The following week was filled with dinners and card parties and balls. With all the visitors in the area, entertainment of some sort was held every night. Penelope did as her father bid and placed herself in the path of Longbourn’s heir at every turn. She flattered him and his position as a clergyman, and brought herself to his notice as much as possible. Still, he overlooked her. She grew more frustrated with each passing day.
Mr. Collins did not notice Penelope beyond appreciating her obvious esteem for his position. It never occurred to him, focused as he was on the Darcys and his plan to separate them, that Miss Goulding might be a willing partner for his future life.
At Netherfield, the Earl of Matlock, brother to Lady Catherine and uncle to Darcy, had arrived to interrogate his sister. He brought along two of his sons, Viscount Tansley and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. After quickly refreshing themselves, the three sought Darcy out, finding him in the library with his correspondence.
Rising from his seat at the table, Darcy bowed to his relatives. “Welcome to Netherfield. It is good to see you.”
“You, as well, Nephew.” Lord Matlock took a seat while his sons greeted their cousin. Never one to drag his feet when a problem needed to be solved, he immediately jumped into his questions. “What is this about my sister?”
“Lady Catherine arrived here two days ago intent on confronting my wife and convincing her to leave me. She trotted out the same tired argument—that I was engaged to Anne. Thankfully, Elizabeth was aware of my aunt’s delusions on that score and was able to deflect Lady Catherine until I arrived.”
“Good, good.” Lord Matlock had turned his gaze from Darcy’s face, which he had been intently watching, to the table before him, where his clasped hands rested. “You know, of course, that your parents did not wish for you to marry against your inclination.” He looked back up at his nephew.
“I am. I have faint memories of my mother saying so, and more vivid ones of my father. He was adamant that I not marry my cousin; surprisingly so.”
Looking up with a nod, Lord Matlock agreed. “He was. He had seen how like your mother my niece was, and having gone through the pain of losing Lady Anne, he did not wish for you to follow in his footsteps. He wanted you to marry a strong and healthy woman who would have a good chance of surviving into old age alongside you. I supported him in this.” Matlock gestured to his sons. “My Audra gave me my heir and a spare, and more, and is healthy as a horse. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to guide them to adulthood without her.
“I have spoken to Catherine many times about Anne and this ‘engagement.’ She has brushed me off each time.” His voice trailed off as he added, “There is something…”
“Something is wrong in that household, Father. At Rosings, I mean,” Viscount Tansley spoke up. “I have not been able to put my finger on it, but each time I am there, I can feel something in the air.” He turned to his brother. “Have you felt it, Richard?”
“I have. It is almost…fear, or desperation. The servants tiptoe around and shrink away when someone near them moves unexpectedly.”
“I have noticed it, as well,” Darcy interjected. “I have not understood it; my aunt is fond of managing everyone around her, but she has never been violent or mean.”
“Well, regardless, I must speak to her about her behavior to Mrs. Darcy. My sister has been aware for years that you were not likely to marry her daughter; why she would come here now and stir up trouble is beyond my comprehension. Where might I find her?”
“She has stayed in her rooms for most of the time she has been here. She has claimed fatigue as her reason for doing so.”
Lord Matlock stood, his sons and nephew following suit. “Lead on, then. I assume there is a sitting room attached to her chambers that we can use for our meeting?”
“There is. Follow me.”
Five minutes later, the gentlemen were seating themselves in Lady Catherine’s sitting room. The lady herself was nervously smoothing her skirt in the face of her brother’s sternness. Realizing what she was doing, Lady Catherine sat up straight, her spine rigid and her hands clasped in her lap, every inch the proper and imperturbable daughter of an earl. She waited for Lord Matlock to speak.
“Sister, I have come here at Darcy’s request. He says that you arrived at this house, the house of his friend, and confronted his wife. He claims that you insulted her and offered her money to leave him.” The earl watched his sister as she tried not to squirm. The clasping and unclasping of her hands, in combination with the constant smoothing of her skirts just a few minutes ago, told him clearly that Lady Catherine was uncomfortable. As they had always been close, Lord Matlock was able to spot the signs with ease. “It is true, is it not?”
When Lady Catherine shook her head and began to open her mouth to protest, her brother raised his hand. “No, Cathy, no. I see the signs that you are anxious. It would be much easier for all of us if you were honest.”
Seeing in her brother’s expression that he would not be gainsaid, Lady Catherine conceded. “I did do as Darcy said.” She lifted her chin, firming her lips to keep from licking them and donning the haughty expression that worked so well to keep everyone else at bay.
“Why? We have spoken of this before, that Darcy’s parents did not want a marriage between he and Anne. I had thought you understood that your position on the matter was untenable. Was I wrong?”
“No, you were not wrong. I did understand what you told me. However, Anne is set on having Darcy as her husband.”
“So? What is your point? You are her mother and the mistress of Rosings; you set the tone, and she must follow it. I know that she is of age, but she lives in your home and must abide by your decisions and rules.”
“You know how my daughter is, Brother. Surely you can see that it is better to appease her.”
“Appease her? What do you mean, appease her?”
The Viscount, his interest piqued and a suspicion floating around in his head, parroted his father. “Yes, Aunt, what do you mean ‘appease her’?”
“Anne is…used to getting her way. She is so… delicate, you know, and…”
It was clear to the entire room that Lady Catherine was choosing her words with care. None of the gentlemen were inclined to help her along, however.
