Elizabeth watched Darcy carefully. He had only begun to learn to be teased, and she feared taking too many liberties before his relatives. His uncle seemed a man of hearty good humour, putting Elizabeth perhaps a little too much at her ease. She had no doubts that he was, in truth, more sly and cunning even than she herself. It was high time to divert the man’s attention away from tormenting his nephew!
“My lord,” she brightened, “I am quite looking forward to making my acquaintance with Derbyshire. I understand my lord hails from the region as well. Can your lordship tell something of the landscape?”
“Indeed, Miss Bennet. It is harsh and unforgiving; the rocks break the ploughshares, and the blistering cold nips the buds from the trees. The only blasted things that grow are brambles and burs. The game is scarce, save for some half-starved coneys and rats. Rats the size of felines, Miss Bennet! Every home in Derbyshire is ramshackle and replete with the pests. The only saving grace is the mongrel dogs that roam everywhere at liberty, eating them almost as fast as they can breed. It was a shame last year when the rats ran out, but we only lost one or two farm hands to the feral pack.”
Elizabeth’s face shone with ebullient laughter as the earl continued with his sardonic description, not sparing even the great Pemberley with his glib insults. Darcy was gazing back in wry confusion, marvelling at his uncle’s easy satire.
“I now no longer wonder at the immense height of your horse, Mr Darcy!” Elizabeth chuckled, then tipped a sweet smile up at him. “He must keep you well off the ground and out of harm’s way! Are there snakes as well, my lord?”
“Vipers, Miss Bennet, hundreds of them,” Matlock confirmed with a droll wink. Darcy nearly bit off his own tongue when he witnessed it. He watched some minutes longer in speechless awe as his little country miss parlayed disarmingly with one of the greatest men in England. It was apparent that Elizabeth had utterly cast her spell over James Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Matlock.Leave it to my Lizzy to take the measure of the man so quickly!
“Uncle,” Darcy interjected at last, “pray, do not give Miss Bennet false ideas of Derbyshire! I had nearly convinced her that it was a habitable and welcoming place. I beg you would not let slip anything,” he leaned close, lifting his eyebrows significantly, “shocking. It is only Pemberley’s western wing that leaks, and it has been some while since we ‘misplaced’ any of our guests. You know we dealt with that she-dragon in the back wood last season, and I do not think her brood in the cave can have gained their full maturity as yet.”
Elizabeth by now was daintily covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers and striving to contain the great belly laugh which threatened to undermine her reputation as a lady. “Oh! Dragons!” she cried with enthusiasm. “How exciting, Mr Darcy! Oh, now you have quite captured my interest!” She turned a bright grin and admiring eyes up to him.Ah, there is my reward!he thought with a warm, tingling thrill. It would be no hardship to endure his lessons from his mistress!
Matlock eyed the couple appraisingly as Darcy tried to rectify his uncle’s cynical description of Derbyshire. He had been concerned for Darcy for years. Either the motherless young man would be taken in by a gold-digger like that Bingley woman, or he would waste the prime of his strength away, never allowing anything at all to touch his heart. So far, it had appeared that the latter would be the case. He had taken life and his responsibilities altogether too seriously, and no lady was ever found who could meet his exacting standards.
Now, that other thing he had feared had come to pass. His highly sought-after nephew had fallen prey to a penniless young nobody. Yet, the earl could not in this circumstance find it within himself to feel disapproval. The girl did not seem in the slightest impressed by Darcy’s wealth or stature, a thing utterly unheard of. She appeared to hold the man himself highly in her regard, treating him with the respect due to one’s affianced, but with a light, familiar attitude which seemed utterly to have bewitched the young man. Matlock watched in some fascination as proud and serious Darcy stood before him jesting fancifully with a witty young girl of no consequence whatsoever.
There could be no doubt about it; the lady had clearly wrapped his nephew around her little finger. By Richard’s assertion, it had been quite unconsciously done on her part! Never had he expected Darcy to fall so easily to a woman’s charms, but this particular woman was something unique. Matlock listened a little longer to his nephew’s easy repartee with the bright young lady and sighed inwardly. His nephew was lost, and if he wished to uphold cordial family relations, there was nothing to do but endorse the match.
