Chapter 45 #2
“But that was before this tragedy occurred,” her ladyship continued.
“Darcy asked me, two days ago, whether I thought Anne would have had the strength to support him in the way you have. It offended me, of course, but I must answer now that no, I do not believe she would. My daughter has a delicate temperament. She would have struggled with such adversity as you faced two nights ago. For so young a woman, you betrayed a remarkable presence of mind and a pleasing degree of good sense.”
Elizabeth had not gathered her wits enough to reply before Lady Catherine continued.
“Events of such significance as this often induce periods of reflection.
I have spent the last day asking myself what my sister would have made of the situation.
She was a fine lady, and excessively proud of her children and her position as mistress of this house.
She was also fair, and I find that I have not been.
“You have made some mistakes, yes, but you will learn from them. I see now what my nephew has been attempting to tell me—that you have other talents which far surpass those I came here to judge. Courage, compassion, and intelligence. The respect of your household. Most importantly, you have demonstrated in the most incontestable way that you will always put my nephew’s interests first. My sister would have said that these are the things that truly matter. ”
Of all the praise Lady Catherine could have given, this was the least expected and most valuable, and Elizabeth found herself feeling unexpectedly tearful—and that diverted her no end.
She had been so dearly hoping for the comfort of a letter from Jane, and it seemed she would have to make do with the dubious consolation of Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s approbation.
It made her cry and laugh at the same time.
“Forgive me.” She swiped away a tear and sniffed. “I am not generally given to sentimentality. Only it is all rather daunting.”
Lady Catherine replied with surprising gentleness. “It is, but I shall not abandon you or Darcy to it. None of us will. My nephew is by no means friendless. And neither are you, Mrs Darcy.”
On reflection, Elizabeth decided that reading Lydia’s letter had definitely been worth postponing. “Thank you. Will you tell him that?”
“Tell me what?”
Elizabeth turned around at Darcy’s voice, and regretted not wiping her tears before she did, for when he saw them, his countenance darkened alarmingly.
“What is happening here?” he demanded of her ladyship.
“You aunt has been very kind,” Elizabeth said hastily.
“I was apologising to your wife, Darcy, and now I apologise to you. I judged you both unfairly—and incorrectly. Your mother and father would have been exceedingly proud of the way you have responded to this disaster. I am exceedingly proud of you. I would have you know that you may rely on all your family to help restore Pemberley to what it was.”
Darcy’s transition from furious to dumbfounded was so abrupt and so complete, it made Elizabeth laugh again. Lady Catherine was less forbearing this time and gave her a withering glare as she informed them that she would make arrangements to leave that week, then left the room.
Darcy sat, somewhat dazedly, next to Elizabeth. “What prompted that?”
“She said she had been thinking about what your mother would have made of it all.”
Darcy smiled a small, far-away smile that disappeared with his next question. “Why were you crying?”
“It has been a week of surprises. I think it must have been one too many.”
He laughed lightly, and it was on the tip of Elizabeth’s tongue to tell him about Mrs Reynolds and her aunt Wallis, but he forestalled her.
“Who was your letter from?”
“Oh! It…it does not matter.”
“It clearly does.”
Elizabeth sighed heavily. “Very well. It was from Lydia, asking for money—but you are to ignore it, as I mean to do. I would not have troubled you with it at all if you had not asked.”
“Good Lord, the Wickhams are the least of my concerns. How much do they want?”
“You are not giving them a penny!”
“How much?”
“Thirty pounds,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Just send it. Thirty pounds is nothing to what I must spend now.”
Elizabeth reached for his hand. “Can you afford the work?”
He shrugged despondently. “I ought to be able to raise the capital to rebuild the east wing, for I was halfway there already with the underpinning. But I do not see how I could afford to rebuild the entire house. And it would take a decade.” He sat forward abruptly and pulled her hand into his lap.
“Do you know, I do not wish to even think about it. To blazes with it—should you like to go dancing, Mrs Darcy?”
“Pardon?”
“I am of a mind to take you to the Lambton Assembly. It is tonight, is it not?”
“Are you serious? The master of Pemberley at a public assembly?”
“I might be the master of nothing but rubble soon. I should like to dance with the mistress of Pemberley while Pemberley is still standing.”
Elizabeth wanted desperately to repeat her assurances that Pemberley would endure, but the more she said it, the less Darcy seemed to be convinced.
Besides, she would not like him to change his mind.
“In that case, I should be delighted to accept your invitation, Mr Darcy. Though I hope it does not mean that you would no longer dance with me if I were the mistress of nothing but rubble.”
He smirked devilishly. “Fortunately for you, I have discovered that you taste sublime covered in rubble. I should do more than dance with you.”