To say that those words were unwelcome would be a vast understatement. Georgiana gasped, and Elizabeth turned pale. Darcy rose from his chair, casting about the room for a place to conceal their guest, but there was only one door, and the curtains were made of lace.
Before he could so much as utter a word to Elizabeth about the impending disaster, his aunt was upon them. Lady Catherine de Bourgh marched into the room as if it were hers to command. Anne de Bourgh and her companion trailed in her wake. And then—much to Darcy’s horror—Mr. Collins scuttled into the room behind them. Aunt Catherine must think herself very grand, traveling with her personal clergyman at her side.
“Aunt Catherine!” Darcy gave her a slight bow, which she acknowledged with a regal nod of her head. “This is quite a surprise. I thought you still in Kent.”
She drew herself up to her full height. “Kent is quite dull this time of year. I thought Town might provide more amusement, and there is a doctor here who might help Anne.”
Darcy had no choice about how to proceed. “W-will you join us for dinner? We just finished the second remove.”
His aunt regarded the elegant dining table as if it were covered with garbage. “Very well.” Her tone suggested that she was granting him a favor. Footmen hurried to set places for four more guests, and Darcy worried fleetingly if his kitchen had sufficient food. But there were greater concerns; Collins was staring open-mouthed at his cousin, who was doing her best to look innocuous.
Well, there was nothing for it. He gestured to Elizabeth. “Lady Catherine, allow me to present Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn House in Hertfordshire.” Elizabeth stood and curtsied.
Aunt Catherine scanned Elizabeth from head to toe with her most disdainful look, but she did not sneer. From this, Darcy concluded that his aunt knew Elizabeth’s identity but had not heard the vicious rumors about her reputation. Collins, standing behind his patroness, watched with wide eyes, his hand over his mouth, as if witnessing a terrible carriage accident. No doubt he was debating whether he should extract his Lady Catherine from the den of iniquity at once.
Darcy had no sympathy for the man.
Darcy immediately invited them all to sit, making it that much more awkward for Collins to insist on a departure. As the new arrivals were served by the footmen, the initial conversation was limited to the weather and the food. Collins fidgeted in his chair and glanced at Elizabeth several times a minute as if hoping she would somehow evaporate into thin air.
Elizabeth participated little in the conversation, but she did her best to act as if she belonged at Darcy House.
Finally, Collins could hold back his curiosity no longer. “Cousin, how do you happen to be at Darcy House?”
Darcy had been preparing an answer to this question. “I happened to encounter Miss Bennet here in London and invited her to dinner.” This was all true, even if he was omitting details about how he had encountered Elizabeth and when she had been invited to dinner.
“I see.” Collins practically quivered with indignation but dared not criticize Lady Catherine’s nephew. There was a pause as Collins cut his meat. Then he gave Elizabeth a sidelong glance. “I hope you found the pamphlets I gave you to be instructive.”
Darcy barely refrained from rolling his eyes; he could only imagine what kind of pamphlets Collins would bestow on a “fallen woman.”
Elizabeth’s eyes danced with amusement. “Indeed, they were quite full of instructions.”
Beside Darcy, Georgiana smothered a giggle.
Collins frowned at his meat as if he could not figure out exactly where the conversation had gone astray. “Fortunately, I have brought additional pamphlets you might find edifying. One always encounters sinners in London.”
“Indeed, sinners are everywhere,” Elizabeth remarked dryly. “Perhaps in this very house.”
Collins’s eyes darted around the room as if they were about to be set upon by ruffians. Georgiana was again laughing into her napkin. Darcy almost felt sorry for the man; in a battle of wits with Elizabeth, Collins was unarmed.
“Is Charlotte in good health?” Elizabeth asked him.
“Yes, quite the picture of health!” Collins exclaimed. “We keep hoping for a certain blessed event, but alas it has not been forthcoming. I have been very diligent in performing my marital duties, however, so I am sure it will be but a short time.”
Darcy had no desire to picture Collins performing his “marital duties.” From the sour look on his aunt’s face, she shared the sentiment. Georgiana’s face, on the other hand, was red with suppressed laughter.
He was about to introduce a new subject to the discourse when his aunt directed a question to Elizabeth. “Are you the Miss Bennet who had the encounter with Viscount Billington?” she drawled before taking a sip of wine.
Collins nearly choked on the meat he was chewing. “How did you—that is, I did not know your ladyship was aware of that…er…incident.”
Aunt Catherine regarded her vicar coolly over the rim of her wine glass. “Mrs. Collins informed me of it.”
“When?” Panic edged his voice. “That is—I was not present when—”
“I do not invite you to every social gathering,” Lady Catherine said imperiously. “Upon occasion, I prefer a gathering to include only women.”
