Chapter Thirty
I t was inevitable, thought Darcy, as he made his way down the stairs, that Aunt Catherine would discover his interest in Elizabeth Bennet. In retrospect, it had been foolish to hope that he might be able to court her under Lady Catherine's eye without interference from that quarter .
He had thought, albeit belatedly, that his greatest difficulty would arise from Elizabeth herself. Perhaps it had been a mistake on his part to assume her interest in himself earlier in the year.
It was not a particularly onerous task to establish which interfering gossip in his aunt's acquaintance had written to her, nor did he suppose that Mrs. Almsbury had in any way understated her account of their waltz together. It was a small comfort that Lady Matlock had not been the one to divulge that morsel of society news to her sister-in-law — her discreet elegance had long made her a favourite relative of his .
From the moment Lady Catherine de Bourgh had unfolded her letter from the most understandably widowed Constance Almsbury, a dark cloud had descended upon her. She was never a cheerful woman, but the missive caused a downturn to both her brows and her mouth. One of the older footmen, notable for his long service, eyed his mistress with some misgiving .
Richard, more courageous than wise, noted his aunt's demeanour .
“I hope you have not had ill-tidings, Your Ladyship. You look most put out.”
Anne, who had been absorbed in pushing around the food on her plate, looked up at this and confirmed the colonel's analysis with a nod.
Lady Catherine pressed her lips together for a moment before laying her letter aside .
“A true lady, Richard, does not look put out — you are mistaken. If there was a momentary purse of my lips or a passing frown, it is merely the expression of having one's unhappy conjecture confirmed. Mrs. Almsbury writes to me that she witnessed a certain young lady's doings in town. It seems, nephew,” she addressed Darcy, “that this friend of Mrs Collins was most determined to ensnare you while you were in London. I am sorry for her disappointment, of course, but it explains why she attempted to convince me that she had sworn off marriage.”
“Do you think, Aunt Catherine, that we might discuss this more privately,” asked Darcy quietly, with a significant glance toward the servants and Mrs. Jenkinson, who, from her place down the table, was affecting deafness.
“Miss Elizabeth determined to catch Darcy?” Colonel Fitzwilliam's tone was somewhere between laughter and genuine surprise. He sent his cousin a quizzical look. “I should not have supposed it myself. What think you, Darcy? You are hailed by my friends at White’s as an expert at evading the parson's mousetrap, so you ought to be able to recognise the signs.”
“Thank you for your contribution, cousin.” Darcy's response could not properly be termed acidic but Mrs. Jenkinson flinched visibly and the colonel desisted.
“I beg your pardon — of course, it is all nonsense. Mrs. Almsbury must have seen another lady. She scarce knows you, does she, cousin?”
“My father knew her late husband — I was at Eton then.”
Her Ladyship nodded and permitted the subject to be dropped until later on in the day when she held court in her favourite salon .
It was Anne who was responsible for beginning it again. They sat down as directed by Lady Catherine, and Mrs. Jenkinson was duly dismissed from the room with the barest civility. Retrospectively, Darcy recognised the dread on her face — she must have known Anne was desperate to speak her mind at last .
“I do not see that it matters whether or not Mrs. Almsbury is right or wrong in her estimation, myself,” said Anne, shortly.
“Quite right, Anne. After all, there will be many young adventuresses casting out their lures toward Darcy. What matter their intentions to so conscientious a gentleman? It is a comfort that he will not disgrace the family name with a mesalliance.”
“Miss Elizabeth is the daughter of a gentleman, Lady Catherine,” stated Darcy, his words distinctly clipped, “and is hardly deserving of such a slur being cast. Neither do I care for my private business being discussed as though it were for public consumption.”
“This is hardly public, nephew. I am surely entitled to know your nearest and your dearest concerns, unless you mean to insult me gravely by denying the claims of family.”
“I mean nothing, madam, apart from the fact that as a man who has been many years his own master, I request that conjectures as to my intentions be immediately dropped in my presence.”
With a regal nod, his aunt agreed as though she wished for the very same thing. “But of course, Darcy. We need not concern ourselves any longer with Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
A slight sigh of relief was issued from the battle-hardened colonel, and Anne, with a look of contempt in his direction, steeled herself .
“Certainly we need not discuss Miss Bennet, for all that I think her amiable and should not be sorry to know her better. We might discuss my own future, however, with perfect ease.”
Her mother, a little surprised but by no means displeased, shot Darcy a triumphant look. “You can have no objection, nephew, to Anne raising this subject?”
