Chapter 22
Lady Catherine had departed Netherfield hours earlier, but the effects of her visit were still evident.
The sight of her nephew embracing Miss Elizabeth Bennet had turned her ladyship quite wild, and the main recipient of her anger was “that impertinent country nobody who uses her charms to defeat the respectability of honourable gentlemen.”
The preoccupied couple was utterly astonished by Lady Catherine’s abrupt entrance—which neither of them noticed for a time—and could do nothing to interrupt the furious invective that followed.
Darcy attempted to greet his aunt politely and have a reasonable conversation; he even apologised for not informing her earlier of their engagement and expressed his wish that Lady Catherine would soon understand and accept his decision.
At that, her storm of words continued with greater force against Elizabeth and Darcy.
Never in her life had Elizabeth been abused in such a way, and the offense she felt was even worse because of Darcy’s presence.
And never had she been more tempted to put aside any trace of civility in response to the attack.
She cast a quick glance toward Darcy and saw his angry face darkening; instantly her hand slid into his and he entwined his fingers with hers.
At that moment, she no longer cared about Lady Catherine’s presence.
“You cannot possibly consider marrying this woman! Honour, decorum, prudence forbid it. She will never be noticed by your family or friends! She will be censured, slighted, and despised by everyone connected with you. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any of us ever again! Do you not care about all that? What has she done to you to make you disrespect your mother’s memory and wishes? ”
“Lady Catherine, you will end this scandalous argument at once.” Darcy’s tone was icy and sharp. He took a step toward his aunt as though to protect Elizabeth from her abuse. “I shall not tolerate another word against Miss Bennet, so please allow me to accompany you to your carriage.”
“To my carriage? I have no intention of leaving—I still have much to say about this subject.”
“No, you have not! If it were not for our close family connection, this conversation would have been finished in a less civil way long ago. Come, Aunt, we have already exposed ourselves to ridicule with this scandalous debate. Let us maintain some slight appearance of civility!”
“Not so hasty, if you please. What about her sister’s elopement with Wickham? Would you accept the son of your father’s steward as your brother? Heaven and earth—of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? Has this woman’s charms blinded you?”
“Lady Catherine!” he thundered, taking another step toward her.
“William?” Elizabeth’s light voice fell like a summer breeze in the library and Darcy turned to her.
“If you have no objection to my family, Lady Catherine’s opinion on this subject has no effect on me—so please do not allow her offensive words to affect you.”
He looked at her, obviously surprised at her calm voice and cheery expression; her eyes sparkled with amusement, and he felt not only love but also admiration. “You are too kind and too wise. How could I object to your family when my own is so lacking in decorum?”
“I heard that, Darcy! Do not dare ignore me. I shall make my disapproval universally known in Town and—
Elizabeth’s lips twisted into a smile, ignoring her ladyship’s presence as she continued speaking.
“Lady Catherine’s obvious disapproval is a great misfortune indeed, and I am sure it will be painful to endure; however, I am also sure that, as your wife, I shall have such extraordinary sources of happiness that, upon the whole, I shall have no cause to repine.”
Under Lady Catherine’s shocked stare, Darcy lifted Elizabeth’s hand and placed a soft kiss upon it.
“I shall leave you two now,” Elizabeth continued. “Lady Catherine’s situation seems quite pitiable at present, but unfortunately, I can offer no remedy for her distress, so I will beg you to excuse me.”
She curtsied politely to Darcy and to a stone-faced, livid Lady Catherine and smiled sweetly to her.
“Lady Catherine, I hope we shall meet again soon. Please give my regards to the Collinses—in fact, I should write a letter to Charlotte. Would your ladyship be so kind as to deliver it?”
No coherent answer was forthcoming, and Elizabeth left the library with perfect composure, followed by Darcy’s admiring gaze.
In the hall, an entire gathering of servants apologised and disappeared instantly.
Embarrassed, yet struggling to keep a light expression, Elizabeth was at least grateful that Jane and Mr Bingley had not returned from their stroll, and Miss Bingley and the Hursts were still in their rooms. It was fortunate that only servants were present to witness Lady Catherine’s openly expressed disapproval!
Elizabeth went directly to Cassandra’s chamber, where she found Georgiana keeping her friend company; fortunately, it appeared the scandal had not reached that wing of the house.
