Chapter 13 - Let There Be Music
AN:I wanted to answer two reviews. While it was usual that estates were entailed away from the female line, in some cases, it was entailed from the male as well. In Jane Austen's work, Lady Catherine questions Elizabeth in relation to her family, knowing Mr. Collins will inherit Longbourn (ch. 29). As to how long this work will be, there are thirty-five chapters written. It will be at least 50 and about 200,000 words. I hope that helps.
Elizabeth felt the sting of Lady Catherine's actions as she walked, unaccompanied towards the dining room. Previously she'd been escorted by her friend and Maria. Charlotte glanced back at her with sympathy as they hurried after the great lady. Mr. Collins wouldn't go against his noble patroness. Lizzy knew enough of the woman's spite to shake her head at Charlotte's offer to make him offer his assistance by releasing her sister.
"Cousin," Anne paused at the door to allow her mother to pass. More than aware of Lady Catherine's plotting the young woman had been subtly defying her mama for years. By standing beside the exit she allowed the others to precede her. Capturing Darcy's eye, she indicated the lonely Elizabeth.
"Miss Bennet," Darcy, infuriated by his Aunts obvious disregard for the object of his affections, offered his other arm. He did not care at fallout. Manners, indeed propriety demanded the young lady be treated with respect, not censure while inherhouse. Fitzwilliam felt the slight on Miss Bennet's behalf.
"Please join us," Anne requested in a meek voice, however her countenance was softened with a slight smile. "My mother's behaviour can sometimes be unconscionable."
Lizzy raised an eyebrow in answer and allowed a slight, amused smile to cover her lips. Taking Mr. Darcy's arm, she walked beside the pair, maintaining her silence. Miss Bennet knew she would have to pay the price for accepting the kind offer. Already seated at the table, Lady Catherine frowned as they entered the room. Her expression openly displayed her displeasure.
"Nephew," Lady Catherine indicated the chair at her right. "I see you so rarely. Come, join me so we maybe reacquainted."
Unable to decline the invitation, Darcy very deliberately seated Elizabeth before taking his chair beside Lady Catherine. Colonel Fitzwilliam, standing behind the chair to his aunts left, let his gaze give away his delight at his cousin's subtle disobedience. Still, he knew Darcy would arrange the table to suit himself. The Master of Pemberley had a way of making people do as he bid. Miss Bennet and Miss de Bourgh didn't seem to mind taking his direction. Indeed, Anne understood and worked to achieve Darcy's plan. She let go of his arm to indicate the chair furthest from her mother at the foot of the table. It left the place beside Darcy for Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Mr. Collin's prepared to sit beside the Colonel and across from Miss Bennet, steadfastly ignoring his wife and sister in his want to be as close to his patroness as possible.
"Mrs. Collins," Richard suddenly indicated the place beside him as his aunt detested the use of place cards for such low company, "would you do me the very great honour of sharing your company."
"Thank you," Charlotte's intelligent glance understood his intention. Her eyes attempted to capture those of her friend. However, Lizzy refused to look in Mrs. Collins direction. It only proved Mr. Darcy partiality in Charlotte's estimation, and possibly Elizabeth's growing understanding of his attentions.
"I hope," the Colonel didn't miss a beat, nor the interaction, "you will allow the ladies to exhibit their skills on the pianoforte this evening, Aunt. I am told Mrs. Collins, Miss Lucas and Miss Bennet all play."
"Do they indeed," Lady Catherine narrowed her glaze at Elizabeth. "And what of your sister's Miss Bennet. Are you all proficient at the instrument?"
"With one instrument between five daughters," Lizzy found this line of questioning diverting, "it could not be so."
In that instant, Elizabeth Bennet decided nothing and no one would allow her character to be hidden. The impertinent, outspoken girl her mother often lamented over came to the surface. No matter the situation Lady Catherine placed her in, or the feelings of disquiet Mr. Darcy generated, Lizzy would be herself.
"Oh, Eliza," Charlotte whispered as the moved out of the dining room at the conclusion of the meal, "Lady Catherine has been most severe on you this evening. I do not know how you bear it."
"Charlotte," Lizzy smiled brightly, hiding the hurt inside, "she can see her dream of acquiring Pemberley slipping away."
"Then you finally believe," Charlotte's eyes strayed back to the table and the two men seated there, "Mr. Darcy is in love with you?"
"No," Elizabeth stated sharply, somewhat taken back by her friend's sudden assertion. "I mean to illustrate Miss de Bough's disinterest in the gentleman and he in her. Although it is uncertain if she will go against her mother in the match for Lady Catherine is quite determined to see Mr. Darcy as her son-in-law and very soon."
"Lady Catherine has a way of making her wishes a reality," Charlotte agreed sadly.
"I can well believe it," Lizzy stated with a frown. "It is a shame, for I see little felicity between Mr. Darcy and Miss de Bourgh. It shall not be a happy marriage."
"Oh, Lizzy," Charlotte cried, "few can afford to be romantic and marry for love. Most of us have to choose a path that will retain our reputation and station in life. Even those of the first circles look to fortune and connection when marrying. In this, it is a good match."
