Page 29 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)
Netherfield
In the first confused minutes of Lady Anne Darcy’s return, all was joyful chaos in the drawing room of Netherfield.
Georgiana, weeping with joy, clung to her mother’s arm as if she would never let it go.
Darcy, after his own fierce embrace, guided Lady Anne to the settee near the fire, urged her to sit, and turned to ask for tea, only to see Elizabeth standing at his side, her lovely face wreathed with smiles, holding a cup of tea for his mother.
“I believe you like it with milk and sugar, Lady Anne?” she asked, holding out the tea.
“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth,” Lady Anne returned, taking a grateful sip of tea. “I am rather thirsty.”
Darcy opened his mouth to explain that Elizabeth was now his wife, but his mother continued by saying, “Perhaps you can find some refreshment for Cecil?”
Darcy turned and stared in surprise at his younger cousin, who was standing, looking extremely anxious, just inside the door of the drawing room. A pretty young woman dressed as a nurse stood a little way behind him, and she also looked terrified .
“What are you doing here, Cecil?” he demanded angrily.
“Erm, that is,” Cecil answered, casting a beseeching look at Lady Anne.
“Calm yourself, Fitzwilliam,” Lady Anne directed. “I am most grateful to Cecil, and I know you will be as well. He agreed to assist me in fleeing the house where the earl was holding me. Young Deborah, who was serving as one of my nurses, also assisted in my escape.”
“Indeed, sir,” the nurse gasped. “I truly did not know that Lady Anne was abducted and being held against her will. I would have cut off my own right hand before I would do such a thing, I promise you, sir!”
“We are very grateful,” Elizabeth declared, bestowing a reassuring smile on the girl.
“Indeed we are,” Mrs. Hurst added, then said, “I will have one of the maids take you to the servant’s quarters, Deborah.”
“Allow me to show her the way,” Jane suggested. She had been largely in the background during the happy reunion, and wished to make herself useful in some way.
Cecil had, by this time, been guided to a chair near the fire and was now in the possession of a fine glass of brandy, which he gulped down with rather too much enthusiasm.
He was, he realized, not cut out for heroics.
The last few hours, he had been on constant tenterhooks, fearful that his father would ride up on a horse, drag him out of the carriage, and either shoot or beat him.
They had, at least, reached Netherfield, and Darcy was a great, tall gentleman whom it was unwise to cross. He felt safe now.
“Please,” Georgiana entreated, “please do tell us how you escaped! Did our uncle hurt you, Mother?”
“No, I was not harmed in the least,” her mother answered, patting her daughter reassuringly on the arm.
“He tried to sedate me with laudanum, and I found it necessary to drink a little lemonade laced with the drug, but most of the time I was able to dispose of the liquid in other ways while my nurses were busy elsewhere.”
Cecil, who was now on his second cup of brandy, was feeling more relaxed now.
“You did a marvelous job of fooling us all, Lady Anne,” he said, then cringed as Darcy took a few steps to loom over him.
“I am, of course, most grateful that you chose the right course now,” Darcy said grimly, “but it would have been far better if you had refused to participate in your father’s vile plan from the beginning!”
Cecil ducked his head in embarrassment and was relieved when Lady Anne, who had suffered greatly at the earl’s hand, immediately spoke up to defend him .
“Now Son, I do beg of you to be kind to your cousin. You know the difficulty associated with having an angry and overbearing father. Cecil genuinely believed I was insane and needed to be medicated for my own safety. His father insisted that he marry Georgiana and threatened to cut him off financially if he did not. Cecil has no desire to marry my daughter, and once I made it exquisitely clear that you and Richard would never permit it and that I would pay him a substantial sum if he helped me, he was most obliging.”
“How much money?” Darcy demanded with a frown.
“Three thousand pounds,” his mother said calmly.
Cecil waited nervously and then relaxed as Darcy smiled. “You are worth ten times that, Mother, though…” and here he turned around and bent a reproving glare on his cousin, “do not dream of demanding thirty thousand pounds. But yes, you will be well rewarded for this good deed.”
Cecil blew out a breath of relief just as the door to the drawing room opened and Colonel Fitzwilliam entered, his face alight with joy.
“Lady Anne, the butler told me that you had returned! Praise the Lord that you are safe and with us again. Cecil?! ”
Cecil Fitzwilliam rose and said awkwardly, “Richard, it is good to see you.”
“Why are you here?” Richard demanded.
“Cecil helped me escape this morning,” Lady Anne explained. “I am most grateful to him.”
Richard stared at his younger brother in surprise and then grinned. “I thank you, Cecil, from the bottom of my heart. My father’s abduction of his own sister is entirely repugnant.”
“It was,” Cecil agreed, and then his face twisted as he said, “I should have said no from the beginning, but Father frightens me sometimes, if the truth be told.”
“We understand completely,” Lady Anne declared.
“He has always been a selfish man and, thanks to his high rank, considers that the world owes him whatever he wishes. Given his latest outrage in kidnapping me from this very place, you had every reason to fear his vengeance if you crossed him. Now, however, I beg you to trust Darcy and the colonel to protect you from your father. It is a regrettable thing, but the earl and Lady Catherine de Bourgh are both autocratic, domineering individuals, as was my late husband.”
“Speaking of Lady Catherine,” Richard said, nodding with thanks as Bingley handed him a glass of brandy, “she will doubtless be here shortly. Mr. Bennet had her physically escorted out of Longbourn by his servants, with Mr. Collins trailing miserably behind her.”
“My sister is here in Hertfordshire?” Lady Anne asked in surprise. “Why on earth?”
