His Uncle's Favorite (51 page)

“Though my previous explanation was genuine and honest, now that I come to think of it, I confess your guess was not far from what I had in mind as well.”

She looked at him again, struggling to be serious and reproachful, but he demanded her lips once more, and she was not strong enough to fight against it. The shivers travelling wildly along her body almost equalled her imagination.

***

It was more a spectacle for the servants than a breakfast, as Lady Catherine repeatedly declared she would not leave town without her daughter.

After pointless arguments, Lord Matlock accepted his sister’s request to at least speak directly with her daughter. Colonel Fitzwilliam disapproved the arrangement immediately, but the earl argued that a discussion between the two was necessary and fair.

The colonel left the house much earlier than the others, so he had time to reach his Selina’s house and warn Anne about the imminent visit.

Half an hour later, Anne was waiting in the drawing room, her countenance calm, her distress betrayed only by her hands entwined in her lap and by frequent glances directed to the colonel. Lady Selina watched them with a smile.

Lady Catherine entered, followed by the earl, and did not favour them with a greeting. She stopped in front of her daughter.

“Anne, I came to fetch you. There is no need to worry about your luggage, I will send after it later. If we leave now, we shall arrive at Rosings by the end of the day.”

“Good day, Mother, I am happy to see you again,” Anne replied shyly.

“Yes, yes, good day. Now go and prepare yourself; we must go.”

“Mother, I am not returning to Rosings. Selina invited me to stay with her.”

“I will not hear any of this, Anne. I will never allow you to stay in town; you know your health does not permit it. You will return home with me without delay.”

“Selina fetched a doctor to examine me yesterday. I am perfectly well. I thank you for your concern, but you cannot force me to return. I have decided to remain with Selina.”

“Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your gratitude for everything I have given you? I have dedicated my entire life to taking care of you, and this is how you repay me? I am now convinced that you have not the smallest affection for me, but you owe me respect and obedience!”

“Mother, it pains me that I hurt you, but please do not doubt my affection as I do not doubt yours. I am grateful for your care and concern, but—”

“You believe Selina or anyone else would take care of you as I do? Do you think anyone else cares about your well-being as I do? Foolish child! They will soon tire of you and send you back home—alone! Do you want to expose yourself to such shame?”

“Forgive me for upsetting you, but I shall not return home,” Anne repeated weakly.

“I think there is not much to discuss at this point,” the colonel interfered. “Anne has decided, and we should not upset her more on this subject.” Without allowing any contradiction, he offered Anne his arm and showed her out of the room.

Behind them, Lady Catherine began another argument with the earl but with no success. The viscount closed the door to avoid servants witnessing their debate.

“Catherine, you should leave now, and do not worry about Anne; she will be provided with the best possible care. She will return to Rosings when she is ready.”

“This will not end here; I promise you! I shall not allow you to interfere in my family!”

“Catherine, go home. I shall accompany you to your carriage,” the earl repeated, and he took her arm decidedly.

Finally, the impressive carriage left; from the library window, Anne, holding tightly to the colonel’s arm, watched her mother depart.

***

The news that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy decided to marry in two weeks’ time threw Mrs. Bennet from extraordinary joy into the deepest despair. That her daughter would marry at Longbourn with a special licence and that Mr. Darcy expected his uncle—Lord Matlock—to attend the event with his entire family was almost too much happiness to bear for her sensitive nerves. However, a tragedy almost followed as she was certain she could not possibly finish all the arrangements for such illustrious company in so short a time And the realisation that Elizabeth would not have time to complete her trousseau was another reason to fear that Mr. Darcy might become upset and change his mind.

It was the gentleman himself who assured Mrs. Bennet that he insisted on a short engagement, and he expressed his wishes that, once they were married, Mrs. Bennet would be kind enough to advise Elizabeth on purchasing everything she might need. Mrs. Bennet almost fainted at such compliments.

