Smoky Dreams

by Jaeza Rayleigh

  Darcy thought about it for a few moments. "I do not know," he said hesitantly.

  "Well, you might start by seeing if they write. Then find out if Anne has ever expressed her opinion of the match in a letter to your sister. I have a glimmer of a plan to deal with your aunt, but it will depend on what your cousin expects. If she agrees with her mother, my plan might seem too cruel."

  Darcy nodded gingerly. "Do I get to hear your plan now? Or must I wait?"

  "I am still thinking out the details. I also want to hear more about your aunt and her behavior. I would like to hear from Georgiana and your cousin as well. I imagine you each have a slightly different picture of her in your heads."

  "I have a scary picture of her in my head. In my dream she was wielding her walking stick like a weapon and she had Anne manacled and on a leash."

  "That does sound unpleasant." Elizabeth agreed, clearly holding back a chuckle at the image.

  Darcy saw her amusement and laughed slightly as he almost whined, "Worst of all, she kept coming between us. I could not come close to where you stood because she kept getting in the way."

  Elizabeth laughed, as he had intended. "I think before we are done, she will know that no amount of intimidation can stop us when we are together."

  "I like the sound of that," Darcy said, looking at her admiringly.

  "Well, tell me about Lady Catherine – the real woman, not the dream. What is your earliest memory of her?"

  So, began a quiet discussion of Darcy's experiences with aunt. Elizabeth listened carefully and often questioned the stories he told. Trying to see them through adult eyes instead of the memories of a child or adolescent. Darcy could tell she was already building up a good picture of the woman even before they reached the time after his father's death, when the constant demands that he marry Anne began.

  In a way, it was a cleansing experience for Darcy. By talking about some of those early memories he began to see them for what they were instead of what he had felt. He wondered what kind of stories Georgiana and Richard would have to tell, and if they would let him hear them. However, that would have to wait for another time. Just now, the floor was his and he felt he had the best of all audiences.

  Chapter 26: Lady Catherine

  Richard arrived along with Georgiana later that afternoon. He told Darcy he had napped a bit and taken some of the willow bark mixture, leaving him feeling much better. By this time, Darcy and Bingley were feeling greatly improved as well. Even the arrival of Mrs. Bennet at about the same time as his sister and cousin did not seem too painful to Darcy, although he saw Bingley flinch a few times when she became particularly effusive. He had to keep his smirk hidden when Elizabeth asked Darcy, Richard and Georgiana to join her in the music room, leaving Bingley to stay in the sitting room with Jane, Mary, Kitty and Mrs. Bennet. Bingley watched them go with such a pitiful expression.

  Georgiana and Richard entered into the idea of plotting against Lady Catherine with gusto. Of course, Georgiana admitted she had few experiences of her own to share. Lady Catherine had frightened her when she was a small child, and first her father, and later her brother, had shielded her from her aunt ever since. She had received a few letters from Anne in recent years, but not with any great regularity.

  "Anne believes any mail she sends or receives at Rosings is read by her mother. She has sent me letters that she posts from Hunsford while out driving in her phaeton. Unfortunately, she cannot make that trip often or it will invite suspicion. In those letters she has instructed me to respond in the blandest of styles and never to address any topic that might anger her mother. The letters she sends by stealth always say Hunsford across the top. She told me not to trust anything expressed in her letters from Rosings if they contradict the ones from Hunsford."

  "Has she ever expressed an opinion on marriage to your brother in her Hunsford letters?" Elizabeth asked.

  "She dislikes the idea, even though she has to say otherwise in her letters from Rosings which is why she rarely mentions the subject there. In fact, she told me she does not wish to marry anyone at all. She thinks a husband will want to control her just as her mother does. What she really wants is to be free to live her life by her own rules. She just does not expect for that to happen while her mother lives."

  "Knowing the way Aunt Catherine behaves, I can understand that," Richard commented.

