Page 24 of Elizabeth is not a Bennet

The older woman straightened her back more and said, “Is that any way to speak to me, one of your nearest relations?”

Darcy’s lips thinned, and he turned toward his host. “Bingley, would you be so kind as to allow my aunt and me to speak in private?”

“Of course! Louisa, Caroline, shall we? Shall I send in tea?”

“You shall, immediately!” Lady Catherine said huffily. “I suppose I should not expect much from a son of a mere tradesman, but…”

“We require no refreshment,” Darcy declared in a raised voice. “Thank you, Bingley.”

His friend and sisters departed, pulling the door behind them, and Darcy swung around to glare at his aunt. “Lady Catherine, how dare you march in here and insult my friends?”

“I will do as I like, Darcy, and indeed, I have no doubt that this ridiculous situation is due to your bizarre penchant for spending time with the lower classes.”

Darcy forced himself to breathe in and out three times and then gestured at the chair which his aunt had just vacated. “Please sit down, Aunt, and you can tell me why you are here.”

She did sit down, and Darcy took his own place across from her.

“Why are you here?” he repeated.

Lady Catherine hesitated for a moment and then lifted her chin. “I am here to keep you from making the greatest mistake of your life. I have been informed by Mr. Collins, cousin to Mr. Bennet of Longbourn, who is also the parson at Hunsford, that you are pursuing a cousin of the Bennets by the name of Miss Elizabeth Stowe. I am not surprised at the young woman, I suppose; she is, as a poor relative of the Bennets, no doubt eager to escape such a life of penury, but for you to fall into the trap of a girl whom I understand to have red hair is beyond belief. What do you have to say for yourself, Darcy?”

Darcy stared at his mother’s sister incredulously. How had Mr. Collins learned of his interest in Miss Stowe? Had Mr. Bennet spoken carelessly, perhaps?

“What makes you think that I am pursuing Miss Stowe?” he demanded.

“Come now, Darcy. A gentleman does not carry a woman in his arms unless he is pursuing her; indeed, given that you did exactly that, I am surprised this Bennet has not claimed that you compromised her! ”

“I carried her after she had been shot, Aunt! Shot! There was no thought of romance involved. I was sweeping her away to keep her safe from another attack!”

Lady Catherine snorted inelegantly. “Mr. Collins wrote something of the sort, that the girl had been fired upon by an assassin, but that is utterly ridiculous and fantastical.”

“It is certainly fantastical, but it happened,” Darcy said grimly. “Miss Stowe is to inherit an estate in Scotland next year, and the next heir in the succession does not wish for her to survive to her majority. Now Aunt, I am sorry that you rushed here for no reason, but you must begin your journey back to London if you are to reach it by nightfall.”

“Journey to London? Nonsense, I am going to Longbourn to speak to this Miss Stowe, and then I will spend the night here.”

“After you insulted my friend and his sisters?” Darcy demanded angrily. “I think not. If you insist on staying in the area, you can rent a room at the Pig in the Poke in Meryton.”

“Stay in a plebeian inn? Absurd!”

“Your trip here is absurd, and you are absurd for having made it,” Darcy said forcefully, rising to his feet. “Moreover, it is senseless to travel to Longbourn, because Miss Stowe departed for London a few days ago.”

Lady Catherine squinted at him suspiciously. “Did she?”

“She did. Her uncle, concerned about her safety, arranged for her to live retired until the danger of further attacks is over. She went with her cousin as a companion.”

“Do you intend to go to London soon?” his aunt demanded, rising to her feet.

“No. I will be traveling to Pemberley in early December and will spend the Christmas season with Georgiana.”

His aunt relaxed noticeably and said, “You should be safe enough from predatory females there. But Darcy, Anne is not growing any younger, you know; it is time for you to wed her.”

Darcy started to nod, but then he stopped and changed it to a shake of the head. “Lady Catherine, I will not be marrying Anne.”

Now the lady’s face grew purple with outrage. “What did you say?”

“I said… ”

The ensuing discussion was noisy and unpleasant, and it ended with Darcy forcibly guiding his aunt out of the drawing room and into the front hall, and from there to the vestibule, and from there down the steps to her carriage, which was waiting. Darcy gave orders for the horses, which had been standing too long, to be walked to Meryton and changed out at the blacksmith’s, and then watched as his thoroughly irritating relation disappeared into the distance.

When he climbed the stairs and entered the great wooden door again, he found Bingley waiting for him, an expression of confused dismay on his face.

“Darcy, what was that all about?” he demanded.

“Shall we?” Darcy suggested, gesturing toward the drawing room.

