Page 22 of Compromise & Consequence
“Were you not leery something like this might happen when she asked you to join her outside?”
“She did not request my presence, I followed,” he explained. “I thought she would catch a chill.”
Uncle Robert snapped his attention to him.
“You followed her.”
It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes.”
His uncle began to laugh. Brow furrowed, Darcy could only watch and wonder what was going on in his uncle’s mind. Finally, the earl stood and held out his hand. Surprised, Darcy put down his drink and accepted the handshake.
“I wish you well in your marriage, Darcy,” he said before exiting the room. “You are going to need it.”
He followed his uncle to the drawing room to discoverGeorgiana had excused herself from dining with family and had taken a tray in her room. His conversation and apologies would have to wait until he returned from Derbyshire.
***
Monday morning, Darcy was finishing up some correspondence before attending his solicitor’s office when the strident tones of Aunt Catherine boomed from the foyer. For a brief moment, he was thankful Georgiana was not there to witness what he knew would be an unpleasant encounter. She did not need to be subjected to the fury he expected from his least favorite relative.
“Where is my nephew? I demand to see him at once!”
The thud of her walking stick as it hit the marble floor echoed in the short hall leading to his study, and he knew somehow, she had learned of his pending marriage. Even if Uncle Robert had sent an express this morning, which he assured him he would not, there was no physical way any letter could arrive at Rosings until at least noon.
Lady Catherine burst through the door and Darcy calmly finished sanding the letter to his steward and placed it atop the one to Mrs. Reynolds. He dared not show any weakness. His aunt had the instincts of a wild animal. One wrong move and she’d pounce for the kill.
“You can be at no loss, nephew, to understand the reason for my journey hither,” she said upon her immediate entry into the room.
“Indeed, you are mistaken. I cannot account for why you have honored me with your presence this fine morning.”
“A report of a most alarming nature reached me the other day,” replied her ladyship in an angry tone, “I was informed you are planning to bind yourself in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood, Iinstantly resolved on setting off to uncover the truth of the matter.”
“I am not prepared to discuss my personal life with you, Aunt Catherine. May I offer you a beverage before you leave?”
“This is not to be borne. I insist on being satisfied. Are you engaged to Miss Elizabeth Bennet?”
“As stated previously, I amnotdiscussing my personal life. The topic is closed, our conversation is complete.”
“If you marry that tart from Hertfordshire, I will take you to the courts and have it annulled.”
“On what grounds?”
“On the grounds, you are engaged to Anne.”
“I do not recall proposing marriage to my cousin. No settlements have been drawn up. No promises were made, by either myself or my parents. There has never been an engagement between me and Anne, other than in your fevered imagination.”
“You know your betrothal is of a peculiar kind. Have you not heard me say from your earliest hours you were destined for your cousin?”
“From my earliest hours? Cousin Anne was not even born in my earliest hours. I highly doubt my mother would plot the marriage of her son to an unborn entity. Your argument has as much strength as a house of cards on a windy day.”
He stood and moved around the desk toward the door.
“If you marry this unknown upstart, you will be censured, slighted, and despised by everyone connected with you. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never be mentioned by any of us.”
“Us, as in the Fitzwilliams?”
“Yes, they will cut you off and set you adrift.”
