Her intent may be to appeal over the heads of Paris's chattering classes, provoking a deliberate confrontation between polite opinion and popular sentiment.
Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence!
Do not stick your index finger and middle finger up with the palm of your hand facing towards you in the United Kingdom; it is the equivalent of giving someone the finger.