About a week after Bingley and Jane became engaged, Bingley was sitting with the Bennet women in the dining room one morning.
Suddenly, they heard a carriage approaching.
Everyone looked toward the window.
A large carriage pulled by four horses was coming up the lawn.
It was much too early for a normal visitor. Besides, they did not recognize the carriage, the horses, or the servant riding ahead of it.
Bingley immediately guessed that someone important must be arriving.
“Jane, why don’t we take a walk in the garden?”
Jane understood what he meant and went outside with him.
Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet, and Kitty remained behind, trying to guess who the visitor might be.
A moment later, the door opened.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh walked into the room.
Everyone was stunned.
Mrs. Bennet and Kitty were even more surprised than Elizabeth because they had never met her before.
Lady Catherine looked unusually severe.
She barely acknowledged Elizabeth’s greeting, giving only a small nod before sitting down.
Elizabeth had already told her mother who their visitor was.
Mrs. Bennet was extremely surprised, but she was also delighted to have such an important woman in her house.
After a short silence, Lady Catherine spoke.
“I hope you are well, Miss Bennet. And I assume this is your mother?”
“Yes, it is,” Elizabeth replied.
“And that must be one of your sisters?”
“Yes, my lady,” Mrs. Bennet said eagerly. “She is my second-youngest daughter. My youngest daughter was recently married. And my eldest daughter is somewhere outside walking with a young man who, I believe, will soon become part of our family.”
Lady Catherine looked around the room.
“You have a rather small park here.”
“It is certainly nothing compared with Rosings,” Mrs. Bennet said. “But I assure you, it is much larger than Sir William Lucas’s.”
Lady Catherine glanced toward the windows.
“This room must be terribly hot in the evenings during summer. The windows face directly west.”
“Oh, we never sit here after dinner,” Mrs. Bennet quickly assured her.
Then she asked politely,
“May I ask if Mr. and Mrs. Collins are well?”
“Yes, very well. I saw them two nights ago.”
Elizabeth immediately assumed that Lady Catherine must have brought a letter from Charlotte.
But no letter appeared.
She had no idea why Lady Catherine had come.
Mrs. Bennet offered her some refreshments, but Lady Catherine firmly refused.
Then she stood up and turned to Elizabeth.
“I noticed there is a pleasant little wooded area on one side of your lawn. I would like to walk there. Will you come with me?”
“Of course, my dear,” Mrs. Bennet said quickly. “Go and show Lady Catherine the walks. She might enjoy the little garden area.”
Elizabeth went upstairs briefly to get her parasol.
As they passed through the house, Lady Catherine looked into the dining room and drawing room.
“They are acceptable,” she said after a brief inspection.
Then she continued outside.
Her carriage was still waiting at the door, and Elizabeth noticed her maid sitting inside.
The two women walked silently along the gravel path toward the woods.
Elizabeth had no intention of making conversation.
Lady Catherine was even more unpleasant than usual.
As Elizabeth looked at her, she thought about Darcy.
“How could I ever have thought she was anything like her nephew?” she wondered.
As soon as they entered the woods, Lady Catherine finally spoke.
“Miss Bennet, you surely know why I have come here. Your own heart and conscience should tell you.”
Elizabeth stared at her in genuine surprise.
“I’m afraid you are mistaken, my lady. I truly have no idea why you have come all this way.”
Lady Catherine’s expression hardened.
“Do not pretend you don’t understand. I am not a woman who can be treated lightly.”
She took a breath.
“Two days ago, I heard some very disturbing news. I was told that your sister is about to make a very advantageous marriage. But I was also told that you, Elizabeth Bennet, may soon marry my nephew, Mr. Darcy.”
Elizabeth was shocked.
“I know that rumor must be completely false,” Lady Catherine continued. “I refuse to believe that my nephew could possibly intend such a thing. But I came here myself so that you could hear my opinion directly.”
“If you truly believe the rumor is impossible,” Elizabeth replied, “then I wonder why you traveled all this way to confront me.”
“I came to make sure that the rumor is publicly denied.”
“If such a rumor really exists,” Elizabeth said calmly, “your visit to Longbourn will probably make people believe it even more.”
“You pretend not to know about it?”
