Page 24 of The Countess and Her Sister
The next day, Darcy received a note from Lady Catherine.
He nearly cast it into the fire unread, but upon reading it, he was surprised to find it was almost an apology.
His aunt expressed her regret at the unpleasant scene, for which she meant to make amends by hosting her relations for dinner three days hence.
The Gardiners would be honored with an invitation, as well as Mr. Bingley, with whom she declared the countess must become far better acquainted before selecting him as the companion of her future life.
Darcy instinctively felt distrustful of his aunt; but as certain as he felt that Lady Catherine had some new scheme afoot that would result in her carrying her point, he thought chiefly of the ladies of Matlock House.
On a whim, he walked the three blocks from his own home to see them, for Lady Jane must have received a similar communication from his aunt.
He was met by a footman who asked him to wait – Miss Bennet was to be notified of any visitors before admitting them to the house.
It was clear from her attire that she had little intention of seeing anybody, but Miss Bennet greeted him with a warm smile.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Darcy. I must apologize – Jane has no wish for visits today. You may imagine, after last night, that her gentle disposition requires a period of recovery.”
“I am sorry to hear it, though it is only natural after such a horrid ordeal. I will not prevail upon her equanimity; perhaps she might spare you for a quarter hour to take a stroll around the square?” Darcy gestured to the pleasant green space lined by tidy townhomes on all four sides.
Miss Bennet appeared to consider his offer, and after a suspenseful moment for Darcy, she nodded her assent. “Allow me to fetch my bonnet and pelisse – and I must tell Jane that I shall not be long.”
Darcy waited on the steps, and when Miss Bennet returned, he offered her his arm and led her toward the square. “I received a note from Lady Catherine, and I presume she has sent a similar communication to your sister.”
“We received word from her a half hour ago. I confess I am quite astonished by it. She does not strike me as a woman prone to capitulating to the wishes and feelings of others.”
“She is not,” Darcy said gruffly. “I wonder what she means by it – I fear it is some new mischief. What did Lady Augusta say about it?”
“That it is high time her sister by marriage eat crow,” Miss Bennet said with a laugh.“Rebecca supposes Lady Catherine expected to give Mamma an apoplexy with such contrition.”
“May I ask something impertinent?”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. “We have had enough of the indecorous and shocking between us that I believe you are quite safe to speak candidly with me, sir.”
He might have smiled, but for the severity of his skepticism. “Is Lady Augusta inclined to make the most of Lady Catherine’s support, or does she now begin to reconsider the same plans that Lady Catherine had made such a farce of?”
Miss Bennet pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow in a fetching expression of pondering. “She is very cross Lady Catherine, and her protective sensibilities have been aroused, above all else. She is fiercely devoted to Jane, and of course this all affects her grandson.”
“She would have Lady Jane married a second time before any of her other children have managed it once?”
Miss Bennet arched an eyebrow. “We have never met anybody deranged enough to have Richard or Rebecca.”
“London is teeming with any number of deranged individuals. A new one arrived only yesterday.”
Miss Bennet sputtered with laughter at his wicked jest. “Will you attend Lady Catherine’s party, then?”
“I came to ask the same of you – of all of you at Matlock House.”
“Oh, we will go if you do,” she teased. “Or do you mean to say the same?”
“Yes – but also to urge caution. I find it hard to believe that she could so swiftly come to her senses and bear us all good will – there must be some evil motive.”
Miss Bennet nodded, twisting her lip from side to side. “I am relieved that I have not been unduly pessimistic. I feared the same. We shall have to all be on our guard, though I can hardly imagine there would be any repetition of last night’s debacle – what would be the point?”
“And Lady Jane and I both know better than to enter an empty room alone together, though I would not put a scheme of that kind past my aunt’s consideration.” Darcy sighed. “It is a pity women cannot duel.”
“Lady Catherine would do so, full of righteous indignation, simply if you told her it would distinguish her family legacy.” Miss Bennet laughed and shook her head.
“In seriousness, if Lady Catherine’s contrition is not sincere – if she attempts anything that distresses Jane, we shall certainly not see her again.
