Chapter Seventy-Six
Lady Catherine positively quivered with irritation as she read Eleanor’s letter.
Dear Catherine,
The most wonderful news! Reggie is to marry, at last! He has actually fallen in love with a young lady he met in a small town called Meryton in the county of Hertfordshire. We have met the young lady, and are very pleased with the match.
The wedding will take place on the fourteenth of January in a small church in Meryton; you and Anne are, of course, invited.
Also, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who is staying with your rector, Mr. Collins, is to stand up with the bride; we would be indebted to you were you to bring Miss Bennet to the wedding.
If it is inconvenient for you to bring her, please let us know so that we may send a carriage for her instead.
Fondly,
Eleanor
***
“What could she possibly want?” Mary exclaimed.
“What is it?” Elizabeth asked, alarmed.
“Lady Catherine demands – yes, demands! – our presence at once.”
“Whose?”
“Yours and mine.”
The two sisters stared at one another. “I suppose we must go and find out,” Elizabeth said, rising from her seat. “I had best get changed.”
They made themselves presentable as quickly as possible and then walked across the great lawn.
The elderly butler did not greet them; he merely held the door open for them, and then preceded them into the drawing room. “Mrs. Collins and Miss Bennet, my lady.”
Lady Catherine left them standing for a long minute, surveying them from top to bottom. Finally, with a deep sigh, she said, “You may sit.”
They did so, in silence. Elizabeth noticed Anne de Bourgh, sitting quietly in a small chair by the fire. She had not spoken.
Finally, Lady Catherine said, “I have received the most alarming piece of news.”
Mary and Elizabeth looked at one another, but could think of nothing to say.
“I am given to understand that a friend of yours is to marry my nephew, Reginald.”
At that, both Mary and Elizabeth broke into relieved smiles. So that was what all this was about?!
“I see you smile! Does it amuse you?” Lady Catherine almost hissed the words.
It was Elizabeth who replied. “It does not amuse me, Lady Catherine, as much as it simply pleases me. My dear friend, Charlotte Lucas, is a fine match for anyone, and I wish her nothing but the best.”
“And who is she, this country nobody??”
“She is the daughter of a knight, Lady Catherine.”
“And that makes her good enough to marry a Viscount?” her ladyship huffed.
“Certainly; as is your own daughter, Miss de Bourgh,” Elizabeth shot back.
At that, Anne burst out laughing. “Well, she has a point, Mother,” she said. “I am the daughter of a knight, you will recall.”
“And also the niece of an Earl, let us not forget!” Lady Catherine spat. “Has she any dowry, this Miss Lucas?”
“She does, indeed,” Elizabeth said.
“Ah. Good. How much?”
“Her dowry cannot be measured in mere pounds, your ladyship,” Elizabeth replied. “Her dowry is her intelligence, her common sense, her calm manner, her ability to solve any manner of difficulties and, best of all, her ability to aid your nephew in social situations.”
“And she plays the pianoforte quite well,” Mary added, trying not to laugh.
Lady Catherine sat back and stared at the two of them.
Finally, she shook her head and said, “Well, ordinarily I would say that this is a dreadful match. But Reginald very much needs all those qualities, far more than he needs more money. If your report of her is accurate, then I shall have to give my consent to the wedding.”
Elizabeth rather doubted that her consent had been requested, but she held her tongue.
“In any case,” Lady Catherine continued, “Anne is invited as well. And evidently I am to convey you, Miss Bennet, to the wedding, so that you may stand up with Miss Lucas. We will leave on the thirteenth of January so as to attend the wedding the next day.”
Elizabeth clapped her hands before she could stop herself. Then, hands still clasped at her chest and eyes twinkling with delight, she said, joyfully, “I am so very, very grateful, your ladyship!”
“As well you should be,” Lady Catherine grumbled, but no one paid any mind. She continued, “Are you invited as well, Mrs. Collins?”
“I think it would be best if I stayed with Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine. We have only been married a short time.”
“Quite right, quite right,” was her ladyship’s opinion.
Elizabeth and Mary got up to walk back to the parsonage, and Anne insisted on accompanying them, despite her ladyship’s loudly voiced disapproval and dire predictions of Anne’s impending illness as a result of walking out in the cold, damp air.
“This is everything wonderful,” Anne exclaimed. “I could not think how to get the money to your father, but now I can simply carry it with me to the wedding. I already took it all out of my Mother’s safe.”
Mary said, “But it may be too late! The wedding is on the fourteenth, and Jane is likely already on her way to London!”
Anne had a ready response. “You must write at once to your relatives in London and tell them that the money is found, and will be in Mr. Bennet’s hands on the thirteenth of January. Also, Mother will want to inspect Miss Lucas before the wedding, so you had better warn Miss Lucas.”
“I will write both letters at once, Anne,” Elizabeth promised. “And may I say that you should not fear managing Rosings, as you are very evidently quite clever enough to do so!”