Chapter 13 Her Ladyship Strikes Back #2
“And if Bingley married her sister, you would continue to be thrown in her way.”
“Yes.”
“You acted just to protect yourself from Miss Elizabeth, without regard for Bingley’s own happiness?”
Darcy was silent.
“And now Miss Elizabeth has punished you for it.”
“How can I change her mind?”
“You have not given up on her, then?”
“Until she marries another man, I shall not, I cannot, give up on her.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“I must explain myself to her.”
The colonel nodded. “That is sensible. How do you propose to do it?”
“I know not whether she would allow me to explain. I might write a letter.”
“Not exactly proper, but perhaps effective.”
“It would enable me to tell her the whole story without interruption.”
“Are you not afraid of what might happen to the letter after you give it to her? Do you trust her discretion that much?”
“I do trust her. She has taught me that she is a person of immense integrity and a strong sense of fairness. I do not fear her carelessness, cruelty, or indiscretion. My only fear…” He paused for a moment and then said softly, “My only fear is that I shall never be able to convince her to accept me.”
The colonel put his hand on Darcy’s shoulder. “There is no reason to dwell on that now. Know that I will do whatever is in my power to assist you. Despite your occasional misjudgements, you are the best man I know.”
Hines had an idea where Mr Darcy had gone but would never discuss that with anyone. If the master returned a happy, betrothed man, Hines would be delighted.
He built up the fires against the evening chill, placed hot bricks into Mr Darcy’s bed, asked for hot water to be brought up as soon as his master returned, and laid out Mr Darcy’s nightshirt, robe, and slippers in the dressing room.
Feeling that all was in order, he sat down in the dressing room with a book to await his master’s arrival.
In the corridor, Anne stood with her mother.
Lady Catherine had sent Mrs Jenkinson to Hines under the guise of enquiring after his master.
When Hines said he did not know when Darcy would return, she asked him to let Darcy know that Lady Catherine wished him to wait upon her in the morning.
She then retreated to the corridor to her mistress.
“Hines is in the dressing room waiting for Mr Darcy. All his preparations are made.”
Her Ladyship’s eyes glowed with anticipation. “Come, Anne, it is time to seize your destiny.” She opened the door to Darcy’s room (having had the hinges oiled earlier in the day), and Anne, with a queasy stomach, climbed into the large, curtained bed.
The hot bricks comforted her. Anne’s feet were always cold.
She propped herself up on several pillows and picked up a book from the bedside table.
It was a novel titled Sorrow and Regret by a woman author, Melissa Anne, whom she had never heard of.
Darcy reads novels? But reading in bed always made her sleepy, so she put it down, not wanting to fall asleep and anger her mother by ruining the plan.
The ground floor was quiet and mostly dark. A footman sat sentry in the main hall and rose when Darcy and the colonel entered.
“Darcy, do you care for a brandy after all that time out in the chill?”
“Perhaps just one,” Darcy replied, suddenly very tired.
In the library, the colonel poured short measures for them both. Darcy let the brandy linger on his tongue, savouring its smoky sweetness and slow, honeyed burn as it warmed him from the inside out. As there was little more to be said, the gentlemen downed their drinks and headed up the stairs.
They had just reached the first landing when they heard the screaming.
Hines entered Darcy’s bedchamber from the dressing room to tend the fire and pour hot water into the basin for his master’s evening ablutions.
He pulled back the curtains from the canopied bed to check the hot bricks and started at finding a female in the bed, propped against pillows.
Before Hines could speak, Miss de Bourgh screamed as if a hundred wild animals had arrived to assault her.
Lady Catherine and Mrs Jenkinson burst into the room.
“Darcy! Explain yourself!” Lady Catherine exclaimed.
Then Hines turned to face her Ladyship.
“Who are you?”
Hines bowed deeply. “I am Hines, your Ladyship. Mr Darcy’s man.”
“And where is your master?”
Mr Darcy and the colonel stood in the doorway. Mr Darcy said, “I am here. Why are you shouting at Hines? And who is in my bed? Anne? What are you about?”
Miss de Bourgh wrapped her dressing gown around her slight frame and exited the bed from the other side. “It was Mother’s idea.”
Lady Catherine stood akimbo. “Darcy! You must see that Anne will be ruined if you do not do your duty and marry her immediately.”
“I see no such thing, and I shall do no such thing.”
The colonel added, “Aunt Catherine, there are witnesses. How can you want Anne to marry Mr Hines here?”
Hines’s stomach clenched at the thought.
“Oh, dear God, Mother, you cannot expect me to marry a servant,” cried Miss de Bourgh as Hines whispered, “Colonel Fitzwilliam, sir, I am already betrothed.”
He looked at Mr Darcy for reassurance. Surely, the colonel is in jest!
The colonel had the impudence to wink at him. But Mr Darcy shook his head, and Hines sighed in relief.
Lady Catherine rounded on him. “Your puny betrothal can be nothing to me, Hines. Nephew, do not be ridiculous. I would not see my daughter married to a servant!”
A pair of footmen appeared in the corridor, attracted by the commotion. Lady Catherine shooed them away, slamming the bedchamber door.
Mr Darcy fixed his aunt with a black expression, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Madam, it appears that you have attempted to entrap me into a marriage that I do not desire, and that my cousin Anne desires even less.”
“He is correct, Mama, I do not—”
“Be silent! It was the greatest wish of both your mothers!”
Miss de Bourgh pulled her dressing gown more snugly around her. The colonel wordlessly settled her in an upholstered chair by the fire, tucking a blanket over her lap.
“You may silence your daughter, madam, but you may not silence me.
My mother never spoke to me of this alleged wish, and I do not consider myself bound to Anne by either honour or inclination.
I have the greatest cousinly affection for her, but we would not suit.
I shall depart Rosings in the morning, and it is unlikely I shall ever visit this place again whilst you live.
If I ever hear a report that you have circulated false tales about the events of this evening, I shall not hesitate to refute the gossip with these witnesses.
I shall not be responsible for any damage to your reputation.
“Anne” — Mr Darcy turned towards his cousin, where she sat by the fire, and spoke gently. “I regret that your mother chose to torture you in this way. I wish you only the best. Know that I will always be happy to receive you at Pemberley or at Darcy House in London, without her.”
“How dare you disrespect me in this way? I am your nearest relation!” Lady Catherine picked up the book on the bedside table and threw it, striking Mr Darcy on the temple.
Mr Darcy rubbed his brow, scowling at his aunt.
Hines bent to retrieve the book and met his master’s eye before he read the first lines: It is a truth universally acknowledged that most young ladies will do all they can to prevent an unfortunate incident from happening again.
And he thought, how very apt.