His Uncle's Favorite (46 page)

“I would suggest postponing this discussion for now, Aunt Catherine. I have some business to attend to, but I shall be happy to speak to you again tomorrow.”

“You will not dare to leave now, Darcy! You cannot possibly—”

“Catherine, you are indeed out of your mind,” Lord Matlock intervened, his temper obviously lost. “It is no wonder that poor Anne ran away and does not wish to return. What has happened to your reason? Can you not see how ridiculous your behaviour is? You will cease offending Darcy this instant if you wish to be welcome in this house. If not, you will force me to ask you to return to Rosings immediately!”

“
I
am out of my mind? What about
Darcy
? Do not believe me oblivious to the reason for his dishonourable behaviour! Do not believe me oblivious to the fact that he is involved in a sordid affair with that Bennet girl—a shameless hussy who had the benefit of my benevolence and repaid me in the most ungrateful manner! How can this be borne? A country nobody interfering in our family? You may have your way with her as much as you like; that is not my concern. But you cannot abandon your duty and—”

“Lady Catherine!” Darcy interrupted her with barely concealed anger. “Offending Miss Elizabeth will only put you in a more pitiable situation and make me forget my manners. Please do not force me to answer you as I would any other person who dared to malign her reputation.”

His cold countenance and the sharpness of his voice silenced Lady Catherine for the moment, enough for him to continue in the same manner.

“Besides, the subject of this conversation is not Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy continued, attempting a reasonable explanation. “I understand you are upset, Aunt, and I admit that to be my fault. I should have told you clearly long ago that your expectations about marriage to Anne would never be fulfilled and—”

“Of course the subject is Elizabeth Bennet; do not try to fool me as she fooled you! Can you not see that you have been trapped by her arts and allurements? Lady Sinclair was shocked by how easily you allowed yourself to be deceived; she told me as much in her letter! Can you not understand that the Bennet girl would do anything to secure a wealthy husband? Should her father die, she and all her sisters and mother would be thrown out by Mr. Collins; he will inherit everything, you know. Can you not understand her motives? That girl has no respect for decorum and propriety; Mr. Collins gave me a detailed report of her wild behaviour. Do you know he intended to marry her, but after knowing her better, he did not consider her qualified to be a clergyman’s wife? That is why he decided to make a marriage offer to the present Mrs. Collins—a much better choice! Do you prefer such a girl to my Anne? I can imagine how she charmed you, but be aware! She will force you to marry her, undoubtedly!”

Darcy’s countenance changed dramatically as he listened to his aunt’s outrageous speech; his face darkened with rage and showed only cold fury. He stepped towards his aunt, and Selina instantly grabbed his arm tightly.

“Cousin, please,” Lady Selina whispered, but Darcy ignored her and replied with cold civility in an unsuccessful attempt to overcome his anger.

“As I said, my decision regarding a marriage with Anne has been of long standing and has nothing to do with any other lady. Besides that, I believe Miss Elizabeth Bennet to be a most extraordinary woman, whose accomplishments make her worthy of admiration. Unlike Mr. Collins, I do consider her perfectly qualified to be my wife. I suppose this opinion places me in opposition to Mr. Collins—a wise, reliable clergyman who has shared all his intimate secrets with you. It is beyond any doubt that you deserve each other. And now you will excuse me; as I said earlier, I have business to attend to. This discussion cannot have a resolution in your favour, so I would rather end it immediately. I shall see you again later.” He turned to leave.

“Darcy, where are you going? You cannot leave us with such a lack of consideration. Come back; I have not finished speaking to you!”

“I would suggest you write Mr. Collins and complain about my behaviour, Lady Catherine,” Darcy concluded as he closed the door behind him.

“Catherine, not a single word more!” the earl shouted, his face red with fury. “Have you not made a fool of yourself long enough? I doubt there is a single servant who has not laughed at you by now! How dare you speak to Darcy in such a manner? And how dare you offend Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who is dear to our family? Do you hear yourself? Such vulgarity is unacceptable for someone with your education!”

