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Sorry for the lateness of this update, it's been a hectic week for me. I will do my best to get the next chapter up more quickly. Thanks for reviewing/following/favouriting.

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Darcy was working his way through an important piece of correspondence with his steward when he was disturbed by a sudden commotion coming from the entrance hall. Emerging from the study which Bingley had granted him full use of whenever he should need it, he was just in time to see his aunt forcing her way through the door.

'You will grant me entrance. Do you not know who I am?' She shouted at the startled looking butler, who of course did not have any idea whatsoever who she was.

Darcy was struck by the rather amusing resemblance to the way Caroline Bingley had forced her way into Darcy house not long ago, but he suspected that his aunt would not see the humour in such an observation. She would certainly take umbrage at being compared to a lady whose wealth came from trade, though whether she would actually recognise the fault in barging into someone else's home was another matter entirely.

Darcy allowed himself a moment to contemplate this humorous parallel before he gave in to duty and intervened. Waving away the poor butler to signal that he would handle it, he came forward to greet the dragon.

'Aunt Catherine, to what do I owe this pleasure?' He asked, steering his aunt into the library where at least they would not have witnesses if she intended to continue to make a scene.

In the whole of their acquaintance he did not think he had seen Mr or Mrs Hurst step into a library even once, so he felt rather secure in the belief that they would not be overheard here. Unfortunately, he failed to factor in the presence of his sister, who was not at all averse to reading and had been rather inspired by the friendship of Miss Elizabeth Bennet to broaden the scope of her literary knowledge.

When she heard her brother enter Georgiana's first instinct was to emerge from behind the shelf where she had been perusing titles to greet him, but she paused in shock when she heard her aunt's voice. She could not at all account for the sudden presence of Lady Catherine, who very rarely left her home in Kent, in the Netherfield library of all places. Curiosity along with a persisting childhood fear of her aunt got the better of her and she retreated further back into the stacks which hid her from view, silently berating herself all the while for her own wickedness.

'It will not do Darcy, I will not have it. Never have I been so insulted in my life as I have been today!' Lady Catherine stormed, displeasure oozing from her every word. Certain that he had heard her say this exact phrase at least five times before, Darcy was not unduly concerned by his aunt's melodramatics and he took the time to pour them each a glass of brandy before troubling himself to respond.

'I am afraid I am not at the liberty of understanding you, Aunt. Would you care to elaborate on what troubles you?' His delayed reaction only seemed to further infuriate his aunt, who refused the proffered brandy glass and waved her hands around wildly.

'Elizabeth Bennet is what troubles me! That conniving country chit and her insufferable sister are what troubles me! Two days ago I received a most alarming report that the eldest Miss Bennet's advantageous engagement to your friend was to lead to your own engagement to her younger sister. I knew at once that I must take action and I hastened to have such a report disproved, but those contriving, unscrupulous girls blatantly refused to deny it! I know that this must be a scandalous falsehood that they have circulated to attempt to force your hand, but I demand that you are wed to Anne at once so that we might put an end to these foolish rumours!' Upon managing to get this out Lady Catherine seemed to compose herself somewhat and finally took the brandy, though she gulped it down in a manner distinctly unladylike.

Darcy, who had stiffened upon hearing Elizabeth's name, attempted to calm his temper and set his thoughts in order before giving his aunt an answer. Hearing this tirade, he could hardly imagine what his aunt must have said to Jane Bennet to render her anything less than perfectly polite, never mind the accusations she must have levelled at Elizabeth.

'Do I understand correctly that you have come from Longbourn where you asked Miss Elizabeth and her sister to disavow this rumour you have heard, Aunt?'

'Yes, yes, is that not what I have just said?'

'And you were dissatisfied with the response you received?'

'Completely and utterly dissatisfied! I was met with ill manners from the start with Miss Bennet blatantly refusing to allow me a private audience with her sister and Miss Elizabeth feigning ignorance to any knowledge of the report I had heard. She dared to suggest that it was not my place to question her affairs and even when I was finally able to ascertain that you were not already engaged to that upstart, she absolutely refused to assure me that she would never enter into such an engagement.'

