Page 20 of Why I Kissed You (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
The voice of a woman, speaking from behind her, caused Elizabeth to start.
She recovered almost instantly and turned to face a lady whose style of dress alone marked her as extraordinarily wealthy. The way she stood, her head tipped back yet not quite looking down her nose, could not be called anything but regal.
Elizabeth prayed silently for patience—how provoking to be accosted in this manner, when she had been engaged not even a full day! She hoped very much this was not some society matron disappointed for her daughter after reading the announcement of Mr. Darcy’s engagement in the morning paper.
“I did, ma’am,” Elizabeth replied smoothly as her aunt and Jane moved to stand on either side of her.
The woman smiled; behind her stood a tall girl with fair skin and a shy manner that rather reminded Elizabeth of Darcy. A delightful glint came into the elder’s eyes as she looked between the Bennet sisters, her gaze settling on Elizabeth again as she said,
“Definitely you. Something in your air, my dear, tells me you are the little country girl that has captured my nephew’s heart.”
Elizabeth fought the urge to frown. “Your nephew, ma’am?”
“Why yes—Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley! Pray forgive my rudeness, my dear—I am his aunt, the Countess of Disley. And this is his sister, Miss Darcy.”
No wonder she reminded me of him , Elizabeth thought as she glanced at Miss Darcy; now that she looked a little longer, she noted a more marked resemblance around the eyes.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady. Miss Darcy,” replied she when she had curtsied.
“I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet. May I present my aunt, Mrs. Edward Gardiner, and my sister, Miss Bennet. And you are correct, at least insofar as I have somehow captured Mr. Darcy’s heart—by your words, I presume that he has spoken of our betrothal? ”
“Quite so, Miss Elizabeth. Darcy dined with us last evening and announced his plans to marry,” said Lady Disley. Her eye roamed over Elizabeth’s appearance; she tried not to let the scrutiny bother her, as she knew there was a great deal more to come from the whole of society.
The countess flicked her eyes for a moment at Jane. “You are quite beautiful, Miss Bennet—your parents are to be commended for producing two such lovely girls—but your coloring is not at all to Darcy’s tastes.”
Resisting the urge to ask what she believed Darcy’s tastes were, Elizabeth forced a smile. “I shall be sure to pass your compliment along to my parents. Our mother especially will be gratified to hear that a countess has declared her two eldest daughters to be lovely.”
“Darcy spoke of you, of course,” Lady Disley said. “I am sure you can understand that I simply could not let him get away with such an unexpected declaration and not ask him every question that came to mind. There are five of you total, is that not so? And your father’s estate is called Longbourn?”
“Yes, Your Ladyship—to both questions,” said Elizabeth. “I am the second of the five, and my sister Miss Bennet the eldest. Our younger sisters are Mary, Catherine, and Lydia.”
“Oh, you have a Catherine as well, do you? I pity you, my dear, unless her disposition is nothing like that of my husband’s sister—you met Lady Catherine de Bourgh, of course, while you were in Kent? Darcy said your cousin is the Hunsford vicar.”
Elizabeth nodded. “That is correct, my lady—again, on both counts. We dined several times at Rosings during my stay at Hunsford.”
“And how did you like Lady Catherine, Miss Elizabeth? Was she kind to you? I daresay she was not pleased with Darcy when he told her of his desire to marry you,” said the countess.
Again, Elizabeth fought the urge to frown. Just what was Lady Disley playing at?
Praying that her rising vexation was not obvious, she replied, “I liked Lady Catherine well enough, and she was indeed kind to me—that is, until she learned Mr. Darcy’s affections had been bestowed upon me and not her daughter.
Her displeasure is one of the reasons Mr. Darcy brought me to London yesterday, when I was to have stayed in Kent another week.
Now, I’m afraid, Mrs. Collins will have to make other arrangements for her sister to get home. ”
Clasping her hands together before her, she continued, “Pray, Lady Disley, may I ask to what these questions tend? I do hope that yourself and Lord Disley are not too displeased with your nephew’s choice of bride.”
The shocked expression on her countenance and soft gasp uttered by Miss Darcy told Elizabeth that she had never witnessed anyone speaking so frankly to her aunt before. Mrs. Gardiner gave a silent warning by the light press of her hand to the small of Elizabeth’s back.