He shrugged, knowing what was to come. “Anne may do as she pleases.”
“I have been considering the matter, Mother, and it now seems to me that I have remained silent when I ought to have spoken. You are not retiring when it comes to speaking as needed, and I mean to follow your example.”
“I see no necessity for a woman of my age and position to remain dumb when a few well-chosen words will influence or command to satisfaction. There is, however,” said Lady Catherine, with another glance at her nephew, “the consideration that a gentleman may not like to hear a young lady speak so decisively as I may. Men, my daughter, do not like talkative wives.”
“It is now irrelevant to me whether or not a man likes to hear me speak or be silent — I mean in the future to please only myself. I will talk from dawn to dusk if I wish to or I will not open my lips once, as the desire takes me.”
Nonplussed, her lady mother sought clarification. “Anne, what can you mean?”
“I mean that where there is no husband there is no requirement to please him.” This being met with astonishment, Miss de Bourgh clarified, “By which I mean that I do not want one. ”
Distantly, Darcy wondered if Elizabeth would take a greater enjoyment from this scene than he. Perhaps she would find it necessary to conceal a smile or restrain herself from a clever quip .
“Anne,” protested Richard, finding his voice, “you say that in the same tone of voice you used at five when you said you did not want the puppy I brought from London for you.”
“Do I?” Anne reflected. “Yes, I suppose it is not a dissimilar sense of conviction. I did not want a dribbling dog and neither do I want…”
“A dribbling husband?” interjected the colonel, unable to resist .
Anne quirked a smile. “I would not have said that.”
“Darcy,” said his aunt in awful tones, “ring the bell for Mrs. Jenkinson. Miss de Bourgh is ill and a doctor must be sent for.”
“No, Mother, I am not unwell.”
“Then it is poison ,” replied Lady Catherine, enraged, and repeated the word, “poison of the mind, and I believe I know just who has cleverly planted a seed of unwomanliness in your mind. You will retire to your room to rest and I will myself send for Doctor Hoddard — you will not find me lacking in my duty as your mother. You have been raised more carefully than this.”
“Mother, I am not unwell,” Anne said again.
“I say that you are , that you are far from your own right mind, or you would not speak so in my drawing room so directly against my expressed wishes. I am minded to send Mrs. Jenkinson away, if her influence in your life has not been sufficiently ladylike to guard against such…such unnatural persuasions as you have just expressed. Darcy, ring the bell, I say.”
“It would be a pity for you, Aunt, to lose a good member of your household to momentary pique,” Darcy's tone was reasonable but firm, “and a greater pity still to subject my cousin to a doctor's examination when both Richard and I see that she is not ailing.” A glance to Richard ensured the colonel's nod of agreement before he held his aunt's eye again. “If by your accusations of poison,” and here his tone turned chilly, “you wish to accuse Elizabeth Bennet of planting unnatural ideas, I advise against uttering those words again — particularly outside of this room.”
“How dare you speak to me so, Fitzwilliam Darcy!” Lady Catherine was red with anger and her brows were knit together. She rose from her chair in agitation. Darcy, by contrast, remained seated and calmly crossed his legs. “I hope you do not mean to threaten me over that…that…female, for you will find that I am not to be trifled with. I suppose, then, that Constance Almsbury was in the right of it — that in a jealous rage you pulled a nobody from another man's arms so that you could waltz with her. I never thought it possible that you should so forget the claims of your birth for a woman nobody of any breeding knows anything about.”
“Richard, I suggest that the bell ought to be pulled after all — Her Ladyship seems not to be feeling at all herself. Given your strictures upon the evils of heeding gossip, Aunt Catherine, I must own I am surprised at you. Perhaps you have sustained a shock. It would account for your temporary memory lapse when I said that my business would remain my own.”
Ever loyal to Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam stood and crossed to the richly embroidered bell pull and tugged on it. “Shall I ride for a doctor, Darcy? It will be apoplexy you are most concerned with. If I go on your horse I can have the man back in twenty minutes. I assume he is in the village.”
“The village doctor!” Lady Catherine's outrage increased. “I do not see what I have done to deserve a daughter with such disregard for her mama, nor to have earned nephews that would see me so demeaned.”
“Mama,” Anne informed them, “either uses Doctor Hoddard in Westerham or sends to London for an expert in his field.”
“Perhaps, Your Ladyship,” Darcy offered politely, “you might prefer to lie down instead and we will see if it restores you to yourself.”
“Aye, just the thing. Mama,” the colonel informed them, “always says a dose in the daytime sets her up perfectly by the time evening comes.”
