On the day of the Matlock dinner, General Holmes fetched Elizabeth and Mrs. Barton so they wouldn't have to go alone. Richard and Eleanor arrived earlier because Lady Matlock insisted, the couple should receive the guests.
General Holmes and the ladies were the last to arrive, and as expected, the eyes of everyone looked up and down at Elizabeth. That day, Elizabeth was dressed in pale-yellow silk with gold embroidery and delicate lace. Also, her hair was tied up in a very flattering style, with gold ribbons. She was very pretty.
Lady Matlock greeted them with cool courtesy and made introductions. A few minutes later, she invited the guests to the dining room to have diner. Elizabeth had the 'dubious pleasure' of sitting next to the Matlock eldest son and Lady Maria's father, while Mrs. Barton sat next to General Holmes.
The dinner was luxurious, consisting of six dishes and three desserts; the cutlery was made of silver and the tableware was very expensive china.
For Elizabeth, the dinner was very long and uncomfortable, mainly because of the Viscount's inappropriate comments, innuendoes, and leers that worsened as the evening wore on and he drank more wine, and Lord XXXX's dismissive comments and questions…
"…we were shocked of Darcy's engagement to someone outside of our circle, a 'nobody'." The viscount leered at Elizabeth's chest, which had a modest cleavage, "but now that I have had the chance to meet you, I am no longer surprised by his decision."
Elizabeth blushed, took a deep breath, nodded, and continued eating her soup.
Seeing that Elizabeth did not answer, the viscount insisted, "How long have you known Darcy?"
"I met him six years ago when Mr. Darcy visited a friend who leased an estate next to my father's."
"So, are you a gentleman's daughter?" asked Lord XXXX.
Elizabeth nodded, "Indeed, I am a gentleman's daughter."
"I don't understand why Darcy did not specify in the engagement announcement that your father owns an estate," commented Lord XXXX with some disdain.
Elizabeth smiled weakly, "My parents died several years ago, and the estate was inherited by my cousin. Besides, I am a widow."
Lord XXXX nodded slightly.
"I did not you had known my cousin for so many years... I wonder if, during all this time, you had any relationship with Darcy?" the viscount commented in a way that Elizabeth did not like in the least.
Elizabeth shook her head, "No, I didn't have any kind of relationship with him... We met again a few months ago in London."
"Do you have children from your first marriage?" insisted the viscount.
"No, I only have a niece who lives with me because her parents died."
"How old is your niece?"
"She is almost three years old..."
The conversation continued, similarly; and the erroneous conclusion drawn by the viscount – who was a womanizer, even accustomed to imposing his attention on pretty servants – was that Elizabeth had been Darcy's mistress for years. Beyond Elizabeth's physical charms - he recognized were considerable - he did not understand why his cousin wanted to marry her instead of marrying a woman from high society and continue having her as a mistress... His wife and most of the wives he knew didn't care in the least that their husbands had multiple lovers. It had been more than a year since he had seen his wife since she refused to fulfill "her duty" because she said that she was afraid of "catching" the diseases that he must have. He was not in the least concerned about that situation, since he had an heir, and his wife was not attractive.
The only thing that occurred to him was that Elizabeth must be pregnant, and for some reason Darcy wanted that child to be his heir. He knew that the paternity of Anne Darcy was highly doubtful...