“R-R-Reginald?” she spluttered, “how is it that you are here? I have it on most excellent authority that these people are insignificant and have no breeding or fortune to speak of but can boast a tart of a daughter that has the gall to try and steal my Anne’s fiancé!” Lady Catherine demanded, presuming her own opinion comprised excellent authority to all she chose to grant it to.
“Follow me, Catherine,” the Earl ordered.
Hearing this, Hill moved aside to allow the aptly called termagant into the house. Now that she was inside, even though she tried to deny it, Lady Catherine could not but notice that this family held the fortune the house initially hinted at.
She followed her brother into a drawing room with a better pianoforte than she had at Rosings Park, and her knees almost buckled under the shock of all who were assembled in the room. She blinked twice then repeated her survey of all present, a growing trepidation cemented when she saw the Countess of Matlock, Lord and Lady Hilldale, the Colonel, Darcy and Georgiana, and others she assumed were the Bennet offspring.
“To what do we owe the displeasure of your company, and why do you intrude on us without invitation?” Thomas Bennet enquired almost jovially, anticipating her reply. She did not disappoint.
“Who are you to address your betters in such a manner and tone?” Lady Catherine replied haughtily as she started to recover from the shock of seeing so many of her family in the room.
“That, motherdearest,” Anne stated with pent-up anger and a false smile she had been wearing for too many years, satisfaction welling in her chest when her mother slowly turned to see her own daughter behind her, “is the master of this estate and has every right to ask why you have intruded on his party uninvited and unwelcomed.” Anne smiled at the fishlike workings of her mother’s mouth as she tried to understand what was happening, which was so very far from her expectations of how this interview would go.
“Anne!” Lady Catherine gasped when she could again speak. “Why are you here? How did you get here? I did not give you permission to leave Rosings!” she demanded; certain her biddable daughter would apologise.
“Firstly, mother, I am of age, and I do not need your permission to do anything.” Anne could not help but smile at the taken aback look on her mother’s mien. “I, unlike you, was invited here. And of course, I got here in a carriage, no one here has wings though I suspect Jane, in fact, just might.” she smiled sweetly at Jane, winning an answering giggle from the eldest Bennet daughter and some of the others, once they had recovered from their own shock at the display of wit.
The laughter had the added bonus of incensing her mother, which she had to admit she was not sad about, smiling even more sardonically at the woman who had run her life for far too long. “I repeat, why are you here, Mother?” she pressed her advantage, earning respect from all in the room who were then forced to admit their dislike of Catherine had caused them to miss too much time with the pillar of strength who was Anne de Bourgh.
“To separate a fortune-hunting whore from your fiancé...” she hissed, but was not allowed to finish due to howls of indignation in the room and an enormous, oak tree-sized footman was then advancing on her with a very menacing look in his eye.
“Catherine, you will apologise to William’s fiancée at once,” her brother commanded his wayward sister and Bennet held up his hand to stay Biggs’s progress.
“He cannot be engaged to a hussy with no fortune or connections. He has been betrothed to Anne since they were in their cradles, as was the desire of his mother and hers.” Catherine stated with resolve, her nose up and the expectation of all to fall in line clear.
“One more word about my Lizzy and I will ruin you, madam,” Bennet spat. Lizzy, who was now holding tightly onto William’s hand and arm, thankfully looked more amused than hurt by the ridiculous woman and her pronouncements. And to help, she had whispered something to William that had him holding his tongue, for the moment, at least.
“That is more than enough about that tired old lie of yours, Catherine,” the Earl corrected her. “We have asked and asked you to cease, and now it is past time you did. Besides Anne and George telling William before they left the mortal coil no such agreement existed other than in your greed-driven mind, we told you Anne wrote to Elaine and me after one of the times you tried to browbeat her with the notion of a youthful betrothal?
“She was most explicit in her statement that no such agreement was ever made, and she wanted her children to marry only for the deepest love. William knows about this letter, but he does not know his dear departed father wrote a similar letter to us with similar sentiments, nor that both of his beloved parents codified their wills so that you could never do anything to force William and Anne to marry.
“Not even a compromise would have required either of them to walk down the aisle. To be sure, Anne, even were you forced into one, there was an estate waiting for you to recover and be cared for should it have been necessary.” He looked at Anne, who showed much surprise.
“I would have liked to spend my youth there,” Anne sighed, wishing she had known she had someplace safe she could have run to, even to visit.
“That was my failure, Anne. I am sorry,” her uncle sighed, glancing at his wife in apology for not listening to her every time she tried to tell him Anne needed time away from her mother. All turned back to Catherine when she demanded that Anne return to her side.
“You come into my house, impugning the honour and integrity of one of my daughters!” Bennet spat at the virago as all colour drained from her face. “There is only one fortune hunter in this house, and it isyou, madam. Do you think there is anyone here who does not know your true motivation is long-held jealousy?”
Lady Catherine started to see that maybe things were not going to go the way she had ordained they should. Acknowledging her bluster was not effective, she tried what for her was a softer tack.
“Come now, Reggie, you know what a brilliant match Fitzwilliam and Anne would be. It would make us one of the wealthiest families in the country. Just think of the prestige and wealth we could have. Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted by this upstart of no rank, no fortune, and no connections?” she challenged.
“You are delusional, Catherine. They have the same connections as I and more than you. Are you so blind that you do not see us all here in front of you? As to fortune? The Bennets have many times more wealth than you could imagine having, and this is but one of three estates they own. Each of his four daughters has over fifty thousand for her dowry.
“Given how you have run Rosings Park into the ground, each of the young ladies here have more wealth in their own rights than you would if you were allowed to sell Rosings Park, which we all know you are not allowed to do as it does not belong to you.” The Earl’s tone held some derision but was otherwise even.
As Lady Catherine tried to absorb what her brother was telling her, she was addressed by Bennet, who decided to press the advantage he could clearly see.
“Not only did you send that snivelling, sycophantic, turned criminal parson into my house, but you have the temerity to arrive uninvited and slander my daughter? You do realise I could have you arrested for conspiracy to commit murder, do you not?” Bennet’s voice was rising as his anger started to vent.
“Your idiot informed us he hadyourpermission to dispatch the so-calledinterlopers, who are, in fact, my sons born of my wife’s body. Did he ever inform you that he was in the courtroom with his father when the judge saw the irrefutable proof of my son’s birth by their mother, my wife?” he demanded, but he was not done.
“Your daughter provided us with the copy of the missive he sent you where he repeats this claim in writing. If you, madam, were a man, I would call you out! Not that anyone here cares what you think, but as my friend just informed you, my daughters have massive dowries! My combined estates alone bring in almost five times what Rosings Park should, not what it does now under your gross mismanagement. Longbourn is but one of my three estates and a fraction of my total income which earns more than Rosings park on its own.
“As to her connections, if you had ever listened to anyone but the sound of your own voice you would have heard your brother inform you, on any number of occasions, about his dearest friends in Hertfordshire.
“But worse, far worse, is imposing your will without care on those you are supposed to protect! You come into my house uninvited, thinking something as unearned as your rank would gain you respect? In our house, our deeds, character, and care of others earn one another’s respect. Your disregard for the wishes of those lives you expect to bend to your will proves you are a lady in name only. Anne, you are welcome to stay forever if you wish it. Fanny and Elaine have long since had a room for you ready in all our houses for your visits,” Bennet stated, his eyes boring into Lady Catherine’s as he waited for whatever she might dare say next.
