Truth about Mr. Darcy (15 page)

They dined the following evening with Elizabeth’s Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in Gracechurch Street, where they—the Bennets, the Gardiners, the Darcys, and Bingley—passed many happy hours in extremely pleasant company. Though their house was not half so large nor so grand as his own—being in Cheapside rather than the fashionable Grosvenor Square—Darcy found himself invariably impressed by the elegant manners and intelligent conversation of the Gardiners, who, to his complete surprise, turned out to be brother and sister-in-law to Mrs. Bennet.

When they arrived back at Darcy House, it was well past midnight, and everyone was anxious to retire for the night. While Elizabeth’s parents and sisters went directly to their respective rooms to commence with their bedtime routines, Elizabeth and Miss Darcy stood together, finalizing plans they had made to visit Hyde Park in the morning. Darcy was seeing to some last-minute business in his study. Tired from their long day, the two ladies were just about to bid each other good night when the door to the drawing room was thrown open to reveal none other than Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

“Where is my nephew!” she demanded as her gaze swept through the room. As soon as her gaze came to rest on Elizabeth, her eyes narrowed with distaste. “And I suppose
you
are the insolent girl who has drawn him in!” It was not a question.

Georgiana gasped and looked on helplessly as her aunt advanced toward Elizabeth. She somehow forced herself to take a step forward and say, though somewhat meekly, “Aunt Catherine, may I present Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Hertfordshire?”

“I already know who she is!” she hollered in a voice that made her niece cringe. Then, turning to Elizabeth, she exclaimed, “I know it all, Miss Elizabeth Bennet! I know how you refused a perfectly good proposal of marriage from a respectable man whose prospects and station are far better suited to your meager situation in life in order to ensnare
my
nephew! Oh, yes! I have it on very good authority you have used your many charms and allurements in a shameful manner to seduce him—yes,
seduce him
, Miss Bennet!—into offering you marriage. Such disgraceful behavior will not be tolerated by his family. Whatever scheme you have been aspiring to will never take place. Mr. Darcy is engaged to
my
daughter. Now, what have you to say to
that
?”

Normally, Elizabeth would have found quite a bit to say, but she was currently so stunned to discover that any of Darcy’s well-bred relations could possibly act in so deplorable a manner, it took her several moments to find her voice. Shaking only slightly, she spoke in as calm a manner as she was able. “If that is true, your ladyship, then Mr. Darcy certainly should never have made an offer to
me
; however, as I understand it, there is no prior commitment between your nephew and Miss de Bourgh. Mr. Darcy has denied the existence of such an arrangement, and therefore, as he has always been a man of his word, I must believe
him
over others who may feel far more of an inclination to be biased on this subject.”

Lady Catherine gasped.

“As to the other charges you have laid at my door, they are disgraceful indeed, but I shall never dignify them with a response. You have insulted me at every turn, and I beg you would excuse me. You cannot possibly have anything further to say that I would wish to hear.” She turned and made to leave, but Lady Catherine had not done. She reached out and actually caught Elizabeth’s wrist to detain her.

“Not so hasty, Miss Bennet! You refuse to acknowledge the fact that your cousin, Mr. Collins—my very own trusted parson—witnessed you in a compromising position of the most offensive nature with my nephew, and still, you will not answer for it? Shall this be borne? No, it certainly shall not! You, Miss Bennet, have shown yourself to be a woman of the worst kind—wild, wanton, and totally unfeeling for all you shall make my poor nephew suffer! Perhaps you have managed to mislead
him
, but
I
am not so easily fooled. I see you for what you are—nothing but a fortune hunter who is no better than a common woman of the night!”

“
Enough!
” Darcy’s voice rang loudly throughout the room as he stalked over to his aunt. By his expression, all present could tell he was furious, his body practically shaking with his contained rage. When he turned his gaze upon the two women who meant more to him than anything else, he was further angered to see Elizabeth’s eyes swimming with unshed tears. He took his place beside her and moved to encircle her waist with his arm, but to his surprise, she pulled away and, without so much as a glance at him, walked swiftly from the room. Casting a wary look at her aunt, Georgiana followed her.

