Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“You are lovely, my dear,” William said when Elizabeth entered their sitting room dressed for their shopping excursion.
Most of her trousseau had been delivered, and she donned one of the new day dresses Aunt Helen helped her order.
She was pleased with the result and felt she was attired as befitted Mrs Darcy.
William escorted Elizabeth to the front hallway, and they were waiting for the carriage to be brought around when the front door suddenly opened. They were startled to see an angry Lady Catherine forcing her way inside.
“What is the meaning of this?” William demanded.
“What is this … this harlot doing in my sister’s house? My daughter is the rightful mistress here,” she protested.
“You will not refer to my wife in such a way ever again,” William demanded, his voice hard and unyielding. “Apologise now, or I will have you thrown out of my home, and you will never be welcomed again.”
“I will not,” Catherine insisted.
Without saying a word, Darcy picked the woman up by her shoulders, removed her to the steps outside Darcy House, and slammed the door in her face.
“If she refuses to leave, call the magistrate,” he directed his butler.
“Is the carriage still in the mews?” At his nod, Darcy took his wife’s arm and led her through the house to the mews behind, where the carriage was being readied.
He informed the driver that their first stop would be Matlock House and boarded the carriage with his wife.
At Matlock House, they were announced in the breakfast room, much to the surprise of its occupants. “William, Elizabeth, we did not expect to see you this morning,” Lady Matlock said as they entered.
“We had not intended to come, but I wanted to inform my uncle that Lady Catherine arrived at my door this morning and was summarily removed from the house. I imagine she is on her way here as we speak, but as she has already insulted my wife, I have no intention of staying any longer than it takes to offer this warning.”
Lord Matlock was incensed upon hearing of his sister’s behaviour.
“She arrived here last night in a rage. I expressly forbade her from intruding upon you at Darcy House, and I am most displeased that she has disregarded me. If she knows what is good for her, she will not return to Matlock House. By the way, Anne is here and refuses to support her demand that I have your marriage annulled and force you and Anne to marry. Anne will remain with us for the foreseeable future, and we will consult with a physician to learn what we might do to help her regain her health.”
“That woman called my wife a harlot and refused to apologise. I am sorry to say I was angry enough to pick her up and put her outside before shutting the door firmly in her face,” Darcy said sheepishly.
“I am glad Anne is with you and will finally get the care she needs. Let us know when we might visit with her.”
The breakfast room was silent until Lord Matlock began to chuckle, and soon everyone laughed. “I would have liked to see the look on her face when you did that, William,” he said. “I dare say Cathy was shocked. Do not feel badly, nephew; I dare say she deserved the treatment.”
“Do not worry, Darcy,” Lord Matlock said.
“I will act as guardian for Anne, although she is of age, and will determine what is to be done about Rosings. I have allowed you and Richard to do what I ought to have been doing for years, and when Parliament lets out, we will visit Rosings and decide what to do with Catherine.”
Their warning issued and received, Darcy and Elizabeth departed, leaving Lord Matlock to write a letter to his sister reprimanding her for her verbal attack on the Darcys and informing her no one in the family would receive her until she apologised to the Darcys.
He would also advise her that Anne was staying in London with the Matlocks for the present and warn her of the dangers of spreading gossip, especially gossip about the Darcys.
Darcy and Elizabeth soon completed their shopping, with Darcy ordering Elizabeth more than she thought she could ever need.
She would soon receive a supply of personalised stationery, a journal embossed with her new initials, her ink and quills, and a new seal to keep in London, as the existing mistress’ seal was at Pemberley.
He insisted she would need a travel writing desk and ordered a lovely one of the perfect size with secret compartments.
Laughing, she teased him about spoiling her, which he acknowledged happily.
“My love, you must accustom yourself to being spoiled. You know I adore you, and I find great joy in lavishing gifts on those I hold dear,” William said adoringly.
She grinned at him. “I can see I will not win this battle, dearest. I will have to find a way to repay you one of these days.”
He laughed, and since Fitzwilliam Darcy rarely laughed in company, those present were shocked to hear it and turned to look at the couple.