A footman answered the summons of the bell and waited for his existence to be acknowledged .
“Fetch Her Ladyship's maid and inform my valet that I wish to go out in ten minutes.” Darcy paused to see if his aunt would contradict the order, then bowed politely. “Anne, I should like a word with you in private, if you would be so good.”
“Yes,” Lady Catherine said with a gleam of hope, “that is just what is needed. Anne will speak to you as long as you wish her to, I am sure, Darcy, and you will be able to talk some sense into her — you were ever a sensible young man.”
“Anne and I will talk while you rest, madam. ”
A not-quite-defeated Lady Catherine picked up her letter and made to exit the room. She did not acknowledge her nephews rising to bow, but she paused in her steps when Richard spoke.
“I thought I might pay a call to the parsonage while you are busy here with Anne, Darcy — I had said that I was at Miss Bennet's disposal for walking out and it would look very bad on the family if I did not keep my word. ”
With surprising mildness, given her previous fury and scathing remarks concerning Miss Bennet, his aunt offered her encouragement .
“Of course you must go,” she said quickly. “If you have promised to escort Miss Bennet about the park, then you should not have delayed. Take her past the shops and around into the park by the east entrance — she may like to see the deer.”
It was evident that Richard was surprised by the sudden change of demeanour, but he bowed again and, satisfied with this, she left the room.
Once the door was shut he said, “I say, you do not think she is really ill, do you, Darcy? That was as strange a change of feeling as I have ever seen in her.”
“Mama is never ill,” said Anne, who had risen, moved to her mother's chair, and arranged herself comfortably. “Well, Darcy, you had better begin to talk some sense into me but I shall not change my mind.”
Richard departed the room and Darcy watched him go with a frown .
“It might be of interest for you to know, Anne, that I do not consider your marital prospects any of my affair beyond that which is natural to cousinship.”
Miss de Bourgh digested this as she fiddled with the fringe of her shawl. “Meaning that you are as revolted by the idea of marrying me as I am of marrying you?”
“I had not intended to be so discourteous as to phrase it so, but we are of the same mind, it seems.”
“But Mama has been throwing us together for years!”
“And, if my guess is correct, she will attempt to continue to do so until one of us weds.”
“It will not be me, so you had better marry Miss Bennet and be done with it.”
“Lady Catherine, it appears, has just now devised a ploy to throw Richard together with Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Mrs. Almsbury must have been wrong, for you do not look in the least jealous. Is that not foolish of her?” Anne shook her head, clearing it of her temporary distraction. “I want a house, Darcy, and my own staff. I am of age and have my own fortune. Will you assist me or must I apply to my uncle? ”
“Matlock? Anne, you seem to have very little notion of how to go about things. Our uncle would support Her Ladyship to the hilt, regardless of what rights you suppose you have over your fortune. I will make you no promises, but if I may be of service to you in a way that is not damaging to the family reputation or your wellbeing, I will do so.”
“It need not be a large house, cousin. I do not even require it to be in London — perhaps in a small town such as Westerham or Bath. ”
“I will look into the matter. In the meantime, I request that you refrain from upsetting your mother by raising the matter. ”
“If you like, I will tell her that you indeed spoke sense to me,” offered Anne handsomely .
“There is no need,” said Darcy austerely, “for you to perjure yourself so thoroughly as all that.”
He left her shortly afterwards, and received his gloves, hat, and coat from his valet awaiting him in the hall. Making his way outdoors, he walked swiftly toward the parsonage .
Mrs. Collins greeted him politely when he arrived, but was sorry to inform Mr. Darcy that he had just missed the colonel, who had headed up the lane with her friend. She watched him carefully, he felt, as he made civil enquiries after the health of her and her husband before following after the pair .
He saw them quickly — Elizabeth in yellow, her hand resting on Richard's scarlet-clad arm. He wondered if she particularly cared for a soldier's uniform and watched them a moment before approaching .
That Richard admired her beauty was evident, but not so unusual as to trouble him. Richard often admired pretty young ladies, and there could be no denying that Elizabeth had a sweet face that made one wish to look at her again. Once he had truly looked, he had certainly found it difficult to take his eyes off her.
Elizabeth appeared to be at her ease, which always made her animated, and Darcy watched her as she talked, one gloved hand occasionally waving for emphasis. He remembered her shy blush when he had brought that hand to his lips, and moved closer .