“How dare you speak to me like this? I have always been known for expressing my opinion openly. I shall not be silenced!”

“If it is so, you will have to bear others’ expressing their opinions equally openly, and I dare say you will not enjoy the result. For instance—my opinion is that you should return to Rosings immediately. You are not welcome in this house any longer.”

“I shall not return! I shall not abandon my daughter! I must speak to her at once! You cannot refuse my staying here. This was our parents’ house!”

“I can do whatever I please. And your daughter is not willing to see you. You should contemplate her motives during your journey home.”

“Father, it is very late, and Aunt Catherine is tired.” Lady Selina tried to bring a trace of calmness to the din. “Perhaps she should rest a couple of hours, and you can speak again later. I am sure things will resolve for the better.”

“Selina is right.” The colonel supported his sister’s reasonable suggestion. “Father, should I ask the maid to prepare Lady Catherine’s apartment?”

The earl glanced at his children, breathing deeply a few times to regain some composure. He then turned to his sister, who stood in the middle of the room, an expression of disdain and arrogance on her face, barely favouring them with a glance.

Lady Selina took his arm and patted it gently. “Please, Papa…”

“Very well then, be it as you wish. Catherine, I shall give you one more chance, and you must thank my children for their wisdom. You may stay here for tonight, but you will apologise to Darcy without delay!”

“I shall never apologise to Darcy, and I shall not find rest until he is forced to see reason. The way he spoke of that Bennet girl proves he is out of his senses. And you are no better, Brother. How can you say Elizabeth Bennet is dear to your family?”

“Catherine, go to your room before I change my mind. Spending a night in London on the street is not as enjoyable as it might appear, and you are close to seeing it for yourself.”

Lady Selina quickly grabbed her aunt by the arm and took her out of the library before any other reply was expressed.

As the door closed, Lord Matlock turned to his sons. “I must speak to Darcy immediately. Catherine will have no rest until she has her way. I wonder whether he was serious about Miss Bennet. Robert, do you know where Darcy might be?”

The earl paced the room in distress, asking questions without waiting for answers until his sons forced him to sit and have a glass of wine. It was then settled that they would all try to fetch Darcy and meet at Lady Selina’s house to discuss the best course to be taken. As they left the library together, the two young men heard their father cursing in a low voice.

“Damn, Eve Sinclair! Just wait until I have a word with her husband.”

***

An hour later, Colonel Fitzwilliam was the first to discover Darcy at his solicitor’s office. Following a brief discussion, they rode together to Selina’s house. Neither the viscount nor the earl was there, but she greeted them with obvious joy and relief. She invited them into the music room, and they were pleasantly surprised to find Anne de Bourgh, tentatively trying a song on the piano. At their sight, her cheeks coloured, and she rose quickly, curtseying to them.

“You look well, Anne,” the colonel said affectionately. “I was afraid this mess would affect your health. How did it cross your mind to drive alone to London? Why did you not send me a note? I would have come and fetched you. On the other hand, I can understand your running; I would run myself to escape Aunt Catherine. She is just insupportable.”

“I am sorry I gave you all so much trouble,” Anne whispered, lowering her eyes. “I should not have come… Forgive me, I should have known that my coming here would upset Mother and increase her anger. Forgive me for placing you all in a difficult situation. Do not worry; I will return home; that is the best way…”

“Anne, you know too well you are like a sister to us!” said Darcy. “You must not apologise! It is entirely our fault; we should have done more to protect you. You will not go anywhere until we are certain Aunt Catherine is more reasonable. Even better, I think you should consider spending the summer at Pemberley with us.”

Anne’s eyes became brighter in a moment, and she looked at her cousin, as she was afraid to believe his words. “You want me to come to Pemberley?”

“That is an excellent idea,” Selina concurred. “You will stay with us for the moment; it will be a pleasure to have you here. And we will go to Pemberley together; we will be a large party. I am sure you will enjoy yourself very much!”