Bingley’sbutlerbracedhimselfat the door of the Hall, wide-eyed and quaking. “The gentlemen left no indication that your arrival was expected, Madam,” Dawson answered nervously.
“Howdareyou address me so! Do you not recognize nobility when you see it? Such an ignorant, backward country!”
Dawson gulped. “Forgive me, my lady. I did not know!” His gaze slid surreptitiously to Miss Bingley. “May our coach house offer your ladyship’s horses fresh bait along the journey?”
“The horses! Fool, I shall see my nephew! We shall wait for him in the drawing-room. I expect he shall be returning immediately he has paid his call.” She began to stride toward the door, but the butler moved quickly to block her.
“I-I regret, my lady, that I cannot do that.” Dawson cringed, waiting for the blustering assault on his character and respectability, which he knew was to come.
The explosion was immediate and violent. “Cannot do that? How dare!Stand aside. You cannot deny access to me!Do you know who I am?”
Dawson, lacking the cool pluck of Darcy’s carefully schooled staff in London, cowered slightly. His own sweet-tempered employer had rather spoiled him, and great had been that wondrous day—yesterday, in fact—when the master had evicted the only resident source of strife from the household. “I… I have no idea, my lady,” he ventured lamely.
Lady Catherine glared silently for a moment, fuming. “Collins! Tell this worthless fool who I am!”
Caroline rolled her eyes as the subservient little twit came forward, bowing repeatedly before his wrathful patroness. He opened his mouth to speak, but the butler, having been exposed to Collins’ rambling on a previous occasion, moved to intervene.
“I regret, my lady, that it matters not. My master has ordered that Miss Bingley must not be granted entry—nor any of her guests... regardless of their identity.” The last part came out with admirably little tremble in his voice. Dawson straightened and squared his jaw, affecting more courage and adamance than he truly possessed.
Lady Catherine whirled on Caroline, rage and betrayal sparking from her faded eyes. “What is this?” she hissed in fury.
Caroline blanched but recovered smoothly. “My brother, your ladyship,” she intoned sweetly. “He is quite blinded as well and fancies himself attached to Miss Bennet’s older sister. He did not favour my disapproval of the Bennet family, either for himself or Mr Darcy. So, it is, my lady,” she adopted a slightly martyred expression, “one cannot act upon good intentions without occasionally being made to suffer for it.”
Lady Catherine’s temper seemed to shrink somewhat, her towering ire against Caroline, at least, abated for the moment. She cast a vengeful expression back to the butler. “I have not yet done! This house is not worthy of our regard! I am mostseriouslydispleased. My nephew shall hear of this!” She continued her litany against the household, the persons who dwelt within, and the entire Hertfordshire countryside until she had ascended once more into her—or rather, Caroline’s—carriage.
Once settled within, Lady Catherine put her head graciously out the window so that her parson might have the honour of hearing her private directives to him. “Collins! Do you take us to the home of your betrothed. I believe you said her father bears some manner of title.Heshall know how I am to be received!”
Thehalf-hourtheearlspent visiting with Miss Bennet’s family passed agreeably enough. He glanced once more about the room, mentally ticking off his final thoughts on his future relations.
That Mama of Miss Bennet’s seemed a mousy thing, easily cowed by her relatives. He had been surprised to discover that; he had thought Richard had made some derogatory mention of the woman’s brazen manners. He decided the woman was a powder keg—innocuous enough for the moment but poised at any public moment to shower embarrassment upon those too closely affiliated with her.
The two younger sisters had caused him to raise his eyebrows more than once. It was plain that they, along with their companion, appeared over-eager to quit the house as soon as he had removed his arduous presence from their home. The blatant and hungry stares directed toward Richard did nothing to improve his impression of them.
That middle sister he could not quite put his finger on. She had posted herself loyally near his niece, saying little but never far removed. He wondered briefly if the young woman had tried to attach herself to shy Georgiana, hoping to gain by circumstance. He would be sure to make mention of his concerns to Richard.
Despite all, he had been surprisingly impressed by Miss Bennet’s aunt and uncle. They had paid him the respectful civilities due to one of his status, but their manner was gracious and humble without descending into obsequiousness. They struck quite the perfect balance, and the earl went away with the impression that Mr Gardiner was in all probability the most genteel and respectable tradesman he had yet encountered.
