“It appears as though all that anger has taken its toll on her, Darcy. Perhaps we should leave her and wait until morning.”
“No, Fitz! We are doing this now!”
Richard looked at his cousin and could see how exhausted he was. “Darcy, there is no need to pursue this tonight. You are fatigued beyond measure! Let it… and you… rest until morning. You always think better after a good night’s sleep. And you know how our aunt hates being disturbed from her sleep. You will not stand a chance with her tonight if we awaken her now.”
“Perhaps you are right. I shall retire to my room and will be up at first light. I shall see you in the morning.”
“Aye, cousin. Anything you say!”
As Darcy turned to leave, he admonished his cousin. “If I am not here in the morning, do what you must to keep our aunt from leaving! I have an urgent errand to run and you must keep her here until I return!”
At Richard’s nod, Darcy walked slowly to his room, anxious for his bed. Passing Andrews, he informed him that he would be turning in and again asked that his aunt not be informed of his presence in his home.
“Shall I have a bath drawn for you, sir?”
For the first time since arriving, Darcy looked down at his clothes. “Yes, Andrews, that would be splendid.” He came into his room and quickly rid himself of his grimy attire. He waited quietly and patiently for the bath to be drawn, and at long last it was ready. He stepped into the bath and leaned back, allowing Andrews to take Durnham’s role in scrubbing him clean.
When he finally slipped into bed, he fell into a deep sleep, consoling himself with dreams of a beautiful woman he longed so much to have at his side.
***
Darcy opened his eyes and sat up with a start. He looked around him, adjusting his eyes to the semi-darkness of the room, quickly realizing that he was in his room at his townhouse in London. He swung his legs off the bed, knowing that he must ready himself without delay if he was to get the early start he required.
It was some time later that Colonel Fitzwilliam cautiously came downstairs and was grateful when he saw that the dining room was empty. His aunt had not yet come down. He would be able to savour at least a few minutes of undisturbed silence as he enjoyed his morning meal while contemplating the events of the previous evening.
He had never seen the likes of his aunt’s anger in the whole of his life. He could easily have called it a furious rage. On many occasions he had witnessed her demanding tirades, her stridently voiced dissatisfaction with a trifling annoyance, and even her irritation at his own acts of impudence, but never what he had witnessed last night.
He wondered to what extent his aunt had berated the woman who was now the object of her contempt—Darcy’s wife. To think that she paid her a visit to express her disapproval, to vehemently denounce their marriage, and to threaten to annul it! The very thought made Richard shudder. He hoped that this lady his cousin married had a strong enough constitution to bear this first meeting of their aunt and was kind-hearted enough to forgive her.
Richard questioned, however, whether his cousin would ever be able to forgive their aunt. Throughout their life they had, for the sake of family, endured her emotional outbursts and verbal assaults, learning at an early age simply to remain silent when she burst into a fit of rage. Was it only his imagination or was she truly becoming more and more malicious of late? He heard his aunt’s voice snapping out orders to her maid. She had arisen! He knew it was only a matter of time before she would come upon him in the dining room and continue with the tirade she began last evening. He looked at his empty coffee cup and shook his head, hoping his cousin would return shortly. He was not sure how long he would be able to detain her from setting out, as Darcy had requested, let alone endure her wrath.
She entered the room with a fiery countenance that clearly reflected her dissatisfaction with everything and everyone. At her overly dramatic frustrated sigh, Richard looked up. “Good morning, Aunt.”
“Until I get a few things settled, I hardly would call it good. Richard, do you still have the marriage certificate? You do, do you not?”
“Ah, yes, it is somewhere around here.”
“Nephew, you must retrieve it directly and attend me!”
The colonel gave her an innocent questioning glance. “Pardon? Attend you where?”
“Oh, Richard! Have you no recollection of last night? With all that you told me of your cousin’s behaviour of late, you must accompany me. Surely with the information we both submit to our attorney, he shall clearly see that my nephew is not in his right mind and that his marriage must therefore be annulled!”
Richard forced himself to disguise his horror as he looked at his aunt. “Not in his right mind?” He smiled at the thought. “Certainly that can wait, Aunt, until after breakfast. Sit down and enjoy something to eat.”
“I must attend to this as soon as possible, Richard, and you must join me!” She pulled out a piece of paper. “I have written it all down this morning, everything you informed me of last night and all that I have come to be acquainted with in regards to his behaviour of late. He certainly cannot continue to handle all of his responsibilities, particularly managing Pemberley, if he is so mentally incapacitated. And this marriage…”
Richard could barely swallow without choking as he heard his aunt’s scathing words. He looked up with disbelief as she essentially threatened to take over all of Darcy’s affairs. He forced himself to remain calm. “I am sorry, Aunt. I fear that I cannot. If you wish me to accompany you, it must be later. Something has arisen and I cannot leave at present.” He hoped his expressed inability to leave directly would delay his aunt’s departure.
“Something has arisen?” Lady Catherine looked at him angrily. “When I arrived yesterday and discovered you here, you informed me that you were here to spend a week free of responsibilities and engagements. Now you say something has arisen? Pray, what?”
“Me!”
The voice behind Lady Catherine startled her. She turned to see Darcy standing in the doorway, his eyes darkened and his hands tightly gripping his riding crop.
Darcy noticed only the slightest thread of dismay cross her face, followed by an adjustment of her shoulders and a fortification of her resolve. “Nephew!”
“Lady Catherine,” Darcy acknowledged her with restrained anger.
The two studied each other. Lady Catherine anxiously tried to determine if her nephew knew her reason for being in Town or was aware of the meeting with his… his… She could not bring herself to consider that woman as his wife!
Darcy, on the other hand, braced himself to confront this woman who so insolently berated his Elizabeth.
“I was not aware that you would be in Town,” Lady Catherine commented warily.
“I would imagine you rather hoped I would not.”
“Well,” she said, nervously clearing her throat. “Your cousin and I… we have business we must attend to.” The glance she gave to Richard demanded that he heed her appeal.
As she turned to walk around Darcy, he sidestepped in front of her to prevent her from getting beyond him. “I would advise you to sit down, first, Aunt. There is a matter I must discuss with you.”
“As soon as I return!” She turned to the colonel. “Richard, be so kind as to get that item we were discussing a few moments earlier. It is imperative that I have it in my possession.”
Richard merely looked at his aunt. “I am sorry, I seem to have misplaced it.” He patted his hands around his pockets and into his coat jacket as if to search for it. Then he settled back with a sly grin, eager to watch events unfold. Over the years, he and his cousin had passively endured their aunt’s tirades on so many occasions that he was actually looking forward to Darcy putting her in her place.
“Misplaced it?” she exclaimed.
Darcy reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “Is this what you were looking for, Aunt?”