Darcy fixed his aunt with a look of loathing she would not soon forget and, through gritted teeth, demanded, “How dare you accuse my future wife of such a disgusting machination! What evil demon has robbed you of your senses and induced you to speak such vile filth in my home? Of what could you
possibly
be thinking?”

“Come, Nephew! You cannot possibly know of what you speak. Admit it. You have been taken in, duped, if you will, by this scheming little upstart. Can you not see that she cares nothing for you? It is only your money she wants. You have been blinded by her charms and her favors. When word gets out you intend to marry a woman you have taken as your mistress, we shall all be disgraced! Is such a woman to be sister to Georgiana? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? Your parents would turn over in their graves to see you behaving thus!”

Never before had Darcy felt as though he could have struck a woman, but as he stared in disbelief at his aunt, he had to remind himself repeatedly to rein in his temper before it caused him to act in a way he would certainly come to regret. Breathing deeply, he paced the length of the drawing-room floor as her ladyship continued her tirade, mercilessly berating Elizabeth. At length, when she began to talk of his cousin Anne and how Darcy’s own mother had planned their union to join their ancestral houses, it was absolutely the last straw.

His tone was venomous. “Lady Catherine, you would do well to remember you are still insulting my future wife with such outlandish insinuations!
Never
do so again, madam, and do not attempt to disillusion me with such ridiculous nonsense! I never heard my mother speak of her wish for a marriage between Anne and myself, nor have I ever heard it uttered by any member of my family other than you. As a matter of fact, it has been many years now I have believed such a scheme to be merely your own machination in order to lay claim to Pemberley and unite the Fitzwilliam fortune under one name. It was wrong of me to remain silent. Now I must insist you leave.”

He rang then for a burly footman, who seemed to materialize out of thin air, and then he ushered his aunt out of the drawing room, into the foyer, and toward the door. Lady Catherine attempted to speak her mind, but Darcy would hear none of it. “You can have nothing further to say, Aunt. I will take this time to tell you, however, should you take it upon yourself to spread
any
of these vicious falsehoods—and they
are
falsehoods—against Elizabeth and myself, I will not be held accountable for my actions. This malicious slander has been fabricated and expounded upon by a sycophantic, small-minded man who is uncommonly bitter over the rejection of his own misdirected suit. That obsequious little parson of yours wasted no time, I might add, insinuating himself upon another respectable woman in the very same neighborhood, whom he managed to convince to accept him only three days later.
Three days!
” he bellowed, “Yet, still, he insists on being vindictive and spiteful. Worse still, he is
your
clergyman
, Lady Catherine
—
hand-selected by you, though God only knows what for!”

They reached the door, and the footman yanked it open. “If you will not think of me, Aunt, then perhaps you will think of Anne and what she will likely suffer at the hands of society, should you and your faithful servant proceed in your endeavor to disgrace the future mistress of Pemberley. Imagine how Anne will be treated when the
ton
hears she has been thrown off by her cousin in favor of, how did you put it—oh, yes, by
‘a woman I have taken as my mistress’
? You have purported the rumor of your daughter’s impending engagement to me for many years now, and though I have always had a familial affection for Anne, my first loyalty will always be to my wife. If you insist on destroying Miss Bennet’s reputation, you will also be tainting that of your beloved daughter and all your relations. Remember that, Lady Catherine, before next you speak!”

Lady Catherine opened and closed her mouth, clearly outraged to have had no effect in swaying her stubborn nephew from his endeavor to marry the woman of his own choosing. Darcy simply glared at her and slammed the door in her face.

The burly footman’s lips twitched.

“Not so much as one word of this is to be breathed, Tanner,” Darcy warned. “Not so much as
one word
.”

***

Georgiana knocked upon the door to Elizabeth’s bedchamber and, although she received no answer, pushed it open and entered. Elizabeth was lying upon the bed, her shoulders shaking. Georgiana went to her and placed a hand upon her hair. “Oh, Elizabeth,” she whispered, “please, do not take to heart anything my aunt has said. She can be truly unfeeling when she is moved to do so. You did nothing to deserve such wretched treatment from her. I am so sorry.”

