Unforgiving Temper (67 page)

Lord Matlock eyed her frankness with
interest. “Is that so? Am I to believe you have some special
interest in my nephew?”

“Of course she does! Do not be deceived by
her arts and allurements, brother. She is a scheming fortune
hunter, inferior in every way. Darcy has been bewitched by her, but
no more! We shall take him away from here, away from her, this
instant! Doctor, you will make my nephew ready immediately.”

“No!” Elizabeth cried in sudden alarm. A
vision of Darcy's pale countenance flashed in her mind. “You
cannot! Mr. Lawrence? Surely it is too soon!”

“Miss Bennet is right,” the doctor
nodded. “He cannot be moved yet. It is too dangerous.”

Lady Catherine was unmoved.
“Nevertheless, he is leaving. Do what you must to prepare him for
the journey back to London, doctor, we are taking him home. I will
not have this woman near him another minute. She has done quite
enough already!” Lady Catherine glared in Elizabeth's
direction. “You are a bane to his existence! A disease to be
purged! You shall never see him again if it takes every resource I
have!”

“Whatever resources you bring to bear will
not be enough to separate us if he does not wish it. Perhaps you
have been long accustomed to directing the lives of those around
you, but you will not succeed with me, nor do I believe you will
succeed with Mr. Darcy.”

Lady Catherine's cane thumped loudly,
emphasizing her already heightened hostility. “Selfish, impudent
girl! I will not be contradicted!”

“And I shall not be dictated to by anyone so
wholly unconnected to me as you!”

“You have no say in the matter!”

“That is quite enough. Darcy will make his
own decisions.” Lord Matlock's resolute words to his sister drove
her further into her rage.

“It is not enough! Darcy must be made to see
where his duty lies! The daughter of Sir Lewis de Bourgh shall not
be cast off for a person of inferior birth, a nobody! Elizabeth
Bennet must be cut out of his life completely before it is too
late!”

Elizabeth's eyes widened with a growing
understanding. “It was
you
! Why did I not see it before?
You
made it possible for Mr. Wickham to separate me
from my family before Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy returned
to Hertfordshire.”

“How dare you accuse me of such nonsense! I
care nothing for George Wickham or you!”

“Mr. Wickham laid a very careful plan to
take me away against my will. A plan which he could not have
accomplished without resources from someone of greater standing.
Indeed, the very carriage that he used was well beyond his means. I
had supposed it was Lord Grissholm who had paid the expense
for the whole scheme; but when he died, and Wickham came for me
again, I knew it could not be the viscount. I now know that it was
you – all along.”

Lady Catherine stiffened, her eyes
casting a murderous glare at Elizabeth. “How dare you accuse me!
You have no proof!”

“That is where you are wrong,
Lady Catherine. Mr. Wickham clearly had enough money to
execute his vile plans a second time, and he boasted that he would
retire with a much greater reward that was to be granted upon my
death. Someone was willing to pay him most handsomely for my
murder!”

“That proves nothing! Anyone could have
provided Wickham with a carriage and money!”

“Yes, any number of persons could have,”
Elizabeth replied, smiling at Lady Catherine's blunder. “But I
wonder how many of them possess a carriage whose cushions are
embroidered with the initials “LdB”? You see, Mr. Wickham sent
just such a carriage to my house last June to take me away, and
then used that very same carriage in his attempt to murder me.”

Lord Matlock looked at his sister with
growing alarm. “Catherine?”

“Stop it! Stop it, I say! I will not listen
to another word of this preposterous lie!”

Elizabeth ignored the woman's hysterical
cries as she followed her thoughts to the now obvious conclusion.
“You, Lady Catherine, have the resources and the carriages.
The cushions of the carriage Mr. Wickham used bore the
initials “LdB”. I would wager they stand for Lewis de Bourgh. If
there is any doubt, perhaps his lordship would care to examine the
wreckage? I am certain there is still enough of it left to identify
its ownership.”

“Lies! All lies, and you shall pay for
it!”

