Chapter 21

E lizabeth was stunned, bewildered, and took a few steps away.

"I believe we have no business here," Mr Bingley whispered, walking towards the door and pulling Jane with him. Elizabeth followed them, glancing at Mr Darcy, who appeared to be in a perturbed state of mind.

"You certainly have no business here," Lady Catherine said. "And you, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, I pray I have no business talking to you either! If my nephew provides me with the answers I expect from him, I shall leave before seeing any of you again. If not, be prepared that I shall demand a private conference with you too!"

Elizabeth stopped and took a deep breath.

"Lady Catherine, I do not wish to interfere in your family affairs with Mr Darcy, so I shall leave you to clarify it privately. However, since we do not share any business of any sort, I doubt that I would accept any demands or any private meetings. Whatever Mr Darcy has to tell you, there is certainly nothing I could add to it."

"You sound as impertinent as Mr Collins described you, Miss Bennet! It is no wonder he chose another woman over you! Then I wonder what you are doing in my nephew's house since you claim you have no business with him."

Elizabeth felt her blood boiling.

"I claimed I had no business with you, Lady Catherine."

"Lady Catherine, enough!" Darcy interjected, stepping towards Elizabeth. "Miss Elizabeth is here at my sister's invitation. She and her entire family are dear friends, and if you cannot treat her respectfully, I shall ask you to leave immediately! If you wish to talk to me, I shall come to you."

"I shall not leave until I am satisfied! The matter cannot be delayed a single moment!"

"Then speak politely and show some decorum! And please do not mention that clergyman's ridiculous name to me. Surely you know that he had no choice in selecting his wife. Miss Lucas was the only woman who would even talk to him," Mr Darcy said. "You owe Miss Elizabeth an apology."

Lady Catherine turned pale, her eyes narrowed even more, and she shouted, "You expect me to apologise to this country nobody? Do not be ridiculous!"

Mr Darcy's face turned red. "Then allow me to show you out this instant," he said through his teeth, grabbing her arm.

Elizabeth stepped aside, lost as to what to do for the best. She was still utterly confused about what Lady Catherine might want with her, and the entire situation was absurd.

In the midst of the chaos, a deep voice, heavy with rage, thundered, "Catherine, what in the Lord's name are you doing here?"

Lord Matlock entered, and Lady Catherine pulled her arm free; brother and sister were facing each other, the tension and anger palpable. Elizabeth wished to leave, but her path was now obstructed, and she was trapped as an unwanted witness.

"I could ask you the same thing, Henry! I have as much right as you to be in my nephew's house! More, I imagine. I am sure our poor sister Anne would rather have me around her son than you!"

The answer was as spiteful as one would use against one's worst enemy.

"I do not claim more rights, Catherine. I wondered about you being here because you mentioned nothing of the kind. And I must request you censure your tone and mind your words if you wish to have a civil conversation."

"I wish to speak to Darcy, not to you! I deliberately did not inform you that I was coming. I heard your house is full of lower-class people with whom I would not want to be associated. Even worse, you have encouraged my nephew — a young man with an excellent future — to follow in your faulty footsteps."

"You are out of your mind, Catherine." Lord Matlock waved his hand in disgust. "I shall let you talk to Darcy if he wishes it. But if I am not wrong, he intended to throw you out a moment ago."

"This is your bad influence, Henry! Your actions have already polluted our name once, and you are about to do it again. And once more, the name Bennet, which I hoped to never hear again, is involved."

"You are a ridiculous, spiteful woman, and we shall laugh at your expense later on at dinner. What you blame me for — though it was certainly not your business! — my friend Bennet had no hand in, except to support me as I required."

"He was at fault for much more! He was rude, deceptive, and insolent."

"He kept a secret on my behalf, Catherine! A secret that you should never dare to speak about!" the earl said. "Are you out of your mind to mention something that happened a lifetime ago?"

"I would never have mentioned any of those facts or people again if recent events did not alarm me and demand urgent measures!" Lady Catherine shouted.

Elizabeth's state worsened by the moment, and her knees seemed unable to support her. She needed to sit — or better still to run away from that dreadful conversation involving her beloved father. What was the horrible quarrel about? Why would Lady Catherine come to London for something that had apparently happened so long ago? What did that story have to do with Mr Darcy? Elizabeth's mind was clouded by emotions, and a whirlwind of thoughts made her head spin.

"Enough!" Mr Darcy shouted, louder than the other two. "We are acting like lunatics in the presence of Miss Bennet. Aunt, I shall allow you another moment to tell me why you are here and how I may help you. After that, I shall return to my guests and ask you to leave my house."

"Yes, Catherine, what are you doing here?" the earl repeated.

"Uncle, please! Enough! I am ignorant of the reason for your quarrel, and I prefer to remain so," Darcy interrupted again. "My present desire is to end all this and to be able to apologise to Miss Elizabeth, her sister, and Bingley. I am sure the entire household heard the shouting, and it will provide interesting gossip below stairs for a while."

"You must manage your household better, Nephew! As for Miss Bennet, I hear her family is no stranger to quarrels!" Lady Catherine uttered. "I am sure she suspects the nature of the report that brought me here, and you cannot be ignorant either."

Elizabeth gasped. "I assure you, madam, that I cannot imagine what you mean, and I wish for nothing more than to escape from this discussion immediately. I shall not listen further while my father is offended in his absence."

"Miss Bennet, I must beg for your forgiveness on behalf of my aunt and myself," Mr Darcy said, taking a few steps towards her. "I am sure there has been an egregious misunderstanding, and I shall end it this instant. Please let me escort you—"

"Then let us speak plainly," Lady Catherine declared, halting their departure. "Even if you claim innocence, I shall be honest and direct, as always. An outrageous report was brought to my attention, that not only is your friend Mr Bingley engaged to Miss Jane Bennet, but that you, Darcy, will soon marry the second and less pretty Bennet sister, this Miss Elizabeth."

The statement, filled with rage, spite, and rancour left the other three in utter shock. Elizabeth held her breath, and it felt like her heart had stopped. Mr Darcy looked stunned. He was pale, his eyes wide open, and he glanced at Elizabeth with a sort of panic.

"I still cannot believe that my nephew would betray his mother's wish and abandon his cousin to whom he has been engaged for so many years! And for what? For whom?"

"What? Are you two engaged?" Lord Matlock cried.

"Of course not!" Mr Darcy responded. "I shall only say once more that this situation is ridiculous. Forgive me, I shall accompany Miss Bennet to her sister, and I hope you will find a little bit of sanity in the meantime."

"So what do you say, Darcy? You are not engaged?" Lady Catherine cried.

"I am not," he answered, looking at Elizabeth. "Should I even take the trouble to enquire where you heard such a thing?"

"Mr Collins told me. He said he informed Elizabeth Bennet that you were engaged, but she disregarded the information and continued to use her arts and allurements to seduce you."

Elizabeth was too stunned to even reply. Mr Darcy was frowning, and his fists were clenched, as if he was at the edge of his patience.

"So you heard some gossip from your silly servant and hurried to London. For what purpose?" Lord Matlock asked.

"For what purpose? To find out the truth and to make Darcy see reason! Even if you maintain an absurd friendship with her father, your nephew cannot marry a country girl with no fortune and no connections! She was considered a potential wife for my clergyman! Surely my nephew cannot consider her too!"

Elizabeth felt her face burning with anger, and her ire was raised to a point where she did not feel in control.

"Catherine!" Lord Matlock shouted, but Mr Darcy was the one to reply with a sharp coldness.

"Lady Catherine, since you are here, allow me to clarify the situation once and for all. Your claim about my engagement to Anne has no grounds and deserves no attention. I am not engaged to Miss Elizabeth Bennet for the only reason that I have not dared to propose to her yet, as I feared she might reject me. Her opinion of me, based on my previous behaviour, is not good enough for such an outcome. However, I have long admired her, and it is my intention to gather my courage and propose to her as soon as I feel it is the right time."

He paused a moment, looking at Elizabeth. She was bewildered, astounded, wondering how serious he was. Everything in his appearance suggested he was as serious as a gentleman could be.

"You cannot! You would not dare!" Lady Catherine cried, struggling to breathe and choking on air.

"Of course I can," Mr Darcy uttered in an imperturbable tone. "In fact, I would beg Miss Bennet to consider this the moment of my heartfelt proposal, to which she has the liberty to respond whenever she pleases."

He bowed to Elizabeth, under the doubtful scrutiny of Lord Matlock and Lady Catherine. Elizabeth finally replied, trying to sound composed.

"Mr Darcy, although for some time I have had the highest opinion of you, I shall not consider a proposal made in anger, nor for the purpose of revenge. If there is a proposal in the future, I hope it will come at the proper time and in the proper place."

She smiled at him, hoping he understood the meaning of her refusal. Then she walked towards the door, stopped, and added, "Mr Darcy, although I am sure your future wife will have extraordinary sources of happiness necessarily attached to her situation, your aunt's actions and manners might shadow the excellent traits of your character. Now please excuse me. I have stayed too long."

She left the library and closed the door behind her. In the hall, she paused and leant against the wall, her hands trembling. She heard Lady Catherine's spiteful screams as a response to her last statement. She did not care that she had offended Mr Darcy's aunt — at least she had defended herself a little. That woman deserved worse.

The entire situation was extraordinary: Lady Catherine's arrival, her horrible accusations towards her father, Lord Matlock's explanation, Mr Darcy's attempt at a proposal… She needed time away from that house and that family to calm down and gain some control over herself.

In the drawing-room, her sisters, Mr Bingley, Miss Darcy, and Mrs Annesley were waiting, looking desperate and frightened. At her entrance, Jane hurried to embrace her.

"Lizzy dearest, what happened? You look so pale and disquieted."

"I probably am." She forced a smile. "Mr Bingley, would you be so kind as to escort us home?"

"Yes, yes, of course!"

"Miss Bennet, I am so sorry," Miss Darcy whispered. "I knew my aunt could be… I immediately sent a servant to fetch my uncle."

Elizabeth took the girl's hands. "You have no reason to apologise, Miss Darcy. Your aunt has suffered a misunderstanding, which I trust your brother and your uncle will clarify. We must leave you now, but I hope to meet again soon."

Outside, with the cold wind on her face, Elizabeth felt her eyes burning, and only then did she notice the tears of anger.

"Jane, Mary, Mr Bingley, I beg you not to tell our family about what happened. I shall talk to Papa, and he will decide what to do."

"Lizzy, what could we say? We hardly heard anything specific once we left the library," Jane said. "We only heard Lady Catherine shouting, then Lord Matlock shouting, then Mr Darcy shouting. We know it was a family quarrel and that Lady Catherine was angry to find us there. Then we wondered what you were doing there with them."

"I heard nothing but screams," Mary added. "Miss Darcy was very worried. She looked like she was about to cry. That Lady Catherine is so scary!"

"It is a family quarrel, indeed," Elizabeth agreed. When they arrived at the Matlocks' residence, she blamed a headache and hurried to her room, feeling angry, frustrated, resentful, hurt — and worried in regard to her father. Talking to him was necessary, but she needed a little more time to calm herself.

A while later, Jane entered the room and sat on the bed, holding her hand.

"Lizzy, Lord Matlock has returned. He is with Papa in the library and has asked not to be disturbed."

Elizabeth nodded, imagining the subject of their private conversation.

"Mama and the girls — where are they?"

"They have been out, and now they are resting. Mr Bingley has left, but he will return for dinner."

"Then I shall sleep a little, dearest."

Jane leant forwards and kissed her forehead. "Please do so."