“I have never heard of such a rumor.”
“And can you honestly say there is absolutely no truth behind it?”
Elizabeth smiled slightly.
“I am not as open and direct as you are, my lady. You may ask questions that I have no intention of answering.”
Lady Catherine’s face reddened.
“This is unacceptable! I demand an answer. Has my nephew proposed to you?”
“You just said that such a thing was impossible.”
“It should be impossible. It must be impossible as long as he is thinking clearly.”
She stared angrily at Elizabeth.
“But you may have used your charm to make him forget what he owes to himself and his family. You may have tempted him into this.”
“If I have done so,” Elizabeth replied, “I certainly won’t be the one to admit it.”
“Do you even understand who I am? I am one of the closest relatives he has. I have every right to know what happens in his life.”
“You may have a right to know about his affairs, but you have no right to know about mine. And speaking to me like this certainly won’t make me more willing to explain myself.”
Lady Catherine stopped walking.
“Let me make myself perfectly clear. The marriage you are so bold as to hope for can never happen. Never.”
She pointed toward Elizabeth.
“Mr. Darcy is meant to marry my daughter.”
Elizabeth remained calm.
“If that is true, then you have no reason to believe he would propose to me.”
Lady Catherine hesitated before answering.
“The situation is not so simple. Darcy and my daughter have been intended for each other since they were children.”
“It was the wish of both their mothers. We planned the marriage when they were still babies.”
“Now, when that marriage is finally within reach, are you going to interfere?”
She looked Elizabeth up and down.
“A young woman with no important family connections and no great fortune is trying to come between them. Do you have no respect for his family’s wishes? Have you forgotten everything I told you about his being destined for my daughter?”
“Yes, I remember,” Elizabeth said. “And I had heard it long before you told me.”
“But what does that have to do with me?”
“If there is no other reason why I cannot marry your nephew, I certainly won’t be prevented simply because you and his mother once hoped he would marry your daughter.”
“You planned the marriage yourselves. But whether it actually happened was never under your control.”
“If Mr. Darcy is not bound to your daughter by either love or duty, why shouldn’t he choose someone else?”
“And if I am the woman he chooses, why shouldn’t I accept him?”
“Because it would violate honor, good judgment, family expectations, and common sense.”
Lady Catherine’s voice became sharper.
“And you should think about your own interests as well. If you deliberately go against his family’s wishes, none of them will accept you.”
“You will be criticized, ignored, and despised by everyone connected to him.”
“Your marriage would be considered a disgrace. Your name would hardly ever be spoken in his family.”
Elizabeth smiled calmly.
“Those are certainly serious threats.”
“But the woman who becomes Mr. Darcy’s wife will have so many reasons to be happy that I imagine she could survive them.”
Lady Catherine was furious.
“You are stubborn and completely unreasonable!”
“Is this how you repay me after the kindness I showed you last spring?”
She pointed toward a bench.
“Sit down. I came here determined to get what I want, and I will not leave until I do.”
“I am not accustomed to having my wishes ignored. I am certainly not used to disappointment.”
“That must make this situation especially difficult for you,” Elizabeth replied. “But it won’t change my answer.”
Lady Catherine raised her voice.
“Do not interrupt me!”
“My daughter and my nephew were made for each other. Their mothers come from the same noble family. Their fathers also come from respectable and ancient families.”
“Both families are wealthy. Everyone in both families has always expected them to marry.”
“So what could possibly separate them?”
She stared angrily at Elizabeth.
“You—a young woman who has no important family, no powerful connections, and no fortune?”
“Do you really think this is acceptable?”
“If you understood what was best for yourself, you would never try to leave the social position in which you were raised.”
Elizabeth answered without hesitation.
“By marrying your nephew, I would not be leaving my social position.”
“He is a gentleman, and I am the daughter of a gentleman. In that respect, we are equal.”
Lady Catherine gave a cold smile.
“Yes, you are a gentleman’s daughter.”
“But what about your mother?”
“And who are your uncles and aunts?”
“Don’t imagine that I know nothing about your family.”
Elizabeth remained composed.
“Whatever my relatives are like, if your nephew has no objection to them, then they should not concern you.”
