Page 22 of I am Jael (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

“Good night, Georgiana. Good night, Darcy.”

“Good night,” Georgie said, smiling up at her tall cousin. “I’m thankful you accompanied us here to Rosings.”

“I am grateful as well,” Darcy stated with a smile.

The Colonel chuckled, “I admit that I have faced French muskets with less trepidation than Lady Catherine tonight at dinner.”

“All in all, it went well enough,” Darcy commented.

“Yes,” the Colonel agreed. “Sleep well, both of you. And Darcy, congratulations again. Miss Bennet is a wonderful woman.”

“Thank you, Richard.”

The Colonel waited for both Darcys to enter their rooms, then proceeded to the end of the corridor and turned right, where his bedroom and sitting room were located.

The evening had been uncomfortable, but as Darcy said, it could have been much worse.

After Lady Catherine’s hysteria in the morning following the announcement of Darcy’s engagement, all three cousins had been uneasy about dinner.

To their relief, their aunt had made no mention at all of the betrothal, instead choosing to keep up a flow of relentless conversation about various and sundry topics.

Anne had not appeared at dinner as she was suffering from a headache, and Mrs. Jenkinson was also absent ministering to her charge.

“Fitzwilliam!”

The Colonel started slightly and turned in surprise as his aunt rose to her feet from a chair located in a small alcove across from his bedroom.

He sighed, “Yes, Aunt?”

“I require a few minutes of your time,” the woman stated imperiously, stepping forward and opening the door into the Colonel’s sitting room.

For a moment, Richard considered refusing to talk to his aunt. It was late and had been a thoroughly exhausting day. Another moment brought more rational thoughts. There was no point in denying the woman, who would only grow more angry if forced to wait.

He therefore followed Lady Catherine into the room, sat down on a chair across from her, crossed his legs and waited.

There was a long moment as aunt and nephew regarded one another. Lady Catherine was slightly flushed while the Colonel attempted to keep his face impassive.

“Naturally,” Lady Catherine said finally, “I wish to speak to you of this matter of Darcy’s supposed engagement.”

Fitzwilliam sighed, “It is not a supposed engagement, but a real one, Aunt.”

The lady’s eyes flashed but she waved a hand, “We need not argue about that at this juncture, nephew. I understand you have known Miss Bennet for some time, is that correct?”

The Colonel frowned warily, “Yes, we were introduced some months ago when Georgiana and I joined Darcy at his friend’s estate of Netherfield.”

“And what is your opinion of the young lady?”

“She is a delightful young woman, Aunt Catherine. She is intelligent, witty, graceful, and has charming manners. Darcy is privileged to win her hand in marriage.”

His aunt grimaced but forged on determinedly, “So you admire her?”

“I admire her, yes. She is both lovely and lively. She will be a devoted wife and an excellent mistress of Pemberley.”

Catherine de Bourgh leaned forward now, her face intent, “No, she will not, because she will not marry Darcy. She will marry you.”

The Colonel stared at the woman in disbelief, “I most certainly will not marry Miss Bennet. She is engaged to Darcy.”

The woman rose to her feet and strode rapidly to the door, then back again, as if she needed the movement to vent her ire, “No, Richard. She is not. Darcy is engaged to my daughter and has been since Anne was in her cradle. This absurd situation cannot be allowed to continue. However, I understand that now that Darcy has offered, Miss Bennet could cause significant damage to our reputation if she so wishes. But you are unattached and even better connected than Darcy. Thus, you will arrange with Darcy that you will marry the girl and I, in return, will pay you 10,000 pounds now and another thousand pounds each year for the next ten years. By then, you should be …”

Colonel Fitzwilliam stood up abruptly, causing his aunt to halt her impetuous speech, “This is absurd! Darcy and Miss Bennet love one another! Nor am I interested in marrying Miss Bennet, much as I admire her character and person.”

“Love,” his aunt snorted indignantly. “Love is fragile and fleeting, Richard. Nor do I believe Miss Bennet truly loves Darcy; she merely wishes for his wealth and social rank. I have no doubt she will gladly exchange Darcy for you so long as you are wealthy enough to support her habits.”

The Colonel stared at her incredulously as a new thought formed in his brain.

“Aunt Catherine?”

“Yes, Richard?”

“Why do you not wish for me to marry Anne?”

“You? Don’t be absurd!”

Richard was aware of a stab of resentment and took a deep breath to control his indignation, “Why not? I am, as you said, a son of an earl, not merely a nephew of an earl.”

“A younger son. You will neither inherit the Matlock title nor the estate.”

“So you wish for a rich husband for Anne? Why? She is already the heiress to Rosings. For that matter, if a younger son will not do, why did you not consider my elder brother Benjamin? He will succeed to the earldom and inherit considerable wealth when my father passes to his reward.”

Lady Catherine gazed up into his face for a long moment and shook her head, “Benjamin has been an unreliable rapscallion since he was a child. I like him well enough, but he is not as … as steady as Darcy.”

