Page 28 of Idle Gossip

Lady Catherine’s face turned an alarming shade of red. “And this is your real opinion! This is your final resolve! Very well. I shall now know how to act.” She faced Elizabeth. “Do not imagine, Miss Bennet, that your ambition will ever be gratified. I came to try you. I hoped to find you reasonable; but, depend upon it, I will carry my point.” Her cane hit the floor again.

Elizabeth’s reply was calm. “I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.”

She thought of Mr. Darcy’s arrival in October, seeing him enter the assembly hall. Tall, handsome, imposing, she had been aware of him from the first moment. She had watched him dance with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, privately wishing he would notice her. And then came that awful insult. Tolerable.

Charlotte asked weeks ago why Darcy’s insult had bothered her when Elizabeth normally laughed at such petty insults. It was because she had wished for his affection even then. She had wanted his admiration before she knew him. His rejection had wounded her because she had desired his good opinion.

But that was not why she wanted him now. She knew him better now. Mr. Darcy was the same in essentials, but in knowing him better she understood him. He was a man who loved his sister, who listened raptly when someone spoke with him. He could admit fault and make her laugh. Mr. Darcy challenged her…and he had offered her freedom even though it hurt him.

“Then if my nephew were foolish enough to offer for you, would you accept him?” Lady Catherine, it seemed, was not done with her tirade.

“If Mr. Darcy ever chooses to make me an offer, madam, I shall answer him according to my own heart and no one else’s expectations.”

She glanced at Mr. Darcy out of the corner of her eye. Relief and pride were present in his gaze.

“There is a rather fine inn in Meryton, Aunt.” He took her by the elbow and began escorting her from the room. “I suggest you get rooms there tonight.”

“But…Mr. Darcy! I must protest. Your lady aunt ought to stay here, not at some country inn. And I must speak with Mr. Bennet about arranging my nuptials. Miss Elizabeth and I may be wed as soon as may be.”

“I can assure you, sir, that you will never marry any of my daughters.” Mr. Bennet glowered at the sycophantic parson.

Mr. Collins gaped briefly before scampering after Mr. Darcy and Lady Catherine.

“Darcy! Enough. Stop this at once. You cannot marry her. Anne—you are engaged to Anne!”

“I have never been engaged to Anne, Aunt. Now, you have insulted Elizabeth, Bingley, and every other person in the room. You will depart.” Darcy wished his aunt gone. He hoped this confrontation would result in her refusing to speak with him for a time.

“You cannot marry her. She is nobody!”

“You will not speak so of Elizabeth again. She is undeserving of your vitriol and spite.” Every insult enraged him further. “Let me be perfectly frank: Elizabeth did not start the rumors. The idle gossip began as a result of a letter from one friend to another—it was in no way a product of any schemes by the Bennet family. I pursued her, despite her protestations. It was I who begged for a courtship and then spent weeks wooing her. I love her, Aunt, and I will not give her up.”

“And this is your final word on the subject?”

“It is. You will leave now, and take your toadying parson with you. He has no claim to Elizabeth’s hand. I shall call him out if he attempts to importune her.”

Mr. Collins gasped and then spluttered nonsense as he attempted to answer.

“Enough, Collins. Let us go. My driver can have us in London by dawn. We shall see how you respond when my brother, the Earl, has his say.”

Darcy watched as the uninvited guests strode away. My aunt will not be pleased with what she finds at Matlock House. Lord and Lady Matlock had already pledged to help Elizabeth in society in any way they could.

Weary from the battle, Darcy returned to the ballroom. The dancing had resumed, but Elizabeth was not standing up with Mr. Lucas any longer. She hovered just inside the doors to the terrace, waiting for him.

Darcy approached and offered his arm. She took it and they went outside.

“I am so sorry, Elizabeth.”

“Your aunt is quite the termagant,” she quipped, making him chuckle.

“She has always been thus.”

“For what it is worth, I can see why you compared her to my mother. For all her faults, Mama has never behaved so in public.”

They paused at the edge of the terrace and looked out at the gardens.

“I love you,” Elizabeth blurted from his side.

Darcy turned to face her. “Truly?”