“She discovered my presence here at Netherfield and dragged Cousin Anne here with the intention of convincing me to marry her on the spot. She even brought a special license,” Darcy said, and then laughed aloud, which caused his mother to tilt her head curiously.
“I am not surprised that my sister came here with that intent, but I fail to grasp why it is amusing.”
Darcy took a deep breath and held out his hand to Elizabeth, who stepped forward and took her place next to him. “By the time she arrived a few hours ago, I was already married. Elizabeth and I wed this morning.”
Lady Anne’s eyes widened in amazement, but she was on her feet within seconds, rushing forward to embrace her new daughter. “Oh, Mrs. Darcy – I may call you Elizabeth now, I hope? Oh, I am so very happy for you both. You are the perfect wife for my son!”
Elizabeth blushed at this warm welcome and said, “Thank you, Lady Anne. I am most grateful you are pleased and, I confess, a little surprised. You do not know me well. ”
“I know you are intelligent, quick witted, kindhearted, and quite unlike the ladies of the haut ton. I am not denigrating the women who occupy high society in London, but I have known for many years that Darcy would not do well with any of them. He needs a woman who loves the country and will be a good mistress of Pemberley. I have no doubt you will do very well.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth answered, just as an increasingly familiar, unwelcome voice cried out from the outside corridor. “Anne! Anne! Where are you?”
“There is Lady Catherine,” Richard said, “here as expected.”
“Do you wish to leave through the servant’s door, Mother?” Darcy asked. “You have had a difficult few days, and you are certainly not required to speak to your domineering sister.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Anne answered calmly. “I am not at all afraid of my sister’s speech or actions. Georgiana, I do request that you and Mrs. Younge leave. There may be words spoken which will be overly distressing to you.”
“May I join you, Miss Darcy?” Jane asked timidly. “I do not like loud voices and arguments.”
“Do go, Jane,” Elizabeth urged, walking over to give her elder sister a quick kiss. Jane nodded and hastily scurried toward the side door with Georgiana and Mrs. Younge at her heels .
“Do you wish to leave as well, Elizabeth?” Darcy asked. “I have no doubt that my aunt will be abusive to you.”
Elizabeth’s eyes flashed with determination. “I will stay with you. Indeed, my courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”
“Definitely an excellent wife for my son,” Lady Anne murmured, just as the main door to the drawing room opened.
/
Library
Longbourn
Hubert, son of Prince André, was a paltry fellow, in spite of his exotic hairstyle, robes of rich purple brocade, and fingers sporting numerous rings, all sparkling with gems. He was short and plump, with narrow lips and protuberant blue eyes.
Samuel, the shepherd, looked upon the man with utter disdain. This man’s father had kidnapped the Princess Zestra and was attempting to force the young girl to marry her cousin. Hubert was utterly repugnant .
“Where is the Princess Zestra?” Samuel growled, advancing on the man in a thoroughly menacing fashion.
“I will not tell you,” Hubert shrieked. “You would not dare to touch me, Peasant! I will have your…”
“Father?”
Mr. Bennet looked up in irritation, but his exasperation quickly melted away at the sight of his daughter, Kitty, whose expression was full of confusion and fear. He carefully put his papers in the appropriate drawer of his desk and gestured for her to come closer. “What is it, my dear?”
“Papa, Mary told us that Elizabeth is married! That cannot be true, can it? But why would Mary say it? Is it to make Mama feel better? That is what Lydia said…”
Mr. Bennet actually groaned aloud. With Elizabeth’s wedding this morning, and Lady Catherine’s appearance, and Mrs. Bennet’s joys and fears, he had completely forgotten that no one had told his youngest two daughters the truth!
“Kitty, fetch Lydia, and you might as well have Mary come too. There is indeed wonderful news for you all.”
/
Drawing Room
Netherfield
“Darcy!” Lady Catherine said, her eyes focused not on her daughter, but on her sister. “What is your mother doing in the drawing room? She ought to be secluded in her bedchamber. It is unwise to permit a mad person to wander freely!”
“Catherine!” Lady Anne snapped, rising to her feet and glowering into her older sister’s face. “I am not, and never have been, insane. Both my husband and Matlock lied about that!”
Lady Catherine’s eyes narrowed, and she said, “If you are not mad, why did you permit this travesty to occur? What were you thinking, to permit your son to go through an illegal wedding ceremony with the second daughter of a mere country gentleman?”
“The ceremony was entirely legal, Lady Catherine,” Darcy said coldly, clutching Elizabeth’s hand in his own. He needed her warm companionship to help him stay calm in the presence of his thoroughly irritating aunt .
“Anne, you know that you and I spoke of Darcy and my daughter marrying when they were yet in their cradles. They are engaged!”
“They are not,” Lady Anne said coolly. “I suppose we talked vaguely of it when the children were young, but I promise you that after the abuse I suffered at my own husband’s hands, I realized that Anne was the last woman that Darcy should marry.
Not that I dislike Anne; she is a sweet girl whom I pity for having you as a mother.
But I dislike you exceedingly, and I have no desire to tie our families together more than they are! ”
Lady Catherine looked as if she had been slapped.
She stared at her sister as if she had never seen her before, then her gaze shifted to all the others at the room.
None looked welcoming, or even neutral. There was, she realized with an odd fillip in her heart, a great deal of anger on the faces of those around her.
Catherine de Bourgh straightened her back and said, with as much dignity as she could muster, “Very well, I can see that I am not welcome here. Tell Anne to join me in the carriage out front immediately!”
Anne stepped into the room through a side door, her tall, handsome, strong husband at her side.
“I am not returning to Rosings with you, Mother,” she said in a clear voice.