The Angel of Longbourn Page 18
She had entered the grassy section, when a familiar figure appeared from around the side of the house and began walking directly toward her. It was Lady Catherine.
Sensing the moment of their confrontation was at hand, Elizabeth nevertheless attempted to avoid it for a little longer, and she nodded at the woman, attempting to pass her by. She was shocked and angered when the lady placed the cane, upon which she had been leaning, in front of Elizabeth’s path to forestall her from proceeding toward the house. Elizabeth’s incongruous thoughts at that moment centered on that cane—how the implement was darkly polished oak with filigree and designs etched into its surface.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” said the grand dame, “I require you to wait and speak with me for a moment.”
For an instant, Elizabeth thought to ignore the lady. But it was clear that she meant to be heard, and Elizabeth decided there was no other recourse than to allow her to have her say.
“Yes, Lady Catherine?”
One might think that a pleasant greeting such as the one she voiced would persuade the other person to respond in a like fashion. But it was apparent that Lady Catherine had no such inclination. She only responded with a sour grunt before fixing a baleful glare on Elizabeth.
“I suppose you think yourself rather clever.”
“I am sure I am no more or less so than any other person,” replied Elizabeth, refusing to rise to the lady’s bait.
“If you are, then you should know that I am not to be trifled with. You seem to think this is all a great game, but I assure you it is not. If you have not the wit to understand yourself, then I shall be forced to educate you.”
Deciding there was no response to be made, Elizabeth remained silent. The fact that she did so seemed to lighten Lady Catherine’s countenance ever so slightly.
“When I arrived in Hertfordshire, as you well know, I was determined to have Mr. Darcy removed to my own home, not only to aid in his recovery, but to protect him from the likes of you and your family. I knew the moment I passed through the door exactly what kind of people you are.
“Oh?” asked Elizabeth. “And exactly what kind of people are we?”
“Grasping, artful, and greedy is what you are,” snapped Lady Catherine. “Those of your level of society are never satisfied with that sphere you inhabit. By your very nature, you must always be looking to advance, to rise to the next rank.”
“I am afraid your ladyship has misunderstood us, if you think that. The Bennets are simple people, though we are gentle stock. We have no more desire to rise from our station than we have to stop the sun in its tracks.”
“Of course I have not misunderstood you! I knew it all from the moment I stepped through the door. I knew that you sought to raise your standing by attempting to entrap my nephew.”
“Lady Catherine,” said Elizabeth, “your comments about entrapping Mr. Darcy are ludicrous, and I have already disabused you of the notion that I would behave in such a manner once. As for his standing, I was not aware that Mr. Darcy was of such an exalted station. Does he possess titles of which we have not been told?”
“Do not be obtuse,” snapped Lady Catherine. “I will not stand for it. He is above you by every measure of our society.”
“I do not know what measurement you use, but Mr. Darcy is a gentleman, albeit a wealthy one. As my father is a gentleman himself, no such disparity exists.”
The lady was clearly becoming agitated the longer Elizabeth spoke. She stalked about, thumping her cane on the ground, her free hand swinging in the air to emphasize her point. Unfortunately for her, all Elizabeth could see was an old lady attempting to order the world according to her own dictates.
“Miss Bennet, I did not approach you to argue these points. I am the daughter of an earl, and I have been trained in all these things. I will thank you not to contradict me when it is clear you do not have the least idea of what you speak.
“Now, for the particulars of my purpose for speaking to you, I wish to discuss this imagined closeness you have with my nephew, Mr. Darcy.”
“Imagined closeness?” echoed Elizabeth in amusement.
“Yes!” exclaimed Lady Catherine, her forceful words punctuated by a rap of her cane on the ground. “I am certain that you believe he is on the verge of proposing to you, but I tell you that it will never be. Mr. Darcy is engaged to Anne, and nothing shall come in the way of their union.”
