Page 7

Longbourn

Charlotte Lucas pulled her shawl closer to her body and knocked on the front door of Longbourn. She had intended to arrive earlier in the day, but she had risen a trifle late after the ball the previous night, and then her mother had asked her to assist in the kitchen.

The door was opened, not by the butler, but by Lydia, who promptly reached forward to pull her into the vestibule.

“Oh, Charlotte!” the girl said in a half whisper. “I am glad you have come, for there is such fun here! What do you think has happened this morning? Mr. Collins has made an offer to Lizzy, and she will not have him!”

“Not that we blame her,” Kitty declared from a few feet away. “Mr. Collins is terribly dull compared to the militia officers, but Mamma is furious!”

Charlotte regarded the pair with some irritation. She had met Mr. Collins only the day before, and he was undoubtedly a silly man in many ways, but he was also the heir of Longbourn and in possession of a fine living. For Elizabeth to refuse him seemed foolish indeed, but she and Elizabeth did not look at such things in the same way, after all. Moreover, the youngest two Misses Bennet had no understanding of money and were thoroughly spoiled, and their attitude was not surprising.

“Do come along,” Lydia ordered, and Charlotte obediently followed the youngest Misses Bennet into the breakfast room, where Mrs. Bennet was standing at the window. At her entrance, the mistress of Longbourn turned a pitiful countenance toward her guest and said, “Oh, Miss Lucas, I am so glad you are here. Will you not speak to Elizabeth on our behalf? She simply must marry Mr. Collins! Pray do, for nobody is on my side, nobody takes part with me. I am cruelly used, and nobody feels for my poor nerves.”

Charlotte opened her mouth to respond, though she did not entirely know what to say, but at this moment the door opened, and Jane and Elizabeth entered, arm in arm. Charlotte looked upon the pair with wry affection. Jane, dressed in light blue, her golden hair up in a simple bun with ringlets around her pink cheeks, was a glorious sight indeed. As for Elizabeth, while she was not quite as handsome as her elder sister, she was nonetheless very beautiful, with fine dark eyes and dark hair and a straight nose and a decided chin. Moreover, Elizabeth was a great reader and very clever. No doubt she would be unhappy with Mr. Collins, and given her beauty and intelligence, there was even hope that someday she would win a better offer from another man .

Charlotte herself had no such hopes. It was hard to be the well-educated, plain, penniless daughter of a country squire, especially one who was perilously close to thirty years of age.

“Oh, there she is,” Mrs. Bennet declared, breaking into her thoughts, “looking as unconcerned as may be and caring only about her own desires and comfort. But Lizzy, if you take it into your head to go on refusing every offer of marriage in this way, you will never get a husband at all, and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead. I shall not be able to keep you, so be warned. Five thousand pounds is not nearly enough to care for five daughters, and now, when you have been blessed with a wonderful offer of marriage, you reject it out of hand! You do not care at all how much I suffer, how badly I sleep due to my nerves!”

Charlotte blew out a breath as she and the Bennet daughters listened in silence to this effusion, aware that any attempt to reason with or soothe Mrs. Bennet would only increase her irritation. Lady Lucas and Mrs. Bennet were nearly the same age and with similar backgrounds, but Lady Lucas, though not an intellectual, was far more sensible than her friend. Furthermore, Lady Lucas, with three fine sons, would not lose her home when Sir William died .

The door opened again, and the ladies turned as Mr. Collins stepped inside the room with an air which was even more stately than usual.

Mrs. Bennet cast an anxious glance at the parson and said, “Now, I do insist that you all hold your tongues and let Mr. Collins and me have a little conversation together.”

Elizabeth hurried out of the room, with Jane and Kitty in her wake, but Lydia stood her ground, determined to hear all she could. Charlotte, detained first by the civility of Mr. Collins, whose inquiries after herself and all her family were very minute, and then by a little curiosity, satisfied herself with walking to the window and pretending not to hear.

“Oh, Mr. Collins!” Mrs. Bennet cried out mournfully, “I am so very sorry...”

