Update ch 32

"Darcy!" Lady Catherine began imperiously as she stepped through the door, not even looking around her in her haste to see who was about. "Thank goodness you are here. You shall have to talk some sense into Anne before the night is through. You should see what she has written." She walked directly up to him, handing him a short note. "You must find her at once and propose before she does something she shall regret for the rest of her life. I know you have needed time to become accustomed to the idea of marriage, but the time has come for you to act."

Mr. Darcy chuckled slightly as he shook his head. His cousin really was a brilliant planner. He took the note, though he did not wish to read it yet, and turned away from his aunt and towards Elizabeth who smiled slightly from her perch near the door. "Indeed, I fully intend to act." Another chuckle escaped him as he braced himself for how his aunt would act when she learned of his intentions.

"Do not laugh! This is no time for one of your odd jokes. Anne insists that she will never marry you. She sounds adamant." Lady Catherine stepped around so that she was in front of him again.

"If she will not marry me, then there is nothing left for me to do."

"You must propose!" Lady Catherine insisted. "Anne enjoys your company. She will do her duty if she knows you will do yours. This is probably just a ploy to get you to act. Find her now and propose to her this instant!"

Mr. Darcy closed his eyes in annoyance. His humor was gone. "Aunt! You forget yourself. You cannot force me to marry where I have no inclination. I - "

"Your mother and I planned for your marriage while Anne was in her cradle. I will not have my sister's dearest wishes thwarted now. You must marry Anne. Your marriage would unite our family, making your children pillars of society."

"Enough! If you have not noticed, Anne is not here."

"We can send for her." Turning around to observe who was in the room, Lady Catherine declared, "Miss Bennet, you must go find Anne immediately. Her future depends on your haste."

Elizabeth laughed as quietly as she could, attempting to keep her humor in check. "That would be impossible, Lady Catherine. As Mr. Darcy said, she is not here."

"Are you so daft that you cannot look for her in the ballroom?" Lady Catherine nearly bellowed. She moved toward Elizabeth as she spoke.

Mr. Darcy stepped forward and intervened before Lady Catherine could get too close to Elizabeth. While he did not think Lady Catherine would become violent, he knew this conversation would highly vex her. "Anne has eloped. Even if I could find her, she is tainted."

Lady Catherine stopped in her tracks. Elizabeth feared she had also stopped breathing, but the grand lady took a deep breath moments later. "She would never elope. She knows her duty to me. Most likely, she is sitting in a carriage waiting for you. We have spoken frequently of her intentions to marry you. You must find her and propose to her."

Mr. Darcy watched his aunt as she fumed. It was clear the words were taking their time getting through to her. "She is not waiting in a carriage. Richard already checked. She has eloped, making it impossible for me to consider her for marriage. I shall not have my name connected with Rosings more than it is already. My sister must come out in a year or two, and we are already too closely connected to this scandal as it is."

"You must do your duty, as must Anne! She has been raised to be your wife. Your honor demands that you propose to her!" Lady Catherine spluttered.

Mr. Darcy would have responded, but Elizabeth beat him to it. "You declared upon your entrance that Anne clearly expressed she had no intentions of marrying Mr. Darcy. If she knows her duty, as you say, then that cannot be her duty. Therefore, Mr. Darcy's duty is to himself and not to your motherly schemes." Elizabeth stated calmly.

Lady Catherine's head trembled as she listened to her own words defy her. "We may all step out of line once in a while. She must be found before it is too late."

Mr. Darcy stepped between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine again. "It is already too late. Even if I were so inclined, I will not risk Georgiana's chances at making a good match by marrying someone who tried to elope with another. Anne must marry Mr. Warden. He is a good match for her, and they seem to be determined to do so. Accept their fate, Aunt, for we must do our best to ensure that this does not turn into a scandal."

Lady Catherine stood still as she took in this information. Everyone watched attentively for signs of distress. None came. After about five minutes, which seemed to last forever, she stated, "We must make sure they marry."

The rest of the room sighed in relief. One hurdle had been passed. Hopefully, this was the hardest one.

Mr. Darcy calmly responded. "Yes, I shall leave for London in the morning to find them and ensure they marry. I have already been thinking of a few places they are likely to be. It shall not take me more than a few days at most to locate them." He looked over his shoulder to Elizabeth and smiled when she nodded in agreement. Their first days of their betrothal would be spent apart, but they could write.

"Yes, ensure they marry in London." Lady Catherine stated, as though she had hoped to make the declaration first. "He has no need to marry, especially since his brother is not married. If something happens to the viscount before he sires legitimate children, Mr. Warden will be heir to the earldom and his prospects would increase. Eloping and then discarding Anne would not taint his reputation for more than a year or two. Anne's dowry of thirty thousand pounds is set aside for her, so it can be transferred to him as soon as the papers are signed after their marriage. We must hope he needs the money." She paused, and then spoke under her breath. As she was not used to whispering, everyone could still hear her. "I had hoped her husband would not need or want the money, but we cannot know what Mr. Warden desires."

