Page 25 of The Shades of Pemberley
At Anthony’s sudden grin, Georgiana knew he espoused the same thoughts that she did, for Georgiana recalled William speaking of his friend, a man seeking to rise above his background in trade. The right of response fell to William, and he did not hesitate.
“One of my closest friends is a scion of a long line of tradesmen.”
For the first time since she had arrived, William rendered Lady Catherine speechless, for she gaped at him in disbelief. William affected ignorance of her consternation.
“Bingley is an excellent sort, a friend from university, and a man who seeks to purchase an estate and become landed. When we return to Hertfordshire, you shall meet him, for he will stand up with me at my wedding.”
“That is nonsense!” cried Lady Catherine. “The notion is beyond consideration! Will you also suggest this tradesman as a match for Georgiana!”
“Not at all, Lady Catherine,” said Darcy, winking at Georgiana—it was by the barest measure that she held in a giggle, fortunate as she knew Lady Catherine would not appreciate it.
“Bingley, you see, is quite taken by Elizabeth’s elder sister, an angelic woman, beautiful and kind.
Should he marry her, and I do not doubt his interest, we shall be brothers. ”
Such a comment was guaranteed to provoke Lady Catherine’s explosion of temper, and she did not disappoint them.
“No! I shall not allow it! Shall you pollute our illustrious families with such base connections? What can you be thinking?”
“I am thinking, Lady Catherine,” said William from between clenched teeth, “that my happiness and my affairs do not concern you, of all people.”
“Anything you do now affects us!” spat Lady Catherine.
“No, this is all nonsense. Now that you have come into this position, you must act like it—tradesman friends and fiancées of a decidedly common persuasion are out of the question. You must break off your engagement with that unsuitable girl at once. In her stead, you may marry my daughter, Anne de Bourgh, for she possesses all the nobility and standing you require, and her dowry is Rosings Park itself.”
Georgiana gawked at Lady Catherine. What the blazes was she saying? Anne marry William? The notion was preposterous!
SO TAKEN ABACK WAS Darcy by Lady Catherine’s rant that he could not answer her laughable suggestion. Fitzwilliam, however, was unaffected by Darcy’s confusion.
“I thought you could be senseless, Lady Catherine, but this is beyond the pale. Are you suggesting that you transfer your delusion to Darcy?”
“It is the rational solution to Darcy’s problem,” sniffed Lady Catherine with disdain. “Anne was to marry Jameson; as Darcy has now inherited Pemberley, he may step in and fulfill his cousin’s duty.”
“Contrary to your assertions,” growled Fitzwilliam, “there was never any certainty that my cousin would marry Anne. While he did not tell me what he meant to do, that Anne remains unmarried at three and twenty suggests he did not mean to bow to your demands.”
“Darcy knew his duty!” snapped Lady Catherine. “It was an agreement between her mother and his, their union decreed by every member of their family.”
“That is rich, since I have always considered it a farce, and my father put no stock in it. Uncle Darcy would never even tolerate any mention of it.”
“Is my understanding accurate?” demanded Darcy, gathering himself to glare at Lady Catherine. “Are you suggesting that I marry your daughter?”
“As I said,” replied Lady Catherine, turning away from her nephew, “it is the perfect solution to your problem.”
“There is no problem,” growled Darcy.
“You will not see it!” Lady Catherine fixed him with a critical eye.
“Your lack of noble Fitzwilliam blood is unfortunate, but you have other connections that are acceptable. As you are now the master of Pemberley and my daughter was to become the mistress of Pemberley, you may take your cousin’s place.
As for your fiancée , you may pay her off.
I have no doubt a young woman of her position in life would jump at the chance to receive a fortune of her own, for I cannot imagine she has much. ”
“Lady Catherine, I would ask you to remember a few pertinent points.” Darcy scowled at her, noting her responding anger, but unwilling to endure her any longer.
“The first is that I am engaged and would be married now if I were not here.
Second, I have no wish to end that engagement and would not even if I could.
Third, the mere suggestion of bribing the woman I love is so outrageous that I am surprised even one so deficient in sense as you would suggest it.