  "I am glad she has not been waiting for me to propose, but I dislike the idea that she feels like a prisoner. She has never expressed anything of the sort on any of my visits," Darcy added.

  "Have you ever spoken with her outside her mother's company on either subject?" Elizabeth asked.

  Darcy considered the question carefully. "No," he said finally. "The last time I was in company with her away from the presence of her mother I was ten years old and she was eight. Sir Lewis was still alive, and he brought his family for a visit to Pemberley that I told you about earlier. I had forgotten this bit. When Anne saw me climb a tree in the back garden, she insisted I teach her to climb as well. I saw no harm in her request and showed her the way to climb the tree, which was an easy one with regularly spaced branches that were large and solid. She was perfectly safe. However, Aunt Catherine saw us from one of the windows of the sitting room and was furious. She sent a servant out to drag us both back to the house where she berated Anne for unladylike behavior and me for encouraging it. That was the last time either of them visited Pemberley. Sir Lewis and Anne both came down with a severe fever a few months later. He died of it and Anne was very weak for some time. According to Aunt Catherine, Anne has never fully recovered, but I suspect she says that to avoid questions as to why Anne has not been presented and does not visit London for the Season."

  "I think the truth is that Lady Catherine dislikes both London and Society. They never think as highly of her as she thinks of herself," added Richard. "For my part, I like to avoid her company, but at least she does not have the expectations for me that she does for Darcy. I am just a lowly second son and she would gain no fortune, power or respect if she tried to marry Anne off to me."

  "What about your brother? Was he ever her target?"

  "If he was, I am not aware of it. Of course, Bertie and I rarely speak with one another. The six year difference in our ages might as well be a mile-deep chasm. Father would not have approved such a match anyway, and by the time he and my uncle both passed on, Bertie was already married. That is probably why she targeted Darcy."

  "You could be right, Richard," Darcy said. "I remember she and my uncle had largely stopped even talking to one another after Sir Lewis died. That was why my father made the yearly trip to review her accounts and deal with any contracts she could not, as a woman, make. It is a duty I have carried on despite all the frustration it causes me."

  "Yes, although you drag me along for protection and distraction purposes whenever you can." Richard laughed. "I have learned the secret of a successful visit is to stay away from that walking stick of hers. Remember when she broke the old one?"

  "I remember she used to carry one that was much lighter. It had very delicate carvings on it and the tip was covered in silver, but the handle was heavy gold with inlaid designs on it and was set with jewels. I do not think I was there when it broke."

  "Oh, perhaps you were not. You remember, though, that she would slam it down on the floor when she was displeased, and it made a cracking sound like a gunshot. That was nothing to the sound it made that day! It must have been my brother with me, and she was furious over something we did during a visit to Rosings with my father. First, she whacked us both across the shoulders with the walking stick and then she slammed it down on the floor to express her continued displeasure. She hit it so hard the stick shattered, sending bits of wood flying everywhere. That silvered tip skittered across the floor towards me and then beyond to disappear under a sofa. In her surprise, Aunt Catherine dropped the handle and it landed on her foot. I remember how she yelped in pain and that was when Bertie and I made our escape."<
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  Darcy thought back to his dream. The image of her smacking the step must have been part memory, because now that Richard brought it up, he did remember Lady Catherine's old habit of slamming her walking stick when she was angry.

  "I only knew she had a new walking stick at some point that was heavier looking than the old one, although no less gaudy. I had not realized the old one broke."

  "I think that was when she gave up slamming it on the ground, although she still sometimes threatens people with it." Richard told them.

  "Does she scare you," Elizabeth asked.

  "Not as much as she did when I was younger. I was twelve or thirteen when she broke that walking stick and I certainly did everything I could to stay out of her way for a few years after that. Still, going into battle is a lot more frightening than anything my aunt can do. I may not enjoy her company any more than I ever did, but I no longer fear her."

