Page 112 of New World Tea Company
“I cannot imagine why Lady Catherine would appear at Netherfield,” Darcy assured his sister. “What’s more, I have no notion of how she learned that I was here. And I prefer that she not learn that you are present.”
He paused to think for a moment, exchanged a glance with Elizabeth who merely inclined her head, indicating that she would follow his lead without question in this situation.
“I shall walk back to the manor immediately to speak with our aunt,” Darcy told the others.
Then he addressed the young woman who had captured his attention so completely this spring. “Miss Elizabeth, will you walk back with my sister? Perhaps you can complete our walk at a leisurely pace? Enter Netherfield quietly and retire to her room above stairs. Again, I would prefer that my Aunt Catherine not know that my sister is here.”
Nodding toward the footman, Elizabeth added, “Hill can walk with us and when he enters the room where you are gathered, you will know Miss Darcy is safe in her room.”
~~~
Once Mr Darcy had departed – his long legs moved him along the path quickly – Elizabeth turned to the younger woman and said, “Miss Darcy, I propose we have an adventure when we reach Netherfield.”
“An adventure, Miss Bennet? I dread any meeting with Aunt Catherine,” replied Georgiana. “She demands that my brothersend me to live with her so that she can oversee my education and make certain my character is properly formed. But William denies her every time.”
Elizabeth reached out a hand to squeeze Georgiana’s arm in a comforting manner. She said, “Miss Darcy, you have an excellent character. I imagine anything that Lady Catherine lists as your faults are merely reflections of her own inadequacies.”
They continued walking and after a moment of silence, Elizabeth asked, “Tell me, Miss Darcy, have you ever been inside the kitchens in your homes?”
“Of course, I have been to the kitchens in both of our homes,” Georgiana replied. “At Pemberley, my brother and I have tea with our cook once a week. Mrs Huddleston makes the most excellent biscuits. In London, the butler and housekeeper turn a blind eye to my trips into the kitchen to visit with Mrs Benson. She’s our cook in the city, and she keeps a tin of biscuits for us to pilfer. Mrs Annesley counsels me not to go too often as it would make the maids too familiar with me.”
Nodding, Elizabeth said, “At Longbourn, our housekeeper helped my mother raise my sisters and myself. Your footman, Jacob Hill is her son, and we played together as children. Jacob learned his job from his father who is our butler and my father’s valet.”
“It’s true, Miss Darcy. Me and Miss Elizabeth caught frogs in the pond down the lane from the kitchen until her mother made her start wearing long skirts,” the footman added.
“And there is an important secret that only I know at Longbourn. I have never told my sisters because I fear one of them might tell our mother or father,” confided Elizabeth.
“What secret?” asked Georgiana with wide eyes.
“When I have been on a walk through the woods or fields and want to avoid Mamma when I return, I enter the house throughthe kitchens and climb the back stairs,” Elizabeth confessed. “Therefore, we shall enter Netherfield through the kitchens and climb the narrow stairs to your room without your brother or aunt knowing we are under the same roof.”
~~~
As Fitzwilliam Darcy walked back to the manor house, his thoughts were mixed as he attempted to find a reason for his aunt’s appearance in Hertfordshire. He decided,‘Lady Catherine must have already been at Matlock House in London. But why?’
Imagining that his cousin was ill, or that a fire had damaged Rosings Park, Darcy lengthened his stride. When he reached the front door of the manor house, he did not wait for the footman to open the door but entered the manor on his own, leaving his hat, gloves and cane on a table near the staircase.
He listened quietly for a moment and determined his aunt was delivering a lecture of some kind to Mrs Bingley in her front parlour. Again, he opened the door and let himself into the room.
“Darcy!” Lady Catherine exclaimed. “There you are!”
“Aunt,” Darcy acknowledged Lady Catherine but gave his full attention to Jane Bingley and thanked her for allowing his relative to wait inside the house instead of the carriage where an uninvited visitor should have remained.
Blinking in surprise, Lady Catherine protested, “Remain in the carriage? I am the daughter of an earl! I never wait in a carriage!”
“My grandfather has been dead for twenty years and the Countess of Matlock would wait in the carriage if she ever had the bad manners to call at my friend’s home uninvited.”
“Darcy! This is hardly a house of high-quality people!” the woman protested. She waved toward Jane and said, “This girl claims to be Mrs Charles Bingley.”
“Silence!” Darcy said, his angry tone evident to Mrs Bingley and his aunt. “This is the home of my friend, Charles Bingley and his bride, Jane Bingley. Be respectful or I shall tell my uncle that you are a candidate for Bedlam!”
Understanding that a man’s opinion counted for more than any woman’s wishes, Lady Catherine sat back in her chair and fell silent. She recognized George Darcy’s infamous temper in her nephew’s tone and threats.
Darcy turned to Jane and in a pleasant tone said, “Mrs Bingley, I apologize for my aunt’s horrid ill-manners. Please be assured that she will write a formal letter of apology, or I shall publish a multitude of tales regarding her profligate spending and horrid manners in the newspapers in London.”
Anxious to escape the room before more angry words were spoken, Jane replied, “Mr Darcy, I shall leave you and your aunt to discuss her news with you.”
Despite the uncomfortable setting, before she left the room, Jane inquired, “Would you and your aunt care for tea?”
