Chapter 15
“Lady Catherine!” Darcy said, rising to his feet.
“Darcy!” the lady responded, looking him up and down with a gimlet eye. “How is your wounded arm?”
Darcy looked upon his aunt in confusion and said, “It is well enough, but how did you hear of my injury?”
The lady huffed and said, “My clergyman, Mr. Collins, is currently visiting nearby, and he sent an express advising me of your altercation with the despicable Wickham. I always knew your father was a fool to treat the Wickham family so kindly. Now all of you, I wish to speak to my nephew alone!”
Bingley, to his credit, looked at Darcy with raised brows and waited until his friend gave him a quick nod before saying, “Of course, Lady Catherine. Mr. Bennet, I believe your carriage must be waiting for you...”
“Stay,” Lady Catherine interrupted, raising a commanding hand. “I am familiar with the name Bennet. Are you the master of Longbourn, sir?”
“I am,” Bennet returned with an amused glint in his eye.
“Mr. Collins is staying with you. Inform him that I will give him the benefit of my wisdom when I have sufficient time. At the moment, of course, my nephew takes precedence.”
“As you wish, Lady Catherine,” Bennet said gravely.
The lady waved impatiently and everyone but Darcy filed obediently out of the room.
Georgiana, who found her aunt overpowering and unpleasant, wore a hunted expression, and Darcy sighed at the sight.
It was a great pity that his young sister, who had been so happy only a few minutes previously, was now intimidated by their overbearing relation.
Once the door was shut, Lady Catherine took the largest chair and gestured toward her nephew. “Sit, Darcy, sit. Now be entirely honest with me. How badly are you injured?”
***
Georgiana waved good-bye rather sadly to the Misses Bennet and their father before turning to walk toward the staircase with Mrs. Annesley at her side. She was eager to hide in her private sitting room until she understood better what her aunt’s intentions were.
“Georgiana? Is that you?”
Georgiana peered in confusion at the vaguely familiar woman standing in the door of a small parlor and then gasped, “Cousin Anne?”
“Yes,” the lady replied with a wan smile. “I believe it has been some years since we have seen one another and both of us have changed, though you more than me. My dear cousin, how you have grown!”
Mrs. Annesley stepped forward into Georgiana’s line of sight and looked at her charge expectantly, which prompted the girl to say quickly, “Oh, Anne, may I please introduce my companion, Mrs. Annesley? Mrs. Annesley, my cousin, Miss Anne de Bourgh.”
“Miss de Bourgh,” the older lady said, “it is an honor to meet you. But please, will you not sit by the fire while Lady Catherine speaks to Mr. Darcy? I can see you are shivering.”
Georgiana, having recovered from her surprise, felt a pang of guilt as she observed that her cousin, whose poor health was well known, was noticeably shaking, and her thin face was pale.
“Oh yes, yes!” she exclaimed. “Do sit down, Cousin! I will arrange for tea and biscuits.”
She rushed off and quickly found a servant girl, who promised to bring tea, and then scurried back just as the main door opened again to admit Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, who was looking vaguely alarmed.
“Georgiana, is that carriage...?”
“Lady Catherine’s equipage? Yes, cousin, it is. She is with my brother in the drawing room. Will you not join us in the parlor? Cousin Anne is warming herself there.”
Richard looked even more surprised at this intelligence. “Anne? That is ... very well, do let me freshen up, and I will be with you shortly.”
Georgiana smiled gratefully and resumed her walk to the sitting room, thankful that the colonel would join them shortly. Cousin Anne had always been a subdued woman, overwhelmed by her domineering and autocratic mother, and Georgiana was not certain how to carry on a conversation with the lady.
***
“I am well enough, Lady Catherine,” Darcy said wearily, “nor can I understand why you hurried here from Rosings. I can only assume that Mr. Collins dramatized my injury.”
The mistress of Rosings frowned disapprovingly.
“Now Darcy, being attacked and stabbed is no small thing, and we can only be thankful it was no worse! As for why I am here – Darcy, I have come to the sad conclusion that I have been remiss in my duty toward you. I have let you sow your wild oats for far too long.”
Her nephew stared at her incredulously. Firstly, Lady Catherine never admitted to failing in her duty. Secondly, he did not sow wild oats, unlike many of his contemporaries.
“I do not have the pleasure of understanding you,” he said haughtily. “I am not in the habit of chasing after women or...”
“Do not be obtuse, Darcy,” Lady Catherine interrupted irritably.