Jane is already on the precipice of withdrawing from society entirely at present. ”
“Oh?”
Miss Bennet nodded sadly. “She wishes our life to be as it was when we were in mourning – not that she wishes to continue to mourn, but she was content in the quiet daily rituals of our family household.”
“After even a few weeks of being subjected to so much speculation amidst new acquaintance, I can easily understand her preference. But should you prefer it as well, Miss Bennet?” Darcy hoped the desperate panic he felt had not seeped into his measured tones.
To lose the company of Miss Bennet would be a wound deepened further if she were indifferent to the loss.
“I should prefer Jane’s comfort above anything else. I was not unhappy these last two years, beyond the grief I felt at losing my father. I take the same joy in our merry household; in truth, I must own to my sense of good fortune in being given such a home.”
Something tugged at Darcy’s heart. Miss Bennet had little to do with her own mother, after such a betrayal as she had endured.
Lady Jane had indeed given her sister a home, and by extension a family that treated her as truly one of their own.
And she plainly felt so beholden to them – to Lady Jane – that Miss Bennet would support any choice her sister made.
Even if that choice was to receive no visitors, accept no invitations. Even if – Darcy’s stomach lurched at the notion – even if Lady Jane’s choice was to continue a courtship with Darcy. And this selfless devotion of hers was another of the many things Darcy had come to esteem in Miss Bennet.
Something burst open inside of Darcy in that moment, something turned him upside down, his very vision seemed to shift and sharpen, though he knew not which way was up.
Darcy could not be satisfied in allowing Miss Bennet to place her sister’s happiness over her own, to give him up for Lady Jane’s sake.
When he was once again master of himself, he set about persuading her.
“You have been given a home, but you have dedicated yourself to making it such a home as it is, such a comfort to Lady Jane and to everybody. You have done as much for your sister as she has done for you, and I hope that you know it.”
To his surprise, tears welled in her beautiful eyes, and he instinctively handed her a pocket square. She smiled as she dabbed her eyes. “Thank you, sir. It is a subject that sometimes troubles me.”
“I understand how a strong sense of duty to one’s family can present challenges and quandaries," he said. “To think of one’s own wishes can be difficult to reconcile….”
Miss Bennet gave him a searching look as she tucked his handkerchief into her sleeve.
She nodded slowly, and then broke into a grin.
“I see I have not convinced you that I can be content without society. Must I remind you of my many, many accomplishments? I have any number of mediocre endeavors to keep me occupied without exerting myself to attend parties that end in tears or drunkenness.”
Darcy let out a laugh of astonishment at her speech. “When were you ever foxed?”
“I was a little inebriated at Mr. Bingley’s party, but I believe we all were, so I am not quite sorry for it.
Rebecca says that after two years of withdrawal from such parties, we are more easily affected when we imbibe.
On quiet evenings at home, I have only a little wine, and am entirely in possession of myself. ”
“Perhaps that is where I have failed – I ought to have given my aunt more wine last evening.”
“She might require the whole vineyard,” Miss Bennet murmured under her breath, though she seemed content for Darcy to hear her.
They had made a circuit of the square and were back at the entrance to Matlock House. Darcy bowed and released Miss Bennet. She dipped into a curtsey and then gave him a pert smile. “I hope to see you at Lady Catherine’s dinner, Mr. Darcy. You may, perhaps, bring your pistols?”
Darcy smiled, raised her hand to his lips, and then gave a nod of assent. He strode away, hoping that Lady Catherine’s party would not be such a debacle that Lady Jane would retire from society, taking with her the woman whose company had become a necessity to him.
***
Of course, Lady Catherine’s party was a ghastly ambush.
Elizabeth chastised herself for clinging to any hope that it would be an event which might convince Jane to continue her emergence in society.
Mr. Bingley had stood up to Lady Catherine, and Elizabeth knew this had given her sister a glimmer of hope, but it was doomed not to last.
Beyond the family, the Bingleys, and the Gardiners, Lady Catherine had invited a great many people – it was not long before Elizabeth and Jane discovered that there was a pattern in the dowager’s selection of guests.