“What a good joke!” she snorted. “As if she had any authority over you! Don’t listen to a word of it, Georgiana, for the colonel himself said none but he could force you to do anything until you came of age. You are not dependent upon Lady Catherine! I see now why she is so high on Mr Collins, for he—”
“Is perfectly suited for his post, of course!” Elizabeth interrupted. “Lydia, dear, I fear the sun has got to your head today. Oughtn’t you to lie down and rest?”
Lydia stuck a fist into her hip. “Come, Lizzy, you thought him as ridiculous as we all did. It is a jolly good thing you refused to marry him. Think if you had to live at Rosings like poor Charlotte!”
Lady Catherine was aghast and quivering with rage. “You—you vile creature!” She extended one weathered, thin finger toward Lydia, and Elizabeth could have sworn that the woman would soon begin to spit fire.
“Begone, Jezebel! Out of my sight at once! You may be assured that I shall denounce your entire family in all decent society. Your name shall never be mentioned in Town, and as for your marriage, I know it all! How much did your uncle pay to hush up the matter of your infamous elopement, and where is that shameful son of a steward now? A fine bargain he made of it all! Foolish girl, you have no place here, polluting the very shades of Pemberley, of all places! That I should live to see my sister’s child sully herself by association with a shameless harlot!”
“And these are the manners of a noblewoman?” Elizabeth asked. Her tones were quiet, but her cheeks were hot, her colour high. Lady Catherine’s high-handedness she could bear, but her thoughtless command over Georgiana and her insults—however well-deserved—to her own sister brought the iron out in her blood.
Lady Catherine whirled upon her. “I have not done with you, Elizabeth Bennet! How you managed to insinuate yourself into my niece’s favour I know not, but I have my suspicions. You wanted my nephew for yourself, though he was sworn to Anne. Oh, yes, I am not blind! I saw how he admired your charms, but thank heaven he was a man of enough sense to deny such devious arts! When your allurements failed to secure him in life, you imposed yourself on his sister, knowing that she had not the wisdom to resist you!”
“That shows what you know,” grumbled an insulted Lydia. “Lizzy, trying to attract Mr Darcy’s notice? She would sooner have danced with his horse, but it was jolly fun watching Miss Bingl—”
“Lydia,please!” hissed her sister. Elizabeth jerked her head toward the door, and Lydia, dropping her crossed arms in a huff, simply marched out of the room without a backward glance toward the noblewoman.
Lady Catherine was left with open mouth, staring after Lydia’s unceremonious departure. “I-i-insolent girl! That creature shall not remain a single moment longer in my sister’s home to corrupt her daughter! Where is the footman? I shall want her things packed this moment! She may go wherever will receive her, and you, Miss Bennet, shall follow!”
Tears were streaming down Georgiana’s face, and she was beginning to gasp helplessly, all the while imploring Elizabeth with stricken eyes to say something—anything. Elizabeth cringed in her heart. She had not desired to usurp Georgiana’s authority, tenuous as it was, but if she did nothing at all, the girl would never find the courage to resist her aunt’s wishes. The results could be worse than inconvenient or embarrassing—if none rose to defend Georgiana, and Colonel Fitzwilliam did not return before Lady Catherine had her way, the consequences for her would be life-altering.This,her conscience reminded her,this is why the colonel asked for you, and you gave your promise!
“Lady Catherine,” she heard herself answer haltingly, “perhaps my sister speaks out of turn, and her manners are in need of improvement, but she is my sister and the daughter of a gentleman, not to mention an officer’s wife who is nearing her first confinement. As such, I shall ask that your ladyship will refrain from speaking ill of her and threatening to cast her out of a home that is not your own. Pemberley belongs to Miss Darcy, and my sister and I shall remain or depart atherpleasure, not yours.”
Lady Catherine gaped wordlessly at Elizabeth for several seconds, then bore down again upon her niece. “Georgiana Darcy, do you hear this woman? She would deny me my place as your guardian and impose her company upon you in your time of mourning! This is precisely why young ladies must not be left without their guardians, for vultures such as these are like to take advantage of your naïveté! It is unpardonable that your own relations were not consulted in the choosing of your friendships. They have not even the proper connections—one uncle in trade and another an attorney! Do you realise the scandal when knowledge of this reaches London?”
“I….” Georgiana wetted her lips and her eyes skipped between her seething aunt and the woman who had become nearly a sister to her. “I w-want them h-here, Aunt,” she whispered.
The lady fairly growled, tsking and shaking her head. “Youwant!Hear you nothing I have said, Georgiana Darcy? These… women… they have no place here! You are a Darcy of Pemberley, and as such, these women are not even of your same sphere!”
“It is generally considered rude to speak before someone as though they are not present,” Elizabeth murmured.
“What was that?”
Elizabeth had clasped her hands behind her back and was gazing complacently toward the ceiling. She smiled faintly, causing Lady Catherine to step near in demand for answer. Elizabeth was happy to comply.
“It seems, Lady Catherine, that you take particular exception to my presence. I find that fact regrettable, but I would suggest that berating Miss Darcy regarding my invitation here shall profit her nothing. Pray, let us speak reasonably together, so that her best interests may be served.”
“Speak reasonably! Do you expect me to believe you have interests at heart other than your own?”
“Lady Catherine, had it not been for my sincere regard and affection for Miss Darcy, I would have remained happily in Hertfordshire. To there I would be pleased to return and resume my own life, but I have a duty to the Darcy family.”
The lady paused, her lips still opened to speak, but her gaze had turned quizzical. “A duty? Apart from the gratitude that must be natural for the condescension shown you by my niece, you are not indebted to the family, Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth caught her lower lip between her teeth and met Georgiana’s wondering gaze. “I am afraid there is more, my lady. Mr Darcy was… uncommonly good to my own family. For reasons that must now remain purely his own, I learned after his death that he had exerted himself on behalf of my relations. Most of them will never know to whom they are indebted, but I am aware of his actions. I shall never repay his unmerited kindness, but I would cherish his sister as dearly as if she were my own, both for his sake and for hers.”
Lady Catherine stared witheringly at Elizabeth, as though trying to determine her sincerity. “Miss Bennet, you must be aware that your company can hardly be considered a credit to my niece in better society.”
“I have been told as much, my lady, though such awareness often fails me. Certainly, a woman with an uncle such as mine should have better known her place, but I am afraid I have nothing but the highest regard for my uncle. As such, I suffer a lamentable lack of humility for my circumstances, but it is to my benefit that my esteemed cousin took care to enlighten me regarding my own consequence during my sojourn in Kent.”
“Miss Bennet, I can see that one year has wrought no great improvement in your address. You still speak with decided freedom and impertinence.”
“A failing which,” Elizabeth smiled, “Miss Darcy’s example cannot help but remedy in time. I believe your ladyship once before remarked upon my lack of a governess, but Miss Darcy’s manners are the soul of propriety. I think I have much to learn from her manner.”
The lady almost grunted. “More often I find that the mannerly and genteel are corrupted by uncouth fellowship.”
Elizabeth permitted herself a smile. “Perhaps that is not entirely to Miss Darcy’s detriment, my lady. Is she not the mistress of Pemberley, and shall she not remain so, regardless of marriage or widowhood? I should be sorry indeed if she comes into her inheritance without having first learnt to disarm insult and pressure from those who would seek to influence her for their own gain. Surely your ladyship is a perfect example of a woman who knows how to carry her own will without the benefit of a husband to manage her affairs for her.”
Lady Catherine’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I had the benefit of wise counselors and the verybesteducation a young lady may receive, Miss Bennet. My niece’s situation has been dismally unsatisfactory.”
