Anne
Lady Catherine was slack-jawed. She knew that Prince Frederick was one of the Darcys’ close connections,but she was sure she would recognise the superior breeding inherent in a royal and would know how to act, for he would be in the centre of the room directing all according to his whim. She now slowly turned to the five people who were unknown to her, and though she scanned them all again, she was unable to identify His Royal Highness. “Why did no one introduce me?” she squeaked.
“When did you give us an opportunity to do so?” Lady Elaine asked evenly. “You were too busy trying to demonstrate your superiority and were quite intent on insulting those you thought below you.”
“Will you introduce the rest of us to this person please, Elaine,” the Prince requested.
“You all know who theladyis do you not?” Lady Elaine asked, not even bothering to wait for the five of them to nod. “His Royal Highness, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster.” The prince inclined his head. “Lord Paul and Lady Edith Carrington, the Earl and Countess of Holder.” The Carringtons barely acknowledged Lady Catherine. “And last but not least, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet of Netherfield ParkandLongbourn in Hertfordshire. These are the people who you chose to insult.”
“As I am the member of the Royal Family who was insulted; the punishment is my choice,” the Prince stated. “Tell me how is it that you became so high in the instep?”
“I-it is not m-my fault, your Highness,” Lady Catherine tried to obfuscate her responsibility. “I did not ask to be introduced.”
“So, you are above me and would request the introduction?” the Prince demanded. Lady Catherine withered under his stare. “Yours is naught but a courtesy title. Lady is given far too freely, especially to those like you who do not deserve the appellation, as you neither behave like a lady nor do you deserve the title. I am recommending that my father strip you of the courtesy title. Within a few days, the Lord Chamberlain will be notified by the King and there will be a royal decree in the papers in case you try to lie about this like you did about a non-existent agreement with your late sister about Miss Anne and Master Darcy.” The Prince paused and looked at the soon-to-be Mrs. de Bourgh with the disdain she deserved. “Begone from my company,Mrs.de Bourgh.”
The soon to be former Lady Catherine’s machinations had failed in the past, but there was no comparison to the level of this failure, nor the consequences she was now facing. Douglas was summoned and asked to place Mrs. de Bourgh in a parlour with two footmen to watch her so that she could not cause any more mischief.
Two footmen entered the drawing room and escorted the catatonic woman out. Lady Catherine was escorted to the parlour to the right of the drawing room they were in, and two footmen remained with her after the door had been closed.
‘How did all of my meticulous planning go so wrong?’ Lady Catherine asked herself. ‘Not only did my late weak-willed sister anticipate what I would do, she denounced me without so much as a goodbye! And as I was so angry, I insulted the second in line to the throne of the realm. What will I do now? I will be without title, and it is obvious my family will not lift a finger to assist me. Could it be that I miscalculated?’ she asked herself.
Not being one who believed in introspection, she sat and stewed in the parlour. She started to imagine scenarios of revenge, but then it dawned on her it was her desire for such which had ended with her being reduced to being a nobody.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“What will you do with her, Matlock?” the Prince asked after the drawing room door closed behind the footmen who removed the termagant from their presence.
“She needs to learn humility. I will lease a cottage in Hunsford for her and place her on a strict budget which will afford her one maid of all work and nothing else. The townsfolk will be made aware she had lost her courtesy title and that she has no authority over them. Either she will learn, or she will have a very unhappy life—unhappier than she is now.” Lord Matlock shook his head. He hoped his sister would learn her lesson, but he had no confidence in her ability to change.
“Will you inform our niece of her mother’s presence?” Darcy asked.
“Unless Anne is deaf, I think she is well aware of who has arrived,” Bennet opined.
“It will be Anne’s choice; I will not substitute my judgment for hers,” Lord Matlock informed the group of men.
When Douglas was queried as to where Miss de Bourgh was, he informed the gentlemen she was in the music room with older Bennets. At first, no one wanted to play and disrespect the state of mourning at Pemberley, but the master of the estate told them to play as often as they were willing; it would honour his late wife, being one of her truest joys and favourite activities.
Lord Matlock and Darcy entered the music room. Anne was practicing her scales, her back to the door while Jane and Elizabeth were sitting with her to keep her company. Anne ceased her playing as she heard the click of the door closing.
“Uncles Reggie and Robert, was my playing disturbing you?” Was the question from a concerned Anne.
“No Anne, we could hardly hear you, especially with the level of noise being made before,” Lord Matlock reassured his niece and ward.
“You mean Lady Catherine’s screeching?” Anne noted. “We heard her caterwauling quite clearly even inside this room.” Jane and Elizabeth nodded their agreement.
“She will soon no longer be Lady Catherine, just Mrs. de Bourgh…” Anne’s guardian explained all that had happened leading up to and including the Prince’s intention to recommend that the King strip Anne’s mother of her honorific.
“Goodness me, she will not be happy,” Anne smiled sweetly at the thought of how that would upset her former mother. “Her whole identity was wrapped up in her feeling of superiority stemming from her title. She imagined herself a peer of the realm and was never happy if anyone reminded her about hers being a courtesy title only. What will happen now?”
The two uncles explained what was to be done. “Anne, before we send her on her way with an escort to make sure she behaves, would you like to see her?” Lord Matlock asked.
“No,” Anne replied flatly, then paused as she reconsidered. “Yes, actually, I will see her, Uncle Reggie. Please have her brought in here. I want her to see her failure with regard to myself.”
Not many minutes later, the door opened, and Anne’s mother was escorted into the music room. She saw two of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen on a settee and a third girl playing the pianoforte well, with her back to the door.
“Why is my time being wasted? I was told my wayward daughter was waiting to greet me as is my due as her mother,” Lady Catherine sniffed imperiously, still not reconciled to her soon-to-be lowly place in the social order.
“Do you not recognise your own daughter because she can play the pianoforte, or is it because I am as healthy as any of my age?” Anne asked after she ceased playing and turned around.