"It is not a good match," Lizzy hissed. It seemed Charlotte was of the same opinion as her dearest sister and Mrs. Woodward in selecting a husband. "She is sickly and unwell, although Miss de Bourgh can hardly help being so. Mr. Darcy is formidable. He has boasted of his resentful temper to me. It is obvious he does not suffer fools easily and that includes his relations."
"Can you think of someone else," Charlotte had to work to hide her smile, sure her friend came close to an epiphany, "who would be better suited to the position?"
"I cannot," Elizabeth declared her eyes hardening and expression suddenly closed.
~ooOOoo~~
"Shall we have some music," Colonel Fitzwilliam asked, entering the parlour after a single glass of port. A quarter of an hour in the presence of Mr. Collins had both his and Darcy's temper on edge. Coming to stand before Elizabeth, he offered, "may I turn the pages for you, Miss Bennet?"
Relieved by the audacity of the young man, his sparkling eyes gave away his intent. Richard knew this particular lady would be subject to the whims of his aunt and came to rescue her. Agreeing, Elizabeth took the young man's arm and allowed him to direct her into the music room.
Seated at the instrument, Elizabeth took in a deep fortifying breath. She could not hear conversation in the other room. Lady Catherine meant to pick at any mistakes which only added steel to Lizzy spine. Finally lifting the cover, she placed her fingers on the keys. Choosing a score she knew by heart, Miss Bennet gave her concentration over to playing.
"You will never play really well, Miss Bennet," Lady Catherine pounced at the end of the song, "unless you practice more."
Pausing, the older lady wanted to demonstrate the unsuitability of this woman to her nephew. Darcy sat with a fixed expression on his face. Beneath the hardened exterior, Lady Catherine could discern the enjoyment he received. She knew a change of tactic would be needed to stop his pleasure in this pretentious upstart.
"You may come to Rosing's as often as you like," she conceded, turning to play to the crowd, "and play on the pianoforte in Mrs. Jenkinson's room. She would be in nobody's way in that part of the house."
Rolling her eyes internally, Elizabeth made her voice sound contrite. "Thank you, Ma'am, although I should not like to inopportune Mrs. Jenkinson so I shall have to decline."
Displeased with the answer, Lady Catherine looked to continue the conversation. "There are few people in England, I suppose," she started only to see the annoyance in her nephew's glare. Mr. Darcy suddenly stood and entered the music room. The action infuriated the woman. At a loss, she persisted with a slight change in strategy, "who have more true enjoyment in music than myself. Or a better taste. And if I had ever learnt," she raised her voice as the girl started yet another song, "I should be a true proficient. And so would Anne..."
Ignoring the noise coming from the parlour, Elizabeth tried to block out the insinuations and concentrate on her playing. Unfortunately, Mr. Darcy entered, causing her fingers to slip on a cord. She recovered quickly, determined not to let his presence disturb her.
"Do you mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth couldn't help but see the humour in the situation, "by coming in all this state to hear me? But I won't be alarmed. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me."
Darcy glanced at his cousin. Their thoughts tended along the same lines. Richard relaxed his pose, wondering how the great master of Pemberley would handle this woman. She seemed disposed to make his address more difficult by her indifference. Only Richard began to see a subtle warming, almost teasing attitude towards his cousin. One, he expected, Miss Bennet did not realise occurred.
"I know you find great enjoyment in professing opinions which are not your own," Darcy stated with a smirk. He began to understand Elizabeth better with exposure to her sometimes acerbic wit.
"Your cousin would teach you not to believe a word I say, Colonel Fitzwilliam," Lizzy turned to the man sharing her stool. The light of battle in her brown eyes hinted at her mixed feelings towards Mr. Darcy. "That is ungenerous of him, is it not?"
Enjoying himself too much to aid is cousin in his quest for this lady's favour; Richard let his good humour show. "It is, indeed, Darcy."
Encouraged, Lizzy glanced between the two. "Impolitic too, for it provokes me to retaliate, and say somewhat of his behaviour in Hertfordshire which may shock his relations."
Darcy smiled with amusement at her attempt to tease him. He remembered Miss Bennet's words this afternoon and understood the behaviour to be one of her personality quirks. When she did not understand, Elizabeth turned to ridicule to cover her own feelings. A lesson learnt, he feared, from her father.
"I am not afraid of you," Darcy stated boldly, forcing her to stop playing and truly look at him. "Nothing you can have to say will be new to my cousin. We have been acquainted since childhood and studied together at Eton and then Cambridge. I fear he knows my faults as well as I know his."
"What have you to accuse him of?" Richard requested, playing along. "I should dearly like to know how he behaves among strangers."
"The first time I ever saw Mr. Darcy was at a ball," Lizzy lent in and whispered, "where he danced only four dances though gentlemen were scarce, and more than one lady was in want of a partner."
Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed at this assessment. Looking to his cousin, the comment made Darcy fiddle with his signet ring. A sure sign his mind engaged the comment and his heart felt the sting. Richard though it a good thing, to make Darcy see his actions through the eyes of a woman he wished to become more closely acquainted with.