  "What more can you tell me about her? I think I have a good picture, but your experiences have been different from that of your cousins."

  Richard launched into several stories of encounters with Lady Catherine, most of them with at least some hint of humor in the telling. Darcy, and to a lesser extent Georgiana, added to the stories when they sparked a memory or needed a little explanation. By the time he was done, Elizabeth had a very good picture of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

  "I need to clarify something," she said when Richard's stories wound down. "Does she have any legal power over any of you? Can she withhold your money or other property or take custody of Georgiana from you? Anything with real consequences, should you make her angry enough."

  Darcy looked at Richard and Georgiana. Then he turned back to Elizabeth. "No," he said in a slightly confused voice. "She often threatens dire consequences, but she has nothing like that to hold over us."

  "Of course, she never threatens the consequences I wish she would," Richard said. "I want her to promise to cut all ties with us if we do not act as she says. I would engage in a glorious bit of rebellion for that result."

  With a smile, Elizabeth said, "We might just push her to that point. Would any of you regret losing the connection to her?"

  Again, Darcy looked at his relatives before turning back to Elizabeth. "Not to her, the only thing I might regret is not helping Anne if she wishes me to do so."

  "I think you will find a way to help her no matter what her mother does. By the way, who actually owns Rosings Park?"

  "Technically, Anne does," Richard answered. "But Lady Catherine has the right to live there at least until Anne marries and she only has to move to the dower house if Anne's husband says so. I think that is part of the draw with Darcy. He would take his wife back to Pemberley and Lady Catherine could stay right where she is."

  "I had not thought of that before," Darcy admitted. "I thought it was all about gaining some kind of control over Pemberley's resources, but what you suggest makes even more sense."

  "From everything you three have told me, along with what I heard from Mr. Collins, I would say Lady Catherine is simply a bully. She wants everything to be about her and everyone to bow to her will. She will lie, cheat or threaten to make that happen. The people on her estate and others who are dependent on her good will for their livelihood must do what she says or face the consequences. For the rest, she makes herself so unpleasant people generally do what she says just to avoid her anger. In that aspect, she is very like Lydia. My other sisters and I have often given in to her tantrums simply to gain some peace. Lady Catherine has trained all of you from a young age to do the same."

  Darcy nodded. "That is true. Most of our reactions to her are from force of habit. As you say, she does not have any real power over us. All she can do is be unpleasant."

  "Or hit us with her stick," Richard added with a grin.

  "She needs a pretty long reach to do that from Rosings," Darcy shot back.

  "So, what can we do?" Georgiana asked.

  "Call her bluff," Elizabeth replied. "Refuse to be ruled by her desires. You intended to do so anyway, but in a sneaky sort of way. Instead, I say do it openly, now. In effect, we shall send her to her room, like a certain sister of mine who is still upstairs. In fact, I suggest starting by sending your cousin Anne a letter by messenger, one who will place it directly in her hands, so it does not get misdirected by your aunt, although I would expect your aunt will know of it and demand to see it."

  "And what should this letter say?" Richard asked, sensing an opportunity for the joke to be on Lady Catherine.

  Elizabeth walked to the cabinets where the sheet music was stored. From one of the drawers she took out paper, quill and ink, which she brought to a small table next to Darcy's seat.

  "This is a rough draft," she explained, "you can polish it later."

  After uncorking the ink bottle, he picked up the quill. Dipping it in the ink, he began to write as Elizabeth suggested the topics and all four of them worked to word them.

  My Dear Cousin,

  I hope this letter finds you well. We have spoken so rarely over the years I feel I hardly know you and I regret that. Your mother's insistence that we marry has driven a wedge between us. I apologize if you have felt slighted by my responses. I would not have you made to feel unworthy. I care for you in much the same way I care for Georgiana. However, I do not look on you in the way a man should look on his wife. From my sister I hear you have expressed a similar cousinly regard for me, without any wish that we might be joined in the closer bonds of matrimony. Therefore, I hope my news will be as pleasing for you to hear as it is for me to relate.

