Page 43

Promptly at three of the clock, a footman dressed in the uniform of a footman at the royal court from twenty years earlier led Mr and Mrs Collins into the presence of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

The cousin, Elizabeth Bennet, followed silently while she observed the other persons seated in Lady Catherine’s parlour.

Not finding a certain gentleman present, her eyes glanced around the room, and she concluded that the excessive number of chairs and sofas distracted her from the lovely wallpaper.

Heavy draperies covered each window, so candles burned around the room to provide light in the middle of the afternoon.

The expense of lighted candles during the daylight hours struck Elizabeth as a pretentious display of wealth.

Lady Catherine was a woman in late middle-age and dressed in a gown more appropriate for a formal evening.

Elizabeth immediately recognized Miss de Bourgh as the young woman she had seen walking with Mr Fredericks in the gardens around Rosings on two occasions.

Miss de Bourgh’s lady’s companion was the quiet woman who had waited in the shadows when the young couple walked behind the shrubberies.

Standing quietly and observing everyone, Elizabeth listened to Mr Collins introduce Charlotte as an excellent wife who kept the parsonage clean and managed the kitchen well.

The parson motioned toward Elizabeth and named her as his cousin, who was also a friend of Mrs Collins.

Each woman curtseyed when called before their hostess.

The older woman examined Charlotte’s appearance and then turned her attention to Elizabeth.

Careful not to smile, Elizabeth curtseyed again as a show of respect, though Lady Catherine did not give any sign that she noticed.

At that point, Lady Catherine greeted Mrs Collins and inquired after the contents of her pantry.

The formidable woman stated, “I hear from my servants that the mercantile in Hunsford provided you with potatoes, peas, flour, and tea recently.”

“They did, your ladyship,” Charlotte replied to the surprise of Mr Collins.

“Charlotte, when did you make these purchases? Why did you not ask my permission to spend money?” asked Mr Collins, and Elizabeth was surprised that the man had forgotten the conversation over the dinner table two nights earlier.

Lady Catherine interrupted the parson. “Mr Collins! Your wife is performing the proper duties as your wife in your home. She does not need your permission to see to her duties! Do you expect her to ask you when to wash the clothing each week? Or when she needs to plump the cushions!”

“No. Of course not, Lady Catherine!” Mr Collins replied with his head bowed before his patroness.

“Then leave Mrs Collins to her duties with the allowance you give her. I admit she is a remarkable woman who has kept your household fed with the shortage of money in your purse,” the domineering woman declared.

“Yes, leave her alone in the kitchen, and she will not instruct you which Bible verses to use for your next sermon.”

“Thank you for your direction, Lady Catherine,” Charlotte said. “I endeavour to understand the Lord’s commandments and be a good wife to my husband.”

“Yes,” Mr Collins agreed with his wife. “We must follow the Bible’s directions to obey our betters and follow the laws of God and man.”

Listening carefully to the discussion, Elizabeth remained silent.

Her opinions would not be well-received if she argued against one person being ‘better’ than another simply because of their birth into a noble family.

She had often argued with her father about the circumstances of birth playing a role in determining a person’s place in English life.

Before the tea was served, Mr Darcy appeared, and Lady Catherine took immense pride in introducing her nephew to her visitors as if they had never met the man.

Her ladyship’s description of the man included, “Fitzwilliam Darcy is a rich and powerful man from the north of England. He is from Derbyshire, where the Fitzwilliam family possesses a large estate. My father was an earl, and he was my nephew’s grandfather.

Just as the earl was grandfather to my daughter. ”

“Lady Catherine, the Fitzwilliam family is to be admired by everyone for their contributions to…,” Mr Collins attempted to praise the noble family, but Lady Catherine ignored her parson. Her following statement left Elizabeth confused and ignited Darcy’s anger.

“In the near future, my nephew will marry my daughter. Once Darcy marries Anne, the de Bourgh estate will remain within the Fitzwilliam family.”

As soon as Lady Catherine completed the statement, Mr Collins stood and bowed to Lady Catherine, Anne de Bourgh and Mr Darcy before launching a speech of congratulations and offering to read the banns from the pulpit for the next three Sundays.

Displeased to have this story repeated in front of Elizabeth on the same day he had asked her permission to court her, Mr Darcy ignored Mr Collins and stalked across the room to stand before his aunt.

The man’s commanding presence captured everyone’s attention, and they listened closely when he addressed his aunt.

“Lady Catherine, I am tired of this fable you continue to repeat. I am done with this.”

