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Now that the initial shock was over, his uncle had recovered his sense of propriety. “You have compromised the young lady. You must do right by her!”
Lady Catherine opened her mouth to object, saw Darcy’s murderous expression, and closed it again. Darcy put his arm around Elizabeth’s waist. “No actually I do not.” He rather enjoyed the shock on his aunt and uncle’s faces. “You see, we have something to tell you—”
Lady Catherine could contain herself no longer. “You cannot get engaged to this woman. It is unsupportable!” She bellowed.
“Your opinion on this match has been sufficiently expressed,” Darcy leveled his gaze at her until she looked away. “In any event, your concern is misplaced,” Darcy continued. “I wish to explain that we are not announcing our engagement; we are already married.”
“Married!” Aunt Alice cried. Lady Catherine appeared so horrified Darcy thought she might have a seizure in the street.
“Yes, we actually were married in France a month ago, but Elizabeth’s father asked us to delay the announcement.” Darcy strove to keep h
is tone casual, but felt a glimmer of triumph when he gazed at Lady Catherine’s scandalized face.
“Indeed!” Uncle Fitzwilliam sounded more surprised than dismayed. “You have been married this whole time?”
“Yes,” Darcy regarded Aunt Alice. “So I fear that any attempt to persuade me to consider any other women has been wasted effort. I apologize.” There was a long pause while Darcy’s relatives considered this information. Lady Alice was regarding Darcy in shock, while his uncle was watching her to see her reaction.
Lady Catherine was the first to recover her voice. “Marriage in France? I am certain it could be annulled! You could escape this trap she has laid for you.”
Darcy experienced a rush of rage, but attempted to restrain it. Shouting at his aunt on a public street would only damage the family’s relationships. “The wedding was performed by a Church of England priest with all due ceremony and we have no desire to have it annulled.”
After a brief pause, Aunt Alice took a step toward Darcy, regarding him with an ironic gleam in her eye. “Well, this was quite impulsive of you, Fitzwilliam – and I must say I regret wasting my matchmaking efforts on you. But I enjoyed your Elizabeth’s company at dinner the other night. You could have done far worse.” She turned to Elizabeth with a warm smile. “Welcome to the family, my dear.” Darcy sighed with relief at the sign that his aunt had bowed to the inevitable.
“Thank you.” Elizabeth responded with a heartfelt smile. Lady Catherine did not appear disposed to follow her sister-in-law’s example, but instead glared at Darcy.
Darcy’s uncle shook his head. “Apparently you are as impulsive as your father when you set your mind to it.” He said finally. “Congratulations to both of you!” After contemplating them in bemusement for a minute, he announced: “As interesting as all these revelations are, I would like to continue on to Hyde Park before it the day grows too warm.” He offered his wife his arm.
“Yes, indeed,” Aunt Alice seconded. “Darcy, let me know when the announcement will appear in the newspaper. Then we shall throw a ball in your honor so we may introduce your young lady properly.”
Darcy smiled broadly; such an event would go far toward establishing Elizabeth in London society. “Thank you,” Darcy gave her a kiss on the cheek.
His aunt and uncle ambled back toward the carriage, accompanied by Elizabeth. Darcy could hear her explaining the circumstances surrounding the wedding to them. Lady Catherine turned to follow the Fitzwilliams, but Darcy caught her by the elbow. “Aunt Catherine,” he hissed, all pretext of civility gone, “do not make the mistake of believing I am unaware of your role in Wickham’s misadventure.”
“I-I- do not know of what you are speaking—” she said in a quavering voice.
“Wickham confessed all to me before Richard carted him off to jail. Be thankful that you are my aunt. That is the only thing preventing me from having you named as a conspirator in my wife’s kidnapping!” He drew closer to her so she was forced to gaze up at him.
“Kidnapping! I never – She – She was not to be harmed—” Lady Catherine broke off suddenly, realizing she had already revealed too much.
“You schemed to ruin an innocent woman’s reputation,” Darcy continued relentlessly. “You should be ashamed of yourself, but I know you are incapable of such sentiments. Instead, I want you to ponder what would have happened if Wickham had succeeded in his ploy to drag Elizabeth’s name through the muck. It would have been the name of Darcy that would have been besmirched. You would have caused the very event you thought to prevent!”
These words made Aunt Catherine blanch more than any other, but she remained silent. “Currently no one else knows of this conspiracy save Wickham, Richard, and Elizabeth,” Darcy continued relentlessly. “However should you be anything less than supportive of my marriage to Elizabeth, it will not remain that way.”
“You would never go public with such a tale—” She scoffed.
“I do not need to. Would you like me to share the tale with my aunt and uncle? Or perhaps your daughter? Or the Bennets?”
Lady Catherine gritted her teeth. “No.”
“Very well, then here are my demands. You will stay away from Elizabeth and me. You will not visit us. We will not visit you. When we see each other at social events, you will be unfailingly polite to Elizabeth. You will not say one word against her to our family or anyone else. If you fail to meet these terms, I will not rest until everyone in our family knows the story of your misbehavior. Do you consent to these stipulations or should I save time and tell them now?”
“I agree,” she ground out. “Now, let me pass! I have had enough of this!” She pushed past Darcy and marched toward the carriage where the Fitzwilliams awaited her. Darcy let her go. They had reached an understanding. It was enough. Lady Catherine climbed into the carriage and it immediately began rolling down the street, the sounds of the horses’ hoofs echoing in the morning quiet. Elizabeth strolled back to Darcy and he put his arms around her shoulders.
“I can promise you will never again experience difficulties with my Aunt Catherine,” he said softly.
“Thank you.” She leaned against him, clearly exhausted. The morning sun glinted off the soft curls of her hair.
He touched a single curl tenderly. “Now, my love, it is time to go home.”
