“I shall do nothing of the sort. Georgiana has been left in my care, and I have no intention of permitting her to leave.”
Lady Catherine was magnificently outraged, her not inconsiderable bosom swelled, and her voice boomed round the little parlour. “Do you know who I am, young lady? I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Darcy’s aunt, and I am not accustomed to being addressed in such fashion.”
“My mode of address,” retorted Elizabeth, “is entirely prompted by your ladyship’s behaviour. Georgiana will stayhere, where she, her mother, her brother, andthe lawthink her best interests lie.”
“I am not so easily dissuaded,” said Lady Catherine. “My character has always been marked by firmness of purpose, and I will not leave here without that child.”
“You will not leave with her,” replied Elizabeth. “And I wonder that your ladyship is not better informed about your nephew Mr Darcy. When my husband last visited Pemberley, he found his brother’s household utterly unsuitable for a young girl, with drink the least of the vices he did not hesitate to lay to his brother’s charge.”
“Lies!”
“And I wonder that you do not know Captain Darcy better than to accuse him of such falsehoods. However, since I understand his family sent him to sea at the age of nine—yes, madam, nine years of age—and have had little or nothing to do with him thereafter, I suppose I should not be surprised. Now, since you have expressed your purpose and I have refused it, is there anything further to be said?”
It seemed to Elizabeth that Lady Catherine was having difficulty understanding her. Was she really so unused to contradiction? Despite her best endeavours, Elizabeth could not help noticing her cousin’s face, open-mouthed and white with shock, and she felt an insane urge to giggle.
“I am not to be spoken to in such a manner! I demand that you produce the child.”
“Madam, this is my house, and your manners since you entered it have hardly been such that I feel at all inclined to pursue the acquaintance.” She rose. “Georgiana will stay here with me where I can remedy her recent lack of education and the neglect of her welfare. I bid you good afternoon. I trust I will not be obliged to send for my men to have you forcibly ejected.”
“How dare you!” began Lady Catherine, and she continued in that vein for several minutes. However, in the face of Elizabeth’s implacable refusal to change her mind, there was very little the lady could do. Eventually, still expostulating, she rose unwillingly to her feet and made her way for the door with a mutely appalled Mr Collins in her train. She was still remonstrating at the top of her voice as she left, although the appearance of Anderssen and Puttnam, who must have been summoned by Hephzibah, did at last hurry her into her coach.
As Mr Collins climbed in behind her, Elizabeth called after him. “By the bye, Cousin, I am sure you will be delighted to hear that my dear papa’s health is much improved. Indeed, I understand he is as well as he ever was, and we can all look forward to a long and happy life for him.” Mr Collins smiled weakly and disappeared inside with a jerk as the carriage set off, followed by a swarm of fascinated children.
Once back in the house, Elizabeth went upstairs to her bedroom to recover her composure. She laughed and then cried, and by the time Georgiana and the elder Mrs Darcy returned, she was herself again and able to join in the exclamations over the letters—Georgiana had one of her own—and the shawls, which they all agreed were the prettiest things they had ever seen.
She, of course, hurried to reply to her husband, even though she was not sure when he would receive the letter.
Dearest Fitzwilliam,
I am sorry that Georgiana so worried you, for in truth there was no need. With the help of Anderssen, Puttnam, and dear Lieutenant Grace, the miscreants were dealt with and, I flatter myself, with the minimum of fuss and danger.
Here she told him the full story, including that of her arrangement of juvenile spies.
As for the extra men, I shall of course ask Anderssen to do as you wish, although I am not at all sure they will be needed.
She also told him of Lady Catherine’s visit.
If she had not arrived just minutes after I had finished your last letter, I am not sure I would have had the courage to be quite so forthright, not to say rude, for she is an imposing figure, and I do not know that I would have realised quite how silly she is had I not been roused by your words.
It was difficult to speak of his closing words, but it would have to be done. So after several false starts, she continued.
You cannot know how much my heart was touched by your last letter and, in particular, by its adieu. Please believe me when I say that you have shown yourself to be the kindest and dearest of men, and if, God forbid, I shall be forced to mourn you, then it will be as the husband I had always hoped for and the friend I shall always miss.
God bless you and keep you safe
With fondest love,
Elizabeth
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Once the letter was gone, there was little enough for her to do save start another and wait for news. Lieutenant Grace or Mrs Grace visited regularly with copies of theNaval Chronicle,which were eagerly seized upon. Even if they contained no news, there was a certain satisfaction to be gained from reading his name in the list of Post Captains and watching him slowly climb the ladder of seniority.
When Mary came for another visit at Georgiana’s request, Elizabeth learned that Mr Bingley had proposed to Jane and been refused. “Jane discovered that Mama tried to borrow money from him. Mama has complained forever that Uncle Gardiner will not let her have enough to spend. Jane was horrified and said she is so mortified she can never look him in the face again. Mama was even crosser with her than she was with you and has written to Papa to demand that he come home as soon as ever he can.”
Anxious questioning revealed that Jane had cried herself to sleep over it, and Elizabeth racked her brain for a solution and found none that could be conveyed by letter. She understood her sister’s feelings but could not help thinking that she was carrying them too far, especially as she understood from Mary that thetwo young people had discovered a genuine affection for one another. However, she wrote to Jane with as much consolation as she could muster.
Spring arrived. The garden under Puttnam’s care began to show the fruits of his labours, and they all enjoyed the early vegetables. Georgiana, to her horror, continued to grow; at fifteen she was already as tall as most women and noticeably taller than Elizabeth. The elder Mrs Darcy had a birthday and wept as it was celebrated for the first time in many years. Kindness and peace of mind had already gone a long way to dealing with her timidity; an unexpected talent for the French language was expanding her horizons, and she was determined to begin Italian.