Not meeting the man’s eyes, Lady Catherine continued, “Darcy, obey me! I am your nearest relation and command you to marry Anne.”

“You are not my nearest relation, aunt. You are certainly not a relation I admire, and I spend a great deal of effort each year repairing the problems you create in my cousin’s estate.

You exceed the allowances for yourself and allowance with clothing and furnishings that are never seen because no one calls at Rosings Park. “

“No one hereabouts us is worthy of our company!” argued Lady Catherine.

“And you wander through the silent hallways of Rosings Park while life goes on outside,” Darcy added. “This wild idea of a marriage is your imagining, but I shall have none of it.”

“Darcy, the union of our children was one of your mother’s dearest wishes! And mine as well for years!” declared Lady Catherine from her chair, speaking as though she were a queen giving commands to a courtier.

“That was never something my mother mentioned or wrote to me. And I know my father never approved of cousins marrying,” the gentleman argued.

“Bah, your father never cared about the family line,” Lady Catherine dismissed Darcy’s reference to his father’s wishes. “Else, he would not have dallied with loose women and left your mother without company.”

Charlotte and Elizabeth both sat back to hear such a statement uttered by Lady Catherine in their presence. Mr Collins blushed and remained silent while Mr Darcy’s face grew thunderous.

Lady Catherine waved away everyone’s discomfort, saying, “The opinions of these people do not matter. You must obey me in this matter, Darcy.”

The man glanced at the guests in the room for a moment; Mr and Mrs Collins looked away; the situation uncomfortable for everyone. Elizabeth met the cold stare in Mr Darcy’s eyes from her place in a chair beside Charlotte, and she tried to show her support for him in her expression.

“Lady Catherine, I am done with you,” Darcy addressed his aunt. “This is my last visit to Rosings Park. If Anne is not married before her birthday next week, her uncle Horace de Bourgh, will assume control of the estate.”

Lady Catherine frowned; her brother-in-law was a stubborn man who would never permit her extravagant spending that drained the estate’s coffers.

“You will marry Anne! Purchase a common license tomorrow! Mr Collins will conduct the service the next day!” declared Lady Catherine.

“No, I shall not marry Anne!” he replied. “The day her uncle becomes responsible for the estate, you and she will have a limited income. You may remain in the house, but Sir Horace will tighten the purse strings and control your allowance.”

Her anger growing, Lady Catherine could not speak for a moment, and Mr Darcy turned to the visitors and said, “Mrs Collins, Miss Bennet, I apologise for speaking of family matters before you. Please take tea and converse with my cousin. Anne has survived her mother’s wild imaginings for many years. ”

Then Fitzwilliam Darcy walked out of the room despite his aunt’s demands that he return to her presence. Refusing to surrender the argument, the woman rose and followed her nephew, ascending the stairs to berate his refusal of her commands.

Mr Collins was torn about what to do, but Miss de Bourgh rose and approached Mrs Collins and Miss Bennet to initiate conversation.

The young woman commanded Mr Collins to sit and contemplate his next sermon while she moved Charlotte and Elizabeth closer to her chair.

She asked Mrs Collins to pour the tea and Elizabeth to distribute the biscuits there.

“Mr Collins consumes many biscuits and cakes each afternoon,” Miss de Bourgh informed Mrs Collins. “Miss Bennet, make certain he receives plenty on his plate.”

The tea continued well beyond the allotted time to depart because Miss de Bourgh asked so many questions of the visiting ladies about gowns, furnishings, and their experiences with gentlemen.

Elizabeth was pleased to find the young woman was interested in novels, and they discussed titles each had read.

Mrs Collins was pleased to find their hostess was interested in the gossip columns of the newspapers.

Everyone heard Lady Catherine’s voice on the upper floor of the house as she shouted commands and questions that were not answered. When the clock chimed four of the clock, Mrs Collins thanked Miss de Bourgh for a lovely visit and then prompted Mr Collins to rise and depart with her and Eliza.

The walk back to Hunsford was strangely quiet because Mr Collins remained unable to reconcile the conflicting behaviours of Lady Catherine and her nephew.

Charlotte walked beside her husband and mentioned the chairs in the parlour, the lovely gown worn by Miss de Bourgh, and the biscuits the kitchen provided.

Elizabeth walked behind the couple, lost in her thoughts–she remembered Mr Darcy’s smile earlier in the day and then his anger directed toward his aunt in the afternoon.

‘Truly, the man reached the end of his patience with Lady Catherine,’ she realised.

~~~