Before anyone knew what she was about,
Lady Catherine flew at Elizabeth with her cane. Elizabeth only
had time to raise her arm in defense before the cane came crashing
down on her. In the next instant, Lord Matlock was at her side,
blocking the next blow with his own arm. “Catherine! Enough! Do you
hear me? Enough of this foolishness!”

“No!” the woman screamed uncontrollably. “You
do not know how cunning and deceitful the girl is, but I do! We
must be rid of her for Darcy's sake. Elizabeth Bennet must die! She
must die!”

Elizabeth stepped back out of reach of the
cane as it swung in her direction once more. The others looked on
in horror as Lord Matlock struggled to constrain his sister. She
slashed wildly again and again, no longer caring who became the
recipient of her wrath. After bearing the brunt of several more
strikes, the earl finally managed to subdue her.

Horrified at the revelation of his sister's
treachery and her violent outburst, Lord Matlock struggled to find
the right words. “I regret the trouble we have caused you,
Miss Bennet. I see that my son Richard may have been right in
his estimation of you after all. I do hope we shall meet again
under more favorable circumstances. Mr. Bingley, please accept
my apologies for our intrusion. I do not believe we shall stay any
longer. Doctor, if you will assist me, I shall take my sister to
the carriage.”

Any hope that the spectacle was at an end
proved to be in vain. Lady Catherine did not go with her
brother willingly or quietly. The ranting cries echoed down the
hallway as Lord Matlock fairly dragged her out of the room and
toward their waiting carriage.

“Let go of me, you fool! We cannot let her
escape. She has ruined all my dreams and she must pay! She must
pay!”

When the cries finally faded, Bingley coughed
nervously. “I am sorry for that. Are you well,
Miss Bennet?”

Sweeping a stray curl back into her hair,
Elizabeth sank into a nearby chair, grateful for the support her
legs could no longer give her, and let out a relieved sigh. “Yes, I
am well enough. I have long known Lady Catherine did not
approve of me, but I had no idea the depth of her resentment. I am
sorry to bring this upon you, Jane.”

“It is not your fault at all, Lizzy; they
came unannounced. But how awful for you to be attacked like that!
It was dreadful. I wonder what will happen to her now. Charles, did
you know her well?”

“Not at all! I only met her today. From what
Darcy says, she has always been somewhat unbending and a little
eccentric. I know he had already informed her of his decision not
to marry Miss de Bourgh months ago, and I suppose the reminder of
his interest in Miss Bennet was a little too much for her.”
Bingley turned an accusing eye to Caroline who had been standing
silently in the corner of the room since Lady Catherine's
violent response to the news of Elizabeth's attending Darcy.

“Do not look at me!” cried Caroline. “I only
mentioned it. How was I to know she would turn into a mad
woman?”

“No one knew, Caroline; but you did know it
would make things uncomfortable for Miss Bennet.”

“If you will recall, brother, I was
commending Miss Bennet for her devotion! My efforts to be
sisterly are obviously not wanted. All this excitement has given me
a headache. If you need me, which I find highly doubtful, I shall
be in my rooms!”

With a dramatic flourish, Caroline swept from
the room leaving Charles, Jane, and a recovering Elizabeth to stare
after her.

“I do apologize,” said Charles. “She can
behave better if she chooses, and I have hopes that she will.
Otherwise, she shall be sent back to Scarborough. I will not have
her upsetting your household, Jane.”

“Perhaps it was an innocent mistake, Charles.
It has been a very long day and everyone is on edge.” Her smile to
Charles faded a bit as she looked to her sister. “Lizzy, you look
so pale. Shall I send for Dr. Lawrence?”

“No, please do not. I am fine. I only have
been thinking of Lady Catherine. Such an unforgiving temper
that has been the cause of so much misery. Because of her I was
cruelly separated from my family for months, our father's state of
health suffered horribly, two men are dead, and a woman is gravely
injured. I can only hope that it will not continue. Even if she
deserves everything her actions have brought upon her,
Mr. Darcy's family does not deserve another scandal.”

“I am confident Lord Matlock will be very
discreet with his sister. He will make certain there is no danger
of scandal in his circles. Jane and I shall have a talk with the
servants. Wilson is the only one with any direct knowledge of this
affair and he can be trusted to remain silent. The others will be
warned against spreading gossip of any kind.”