“Well, I am not certain about that,” said the colonel. “Anne does not seem to enjoy herself very much in large parties. Even more, if we try to keep Anne here over the summer, we must take drastic measures. Aunt Catherine surely will hire an army to take her back to Rosings!” The colonel laughed, waiting for his sister and Darcy to join in his amusement. They remained stern while Anne instantly paled.

“Robert, what on earth happens inside your head?” Selina’s voice, full of angry reproach, surprised the colonel, who still seemed oblivious to their displeasure.

“What do you mean? I was only joking,” he explained, but the moment his gaze rested on Anne, he frowned. Her eyes were tearful and her expression pale; her hands were trembling in her lap, and the colonel suddenly embraced his cousin tightly.

“Anne dearest, I did not mean to upset you! I was only joking; I wanted to make you forget about this ridiculous fight and… Please forgive me,” he said as he tenderly caressed her hair. “Darcy is right; it is entirely our fault—his and mine. We come every year to Rosings, and we should have observed that Aunt is too severe with you. Please do not cry; we will take care of you now. I will take care of you! Will you forgive me?”

He was still holding her tightly, her head leaning against his shoulder, and she tried to hide her sobbing as she whispered, “There is nothing to forgive.”

A few minutes passed in silence until Darcy intervened.

“Anne, we must discuss what you wish to do, and I must be sure of your safety. I planned to go to Netherfield tomorrow; Georgiana has decided to remain in Town. She wished to stay with you, and I encouraged her in this decision. But I can change my plans if necessary. I shall be away for a fortnight.”

“There is no need to change your plans,” said the colonel. “We shall take care of Anne.”

“I shall be fine.” Anne forced a tearful smile. “Forgive me for worrying you so. Please do not change your plans for me… I shall be fine. And I thank you… I would love to come to Pemberley if it is no trouble. I have not seen Pemberley in years.”

“It will be interesting to see how Aunt Catherine takes this news.” The colonel laughed again, his amusement impossible to conceal. “She will go distracted, I dare say. Perhaps I should move here for the time being to protect Anne. Better said, I should move into Anne’s room, to be certain Aunt will not hire someone to kidnap her.”

“Robert!” Darcy sharply interrupted him, but the colonel dismissed him with a gesture.

“Oh, you are so serious, Darcy. Go to Hertfordshire and take care of your business; we shall be fine here. We shall take care of Anne, and Father—poor fellow—will take care of Lady Catherine. We must calm her as soon as possible; she will become wild again when she receives certain news from Hertfordshire.”

He glanced at Darcy then continued to laugh. “Forgive my indiscretion, Cousin, but really you cannot hope that your news is still a secret from anyone in our family.”

“Did you propose to Miss Bennet? That is wonderful news,” said Anne shyly, and the colonel and Selina burst out in laughter. After a first moment of shock, Darcy had no other choice than to join them.

“It appears not to be much of a secret any longer. I wonder what betrayed us; Elizabeth and I tried to be discreet about the engagement,” Darcy inquired seriously, which only increased the others’ amusement. Even Anne could not stem her laughter.

That very moment the library door opened, and the earl and viscount entered. They remained motionless in the doorway, staring at the happy group.

“Well, this is unexpected. We walked around town, looking for Darcy, and you seem to have a jovial party here. May I ask what is so amusing?”

“Welcome, Papa,” Selina greeted him with a gentle kiss on his cheeks. “We have made plans for the summer; I will tell you immediately. And Darcy informed us of his plan to go to Hertfordshire tomorrow.”

“Oh, good. You will finally speak to Mr. Bennet. I think we should put the announcement in the papers as soon as possible.,” The earl spoke with perfect calmness, as though it were a matter long discussed and agreed to; the others began to laugh again while Darcy stared at them sheepishly.

Lord Matlock and the viscount watched the laughing group in bewilderment and then concluded that the argument with Lady Catherine had affected the family’s sanity.