The last is that you are so far beyond appropriate behavior as to make me wonder about your character.
“Let me be clear so there is no misunderstanding. I will not break my engagement with Elizabeth. The mere notion of setting her aside to marry your daughter is laughable. I have delayed my wedding so that I could respond to the tragedy that befell my cousin. Your demands show a lack of decency I would not have expected in the most ignoble knave in the kingdom. Do not mention this matter again.”
“Why will you not see sense?”
Darcy glared at her and rose to his feet. “The only one lacking sense is you. I repeat, do not speak of this again. If you do, I shall throw you from Pemberley.”
“You will not bar me from my sister’s home!” shrilled Lady Catherine.
“As it seems you do not understand yet, let me remind you that Pemberley is no longer the home of your sister. It is no longer the home of your nephew, either. Pemberley is now mine ! I shall not endure such behavior as this. Such effrontery demands that I remove you now, but I shall forbear this once. Mention it again in my presence, and you will find yourself barred from your sister’s home forever! ”
With that, Darcy stalked from the room in a temper.
Given the lady’s character and insistence on that point, it was a surprise—and a disappointment—that her voice did not follow him from the room.
Fitzwilliam’s voice rose in anger, but Darcy knew that Lady Catherine would not listen to him.
It was Darcy’s opinion that she never listened to anyone, so convinced of her infallibility was she.
“Mrs. Reynolds,” said Darcy, coming across his housekeeper soon after he left the sitting-room.
The woman curtseyed, and though she said nothing, he had the sense she knew something of the argument that had just taken place. Given the volume of Lady Catherine’s voice, Darcy suspected they might have heard her in the Hebrides.
“Yes, Mr. Darcy?” asked she.
“Do I suppose correctly that you have ignored much of what Lady Catherine has instructed you?”
The woman nodded. “As we discussed, I do not defy her openly, but I allow her to speak and then continue as you have instructed.”
“Excellent,” said Darcy. “From this moment forward, do not feel any need to give her a hint of deference to Lady Catherine out of the common way. If she complains, send her to me. I have had enough of her demands; with any luck, she will depart before long.”
Mrs. Reynolds nodded. “Very well, sir. If I might be so bold, Master Jameson was no more willing to endure her, and the master’s father could not tolerate more than a few minutes in her company.”
“ That , Mrs. Reynolds, is no shock to anyone admitted to the displeasure of making Lady Catherine’s acquaintance.”
As a servant, she could not respond as Darcy suspected she wished, but she nodded, curtseyed, and excused herself.
For Darcy’s part, he would not endure Lady Catherine another moment that day.
As such, he retired to his bedchamber. As he walked, he considered the situation in the house and determined at that moment that he would make the arrangements to move into the master’s chambers.
Darcy had not done so for many reasons, but now was the time to end circumspection and take control of the house and his inheritance.
As Fitzwilliam would tell him in later years—and Darcy agreed with him—that day was a turning point, the day he became the master of Pemberley in truth. It was the day he refused to endure Lady Catherine any longer and put the stamp of authority on his inheritance.
WILLIAM’S COMMENTS on the subject aside, Elizabeth knew the moment she arrived at Pemberley the following morning that a storm was brewing.
The scowl Lady Catherine directed at her when she entered on William’s arm was so foul that Elizabeth thought the woman would incinerate her on the spot if she could.
William’s returning glower was also fearsome to behold, and for the moment, it prevented Lady Catherine from saying what she wished.
What ensued thereafter did not improve Lady Catherine’s mood in the slightest.
“If you are willing,” said William, “Georgiana has suggested that you tour the house this morning.” His grin was infectious as he added: “You will need to know something of it when you become its mistress.”
“Of course, William,” said Elizabeth, ignoring Lady Catherine’s huff of annoyance. “I am eager to know something more about my future home.”
As William had informed her of Lady Catherine’s wish to break off their engagement, it was no surprise that the lady’s facade darkened at the suggestion of Elizabeth’s future residence there.
William grinned at her, seeing her play for what it was, and Elizabeth nodded back at him.
Elizabeth had never allowed anyone to intimidate her; she was not about to start now with so objectionable a person as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.