“If you are so certain of this, I wonder why you would take the trouble of speaking to me. Surely if nothing will stand in their path, you can have no reason to suppose that I will be an impediment.”
The look Lady Catherine bestowed on her was pure poison. “The reason I take you to task, Miss Elizabeth, is because as I have said, I understand people like you. My nephew is an important man, a wealthy man, and you have taken it in your head to attempt to entrap him into matrimony. I have seen your flirtatious looks and coy manners, and I know what you are about.”
“On the contrary, Lady Catherine,” said Elizabeth with a weary sigh, “as I said before, all I had to do, if I wished to entrap Mr. Darcy, was to compromise myself with him when he was bedridden. The fact that I did not stoop to such behavior should be an indication that I have no intention of doing so now.”
“You did not know the extent of his wealth and position then.”
“No, but I did know his circumstances were fortunate. If I am as you suggest, that would have been enough for me.”
They stood there for some moments, glaring at each other. Elizabeth was openly disdainful of the meddling woman, a fact which Lady Catherine seemed to understand if her glower was any indication. That Lady Catherine held her in contempt, Elizabeth already knew—of course, she held anyone she considered to be of lower rank in contempt, so Elizabeth thought she was in good company.
“Heed me well, Miss Elizabeth,” said Lady Catherine, her cane waving in the air, “Mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter. He will not be allowed to marry one such as you, even if he was inclined to forget everything he owes to himself and the family. I will ask you to cease your attentions to him.”
“I have paid no attentions to him,” replied Elizabeth. “I am a woman and must wait for the man’s attentions.”
“And has he paid them to you?” Lady Catherine’s question was like a stabbing sword. “You refused to dance the first at Mr. Bingley’s ball with Mr. Collins; did my nephew already ask you for those sets?”
“Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible. Is he not engaged to your daughter?”
“It ought to be impossible!” cried Lady Catherine. “But you may have drawn him in with your coquettish ways. Now answer my question! Has my nephew asked you for the first dances?”
Though Elizabeth had no desire to satisfy Lady Catherine, she was a truthful woman. It was this quality which prompted her to respond.
“He has.”
The explosion of anger this confession incited was entirely predictable. “No, it cannot be!” screeched the lady. “You will inform Darcy that you will not dance it with him. That is Anne’s dance. You may dance it with Mr. Collins.”
“I shall not.” Lady Catherine tried to interject, but Elizabeth was implacable. “You heard for yourself my father’s edict concerning Mr. Collins and my cousin’s subsequent request of Miss Bingley. I would not dance with the man anyway, so my father’s directive only means I would not be required to sit out if I was forced to refuse him. As for Mr. Darcy, he requested those dances in good faith, and I will not renege on my agreement.”
“You would come between an engaged couple?”
“Lady Catherine, they are only engaged in your mind. Mr. Darcy has told me of your spurious and ridiculous demand and how it has no basis in fact. I suggest you resign yourself to not having Mr. Darcy as a son-in-law. I have no knowledge of what he feels for me, but I can assure you that he will never marry your daughter.”
“I assure you he will. You will never have him.”
What happened next was a blur for Elizabeth. As Lady Catherine had demanded, cried, screeched, threatened, and promised retribution, she waved her hands in the air with great frequency, and her cane, being held in her right hand, had waved along with it. But though the lady was as angry as Elizabeth had ever witnessed in another, she had never expected to be attacked with the instrument.
With a quick flick of her wrist, the cane lashed out, and Elizabeth was so surprised that she almost failed to react. But react she did, and she ducked under the cane, hearing it whistling through the air as it whipped through the place she had been standing only a moment before. Even then, so shocked was Elizabeth, that she almost did not respond in time to evade Lady Catherine’s second swing.
The red haze of fury settled over Elizabeth, and she quickly retreated out of range of that still brandished stick, glaring at the woman. “You are a madwoman, Lady Catherine, and I must insist that you leave immediately. You are no longer welcome at Longbourn.”