As promised, Mr. Darcy spent quite a lot of time at Longbourn with Mr. Bennet. They studied all the papers of the estate, searching together for the best way to administer Longbourn in the future.

Elizabeth served them coffee and refreshments and stayed with them for hours, watching her betrothed with equal admiration and pride as he patiently explained to Mr. Bennet any mistakes he observed and how they could be remedied.

At one point, he even asked Elizabeth’s opinion, and they began a small debate. Mr. Darcy won, but he admitted Elizabeth’s observations were valid and could be useful. Mr. Bennet again declared that, if Elizabeth were a man, Longbourn would have been a perfectly managed estate, and his life would have been so much better. Mr. Darcy laughed and responded that, in such a case, his own life would have been considerably worse.

At that moment, Mr. Darcy became more serious and assured Mr. Bennet that he must worry about nothing from then on. Mr. Bennet replied, with gratitude and emotion, that all his worries vanished the happy day he received news of their engagement.

On the third day after their arrival, as Darcy, Elizabeth and her father were having a light discussion in the library, they were interrupted by Lydia’s impetuous entrance.

“Papa, I want to go to Brighton! The regiment will leave soon, and I want to go there. You must allow me! Mama is very unfair to me; she doesn’t even listen to me anymore!”

“I want to go, too, Papa,” said Kitty behind her.

“Thank you for sharing your wishes with me, girls. Now please be so kind as to pull the door behind you when you leave.”

“But, Papa, what do you say?”

“About what, child?”

“About Brighton, of course! I want to go; Mrs. Forster has told me there will be many balls and parties with all the officers. This is my dream, Papa.”

“I am sure it is, Lydia. Now go and let me finish my business.”

“Oh, this is so unfair,” cried Lydia. “So unfair!” She groaned as she left the room.

Mr. Darcy glanced at Elizabeth; she was embarrassed, and he smiled to comfort her then looked at Mr. Bennet. The gentleman seemed perfectly calm, resuming their conversation with obvious amusement. For him, it was a normal disturbance.

Sometime later, they joined the others in the drawing room. Lydia was still upset, and Kitty was not far away. Jane attempted to moderate them while Mr. Bingley stood by the settee and simply admired Jane.

“So, my dear Mr. Bennet, how are things going on? Mr. Darcy, are there hopes of improvement for Longbourn, do you think?” Mrs. Bennet inquired with a broad smile.

“According to Mr. Darcy’s expertise, it seems we can estimate great improvements in the future,” Mr. Bennet replied with perfect calmness.

“Oh, such a relief indeed! I expected nothing less from Mr. Darcy—no indeed. I can only imagine how much larger your estate is; you must be extraordinarily clever to take care of it. I have always said you must be extraordinarily clever, Mr. Darcy.”

“No, you did not,” Lydia intervened, and Mrs. Bennet turned white.

“Of course I did, silly child, but you did not hear me because you never hear anything. I was always certain that Mr. Darcy was the only one who might help Mr. Bennet.”

“I thank you for your kind words, madam. I did nothing more than to share with Mr. Bennet some aspects I already had to solve in the past. There was not much help needed,” the gentleman replied with perfect politeness.

“But you know, I wonder if it is such a good thing to improve Longbourn. It pains me so much to know that after Mr. Bennet passes away the estate will be inherited by Mr. Collins. I cannot even bear to think of that. Perhaps it would be better to allow the estate to fall into ruin.”

“Mama!” cried Jane and Elizabeth at the same time.

“Well, my dear, I understand your distress, but let us hope I live long enough to benefit from the improvement of Longbourn. And, if we are both fortunate, perhaps you will be protected from any suffering by simply passing away before me,” replied Mr. Bennet.

Mrs. Bennet started to laugh.

“Oh, Mr. Bennet, you are such a tease! God has been so good to us by helping our daughters to marry so well. I could not care less about Mr. Collins. If I were never to see him again, I would be perfectly content. I never liked him!”

