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C olonel Fitzwilliam wasted no time in sending his mother news of his cousin’s engagement.

Dear Mother,

Darcy has committed himself; you will have a niece by marriage come February. You will find her most charming, Mama, I promise you. Georgiana says she cannot imagine a better sister, and I think I must agree with her.

That said, if you wish to meet the bride, consider coming to Meryton as soon as may be. Mr. Bingley would be happy to have you here, I am certain. His older sister is our hostess, and she has made us all very comfortable.

Your loving son,

Richard

***

A reply came the next day.

Richard,

I am not at all pleased that Darcy engaged himself without a word to me. And you should have seen your father’s countenance upon hearing the news!

Darcy does not require our approval, of course; he is the head of his own family! But it would have been courteous, I think, to have allowed us to meet the girl first, given what we know of her family.

Meryton is near enough that a visit to meet Miss Elizabeth is easy to accomplish. Expect me in two days’ time.

Your concerned,

Mother

The Colonel immediately went downstairs to inform his hostess that she was about to receive the Countess of Matlock.

It is very much to Louisa Hurst’s credit that she did not faint, gasp aloud, or in any way betray surprise or concern.

She nodded, thanked the Colonel for letting her know, asked after the Countess’ dietary preferences, and then went to speak with the housekeeper and Cook.

The Colonel then went to find Darcy. His two cousins were sitting together; they both looked up when he strode into the room. “Mother is coming in two days,” he announced.

Mr. Darcy frowned. “Has she some idea of stopping my engagement?”

“I think she understands that she cannot stop it, but she is not pleased that she was not permitted to meet Miss Elizabeth before you made the commitment.”

Mr. Darcy shrugged, irritably. “Elizabeth and I need no one’s permission, nor do we plan to delay the wedding for any reason or any person, other than to wait until February to demonstrate respect for Mrs. Bennet. I love my Aunt Eleanor, but she shall not deter me from my set course.”

“I understand, Darcy, but she is my mother and your aunt. She deserves your consideration and respect; I hope you will be polite.”

“I am always polite,” Mr. Darcy said. “But why did she help rescue Lydia, if she was so opposed to my marrying into the Bennet family?”

“She agreed that you had done wrong by not disclosing what you knew about Wickham, and that it was right for the family to assist in righting that wrong.”

“Very decent of her,” Mr. Darcy said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

Georgiana spoke up. “She cannot stop Lizzy from becoming my sister! Can she? Brother?” Her voice was worried.

“Absolutely not; you are not to be concerned, Georgiana.”

The Colonel rolled his eyes at both his cousins, and then asked, “Are we going to Longbourn today?”

“We? You plan to join us?” Mr. Darcy asked.

“Of course.”

“Very well; we leave in half an hour.”

***

At Longbourn, Mr. Darcy sat beside his Elizabeth in the drawing room. “My aunt is coming to visit,” he murmured in her ear.

“Aunt? Lady Catherine?” Elizabeth’s voice rose in alarm.

Mr. Darcy winced. “No, thankfully! My other aunt, the Countess of Matlock.”

“She is coming to Netherfield?” Elizabeth was surprised. “But why?”

“To meet you.”

Elizabeth turned to stare at her betrothed. “I think there must be more to it,” she said.

Mr. Darcy said, soothingly, “Elizabeth, there is nothing she could say – “

“I know, but it is best if I understand the situation fully. Is she similar to Lady Catherine? My acquaintance with the Colonel led me to expect his parents to be reasonable people, but perhaps I was wrong.”

“They are reasonable, it is just that they have a good deal of concern for the family name.”

“But Lydia was found, and there is no scandal attached to my family.”

“It is the mere fact that she behaved as she did that is the problem.”

“So my character is suspect because I am her sister. I see.”

Mr. Darcy sighed. “They are very political, Elizabeth, and overly conscious of their own importance.”

“Yet she helped find Lydia! I do not understand.”

“According to Richard, she knew that I had done wrong by not telling everyone in Meryton the truth of Wickham’s character, and she agreed that this wrong had to be righted.”

Elizabeth considered that for a minute before conceding, “That speaks well of her.”

“She is not a bad person, Elizabeth. I hope that you will give her a chance to show you that. But, either way, you and I are going to marry in February.”

“It is probably best that I meet her at Netherfield; Longbourn may not show to advantage, as our parlour has become a bit threadbare.”

“I agree. She will be here in two days. Might you come to tea at Netherfield the day after she arrives? I am certain Mrs. Hurst will not object.”

“Poor Mrs. Hurst! Is she in a flutter about hosting a countess?”

“Not at all; she is as calm as you might wish.”

“I do not know her well, I confess.”

“She is a very different creature, now that she is away from Miss Bingley.”

“I am glad to hear it; it must make your stay at Netherfield far more comfortable.”

They looked up as Georgiana and Lydia, sitting together across the room, dissolved into gales of laughter. “I know my French is bad,” Lydia said. “But I have only been studying for a short time!”

“I know this is not what you intended; but do you know what you said?” Georgiana leaned over and whispered in Lydia’s ear.

“Oh, no!” Lydia turned bright red and clasped her hands over her mouth.

“Tell me! What did she say?” Kitty demanded.

“I dare not repeat it,” Georgiana said. “My brother would be scandalised!”

“And how did you come to learn scandalous French, Georgiana?” Mr. Darcy asked, his voice betraying his displeasure.

Georgiana glanced at Richard, who promptly looked away.

“Richard! Really?”

“It was an accident,” he began, looking uncomfortable.

“Stop,” Mr. Darcy said, holding up a hand. “I do not wish to hear the details.”

Jane was sitting beside her Mr. Bingley, her face flushed rosy at whatever he was whispering to her.

“Jane, did you hear? The Countess of Matlock is coming to Netherfield,” Elizabeth said.

“Mr. Darcy’s aunt? But why?” Jane asked, her brow wrinkled in confusion.

“To see if I am good enough for her family,” Elizabeth said, and then immediately regretted it. “No, I am joking –“

But too late, as Lydia immediately said, “Oh, no! Is this because of me?”

Mary put in, “I suppose her family is so perfect? She knows about Georgiana, does she not?”

This made Georgiana burst into tears.

“No, no, Georgiana!” Elizabeth ran to Georgiana’s side to comfort her.

The Colonel jumped in to try to calm everyone down. “She is doing no such thing! She merely wishes to meet Miss Elizabeth, that is all.” He glared at Mr. Darcy, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

Mr. Bennet, hearing the noise, walked into the room. “Good heavens, what has happened?” His voice was raised in alarm. “Has someone died?”

“No, Papa,” Elizabeth said. “This is my fault, I fear.”

The Colonel took upon himself the burden of explaining what had caused the tumult in the room.

Mr. Bennet stared hard at the Colonel. “Is this true? Your mother is coming to judge my Lizzy?”

The Colonel threw his hands up. “I apologise for my family, Mr. Bennet. However, they are highly placed in society and guard their reputation fiercely.”

“And since she is well aware of Lydia’s actions, she has doubts about our family,” Mr. Bennet concluded. “Yes, I heard some talk of this from Darcy a while back.”

The Colonel answered, “I have no doubt, none whatsoever, that my mother will meet Miss Elizabeth and understand at once why Darcy wishes to marry her.”