Lady Catherine’s eyes darted from one of her male relatives to another, her pride desperately wishing to keep the extent of her daughter’s violence hidden. Deep down, though, she desired assistance, and relief from the constant tension of keeping Anne happy. Her brother’s hand motion, indicating that she should continue, stiffened her spine. “Anne refuses to give Darcy up. With her delicate constitution, I strive at all times to make her happy. When she is denied, she is in danger of suffering…physical ailments.” At this juncture, Lady Catherine stopped speaking, clamping her lips shut lest she say anything untoward.
Viscount Tansley, along with his father, brother, and cousin, examined his aunt’s features as he thought about her words. He was the first to speak. “Aunt Catherine, I recall a visit a while back; oh, perhaps five years ago?” Turning to Darcy, he prompted his recall of the events. “Cousin, it was the year I went with you for your annual Easter visit in Richard’s place, because he was on the continent with his soldiers. Do you recall?”
Darcy nodded. “I do.”
“Do you remember how strained the entire house was? From the lowliest maid to Lady Catherine herself, the entire estate felt as though it might explode at any moment.”
“I do; that was the most difficult visit to Rosings in my recent memory. What is your point?”
Tansley turned back to his aunt. “I recall that Anne was in a bit of a temper, as well.”
“She was!” Darcy exclaimed. “She was quiet when we arrived, but after our conversation that afternoon, the atmosphere in the house became oppressive.”
Lady Catherine remained rigidly erect in her seat, chin up, and making eye contact with every speaker as she watched her family make the connections between her words and what they had witnessed. She refused to help them along.
“What are you saying, boys?” Lord Matlock was confused. He had never noticed tension at Rosings that could not be directly linked to his sister’s behavior. But then, family business and parliamentary duties had prevented him from visiting for several years.
“On the visit that Tansley refers to, we entered the house and noticed the servants scurrying about as though frightened of their shadows. It was highly unusual, even for them. The entire house was strangely quiet. That evening, after we dined and were all together in the drawing room, Anne was very demanding of my attention.”
“She attached herself to his side before we went into the dining room and refused to let him go until we retired.”
Darcy rolled his eyes. “We retired early, because I felt compelled to reiterate that I had no intention of asking her to marry me. She had been clutching my arm so tightly that I feared losing circulation.”
Tansley snapped his fingers. “Yes! After your reminder, she snubbed you the rest of the evening.”
Richard, fascinated by this first-person retelling of the event, interjected, “Is this the visit you wrote me about, Darcy? The one where your valet kept making mysterious comments?”
“It was. Mr. Smith insisted that he could get no hot water for baths unless he heated it himself, but refused to tell me why and begged me not to tell my aunt. There were other oddities, too, about his service that week. But about that evening, Anne refused to look at or speak to me the rest of the night.” Darcy turned back to his aunt. “Even you, Lady Catherine, appeared to be put off by a statement I have made to you many times.”
“I do not recall the event of which you speak.” The lady’s words were belied by the flush of red that overtook her features. It was only her training as the daughter of a peer that allowed her to maintain her countenance in the face of her nephews’ question.
“Do you also remember, Darcy, how much worse things got after that night?”
“I do.”
“I have a theory. Would any of you wish to hear it?” Viscount Tansley had always been a bit dramatic. It would serve him well when his father passed and he became earl, but in the meantime, it was annoying, at times, to his family. Seeing their eyes roll and heads nod, the viscount continued. “I believe that Anne was enraged by Darcy’s statement, and that she took her anger out on the servants, causing them to do their best to stay out of her way. I think they were likely upset with my cousin because he was the reason she lost her temper, and they did the only thing they could to repay him for making their lives more difficult.”
Lord Matlock tilted his head as he examined first his heir and then his sister. “Is this true Catherine? Did Anne become angry and take it out on the servants?”
Lady Catherine refused to speak.
“I take that as a yes. Is this a frequent occurrence? I recall Lewis telling me just a month or two before he was taken from us that his daughter was willful and difficult to manage.” When Lady Catherine continued to sit silently, Lord Matlock tried to force her to speak. “Answer me, Sister! Does your daughter often expend her anger on the servants?”
Reluctantly, Lady Catherine admitted that it was so.
Richard had focused his attention on his aunt while his father had been speaking. As a leader of men, and one who had been through many battles in his years as a soldier, he had learned to read people. One could usually see through a person who was prevaricating, if one knew what to look for. Richard could see that Lady Catherine was showing all the signs that she was hiding something. As he watched her, he mentally scrolled through the last few visits to her home, considering her behavior, Anne’s, and the rest of the household. Without warning, a scene popped into his mind. A maid, cleaning up broken glass, the head of a figurine…a shepherdess, or maybe an angel…sitting on top of the pile of broken pieces. He spoke up, not caring that he was interrupting his father.
“Anne throws things when she is angry, does she not?”
Lady Catherine jumped in her seat. She did not know how he figured that out, but she should have known that Richard, the most observant of her nephews, would do it. Another glance at her brother gave her to know that she had best answer, honestly and soon. She cleared her throat. “Anne has been known to break something when she is upset, yes.”
Richard had recognized the fear that flashed through her eyes at his question. “How often?”
“I do not know. I do not keep records of it.”
Tansley, his suspicions now confirmed, suspected his aunt was not revealing everything. “As jumpy as the servants were when I was there, I think that perhaps there is more to it.”