“So—the old bat finally made her appearance. I wondered when this moment would come.”
“Lady Catherine is here? Oh dear—that cannot be good,” whispered Georgiana.
“Yes, she came to express her disapproval of my engagement to your brother.”
“I imagine she was very displeased. I am so sorry, Elizabeth. Where is William? Does he know she is here?”
“William is in the library with Lady Catherine. And yes, she was displeased—more than displeased.”
“Dearest Elizabeth.” Georgiana took her hand and squeezed it warmly. “I can see you are distressed. Was it so bad? Did she offend you? I know sometimes my aunt can be very—
Cassandra interrupted her. “I am sure she was more than displeased. She must have been as she always is: rude, impolite, inconsiderate and insufferable.”
“There is no need to worry, Georgiana; I am perfectly able to handle Lady Catherine’s displeasure.” Then she turned to Cassandra with a meaningful look. “I see you know Lady Catherine very well.”
“Indeed, I do. I first met her twenty years ago. As a small child, I was quite frightened by her, but by the time I was seven, she started to amuse me with her constant scolding of everyone and her pretensions of grandeur. I am sure you are amused, too, Elizabeth; you are too wise to allow yourself to be affected by Lady Catherine’s reproaches. ”
“Well, I confess the entire situation was more embarrassing than amusing.”
“But where did you meet Lady Catherine?” asked Georgiana.
“William and I were in the library when Lady Catherine entered.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks coloured slightly as she explained the situation, and Cassandra watched her with an amused twist of her lips.
“I can only imagine what scandal Lady Catherine aroused. I wonder if there is a single servant left in the house who is not aware of her opinion. Did she happen to mention that Darcy must marry Anne?”
“She did.”
“Poor Anne—her mother will never cease to expose her to ridicule with this hilarious nonsense. You know, when we were infants, I was the main recipient of Lady Catherine’s anger, as she was certain I planned to steal Darcy from Anne and marry him myself.
Of course, I was ten at the time, and though Darcy and I were inseparable, marriage was not among my priorities. ” Cassandra laughed.
“Cassandra, I truly do not understand how you can blithely dismiss all of this,” said Georgiana. “It is very serious indeed. I wonder what Lady Catherine will do now.”
“Come now, sweetie—I would say it is time to stop worrying about Lady Catherine. I feel pity for Anne; that is true. But otherwise, I am merely diverted by this woman who travels fifty miles to make a fool of herself and become the amusement and gossip of Meryton.”
“Cassandra, I admit I am worried, too—not for me but for Georgiana and William. Lady Catherine insisted she will make her disapproval universally known in Town, and the rumours—
“Elizabeth, Lady Catherine speaks a great deal, but fortunately, most people have the good sense to ignore her. As for her disapproval, the moment your engagement was made public, everybody acquainted with Lady Catherine must have guessed her disapproval; it will be no surprise to anyone.”
“I surely hope so.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of a troubled Darcy who almost ignored his sister and his friend and moved directly to Elizabeth. His countenance was still dark, and he avoided looking at Elizabeth. She rose from her seat and tried to meet his eyes.
“William? Is everything well? Where is Lady Catherine?” Georgiana inquired with no little distress.
“Lady Catherine has left. But no, everything is not well. Elizabeth, will you ever forgive me for what happened?”
He took her hand and held it while his apologising glance fixed on her face. Elizabeth smiled sweetly and, without considering the presence of the others, gently stroked his cheek.
“Surely you will not apologise for something that is not your fault, sir.”
“It is my fault. I should not have allowed her to—
“You know as well as I that nothing would have stopped Lady Catherine from expressing her opinion. Besides, I have a confession to make to you. There is something that makes me feel deeply ashamed of myself.”
“What confession?” He sounded equally puzzled and worried.
“Last spring, when we were in Kent—when I first met Lady Catherine—I thought I saw a resemblance between you and your aunt.” Her voice tried to be light and teasing, but she could not hide her embarrassment.
“It was a time during which I had grossly misjudged many things…and many people,” she whispered.
“Do not worry; you were not wrong.” Cassandra’s gleeful voice interrupted Elizabeth’s confession. “I also can see some resemblance indeed. You do look like Lady Catherine sometimes, Darcy.”
“We are not speaking to you, Cassandra, so please do not interfere,” Darcy scolded her.