And she wished to cry, and it wouldn’t matter that it did not make anything better. She did notneedto make everything better. Mr. Darcy would be there with her when she was done crying, and he could help her to make things better.
“So,” Elizabeth asked, smiling so widely that it almost hurt, “Mr. Darcy, how much book money is it customary to assign in such situations as ours?”
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning after Elizabeth had changed his bandage, she presented Darcy a small silk handkerchief that she had embroidered with his initials. “I—I wished to present you something. A little favor. An expression of gratitude.”
Seeing this, Darcy’s heart glowed with warmth towards her. He simply was filled with a sort of deep satisfaction.
“Do not speak of gratitude. I only do my duty.” Darcy took it and held the small glistening square. “I thank you, so very much.”
She smiled at him and took his hand and kissed it again, as she often did.
A little before lunch, the pleasantness of the day was interrupted by a, to be honest, not wholly unexpected visitor.
“Oh, no!” Georgiana exclaimed. Then she flinched away from the window. “No! She saw me.”
“Who is it?” Elizabeth calmly put her saucer down.
“It is Aunt Catherine! I cannot face her. I cannot. She must know.”
Darcy felt his own frisson of unease.
He of course did not fear his aunt like his sister always had. He in fact liked Lady Catherine; her manner of talking made her more interesting to listen to than many persons who were never forthright, and she tried to improve the lives of those around her, and her schemes and plans were often good in Darcy’s view.
But she must be angry that he was marrying someone other than Anne, especially someone who was not Anne’s equal or superior in consequence.
Unpleasantness might arise if she wished to abuse Elizabeth to her face, but he would not fail in this first test of the promises that he had made to her.
“Georgie, you ought to stay, at least at first.” Darcy said, “But I will be here the whole time, and I will not permit her to abuse you, and if she becomes too difficult, you may withdraw.”
“Is your aunt Catherine so awful?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes.” Georgiana replied fervently, and she hugged herself.
Elizabeth picked up Emily and stood next to Georgiana. Elizabeth took the younger woman’s hand. “I will be here as well. And you may hide behind me, or even behind the sofa, if you must.”
Georgiana giggled wetly.
Lady Catherine’s loud piercing voice announced to the butler who she was.
The woman bustled into the room loud, large, and old fashioned. She did not wait to be introduced by the upper manservant from Pemberley who was acting as the butler.
Elizabeth had a real smile, thrown back shoulders, and a confident posture.
Darcy knew that it was in some part an act.
He made himself stand up, ignoring the rush in his head and the pain in his chest as he did so.
Lady Catherine looked around the room. She held her cane in both hands and studied each of them. “Humph.”
“Hello, Aunt,” Darcy said. “It is always a pleasure to see you.”
“Humph.”
It was difficult to not smile in response to her clear determination to be ill tempered. There was nothing frightening in Lady Catherine, though Darcy knew many found her to be so.
When Darcy looked over at Elizabeth to see how she took Lady Catherine, their eyes caught, and there was something sparkling and dancing in Elizabeth’s expression. It made his heart leap.
