Darcy in Want of a Wife

Chapter 39

Study

Matlock House

The Next Day

“Inconceivable!” Lady Catherine howled, staring with dilating pupils at the slender band on Elizabeth’s left ring finger. “It is entirely impossible!”

“You are absolutely in error, Lady Catherine,” Elizabeth returned, arching her right eyebrow. “Fitzwilliam offered for my hand less than a week ago, he obtained a common license, the marriage settlements were signed, and yesterday morning we were wed in my home parish. I signed the wedding book and we are legally married before God and man. And you can do nothing about it.”

Catherine de Bourgh narrowed her eyes and puffed out her chest. “How dare you speak to me in such a disrespectful way? Do you know who I am?”

“Lady Catherine,” Darcy said, taking a dangerous step forward to loom over his older relation. “Whatever respect I had for you in the past is completely at an end, and while by birth you are the daughter of an earl, by character you are as horrible as many of the men rotting in prison hulks. How dare you pay off George Wickham’s debts to release him from Marshalsea and then provide funds so that he would abduct Elizabeth’s sister, with the deliberate intention of ruining the Bennet name?”

“What?!” Matlock demanded and turned incredulously on his sister. “Catherine, you did not!”

“Of course I did not,” the lady replied with a huff and toss of her head, which caused the feathers on her hat to sway. “This is idiotic slander on Darcy’s part. I know from Mr. and Mrs. Collins that the younger Bennet daughters have a truly dreadful reputation for being hoydens of the greatest order. It is no surprise that one of them ran off with a handsome militia lieutenant.”

“Unfortunately for you,” Elizabeth said coolly, “it was not one of my two younger sisters who was snatched by Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Younge, but my middle sister, Mary, who is renowned in Meryton for her piety and virtue. No one who is acquainted with my sister thinks she would do such a foolish thing as to run off with a rogue. Moreover, Mary was not ruined, because she managed to escape the carriage and spent the night, not in the clutches of Wickham and Mrs. Younge, but in the home of a respectable woman in Scofield.”

“We know that Wickham’s debts were paid by a solicitor named Adair,” Darcy continued, his eyes boring into his aunt’s. “I will be visiting him on the morrow, and while he may endeavor to prevaricate, I am confident we will be able to determine his connection to you with relative ease. We know you were the mastermind behind this horrific attempt to destroy Elizabeth’s family. The only question is what will be done about it. You are dead to me, Aunt, and nothing will change that. But Lord Matlock, you obviously have a decision to make; will you support your sister over the Darcys?”

Lord Matlock was red now, with veins throbbing in his forehead. He turned a furious gaze on his sister and demanded, “Is this true, Catherine? Did you conspire to have an innocent girl abducted by a villain? And do not attempt to lie to me! I have known you since you were a child in leading strings, and I can tell when you are attempting to deceive me!”

The older woman stood frozen in place for a long moment, and then she gestured fiercely with one hand and said, “Very well, yes, I did arrange the matter. But it was necessary, Brother, and you know it! You said you would break up the courtship, yet I received more than one letter from friends telling me of Darcy’s obvious interest in this woman. I only regret that I did not move more quickly; now we are joined with a family of poor connections and a most scandalous reputation.”

She turned beady eyes on Elizabeth, tilted her head, and said, “Unless, of course, we could manage to annul the marriage somehow…”

“Catherine!” Lord Matlock said sharply and stepped forward to grasp his sister by the arm. “I am shocked and bewildered at this news and must take time to consider the future. Now you arrived in haste from Kent, and I am certain you need to refresh yourself. Will you not enjoy tea and rest in your bedchamber? I assume you will be staying tonight?”

At this, Darcy’s expression became even more thunderous, and he glowered at his uncle, who promptly turned a penitent gaze on his nephew.

“I will,” Lady Catherine said, turning a triumphant look on the Darcys. “Now Brother, I do not have a great deal of ready money, but I am willing to contribute one thousand pounds to arrange for the annulment of this absurd marriage.”

“Thank you,” Lord Matlock said in a heavily ironic tone. “Let me escort you to Mrs. Henchcliffe, who will take you to your room.”

He opened the door and gestured for his sister to leave, which she did, head held high. Matlock waited a few seconds for her to move out of earshot and then turned toward the Darcys. “Nephew, I must apologize for this outrageous behavior on the part of my sister. Please do not leave; something must be done about Lady Catherine, and I wish to ask for your advice.”