“I will stay as long as I must!” cried Lady Catherine, stepping forward with her cane held aloft again. “You will never be allowed to pollute the bloodline that my sister died giving birth to!”
Warily eying the enraged woman, Elizabeth retreated toward the house, Lady Catherine chasing her the entire way. There was no question of being able to outrun her—Elizabeth was well conditioned from walking daily, while the lady was unused to exercise of any sort which did not involve opening her mouth. It was the ground that eventually betrayed Elizabeth.
Her world tipping sideways as she trod on an uneven patch on the ground, Elizabeth lost her balance and stumbled to her knees. In a flash, Lady Catherine loomed over her with her cane poised to strike. Elizabeth raised her hand to protect herself.
The sight of Lady Catherine in Longbourn’s gardens provoked Darcy to action. Though Darcy had never actually even liked his aunt, he was better acquainted with her than most, and he had seen all the signs of her impending eruption of temper. Thus, when he had seen her and Miss Elizabeth speaking, his aunt waving her cane about like she was some sort of crusader, he rushed from the house, intent upon finally seeing leave to return to Rosings.
By the time he reached the garden, they were already on their way back toward the house, Miss Elizabeth leading and Lady Catherine following. When he saw Elizabeth stumble and fall to her knees and the sight of Lady Catherine approaching her with her cane upraised like a viper ready to strike, Darcy understood the true significance of the confrontation. Stepping forward, he caught Lady Catherine’s hand which held the cane in the middle of her downswing and quickly and efficiently divested her of the weapon, not pausing a moment before turning her roughly about to face him.
“Lady Catherine!” bellowed he. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Darcy!” exclaimed Lady Catherine, quailing before his obvious anger. But she could not be said to be slow of thought, for she instantly straightened and attempted to take control of the situation. “We must leave here at once, Darcy! This temptress has her sights set on your fortune and situation in society. We must leave before she manages to compromise you entirely!”
“Are you mad?” demanded Darcy. “How can you even think to accuse her of such a thing? She has never behaved with anything other than the utmost of decorum, while you screech like a fishwife and assault her like a common brawler.”
“My anger at her behavior has provoked me to this!” cried Lady Catherine. “Come, we must be away!”
“I will not! But you will depart within the hour! We can no longer force the Bennets to endure you.”
Lady Catherine drew herself up to her full height. “I will not leave without you. These Bennets have sunk their claws into you, muddling your mind, their sibilant whispers distracting you from your duty. You must leave!”
“Let me say this one more time, Lady Catherine,” said Darcy from between clenched teeth. “I will not go anywhere with you. This fantasy of yours has gone on long enough. I will not marry Anne. I never intended to marry Anne. There are no marriage articles, there is no formal agreement, and even if you lined up every one of my ancestors ten generations deep and every one of them demanded I obliged them, I would still refuse to marry her.”
“You insolent boy!” cried Lady Catherine. She lunged for her cane, but Darcy nimbly kept it out of her reach. “I am not leaving until you come to your senses!”
“Yes, you will, Lady Catherine.”
The loud voice startled them both, and they stepped away from each other, only to be confronted by Bennet. He had helped Miss Elizabeth to her feet, and he was now holding her in the protective circle of his arms. Miss Elizabeth herself was trembling a little, her eyes wide, but she quickly appeared to be regaining her composure. At the edge of the house behind them, they had gathered quite a crowd, with the youngest Bennets watching with wide open mouths, Mrs. Bennet with anger, and Fitzwilliam with utter rage.
“You will be gone from my house within the hour, Lady Catherine,” said Bennet. Any hint of the sometimes lackadaisical and sardonic man was gone in favor of a hardness Darcy had never seen in him before.
“I have never seen such a display of appalling manners before, madam,” continued Bennet. “You call yourself a lady, but you behave worse than the lowest scullery maid in all the kingdom. You forced yourself upon us, obliged us to endure your tantrums and pronouncements you decided in your infinite wisdom we required. But no more! You will leave my house and not return!”