Collins’s eyes bulged. “N-naturally, your ladyship,” he spluttered.
Aunt Catherine turned away from Collins, dismissing him. “Well, answer me, girl,” she demanded of Elizabeth.
Darcy felt ill. This was the very worst possible outcome for the dinner. He had brought Elizabeth here, trying to improve her life and hoping to convince her to stay. Now his relatives would make her feel like a pariah again. She will rush to take the first mail coach out of London in the morning. It is an utter disaster, and I can do nothing to prevent it.
Elizabeth lifted her chin, but the hand holding her fork was trembling. “I am.”
“Good.” Aunt Catherine gave a sharp nod. “I had been planning to pay you a call, but now you save me a ride to Hertfordshire.”
Elizabeth looked as perplexed as Darcy felt. Would his aunt really have traveled all the way to Hertfordshire to personally condemn the behavior of a woman she had never met? “Pay me a call?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes.” Her tone was as sharp and imperious as always. “I wished to offer you my sympathy for the way you were treated by Lord Henry.”
Darcy suddenly felt lightheaded and was grateful to be seated. Georgiana choked on her wine and coughed loudly.
Elizabeth’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Y-your l-ladyship is acquainted with Lord Henry?” Elizabeth asked.
Aunt Catherine gave a most unladylike snort. “I certainly am. He attempted a similar scheme with Anne.” She gestured to her daughter, who nodded meekly. “Enticed her into a library during a ball with the aim of compromising her and getting his hands on the de Bourgh fortune. Fortunately, I keep a close watch on Anne and foiled his plan.”
“Oh, how horrible!” Georgiana gasped.
“I do not know why he would bother to compromise you.” Aunt Catherine flicked a hand in Elizabeth’s direction. “I understand you have no fortune to speak of, although I suppose you are moderately pretty.”
Elizabeth pursed her lips. Was she attempting to hold back a laugh? “One never knows,” she said solemnly.
“Then there was a parson’s daughter in Kent,” Aunt Catherine proclaimed. “Billington ruined her reputation, and she had no choice but to become his mistress. He bought her a little cottage but then abandoned her a few months later. Occasionally I have a footman take her some fruit or meat—when I think of it.”
“You are the soul of generosity, ma’am,” Collins intoned.
Her ladyship took another sip of wine, enjoying the audience. “It is disgraceful the way Lord Henry treated her! And apparently she is not the only one he has used in such a way. He makes it something of a practice to ruin respectable young ladies and force them into unseemly relationships.”
Still reeling from his aunt’s unexpected sympathy, Darcy could only manage to say, “Indeed.” Thank Providence that had not been Elizabeth’s fate!
“Someone should prevent such wanton behavior!” Aunt Catherine shook her head sadly. Darcy felt a surge of anger; his aunt had known of the man’s behavior but could not bestir herself to do anything about it. “Really, he deserves a reckoning. He should be stopped.”
“Indeed.” Elizabeth laid her napkin on the table. “And I believe I know how.”
***
Elizabeth knocked on the rough-hewn wooden door, hoping her quarry was at home. Mr. Darcy had not wanted her to visit the cottage alone, but Elizabeth had insisted. The other woman might be reluctant to speak in the company of a man.
She was about to knock again when the door opened to reveal a pretty, plainly dressed woman. “Sarah Newsome?” Elizabeth asked.
The woman flinched at the sound of her name. “What do you want?”
“I just want to talk. I was given your name by Lady Catherine at Rosings Park.”
Sarah’s body lost some of its tension. “Talk about what?” she asked.
“Lord Henry Carson.” Sarah flinched again. Elizabeth hurried through the rest of her speech before the woman shut the door in her face. “I know that he has behaved in a most ungentlemanly fashion toward you—and other women. I do not believe the viscount’s behavior should continue unchecked. I hope you can help me put an end to it.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Aye, but how do you stop him? He’s a lord!”
Elizabeth grimaced. She had heard that sentiment many times in the past week. “I have a plan, but I need information from you. I understand you had an encounter with him that ended unpleasantly?”
Sarah laughed bitterly. “Aye, to put it delicately.”
Elizabeth bit her lip. She hated asking a stranger to discuss something so personal. “He wanted to force me into becoming his mistress. Is that what happened to you?”
Sarah gave her a level look. “He forced me all right. But I didn’t become his mistress.” She sighed and backed away from the doorway. Behind her, a little boy of about three years toddled into view.
Elizabeth could not prevent the widening of her eyes. Clearly she had not heard the whole story.
Sarah looked over her shoulder at the boy and smiled fondly. Then she turned back to Elizabeth with a sigh. “You may as well come in. It’s a long story.”