Lady Catherine slapped the letter down on the table next to her chair. She was too annoyed even to utter her favorite phrase of complaint and declare it was not to be borne. "Richard!" she said aloud in disgust.
At every turn, it seemed, her nephew found ways to interfere in her plans. He had never trusted her, and he had never done her bidding, not even when he was a tiny child just learning to walk. He bit her hand then rather than do as she instructed, and now he continued to figuratively bite her hand by spreading distrust of her motives and getting in the way of her agents.
Richard's suspicions had nearly cost her one of her best-placed agents this past summer. George Wickham was not just a spy, unlike Mrs. Hammond, the woman she had installed as nurse to Georgiana. He had the position and opportunity to influence Fitzwilliam Darcy and keep him isolated from those who might draw him away from her plans for him. Of course, Lady Catherine suspected George had not been as clever as she had hoped in isolating young Fitzwilliam from the other boys while maintaining her nephew's confidence and shoring up his pride in his station. It was likely the steward's son found his artificially elevated status, along with the extra funds she provided, too tempting to hold himself back and behave with circumspection when he gave in to his low desires. Richard could not have succeeded in arousing his cousin's suspicions if there was nothing in George's behavior about which to be suspicious.
After Richard's visit between terms the previous summer, George Darcy had investigated young George's behavior at school. The boy received a stern lecture and was put on notice that he would be watched. Mrs. Hammond reported that, during the recent Christmas visit Richard and his father had made to Pemberley, the subject of George's behavior came up yet again with more lectures to the boy as a result.
Lady Catherine slammed her hand down on top of the letter on the table. It was all too frustrating. The situation would have to be corrected. She had recommended the Wickham boy to both Fitzwilliam and his father. If his behavior was suspect, then her judgment became suspect as well. That was definitely not to be borne any more than the loss of influence over her youngest nephew.
George Darcy was not likely to last for too many years longer. His health, which was never good, had declined significantly since his wife's death. When he was gone, she wanted Fitzwilliam to rely on her for advice and assistance, not on her brother. Pemberley was too wealthy a prize to leave management of it to a boy, even if that boy was her own nephew. If she could keep him under her thumb, she would have access to all that wealth and the consequence of the Darcy family to boot.
A shiver ran across her shoulders, but Lady Catherine quickly realized it was not just anger. The fire in the grate had died down as she read her letters and the room was cooling rapidly. After ringing the bell, she pulled her shawl a little tighter around her shoulders and considered the situation.
While the servant built up the fire against the late January chill, Lady Catherine pondered, tapping one fingernail against the chair arm as she often did when thinking deeply. By the time the first servant she called had built up the fire and the second had delivered a fresh pot of tea and left the room, Lady Catherine had decided what to do about George. She poured out a cup of the hot beverage and sipped at it slowly.
George Wickham would need to be both warned and threatened. If he did not play his part properly, Lady Catherine would have no further use for him. In that event, she would cut off all the funding she provided to him and would ensure George Darcy ceased his support of the boy as well. She would write to the agent who provided the boy's allowance for her and instruct him to pass on her position in the strongest terms possible. George Wickham would do as she bid or be ruined both financially and physically.
In addition, Lady Catherine thought a letter to George Darcy would not go amiss. She could not reveal her sources, of course. Perhaps instead she could make some general comments about young George and Fitzwilliam being at an age where boys traditionally find trouble for themselves before settling down to be respectable young men. If she suggested having heard from her brother of some minor trouble, she could reiterate how Fitzwilliam relied on George to help him be comfortable in company and suggest the boy be excused his failings and given another chance. After all, as one of the lower orders he would require more instruction to meet the standards of the company he now kept.
The letter would have to be worded carefully. She did not wish to commit herself too far on George Wickham's behalf, in case he failed to meet her expectations yet again. It would be easier and more effective to deliver her support in person but travel to Pemberley was out of the question at the moment. A letter would have to do the job. Later she could visit and reiterate her position.
That still left the problem of Richard. Not only was he interfering with the Darcys, he had his nose in her other projects as well. The letter she had just read from Miss Stanton mentioned his visits in the past and informed her that he and Peter had stopped at the estate after Christmas on their way back to London. It seemed any time either of the two passed through Hertfordshire a visit with the Bennets was de rigueur. And, knowing Richard, he spent that time spreading his suspicions.
Worse yet, if Miss Stanton was correct, Bennet seemed to be grooming his godson to be a husband for one of his girls. Even Jane, who was coming along best of the girls, was not good enough for a grandson of the current Earl of Matlock and son of the future Earl. And if she were, such an alliance would dilute the effect of the plans Lady Catherine had for the ruination of the entire family. Instead, Miss Stanton's reported that it was Elizabeth who seemed most to Richard's taste. Insupportable!
Of course, Elizabeth was a problem in her own right. How much of the girl's suspicion and rebellion was due to Richard's prompting and how much was a result of her own recalcitrant nature was difficult to discern. The girl had proven extremely intelligent and Bennet was actively over-educating her, just as Lady Catherine had expected. However, her manners still needed work and Miss Stanton was finding it difficult to foster the desired sense of pride and superiority in her. Without that pride, her eventual humiliation would be far less satisfactory to Lady Catherine.
On the balance side, Miss Stanton had managed to divide the older two sisters. Jane, at least, behaved like a proper young lady and had learned both dignity and pride of place. She held herself aloof from all her family. Had they been of noble birth, Jane would even have been a proper companion for Anne, who was a model of good behavior. As it was, Lady Catherine would have to be carefu. She would need to warn Miss Stanton to be on her guard to stop things if they got out of hand. When the older girls reached a marriageable age, their aunt in London might use her connections, low though they were, to find a good match for Jane before Lady Catherine's own plans were completed.
Miss Stanton would also need to change her approach to Elizabeth. Demanding perfection and demeaning her for less than that was not working, clearly. The girl was simply too rebellious to respond in the desired manner. Lady Catherine would tell Miss Stanton to begin praising the girl for those accomplishments she had mastered instead of berating her for those she had not. Perhaps in that way they could build up her pride and mold her into a more perfect young lady. Although, a little bit of rebellion from Elizabeth would make it easier to ruin and humble her in the end. Only a little was the key, and attention from Richard was likely to encourage her to far more.
The key was determining how best to reduce Richard's presence and influence with those at Pemberley and Longbourn. His older brother reported that Richard wanted to be a cavalry officer but their father objected. Despite their father's disapproval of the plan, James said that his brother was saving all his funds to eventually purchase a commission on his own. He still had another year and a half of schooling before he would be old enough to enter the military but even with frugality and diligence it would be a few more years after that before he could afford a lieutenancy. He might enter as a cornet, but she thought he had more ambition than to start at the very bottom.
If she, as his godmother, presented a lieutenant's commission to him as a gift, Richard could hardly refuse, even if he did not trust her as he should. Of course, her father and brother would lean on their political connections to ensure he was given a safe posting, but even then Richard would be too busy with training and his duties to continue actively interfering with her plans. Better yet, by accepting her gift and entering the military against his father's wishes, it would create tension between the two that she could use to her advantage.
Pleased with her resolution, Lady Catherine stopped tapping her fingernail and finished her tea. Behind her, she heard the door open as another servant came in to light the lamps. The winter days were short, but she still had plenty of time to arrange matters to suit her wishes. First, she would deal with George Wickham. She could put her other plans in play over the coming months.