'And what, madam, gave you the right to ask such a thing of Miss Elizabeth?' Darcy questioned, shaking with supressed fury which he could no longer hide. 'What indication did I ever give you that I would welcome such interference in my own private affairs? Pray tell me, why, if it is what I so desire, should I not ask for Miss Elizabeth Bennet's hand in marriage?'

'Because you are engaged to my daughter!' Lady Catherine exclaimed, horrified that her nephew too seemed to have completely deserted the bounds of reason.

'No, I am not!' He roared. 'I have never indicated to you that I have any intention of fulfilling your foolish desire for me to wed Anne, but if I have not made myself clear enough already then I shall say it for you now. I will not marry your daughter.'

'Fitzwilliam Darcy, do you have no honour, no respect for your duty to your family?'

'Family duty? What about my duty to provide an heir to uphold the Darcy name? You know full well that Anne's health would not allow her to bear me a child.'

'Heirs can be begotten in other ways! What does it matter as long as the child is yours?'

'I shall pretend that you did not say that, Aunt.' Darcy spat, disgusted at her insinuation. 'I am a gentleman, by marrying a gentleman's daughter I would not be betraying my honour or duty to my family in any way. I will not be swayed on this matter. There is nothing you could say that would make me marry Anne.'

As these words came out of his mouth Lady Catherine took on an almost predatory look and she all but snarled at him: 'Oh but there is, there most certainly is. I had hoped to find you more reasonable than this, but your refusal to listen is forcing my hand. So listen to me now, you will marry my daughter, nephew, or else I shall ruin your dear sister's reputation. You will not be able to protect her when the whole world knows of what happened at Ramsgate! I wonder if your Miss Bennet will be so set on having you when your good name is torn to shreds. She will certainly not be so eager to befriend your sweet little Georgiana when she finds out what she really is.'

Darcy froze in horror. How could Lady Catherine possibly know about Ramsgate? It had certainly not been an event he and the Colonel had discussed with extended family. They had simply explained away their own concern and the changes in Georgiana as the aftermath of a bout of ill health.

'I do not know what you mean, Aunt.' He said stiffly.

'Do not feign ignorance, nephew. I have proof and I am not afraid to use it if you continue to dishonour your family so!'

Confident that his sister's reputation was not something Darcy would ever risk, Lady Catherine stormed from the room, leaving him to contemplate what she had said. Surely she would not dare to expose Georgiana to ruin when it would impact on herself as well. Was that a price she would be willing to pay to punish him if he went against her? He hardly knew. In a sudden fit of rage, he turned and threw his brandy glass into the fireplace where it smashed into a thousand pieces. What a cruel trick of fate, to find that Elizabeth may have grown to care for him but be prevented from pursuing her if he wished to keep Georgiana safe.

Out of sight behind the bookshelves, Georgiana sank to the floor with tears streaming down her face. She muffled a sob into her handkerchief, wondering if she would ever be free of the mistake she had made. It was too much to think that her dear brother would lose his chance at happiness because of her and she remained huddled there crying for long after Lady Catherine and Mr Darcy had gone.

Dinner that evening was a subdued affair, with both Darcy siblings lost in silent internal debates. Lady Catherine, at least, had left directly after her quarrel with her nephew had ended and so was not there to cause further aggravation, but even Bingley remained unusually quiet. When he had returned from Longbourn that afternoon he had immediately sought his friend out to inform him of his aunt's intrusion there, but Darcy had replied only that he already knew and refused to say any more on the subject. Bingley was tactful enough not to push him further, but he could sense that there was something deeply wrong.

For her part, Georgiana thought that her brother must loathe her for her foolish mistakes which were now coming back to haunt him. She knew after everything that had happened he would never choose to go against their aunt when it could endanger her reputation and she felt certain that this was all her fault. She could not have been a worse sister to poor Fitzwilliam had she tried.

Darcy, of course, saw it in an entirely different manner. Once again he was reminded of how he had failed to protect his sister, for he knew that Ramsgate was entirely his fault. There could be no doubt in his mind that Georgiana should never know of their aunt's threats lest they break her entirely, and he did not for a second suspect that she had actually witnessed the argument. He thought only of how the situation might be resolved and so remained completely unaware of his sister's distress.

©Isabelle Lowe, 2018