“The shopkeeper ought to put you in the window, Miss Elizabeth — I daresay if you were to sport that gown he would sell it a good deal faster than he will with it pinned up on a wooden block. ”
“I think perhaps that my papa might object to the scheme, Colonel, for all that one should like to be of use to the shopkeeper.”
“A strict papa, is he?” laughed Richard .
Elizabeth smiled. “Not so very much, but he has most old-fashioned views on his daughters being in a shop for more than twenty minutes. In his experience, five young ladies can have an unhappy effect upon a pocket book. ”
Darcy swallowed and composed himself. It would not do to cause a scene, to thrust himself between the pair of them and make her put her hand on his arm rather than his cousin's. Neither could he reasonably forbid Richard from staring down at her upturned face with such blatant admiration. Darcy wasn't a fool — he knew just what it was to wonder, when she looked up at him so, how it would be to stoop a little and close that gap between their faces .
“I suppose your father, as a married man, would have the greater experience, Miss Elizabeth. Alas, I am a poor soldier and may not wed where I please or I am sure I should have half a dozen children myself.”
“A poor soldier, do you call it? I remind you, sir, that I have danced in your mama's ballroom so I know very well that your bachelorhood is very likely through choice.” She laughed. “But I am given to understand that there is a high price for a younger son, so I will not tease you. I expect you long for a large family.” She shook her head, affecting pity, and Richard smiled broadly.
“The price on my head is not so high as all that, Miss Elizabeth. You make me sound almost mercenary.”
“A younger son of an earl does not ask for more than thirty or forty thousand pounds, I suppose? One does wonder what the fortunate young lady gains in exchange.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam looked up and noticed his cousin. “I say, Darcy! Are you done with Anne so soon? Good man — now Miss Elizabeth will have a better guide for her historical questions. ”
He watched her expression when Richard spoke his name, and noticed that while she did not smile at him, her colour turned. Was that a hopeful sign? He could not say but it was enough to bring him closer to bow over her hand .
“Anne has gone to rest for the afternoon. Do you mean to go past all the shops? I had thought Miss Elizabeth might prefer to take the more direct route into the deer park past the smithy.”
“But I am assured that young ladies adore a high street, Darcy — Miss Elizabeth, tell my cousin he is in the wrong and that you indeed like to amble by the local merchants to look at their wares.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I have ever been willing to tell Mr. Darcy that he is in the wrong, Colonel, but I cannot do so truthfully in this case. Mr. Darcy knows my tastes well enough and a walk in a deer park is just what I would like. ”
Darcy pressed home his advantage, and when she freed her hand to restrain a fluttering bonnet ribbon, he offered her his arm .
It was impolite perhaps, but he chose a subject that would exclude his cousin. “I have written to Bingley, Miss Elizabeth, and suggested that he and the future Mrs. Bingley might enjoy staying at Pemberley after the wedding.”
“Have you? That is good of you, sir. ”
She did not look at him, so he tried again. “I should warn you, Miss Bennet, that my aunt received a letter from London today. I fear that she came to an incorrect conclusion regarding you — I hope you will not be offended if you find Lady Catherine's manners somewhat trying upon occasions.”
There was a quizzical glance at this remark, and he regretted phrasing it so clumsily. She smiled, however, and said archly, “I was well prepared for your aunt's manners, Mr. Darcy. ”
He realised quickly that she meant meeting him had prepared her, and not for the first time, he wondered that she had no power to offend him. Perhaps it was instead that he was powerless against her .
Richard, a moment later, caught on and laughed, “Miss Bennet needs no defending from any of us, I see. That is well!”
“You might come to Pemberley as well, Miss Elizabeth.” Once having gained her attention, Darcy was in no hurry to lose it again from her smiling at Richard's strange compliment. “Your sister will likely wish you to accompany her on her honeymoon, after all, and to have you stay there would…it might please you to see some of Derbyshire.”
There was a flash of discomfort in her clear eyes and he wondered if he had erred by pressing her. When Elizabeth replied, however, her reply sounded sweetly playful to his ears. “It would be only fair if Mr. Bingley were to take his sister with him also, to assist him in settling into the marriage.” Mischief danced in her eyes for a moment before Elizabeth affected a serious countenance. “I might take my revenge upon you, Mr. Darcy, for your fair share of our arguments, and leave you in Miss Bingley's company at every opportunity.”
She might do as she pleased, for as long as she pleased, if only she would smile at him thus and teasingly laugh up at him .
He cleared his throat, and as gallantly as he was able, replied with a small smile, “I will bear it as nobly as I am able, Miss Elizabeth, if it means that you will grace my house.”