“Lady Catherine, I would ask you to remember a few pertinent points.” Darcy scowled at her, noting her responding anger, but unwilling to endure her any longer. “The first is that I am engaged and would be married now if I were not here.Second, I have no wish to end that engagement and would not even if I could. Third, the mere suggestion of bribing the woman I love is so outrageous that I am surprised even one so deficient in sense asyouwould suggest it. The last is that you are so far beyond appropriate behavior as to make me wonder about your character.
“Let me be clear so there is no misunderstanding. I will not break my engagement with Elizabeth. The mere notion of setting her aside to marry your daughter is laughable. I have delayed my wedding so that I could respond to the tragedy that befell my cousin. Your demands show a lack of decency I would not have expected in the most ignoble knave in the kingdom. Do not mention this matter again.”
“Why will you not see sense?”
Darcy glared at her and rose to his feet. “The only one lacking sense is you. I repeat, do not speak of this again. If you do, I shall throw you from Pemberley.”
“You will not bar me from my sister’s home!” shrilled Lady Catherine.
“As it seems you do not understand yet, let me remind you that Pemberley is no longer the home of your sister. It is no longer the home of your nephew, either. Pemberley is nowmine! I shall not endure such behavior as this. Such effrontery demands that I remove you now, but I shall forbear this once. Mention it again in my presence, and you will find yourself barred from yoursister’s homeforever!”
With that, Darcy stalked from the room in a temper. Given the lady’s character and insistence on that point, it was a surprise—and a disappointment—that her voice did not follow him from the room. Fitzwilliam’s voice rose in anger, but Darcy knew that Lady Catherine would not listen to him. It was Darcy’s opinion that she never listened to anyone, so convinced of her infallibility was she.
“Mrs. Reynolds,” said Darcy, coming across his housekeeper soon after he left the sitting-room.
The woman curtseyed, and though she said nothing, he had the sense she knew something of the argument that had just taken place. Given the volume of Lady Catherine’s voice, Darcy suspected they might have heard her in the Hebrides.
“Yes, Mr. Darcy?” asked she.
“Do I suppose correctly that you have ignored much of what Lady Catherine has instructed you?”
The woman nodded. “As we discussed, I do not defy her openly, but I allow her to speak and then continue as you have instructed.”
“Excellent,” said Darcy. “From this moment forward, do not feel any need to give her a hint of deference to Lady Catherine out of the common way. If she complains, send her to me. I have had enough of her demands; with any luck, she will depart before long.”
Mrs. Reynolds nodded. “Very well, sir. If I might be so bold, Master Jameson was no more willing to endure her, and the master’s father could not tolerate more than a few minutes in her company.”
“That, Mrs. Reynolds, is no shock to anyone admitted to the displeasure of making Lady Catherine’s acquaintance.”
As a servant, she could not respond as Darcy suspected she wished, but she nodded, curtseyed, and excused herself. For Darcy’s part, he would not endure Lady Catherine another moment that day. As such, he retired to his bedchamber. As he walked, he considered the situation in the house and determined at that moment that he would make the arrangements to move into the master’s chambers. Darcy had not done so for many reasons, but now was the time to end circumspection and take control of the house and his inheritance.
As Fitzwilliam would tell him in later years—and Darcy agreed with him—that day was a turning point, the day he became the master of Pemberley in truth. It was the day he refused to endure Lady Catherine any longer and put the stamp of authority on his inheritance.
WILLIAM’S COMMENTSon the subject aside, Elizabeth knew the moment she arrived at Pemberley the following morning that a storm was brewing. The scowl Lady Catherine directed at her when she entered on William’s arm was so foul that Elizabeth thought the woman would incinerate her on the spot if she could. William’s returning glower was also fearsome to behold, and for the moment, it prevented Lady Catherine from saying what she wished. What ensued thereafter did not improve Lady Catherine’s mood in the slightest.
“If you are willing,” said William, “Georgiana has suggested that you tour the house this morning.” His grin was infectious as he added: “You will need to know something of it when you become its mistress.”
“Of course, William,” said Elizabeth, ignoring Lady Catherine’s huff of annoyance. “I am eager to know something more about my future home.”
As William had informed her of Lady Catherine’s wish to break off their engagement, it was no surprise that the lady’s façade darkened at the suggestion of Elizabeth’s future residence there. William grinned at her, seeing her play for what it was, and Elizabeth nodded back at him. Elizabeth had never allowed anyone to intimidate her; she was not about to start now with so objectionable a person as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Given the lady’s annoyance and opposition, Elizabeth thought she might refrain from what she considered a farce, but as they moved through the house, she trailed along behind, anoxious shadow dogging their steps, a spiteful blemish on their harmony, and if she said nothing, her presence still cast a pall on the company. As much as she was able, Elizabeth ignored the lady and enjoyed the tour, and for a time, she pushed Lady Catherine to the back of her mind. The décor was tasteful, showing little ostentation and everything of the fineness one might expect from a house of Pemberley’s quality. Georgiana led them, her eagerness to show her favorite parts of the house unmistakable in every word she said, and Mrs. Reynolds shared what she knew of its history, which was not insubstantial.
“Oh, I cannot think I need to change much at all,” said Elizabeth when Georgiana made some comment on the subject.
“Is it not the custom of young wives to stamp their authority on their husband’s home by redecorating a few rooms?”
Colonel Fitzwilliam’s innocent comment was anything but, and provoked a laugh from Elizabeth. She shook her finger at him and said: “You, colonel, are a tease and no mistake. As for the house, why change what is already of exquisite quality?”
“Wait until you see the mistress’s quarters before you make any such decisions, Elizabeth,” said Georgiana. “My mother passed away almost fifteen years ago, and the room remains the same as it was. It is a handsome room, but the fashions are not current.”
“Do you suggest your mother had no taste?” demanded Lady Catherine, the first time she had spoken in Elizabeth’s hearing that morning.
“Not at all, Aunt,” said Georgiana, a credible show of courage that the lady did not appreciate. “If you recall, I said it was a handsome room but a little dated. Whether Elizabeth wishes to make any changes, I cannot say, but I did not insult my mother.”
Lady Catherine might have responded, but Colonel Fitzwilliam was near enough to silence her. The mistress’s suite was as Georgiana suggested, and while Elizabeth thought it wasyet an exceptional suite of rooms, she thought there were a few changes she might prefer to make. Then William sidled up next to her.
“We may make whatever changes you like, my dear, but they are not pressing, for I do not suppose you will make much use of this room.”