They heard the rumours that Darcy indeed married for love, and the quick marriage resulted from Lady Catherine’s objections and not any less-than-honourable reasons.
Lord and Lady Matlock publicly supported the marriage, and rumour also had it that Lady Catherine was forcibly removed from Darcy House and Matlock House.
Most were amused that Lady Catherine had been thwarted in her years-long efforts to force Darcy to marry her daughter.
The couple arrived home from their shopping trip with time to ‘rest’ before their guests would arrive for tea. They enjoyed their private time immensely and returned downstairs only a few minutes before their company arrived and were still flushed when their guests were announced.
“Aunt Helen, Georgiana, Anne, we are pleased to see you again,” Elizabeth greeted their guests and smiled even more happily when she realised something. “Do you know, you are the first guests I have received as Mrs Darcy. Although, in truth, Georgiana, you are not a guest since this is your home.”
The ladies smiled at her excitement to receive guests and her easy acceptance of Georgiana. After greeting the ladies, William excused himself to his study to take care of some of the work and correspondence he neglected since his marriage.
“We are pleased to be your first guests, Elizabeth,” Aunt Helen, Lady Matlock, replied.
The ladies chatted pleasantly about their recent activities, and Elizabeth described their shopping trip that morning. Anne was quiet but appreciated the effort Elizabeth made to include her. After a few minutes, Elizabeth shared why they were invited that afternoon.
“Aunt Helen, William and I were reviewing the invitations we have received and wanted your assistance determining which we should attend. While we have no desire to attend parties and balls every night, we do want to attend a few, no more frequently than every other night, and would like to know which ones you think are most important.”
“I would be happy to assist you, my dear,” Aunt Helen replied. “Let us look over the invitations you have received.”
Elizabeth laughed. “William has discarded a number of the invitations we received—some of them were from people he said he had no interest in seeing—so our stack of invitations is smaller than it was, although more arrived today. If you will excuse me momentarily, I will retrieve them.”
Entering her husband’s study to retrieve the invitations, she was momentarily distracted by her husband and returned to the drawing room, slightly dishevelled and blushing furiously with a large stack of invitations in her hand.
Aunt Helen attempted to hide her grin, although Anne and Georgiana thought little of Elizabeth’s slightly unorthodox appearance.
Her embarrassment was forgotten as they began looking over the invitations, and Aunt Helen indicated a few that were necessary to accept and several they ought to accept.
However, as William insisted on attending no more than two or three events per week, they would be very selective.
Anne and Georgiana asked questions about the people and events, and Aunt Helen’s explanations began their education of the ton.
The knocker would be going on the door of Darcy House on Monday, and Elizabeth would be ‘at home’ on Tuesdays.
Aunt Helen offered to sit with Elizabeth on her ‘at home’ days for the remainder of the season, and they would also review any new invitations and their calendar.
To assist Elizabeth in her introduction to the ton, she invited Elizabeth to join her and Anne on Monday mornings to receive visitors at Matlock House and to tea this Friday to meet a few ladies who would support her.
Lady Matlock also set a date for the ball to celebrate Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage for the following Friday.
Anne was both eager and apprehensive at meeting so many new people when she joined her aunt and new cousin for these calls and visits, while Georgiana was pleased she would not have to endure any of this for another year or two.
Lady Matlock encouraged Anne to participate, as her presence would help to counteract any rumours of the supposed engagement between her and Darcy and demonstrate Rosings’ support of the marriage.
William joined the ladies just as they concluded their discussion and was grateful for his aunt’s support of his bride’s introduction to the ton.
He was extremely pleased that, per his wishes to attend only two or three events per week, only a few invitations a week would initially be accepted.
Although he was not precisely excited to attend these events, he was less reluctant than usual, as he was proud to introduce his wife to society and, with his wife on his arm, he would no longer be ‘prey’ to the matrons and grasping women who sought him for so many years.
He looked forward to more intimate entertainment, such as the theatre and museums with Elizabeth.