Page 8 of Till Death Us Do Part
4.Oh, Industry!
If Elizabeth thought that somehow, by some wild stretch of the imagination, her mother and sisters followed her father’s clearly stated instructions, she was promptly and sadly disabused. As soon as she walked out of the office, she was accosted by her youngest sister.
“La, Lizzy, your Mr Darcy is certainly a foul-tempered sort. I am glad I do not have to marry him. Imagine if he is that bad in the hallway, how bad he will be in the marriage bed,” Lydia said with a giggle.
Kitty added, “Yes, Lizzy. I imagine you need to work out a way to improve his manner. Maybe—”
Elizabeth gasped in shock. She was not surprised to learn, yet again, that she had the two stupidest sisters in Christendom, and two that would be in at least the top half for cruelty, but this seemed far beyond the pale.
Elizabeth yelled with barely repressed fury, “Lydia Bennet! Kitty Bennet!Those are the entirely stupidest words ever to come out of your despicable mouths, and that is quite a boast. How can you even say something so cruel? How can you even think it? How do you even know what goes on between a husband and wife?”
Ignoring her completely, Lydia said, “La, Lizzy, you are as bad as Mary. Harriet told me about it. She says that Colonel Forster—”
Elizabeth stamped the floor, which did not shut her sister up, so she walked two steps closer and stamped down on her toe.
Lydia screamed like a banshee. “Mama! Lizzy just stomped me. She is horrid. She deserves to be stuck with that abominable Mr Darcy.”
Mrs Bennet entered the hallway waving her handkerchief. “Lizzy, what in heaven’s name has gotten into you. You securedthe richest and handsomest man ever to pass through this neighbourhood, and all you can do is pick on your sister.I am ashamed of you!”
Elizabeth glowered, wondering how the day could get any worse.
She rounded on her latest antagonist. “I retract my statement, Mother. A minute ago, I thought Lydia was the stupidest female in England, but now you have taken the crown for yourself.”
Impervious to all censure, Mrs Bennet said, “Oh, leave off Lizzy. Have you any idea how good of a match you made, with not a bit of initiative on your part. I do not like to complain, but I must say how you vex me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves. You had the man in the palm of your hands, and it fell tometo secure him. Now, he is yours. Imagine! A house in town! Everything that is charming! Ten thousand a year! Oh, Lord! What will become of me? I shall go distracted.”
Unable to believe her ears, Elizabeth stomped over to her mother. “I have not agreed to marry him, and I shall not.”
Not to be dissuaded, the matron snapped, “Oh, leave off! So, the man is bad mannered. What of it! You can work him. I will tell you all the right ways to do it. Deliver him a son, and he will leave you alone entirely, though I hope you can do a better job of that than I have. All will be well. You are just too stubborn to see it, but he is a strong man. If anyone can make a lady of you, he is the one, but he has his work cut out for him.”
Elizabeth hissed, “I am already a lady, Mother! I fear Jane and I may well be theonlyones who can make that claim in this madhouse.”
The matron continued as if nothing at all had been said. “Just think of it. You will be mistress of one of the grandest houses in the land. Ten thousand a year. What pin money you will have, what jewels, what carriages, what parties. Think of theentertaining you can do, or if you wish to be a martyr, think of the charity you can bestow. You landed in the perfect situation and all you can do is whinge and bemoan your extraordinarily good fortune. Well, I for one have had enough!”
Elizabeth let out another frustrated snarl, but her mother took no notice.
“Now Lizzy, you will have to invite your sisters to town. You can throw them in the path of other rich men, and I am certain you will have plenty of pin money to set them up. I would bet my dear Lydia can attract a very wealthy man, and Jane… well, Jane shall have a peer.”
Shaking her head at the sheer insanity of her mother’s drivel, Elizabeth strode across the room, stood toe to toe with her, and hissed, “I have something to say, Mother! You will listen!”
“If you are going to be that way, go ahead and get it over with. We need to get you dressed and go into Meryton for some better clothes. Mr Darcy will not find your wardrobe suitable at all.”
Elizabeth stared at her hard. “Here is what I have to say. I willnotmarry that man. I willnotbe trotted through Meryton like a prize heifer. I willnotlisten to the gossips of this accursed village pick over the destruction of my life. Mr Bennet ordered me to my room, and there I shall remain.”
Panicked about her loss of status if she could not show her daughter around, Mrs Bennet snapped, “Now you just wait, missy. You are still a member of this household, and I am still its mistress. You will do as I say. Until you say the words that will put you in Mr Darcy’s care, you are in mine, and you will follow my instructions.”
“No!I will not. Let me tell you how it will be. Listen—”
“Youdo not dictate—”
Losing all patience, Elizabeth gave her mother a small rap on the knuckles with her fist. It was not hard enough to do anydamage, but hard enough and public enough to lay down the gauntlet about her seriousness before she continued.
“Here is how it will be!You wish to chain me to a man who is disagreeable to start with and is justifiably angry about howyoucheated him of his life’s ambitions. He has already bruised my arm. I do not imagine he did it on purpose, but it is something he can do entirely by reflex without even thinking, and I hate to think of what he will do if he gets his dander up.”
“Now—” Mrs Bennet started, but Elizabeth just held her fist up to show she would rap her again, if necessary, then held it until her mother stopped talking.
“As I said, he is a vain, proud, disagreeable man. If you force me to marry him, it does not matter how much pin money I have, because you will never see a farthing of it. I will cut all ties with you. If I see you on the street, I will walk the other way. If you greet me indoors, I will cut you direct. If I decide to have any relationship with my sisters at all, it will be bymy choice, and I will never step foot in Longbourn again.”
“I never!” gasped Mrs Bennet.
