Pride Prejudice and Perplexity

Importuned in the Park

Chapter Seven – Importuned in the Park

It had been arranged with Georgiana, that she would wait upon Jane and Elizabeth on the morning following the ball, as it was absolutely essential that it be discussed in the greatest of detail; the gowns and jewellery worn by the ladies commented on, and a review made of who danced with whom – and whether this gentleman showed an uncommon preference for that lady – or the reverse. However, Jane suspected that Bingley's sisters – or at least Caroline – might be intending to wait upon her also, for she had last night enquired as to whether she would be at home this morning. Thus, as soon as Georgiana arrived, the three ladies decided to walk in St James Park, where they could just as easily carry on their conversation.

Georgiana was at great pains to again thank Elizabeth for saving her from the most acute embarrassment, when her aunt had insisted upon her performing. “I cannot thank you enough, Elizabeth; I just seemed to freeze up, for I have never before played in front of more than a handful of close acquaintances. Do you think all the company noticed how terrified I was?”

“I doubt that anyone but myself noticed. To others, it simply appeared as if you were searching for the right score.”

“It was exactly so,” agreed Jane. “And when my sister and Captain Radford joined you at the pianoforte, the attention turned to them, for everyone was conjecturing as to what kind of performance lay in store.”

“It was most gallant of the Captain to join us,” observed Elizabeth, “for I should not have liked to sing alone.”

“Why ever not?” asked Georgiana. “You have the most beautiful voice; and the Captain's voice is quite exceptional – I do not believe I have ever heard a gentleman sing so sweetly.”

“And he engaged you to dance after the supper,” commented Elizabeth. “He is also a very fine dancer, is he not?”

“Oh, yes, and he looked so handsome in his naval uniform – I do not think there was another gentleman that looked quite so fine.”

“I am pleased that you like him,” said Jane, “for he is invited to dine with us tomorrow, when you come with your brother.”

Georgiana smiled. “I am very pleased to hear it; for I am generally exceedingly shy with gentlemen, and feel so very self-conscious; but with Captain Radford, I felt entirely at my ease, and was able to enjoy his company. It will be a –”

But Georgiana suddenly stopped, for looking up she observed two ladies walking very deliberately in their direction; and one of them was her formidable aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The other was Caroline Bingley, who wore a self-satisfied smile.

Georgiana had gone pale, for she imagined her aunt meant to lecture her on all her failings of the previous evening; but as soon as the greetings had been exchanged, she was both surprised and relieved to hear Lady Catherine declare, “Miss Bennet, I would like a word with you, if you would favour me with your company.”

“Thank you, Miss Bingley,” she said, dismissing her former companion with a nod which made it clear that her company was no longer desired. As Lady Catherine detached her from the other ladies, Elizabeth noted the smug expression on the face of Miss Bingley, who must have learned of their whereabouts at Fairfield Park, and led Lady Catherine to them.

“You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason for my taking the trouble to ascertain your whereabouts at the very earliest occasion, and the subject upon which I find myself duty bound to address you.”

“Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam. I am not at all able to account for the honour of your evident desire to speak with me this morning. I cannot imagine what business your ladyship could have with me, for I gained the strongest impression, when we spoke last night, that you do not approve of me.”

“Miss Bennet,” replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, “you ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. I observed you very closely at my niece's ball last night – most especially when you were in the company of my nephew, Mr Darcy; and I was greatly alarmed that not only did you dance the first set with him, but you danced a second set with him, after the supper.”

“I fear that you are directing your disapprobation in the wrong direction. Surely your ladyship is aware that it is the prerogative of the gentleman to invite a lady to dance with him, and not the reverse.”

“How dare you address me in so disrespectful and impertinent a manner! Do not trifle with my intelligence, and pretend to be an innocent party, for I know better. Miss Bingley has given me a full account of all that passed at the wedding ball at Netherfield – where you danced three times with my nephew! I am quite certain that you must well understand the degree of preference such a breach of etiquette implies – and the expectations to which it must inevitably give rise!”

“As I have already pointed out to your ladyship, it was not I who begged Mr Darcy to dance with me. Would you have me offend the honour of your nephew by refusing to stand up with him?”

“This is not to be endured! I shall not be spoken to in so insincere and insulting a manner! Your pretence of innocence does not fool me in the least – though evidently you have duped my nephew with your arts and allurements, and besotted him with your charms. You have drawn him in and made him forget what he owes to himself and to all his family!”

“If I have, I shall be the last person to confess it.”

“Miss Bennet, let me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place. Never! Mr Darcy is engaged to my daughter. Now what have you to say?”

“Only this; that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose he will make an offer to me.”

“The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind. From their infancy, they have been intended for each other. It was the favourite wish of his mother, as well as of hers; and I shall not permit it to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, and of no importance in the world! Do you pay no regard to the wishes of his friends? Your alliance would be a disgrace; your name would never even be mentioned by any of us.”