Choosing not to respond to his aunt's wish that he would marry Anne and leave her dowry at Rosings, Mr. Darcy continued. "It is best you return to Rosings, Aunt. We can then tell people Anne needed rest, and you saw to her comfort. Take Mr. Collins with you if you can. He will speak so often, there is little chance we can keep our story from slipping."

"That is the solution! We can stop the elopement. We will keep it quiet this evening. You must ride to London, find Anne, and marry her by special license. You really ought to ride out now. You could be in London before dawn. We have not a moment to lose."

"I will not risk my neck on the new moon. It is dangerous enough in Warden's carriage." Mr. Darcy sighed, feeling defeated. They had relaxed too soon.

"In the morning then."

"In the morning she shall have already been bedded. She is irreversibly damaged." He took a breath to calm his nerves. She was, after all, a lady, and he ought not utter words unfit for a lady's ears. A glance at Elizabeth gave him courage. "This is final, aunt. I cannot marry Anne, even if I wished it. If you will not move on from this, I shall leave and never return. I will stop managing Rosings. Do you recall how close you came to losing the house after Sir Lewis died? You purchased the most expensive furniture you could find to fill every room twice over. You raised the rent on tenants so that half of them moved out. Half your staff had quit. If I had not intervened, you would have bankrupted the entire de Bourgh estate and had to live off of the charity of your relations, most of which, if you have not noticed, rarely even visit you."

The room was silent again. Eventually, Lady Catherine said, "I had hoped you would…"

"I know what you hoped. Everyone knows your hopes. You declared them constantly. Your hopes never had a chance, and you refused to accept it for years. Anne has been wishing to marry with your blessing for some time now. You drove her to this. What is done is done, and we must move forward to minimize the consequences."

"What will our story be?" Lady Catherine sat down on the sofa, defeated. Elizabeth almost felt sorry for her.

"That she left with you and needed rest. Tomorrow, together with Lady Metcalfe, you can announce their betrothal and declare that they traveled to London with Mrs. Jenkinson to purchase Anne's trousseau while waiting for a special license, which is the fashion at the moment." He paused to look to his cousin, who had already tucked the letter into his jacket and was now facing the group, ready to be of service. "Your mother is hosting a ball on the 28th. We can announce their marriage then. The best of society will be there, and we shall be there too."

Lady Catherine scoffed. "I have no interest in joining London society."

Mr. Darcy would have responded, however, Elizabeth suddenly moved to one side of the room and looked oddly at the wall panels, completely distracting him. After a moment's inspection, she leaned towards a small hole between two panels almost hidden by decorative filigree and quickly yelled, "Hello!" Everyone turned to her, wondering what she could be about. Moments later, they heard a strangled "Argh" return from the wall.

Elizabeth turned around, "I thought it was odd that there would be so many candles already lit in the library. Someone planned for us to come. It appears that someone was listening to our conversation as well." She looked around the room. The fireplace where they had been standing was on the other side of the room. "I doubt more than our shouting was really audible." She paused at the shocked expressions on their faces. She moved away from the listening tube and said quietly, "It must be someone in the family, for I doubt many would know of it, nestled between the panels as it is."

"How did you know of a speaking tube?" Mr. Darcy asked, equally quietly. "I would never have noticed it. It appears to be part of the decoration."

"You were busy with your discussion. As I said, I thought it odd the candles were so bright. Someone expected the room to be used. I supposed it could have been part of Anne and Mr. Warden's plan, but it made me look around. I recognized the shape of the listening tube as it is similar to the one at -." She paused to recollect her companions did not know of Anne's listening tube, "similar to one that I have seen before." After all, Anne had made her promise not to tell anyone about it. Not that keeping her secret would do much good at this point.

Lady Catherine stood and moved to the place Elizabeth had vacated. After a moment, she said, "If you are part of the family Metcalfe, it would be best for you to join us, as we are attempting to minimize the scandal that includes your Mr. Warden."

It was silent as they all waited with bated breath. Lady Catherine returned to her seat with a huff. "The Metcalfes never knew what was for their own good. As I said, I hate London."

Mr. Darcy debated continuing the discussion, but it was unlikely the eavesdroppers would hear any more that must be kept secret. He responded quietly. "You must be present to give truth to our story. You can bring Miss Bennet with you. I should like for the rest of my family to meet her."

Lady Catherine turned searching eyes to Elizabeth, who squared her shoulders at the scrutiny. "What can be the meaning of this, Miss Bennet? She should not even be here, for this is a family matter. She will tell everyone."

