Page 44 of The Fire at Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
The lady stared at him, obviously incredulous that her nephew would contradict her in such a way.
“Darcy, of what are you speaking? From your infancies you and Anne have been meant for one another. It was your mother’s greatest wish, as well as mine, and it is expected and anticipated by every member of your respective houses.
It cannot be that you would set my daughter aside in favor of the upstart pretensions of a young woman with neither connections nor fortune!
Heaven help us! Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? ”
“Lady Catherine,” Darcy growled, taking a step closer to his aunt, “I am engaged to Elizabeth, and you will cease speaking in such a way of her, or I will have you physically removed from my house.”
The lady looked startled at these words, and for a moment even a trifle uneasy, before her natural arrogance came into play. “You would not dare!”
“I believe he would,” Elizabeth said in obvious amusement.
“Come, Lady Catherine, you must be mad indeed to think that you can march in here and break off our engagement. I love Fitzwilliam, and he loves me. The marriage settlements have been signed, and we will wed before the end of the year. There is nothing you can do about it.”
Her adversary stared at her, her face purpling, before turning her attention on Darcy and said, “Well, nephew, are you going to stand there? How can you conceive of marrying a woman who treats me, one of your nearest relations, so rudely?”
“Elizabeth has been the soul of tact,” Darcy said drily, and he felt his own body relaxing. He was angry at his aunt’s bombastic words, but Elizabeth was obviously not distressed in the least, and he would follow her lead. “Now that is quite enough. Go.”
“I will not!” Catherine de Bourgh blustered, and then took a step backwards as Darcy moved forward and grasped his aunt’s arm with one large, strong hand. “Release me, nephew! How dare you put hands on me?”
“How dare you stride in here and insult the lady I love?” Darcy snapped, taking a step toward the door and dragging his aunt with him.
“Love!” the lady cried out. “Love is for peasants, not members of our class! And the girl does not love you; she loves your fortune and your place in society, but you have been dazzled by a pretty face and are too great a fool to see it!”
“Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth said, “another moment, please?”
Darcy obediently halted, though with some uncertainty. He knew that Lady Catherine’s tongue was exceptionally vituperative, and he did not want Elizabeth to be insulted further.
“Lady Catherine,” his love said, an arch smile lighting up her face, “I understand that you do not believe that I love Fitzwilliam. I do, but whether you believe that is neither here nor there. The truth is that I am engaged to Fitzwilliam, and I will not release him from that engagement. Your nephew is a gentleman, and thus will not break an engagement. You can fuss and howl, but it will only make you look desperate and pathetic.”
She turned now to Darcy and said, “If you do not mind, I will join my relations in the dining room.”
“Of course, my darling,” Darcy replied, gazing down on her with open affection. He should not have doubted his Elizabeth. She had cut to the heart of the matter in a way that even Lady Catherine, based on the woman’s fulminating expression, seemed to understand. “I will join you shortly.”
/
Darcy House
Hours later
“I will see you tomorrow at noon, Elizabeth!” Georgiana said, embracing her. “I look forward to accompanying you to your fitting at Madame Blanchet’s!”
“I look forward to your company as well,” Elizabeth replied, returning the embrace fervently.
“I do not particularly enjoy standing still for fittings, but with you and Lydia along, it will be much more palatable an experience. Colonel Fitzwilliam, it was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to see you again soon.”
“It was my honor,” the colonel said, bowing to the Gardiners and their niece. “I will be returning to my regiment shortly, but I hope to obtain leave so that I can attend your wedding.”
“That would be wonderful,” Elizabeth said, and Mr. Gardiner added, “Thank you for a delightful dinner. We are appreciative of your hospitality.”
“It was our pleasure,” Darcy said, his eyes meeting Elizabeth’s. To his relief, she smiled back without the slightest indication of distress.
Darcy’s butler opened the door, and the visitors departed. As soon as the door had closed behind them, Georgiana pounced. “Brother, what happened with Lady Catherine?”
“She left,” Darcy said repressively. “Now, Georgiana, I do believe that you were wishing to practice your music...”
He trailed away as both his sister and cousin moved forward, whereupon each grasped an arm and hauled him, feebly protesting, into the drawing room.
“Darcy,” the colonel said once he had pushed his captive into a convenient chair, “that will not do for either of us. Lady Catherine entered breathing fire, and now you tell me that she left as meekly as a lamb?”
Darcy hesitated, his eyes on his gentle sister, who said, “I wish to know as well, Brother. I have always been a little afraid of Lady Catherine. I confess to great curiosity as to how you managed her today.”
Darcy considered this request, grinned, and said, “I will tell you, but I must request that you sit down. I am not used to having people loom over me in such a menacing way.”
Sister and cousin obediently dropped into convenient seats, and Darcy favored them with a thorough recounting of Lady Catherine’s eventual defeat.
When he had finished, Georgiana looked awed, and Richard chuckled and said, “I thought you had chosen well, Darcy, but now I am entirely confident. A young lady who can stay calm in the face of Lady Catherine’s wrath is a treasure beyond price. ”
“She is,” Darcy agreed, leaning back in his chair with a broad smile. “She is.”
“What did Elizabeth say to you before we left?” Georgiana asked curiously. “She whispered something into your ear…”
Darcy’s smile melted away to be replaced by solemnity. “She said that in the past weeks, she lost part of her home, and nearly lost mother and sisters to calamity, and thus was entirely indifferent to the whining of my aunt.”
“Did she truly say that our aunt was whining ?” Georgiana gasped.
“That was the word she used, yes,” Darcy replied gravely and then, at his sister’s expression of disbelief, began chuckling, which transformed into genuine guffaws of amusement.
The two others joined in, and when they had laughed themselves into tears, Georgiana said, “I am very, very glad that Elizabeth will soon be my sister. I have no doubt that she will always guard and protect me from our aunt.”
“I am confident she will,” Darcy agreed.
“I wonder how our aunt learned of your engagement?” Richard wondered aloud.
Darcy shrugged and said, “As to that, while I cannot be certain, I suspect it came by way of Mr. Collins, who is both heir to Longbourn and the parson at Hunsford. He is engaged to be married to one of Elizabeth’s friends, Charlotte Lucas, and I assume that a letter reached him from either Miss Lucas, or her parents, regarding the matter.
Elizabeth is not perturbed in the least, and neither am I, so it is of no concern. ”