The Ladies of Rosings Park – Chapter 11

The Ladies of Rosings Park is now successfully published! Hooray! But in case you don’t have your own copy yet, I will continue posting chapters here every Monday until we finish Part One of the book (the time period covered in Pride and Prejudice). These early chapters read like P&P “missing scenes” – your favorite book from a different perspective.

Last week in chapter ten, we saw Anne working behind the scenes to be a friend to Darcy through his failed proposal, even putting in a good word for him with Elizabeth. Now in Chapter Ten, Lady Catherine finally gets wind of what’s been going on behind her back. Of course, she still considers it impossible that it could be more than a scandalous falsehood! (To catch up first, see these previous posts: Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Book Launch and Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten)

– 11 –

Lady Catherine

On a Scandalous Falsehood

How dull the house seemed with all our company gone. Still, I consoled myself that it would not be long before we saw Darcy again. He and Anne both admitted to having an understanding between them. Even more promising, I had caught them in whispered conversation more than once before he went away. An excellent sign! Surely, it would be only a matter of a little more time… and a little more patience on my part.

Weeks passed, however, and then months. My letters – sent to encourage Darcy’s return and addressed alternately to Pemberley and his house in town – all went unanswered. Neither could I find out that Anne had any correspondence with him. Then one day – it was the middle of September – my first intelligence came from a most unlikely source.

Mr. Collins called at Rosings. There was nothing unusual in that, of course, except it was for the second time in the same day. I could see he was near to expiring under the weight of some kind of agitation.

“Forgive me, your ladyship,” he said, half out of breath for having hurried. “I would not presume to impose my humble presence on you again so soon, at least not without a definite invitation, except I thought it my solemn duty to relate some surprising information to you at the earliest possible moment.”

“What is it this time, Mr. Collins?” I asked mildly annoyed, for I was ready for my tea, and I could not imagine he could have anything to say that I was in a rush to hear. “Is it another unsavory tale about the youngest Miss Bennet? Has she given up her shoddy marriage and run off with somebody new?”

“No indeed, your ladyship. It is something quite different!”

“Very well, Mr. Collins,” I said, resigned. “Deliver your information, and I will decide if it warrants all this anxiety.”

He glanced about himself. “I see Miss de Bourgh is not present, which is all for the best, considering what I have to say. You shall judge for yourself how much of this news she can be told.”

“Yes, yes, Mr. Collins. Do get on with it.”

“The news is this. Mrs. Collins has had a letter today – within the last hour in fact – from her mother. Well, Lady Lucas informs us that my cousin, Miss Jane Bennet, the eldest, is very recently engaged. It will be a most advantageous marriage for her too!”

“I am sure her parents are very happy, although I pity the man who is foolish enough to marry into such a family. But you begin to try my patience, Mr. Collins. Why should any of this concern me or my daughter? Do come to the point.”

“The point is this, your ladyship. Miss Bennet is to marry your nephew’s great friend Mr. Bingley, and the rumor is the business will not end there. Mr. Darcy has also been seen in the neighborhood, staying at Netherfield and visiting repeatedly at Longbourn. As Lady Lucas tells it, it will be just like the old song; one wedding is sure to bring on another. People are saying that friend will follow friend into marriage; sister will follow sister to the altar; and it will not be long until Miss Elizabeth Bennet changes her surname as well… to Darcy.”

It may be imagined how I felt at this vile insinuation. I was for a moment too stunned to speak. Mr. Collins evidently took my silence as permission to continue talking.

“Miss Bennet’s allurements are far from trifling. I have to say, your ladyship, that I saw signs of a burgeoning attachment when she and your nephew were together here in the spring. Perhaps I should have said something at the time, but how could anybody ever have suspected this? Still, I shall be of what service I can. I shall write to my cousin Mr. Bennet, just to give him a cautioning hint…”

“Be quiet this instant, Mr. Collins!” I ordered, and he stifled himself at once. “It is impossible that this will turn out to be otherwise than a scandalous falsehood spread by tongues that have nothing better to do than idly wag back and forth about their superiors. Still, it cannot be allowed to persist. Slander, however it gets started, must be ruthlessly dealt with; it must be quickly put an end to. Even the suggestion of such a disgraceful match injures my nephew and the entire family! You say that an engagement between Mr. Darcy and this… this adventuress cousin of yours is considered a fait accompli?”

“Yes, your ladyship.”

“Very well. I shall soon see about that!”

I sent Mr. Collins on his way, and then I formulated my plan. I would speak to Miss Bennet myself; nothing less would do. I would make my sentiments plainly known to her and demand that she universally and unequivocally refute this revolting rumor. Most likely it would take some considerable persuasion, seeing that she had probably started the report circulating herself in an attempt to increase her importance, falsely attaching her name to a family of nobility. But my celebrated frankness would serve me well in this situation. It would have its due effect on Miss Bennet. She would soon come to know what it would cost her to persist in such evil pretensions.

Accordingly, I made arrangements to depart the next morning for Hertfordshire by way of London. Anne could accompany me as far as our house in town, but no farther. There would be no benefit in having her with me when I confronted my adversary. I would tell her all she needed to know after the fact.

Lady Catherine has been moved to action! In next week’s chapter, after failing to intimidate Elizabeth, she confronts Darcy. This ‘missing scene’ is the meeting that teaches him to hope he still has a chance. (Continue reading Chapter 12 now)

The Ladies of Rosings Park is currently available in paperback and Kindle, with audio coming soon. Learn more about Shannon Winslow and her books at www.shannonwinslow.com

At first glance, Anne de Bourgh doesn’t seem a promising heroine. But beneath that quiet exterior, there’s a lively mind at work, imagining how one day she will escape her poor health and her mother’s domination to find love and a life worth living.

Now Anne finally gets the chance to speak her mind. But Lady Catherine demands equal time. Even Charlotte Collins and Mrs. Jenkinson get into the act. Chapter by chapter, these ladies of Rosings Park take turns telling the tale from the moment Elizabeth Bennet sets foot in Hunsford, changing everything. Is Anne heartbroken or relieved to discover Mr. Darcy will never marry her? As an heiress, even a sickly one, she must have other suitors. Does Lady Catherine gracefully accept the defeat of her original plan or keep conniving? Will Anne’s health ever improve? And what really happened to her father?

Complete in itself, this work expands The Darcys of Pemberley series laterally, beginning during the timeline of Pride and Prejudice and carrying beyond to reveal the rest of Anne’s story. When a young lady is to be a heroine… something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way. (Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey)