Page 16 of Mr. Darcy's Complex Courtship

I stood straighter. “Lady Catherine, I should like you to meet my aunt, Mrs. Gardiner. And this is Mr. Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh of Rosings Park in Kent.”

My aunt curtsied. “Lady Catherine, it is a pleasure to meet you. You are welcome to my home.”

Lady Catherine offered the barest of nods.

“Shall we sit? I shall call for refreshments.” Aunt Gardiner shot me a questioning look.

With a subtle shake of my head, I attempted to convey my confusion at Lady Catherine’s unexpected presence.

“That will not be necessary.” Lady Catherine directed her cane towards the window with a view of the garden. “I see you have a prettyish walking path. I should like Miss Bennet to accompany me there.”

“Yes, of course.” A snarl of tension besieged my stomach. Why had Lady Catherine come?

We neared the back of the garden when she halted and whirled towards me. “I have received a most alarming report. Do you know to what I refer?” An ominous glare twisted her features.

“No, my lady, I have no notion.”

“Anne and I have been in town these past two weeks. Last night I received an express from Mr. Collins. He learnt from one of his servants that you had been alone with my nephew at the parsonage on at least two separate occasions. Do you deny this occurred?”

“No. Mr. Darcy called at the parsonage a couple of times when Charlotte and Mr. Collins had business elsewhere.”

“How dare you indulge in such indecorous behaviour withmynephew!” Lady Catherine pounded her walking stick on the ground.

“Those two instances occurred by chance. I never expected him to call, nor did I invite him to do so.”

“Do not bother pretending to be innocent. I have no doubt you made full use of your feminine wiles to entice him. A proper lady would have refused to meet him alone. Besides, he is to marry my daughter!”

“I believe Mr. Darcy would disagree with your assertion.”Darn, I had blurted the remark without forethought.

Her eyes hardened into slits. “Do you allege to know my nephew’s personal business? Why would he reveal his intentions to you?”

I pursed my lips. Lady Catherine ought to learn of our engagement from Fitzwilliam. “I suggest you speak to him.”

“No, it cannot be—this will ruin everything.” Her chin dipped. “He is nought but a man. Still, he would never overlook his principles and his obligation to…” Her speech degraded into muttering.

“I beg your pardon?”

Her sight centred upon me. “Goodness knows, I should not need to ask this question unless Darcy has lost every jot of his reason.” Her right hand curled atop her walking stick. “Has my nephew made you an offer of marriage?”

“I decline to say.”

“You must not comprehend the extent of my standing, reputation, and connexions—I am not to be trifled with! Now, I insist on hearing the truth.” Her mouth wrenched, with gnarled lips and bared teeth, lending her a feral appearance.

What would be worse, to acquiesce and answer the question or persist in my refusal? Maybe I ought to enlighten her. “Very well. I am engaged to Mr. Darcy.”

Lady Catherine’s lower lip trembled as she drew to her full height. “Do you mean to ruin him? You, with your relatives in trade and your shameful dearth of education? You are incapable of being mistress of a grand estate like Pemberley. You would taint the halls of Darcy’s home!” She raised a gloved hand to her throat. “My poor dear sister would turn in her grave if she knew how low her son has sunk—to have fallen for the tawdry allurements of one so coarse and unrefined.”

Such vile speech…and she called herself a lady! “How dare you spout such hateful nonsense?” The pulsation of my heart increased to a tumult. “You have no legitimate reason to object to our match. He has made his choice.”

“You will not be allowed to make my nephew an object of ridicule. I demand you agree here and now to break off this engagement.”

“I shall not dishonour my promise to Mr. Darcy.”

Lady Catherine raised her cane and shook it within inches of my face. I jerked backwards.

“You will end this unhallowed alliance. Otherwise, I shall make Darcy pay for this wretched mistake. I shall take his precious Pemberley away from him. Do you think he will still want you after you have caused him to lose what is most important to him—his legacy?”

“Pemberley belongs to him. You cannot change that.”

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