Pride And Prejudice, The Sequel

Chapter 3

She must have slept for some time,  because when she woke up,  there seemed to be some commotion right in front of the closed door of her room,  and she could hear Lady Catherine's voice, loud and commanding. Lady Catherine had travelled from Kent,  it was now almost noon,  she must have left Kent at dawn with the fastest carriages.

"I came all the way from Kent to be here for my dear Georgiana's wedding and she cannot even be gracious enough to receive me? " Lady Catherine bellowed, "I shall not be treated with such disrespect, move away,  I want to see her. "

"The mistress is resting and she cannot and will not be disturbed madam, am sorry,  perhaps you should go back downstairs and talk to Miss Darcy, " came the firm voice of Mrs Tompkins, at least, the servants knew who was mistress at Pemberly,  thought Elizabeth with satisfaction.

"Miss Darcy is not the mistress of Pemberly,  this is my sister's home, I should be received with the respect I deserve. "

"Yes, but Mrs Darcy did not say to wake her if you arrived and Mr Darcy left a clear message that she should not be disturbed under any circumstances."

"She is lazy and likes to slacken,  napping at this hour!  My Anne is sick, but she never sleeps during the day,  wake her up right now or I will tell my nephew about it."

"She is napping with your nephew's approval.  With all due respect Lady Catherine,your Anne is not mistress of Pemberly, maybe that is why she doesn't nap at noon, " Mrs Tompkins said.  Elizabeth had to smile,  she had selected Mrs Tompkins herself, from the dozens of servants who had wanted to serve at Pemberly, she had liked Tompkins because they were very similar in character.

"What did you say to me? Is that how she teaches you to talk to me? Wait until my nephew comes back and you shall be sorry, very sorry indeed... "

Elizabeth decided it was time to intervene, "Mrs Tompkins? Please tell lady Catherine I will be down to pay my attentions in a few minutes and come in yourself, "Elizabeth called out.

A few whispers later,  Mrs Tompkins entered the room, "I am sorry Mrs Darcy, Mr Darcy said you should not be disturbed but we could not hold her off... "

"That is fine, "Elizabeth said, "Come help me into my gown I shall go to her immediately.  She said she will be bringing a party with her. How many are there? "

The servant looked away and concentrated on fastening the straps in front of Elizabeth gown before she took the comb,  made her sit down in front of the mirror and slowly started combing through it,  holding it up with numerous pins, Elizabeth observed Mrs Tompkins expression in the mirror,  she did not like it at all.

"How many?"Elizabeth asked again.

"Don't worry yourself Mrs Darcy, we have enough room at Pemberly to accommodate them all, and we do not lack in our food supplies. "

"I know,  but tell me exactly how many people she brought with her. "

"They are no more than five and twenty.  She loves the children of her sister very much, she is only trying to support them. "

Elizabeth let out an agonized breath.  Five and twenty! And the wedding was a whole week away!  Five and twenty people! Had she hired the whole of Rosings? Well,  Pemberly could accommodate a thousand guests for a year without putting a dent in its economy, feeding and housing five and twenty within a week was not the problem, the problem was that she had brought them on purpose,to try and disorient Elizabeth's budget for the wedding, and she had succeeded.

Twenty five mouths to feed for a whole week meant Elizabeth will have to economize on the wedding feast and muslin, so that everything would fit the approved budget, which meant Lady Catherine will find plenty to criticize.