Page 16 of Till Death Us Do Part
With a last smile and even something approaching a wave, Mr Clarke went to do his bidding.
It was true that Darcy had been working like a galley slave from dawn to midnight for the previous fortnight, as he had much to do while preparing for both his upcoming nuptials, and his lengthy absence from England.
The Master of Pemberley planned to leave nothing to chance by making certain his sister and estate were well taken care of, his family did not finish its act of ritual suicide, and his new wife did not cause too much trouble during his absence.
The release of Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam would take months of tedious negotiations, where Napoleon and his courtiers would try every trick they could dream up (dirty or otherwise), to squeeze out advantage. They would eventually learn they had the heir, and not just a doubly superfluous sparelong before it was over, and they would make Darcy pay. He only hoped his family could afford the price.
However, at that very moment, the master had been sitting by the fire with his feet up on an ottoman enjoying a quiet lunch and brief half-hour of poetry. His house slippers were strewn on the floor, his cravat was undone, and his coat sat astride a chair. Clarke knew the master couldmake himself presentable in about two minutes even without his valet, but jumping to Lady Catherine’s bidding was not to his taste, so she could just wait until he finished his meal and became bored with his book.
Exactly fifty-three minutes later, Darcy gave a great sigh, stood up, rearranged his clothing to its usual impeccable state (more or less), then went to brace the dragon and get it over with.
At fifty-nine minutes since the entry of Clarke, Darcy entered the parlour. “Lady Catherine, what brings you here?”
His unwanted guest was a tall, large woman, with strongly marked features, which might once have been handsome, but presently had an even bigger scowl than usual—though her normal countenance was not all that pleasant.
She gave her hand to her nephew, and he gave the most minimal approximation of bowing over it he could manage, while she started without preamble.
“You kept me long enough. I have been waiting a full hour for you to attend me. You cannot possibly have been doing anything so important.”
Darcy looked at her carefully. “Wait here a moment if you please.”
Without another word, he walked out of the parlour, and a moment later, Lady Catherine heard the front door open and remain open for a minute, before closing.
A few moments later, Darcy returned to his place, his cheeks red from the cold.
“My apologies. I had to look to be certain. A glance from the lane confirms that we are presently inDarcyhouse. The key word there is ‘Darcy,’ which meansIset the rules. You came tomy homewithout notice or invitation, so you can take your chances on my availability.”
The lady gasped at the sheer, effrontery of her nephew refusing to kowtow to her wishes, and that was even without the supreme impertinence shown by the stunt of walking outside to belabour his point.
She opened her mouth to deliver a setdown, but Darcy forestalled her. “Once again, Lady Catherine, what brings you here? I am rather busy. If this is a social call, it must wait.”
The lady gave a ferocious frown but decided it was time to get on with it. “You can be at no loss, to understand the reason of my journey hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I’ve come.”
Darcy knew perfectly well why his aunt was there but was not presently in a humour to do her work for her.
“Indeed, you are mistaken, madam. I have not been at all able to account for the honour of seeing you here.”
“Nephew!” snapped her ladyship, in an angry tone, “You ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness, and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from it. A report of a most alarming nature reached me two days ago. I was told that, not only were you outright refusing to do your duty with respect to your family, but that some young trollop, a Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would, in all likelihood, be soon afterwards united to my own nephew. Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood, though I would not injure you so much as to suppose the truth of itpossible, I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you.”
Darcy thought that if he were in better humour he might go gently on his imperious aunt, but at that moment, he was fresh out of patience. However, since his friends Bingley and Richard had told him a hundred times that he needed to be a bit more playful, he thought to give it a go.
“If you believed it impossible, I wonder you took the trouble of coming so far. What could your ladyship propose by it?”
“At once to insist upon having such a report universally contradicted.”
“Your coming to London will be rather a confirmation of it; if, indeed, such a report is in existence.”
“If!” she screeched. “Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it? I have a firsthand report, directly from my rector who was present for the debacle. I know it all. You were caught in a trap of your own making, and I insist on knowing all the particulars so I can help you extricate yourself.”
Having had his share of amusement, and feeling a bit tired of his officious aunt intruding on his business, he answered angrily.
“I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship. You may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer.”
“This is not to be borne. I insist on being satisfied. Have you made her an offer of marriage?”
Finally, just wishing to get the conversation over, Darcy said, “I have. The proposal has been made and accepted, the contract signed. We wed on the twenty-third of December.”
With a gasp, Lady Catherine said, “I never! How could you do so without consulting your own relatives?”
