First Comes Marriage by Elizabeth Sylvester

Author:Elizabeth Sylvester [Sylvester, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

If Elizabeth had worried about being constantly reminded of the true nature of her marriage, she was wrong. A new arrival at Netherfield quickly distracted her from the heaviness in her heart.

She and Jane were out walking in the gardens when they first saw the carriage. Neither of them had any idea who it belonged to.

They both watched curiously as the stable hand helped a regally dressed lady alight from the carriage. She surveyed the area around her with approval and immediately summoned the butler who had stepped out when he saw the visitor.

“Tell Mr. Darcy I am here to see him,” she commanded in a voice that implied she was not used to being disagreed with.

“Of course, madam,” the man said with a respectful bow. “Who may I say is here?”

“Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” the woman spat, as if the man ought to have known without asking.

“Gracious!” Jane exclaimed softly, snapping her head around to look at Lizzy, who had also recognised the name. “Is that not the woman you said Mr. Collins used to talk endlessly about?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, her spoke of her at length. I wonder… well, it must be one in the same—how could it not be?” Jane had been too ill to go downstairs at mealtimes when Mr. Collins first arrived, but she had taken great pleasure from her sister’s accounts of what had been said.

“Did you know she was Darcy’s aunt?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. Mr. Collins had spent most of his time at Lucas Lodge after she rejected his proposal, so she supposed he had not spent enough time with Darcy to discover the connection. Not that it mattered. “I had better meet her. From Mr. Collins’s account, she is kind and gracious.”

She rose and hurried across the grass to meet her new aunt.

“Lady Catherine,” she said, curtseying. “What a pleasure it is to meet my husband’s aunt, though I did not realise you are related. I have heard so much about you from my cousin, Mr. Collins.”

The woman spun around. “Ah, so it is you,” she said, eyes narrowing. “I wondered what had gone on in the boy’s mind and I had to see for myself. Though I must admit, I assumed a pretty little thing had turned his head and I now see that was not the case.”

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush at the unexpected cruelty in the woman’s words. “This is my sister, Jane,” she stammered.

“With her good looks and fair complexion, she would’ve been more suited to my nephew, though neither of you are suitably well-bred.”

“Jane is engaged to Mr. Bingley, a dear friend of mine,” Darcy said as he joined them, though he made no attempt to argue with his aunt’s later statement. “This is a surprise, dear aunt.”

“Fitzwilliam Darcy!” Lady Catherine exclaimed. “I expect my presence is a surprise since you failed to inform me of your engagement.”

He did not say anything, but it was clear from the look on his face what he was thinking.

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