Author's Note: Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or errors in the story. We are starting to wind down. Thank you to everyone who has pointed out errors; I have fixed them in my original text, but have not updated them on here yet. I will get to that eventually. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your feedback! I promise I am writing as quickly as I can.
Chapter 28
For several moments, pandemonium gripped the room. Mr Collins swiftly reached his patroness, obstructing everyone's efforts to offer assistance to the lady. Darcy and Elizabeth, along with the Gardiners, observed from a distance as Lady Matlock and Jonathan sprang into action, urgently summoning servants for aid and dispatching a message for a physician. After a brief pause, Darcy stepped forward to physically move Mr. Collins, recognizing that his presence was impeding the necessary assistance that others were attempting to provide.
"But ... my patroness ... Lady Catherine. She needs me," he protested.
"Right now, she needs you out of the way of those who are trying to provide aid. You are in the way, sir!" Darcy commanded as he, again, physically prevented Mr Collins from moving around him to go to her. Mr Collins continued to wring his hands as he stared at Lady Catherine lying prone on the floor.
Lord Matlock watched his sister as she collapsed on the floor and, for a moment, felt a twinge of sorrow for her until he noticed her eyes twitching. He looked around him and noted Mr Bennet moving toward his niece, a look of determination on his face.
"Enough!" the earl proclaimed, putting an end to all the chaos. "Catherine, get up from the floor immediately, or I will have the servants drag you from there. There is not a thing wrong with you, other than you attempting to throw a tantrum to get attention as you did as a child. And, Bennet, you will not approach Mrs Darcy under any circumstances. You were never her guardian, and you never had the right to trade her estate for yours. We know your plans for your niece, and you would have never been permitted to carry them out. Even had you managed to marry her to your heir, the estate would have remained in trust. Nor would any agreement you signed have been valid, as you were never appointed her guardian. It was first George Darcy, but when he died, it became Mr Elliott here, who you have met and have been writing letters to for all these years." The earl purposely did not disclose that Mr Elliott has only recently been appointed guardian by the Chancery Court but decided Mr Bennet did not need to know that particular fact.
Lady Catherine sat up. "I am most displeased, brother," she croaked. "I am in shock that you could treat me as you have and to ignore my illness and demand I do more than I am capable of. It was always this way; even as a child, you would make demands of me that I could not possibly manage."
The earl was shaking his head. "It is ironic, is it not, that you cannot recognize your own behaviour in your child. Do you know that Anne faked the illness that delayed your journey from Kent and that prevented her from coming along with you? Her weakness started because you sought to keep her ill, but as soon as Anne realised it, she began to use it against you, just as you did to our own parents all those years ago. You have used feigned illnesses to get your way for far too long, and it will not be tolerated now."
"But Lord Matlock, my patroness is truly ill. Can you not see her? She fainted, sir; you cannot ignore that. A doctor must be fetched," Mr Collins insisted.
"I do not even know who you are or why you are here, sir. Get out of the way and do not attempt to tell me what I must do. In fact ..." he paused, then called for a footman. "Take this person out of my house. He has no business here and does not even have the sense to get out of the way."
"But, sir, I am here because my intended is here. I am to marry Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and when we are wed, I will claim her estate as my own. I have surrendered any interest in Longbourn because Mr Bennet promised I would marry his niece. Once I had her estate, I would not need Longbourn as well."
"There is no Elizabeth Bennet, and Mr Bennet cannot promise you Briarwood. Nor can you legally surrender your interest in the estate for which you are only heir presumptive. I suppose Mr Bennet could attempt to break the entailment, but I doubt he will have any extra money to do so after he repays Mrs Darcy what he owes her. But all these issues can be resolved later between you and your cousin. They have no place in my house."
Protesting the entire way and still believing himself engaged, Mr Collins was removed from the house. Lady Catherine also disputed his treatment and judging from the volume she used to do this, it became clear to all in the room there was nothing wrong with the lady.
"You have only proved my point with your complaints, Catherine. If not for Anne's request, I would throw you from my house, but I promised to keep you away from Rosings until Anne has things as she wishes them."
"Rosings is mine, Malcolm; you cannot take it away from me. Anne is not strong enough —"
Lord Matlock interrupted his sister's tirade once again. "Did you not hear me, Catherine? Not only does the estate legally belong to Anne, but she has merely been feigning being ill for all these years. She is perfectly well and capable of managing the estate. Jonathan will help her as she learns, and, of course, Darcy and I will provide whatever assistance she needs. She will do well enough."
"Where am I to go?"
"You can stay at the de Bourgh townhouse in town for a time, or you can retire to the dower house at Matlock if you prefer. Perhaps, once Anne is ready, she will allow you to live at the dower house at Rosings, but Anne wanted the opportunity to learn estate management without you there."
"Why does she not want me there to assist?" Lady Catherine's tone sounded almost petulant.
