Page 22 of Mission to Meryton (Pride and Prejudice Variation #25)
“Check,” Mr. Bennet announced.
There was a long pause and the Master of Longbourn lifted his eyes from the chess board to observe his second daughter gazing blankly toward the fire.
“Lizzy,” her father remonstrated gently. “Check.”
Elizabeth looked back at the board with a deep sigh and, after analyzing the wreck that was her game, tipped over her king. “I am sorry, Father. I cannot concentrate.”
“I understand, my dear, but I believe we must trust Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy. They both seem very competent gentlemen.”
“I agree, but still ...”
The door opened softly to reveal Hill, the butler, who announced, “Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Younge, sir.”
Bennet rose to his feet and bowed toward the newcomers. “Thank you, Hill. That will be all.”
“Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Younge,” Elizabeth said, surprised at the woman’s presence. “Good evening.”
“Good evening, Mr. Bennet, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy responded in his deep voice. “After consulting with Wickham, I asked Mrs. Younge to accompany me tonight. She has worked with Wickham in the past, and can provide additional protection for your family.”
“Protection?” Mr. Bennet repeated worriedly. “Do you believe we might be in danger here in the house itself?”
“Assuredly not,” Mrs. Younge said briskly as she drew a small pistol from her reticule.
“French agents wish to be as discreet as possible since they do not wish for the local authorities to notice them. Having said that, there is every reason to be, if anything, overly cautious. We would not wish any of you to come to harm.”
Elizabeth stared at the pistol in awe. “Mrs. Younge, is that gun actually loaded?”
“Of course it is,” the lady replied in an amused tone. “It would not be much good to anyone if it were not. But do not fear, I will not allow it to discharge accidentally, and I am a good shot.”
“She is an excellent shot,” Darcy asserted. “I will feel better with her here to guard you. I trust that the rest of your family is safe, Mr. Bennet?”
“Please, do sit down, Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Younge,” Bennet suggested, and waited until his guests had settled into their chairs before continuing.
“My wife and four of my daughters departed an hour ago for Meryton to attend Colonel Forster’s dinner, and I gave orders to the coachman to let my family off at the front of the house after they return, and to refrain from stabling the horses until after Coachman Jack talks to me.
I gave orders for the rest of the servants to stay in the stables tonight. ”
“Did they express any curiosity about those orders?” Elizabeth asked worriedly.
“No, because I implied that Kitty and Lydia had some rather forward suitors and I wished to teach those men a lesson, and did not wish for anyone to get in the way.”
“That is wise,” Darcy said approvingly. “But come, we still have an hour before there is any chance that Pratt and his men will arrive, as they will wait for full darkness and the rising of the moon. I see that I have interrupted a chess game; do feel free to continue.”
Elizabeth chuckled ruefully and responded, “The game ended most ignominiously for me, sir, just before you arrived. I have found it impossible to concentrate tonight.”
Darcy nodded. “I understand completely. Even now, with several missions in my past, I find myself full of energy and anxiety on a night like tonight.”
“May I ask ...?” Elizabeth began impulsively, and then trailed away.
“Please, ask whatever you wish,” Darcy encouraged her, leaning forward slightly.
“I do not understand how a gentleman like yourself, wealthy and with the responsibility of a great estate, became a government agent,” she explained uncomfortably. “It seems quite extraordinary, though also most honorable.”
Darcy settled back in his seat. “I quite understand your surprise, and I confess to being astonished myself at times. The root of my willingness to serve has to do with my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, the second son of the Earl of Matlock.”
He fell silent for a full minute and father and daughter waited patiently until Darcy continued, “The colonel, my cousin, was captured by the French at the Battle of Corunna. As an officer and the son of an earl, he was not ill-treated, but we received word that he was wounded, and it was sheer agony to know that he was held captive as a prisoner of war. Richard is more brother than cousin to me, and such a strong, vibrant man, and the thought of him locked up was painful. Wickham was already serving as an agent when my cousin was captured, and he asked for my help in introducing him to a high ranking gentleman in London who, it developed, employed a servant who was a French agent. After that, I chose to be available whenever Wickham needed my assistance. I cannot do much, but I will do what I can to bring an end to this long and bitter war.”
