, by all means please do! I will surely not stop you—quite the contrary! But you are not the sort of man simply to murder him—we both know that—nor is the colonel or Bingley. As for your calling him out, that would be madness you must admit. And the scandal would be worse.”
“Lady Cassandra, I do appreciate your concern, and I understand you are doing everything for the benefit of my daughters. But the scandal will erupt; we cannot avoid that. The servants, my daughter’s state and yours, the sudden absence of Markham—these things cannot be hidden.
And to all that, just consider what will happen when Darcy finds out.
I doubt you will be able to appease him.
He would not hesitate a moment to do what is right, and I will surely support his decision. ”
“I agree,” said the colonel and Bingley in unison.
“Oh, you do?” cried Lady Cassandra, her voice so enraged that all three gentlemen looked at her in shock.
“Indeed, what a lovely, honourable thing! Let Darcy call Markham out and risk his life. Of course, he might be killed—along with Elizabeth and Georgiana’s chances of happiness—but at least we will all be satisfied to know he has done what any man of honour would do! ”
“Lady Cassandra, you are too hasty and too emotional,” said the colonel, stepping toward her. “Darcy can defeat Markham any time with any weapon and on any ground, I assure you—
“Really? You can assure me? What a relief! Can you assure me that Markham will fight with respect for the rules? And, even if Darcy kills him, what then? Duelling is illegal; we all know that.”
“Oh, come now…You cannot possibly suggest letting Markham leave unpunished. Most likely, Darcy will not kill him—only give him a proper punishment and make sure he will never approach Miss Bennet again. But let us not speak more of that. This is men’s business, and there is little for you to do.
We had better discuss something else and try to solve what can be solved. ”
“You are mistaken, Colonel. I know only too well how these things are done, and that is why I will not allow anything of the kind to happen. As for things that can be resolved, I have already found a solution to everything. There is a simple way to avoid any scandal falling upon the Bennet family and prevent Darcy from risking his life in a fight with Markham.”
Three pairs of eyes stared at her inquiringly in utter disbelief. “There is no such way, Lady Cassandra,” replied the colonel and the others nodded in agreement.
“I beg to differ. There is a way—a perfect way! Markham’s father—the earl—is visiting a relative; he resides less than twenty miles from here. I have already sent him an express telling him that his son attacked me, and I have asked him to come immediately to remove him.”
“You did what?” cried all three gentlemen.
“Cassandra, that was a foolish thing to do,” said the colonel, barely hiding his anger.
“Indeed, you should not have done that, Lady Cassandra,” Mr Bennet spoke severely. “Besides, I cannot allow you to take this matter upon yourself; I shall not protect my daughters by exposing you nor save their reputation by ruining yours. I am sure Lizzy will agree with me.”
“Mr Bennet, perhaps your daughter will agree with you,” she answered, her eyes daringly confronting them.
“But it is already done, and it is done for the best—and it is indeed the wisest solution. My reputation means little to me, and as I have no family left, no one will be affected. Furthermore, Mr Bennet, you do not know that I have a history with the Markhams; any gossip would harm their name more than mine. They will be most careful about the rumours. I know how to deal with the earl and his unworthy son. If the earl takes Markham from here soon enough, Darcy will have time to calm himself and think properly before making any decisions. I will speak to Elizabeth about that, and I am sure she will see my reasons and eventually accept them.”
“I doubt that very much,” replied Mr Bennet. “Elizabeth will not allow you to take such a burden upon yourself. And even if we accept your version, Markham himself could easily contradict you—not to mention the fact that the servants will talk, and rumours and gossip will spread in no time.”
“You should trust me more, Mr Bennet,” she answered with a bitter smile.
“I have already informed my maid that I was the one attacked by Markham and that Miss Elizabeth came to my rescue and was injured in the process; I am sure she has already shared this news with the other servants as I did not ask her to be discreet about it. By tomorrow night, it is likely all of Meryton will be informed of my version of the incident. As for Markham, he was too inebriated to know what he was doing, so nobody will take his word seriously, at least not in this county.”
Three men watched her, eyes and mouths gaping, as if they could barely understand her words.
“You intend to lie and expect us to support you in concealing the truth,” the colonel concluded.
“No, I do not expect you to do anything. The truth? What truth, Colonel? What was it you saw exactly when you arrived?”
He hesitated only a moment. “I saw you fighting with Markham.”
“Precisely. That is the only thing you can testify about on your word of honour, but I doubt anyone will actually inquire about or even doubt my word. What reason would a woman like me, with wealth and position, have to lie about such a scandal? Am I not right?”
“I do not know what to say,” whispered Mr Bennet, looking from one to the other. “We should talk to Lizzy and see what she thinks and then wait for Darcy’s arrival. Has Darcy been informed?”
“Yes, I sent him a note,” answered Bingley.
“You sent him a note? When did you do that?” asked Lady Cassandra, obviously surprised and highly displeased. “And what did you write in the note?”
“Immediately after…the incident. I thought he should know. I wrote him that Lord Markham attempted to attack Elizabeth,” Bingley whispered in front of Lady Cassandra’s open censure.
“That was a stupid thing to do, Bingley,” she said coldly. “We must hurry. I will go and talk to Elizabeth immediately,” she added while exiting the door.
Three gentlemen remained motionless in the middle of the room—gazing at Lady Cassandra as she left—each of them helplessly and unsuccessfully contemplating what was best to be done.
∞∞∞
Lady Cassandra entered Elizabeth’s room and found only her sister. She cast a quick glance around before looking inquiringly to the obviously distressed elder Miss Bennet.