She needn’t have bothered. Lady Disley laughed and said, “How refreshing you are, Miss Elizabeth! Straightforward with a touch of impertinence, and still every bit as polite as you ought to be. I can see why Darcy likes you—and believe me, that boy needs someone like you. He’s too reserved, too busy trying to be the perfect model of a gentleman that he forgets to really live .
You’ll draw him out of his shell, I am sure. ”
Her eyes then alighted on the bolt of red velvet Elizabeth had been admiring, and she walked over to examine it herself. “What did you think to use this for, if I may ask?”
“A riding habit,” Elizabeth replied. “For spring and summer riding, of course, as I know wool would be better suited to the Derbyshire autumn and winters.”
Lady Disley turned back and once more raked her eyes up and down Elizabeth’s form.
“Yes, quite… The red does go well with your coloring, my dear. I suggest black braiding with silver frogs. The hat should match—red velvet, with a black satin band and a silver ostrich plume. Don’t do only a habit with this gorgeous velvet, though, Miss Elizabeth—an evening gown would be stunning, if the design is right. ”
Well, now I am committed , Elizabeth thought.
The countess would probably expect to see her in the riding habit in the next few weeks, so she might as well make the purchase.
Lady Disley, she determined, was no less outspoken than Lady Catherine—she had given her opinions very decidedly, as the latter would say—but she had yet to be blatantly rude.
Lady Catherine’s superciliousness had been irritating, but Lady Disley’s forwardness was almost amusing.
And really, the habit would indeed look splendid as she had described it.
Smiling, she replied, “I thank you, Your Ladyship. I now only have a few dozen other gowns to order.”
The countess’s eyebrows rose. “You are shopping for wedding clothes? I should have known! Dear Georgiana and I were out yesterday for a few trinkets and a visit to a tea shop, but I thought if her brother is going to marry, she must have a new gown. How extraordinary we should meet while out to make purchases for the very same event!”
“Extraordinary indeed, my lady,” spoke up Mrs. Gardiner. “In fact, I told Elizabeth that the first and most important gown—that which she will marry in—ought to be the first she chooses, that it may be done before the rest.”
“How right you are, Mrs. Gardiner,” agreed Lady Disley.
“By the by, I was quite delighted to learn that the proprietor of Gardiner’s Custom Carriages is Miss Elizabeth’s relation.
My husband and I still have the carriage we ordered from him…
three years ago, I think it was? In any case, it still rides as if it were brand new—in fact, it is the one dear Georgiana and I came out in today!
I vaguely recall meeting Mr. Gardiner, now I think of it—he presented our carriage himself, you know.
I was surprised to find him so gentlemanlike. ”
Elizabeth bit her tongue to hold back the sharp retort that came to her mind. How insufferably rude! She had been prepared to forgive the lady her high-handedness as she was not so annoying as Lady Catherine, but to insult Mr. Gardiner to his wife’s face was nigh intolerable.
Mrs. Gardiner took the offensive remark in stride.
“You are most kind to say so, Lady Disley. You know, I find it rather amusing when I hear that said of my husband—it’s as if those who think so cannot possibly comprehend that a man can be both a tradesman and a gentleman!
But I am sure that is not what you meant at all, my lady.
For such a fine young man as Mr. Darcy must have learnt his manners from someone, given he lost his poor mother so young and his father not a decade later. ”
Elizabeth looked at her aunt in amazement.
Bravo Aunt Gardiner! she thought. To both compliment and insult as easily as the countess had just done…
It was almost unbelievable. Mrs. Gardiner hardly ever took offense, but then, it was entirely possible she had spoken up so that Elizabeth herself would not and chance openly offending Darcy’s noble aunt .
She suppressed a sigh as she thought, How well she knows me .
Lady Disley lifted an eyebrow, but her expression was surprisingly appreciative. “I am obliged to you for the compliment, Mrs. Gardiner—I really have done what I could for my nephew and his sister since my husband lost his own. You must have been just such an influence on your two nieces.”
“I like to think that I have been a great help to them,” Mrs. Gardiner replied.
“And you have, Aunt, truly,” said Jane with a smile.
“Indeed—in those areas where our mother lacks the finesse of manner which society requires, you supply the example,” said Elizabeth. “Although there is not one lady in Meryton who can set a finer table than Mamma, so I am sure to never fail on that score as Mr. Darcy’s wife.”
“Speaking of dinners, my dear,” said Mrs. Gardiner then, “I think we had best take up no more of Lady Disley’s time. After all, we have a great deal more fabric to select, and the modiste yet to visit, before our engagement this evening.”