Page 40 of Heiress of Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variations)

Georgiana eagerly followed her companion out of the room and waited until Miss Bennet had exited as well before shutting the door.

She strode away from the sitting room in a way which was more escape than walk, and she was a trifle surprised to observe that Miss Bennet, who was shorter by several inches, kept pace with ease.

She was even more surprised to witness a slight smile on Miss Bennet’s face, as if she was amused by Lady Catherine’s histrionics.

Georgiana was relieved by this, and she was even more relieved when the three found themselves in her own dressing room where, presumably, Lady Catherine would not hunt them down to yell more.

“I will order tea,” Mrs. Annesley said kindly, stepping out of the room and pushing the door shut.

Miss Bennet took a few steps inside the room, looked around, and said, “This is very charming, Miss Darcy. You have excellent taste.”

“Thank you very much,” Georgiana replied and, after a moment of consideration, continued, “I hope that you do not think that my brother is engaged to my cousin Anne. It was some silly idea that my aunt concocted some years ago because she wishes for Pemberley and Rosings to be united in marriage.”

“I know your aunt is not being truthful,” her companion said. “Fitzwilliam is far too honorable a man to enter an engagement with one woman while morally or legally tied to another.”

It took her a few seconds to understand Miss Bennet’s meaning, and then, suddenly, she did understand, and her spirits leaped skyward as if pulled up by a kite.

“You are engaged?!” she demanded.

“We are,” Elizabeth replied joyfully.

“Oh, Miss Bennet, I am so very, very happy! You and Fitzwilliam are perfect together!”

“I agree that we are, and I am delighted as well. But you must call me Elizabeth, please.”

“And you must call me Georgiana!”

The door opened to reveal the returning Mrs. Annesley, and Georgiana turned toward her companion and exclaimed, “Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam are engaged!”

***

East Sitting Room

“Tell me, once and for all, are you engaged to Miss Bennet?” Lady Catherine demanded, her dark eyes flashing fire.

Darcy straightened himself a trifle more and took a step closer to his fulminating relative. “I am.”

This provoked a genuine screech from the lady’s now wide open mouth, and he withdrew a few steps, not out of intimidation, but because she was rather noisier than he preferred.

“You cannot be!” Lady Catherine finally gasped. “You cannot! You are engaged to Anne…”

“Lady Catherine,” Darcy said. “I am master of Pemberley and my own life and have no obligation to Anne. Moreover, not only am I convinced that Anne and I are not compatible, I would never marry a sickly woman given that my wife will, I hope, produce an heir to Pemberley, and Anne may well not be able to successfully bear a child.”

“How dare you speak of such things?” his aunt cried out.

“How dare you arrive without warning and lambast me for a decision which is entirely my own? How did you learn of my courtship of Miss Bennet, anyway?”

Lady Catherine stared at him with her jaw set, then turned to gaze at the fire for a full minute before turning back.

“Lady Ladson sent me an express warning me that you were on the verge of offering for a country gentleman’s daughter whose sister is merely a parson’s wife.”

“Lady Ladson,” Darcy said drily. “I see.”

Lady Catherine scowled at him for a long minute and then, when he remained plainly unimpressed, produced an obviously artificial smile.

“My dear nephew,” she said in a saccharine tone. “I do beg you to reflect further on this. You are master of Pemberley, and there is far more at stake than your own desires and happiness. Think of Georgiana!”

“I have thought a great deal about every aspect of my choice of wife,” Darcy declared. “Georgiana likes Elizabeth very much, and...”

“But what of my niece’s launch into society?” Lady Catherine demanded. “Miss Bennet does not have the connections to assist dear Georgiana in the way she requires.”

“Are you suggesting that if I had decided to marry Anne, she would have assisted Georgiana in such a way? That seems unlikely, given that Anne’s health is sufficiently poor that she has never been presented at court.”

“ I will assist Georgiana,” Lady Catherine declared. “Indeed, it would be better for me to do it than anyone else. My unfortunate niece lost her mother far too young, and it is my duty to act as a mother figure during such a vital time in her life.”

Darcy knew well that Lady Catherine was not a good mother to her own child, much less to Georgiana, who was genuinely afraid of her. There was no point in saying such a thing, of course, as Lady Catherine heard only what she wished to hear.

“Aunt,” he said, “I have already offered for Elizabeth and been accepted. This argument is therefore pointless, as a gentleman does not break an engagement.”

“Nonsense, Darcy. Miss Bennet is not worthy of such a sacrifice on your part. You can pay her a small sum and…”

“That is enough,” Darcy thundered, which provoked a genuine look of shock, accompanied by a tinge of fear, on the lady’s face.

“That is enough,” he repeated at a lower volume, though he kept his face contorted in a forbidding scowl. “This is a senseless conversation, Lady Catherine, and an annoying one as well. If you wish to spend the night here, I must request that you cease speaking of the matter. Otherwise, there is a very pleasant inn in Lambton where you may stay the night.”

“You cannot be serious!” Lady Catherine exclaimed. “A mere inn? For one of your nearest relations? You will not insult me in such a way.”

“I have no desire to insult you, but nor will I permit you to spew your poison in my house. Miss Bennet will soon be Mrs. Darcy, and if you treat her with anything less than the fullest respect, I will throw you from the mansion. I suggest you do not test me in this, Aunt!”

Lady Catherine opened her mouth and then closed it again, and pondered, and finally said stiffly, “Very well, Darcy. I will keep silent, but I assure you this is not over. I will speak to my brother the earl if I must!”