“My dear madam,” Mr. Collins interrupted stiffly, “let us be forever silent on this point. You will not, I hope, consider me as showing any disrespect to your family, my dear madam, by thus withdrawing my pretensions to your daughter Elizabeth’s favor. My object has been to secure an amiable companion for myself, with due consideration for the advantage of all your family, and if mymannerhas been at all reprehensible, I here beg leave to apologize. ”

Mrs. Bennet promptly burst into tears and hurried out of the room with Lydia behind her, and Charlotte, after being certain that the door was left open, stepped forward and said, “Mr. Collins, I wonder if you would be willing to tell me about your parsonage in Kent. I understand from my friends that it is a fine one?”

Finding this a most agreeable question, the rector’s expression of truculence immediately gave way to beatific enthusiasm. The resulting conversation was a useful one for both persons. Mr. Collins, angry and hurt by his cousin Elizabeth’s refusal of marriage, found comfort in the attentive behavior of Miss Lucas.

For her part, Charlotte was listening carefully to determine whether she might be able to win an offer from Mr. Collins, and if so, whether she would be content as his wife. She rapidly came to the conclusion that she would very much appreciate being Mrs. Collins. The parson was a foolish man, true, but he obviously respected Lady Catherine de Bourgh, his patroness, which meant that he was not a complete misogynist. Moreover, the living was good, the parsonage sounded pleasant, and in due course, Mrs. Collins would be mistress of Longbourn.

Yes, she would be very satisfied to win an offer from Mr. Collins, very satisfied indeed.

** *

Study

Netherfield Park

The Next Afternoon

The door burst open, and Darcy, who was writing a business letter, lifted his head and said, “Bingley! I did not expect you back so soon from London.”

Bingley strode over to the merry fire and held out his hands and then sauntered over to pour himself a glass of brandy.

“I did not either,” he said cheerfully, “but here I am. Would you like brandy?”

Darcy nodded, sanded the partially written letter so the ink would not run, set it aside, accepted the glass of brandy, and claimed a seat across from his friend by the fire.

“How was London?” he asked idly and then took a sip.

“Much as it always is, which is to say full of smoke and far too many people. ”

Darcy lifted an eyebrow. “But you are the one who likes crowds, Bingley.”

The younger man nodded. “I do during the Season, but yesterday I found myself unhappy and eager to return quickly because I am in love with Miss Bennet and hate to be even twenty miles away from her.”

Darcy scrunched his nose and tightened his lips. He had long believed that it was his duty to give Bingley advice about everything of importance in the young man’s life, and the matter of a wife was a serious business. But given the surprises of the previous two days, he no longer felt certain about his former convictions regarding Miss Bennet’s suitability as a wife to his friend.

Bingley, who was rolling the remains of brandy around in his glass, turned an amused look on his friend. “What, no guidance for me, Darcy?”

Darcy sighed, reached a long arm over to the brandy bottle, and poured a little bit more into his glass.

“Two days ago, I would have had a great deal to say, but I have learned of late that my understanding of others is, at least some of the time, sorely deficient.”

Bingley sat up suddenly and said, “What are you talking about? ”

Darcy pondered for a minute and then explained, “I visited Mr. Bennet yesterday in his library, which is most impressive, and during our talk, Mrs. Bennet interrupted us and declared that the Bennets’ cousin, Mr. Collins, had made an offer of marriage to Miss Elizabeth. She refused him, and Mr. Bennet supported her decision.”

Bingley frowned and said, “I do not know Collins well, of course, but I can well imagine he would not be a good match for Miss Elizabeth, who is obviously extremely intelligent. But come, Darcy, surely you do not mean this discussion happened in your very presence?!”

Darcy wrinkled his nose and said, “It did, because Mrs. Bennet was upset over Miss Elizabeth’s refusal, and she did not see me when she burst into the library. It was an awkward and uncomfortable situation. What I learned is that Mr. Bennet will not force a daughter to accept an offer she does not want, which I admit was a surprise given that Longbourn is entailed away from the women.”

“But what does that have to do with me and Miss Bennet?”

Darcy put his glass down on a convenient table and interlocked his fingers together. “Two days ago, I would have said that you ought not to offer for Miss Bennet, because I was confident that she does not genuinely love you and that she would be forced to accept your offer for monetary reasons. Since then, however, I have concluded that I cannot pretend to understand Miss Bennet’s feelings towards you. She is a serene and calm lady, along with being well bred and careful in her speech, so I cannot be certain whether she regards you with indifference or genuine adoration. More importantly, I now know that her father will not allow her to be forced into an unwanted marriage, so you need not worry about that possibility.”