“I am so very sorry,” Elizabeth responded softly, her beautiful eyes luminous in the candle light. “Have you had further word of your cousin?”
Darcy’s face lit up. “Better than that, Miss Elizabeth, he succeeded in escaping and making his way back to England some months ago! It was a miracle, and I thank God every day for his deliverance. Nonetheless, the years of war and captivity were hard on him body, soul, and spirit, and he remains in London, at his father’s house, quite unable to re-enter Society. ”
“I am thankful that he escaped, sir,” Mr. Bennet declared. “We are all in the debt of those brave men and women who seek to keep us safe from the Corsican tyrant.”
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“Miss Lucas?”
“Yes, Mr. Collins?” Charlotte asked invitingly.
The twosome were sitting in the cozy back parlor at Lucas Lodge with only a maid for attendance. Charlotte had made Mr. Collins’s favorite scones and prepared his tea exactly the way he liked it. If the rector was ever going to offer for her, it would be now!
“I find myself in a conundrum,” the parson said worriedly, “and I hope you can assist me.”
“I would be honored to assist you in any way, sir.”
“You are very good, Miss Lucas – so modest, kind, and helpful. The problem is this; I was ordered to Hertfordshire, to Meryton, to Longbourn, by Lady Catherine de Bourgh herself. She does not approve of estates being entailed away from the female line, and expressed, with her usual condescension, her concern for the Miss Bennets, who will lose their home when their father passes on.”
Charlotte took a deep breath and forced a gentle smile. “That is indeed very good of Lady Catherine to be concerned about your cousins.”
“It is indeed!” Mr. Collins exclaimed, his homely face full of awe.
“She is all that is wonderful. Most regrettably, Mr. Bennet has informed me that for a variety of reasons, neither Miss Bennet, nor Miss Elizabeth, nor Miss Mary is suitable to be my wife, and he says Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia are too young to marry yet.”
“Yes, they are still very young,” Charlotte agreed cautiously.
Her guest leaped to his feet and paced across the floor three times, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression forlorn.
“What am I to do?” he finally asked piteously.
“Lady Catherine will ask whether I requested the hand of one of my cousins in marriage, and I can only say no. I fear she will be displeased if I follow the dictates of my heart and offer for you, Miss Lucas. I wonder if she would prefer that I return to Hunsford and wait a year for Miss Kitty to grow older, though my patroness did say she wished me to marry soon. I am quite at a loss as to how to proceed!”
Charlotte took a deep cleansing breath as her brain analyzed this information.
She had no doubt that neither Kitty nor Lydia would ever wish to be Mr. Collins’s bride, but if she said such a thing, he would have trouble understanding it.
She knew, from his foolish discourse, that he considered himself quite a catch with his valuable living and position as the heir to Longbourn.
For that matter, he was a catch. She would not be expending so much time and energy attempting to capture him as a husband if he were not.
As for the Bennet ladies, Charlotte knew that they were well provided through the tulips, but naturally she could not tell Mr. Collins about the Bennets’ great secret.
“If I understand you correctly, Mr. Collins, your esteemed patroness is concerned about the well-being of Mrs. Bennet and her daughters when Mr. Bennet passes on?”
“Yes, that is exactly right.”
“The eldest Miss Bennet is being courted by a wealthy young man, and I have no doubt that if she marries Mr. Bingley, the gentleman will take good care of his female relations. Even if that should not come to pass, even if all the Bennet daughters are unmarried when Mr. Bennet dies – well, sir, you are a noble clergyman, a man of God, who will be in possession of a valuable estate. I am quite certain that you can find one or two hundred pounds a year to help the Bennet ladies. That, along with Mrs. Bennet’s jointure, should be sufficient to maintain them in an adequate, if not lavish, lifestyle, do you not think? ”
For a minute, the man stared at her in apparent bewilderment and Charlotte wondered, with an inward sigh, if she would have to rephrase her suggestion in a simpler form. Instead, after a long moment, he suddenly smiled brilliantly at her.
“You are entirely correct! Mr. Bingley will no doubt care for them all and yes, I am certain a little something could be found for the ladies if absolutely necessary. You have quite laid my mind at rest. Miss Lucas, I have come to love and esteem you. Will you consent to be my wife?”
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