“As much as I respect my Uncle Matlock, he has no more authority over me than you do. I daresay you are too obstinate to accept reality, but I will say this clearly. Even if Miss Bennet had never come into my life, I would not have married your daughter. Anne and I are too alike in temperament to be good partners in marriage, and she will never be mistress of Pemberley.”

Based on the slightly bugging eyes of Lady Catherine, Darcy rather thought she wished to scream. Fortunately, she managed to restrain herself. He did not truly wish to cast her out of the house, but he would if it was required.

He would not permit anyone to persecute his dear Elizabeth.

***

The Library

Pemberley

An Hour Later

“Here is the library, Miss,” the maid said, and Elizabeth said, “Thank you. I would have been entirely lost without your assistance.”

“It is a pleasure, Miss,” the girl replied and retreated while Elizabeth reached forward to open the door.

It swung open soundlessly. Elizabeth stepped into the library and found her eyes fixed not on the regal shelves, with their rows and rows of leather-clad tomes, but instead on her dear Fitzwilliam. Her heart leapt at the sight of his face, and she smiled at him as he rose from a desk tucked in the corner of the room, where it appeared he had been writing a document of some sort.

“My dear,” he said, and her heart swelled at the love on his face and the adoration in his voice. “I hope that you were not too distressed by my aunt’s bombastic words?”

They were close enough to touch now, and she lifted her ungloved hands to take his fingers in her own.

“I will confess that I was entirely amused,” she replied, her lips quirking upwards. “She seems a ridiculous creature with a far too high an opinion of her importance in the world. In fact, I am pleased I was able to avoid laughing at her outrageous performance, but it would not have been uncalled for.”

He heaved out a sigh, as if relieved, and said, “She and her behavior are all those things, but many people find her terrifying. I am glad you were not at all affected by her unexpected eruption into our affairs.”

“She is not my aunt,” Elizabeth replied simply, “and I am well aware that her claims regarding Miss de Bourgh are absurd. I will say that Miss … that Georgiana was quite dismayed, but then she is far shyer and more reserved than I am.”

“We both are,” he confessed. “I hide my discomfort behind a crusty exterior, for I often do not know how to interact with those around me. I do not have the talent which some people possess of conversing easily with new acquaintances. I cannot catch their tone of conversation or appear interested in their concerns, as I have often seen done. I am convinced that my friend, Bingley, for example, could hold a jovial discussion with a fence post.”

Elizabeth thought that her new fiancé, while a most excellent creature, had not really applied himself to such tasks, but she merely said, “There is not much use for conversing with fence posts, but I daresay we can work together on being at ease talking with unknown people, my dear Fitzwilliam. But come, I need to return to the parsonage shortly, and we have not had a chance to discuss when we will marry, and my father’s blessing, and the like.”

He pulled her closer and planted a quick kiss on her rosy lips before reluctantly releasing her. “We do need to speak of such matters, but given the lateness of the hour, and my aunt’s irritating presence here, I think it would be best if I called on you at the parsonage tomorrow so we can discuss our the particulars of our wedding at our leisure. Would that be agreeable, my dear?”

“Very much so.”

***

Dining Room

Parsonage

A Few Hours Later

The small dining room was filled with the smells of the dinner sitting on the table. Alexander carved from the roast chicken to serve first his wife, then his sister-in-law. Elizabeth thanked him as he laid the meat on her plate, her heart singing with joy. It was a beautiful evening, here with Lydia and Alexander, sharing a neat dinner in the cozy dining room, which had never seemed so charming before. Elizabeth took a couple of rolls and some potatoes and a few carrots and beamed down at her dinner, quite unable to wipe away her smile even if she had wished to.

Lydia finished chewing a bite of roll and then said, “I am thrilled for you, Lizzy. I believe you and Mr. Darcy will do very well together.”

“I think so as well,” Elizabeth agreed, “and Miss Darcy, who has asked me to call her Georgiana, is also enthusiastic about the engagement. Their aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is absolutely outraged, but that is not my problem, and I do not care except inasmuch as she is causing trouble for the Darcys.”

“Lady Catherine has a long and illustrious history of causing trouble,” Alexander said drily, which provoked both of his womenfolk to turn surprised looks on him.

“You know Lady Catherine?” Lydia demanded.

“I know of her. She certainly would not demean herself by talking to the son of a mere steward. But yes, she did visit Pemberley at least twice when I was a child, and considering the comments of the servants and my father, she was a tiresome creature who seemed to think that the entire solar system revolved around her instead of the sun.”

“That seems accurate based on my short interaction with her,” Elizabeth agreed as she forked a bite of truly scrumptious potatoes into her mouth. “What excellent boiled potatoes these are.”

Alexander said, “Thank you. Yes, they are quite good.”

“Will she succeed in preventing your marriage?” Lydia asked worriedly, taking another bread roll from a nearby plate.

“She will not,” her sister declared. “Fitzwilliam has assured me that nothing will sway him from wedding me, and Lady Catherine has no power at all. I find her attitude comical more than anything else. But then, as we all know, I dearly love to laugh. In any case, I do not think she will stay at Pemberley long, as Fitzwilliam has threatened to throw her out if she speaks against our marriage, and I doubt she has the discipline to stay silent in her outrage. She may try to recruit her brother, the Earl of Matlock, to interfere, but that also will be pointless effort on her part.”

“When do you think you will marry Mr. Darcy?” Alexander inquired.

“As soon as possible,” his sister-in-law replied promptly, “which is to say, Father must be consulted, and the marriage settlements arranged, and a license purchased. But it will not be long.”

“I am glad, Lizzy,” Lydia said.

“I am as well.”