"I most certainly will not." Elizabeth declared with quiet indignation. Despite the affront, Elizabeth unsuccessfully attempted to calm her smile, but the thought of marrying Mr. Darcy still made her uncommonly giddy.

Thankfully, Mr. Darcy finished by responding, "Miss Bennet has done me the honor of accepting my hand. She is family."

As expected, Lady Catherine's outrage did not disappoint. Her eyes widened, her breathing hitched, and her voice rose. "A woman with no dowry or connections is to replace my sister as mistress of Pemberley. It shall not be borne!" The listening tube was apparently forgotten.

The colonel laughed. "I believe we shall all see quite soon that it will be borne." His voice was quiet, but his laugh was anything but.

The laughter grated on Lady Catherine's nerves, and she nearly spat out, "This is not your business, Fitzwilliam. Go find Mr. Collins and tell him to send for the carriage to escort Anne and myself home! We cannot stay in this room now that we know there is an audience. Tell Mr. Collins that Anne is with me and feeling poorly. He will not know the truth until we are in the carriage and away from prying ears." She looked at the listening tube with disgust.

The colonel was still laughing when he slipped out of the room. They were all thankful Lady Catherine still remembered their plan.

Lady Catherine stood and moved to Mr. Darcy, who was now standing beside Elizabeth, as far as they could get from the listening tube. "You have had your choice from the best of England's families fawning over you for a decade, and you choose a penniless chit of no significance!" Lady Catherine fumed at Mr. Darcy, despite her quieter voice. "What arts and allurements did she use to make you forget your duty to your family?"

Mr. Darcy chuckled slightly as he replied, "Well, for one she refused to fawn over me. In fact, I doubt she ever really looked at me as a reasonable prospect." He paused as a thought came to him. He smiled devilishly as he continued, "If you had not taken her in after the fire, she might never have gotten to know me well enough to like me." He paused as the full effect of his words hit him. Feeling as giddy as Elizabeth had earlier, he leaned forward and kissed his aunt on the cheek. "I shall be forever grateful for your role in my affairs, Aunt."

Lady Catherine sputtered on her words, shocked anew.

The silence in the room lasted as long as Elizabeth could hold in her laughter. Once she started, Mr. Darcy followed. He released his aunt and moved so that he could kiss Elizabeth's hand. He would have spoken words of affection, but his aunt regained her voice.

"Darcy! You cannot be serious. You have to choose your wife from among the best of our society. I know you never favored Anne, but there are many more appropriate ladies amongst the Ton."

"And not one of them caught my eye the way Elizabeth did from the very first day of our acquaintance." They both paused to remember that horrible assembly. "I did not always love her as I do now, but I cannot envision a better mistress of Pemberley had a master sculpted her from clay."

"Such pretty words, sir." Elizabeth said as she lifted his hand to kiss his knuckles. Mr. Darcy rested his hand on her cheek, thrilled that she was welcoming of his affection.

"Enough of this love nonsense." Lady Catherine declared. When they turned to face her, she added, "You are determined on this path, Darcy?"

"Yes. I shall expect you to pay Elizabeth every courtesy as my intended bride while I am gone. You will then escort her to London and assist me with presenting her to London society."

"She has barely any accomplishments."

"My accomplishments seem good enough for Mr. Darcy, so they ought to be enough for you as well." Elizabeth stated calmly, taking Mr. Darcy's hand and squeezing it. He returned the pressure.

Lady Catherine was not finished. She stared daggers at Elizabeth, who continued smiling pleasantly, happy in her current circumstances. "She was not considered good enough for even my parson to marry."

"He considered me good enough. I did not consider him good enough for me." Elizabeth corrected.

Mr. Darcy turned to Elizabeth in shock. "Mr. Collins offered for you?" When Elizabeth nodded, he added, "That oaf!"

Elizabeth laughed. "When I refused him, he declared that I would never receive another offer of marriage. I risked spinsterhood in my refusal. He was certain of it."

"He is not intelligent enough to see your worth." Mr. Darcy stared intently into Elizabeth's eyes, and she smiled back at him in response.

"Yes, yes, that is apparent." Lady Catherine was clearly getting tired of their lovesick attitudes. "Now, Miss Bennet, if I am to get you ready for London society, I must see how you dance. Darcy, take Miss Bennet to the ballroom and dance with her."

"With pleasure, Aunt. Miss Bennet, will you do me the honor of standing up with me for the next half hour?" He made a perfect bow.

Laughing, Elizabeth accepted his hand so he could escort her out of the room. "But Lady Catherine, you ought to find your carriage. Mr. Collins will be waiting for you."

"He will wait, and he cannot speak to anyone of any import in the carriage." Lady Catherine declared.

"Very true." Elizabeth laughed again. Mr. Darcy opened the door and led them out and back into the ball room, glad to leave the room.