“I know you are an honorable man. But this delay in marrying Anne is unacceptable, and I have waited far too long for you to do your duty. If you had been killed by this Wickham rogue, there would have been no heir to Pemberley and Rosings, which would have been a catastrophe. I spent yesterday afternoon in London and sent out the required letters to obtain a special license for you and Anne. As soon as it arrives, Mr. Collins can marry you...”
“No,” Darcy interrupted.
Lady Catherine stared at him in open mouthed astonishment. “What did you say?”
“I said no,” Darcy returned, glowering at his aunt.
He had danced around this issue for years, aware that the heiress of Rosings was truly a great prize, and equally aware that an open refusal would provoke a storm of recriminations from Lady Catherine.
In this moment, having seen the love between Bingley and Miss Bennet, with Miss Elizabeth’s piquant face in his mind’s eye, he realized, suddenly and definitely, that he would not marry Anne de Bourgh.
“No, Lady Catherine, I will not marry your daughter. I have concluded we will not suit.”
Silence fell for a full thirty seconds as the lady glared at him, her face growing red, her eyes flashing with increasing fury.
She was quite fearsome in appearance when she was enraged.
He was not afraid of her in the least, but he understood now why Bingley disliked spending time with his aunt because Lady Catherine did not treat him respectfully.
“How dare you, sir!” the mistress of Rosings snarled. “How dare you! Your mother and I spoke of your marriage when you and Anne were still in your cradles. You are committed, by honor, to your cousin!”
“I am not,” Darcy continued confidently, relaxing against the chair. Lady Catherine, while large, had always warred with words. She would not physically attack him. She would merely yell.
“You are! You know you are! Indeed, Anne has been waiting all these years for you to offer! Come now, Darcy, do not be foolish. The entire family knows that the master of Pemberley and the heiress of Rosings must be joined together in wedlock. You are far too intelligent to cast aside such a great estate, and as a gentleman, you will hardly set aside the claim of my daughter!”
Darcy considered Anne de Bourgh. His cousin had long suffered from ill health, and was quiet to the point of dullness.
She had never lived away from Rosings and had spent little time with gentlemen outside her own family.
This was, of course, due to her domineering mother; Lady Catherine had decided long ago that Anne was destined to marry her wealthiest cousin, and thus had refused to allow any other possible suitors to meet with her daughter.
He felt a sudden pang of guilt; was Anne suffering at Rosings? If he did not marry her, was he condemning her to a life of boredom and unhappiness? But then, reason asserted itself. If Anne wished to leave Rosings, he could arrange for it without marrying her.
“I said no, Lady Catherine,” Darcy repeated steadily. “I am certain that we are not a good match for one another. Now, I am tired and must retire to my bed...”
“This is entirely unacceptable,” the lady howled in fury. “You cannot...”
She broke off as Darcy rose to his feet and walked slowly, unwaveringly, toward the door.
He knew, from bitter experience, that argument was fruitless.
Lady Catherine did not hear what she did not choose to hear.
It was exasperating that the mistress of Rosings had descended so rudely upon Netherfield, but Bingley would not throw her out.
For now, he would retreat to his bedchamber and rest, as he was truly fatigued.
He would determine how to deal with his irritating relation after a good nap.
***
“Lady Catherine seems an imperious and irritating woman,” Elizabeth remarked as the Bennet carriage rolled steadily toward Longbourn.
Jane made an inarticulate sound of protest, but Mr. Bennet merely grinned and said, “I quite agree with you, my dear. I have no doubt her presence will significantly enliven the next few days. But at least we can rejoice that Mr. Collins will delight in having his patroness nearby.”
Elizabeth grimaced and said, “I truly did not imagine that Lady Catherine would travel all the way from Rosings at the behest of our cousin. It seems quite bewildering.”
“Perhaps,” Jane suggested timidly, “she was merely concerned about Mr. Darcy. He is her nephew, after all, and I understand is betrothed to Lady Catherine’s daughter.”
“Perhaps,” Elizabeth conceded. “A stab wound is no small thing. All the same, I do not believe Mr. Darcy was pleased to see his aunt descend upon him.”
Silence fell between the Bennets. Based on Jane’s lovelorn expression, the eldest Miss Bennet was thinking about Charles Bingley.
Elizabeth found herself, once again, contemplating Mr. Darcy.
He had been quiet this evening, but his expression had been gentle, and it was obvious from Miss Darcy’s demeanor that the girl loved, trusted, and depended on her older brother.
He was a good man, Mr. Darcy. He was also brave, handsome, wealthy, and. ..
No, she must not let her mind stray too far in that direction. He had rescued her from a horrible fate and was determined to protect her reputation. He was a kind, honorable man. He was also destined for his cousin, Miss de Bourgh. No, she must not long for what she could never have.