“These are heavy misfortunes, indeed,” replied Elizabeth.

“Obstinate, headstrong girl! I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment.”

“That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable; but it will have no effect on me.”

“I will not be interrupted. Hear me in silence. I demand you promise me, never to enter into an engagement with my nephew!”

“I will make no promise of the kind, and I beg you to importune me no longer, good day, Madam,” said Elizabeth, turning away.

“Not so hasty, if you please! I have by no means done,” said Lady Catherine, turning with her, and obliged to quicken her pace to keep up. “To all the objections I have already urged, concerning your family and your low connections, I have still another to add. As I told you last night, I am no stranger to the particulars of your youngest sister's infamous elopement. I know it all, how she was abandoned, and the life of disrepute and utter degradation into which she must by now have sunk. Is such a girl to be my nephew's sister? Heaven and earth — of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?”

“You can now have nothing further to say to me,” answered Elizabeth resentfully. “You have insulted me by every possible method. I must beg you to leave me alone,” she said, quickening her pace and forcing Lady Catherine, who was by this time breathing heavily, to walk faster, yet.

Taking hold of her arm to slow her down, her ladyship said, “You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew!”

“Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say. You know my sentiments.”

“You are then resolved to have him?”

“I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me. Good day, Madam,” said Elizabeth, forcibly withdrawing her arm from that of the other lady, and walking away so quickly as to be almost running.

Lady Catherine, who was exhausted from walking so briskly, and unable to match the pace of the younger lady, called after her, “And this is your real opinion! This is your final resolve! Very well. I shall now know how to act. Do not imagine, Miss Bennet, that your ambition will ever be gratified. I came to try you. I hoped to find you reasonable; but, depend upon it, I will carry my point!”

She was obliged to speak in so loud a voice, as Elizabeth drew further away, that many of those in the vicinity turned their head to stare in astonishment at the bizarre spectacle.

~~~~~

When Elizabeth related to Jane the substance of her conversation with Lady Catherine, her sister was shocked at the harshness of her ladyship's speech; and, though alarmed at Elizabeth's steadfast refusal to give way before so great a lady, and the strength of her language, she was also exceedingly proud of her sister.

“Caroline has been no friend of yours in recounting to her ladyship all that passed at the Netherfield wedding ball.”

“As you well know, Caroline has never had a single kind thought in my regard; from the very beginning she has viewed me as a rival who stands in the way of her own ambitions. Perhaps I should have informed Lady Catherine that were I to refuse her nephew, Miss Bingley would most certainly oblige him.”

Jane laughed. “I doubt very much that such an assertion would have troubled her ladyship, for her nephew shows not the slightest interest in Caroline; whereas, his attentions towards you are most marked. Lady Catherine has reason for concern over the hopes she holds for her daughter. You must be aware, Lizzy, that Mr Darcy's behaviour has given rise to expectations in the minds of many – not the least my own,” said Jane, smiling enquiringly at her sister.

“And you wish to hear my opinion regarding the likelihood that he will pay me his addresses?”

Jane smiled and nodded. “And of his chances of being accepted.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I once thought I knew Mr Darcy well; but he has lately become a man of mystery.”

“You speak of his connection with our sister, Lydia?”

“Yes, principally.” There was also his unexpected behaviour with regard to Captain Radford, but Elizabeth did not wish to mention it, for he was Bingley's relation; and, also, it involved the matter of the investigation upon which she had agreed to remain silent. “I am no longer confident that I understand Mr Darcy well enough to predict how he might behave – and whether he will renew his addresses or not.”

“But you hope he will?”

“Not until the mystery of what has befallen our sister, Lydia, is known; and of his part in it. Until he has exonerated himself there, I cannot know how I would answer him, and I suspect that he is aware of my feelings, and will wait until that mystery is resolved.”

“Perhaps you will learn something more of the matter tomorrow, at dinner. You will be happy to hear that Caroline and the Hursts found themselves to be under the obligation of a prior engagement – when they learned that their cousin, Captain Radford, was invited. Still, it will make for a very small party; just Bingley, you and I, Captain Radford, Mr Darcy, and Georgiana. What do you say to my inviting Miss Barclay?”

“An excellent idea. I should like to know her better; and I am eager to hear her play,” replied Elizabeth. And though she did not say it, she was eager to observe her and Mr Darcy in more intimate company. “And perhaps Colonel Fitzwilliam, also? That will make four ladies and four gentlemen.”

~~~~~

Jane's first dinner party was a lively affair indeed; and a great success, principally because the company were so well-suited, one to the other. Bingley always enjoyed the society of Darcy and the Colonel, and had come to greatly value that of his cousin, also. And the four ladies got on splendidly. Georgiana and Miss Barclay were unable to exhaust the subject of music, and were pleased to discover that they shared many favourite composers and pieces. They were not inclined to wait for the gentlemen to join them in the drawing room, after the meal, before taking turns at the pianoforte. Miss Barclay's talent exceeded Elizabeth's high expectations, and Georgiana was in awe at her virtuosity, which surpassed her own.

