Battle of the Dragons Chapter 19, a pride and prejudice fanfic

~O~

Lady Dragons

After the momentous discussions at the parsonage and the aftermath, the participants returned to their various residences.

At Rosings, to maintain the illusion of normality, Lady Catherine sent out invitations to dinner, which was to occur two days later.

The family was concerned that Anne's health did not improve although she appeared much more cheerful than she had been on their arrival. A major part of the reason was that the various members of the Fitzwilliam and Darcy families arranged a roster for spending time with Anne.

The one person to avoid visiting Anne was Lady Catherine… on the request of her daughter.

Richard usually visited early in the morning while Darcy went for a walk. It was of course pure coincidence that he encountered Elizabeth on her morning rambles.

When Elizabeth returned to the parsonage for breakfast, Darcy relieved Richard at Anne's bedside, thus giving his cousin the opportunity to ride to Ravenswood to spend time with Jane.

The Earl and the Countess divided the afternoon between them. This gave the cousins the opportunity for a private conversation.

At the first opportunity after Darcy had recovered from his shocks, he confronted Richard. 'You knew about all of this. Why did you not tell me?'

'Coming from me it would have just been words. For years I have been telling you to get your pride under regulation, but you never believed there was any need for that.' Richard sighed and shrugged. 'Some people have to learn the hard way as they are too sure of themselves. They can not believe that they could possibly be wrong.'

Darcy grimaced and nodded. 'I was convinced of my infallibility.'

'Precisely. But there was another reason. When you told me about Elizabeth on our way here, I figured the only way you might stand a chance was if it was clear you were interested in her, not her aunt.' Richard watched carefully and saw realisation sink in.

Eventually, Darcy gave him a reluctant smile and said, 'I suppose that I should thank you for letting me walk into that dragon's den unprepared.'

Richard grinned. 'You are quite welcome.'

~O~

On the request by Lady Matlock, the invitation to Isabella and Jane was for half an hour earlier than for the party from the parsonage.

Lady Catherine was astounded when the ladies arrived, and she was introduced to Jane. Not only was she the older sister of the impertinent young lady staying with Mrs Collins, but she was also engaged to her nephew Richard.

'Why am I only now being informed of this engagement? As almost your nearest relation, you should have consulted me before taking such a momentous step.'

'I consulted my nearest relations,' Richard replied with a nod towards his parents. 'But as they were not in town when I proposed to Miss Bennet, we decided to wait until a better time to make the announcement.'

'I for one am utterly delighted at the match,' Isabella said with a sly smile.

Having the approbation of such a highly placed personage as the Duchess, caused Lady Catherine to demur. Not that she had any particular interest in whom Richard married.

But she could not help but have her say. 'Since the Bennet estate is entailed on my parson, I have learnt something of the finances of the family. Are you aware Richard that you are marrying a young woman with hardly a penny to her name. She is certainly not the heiress you always claimed you needed.'

Before anyone else could respond, the Earl cut in. 'Catty, what makes you think you know anything about anybody's finances. You barely know anything about your own. Since I do not advertise the wealth of my family, I suspect that the Bennets do not advertise theirs. They certainly were reticent about their connections,' he finished with a bow towards Isabella.

'Humph,' was Lady Catherine's only response as they were being interrupted by the arrival of the other guests.

~O~

As usual, Collins insisted on his version of punctuality by being fifteen minutes early.

When the servants removed their outerwear, he noticed that Elizabeth was wearing a different dress than what she had been wearing to dinner on previous occasions. Despite the dress again being simple, even to him it screamed expensive. Yet being unable to explain why, he held his peace. Instead, he led Charlotte into the drawing room, leaving Elizabeth and Maria to follow.

Collins went through his ritual of bowing dangerously low to Lady Catherine, while the ladies curtsied to her.

Eliabeth, who was the only one of their party who knew everyone else in the room, gave a curtsy to encompass the other residents and guests with a warm smile. 'Good evening, aunt. Lord and Lady Matlock, it is a pleasure to see you again. Mr Fitzwilliam, Mr Darcy, Jane.'