“Very well,” Darcy said with an inclination of his head.

Matlock nodded and left the room, and Richard pushed the door shut behind them and turned to the newly married couple. “Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, many, many congratulations on your marriage. I am very happy for you. Mrs. Darcy, welcome to the family!”

This, coming after such cruel words from Lady Catherine, caused Elizabeth’s eyes to well with grateful tears. “Colonel Fitzwilliam, thank you. I am glad that someone in your family is pleased at our marriage.”

Richard bowed gallantly at these words and said, “Please, will you not sit down?”

The newly married pair obediently sat down on a loveseat near the window, which permitted Elizabeth to look out over a charming garden, which was currently filled with late summer roses and lilies. She was still shaken by Mary’s near miss, along with the venom in Lady Catherine’s unrepentant voice.

“Would you be willing to tell me exactly what happened with your sister, Mrs. Darcy?” Richard asked politely. “If you do not think it appropriate, I understand completely, but if I know the entire story, I can better advise my father.”

Elizabeth turned to her husband and said, “Will you not explain, Fitzwilliam? I still have difficulty speaking of it, but it would be helpful if the colonel understands what took place.”

Darcy nodded and proceeded to explain all that had happened with Mary, and Richard was silent until he reached the point where Mary had struck Wickham with a book and bitten him, at which time Richard interrupted, “She bit him?”

“She did,” Elizabeth said. “She did not wish to, of course, but…”

“Bravo! Wonderfully done,” the colonel said hastily, “I did not mean to disparage her; indeed, I am all amazement at such incredible courage! She must be a remarkable woman!”

Elizabeth tilted her head at these words, and her usually smooth brow furrowed. She loved Mary, of course, very much, but had never thought her remarkable. Undeniably, with her penchant for sermonizing, Mary was more irritating than amazing.

And yet…

“Mary is remarkable,” Elizabeth said. “The truth is that, well … I think you know that I am one of five sisters?”

“I am aware,” Richard replied.

“Jane – Mrs. Bingley – is the eldest and I am the second daughter, and we have always been the closest of friends. Mary is in the middle, and then Kitty and Lydia were born last, and Lydia is a very stubborn young lady, to her detriment.”

“Richard is aware of her attempt to free Wickham,” Darcy said, tightening his grip on her hand.

Elizabeth nodded and said, “My youngest sister’s scandalous actions finally woke my father up to the danger that she would eventually, if not restrained, bring scandal upon our family. She is now safely at boarding school, and Kitty, who has always been a follower, latched onto Mary, which undoubtedly was a blessing to both. I think Mary was largely ignored for many years as she is not …”

She trailed off and turned to look at Darcy, who said, “She is not as beautiful as her sisters, though in spite of her ordeal, I have never seen her in better looks.”

“Kitty has had a good influence on her there,” Elizabeth agreed. “Mary is wearing more attractive garments, and her hair is in a less severe style, while Mary is benefiting Kitty by showing her that there is more to life than chasing officers.”

“Miss Bennet sounds like a charming young woman,” Richard said. “Now you said that she escaped before Wickham could, well, harm her in any way, but I assume there is talk in Meryton?”

The Darcys exchanged glances, and Elizabeth sighed. “There is, of course. Everyone knows that Mary would never run off with a man, but for all my bravado with Lady Catherine, everyone is talking about what happened. The gossip is sympathetic, but it is the sort of talk which would do us no favors here in London.”

Richard Fitzwilliam nodded, his brow furrowed, and said, “I am certain, with the backing of the Matlocks and the Darcys, that we can protect your sister’s reputation, and yours as well, Mrs. Darcy.”

“Please, will you not call me Elizabeth? Fitzwilliam has told me that you were the one who encouraged him to follow his heart, and I cannot but be grateful.”

“Elizabeth, then,” he said with a genial grin. “And you must call me Richard. Now, when my father returns…”

The door opened to reveal Lord Matlock, his jaw clenched, with Anne de Bourgh on his arm.

“Anne,” Darcy said, and he and Richard rose to their feet.

Anne hurried forward, her eyes dancing with more liveliness than Darcy had ever seen, and dropped down onto the seat which Darcy had so recently vacated. “Mrs. Darcy! Oh, how wonderful it sounds. I am very happy for you! You and my cousin are so well suited!”