"Because you do not know how to assist without completely taking over," Darcy pointed out. "On my annual visit, you have attempted to take over any task you assigned to anyone else, including me. You have nearly run Rosings into the ground with your frivolous spending, and since her twenty-fifth birthday, Anne has waited for you to leave long enough for her to exert her control. Had she attempted to insist upon doing what was her right, she would have been refused, as you would have insisted she could not handle it. So, when an opportunity presented itself, she put her plans into action.
Lady Catherine was aghast. "I do not ... I do not understand. How could my own daughter treat me in this way? It is infamous!"
"You have not listened to anyone besides yourself in years. Had Anne told you she wanted to learn to manage the estate, as was her right, what would you have said?" Lord Matlock paused for several moments, but when no answer came, he responded himself. "You would have told her she was not capable of it; that she was too ill to do what was required. You never bothered to listen to her. You did not listen to Darcy when he attempted to advise you on estate matters, as, without his efforts, you would have bankrupted Rosings ages ago. As it is, he has advised the steward to ignore most of your proclamations. You advise your tenants, your vicar, the shopkeepers in town, the parishioners at the church you attend, and everyone you come into contact with, and most of them have learned to ignore your comments as the advice you give is most often wrong if not outright foolishness. No one has been able to tell you anything, and now no one wants to listen to you. Including your own daughter."
Her face had been growing more and more red the longer her brother spoke. This time, when she collapsed, everyone was far more concerned, as her face was nearly purple when he had made the final proclamation.
Lord Matlock struggled not to roll his eyes, but his son confirmed she had truly swooned this time. The housekeeper who had been present for this entire exchange brought forth the smelling salts that she had in her hand. Lady Matlock took them and waved them under her sister's nose. She twitched but did not wake, and all those in the room grew more concerned.
"Father, I think we need to carry her into a guest room. The doctor has been sent for and will hopefully arrive soon enough. She might have finally had enough, though I doubt it will keep her down for long. She will be up and protesting all the changes quickly enough. I hope she decided to retire to Matlock instead of remaining in London," Fitzwilliam said.
His father nodded, and soon, Fitzwilliam and Darcy had Lady Catherine moved onto a makeshift stretcher and the two carried her upstairs. The physician met them in the hallway outside the room, accompanied by the housekeeper and several maids.
"Darcy, take your wife home. The Gardiners have taken Bennet to their home—apparently, he had not bothered to inform any of his family at Longbourn of his travels, and they have written several nearly hysterical letters to the Gardiners requesting information.
Darcy nodded at his aunt and then did as she insisted. Lady Catherine was far from his favourite aunt, but she was his own mother's sister, and he cared for her as he cared for all his family. She had had a great shock this day after enduring weeks of rushed travel on a goose-chase he had been, at least partially, responsible for. Of course, had she not been so insistent on her own way, she would never have engaged in such extensive travel, but he could not help but feel a little responsible.
His wife put a stop to those reflections once they arrived at their home. They were ensconced in their sitting room, once again, hand in hand. "William, she had no right to demand you marry her daughter, as neither you nor Anne desired such a connection. Not only that, but no reasonable person would have ever engaged in such a trip as most would have realised it was fruitless long before they travelled hundreds of miles. I cannot say I know your aunt well, or at all, but I will argue that desperation has made my uncle unreasonable at this point, which is why he, who hates travel, was willing to engage in this same ineffectual journey. His attempt to connect me to his heir in this manner only proves his lack of reasonableness, as no sensible person would have pursued us all the way to Scotland to force a marriage."
He drew a deep breath and leaned his head back against the chair. "I know that, Ellie, yet I cannot help but feel responsible."
"Did you inform your aunt you would never marry your cousin?"
"Several times. Anne and I both did."
"Did you give her any reason to doubt your word on the matter?"
"No."
"Did you ever propose to Anne?"
"No!"
"Then how are you responsible for your aunt's delusion? Call it what it is, William; she was deluded into thinking she could force you to do her will and would not listen to anyone else's opinion on the matter. I do not think she belongs in Bedlam, but it is clear that her collapse was brought about at hearing that no one will want to listen to her pronouncements. She has been living with the mistaken belief that she is revered by all, but it seems that only Mr Collins is willing to do so. It was likely a shocking realisation for her."
Darcy nodded. "The previous rector acted in a similar manner, but he only lasted a few years before he took another position and resigned from the Husnford living. A few of her servants hold her in such reverence, but most merely placate her. In some ways, Anne has been far more active in the running of the estate than her mother realised for the last several years, especially outside the house."
"Now, you must stop thinking of your aunt for some time. What shall I do to distract you?" Elizabeth asked him.
He had a suggestion for how she could distract him, and she followed it exactly. Once again, they retired very early that night.
A/N: Three chapters today. I hope I have left it at a satisfactory ending for now, because I'm done for the day. Hopefully, I'll get one more chapter done tomorrow and will be able to keep this pace up for a few more until it gets done.
