Elizabeth looked at the woman with confusion. “I am.”
Lady Catherine looked her over with an expression that was meant to demean. “So, you are the penniless upstart who has dared to aspire to take my sister’s place!”
Georgiana had called her “Aunt,” but Elizabeth did not care who this woman was. She had no right to attack her, and before this conversation was over, Elizabeth would make her know it! Fitzwilliam cared for her and admired her. If her lack of fortune was of no concern to him, whatever this aunt thought about it was immaterial.
“I have aspired to no such thing, madam. I assume you refer to the late Mrs. Darcy?”
“I do!”
“She was a beloved wife and mother. I could never replace her in the eyes of her family, nor would I attempt to do so,” Elizabeth said calmly.
Lady Catherine fixed her with an icy glare. “You know what I mean! You have drawn him in with your arts and allurements for one purpose. You wish to be the next mistress of Pemberley!”
“You speak as if the reward in marrying Mr. Darcy is his property,” Elizabeth said. “I am sure there are many ladies whowould view it as such, but I am not one of them. I will not marry without affection, Lady Catherine. Therefore, the reward in marrying your nephew would be his love, not his possessions.”
“If you were sensible of your own good, you would not be attempting to rise above your station!” Lady Catherine spat disdainfully.
“Oh, do not worry! Since he is a gentleman and I am a gentleman’s daughter, there is no need for you to concern yourself over that,” Elizabeth replied with a sly smile.
Looking as if she would explode with rage, Lady Catherine struck the wood floor with her cane. “Obstinate, headstrong girl! You will be disappointed! Darcy is already engaged to my daughter! Now, what have you to say?”
“A few things, actually. The first being, you have no right to speak to me this way. You call yourself a lady, yet you come into this home, which does not belong to you, and attack a guest! That is not the behavior of a lady. That is the behavior of a tyrant! Do not presume to know me, and do not ever presume to speak to me in such a disrespectful way again. If you feel Mr. Darcy has injured your daughter, take it up with him, not me!”
Lady Catherine’s jaw went slack and a look of shock came over her face before she gathered herself enough to speak again. “I will have you know—”
“Lady Catherine!” Fitzwilliam called. “That is enough!”
As soon as he and Fitz entered the house, Brandon alerted Darcy to Lady Catherine’s presence. Why had he not remembered to inform his staff that Lady Catherine was not to be admitted? He should have done it weeks ago!
As they approached the drawing room, they could see the door was open. Darcy was just about to enter when Fitz stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait a moment,” Fitz said quietly.
They stood there and listened to every word spoken. Darcy treasured Elizabeth even more when he heard her say his love was worth more than his possessions. He and Fitz grinned at the way she stood up to his aunt. Lady Catherine was about to deliver a retort, but Darcy had heard enough from her and told his aunt so as he entered the room and walked directly to Elizabeth’s side.
Gently placing a hand on Elizabeth’s back, he looked at her and asked, “Are you well?”
When she nodded, he turned a thunderous gaze on his aunt.
“Who do you think you are to come into my home and insult Elizabeth this way?”
“Darcy, I am ashamed of you!” Lady Catherine said accusingly. “How dare you treat this woman with the care that should only be shown to Anne? She is your betrothed!”
“Lady Catherine, I have told you repeatedly that I will not marry Anne. I have never offered her marriage, nor will I ever do so. Just because you wish me to marry her does not make her my betrothed!”
“You would go against the wishes of your own mother?” Lady Catherine asked.
“My mother told me of no such wishes.”
“You were just a boy when she—”
“My father told me of no such wishes, and I was no boy when he died.”
“Nephew—”
“Lady Catherine, you and I both know it was not my mother’s wish that I marry your daughter. You began peddling that nonsense soon after my father died. Did you think that, in mygrief, I would not know what you were about? I am no fool, Aunt. Nor can you bend me to your will.”
Lady Catherine’s face reddened with anger, and her eyes seemed to bulge as she looked at Darcy.