When Collins heard Elizabeth greet her aunt, he was distracted from his effusions to Lady Catherine to take note of the lady. Recognising Isabella, he turned to his hostess. 'Lady Catherine, I am all astonishment that you would entertain the wife of a tradesman in your home. Are you not always telling me that I must observe the distinction of rank?'

'I am most certainly most observant of the proprieties in regards to rank and I can assure you that I would never associate with one of the lower classes. It does you credit that you have learnt this lesson so well,' Lady Catherine was pleased to accept the adulation from her sycophant.

She turned to Isabella, 'But speaking of the proprieties, would you allow me to introduce my parson to you, Your Grace?'

Isabella looked at her hostess but kept Collins in her peripheral vision as she said, 'While I am reluctant to acknowledge a man who continually insults me, I suppose that an introduction would clear up his misunderstanding.'

As she had half expected, even as she was still speaking, Collins cried, 'Her Grace? Surely that cannot be. Lady Catherine, this woman has duped you. I know she is the aunt of my cousins and the only aunts they have are both married to men in trade.'

Lady Catherine paled at Isabella's words. After all, the parson's actions reflected badly on her. She turned her ire on the hapless clergyman. 'Mr Collins, how dare you insult Her Grace, the Duchess of Markham.'

Isabella had her own vexation to vent. 'Mr Collins, the first time you insulted me, I thought it was amusing. The second time when you claimed that you consider the clerical office as equal with the highest rank in the kingdom, I thought you a fool. But now you have exceeded my tolerance for stupidity and sheer bloody minded stubborn refusal to listen to reason.'

Collins looked helplessly between the two angry dragons.

Then, yet another angry voice took up the gauntlet. 'While you are correct about the aunts of the Misses Bennet, Her Grace is the great aunt of the ladies and she has been known to us for decades,' the Earl thundered. 'You have insulted a Duchess, you dunderhead.'

'A du-du-du-duchess?' Collins stammered as the colour drained from his face. He turned to Charlotte. 'Why did you not tell me?'

'Each time I attempted to do so, you refused to listen or forbade me to mention the lady again,' Charlotte replied with a sigh.

'Explain, barked Lady Catherine.

'Mr Collins made assumption based on limited knowledge. He refused to be introduced to Her Grace on the grounds that you would not approve due to your wish to observe the distinctions of rank.'

While the various ladies discussed Collins as if he were not present, he was cowering in the middle of the room doing his utmost not to soil himself in his terror. All the pomposity had left him as he realised that perhaps he should have listened to his wife.

That he had not done so was because for the first time in his life he was the superior in a relationship. At least according to the law, he was the master of his home, and his wife was bound to obey his every wish.

To a man who had been abused as a child and had to grovel to all and sundry to complete his education and achieve his dream of becoming ordained, and finally had been granted a living by an overbearing mistress, it had been a heady feeling to have at least one place where he was in complete control.

Yet now he learnt that by not listening he had endangered his whole future. He slowly crumpled to his knees, sobbing, 'I am sorry.' He could not have explained what he was sorry for, there were too many things which had gone wrong.

~O~

Lady Catherine was worried about the impression Collins had made on her guest of honour. When she noticed the blubbering mess cowering on the floor, she ordered his wife, 'I suggest you take your husband home. He is not fit for company at present.'

Isabella caught Charlotte's eye. 'I will bring the girls home later and visit you tomorrow.' She could not resist adding with a mischievous smile, 'I suspect that your husband will not object.'

'Thank you, Your Grace,' Charlotte replied in relief. Urging Collins to his feet, she said a hurried farewell and led him from the house.

~O~

Order was restored and Isabella, who had met Maria Lucas before took it upon herself to introduce her to the Fitzwilliams, leaving the girl rather flustered, speaking to an Earl and a Countess.

With the help of Jane and Richard, Maria was able to relax enough that by the time dinner was announced she was able to take her place without too much problem. She was pleased when Richard offered his arms to her and Jane and escorted them into the dining room, where he seated Jane to his left and Maria to his right in a position which was as far from Lady Catherine as it was possible to be at the table.

