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“I don’t know which of them is the worst,” Mrs. Bennet said although by now no one was listening to her; they were all gathered around Elizabeth at the window. “Though if pressed I should say it was Mr. Darcy. A more disagreeable man I’ve never met, and I’ve met entire regiments of them.”
Elizabeth watched as a dark-haired gentleman alighted from the carriage. From the second floor window, she could not see his face, although she recognized his proud bearing. The gentleman assisted a young lady out of the carriage.
“His pride isn’t to be borne, and it will not be, I assure you, not by me at any rate,” Mrs. Bennet continued, hitting her stride, “as I have often told Mr. Bennet, I should like to give Mr. Darcy a good dressing down. Indeed, I should like nothing more!”
“You shall have your chance,” said Elizabeth. “Mr. Darcy is here now.”
Chapter 9, “All Astonishment”
December 22, 1812
“Will you be making your engagement to my daughter public this Christmas?” Lady Catherine asked. “Christmas Eve would be a perfect time. There will be a ceremony at the unveiling of the cupola, and many important guests will be present.”
Darcy shifted in his seat. He did not wish to admit to Lady Catherine that he did not intend to marry her daughter. He had, after all, a great favor to ask of her. But dishonesty was not in his character. “I will not,” he said. “I have no intention of announcing my engagement to Anne at Christmas, or at any other time.”
“Indeed,” said Lady Catherine. She did not seem surprised or even much perturbed. “You are engaged to Anne, whether you announce it or not. Your mother and I decided this many years ago.”
“It was not your decision to make.”
“Be that as it may,” Lady Catherine said firmly, “It was nevertheless made. It is carved in the very stones of Pemberley and Rosings Park, Fitzwilliam, that you are to marry Anne. You have a duty to your family—and I do not mean just to me, or your mother—but to Georgiana, and to future generations.
“And you must agree, Fitzwilliam, that Anne is a most suitable match. Joining Pemberley with Rosings Park is most suitable indeed.”
Darcy took a sip of claret to prevent himself from speaking. It was no use. She would not be prevailed upon. To her, his fate was preordained. Nothing he could say would convince her that he would never marry her daughter.
“There is something else that I wished to discuss with you, aunt,” he said, hoping to change the subject. “An important matter which concerns Rosings Park.”
“Surely it can wait, Fitzwilliam,” Lady Catherine said. “You have just arrived, and must be weary from the journey. You will be staying for the whole Christmas, will you not? We shall have plenty of time to discuss the matter, whatever it is.”
Darcy considered for a moment whether he should bring up the matter of fencing the common now, or wait for a more opportune time. But what would that be? The sooner he got to it, the better.
“It’s about your steward’s scheme to fence the common,” Darcy said. “You can’t allow that, aunt. You know that it’s not right.”
Lady Catherine did not answer but instead summoned a footman with a wave of her fan and directed him to bring her a glass of port wine. She then turned back to Darcy.
“Did you know, Fitzwilliam, that Miss Elizabeth Bennet is here?” Lady Catherine said with a blank expression. “I invited her, and her mother and sisters, for the Christmas season.”
Elizabeth Bennet, here? Darcy was astonished. He had no idea what could’ve possessed his aunt to invite Miss Bennet and her family to Christmas at Rosings.
“You look surprised,” Lady Catherine said, then continued smoothly. “I’d forgotten you had some interest or other in Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I trust you will not encourage her, or give her false hope that she is a suitable match for you. I invited her here to give her, and her unfortunate sisters, some chance of meeting eligible gentlemen who might be in a position to be able to overlook their lack of breeding and fortune.”
Darcy wondered why his aunt would put herself out to help Miss Elizabeth Bennet or her sisters, but he had a more pressing concern. “You’re very kind,” he said, “to think of the less fortunate.
“And in that regard, I beg you to reconsider your decision to have the common fenced. Many good people will be put off land which they’ve worked and lived upon for generations. You cannot permit this to happen.”
“Oh, I leave all that to Mr. McGinty,” Lady Catherine said with a flourish of her fan. “He came very highly recommended, and his only condition was that he be given a free hand to manage the estate as he saw fit. You know, Fitzwilliam, that, although I do have my opinions on certain points, I am not able to concern myself with all the details of an estate as large as Rosings Park.”
“I do not ask that you consider yourself with all of the details concerning the estate,” said Darcy, beginning to lose his patience. “I ask only that you consider this detail: the fencing of the common. You must realize, aunt, that the people who depend upon it will have nowhere to turn. They will have to leave their homes. Many will have no choice but to seek work in the mines, the mills, or worse, join the Army or Navy. You cannot allow this to happen. Prevail upon Mr. McGinty—order him if you must—to stop this scheme.”
“Well, Fitzwilliam, as you well know many persons of quality—younger sons, women who do not marry—must set out upon the world to seek their fortune, or make such compromises as they see they must. Anne’s companion, Mrs. Jenkinson came from a good family but is reduced to being a companion only, and the same goes, I have no doubt, for the companion to Georgiana. Indeed, the Bennet girls who are here now will be reduced to becoming governesses, or worse, teachers at a school, if they do not obtain husbands. Surely you cannot expect me to consider the whole world when governing my financial affairs? It is enough that I help those whom I am able.”
Darcy was furious, but he held his tongue. How could she compare the choices of the gentry to those forced upon the poor? The families in her care would be shattered and cast adrift if the common were fenced. They would have no hope to reclaim their former places but would have to leave forever the only home they had ever known.
“It is not the same, you must realize it,” said Darcy. “You have a responsibility to people who have been loyal to your family and to Rosings Park through generations.”
“And you, Fitzwilliam, have a responsibility to Pemberley,” Lady Catherine said shrewdly, looking at him with her hawk-like eyes. “I trust that you too, will put Pemberley first over any personal preferences which you may have.”
Darcy did not know how to respond to this. He was certain he would not be able to keep a civil tone if he were to reply. He remained silent, and Lady Catherine sat back in her seat, and relaxed somewhat, doubtless believing that he had taken her point.