When the gentlemen joined them, Miss Barclay prevailed upon Captain Radford to sing for them, and though her own voice was indeed very fine, it was the equal neither of his, nor Georgiana's; and so she was happy to play while they sang for the rest of the company, who, with one exception, seemed quite enthralled by the performance. Though he generally smiled, Elizabeth sometimes detected an expression on the face of Mr Darcy that spoke of emotions other than happiness and complaisance. Jane had seated Captain Radford beside Georgiana at the table, and it was evident that they got on very well together. But rather than appearing satisfied at observing his exceedingly shy sister engaged so comfortably in conversation with a gentleman, Mr Darcy often seemed apprehensive.

Elizabeth suspected that he feared that Captain Radford, like George Wickham before him, was attracted not to his sister, but to her considerable fortune; what other explanation could there be?

At one point during the evening, while the three performers were engaged in searching through the music for the next piece, and Jane and Bingley were deep in conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam on the other side of the room, Mr Darcy, who had seated himself beside Elizabeth on the sofa, said softly, “I feel that an apology is owed to you, Miss Bennet, for the most unpleasant experience to which you were subjected, yesterday, in St James Park.”

“Your aunt is a lady of uncompromising convictions,” said Elizabeth with a satirical smile.

“Yes,” sighed Mr Darcy, “and she is always most willing to share them. I am most sorry if you were greatly importuned.”

“Please do not feel obliged to apologise on behalf of Lady Catherine; it would be wholly unfair of me to blame you for the behaviour of your relative – and would certainly require that I beg your forgiveness in turn,” said Elizabeth, alluding to her mother's implacable dislike of Mr Darcy, and the rude and resentful manner in which she treated him; not to mention the disparaging rumours against him she had so industriously put about the neighbourhood.

“But I feel responsible for what must have been a most unpleasant experience for you – and in a public place, too – for it concerned myself.”

“True. However, it was based upon an assumption that was all in the mind of your aunt,” said Elizabeth with a coy smile.

“Oh?” replied Mr Darcy, unsure of how to proceed; for the assumption to which she referred was that he wished to pay her his addresses. After a moment's thought, he smiled and said, “Considering my behaviour at my sister's ball, and also at the Netherfield wedding ball, the details of which, I understand Miss Bingley was considerate enough to relate to my aunt in the greatest of detail, I think it would be unfair to say that her assumption was unreasonable, in the least,” he said, looking at Elizabeth warmly.

She blushed, for he had all but said that it was his wish to pay her his addresses; and it pleased her to cherish the hope that when the mystery of Lydia was resolved, he might very soon do just that. However, she did not wish to again ask him when it might be, although she suspected that he, too, was contemplating the very same question.

“On the subject of ladies named Catherine,” said Elizabeth, “my younger sister, Catherine, will soon arrive from Hertfordshire to spend some weeks in town with us.”

“Oh,” he said, his mind evidently still dwelling upon a different sister. “I sincerely hope her stay will be enjoyable. And I believe you will be happy to learn that another lady of that name returns tomorrow to Kent,” he added with a smile.

~~~~~

Jane had invited Kitty to stay with her, for she and Elizabeth agreed, that by proper attention and management, her character might be greatly improved; for she was yet young; and now that she was no longer under Lydia's influence, it was a material advantage to remove her from the company of their mother as much as possible.

About a week after Kitty's arrival in town, the ladies were taking tea in the sitting room when the butler entered with an express, and informed his mistress that the messenger yet waited at the door for a reply. Looking at the envelope, Jane was surprised to see that it was neither for Bingley nor herself – but that it was addressed to her sister, Kitty, to whom she handed it.

Kitty opened it, and then surprised her sisters by reporting that it came from Lydia.

“Read it!” demanded Elizabeth.

“Dear Kitty, Will you to come to me? I cannot reveal where I am living, but it is some distance from town. A carriage will come for you early tomorrow morning and bring you here. We shall be able to spend a few hours together, and you shall dine with me early enough to return to town by evening. If tomorrow is not convenient, then name another day. The messenger will wait for your reply. I long to see you, Lydia.

Can I go?” asked Kitty, excitedly.

Jane looked questioningly at Elizabeth, who, after a moment's consideration, replied, “Yes, but not alone.”

“But Lydia asks only for myself,” said Kitty.

“Lizzy is quite correct,” said Jane. “You are too young; and it would be highly improper for you to go alone, most especially when we have not the least idea to whence you will be taken, and what you may find there.”

“I shall accompany her,” said Elizabeth to Jane. “But Kitty, since Lydia may not wish it, make no mention of it in your reply; only say that you will be ready tomorrow morning.”

“Yes,” agreed Jane, “that is what must be done.”