Normally, Elizabeth would have found quite a bit to say, but she was currently so stunned to discover that any of Darcy’s well-bred relations could possibly act in so deplorable a manner, it took her several moments to find her voice. Shaking only slightly, she spoke in as calm a manner as she was able. “If that is true, your ladyship, then Mr. Darcy certainly should never have made an offer to me; however, as I understand it, there is no prior commitment between your nephew and Miss de Bourgh. Mr. Darcy has denied the existence of such an arrangement, and therefore, as he has always been a man of his word, I must believe him over others who may feel far more of an inclination to be biased on this subject.”

Lady Catherine gasped.

“As to the other charges you have laid at my door, they are disgraceful indeed, but I shall never dignify them with a response. You have insulted me at every turn, and I beg you would excuse me. You cannot possibly have anything further to say that I would wish to hear.” She turned and made to leave, but Lady Catherine had not done. She reached out and actually caught Elizabeth’s wrist to detain her.

“Not so hasty, Miss Bennet! You refuse to acknowledge the fact that your cousin, Mr. Collins—my very own trusted parson—witnessed you in a compromising position of the most offensive nature with my nephew, and still, you will not answer for it? Shall this be borne? No, it certainly shall not! You, Miss Bennet, have shown yourself to be a woman of the worst kind—wild, wanton, and totally unfeeling for all you shall make my poor nephew suffer! Perhaps you have managed to mislead him, but I am not so easily fooled. I see you for what you are—nothing but a fortune hunter who is no better than a common woman of the night!”

“Enough!” Darcy’s voice rang loudly throughout the room as he stalked over to his aunt. By his expression, all present could tell he was furious, his body practically shaking with his contained rage. When he turned his gaze upon the two women who meant more to him than anything else, he was further angered to see Elizabeth’s eyes swimming with unshed tears. He took his place beside her and moved to encircle her waist with his arm, but to his surprise, she pulled away and, without so much as a glance at him, walked swiftly from the room. Casting a wary look at her aunt, Georgiana followed her.

Darcy fixed his aunt with a look of loathing she would not soon forget and, through gritted teeth, demanded, “How dare you accuse my future wife of such a disgusting machination! What evil demon has robbed you of your senses and induced you to speak such vile filth in my home? Of what could you possibly be thinking?”

“Come, Nephew! You cannot possibly know of what you speak. Admit it. You have been taken in, duped, if you will, by this scheming little upstart. Can you not see that she cares nothing for you? It is only your money she wants. You have been blinded by her charms and her favors. When word gets out you intend to marry a woman you have taken as your mistress, we shall all be disgraced! Is such a woman to be sister to Georgiana? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? Your parents would turn over in their graves to see you behaving thus!”

Never before had Darcy felt as though he could have struck a woman, but as he stared in disbelief at his aunt, he had to remind himself repeatedly to rein in his temper before it caused him to act in a way he would certainly come to regret. Breathing deeply, he paced the length of the drawing-room floor as her ladyship continued her tirade, mercilessly berating Elizabeth. At length, when she began to talk of his cousin Anne and how Darcy’s own mother had planned their union to join their ancestral houses, it was absolutely the last straw.

His tone was venomous. “Lady Catherine, you would do well to remember you are still insulting my future wife with such outlandish insinuations! Never do so again, madam, and do not attempt to disillusion me with such ridiculous nonsense! I never heard my mother speak of her wish for a marriage between Anne and myself, nor have I ever heard it uttered by any member of my family other than you. As a matter of fact, it has been many years now I have believed such a scheme to be merely your own machination in order to lay claim to Pemberley and unite the Fitzwilliam fortune under one name. It was wrong of me to remain silent. Now I must insist you leave.”