Lady Catherine suddenly demanded,
“Answer me once and for all. Are you engaged to him?”
Elizabeth paused.
She had no desire to satisfy Lady Catherine’s curiosity, but she could not lie.
“No, I am not.”
Lady Catherine looked pleased.
“Then promise me you will never become engaged to him.”
“I will make no such promise.”
Lady Catherine stared at her in disbelief.
“I am shocked by you. I expected you to be much more sensible.”
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking I will give up. I will not leave until you give me the promise I came here for.”
“You will never get it,” Elizabeth replied.
“I will not be frightened into agreeing to something so unreasonable.”
“You want Mr. Darcy to marry your daughter. But even if I promised never to marry him, would that make him love your daughter?”
“If he loves me, would my refusal really make him suddenly want to marry his cousin?”
She shook her head.
“Your arguments are no more reasonable than your demand.”
“You clearly know very little about my character if you think you can pressure me this way.”
“I don’t know what Mr. Darcy would think about your interference in his affairs, but you certainly have no right to interfere in mine.”
“So please stop asking me about this.”
“Not so fast,” Lady Catherine replied. “I am not finished.”
“There is something else you should consider.”
“I know all about your youngest sister’s disgraceful behavior.”
Elizabeth’s expression changed.
“I know she ran away with that young man and that the marriage had to be arranged afterward with financial help from your father and uncle.”
“And now you expect my nephew to accept her as his sister?”
“Her husband is the son of his late father’s steward!”
She looked horrified.
“Good heavens! What are you thinking?”
“Are you really going to bring such a family connection into Pemberley?”
Elizabeth had finally had enough.
“You have insulted me in every possible way.”
“I have nothing more to say to you. I am going back to the house.”
She turned and began walking away.
Lady Catherine followed, still furious.
“So you truly don’t care about my nephew’s reputation?”
“You selfish, heartless girl!”
“Don’t you understand that marrying you would damage him in the eyes of everyone who knows his family?”
“Lady Catherine, I have nothing more to say. You already know my position.”
“So you have decided that you will marry him?”
“I never said that.”
“I have simply decided that I will do what I believe is necessary for my own happiness.”
“I will not base my decision on you or on anyone else who has no right to control my life.”
“Very well!”
“You refuse to do what I ask.”
“You refuse to consider duty, honor, and gratitude.”
“You are determined to ruin my nephew’s reputation and make him an object of ridicule.”
Elizabeth stopped and looked directly at her.
“Neither duty, honor, nor gratitude requires me to give up my own happiness.”
“Nothing about marrying Mr. Darcy would violate those principles.”
“As for his family’s anger, if they choose to be angry because he marries me, that is their decision. It would not trouble me for even a moment.”
“And as for the rest of the world, I doubt everyone would be foolish enough to condemn us simply because you disapprove.”
Lady Catherine’s face hardened.
“So this is really what you think?”
“This is your final decision?”
“Very well. Now I know what I must do.”
She stepped closer.
“Don’t imagine that your ambition will ever succeed.”
“I came here hoping that you would be reasonable.”
“But I promise you, I will not give up.”
Lady Catherine continued arguing until they reached the carriage.
Before getting inside, she turned back one last time.
“I will not say goodbye to you, Miss Bennet.”
“And I certainly won’t send my regards to your mother.”
“You deserve no such courtesy.”
“I am deeply disappointed in you.”
Elizabeth said nothing.
She did not invite Lady Catherine back inside.
Instead, she quietly walked into the house.
As she went upstairs, she heard the carriage drive away.
Mrs. Bennet immediately came out of her dressing room.
“Why wouldn’t Lady Catherine come back inside and rest for a while?”
“She didn’t want to,” Elizabeth replied. “She wanted to leave.”
Mrs. Bennet looked impressed.
“She is a very elegant woman.”
“And how polite of her to visit us! I suppose she only came to tell us that Mr. and Mrs. Collins are well.”
“She must be traveling somewhere and decided to stop in Meryton.”
Mrs. Bennet looked at Elizabeth curiously.
“I suppose she didn’t have anything important to say to you, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth had no choice but to tell a small lie.
There was no way she could explain what had really happened during her walk with Lady Catherine.
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