To the general surprise, Anne, though slightly blushing, answered with firmness, “It is perfectly so—thank you, Cousin Darcy.”
They all avoided looking towards her mother, for Lady Catherine’s colour had risen so high that an outburst seemed inevitable—and indeed it came.
“This girl has a mother! I shall arrange her wedding festivities,” she cried, in a tone of great indignation.
“Certainly she has, my dear sister,” Lord Matlock replied, “but, as has been shown, my ladies possess a particular talent for such occasions.”
“It is inconceivable—” Lady Catherine began; but her brother rose and shook his head.
“That is enough, sister. We shall now attend with Darcy to meet the solicitors and settle the marriage articles.”
Lady Catherine rose, composed but resolute. The matter was too important to admit of error. She knew well when silencewas necessary. Once the settlement was signed, nothing could be altered.
Yet even as she yielded, she began to perceive that many of the rights she had long exercised would pass into Darcy’s hands. Not only would the fortune, according to her late husband’s will, devolve entirely upon Anne’s husband, but also that maternal authority she had so long possessed.
She would continue to reside at Rosings and retain access to its advantages during her lifetime; but Anne would depart with her husband and be lost to her.
Anne had never been of much consequence to her while she remained under her roof; yet now, for the first time, she perceived how solitary her life might become, unless she secured her influence within her daughter’s future household.
As she proceeded towards the library, where the solicitors were waiting, she resolved to act with great prudence—and, for the present, to appear entirely compliant with Darcy’s wishes.
Chapter 13
Jane and Elizabeth fell into one another’s arms in a reunion full of emotion and tears. On the very day the Bingleys returned from Bath, the happy couple came to dine with the Gardiners, where Elizabeth had been impatiently waiting for them. They arrived late in the afternoon, and Mr Gardiner led the delighted bridegroom away from the parlour, where the ladies wished to hear Jane’s account of her honeymoon.
Happiness brightened her beautiful face. Looking at her, Elizabeth perceived the subtle change that had taken place. Womanhood seemed to emanate from her whole person as a testimony to her contentment.
“I wrote to Mama and Papa, and they agreed that you, Kitty, and Lydia should stay with us for at least two weeks, until we all leave together for home.” Jane blushed with pleasure, remembering that “home” now meant the beautiful estate so near Longbourn.
“I am sorry to see Elizabeth go,” Mrs Gardiner said, “but I hope she will have the opportunity of meeting people of her own age.”
“Of course she will!” exclaimed Kitty. “In Bath, I was astonished by how many friends Mr Bingley has. I hope we shall see them here in London as well.”
She began to tell them of events, balls, and parties, and of the Royal Crescent, where residents and visitors walked out to see and be seen.
“Yes, Kitty is quite right. You should see the imposing sweep of houses and the broad promenade of flagstones before them. We walked there every day for at least an hour,” Jane continued.
“And Bath Street,” Lydia cried eagerly, “the shopping street. Imagine—there are colonnades on both sides, sheltering the sedan chairs that carry visitors between the baths!”
As Mrs Gardiner tried to follow Kitty’s and Lydia’s enthusiastic accounts, she observed Elizabeth from time to time. It might not be prudent for her niece to move into the Bingleys’ house. Mr Darcy’s silence and his absence from Jane’s wedding spoke more plainly than any direct explanation. He clearly did not wish to see her, and yet a meeting would be almost unavoidable under Bingley’s roof. There would be frequent dinners and visits between friends. As no one knew of the failed proposal, Jane and Charles might very well invite Darcy while Elizabeth was staying with them. And that might lead only to a fresh calamity.
“Do you truly wish to go?” Mrs Gardiner asked her quietly.
“Yes, I do,” Elizabeth whispered, and Mrs Gardiner could not help but feel sorry for her. Despite all evidence, her niece still hoped that a meeting with Mr Darcy might alter everything.
During the previous fortnight, Elizabeth had appeared better. She had even accepted an invitation to dine with the Bingley sisters. Louisa and Caroline acted exactly as their brother had instructed them, for once in a manner impossible tomisunderstand. If they did not establish a peaceful relationship with the whole Bennet family, he would put an end to any close intercourse with his sisters. He had almost commanded that, during his absence, Louisa must invite Elizabeth and the Gardiners either to dinner or to a morning visit. They had understood that the wisest course was to fulfil Charles’s wishes. The dinner, if not pleasant, would at least be civil.
Elizabeth had agreed to go only in the hope of hearing some news of Mr Darcy. Yet, to her surprise, the two sisters knew very little of him. As they had few other topics of conversation, it was not long before they mentioned Darcy.
“Mrs Maria Townshend told us that she saw Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Darcy at Lady Axton’s on the last Thursday of the Season,” Caroline said, in a tone that seemed to imply she knew much more.
“Who is Lady Axton?” Elizabeth asked.
Louisa and Caroline exchanged a brief glance, as though wondering how anyone could fail to know so important a lady.
“Lady Axton’s Thursday party is one of the most fashionable events in London. She has a beautiful house where she invites the most influential people in town during the Season,” Louisa explained; and, to Mrs Gardiner’s satisfaction, there was not the least trace of superiority in either her tone or manner.
The same could not be said of Caroline, who continued the explanation. “Charles was also invited there last winter. It is only for high society,” she said, looking pointedly at Elizabeth.