As Georgiana watched Elizabeth struggle to compose herself, her face burned with shame for her aunt’s castigation of the woman who would very soon become her sister. Elizabeth sat up and managed a weak smile as she moved to dry her tears. “I am happy to finally hear you address me by my Christian name, Georgiana. Thank you. It brings me more pleasure than you might imagine.”

Georgiana returned her smile. “My brother has rarely referred to you by any other. Only in his very first letters to me after he had gone to Hertfordshire, do I believe he ever called you, ‘Miss Bennet.’ As wrong as it was, by the time I had received his fourth correspondence, I had already come to know you well as simply ‘Elizabeth.’ It was then when I realized he was probably in love with you, though I recall wondering at his being aware of it himself at the time.”

“I can well believe he may not have been. I know I was quite oblivious to any partiality on his part. He kept his feelings so well concealed that by the time I finally realized the depth of his regard, it came as more of a sudden revelation.” She became very quiet, and a nostalgic smile flickered across her lips. “Your brother is an exceptional man… the best man I have ever known. Truly, I do not know what I have ever done to deserve such love and devotion from him, but I do know I shall be forever grateful.”

Georgiana reached for her hand. “My brother has very often said those same words in reference to you and your feelings for him. Truly, I believe there are no two people more deserving than you and Fitzwilliam. And from the way you faced my aunt, I know I am extremely fortunate to be gaining such an exceptional sister.”

Elizabeth’s smile faded, and she grew pensive, slowly shaking her head. “No, Georgiana. From what you have just heard of me from your aunt, I believe you would do far better than to associate with such a woman as I shall soon become in the eyes of society.”

Georgiana gasped. “Certainly, you cannot mean that, Elizabeth! My aunt has been beyond cruel, and her words, heartless and wrong. She will say anything to wound when it serves her purpose. I know her too well to believe any of the appalling things she accused you of tonight.” To Georgiana’s surprise, however, rather than bringing her comfort, her words seemed only to have occasioned Elizabeth more pain. She watched in dismay as her future sister turned away from her, her hands covering her face.

There was a knock on the sitting room door then, and casting a glance from Elizabeth to the outer room, Georgiana rose. She had reached only as far as the door to the bedchamber, however, before Darcy entered. He took in the sight before him with a troubled frown and then, brushing past his sister, hastened to Elizabeth’s side. Without preamble, he sat upon the bed, gathered Elizabeth into his arms, and settled her on his lap. She did not resist. Georgiana watched, transfixed, as her brother whispered words of comfort, punctuated by soft kisses on her hair. He stroked her back with one hand and cradled the back of her head with his other. Elizabeth simply clung to him, burying her face against his coat.

Several long minutes passed, and to Georgiana, it was as though they had completely forgotten she was even in the room. She heard her brother utter something to Elizabeth about his having no regrets regarding anything they had shared together. The implication of such words, when seen in the same light as his tender actions, suddenly hit her—hard. Had her brother been
intimate
with Elizabeth? The possibility of Darcy committing such an impropriety astounded her.

It seemed those same words also had an effect upon Elizabeth, for she suddenly withdrew from Darcy, a look of sadness and shame piercing her eyes. Darcy reached for her as she removed herself from his lap, but Elizabeth avoided his arms, twisting away from his embrace to stand with her back to him as she stared out of the nearest window.

Darcy gaped at her, panic settling into the pit of his stomach. The look in her eyes had been one of such desolation and grief…and resignation.
Resignation to what?
he wondered.
Surely Elizabeth would not break our engagement because of my aunt? Surely she would never leave me? No. She could not possibly leave me. She is mine! I have already made her mine!
He recalled the events of the previous day and Elizabeth’s distress over the hurtful gossip she had overheard in Bond Street. Darcy was no longer convinced she would not act in a manner that would be of greater benefit to him in the eyes of society. It took some effort, but he managed to swallow the searing lump that had formed in his throat. Tears stung his eyes; then he recalled his sister was still in the room. Without taking his gaze from Elizabeth, he said in a strained voice, “Georgiana, leave us.”