He rang then for a burly footman, who seemed to materialize out of thin air, and then he ushered his aunt out of the drawing room, into the foyer, and toward the door. Lady Catherine attempted to speak her mind, but Darcy would hear none of it. “You can have nothing further to say, Aunt. I will take this time to tell you, however, should you take it upon yourself to spread any of these vicious falsehoods—and they are falsehoods—against Elizabeth and myself, I will not be held accountable for my actions. This malicious slander has been fabricated and expounded upon by a sycophantic, small-minded man who is uncommonly bitter over the rejection of his own misdirected suit. That obsequious little parson of yours wasted no time, I might add, insinuating himself upon another respectable woman in the very same neighborhood, whom he managed to convince to accept him only three days later. Three days!” he bellowed, “Yet, still, he insists on being vindictive and spiteful. Worse still, he is your clergyman, Lady Catherine—hand-selected by you, though God only knows what for!”

They reached the door, and the footman yanked it open. “If you will not think of me, Aunt, then perhaps you will think of Anne and what she will likely suffer at the hands of society, should you and your faithful servant proceed in your endeavor to disgrace the future mistress of Pemberley. Imagine how Anne will be treated when the ton hears she has been thrown off by her cousin in favor of, how did you put it—oh, yes, by ‘a woman I have taken as my mistress’? You have purported the rumor of your daughter’s impending engagement to me for many years now, and though I have always had a familial affection for Anne, my first loyalty will always be to my wife. If you insist on destroying Miss Bennet’s reputation, you will also be tainting that of your beloved daughter and all your relations. Remember that, Lady Catherine, before next you speak!”

Lady Catherine opened and closed her mouth, clearly outraged to have had no effect in swaying her stubborn nephew from his endeavor to marry the woman of his own choosing. Darcy simply glared at her and slammed the door in her face.

The burly footman’s lips twitched.

“Not so much as one word of this is to be breathed, Tanner,” Darcy warned. “Not so much as one word.”

*   *   *

Georgiana knocked upon the door to Elizabeth’s bedchamber and, although she received no answer, pushed it open and entered. Elizabeth was lying upon the bed, her shoulders shaking. Georgiana went to her and placed a hand upon her hair. “Oh, Elizabeth,” she whispered, “please, do not take to heart anything my aunt has said. She can be truly unfeeling when she is moved to do so. You did nothing to deserve such wretched treatment from her. I am so sorry.”

As Georgiana watched Elizabeth struggle to compose herself, her face burned with shame for her aunt’s castigation of the woman who would very soon become her sister. Elizabeth sat up and managed a weak smile as she moved to dry her tears. “I am happy to finally hear you address me by my Christian name, Georgiana. Thank you. It brings me more pleasure than you might imagine.”

Georgiana returned her smile. “My brother has rarely referred to you by any other. Only in his very first letters to me after he had gone to Hertfordshire, do I believe he ever called you, ‘Miss Bennet.’ As wrong as it was, by the time I had received his fourth correspondence, I had already come to know you well as simply ‘Elizabeth.’ It was then when I realized he was probably in love with you, though I recall wondering at his being aware of it himself at the time.”

“I can well believe he may not have been. I know I was quite oblivious to any partiality on his part. He kept his feelings so well concealed that by the time I finally realized the depth of his regard, it came as more of a sudden revelation.” She became very quiet, and a nostalgic smile flickered across her lips. “Your brother is an exceptional man… the best man I have ever known. Truly, I do not know what I have ever done to deserve such love and devotion from him, but I do know I shall be forever grateful.”

Georgiana reached for her hand. “My brother has very often said those same words in reference to you and your feelings for him. Truly, I believe there are no two people more deserving than you and Fitzwilliam. And from the way you faced my aunt, I know I am extremely fortunate to be gaining such an exceptional sister.”

Elizabeth’s smile faded, and she grew pensive, slowly shaking her head. “No, Georgiana. From what you have just heard of me from your aunt, I believe you would do far better than to associate with such a woman as I shall soon become in the eyes of society.”

Georgiana gasped. “Certainly, you cannot mean that, Elizabeth! My aunt has been beyond cruel, and her words, heartless and wrong. She will say anything to wound when it serves her purpose. I know her too well to believe any of the appalling things she accused you of tonight.” To Georgiana’s surprise, however, rather than bringing her comfort, her words seemed only to have occasioned Elizabeth more pain. She watched in dismay as her future sister turned away from her, her hands covering her face.