Maria was unsure if she was relieved or nervous that the rather motherly Lady Matlock was seated directly opposite her. Next to her were Darcy and then Elizabeth, who had the misfortune to be next to Lady Catherine because Collins and Charlotte were not there to create a buffer.

Lord Matlock had escorted Lady Catherine and Isabella and seated them at the head of the table and in the place of honour respectively, before he took his own position at the foot of the table. At that point Maria realised that while she was relieved of the intimidating presence of Lady Catherine, she was now seated next to the Earl.

Matlock smiled at his nearest dinner companions before he leaned closer to Maria and said quietly, 'I do not bite.'

~O~

During the separation of the sexes, Lady Catherine requested that Elizabeth entertain them with music.

Elizabeth was only too happy to comply to escape Lady Catherine's relentless questioning. Despite Isabella's attempts at shielding her their hostess had been inquisitive. Or perhaps it was the new knowledge that Elizabeth was related to Isabella which caused the increased interest. Whatever the reason, Elizabeth was pleased to enjoy the music for a time.

If she had been concerned about a critical audience in Lady Catherine, she need not have bothered as the lady barely listened. Instead, she was holding forth on any subject which came to mind.

After some minutes, with the pleasing sounds elicited from the pianoforte by Elizabeth, it was no wonder that her mind should stray to music.

'There are few people in England, I suppose, who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient,' declared Lady Catherine in her usual grandiose manner.

Isabella hid a smirk and asked with a guileless expression, 'Why did you not learn?'

'My parents thought it an unnecessary accomplishment for a lady such as myself.'

'Yet your sister was a most proficient performer on the pianoforte. It was quite a joy to listen to her playing.'

Lady Catherine felt flustered but tried to hide the unaccustomed emotion. 'Of course, since Anne did not have my stature, she needed to acquire the usual accomplishments.'

'She was certainly most diligent in acquiring those accomplishments. I do remember the season she came out. It must have been in eighty-one as it was just after my marriage to the Earl of Kilmington. During that season she was feted as the incomparable.'

If she had eaten a whole bushel of lemons, Lady Catherine could not have sported a more sour expression. 'It is like I always said, society is exceedingly shallow since they value a pretty face and inconsequential accomplishments.'

'What do you consider to be accomplishments of consequence for a lady?'

The simple question caught Lady Catherine completely unprepared. She was accustomed for everyone to accept her pronouncements as law, and no one had questioned her judgement since she became the mistress of Rosings. Even her husband had soon learnt that it would be easier to agree with Lady Catherine.

Having her pronouncement questioned caused her to flounder. She could not even browbeat Isabella on rank, duchess versus the wife of a Baronet, or age, as Isabella had never made a secret of the fact that she was older than Lady Catherine and she had five grandchildren. That age difference was another cause for irritation for Lady Catherine as she was a statuesque matron who could not be mistaken for anything else. Yet despite the Duchess being older, she had the figure of a young woman and moved with grace and energy.

Even more irritating was the fact that Isabella had five healthy grandchildren while Lady Catherine had only one sickly daughter. She considered that in retrospect it might not have been such a good idea to lock her bedroom door to Sir Lewis once Anne was born.

But none of this wool-gathering was useful in finding an answer to the Duchess' question.

She was about to say, 'Being an outstanding mistress of an estate,' when she was relieved of the need to answer as the gentlemen came to join them.

Once they had their refreshments and were seated, Lady Catherine said to Richard, 'We were discussing the accomplishments of ladies. I am sad to say that Miss Bennet does not appear to have the usual talents.'

'Since it will be my pleasure to marry Miss Bennet, rather than yours, my criteria are the ones that matter.'

'Beauty, I suppose,' his aunt said dismissively.

'While I have no complaints about her looks, I admire for her competence in dealing with injuries and sickness. And thanks to her knowledge of botany, she is able to produce salves and potions which can help her family as well as their staff and tenants. And those are just a couple of her accomplishments.'

Unable to dominate even her nephews, Lady Catherine sulked until her guests made their farewells.

~O~