“Yes, you did, Mama,” Lydia said. “Do you remember when Lizzy refused to marry him and you almost forced her to accept his proposal? Oh, it was so much fun! Mr. Collins running after Lizzy and Mama running after him! And now Lizzy marries Mr. Darcy! What a joke!” Lydia ended her tirade with a burst of laugher while everyone else froze.

Elizabeth was crimson, unable to raise her eyes from the floor. Mrs. Bennet was pale, staring at Darcy in the greatest panic; Mr. Bennet himself was speechless and lost.

Darcy looked from one to other, undecided what to do next.

“Bingley, I think we should leave and change for dinner,” Darcy eventually said.

“Yes, yes indeed,” Mr. Bingley approved with great relief, and only a few minutes later, both gentlemen left the house. The next moment, Mrs. Bennet’s voice shattered the walls.

“How could you say such a thing in front of Mr. Darcy? Are you out of your mind, child? What if he gets upset and annuls the engagement? It is miracle enough that he wishes to marry Lizzy. Now you try to scare him away? Stupid, mindless child!”

“You should let me to go to Brighton, and then I will say nothing more! You promised me as much before you found out about Lizzy’s engagement. You promised!”

“Brighton? You may go way beyond Brighton. You may go beyond Paris, if you wish; I do not care! If you find someone to pay your expenses, go! I will surely not ask your father for a single farthing for you; you do not deserve it! I do not wish to hear or see you again until after Lizzy is married—that is, if Mr. Darcy ever returns! Upon my word, if he refuses to marry Lizzy, I shall never buy you a single bonnet or dress ever again!”

Mrs. Bennet shut the door behind her and cried after Hill. Lydia left the house, followed by Kitty, and declared she would visit Maria Lucas.

Elizabeth noticed Jane attempting to speak to her, but she grabbed her bonnet, left through the back door, and moved at a quick pace along the garden path. She could not speak to anyone. When she was far enough, she ceased fighting her tears. Her eyes burned, and her chest ached from shame. She had hoped that, once he came to know and accept her family, she would have no reason to be embarrassed again, but she was wrong.

The revelation of Mr. Collins’s failed proposal should not have been a reason for distress; she would have told him herself eventually. Or she might have kept it secret; after all, it was a private matter and propriety demanded that it remain private. But the way the entire conversation flowed and her family offended each other once again in front of him—Lydia’s wild behaviour and her impertinence were too painful to watch.

She climbed the hill through the grove, wiping her eyes furiously. She wished for nothing but to be alone for a time. She sat on a fallen tree trunk and allowed her eyes to travel down to the valley. She would surely miss those beloved grounds.

Elizabeth startled at the sound of a horse approaching. She was angry that anyone would disturb her peace, and for an instant, her heart hoped it might be Mr. Darcy.

“Miss Bennet, what a lovely surprise to find you here,” said a well-known voice.

“Mr. Wickham. A lovely surprise, indeed,” she replied sternly.

“You look more beautiful than ever! I understand you had a lovely, long trip. And I also understand there is reason for me to congratulate you!”

“Indeed, you are well informed, sir. I thank you.”

“In truth, I never would have expected such an ending. Engaged to Mr. Darcy—that is something I would never imagine. I remember how much you disliked him a few months ago; I only hope he softens his manners somewhat and makes you happy. Although, being the mistress of Pemberley will surely compensate for any faults its master might have.”

“I am sure it will. I am even more fortunate that the master of Pemberley has few faults for which to compensate. And how are you, Mr. Wickham?”

“I am as well as can be expected. The regiment will leave Meryton; I am sure you heard. There are a few friends whom I will dearly miss,” he said meaningfully, but her expression remained unchanged.

“You will surely find a way to compensate for that loss; I do not doubt.”

“So—what did Lord Matlock say about the engagement? Did he approve?”

“Lord Matlock has always been kind and generous. We are happy to have his blessing.”