Elizabeth was also confident in Lord
Matlock's ability to contain any gossip. What she did not voice was
her worry of how far Lady Catherine had spread her poison
among the members of Darcy's family. Lord Matlock had shown the
barest of civilities at their meeting. Was the rest of the family
against her as well? Hopefully, the discovery of
Lady Catherine's treachery would erase whatever prejudice
there was and allow them to form an independent opinion of her.

Elizabeth's troubled thoughts were
interrupted when Jane placed a gentle arm around her shoulder.

“Lizzy, would you like to rest a little more?
Shall I help you to your room?”

“No, Jane, that will not be necessary. I am
fine, truly.” With a deep, cleansing breath she rose from her chair
and murmured to Jane, “At least we can say that ours is not the
only family that can make a spectacle of themselves!”

Leaving her sister and brother to speculate
on what fate lay in store for Lady Catherine, Elizabeth felt a
surge of relief as she hurried back to the man who had completely
captured her heart.

* * * *

Elizabeth tapped lightly on Darcy's door, a
maid at her side bearing a tray from the kitchen. Muffled words and
hurried footsteps were heard from within before the door was opened
and Denham waved the two women into the room. Elizabeth's quick
glance toward the bed revealed Darcy was awake and keenly observing
her movements.

Trying to busy herself with directions to the
maid and the placement of the tray, Elizabeth hoped the sudden
blush on her cheeks would fade before it was time to face him
directly. The past three days in which she had been caring for him,
he had been either unconscious or delirious; but never awake or
fully aware of her presence. The first day had been the hardest for
her. Darcy's ashen face and the doctors' grim manner had quickly
erased any hopes that Jane's account of his condition had been
exaggerated. And when she saw how near death he truly was, she
could not bring herself to leave him. Against all persuasion, she
insisted on staying at his side as he hovered between life and
death. She sat for endless hours, sponging his forehead with cool
cloths to soothe the blazing fever and laying on more blankets when
he shivered violently with fits of sudden chills. She cared for him
night and day, praying passionately in her heart that he would be
preserved. What little sleep she had allowed herself was taken in
the chair by his bed and more often than not the trays Jane had
ordered sent up from the kitchen were returned untouched. Her heart
was unalterably intertwined with Darcy's survival and she refused
to leave for even a moment lest he should slip away and take it
with him.

It had not mattered that she breached all
convention by remaining in his room. The only thing she had cared
about was his recovery; however, now that he was out of danger,
Jane's earlier words began to haunt her. She was finding it
difficult to push the thoughts of her wild behavior out of her
mind. Would he resent her actions? Would it offend his sense of
propriety? He would have every right to condemn her and then she
would be ruined. In her heart, she did not believe that to be the
case, but even if he did, at least he had survived and she would
not regret a single moment she had spent with him.

Looking sideways now, she saw that he was
still following her every move. After dismissing the maid and
taking as long as she dared to arrange the items on the tray, she
took a quick breath, sat down near the bedside and finally looked
up at him. The blush she had managed to subdue earlier reappeared
the instant he spoke.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever
going to look at me,” he teased. “It seemed for all the world as if
you were deliberately ignoring me.”

“You, sir, are imagining things,” she replied
curtly, though her heart was suddenly brimming with relief that his
feelings were obviously unchanged. “I was only making sure
everything was as Dr. Lawrence ordered. You have been very ill
and will need every bit of this to regain your strength.”

“Yes, so Denham tells me. The last thing I
remember clearly was handing you down to Bingley at Longbourn.” He
struggled to raise himself with his good arm as Elizabeth took a
bowl of broth in hand and motioned for Denham's assistance. Once
Darcy was in a more upright position with sufficient pillows behind
him, he began reaching for the bowl.

Elizabeth instantly pulled back in her chair.
“Oh no! You cannot possibly feed yourself with one hand. I shall do
the honors.”

“That is ridiculous! I am quite capable of
spooning my own broth. You will give me the dish, madam.”

“And have you spill it all over yourself and
the bed? I think not.”