Sudden Awakenings (The Other Paths Collection)

Chapter 12

Lady Catherine’s fury would not rest until she had seen her nephew. The residents of Netherfield Park were as alarmed and honored at her arrival as those of Longbourn had been, but seeing that this was no ordinary social call, they left Darcy alone in the drawing room with his aunt.

Lady Catherine immediately launched her tirade, screaming, “Darcy, what is the meaning of uniting yourself to such an obstinate, headstrong, foolish girl?”

Darcy replied calmly and without any change in the inflection of his voice, “I assume you are speaking of my impending marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

“The outrage of it, Darcy,” Lady Catherine went on, stamping the floor with her cane. “This wanton little strumpet has entrapped you! How could you let such a thing happen–letting a woman sneak into your bedchamber?”

“I assure you, it was not my intention, and as to entrapment, it was neither Miss Bennet's plan nor her design to find herself in my bedroom. She suffers from a sleepwalking disorder, and as such, mistakenly wandered into the wrong room during her sleep.”

“If it was truly a mistake, then why did you agree to marry her? This is no doubt a machination of hers, or at the least of her sister or her mother. All of them are greedy, grasping sort of folk, as I have learned from my rector, Mr. Collins.”

“Mr. Collins? What has he to do with any of this?” Mr. Darcy furrowed his brow in surprise.

Lady Catherine huffed and threw back her shoulders. “You may recall last spring when I mentioned to you that my rector had gone to his cousins in Hertfordshire and had taken a wife from among them there.”

Darcy blinked. “I recall something of the sort, but I do not recollect the name of his wife.”

“Her name was Miss Mary Bennet, now Mrs. Collins. And he intimated to me how Mrs. Bennet imposed on him to choose one of her daughters to be his wife and how she had purposely steered him, first towards the eldest of them, and then the second Miss Elizabeth. How when she rejected him, he felt compelled to marry the next eldest, Miss Mary Bennet.”

“That was not the story as you told it last April. When I heard it then, you spoke of nothing but his good fortune in having secured a sensible, respectable wife.”

“Well, that was before I knew what the Bennet family were really like. The whole thing was a ploy to be able to keep Longbourn in their family,” she said, angrily. “As you know, Mr. Collins is the heir to Longbourn estate, thanks to the entail placed upon it, for Mr. Bennet has no other sons or living male relatives besides Mr. Collins. And Mrs. Bennet, devious as she is, could not stand to see her place usurped by another, unless it be her own daughter. So she contrived to invite Mr. Collins to her home last spring and would not let him leave until he was settled amicably with one of her daughters.

“And now she has done the same thing to you, Darcy. You have walked right into her snare. This Miss Elizabeth may have been an unwitting accomplice, but mark my words: this was all part of a plan to get their hands on the Darcy fortune! I dare say they would entrap your friend Mr. Bingley, too, if they could. As Mrs. Collins has told me, Mrs. Bennet and Miss Jane Bennet have spoken of nothing but their eagerness to develop the friendship with Mr. Bingley since his arrival here, and at every turn have positioned themselves to advantage. Do you deny it? Can you not say you have seen it yourself since your arrival?”

Mr. Darcy's lips tightened. He had seen altogether too much in that regard. But he would not speak out against his new bride's family. Not yet, at least.

“My recommendation to you, Darcy,” Lady Catherine went on, “is that you disentangle yourself from this whole affair before it is too late. You have not yet pledged your troth. You may yet escape from this net.”

“I have no wish to do so, Lady Catherine,” Mr. Darcy said. “I have every intention of making good on my promise to marry Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Regardless of what they may have conspired to do. Because my honor demands it. And because–” He stopped, unwilling to say more. But Lady Catherine could discern what was left unsaid. Her eyes narrowed as she took a step towards him.

“Are you in love with this girl–this Elizabeth?”

Darcy shifted uncomfortably.