Bingley frowned. “What is this? The great Darcy is uncertain of himself? What has happened in the last few days?”

Darcy hesitated. He had no intention of telling anyone, even his friend, about Miss Elizabeth’s presence in the library, but he could at least discuss the discovery he made in the last days. “You remember, of course, that I was locked in the library the night of the ball?”

“Yes?”

“I have concluded that my old enemy, Mr. Wickham, was responsible for my entrapment.”

“What?!” Bingley demanded.

He explained his reasoning for his conclusion, and Bingley, his brow furrowed, said, “I know you and Wickham are not on good terms, but for an officer and a gentleman to do something like that in my own home when I extended my generosity to the militia officers by inviting them to the ball? I am inclined to speak to Colonel Forster on the matter!

Darcy cast an alarmed look at his friend, startled by such a passionate response. “Well, I would not want you to do that, my friend. It makes me look like a fool to be locked in a room in the very house I am staying in.”

Bingley nodded reluctantly. “I suppose it does.”

“To continue,” Darcy said, “I had time to think while locked in your library, especially given how few decent books you have in there.”

Bingley lifted a protesting hand. “Now you know I am not a great reader!”

“I know, and I am teasing you. But I was genuinely startled by Wickham’s actions, as I always thought him more worm than lion, though he has always been cunning. And then I visited Bennet and heard him defend Miss Elizabeth’s decision to reject an offer from the heir of Longbourn, and that surprised me as well. I feel as if I have, perhaps, been overly confident in my understanding of those around me. I think you could find a woman with better connections and fortune, but I believe – and you can tell me if I am wrong – that you wish for a love match, and Miss Bennet is a delightful woman.”

“I do wish for a love match, very much,” Bingley agreed solemnly. “I know I have often thought that I was in love in the past, but those women, well, they were nothing like Miss Bennet. Beyond her incredible beauty, she is a genuine, gentle soul, and I have never known anyone like her.”

“I agree. She is a remarkable lady.”

“So I have your blessing?”

The master of Pemberley grimaced and said, “My blessing, yes, but I beg you to make up your own mind in this matter. Your marriage will be one of the most important decisions in your life, perhaps even the most important decision. Your wife will share your bed and your children. I do not wish to be blamed if you choose poorly.”

“So, you are saying,” Bingley began, and then bit his lip, pondered, and continued more slowly, “I think I understand. I have been in too much the habit of coming to you for help in making decisions, and it is time for me to stand on my own feet.”

Darcy’s insides clenched at these words. He considered Bingley his closest friend outside of some cousins and greatly appreciated his easiness, openness, and ductility of temper. But those attributes meant that Bingley could be swayed with relative ease. Miss Bennet, too, seemed a gentle creature who might give way to the stronger wills of those around her, such as Miss Bingley and, to a lesser extent, Mrs. Hurst .

Could a marriage between two such pliable individuals truly be a happy one, or would Bingley be more content with a woman like Elizabeth Bennet, who knew her own mind very much? Not that Bingley should marry Elizabeth – of course he should not – because that would be painful indeed, since Darcy was more or less in love with the lady, but…

At this point, Darcy literally shook himself. This was not his problem. Bingley was his own man, and it was not Darcy’s duty to determine his friend’s marriage.

“Is something wrong?” Bingley asked quietly, his eyes fixed on his old friend.

“Your sisters will, I fear, do everything in their power to discourage your marriage to Miss Bennet,” Darcy said bluntly.

Bingley blinked. “I think they like Miss Bennet.”

“Yes, as a friend, perhaps, but not a sister by marriage. Your younger sister is – not to put too fine a point on it – a social climber, and you are a wealthy, handsome, charming young man who could possibly reach into the minor nobility in search of a wife.”

The younger man frowned hideously and said, “I have often been inclined to give into my sisters’ directives because I dislike fusses and arguments, but in this case, I intend to make the decisions which will bring me the greatest happiness. I am not yet quite ready to offer for Miss Bennet, but I certainly will not allow Caroline and Louisa to dissuade me when the time is right.”

“I am glad,” Darcy said genuinely, though he felt a throb of genuine disappointment in his chest. If Miss Elizabeth had not climbed out the window, he would probably be engaged to her now, and he wished he was, even if he knew that she was not truly a worthy bride for a Darcy.

But oh, how he admired and respected, and yes, loved her.