Richard nodded slowly, “That is true. Nonetheless, Anne is a great heiress and many good men would be interested in her …”

“No!” his aunt interrupted angrily. “No, Richard, that must be avoided at all costs. Anne is fragile, with ill health. She is also, as you say, a great heiress. She would be the target of every fortune hunter in town. No, she needs to marry Darcy. They have similar temperaments — both are quiet and solemn individuals. He will take care of her as she needs care. Furthermore, her poor health means that her husband will need great skill in administering Rosings, and Darcy has done wonders with Pemberley. He must marry Anne.”

Richard considered his aunt with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief, “He will not marry Anne, Aunt. He will marry Miss Bennet, and there is nothing you can do to stop that.”

The woman’s expression shifted from desperate to furious in a moment, “We will see about that, nephew. I had hoped to find you reasonable, but I assure you that I will prevail in breaking up this shameful and ignominious engagement!”

Colonel Fitzwilliam sighed deeply. He longed for bed, but clearly he needed to alert his cousins that his aunt was not giving up the fight.

/

“Poor Anne,” Darcy said softly.

“I feel terribly for her,” Georgiana replied, laying a hand on her brother’s arm. “I had no idea how domineering our aunt can be.”

Darcy grimaced, “I have known our aunt’s character for many years, but I fear I did not realize how much Anne was suffering.”

“She said that she would have married you against her own will, Brother. That is not right!”

“To give Aunt Catherine her due,” Richard murmured moodily, “she genuinely is concerned for Anne’s well-being. She had some fine things to say about you, Darcy. She thinks that you would treat Anne well, and indeed you would.”

Darcy strode up to the fire and kicked a log, causing a shower of sparks to briefly brighten the room.

“I appreciate my aunt’s kind words about my character, but she is entirely incorrect that Anne and I would deal well. We are both overly serious, solemn people. I delight in Miss Bennet’s enthusiasm and joy in life. Anne would do better with a livelier partner as well.”

“What are we to do, Darcy?” Richard asked worriedly. “I do not feel at ease about Aunt Catherine’s determination to cause trouble.”

“What could she do?” Georgiana inquired practically.

“At the very least, she could pressure Mr. Collins to make things uncomfortable for Miss Bennet,” Darcy murmured with concern.

“Would he do that?” Georgie asked. “He is Miss Bennet’s cousin, is he not?”

Her brother and cousin groaned simultaneously and Richard sat down next to his cousin, “My dear Georgie, Aunt Catherine delights in surrounding herself with sniveling toadies and Mr. Collins is the perfect example of that breed of man. He takes every word of our aunt’s as gospel truth and worships the ground on which she walks. ”

“In addition,” Darcy added, “Mr. Collins proposed marriage to Miss Bennet some months ago and was refused, so he may well be especially indignant over her acceptance of my hand.”

Both his relatives stared at him with unalloyed disbelief.

“Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth?” Georgie demanded.

“Indeed, and she refused him. Within days, he proposed to the present Mrs. Collins, formerly Miss Charlotte Lucas.”

“Only a fool would think that Miss Bennet would be the appropriate parson’s wife for the Hunsford living,” Richard said irritably. “Miss Bennet would be most unhappy with our aunt’s constant interference.”

“I fear Mr. Collins is not a sensible man,” Darcy agreed, his brow furrowed. “I was intending to leave for Longbourn the day after tomorrow to ask Miss Bennet’s father for his permission. Perhaps I had better take Miss Bennet with me as she may well not be comfortable at the parsonage.”

“That would be wise,” Richard said with relief. “I can stay here with Georgiana and run interference for you. Once you and Miss Bennet marry, Lady Catherine will be forced to submit to the inevitable.”

“But what about Anne?” Georgiana cried out indignantly.

Her brother looked confused, “I thought she did not wish to marry me?”

“No, she does not. But her situation here is untenable, can you not see that? Our aunt is domineering and poor Anne is entirely under her thumb. We need to do something for her!”

“She is of age, Georgiana. She need not ask for permission to leave Rosings,” her brother pointed out. “She is also a wealthy woman and would be welcome both at Darcy House or the Matlock home in London.”

Georgiana tilted her head and gazed at her brother with exasperation, “How would she do that? As Richard said, our aunt surrounds herself with those who obey her without question. If Anne ordered the carriage prepared, would she be obeyed? I find that most unlikely. And where would she get money when our aunt controls the purse strings?”

The two male cousins exchanged solemn looks and Darcy sat down next to Georgiana, “You are entirely right, my dear. What do you suggest?”

The girl thought furiously for a minute and then nodded, “We must all leave and take Anne with us. If she wants to go, that is. Perhaps she will not. But I think we should offer.”

Richard sighed, “If Anne does leave without our aunt’s blessing, her decision will cause significant upheaval in the family and possibly in society. There are those who would say we should leave well enough alone and not interfere in Anne’s life.

Georgiana shrugged, “I do not care. I will not sit by and allow our cousin to continue in her affliction. I am Jael.”