For Darcy's part, he remembered the harsh words Elizabeth overheard. Still recovering from Georgiana's near elopement, his humour, limited at the best of times had been completely missing that night. Still, Miss Bennet knew of those particular circumstances. Obviously, the comment still caused her some discomfort and she unrelenting held it against him.
"I am sorry to pain you, but so it was," Elizabeth gave Mr. Darcy a sideways glance. He seemed to be lost in thought and she wondered if she'd been imprudent once again.
"I can well believe it," the amused Colonel tried to keep his laugh from erupting.
"I fear," Darcy now understood his cousin's advice on the carriage ride to Rosing's. Had it only been yesterday? Realising he had to open is mouth, to struggle against his ingrained shyness and communicate if he wished to engage this woman before him. When his words came, they seemed to be a revelation. "I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers."
Shocked but unwilling to show it, Elizabeth glared at the man. Wanting to know his intent, she coached her words carefully. "Shall we ask him why? Why a man of sense and education, who has lived in the world, should be ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers?"
Feeling the sting of her words, Darcy struggled to find a reason. "I'm," swallowing hard, he finally found it within himself to confess, "I have not that talent, which some possess, of conversing easily with strangers."
"Well, I do not play this instrument so well as I should wish to," Lizzy challenged, "but I have always supposed that to be my own fault, because I would not take the trouble of practising."
In that moment, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Master of Pemberley had an epiphany. Benign enough words, they affected him on a much deeper level. Finally, he saw himself through Miss Bennet's eyes; proud, arrogant, selfish, appearing to look down on those beneath his station. He'd heard it all before but never from a woman he esteemed, a woman he wanted to mean more to him than an occasional acquaintance.
"You are perfectly right," he smiled genuinely, for perhaps the first time in his life. An overwhelming joy entered his expression at the look of astonishment Miss Bennet levelled at him. In that instant, he knew hope unlike at any other time. All his internal struggles ceased and he felt the possibility of contentment within his grasp. "You have employed your time much better. No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you could think anything wanting. We, neither of us, perform to strangers."
Watching her closely, Elizabeth continued regarding him. Allowing a smile to cover his face, Darcy intended to prolong the exchange. Then the voice of his aunt wafted into the room. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, a similar expression covered the faces of Colonel Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth.
"What are you talking of?" she demanded. "What are you telling Miss Bennet? I must have my share in the conversation.'
Oh, Lady Catherine heard the entire exchange and became quite infuriated and fretful in equal measure. She simply had to know how far this connection between Miss Bennet and her nephew developed. From what she'd heard, the danger to Anne became paramount. Somehow, she needed to force the engagement and have that pretentious girl sent away in disgrace. However, she had the rest of the evening to get through before tackling Darcy.
Watching carefully, Lady Catherine condescended to accompany their guests from the room at the conclusion of the evening. Not disposed to order the carriage for Miss Bennet, such disrespect after the humiliation at dinner would only alienate her nephew further. Darcy had a sense of propriety unlike any in their social circle. Lady Catherine intended to use the weakness to prove her point.
Enraged into speechlessness, she watched Darcy hand the girl into her coach. The moment looked almost imitate. Indeed, the expression on Miss Bennet's face indicated he'd done something like it before. She appeared to be remembering another time and Lady Catherine wouldn't stop until she uncovered the circumstances.
"It appears you know Miss Bennet rather better than you have informed us," she pounced on the gentlemen once they returned to the parlour for a final round of tea before retiring.
"I spent six weeks with my friend Bingley," Darcy stated, unwilling to give in to his aunts demands. He knew too well where this conversation tended. Firstly, she meant to disparage an attachment to Elizabeth, although he'd not given her any reason to suppose one existed. Secondly, she would commence on the fictitious engagement to Anne. He wanted no part in either. "It would have been impolite not to acknowledge the acquaintance. I also met Mrs. Collins before her marriage to Mr. Collins."
"Yet you do not pay her the same attention," Lady Catherine pursed her lips. "Have you forgotten your duty towards family? When are you to make the offer of uniting our great estates?"
"I discussed this with you for the last time on my previous visit. If you persist in your endeavours," truly angry, Darcy stood inches from his aunt, "I will leave the management of Rosings to your steward under the guidance of Colonel Fitzwilliam. Then I shall never have to hear falsehoods such as these uttered again."
"You would disgrace your father's name," Lady Catharine hissed, fury lacing her tone.
"I would still be fulfilling my duty to you and your holdings," Darcy returned. "Now I bid you good night madam, for I have nothing further to say to you."
Fuming, she let him go. Lady Catherine would have to think on this situation. Glancing at Anne, she looked pale and sickly. If she didn't marry the girl off soon, Rosings would be in great danger of going to a most unworthy man in the form of her late husband's nephew. Colonel Fitzwilliam might be family, but as the second son and an officer, he could never aspire to Rosings. The daughter of Sir Louis de Bourgh would never marry so far below herself, and Lady Catherine refused to allow the estate to be entailed upon a man in trade if her daughter died without issue.
"You will be my son in law, nephew," Lady Catherine glared at the back of the man striding away. "I only have to find the correct inducement."