Bingley nodded and guided his friend within, where Miss Bingley and the Hursts were sitting by the fire. Miss Bingley was whispering to her sister but broke off as Darcy entered.

“Mr. Darcy,” she fluttered, “Where is your esteemed aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh?”

“She is returning to London,” Darcy said shortly, walking up to the fire and warming his chilled hands.

“Oh dear! I hope that Lady Catherine is not upset with her reception here at Netherfield. ”

He turned on his hostess in amazement; was it possible that Miss Bingley was being sarcastic? But no, she was not.

“Given that my aunt called uninvited and proceeded to insult you, I do not think you need to be concerned about her feelings,” Darcy said.

“Oh, but I am certain … such a fine lady, the daughter of an earl, and your aunt! I did not mean to make her feel unwelcome,” Caroline Bingley declared.

Darcy took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and said, “I did mean to make her feel unwelcome, and that is on my shoulders, not yours. She was rude and overbearing, and her position in society is no excuse for such behavior.”

This provoked obvious astonishment from the ladies, and Bingley said, “But what was she so upset about?”

Darcy hesitated and then said, “She wishes for me to wed her daughter, Anne de Bourgh, and is impatient that I have not yet formally asked for my cousin’s hand in marriage. Today, for the first time, I told her directly that I would not be marrying my cousin, and she was … upset.”

Miss Bingley, who had obviously been distressed, now smiled, showing even white teeth. “Poor Lady Catherine! But really, while you naturally esteem your aunt, she has no right to tell you whom to marry. That is the purview of the gentleman, is it not, to decide whom to wed?”

“Indeed it is,” Darcy agreed with a courteous nod. Inwardly, he knew it was not that simple, of course. He desired to make Miss Stowe his wife, but he would need to win her agreement to the match. Most of the women he knew, including his Miss Bingley, would not wait even a second before accepting his offer. Miss Stowe, he was confident, would marry him only if she thought they would be happy together, which in itself was remarkable and encouraging. That was what he wanted, a marriage of true love and devotion and, yes, friendship.

He would leave soon for Pemberley. He could not bear to wait much longer to see Miss Stowe.

/

Drawing Room

Longbourn

A Few Days Late r

The drawing room at Longbourn was peaceful, in spite of the presence of the younger members of the family. Kitty was at the table beneath the window, bent over her sketchpad, while Jane sewed serenely in a chair set to catch the patch of sunlight in the middle of the floor. Lydia draped indolently along the couch with a novel from the library, fidgeting absently with a lock of hair as she read, with Mrs. Bennet dozing beside her.

The opening of the door startled all of the women. Mr. Stanley stepped in to announce Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy before retreating, leaving the room in a flurry of motion. Jane gave Mr. Bingley a warm smile as he took the loveseat near her, and Mrs. Bennet hastened to ring for tea. Darcy stood by politely until she had settled back on the couch, surreptitiously and swiftly scanning the room and ascertaining, with relief, that his aunt’s tiresome parson was not present. Only once the lady of the house was again seated did he at last take a chair, not too near any one individual.

“Mrs. Bennet, Misses Bennet,” Darcy said, “I called to take my leave of you, as I will be returning to Derbyshire on the morrow.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, “well, it has been an honor to meet you. I hope you have a good journey north.”

“Thank you. ”

“I suppose you are excited about seeing your sister,” Lydia said, and Darcy nodded and said, “Indeed I am. I miss her very much.”

“How old is Miss Darcy?” Kitty asked curiously.

“She will be sixteen soon.”

“Oh, she is Lydia’s age, then! She is a good deal younger than you are, sir,” Mrs. Bennet declared.

“Yes, she is,” Darcy agreed. “Is Mr. Bennet available? I would like to bid farewell to him as well.”

“Of course!” the lady replied. “He is in his library. Kitty, dear, pray escort Mr. Darcy to the library.”

The third Miss Bennet did so, and within two minutes, Darcy found himself on a chair by the library fireplace, sipping some truly excellent Madeira.

“I will be journeying north tomorrow, Mr. Bennet,” he said quietly, “and would be glad to carry any letters directly to your niece and daughter.”

Bennet grimaced and said, “That is very kind, Mr. Darcy, and I should. I will confess to being lackadaisical where correspondence is concerned, and with the added complication of keeping Elizabeth’s location secret, I have not written … but come, choose a book to read, and I will scratch out a quick note. ”

Darcy accepted this invitation with alacrity and spent a happy few minutes reading an odd book about sheep raising and shearing. He then accepted a sealed note from Mr. Bennet, bid his farewells, and went to collect Bingley from the drawing room.

He could hardly wait for the next days to pass, when he would see Elizabeth once again.