“You are!” she cried. “I knew it. You are a fool then, Darcy, and a bigger one than I ever took you for. I suppose the feelings of your cousin matter nothing to you then!”

“My cousin will be perfectly happy for me, I am certain." Darcy’s lips tightened.

"You think so little of Anne that you believe she would not care the least if you were to wed another? Do you actually imagine she would be wishing you joy? Well, perhaps she would, for Anne is the goodest creature that ever lived. She may wish you joy, Darcy, but in her heart, she would be crying over its brokenness! You must know how long she has desired to marry you– how much in love with you she is.”

“In love with me!” Darcy exclaimed. “That I have not seen. In fact, quite the opposite. She and I have long agreed that, though we love each other as cousins, there would never be more between us.”

“So you intend to shirk your duty to her, to disregard my wishes and that of your own dear late mother! All so you can uphold some silly notion of honor towards this ungrateful chit who does not even desire to marry you herself! She told me so herself, Darcy; she does not wish to marry you. And yet she is being forced to by her family. All because they fear their honor will be destroyed by this, this situation that they themselves have put her in. I will not stand for it, Darcy! I will write to the bishop myself and tell him to cancel whatever license he has procured for you. I have connections in the church, you know.”

“A license, once issued, cannot be revoked, Your Ladyship. Even you know that. I am afraid you have no power. I will go through with the wedding as planned, and there is nothing you nor anyone else can do to stop me,” Darcy said with an air of finality.

“Well! Since you cannot be reasoned with, I will take my appeals elsewhere,” Lady Catherine said, her anger building by the moment. "I have never been treated thusly in my entire life!”

Without another word, she stormed out the front door, slamming it behind her. The house shook in her wake.

S

Lady Catherine’s threats were indeed idle, and it was only a week before the license was procured and the date set with the minister. Mr. Darcy, having now been a resident at Netherfield for four full weeks, found no difficulty in obtaining the license so they could marry expediently without waiting for the banns to be read.

Mrs. Bennet began making lists of items they would need for the wedding, and decided on the dress which Elizabeth was to wear.

“I am aware there is no time to have anything new made up,” she told Elizabeth. “But we must do something for your best gown to make it more presentable.”

“My gown will be perfectly adequate as it is, Mamma,” Elizabeth protested.

“Nonsense, child, you must look your best on your wedding day, since you are to become Mrs. Darcy. Oh, how glad I am that the wedding is to take place so soon! And yet, at the same time, I wish there was only a little more time to prepare a wedding as grand as you deserve to have.”

“Given the circumstances, Mamma, I think it for the best that the ceremony be as small and simple as possible, and as quick as can be,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“Yes, yes, but we must do our best all the same. Now, let me see what I have among my things that I might give to you. Come with me, child.”

She took Elizabeth to her room and rummaged through her jewelry box. “Oh my, yes, these will do nicely for you, my dear.” Mrs. Bennet pulled out a string of pearls with a small jeweled cross attached to the center. “I wore these on my own wedding day. How happy I was then! Our engagement was rather a quick one too, you see. But still, I had these as a gift from my own mother. They've been in the family for several generations now. Mary wished to wear them at her wedding, but I would not give them to her. Instead, she received an amber pendant that had been your Grandmother Bennet's.”

Elizabeth's cheeks pinked. “I am honored, then, Mamma, that you should choose to give these to me. ”

“Oh, but of course, my dear! Your marriage will be ever so much more grand than Mary's. Not that I mind, of course. As it turns out, Mr. Collins is well-suited for her. And they will have Longbourn someday. But you, my dear, to be mistress of Pemberley–why, that is really something! You deserve to have the family jewels as a reward.”

Elizabeth's expression turned sour. “I do not wish for these if they are a reward for capturing a rich man, Mamma.”

“Oh, do not be silly. I did not mean it that way. You always take my words too literally. I only mean that you will look so fine in these, like a medieval queen. Please, my darling, wear them with your gown.”

With a heart less glad than before, Elizabeth nodded and accepted the necklace.