  I am betrothed and soon to marry. I know this news will anger your mother, and I am sorry for that. All the same, her displeasure is not enough to stop me from taking this step, which I know will add greatly to my happiness and that of my sister. You see, I am marrying for love, not power or consequence. I doubt your mother will be able to understand that motive. Let her think me a fool if she will. I hope you will congratulate me on my good fortune.

  A few months ago, I accompanied my friend, Bingley, to the estate he had leased in Hertfordshire. We were much in company with our neighbors, who offered generous hospitality to our party. Bingley almost immediately felt himself drawn to Miss Jane Bennet, the eldest daughter of a nearby landowner, and he is now betrothed to her. For my part, I enjoyed the company of the next youngest Bennet daughter, Miss Elizabeth. Great was my joy when she recently agreed to marry me.

  I suspect the name of Bennet may be familiar to you. They are, indeed, the distant cousins of your mother's late clergyman, Mr. Collins. Knowing the type of man to whom your mother gives the Hunsford living, I would advise you take anything he said of the family or their home with a bucket of salt, not just a grain. The Bennets are a respectable family who have owned and managed their estate for over three hundred years. I am not ashamed of the connection.

  Bingley and I shall wed our chosen ladies on February 12th. You would be a most welcome guest, Anne, should you choose to join us. I realize that is probably not possible given your mother's likely opposition to the match. Simply know you are welcome.

  Richard and Georgiana are here to celebrate with me. We are all staying at Bingley's estate, Netherfield, although we spend most of our time with the Bennet sisters at Longbourn, their home. Georgiana would be happy to receive a letter from you at any time, and should you ever need our assistance you have only to ask.

  I shall send my news to your mother under separate cover, but I have little doubt she will demand to read this as well. Once again, I apologize for any hardship my decision may cause you. You have my best wishes always.

  Your cousin,

  F. Darcy

  They all hoped the reference of a letter to Georgiana would tell Anne how to contact them if she needed assistance. Together, they prepared the second letter. The note to Lady Catherine was much simpler.

  Aunt Catherine,

  I write to inform you of my upcoming marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in H
ertfordshire.

  I know you have long cherished a hope I would marry Anne. However, I have told you from the first time you mentioned this hope that it was not my desire. You chose to ignore or override my protests, so I chose to ignore your continued hints in order to avoid further conflict. There is no legal contract to bind me to my cousin, and I have never asked for her hand. I am free to marry whoever I wish, and you have no say in the matter. I am sorry for your disappointment, but it is of your own making.

  Should you choose to cut all contact with me in your displeasure, I will understand. Perhaps your nephew, the Earl, will assist you with the audit of your estate this year. I should not feel comfortable leaving my wife to make a visit with you, nor would I be comfortable exposing her to your displeasure.

  You have my best wishes for your future happiness.

  F. Darcy

  "She is going to explode," Richard said with glee as they finished the draft of the second letter. "I wish I could see her reaction. From a safe distance, of course."

  "I honestly hope she does cut ties with me," Darcy replied, "although I hate to make things more difficult for Anne. At least she can contact us if she needs us.

  "The break was going to come no matter what you did. This way, it is not hanging over you and you also appear stronger by facing your aunt's displeasure head on." Elizabeth pointed out.

  "That is true," Darcy agreed. "Do you think there is time for me to complete the clean copies before dinner? I can arrange for a messenger to carry them both first thing tomorrow. That way Lady Catherine and Anne will have them tomorrow afternoon."

  "I think you have time," Elizabeth told him. "I also have some better-quality paper upstairs. Let me get that for your final copies."

  "Thank you, Elizabeth," Darcy said. "I will feel much better when I know these messages are ready to go. Deliberately causing a break with my aunt is a drastic step, but she really has not left me any better ways to respond."