“I am not leaving without Darcy!” insisted Lady Catherine.
“Yes, you will!” thundered Bennet. “If you do not leave voluntarily, I will personally drop your possessions in the gutter, and deposit you alongside them.”
“You would not dare!”
“If you think that, you do not know me. I will do anything to protect my daughters. Leave, Lady Catherine. Begone!”
For a moment, Darcy thought that she might continue to argue with him. It seemed, however, that she understood at last that he would not be moved. She turned at last and stalked back toward the house, screeching at the top of her lungs.
“I will return! I will see the earl! He will not stand for this!”
When she had gone, a silence settled over those who were left behind. Darcy was appalled by his aunt’s behavior and her attack on his beloved. He wondered if there was now any chance of obtaining her affections. If it was he in Bennet’s place, he would be tempted to order them all from his property, never to return.
Chapter XIV
“You have my apologies, Mr. Bennet, Miss Elizabeth,” said Mr. Darcy after his aunt had gone. “I am afraid that my aunt has always been difficult, but her actions today are unforgivable. I am heartily ashamed of her.”
“I believe I might have formed that impression, sir,” said Elizabeth’s father. “But I have also learned that she is impossible to control, and as such, I must absolve you of any blame.”
“But she has insulted and assaulted you most grievously, Miss Elizabeth,” countered he, looking directly at Elizabeth. “I would never wish for her to act in such a way, especially toward you, whose good opinion I value above all others.”
Elizabeth felt the heat coming over her cheeks at the raw emotion in his voice, and she glanced down, unable to meet his warm gaze. By her side, however, her father chuckled, and she shot a glance at him, annoyed that he was intruding in such an emotional moment. Unrepentant, Mr. Bennet winked at her.
“If you wish to assign blame, sir, then perhaps I should carry some of the weight of it. After all, it was I who agreed to allow your aunt to stay with us, thereby giving her this opportunity to meddle in our lives and make us all miserable.”
“She is akin to a force of nature, Mr. Bennet,” replied Mr. Darcy.
“If you both do not stop apologizing to each other, nothing shall ever be resolved,” said Elizabeth, looking on them
with exasperation.
Both men laughed. “I suppose we must bow to your daughter’s wisdom, Mr. Bennet,” said Mr. Darcy. “Otherwise, she will scold us for the rest of the day.”
“That is my Lizzy,” replied Mr. Bennet fondly.
“Now,” continued he, throwing a sly glance at each of them in turn, “I suspect that you have matters of which to speak which do not require an audience. Thus, I will make my way back to the house.” He turned a stern eye on Mr. Darcy, which was belied by his obvious amusement. “Do not stay out long, sir. You are still recovering.”
Then Mr. Bennet turned and began to walk to the house, shooing those who were still watching the scene back around the corner, amid shocked expressions from Mrs. Bennet and Mary, and a knowing smirk from the colonel. Before he departed himself, however, Mr. Bennet turned back to Mr. Darcy and directed a grin at him.
“I shall be in my study, Mr. Darcy, should you wish to speak with me after you and Elizabeth have had your conversation.”
Then with a wink, he departed. Elizabeth turned away, embarrassed by this display of teasing, but she caught a glimpse of Mr. Darcy’s rueful grin. Inside her chest, Elizabeth felt her heart beating once again. Surely her father was wrong! He could not possibly mean to carry things so far, so quickly. Did he?
“It seems your father has embarrassed you, Miss Elizabeth,” said Mr. Darcy.
“That is not unusual, sir,” replied Elizabeth, still refusing to look at him. “It seems like most of my family is continually embarrassing me, though my father does it with forethought, unlike any of the others.”
“I have found my cousin to be the same. Fitzwilliam counts it a great achievement if he is able to mortify me in company at least once a day.”
A giggle escaped Elizabeth’s mouth—she could not help but laugh at the image of the self-possessed Mr. Darcy blushing in front of a company of people.