Page 67 of Eavesdroppers Never Hear
Before he arrived, the ‘lady’ in question continued with the same thrill demands.
“He is engaged to my daughter, so he cannot be engaged to this…”
She was not especially surprised when Darcy interrupted the lady angrily.
“Lady Catherine!Let me be rightly understood! I recommend in the strongest possible terms, that you reconsider what you are about to say regarding the future Mrs Darcy. My forbearance has been extensive, but it is not unbounded. Disrespecting my bride will not be tolerated! It is long past time to abandon this ridiculous fantasy.”
He finished the last sentence with a bellow fit for a bull. Elizabeth wondered whether he was truly as angry as he sounded or if he simply understood his aunt’s intractability required strong measures. She was not especially worried. Tothe contrary, she was enjoying herself. It was thrilling in a way to see the man defending her as a gentleman ought.
The lady started to speak, but Darcy rudely interrupted her. “I amnotengaged to Anne. I haveneverbeen engaged to Anne. Iwill neverbe engaged to Anne. It is past time to put this idea behind you.”
By that time, Elizabeth had strolled leisurely to join Darcy, and she saw the colonel do the same, leaving Georgiana in the care of Mary and the two youngest Bennet sisters. Elizabeth considered that akin to engaging a fox to guard the chickens, but who was she to quibble?
The colonel spoke as if he was in a drawing room on a lazy afternoon, “Good morning, Aunt. How were the roads and the weather?”
The lady blustered, caught off guard by the incongruous bit of civility.
She answered angrily. “The roads are savage in this county. I assure you they are far superior in Kent, and the weather is atrocious.”
Elizabeth saw the colonel give a small smirk and could not decide if he was working gallantly to defuse the situation, or poking fun at his aunt for amusement. Since Darcy looked ready to chew rocks, she hoped for the former, but expected the latter.
“Well, at least you spared Anne this ridiculous exercise,” Darcy said emphatically.
“Of course not! She is in the coach. I did not want to expose her to…” the lady said menacingly.
Elizabeth would never know what the great lady planned to say next because Darcy bellowed, “You hauled my very fragile cousin here, starting at the crack of dawn onSunday…in December!”
He spoke with sufficient anger that Elizabeth thought he might explode. It was the only explanation for allowing hispersonal business to be discussed at a roar in the presence of all her neighbours in the middle of the church. Of course, in her mind, all the best things in her life had started with a public spectacle in the Meryton church, so she was not especially alarmed. She did however want to keep her intended out of goal at least until the wedding, so she took his arm and squeezed it hard enough to get his attention.
She glanced at Jane, who was standing in the aisle with Mr Bingley, and subtly leaned her head toward the door. Jane and Mary quickly walked down the aisle gracefully, with Jenny and Simon following, having already transferred their loyalty to her. She squeezed again, and when Darcy saw Jane leaving out the back doors, he became less obviously furious.
He looked to her to see how she was taking the altercation, so she gave him a smile to show she was not the least bit distressed.
Elizabeth noticed her father approaching close enough to watch the proceedings, but he seemed no more inclined to intervene than he did in any other unpleasantness. She honestly did not know if she was disappointed in the man for yet another avoidance of a difficult encounter or, relieved he would not make a fraught situation worse. She was mostly happy that in less than a month, she would not especially care what her father said, thought, or did.
Mr Turner approached with quiet intention, cleared his throat, and looked at Darcy meaningfully. Elizabeth appreciated the man following proper decorum but understood there was a limit to the rudeness the good reverend allowed in his church, and the lady was pushing her luck.
Darcy introduced the reverend, Elizabeth, and Mr Bennet to his aunt using the proper forms.
Lady Catherine answered without much in the way of courtesy, but it was sufficient for the parson to ask questions.
“Lady Catherine, I just called the banns as is customary, and you objected. Can you elaborate on your objection…specifically?”
“He is engaged to my daughter.”
Mr Turner rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I presume you have a marriage contract?”
The lady blustered. “There is no contract as of yet.”
“Ah… well, then… I presume he has proposed?”
The reverend looked at the lady, giving her a few seconds to reply. When none was forthcoming, he continued merrily along. “Has he asked for a courtship? Asked to call on her? Stated his intentions unequivocally?”
“He has done none of those things, but it is a long-understood arrangement.”
“Understood by whom?” he asked innocently.
Lady Catherine looked slightly less certain of herself but steeled her spine and continued gamely with considerable bluster.