“Thank you, Miss de Bourgh,” Elizabeth responded gratefully.

“Oh, Anne, please! And may I call you Elizabeth?”

“Of course!”

“May I please sit next to my wife?” Darcy asked in a vaguely aggrieved tone, and Anne laughed and leaped to her feet. “Certainly, Cousin.”

There was a quick reshuffling of seats, with Anne next to Lord Matlock, the Darcys side by side, and Richard on a wingbacked chair by the window.

“As happy as I am at your marriage,” Anne said, and now her voice was grave, “I am disgusted and revolted by my mother’s plot against you and your family, Elizabeth. Please accept my apologies on the part of the de Bourghs. My mother, of course, should be the one apologizing, but I fear that will never happen.”

“Especially if we pack her off to Bedlam like she deserves,” Lord Matlock said coldly.

This provoked a startled look on Darcy’s face. “Surely you are not serious, sir? As much as I am horrified at my aunt’s actions, even I would not imprison her in that crumbling ruin! Nor do we wish the world to know that we think she is mad.”

“I agree, and I do not believe it will come to that,” Matlock said, rubbing a weary hand across his forehead. “Something must be done with her, though. She cannot be permitted to wander freely, but I confess I do not know what to do about her.”

“I do,” Anne said, which provoked startled looks on the face of the gentlemen.

“You do?” Richard asked.

“I do. I turned five and twenty last week, you know, and am now legally mistress of Rosings. I can pay to lease a small estate in the middle of nowhere and, if you will assist, install my mother there, with a group of servants loyal to me, who will read her mail and ensure she does not get into any sort of trouble.”

Her various male relations goggled in amazement, but Elizabeth merely inclined her head and said, “It seems you have thought long about this.”

“I have believed for some weeks that while I was perfectly ready to send my mother to the Dower House after taking control of the estate, it would be better if she were elsewhere. Many of the servants, not to mention Mr. Collins, are both loyal to, and intimidated by, her. I had accepted the necessity of dealing with my mother’s near proximity, but given the events of the last days, it would be better for us all if she were settled in another part of England entirely. She is quite capable of spreading gossip about the Bennets, and will also attempt to influence those in her circle to reject me as mistress of Rosings.”

“That is very wise,” Matlock said, and the two other gentlemen murmured in agreement.

Anne smiled her thanks and continued, “I did not, of course, know anything about this dreadful plot against you and your family, Elizabeth, but my mother has been a terrible mistress of Rosings for many years. She spends extravagantly on herself and the mansion, while refusing to drain fields and repair tenant houses. When the local families struggle because of illness or accident, she scolds them for being poor instead of helping. I realized a few weeks ago just how poorly she has done in administering the estate. Away from her pernicious influence, I have spent many hours talking about estate business with you, Uncle, and reading books. I am inexperienced, surely, but I am confident that I will do better managing the estate than my mother.”

“I am most impressed, Anne,” Matlock said. “You are quite right that your mother has been a spendthrift for as long as I have known her.”

“The rents have dropped during her years of oversight,” Darcy added. “One cannot demand as high rents when fields produce poor harvests.”

“And if memory serves me,” Richard mused, “you are not much impressed with Lady Catherine’s steward, Darcy.”

“I am not,” Darcy agreed with a wrinkle of his nose. “He is, like most of our aunt’s underlings, a sycophant. Of course, I may be wronging him; perhaps he would do well if he was not used to Lady Catherine dictating his every move.”

“True enough,” Richard agreed. “We also need to find Wickham; the man is a snake, and the sooner we find him, the sooner we can deal with him, this time permanently.”

“There is also my new sister, Mary, to consider,” Darcy said. “Her reputation is definitely in danger of being tainted.”

Matlock lifted a staying hand and said, “Obviously, there is much to discuss. May I suggest that we enjoy tea and raspberry tarts, and then we can talk in more detail about further steps? Before that, though, I wish to make one thing clear. I did not particularly approve of this match, but you are legally wed, as you said. Moreover, I have never seen you so happy, Nephew. I congratulate you, and assure you that whatever power and influence and strength I have is now committed to your new family by marriage.”

Darcy’s eyes widened a trifle in surprise. “Thank you, Uncle.”