Page 21 of Till Death Us Do Part: Book 2
Elizabeth curtseyed and wondered if Lord Matlock would recognise her from the park. By sheer coincidence, she was wearing the exact same dress from that long-ago walk in the park, but since it was dyed black, she was not wearing a man’s overcoat, and she was not being dragged back into the bushes by Mr Baker, it seemed unlikely. She completed the outfit with her mobcap, so she would not be entirely surprised if her own mother failed to recognise her.
She wondered if she should try to make the couple feel welcome, but since Lady Matlock reminded her strongly of the superior sisters, wearing a frown of disdain and derision that Elizabeth could practically smell, she thought to just do the minimum.
“My lord, my lady, welcome to Pemberley. Would you care to sit?”
The words sounded officious to her ears. While she was the mistress of the estate, she did not particularly feel right welcoming someone who had no doubt visited dozens or hundreds of times across multiple generations.
“Mrs Darcy,” Matlock said, without making any move towards the seating area.
Wondering if that was to be the end of it, Elizabeth said, “I fear my husband is not home at present. How may I help you?”
It was not the most welcoming speech she had ever given, but between what could best be described as a sneer with a scrunched nose, as if she smelled something rotten, from LadyMatlock; coupled with a disgruntled but slightly more decorous look from the Earl, she was not exactly feeling welcoming.
“Hardly surprising,” Lady Matlock grumbled under her breath, though perfectly audibly.
Elizabeth assumed it must have been some time since the lady had been young or dealt with someone with normal hearing. She looked as if she did not particularly care if she were heard, but it had been mumbled low enough to deny it if challenged.
Elizabeth let it pass and simply waited for His Lordship, or His Mightiness, or whatever he thought of himself, to deign to speak.
Matlock said, “Darcy is away on important family business.”
Not much liking the tone of the start of the conversation, Elizabeth still thought to try to make as good an impression as she could. She might win her noble relations over with her charm. It also seemed like a chance to learnsomething, so she tried her best to ignore the couple and concentrate on being pleasant.
“Yes, he told me that, but nothing more. Might you enlighten me about where he is, what he is doing, and when he will return? I will settle for any or all of the three.”
Matlock frowned, apparently finding simple questions impertinent. “If your husband wanted you to know, he would have informed you himself. You should not be digging around in things that are none of your affair.”
For a conversation that had been going on less than five minutes, Elizabeth was not very satisfied, nor very optimistic it would improve, but she had to try.
“He was in a hurry at the time, sir. What harm could there be in giving me some idea of when he plans to return?”
Matlock stared at her. “It is not your place to question your husband. He will go where he wills and return when he wishes. You have what you wanted, so do not complain.”
Feeling put out already, Elizabeth felt she had to start standing her groundright then, or the family would run roughshod over her for the rest of her life.
“On that score, you are sadly misinformed, my lord. While it is true, as you no doubt know, that I was not Mr Darcy’s first choice, I can assure you thatIhad nothing to do with the predicament we find ourselves in.”
Lady Matlock harrumphed loudly, as if Elizabeth had just spoken the most utter nonsense, but did not add anything.
Matlock said, “That is not how Darcy described it. His memory is excellent, and he remembers things very differently.”
“Perhaps that is true ordinarily, but at the time he was sadly misinformed, and compounded it with bad assumptions. I tried to correct him before he left, but I do not know if he has come to understand what I said.”
Matlock appeared affronted that she would dare question the word of her husband or his own second-hand opinions, and otherwise just discounted her words. “Do you deny that your mother made up the incident out of whole cloth?”
Not really noticing her temper rising and her fists clenching, Elizabeth said, “No, my lord, I do not. She is more in my brown books than anyone else I know, and I have not spoken a single word, nor written a single line to her since. I most vigorously didnotaspire to this match, did everything within my power to avoid it, and would be much happier had it never occurred.”
She briefly thought about telling him about her attempt to speak to him back in London, but thought that would as likely end in disaster as anything, considering how that encounter ended, and she did not have time to add anything anyway.
Lady Matlock frowned ferociously, then stared at Elizabeth as if she were a particularly unattractive exhibit at the menagerie. It was clear she thought only a madwoman would disdain being mistress of Pemberley.
Matlock scoffed openly. “I for one do not believe it, Mrs Darcy.Nobodywould pass on the chance to become a Darcy—it is inconceivable. You gainedeverything, while Darcy gained nothing, and in fact, lost greatly.”
She still attempted to keep her temper under control. “Perhaps that word does not mean quite what you think it does, my lord. Whatever you may think, I am innocent in this matter, and I had no desire to join this family. Now that I am here, I will not disgrace it, but I would rather have joined another.”
Lady Matlock sneered in disdain, but held her tongue, while her husband, with the same sort of sneer, said, “I see. So, were you tied up, beaten, and dragged to the altar? Is that your claim?”
Elizabeth tried her best to calm her temper, but having her honour and honesty questioned a half-dozen times in five minutes was really getting on her nerves. She wondered if this was how the rest of her miserable life was to begin, and if Mrs Reynolds had some salts.
