Page 7 of Mission to Meryton (Pride and Prejudice Variation #25)
“Mrs. Bennet?”
“Yes, Mr. Bennet?”
“I received a letter recently from Mr. Collins, the distant cousin who will inherit Longbourn.”
Mrs. Bennet and all of her daughters, who had been eagerly partaking of dinner, united in setting down their silverware and giving the Bennet patriarch their undivided attention.
“What does he have to say for himself?” Mrs. Bennet asked worriedly.
Her husband, delighted to have the undivided attention of all his womenfolk, began to read aloud:
Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent, 15th October.
Dear Sir,
The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honored father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I have had the misfortune to lose him, I have frequently wished to heal the breach; but for some time I was kept back by my own doubts, fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to be on good terms with anyone with whom it had always pleased him to be at variance.
My mind, however, is now made up on the subject, for having received ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish, where it shall be my earnest endeavor to demean myself with grateful respect towards her ladyship, and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted by the Church of England.
As a clergyman, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence; and on these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures are highly commendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your side, and not lead you to reject the offered olive-branch.
I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologize for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends — but of this hereafter.
If you should have no objection to receive me into your house, I propose myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four o’clock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday se’ennight following, which I can do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.
I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your well-wisher and friend,
William Collins
For a minute, all was silent until Mrs. Bennet asked, in a troubled tone, “Do you intend to allow him to visit for a full ... what is it, ten days, Mr. Bennet?”
Her husband shrugged. “What do you think, my dear?”
“I think it exceptionally dangerous,” his lady replied anxiously. “You know we rarely have guests for more than a few nights; if the man is wandering about inspecting the estate that will eventually be his, he may stumble across the tulips.”
“On the other hand,” Elizabeth suggested, “it would be useful to meet the heir who will succeed Father at Longbourn, if for no other reason than to be prepared for that sad day when we can no longer live here. Unless he is a remarkably generous man, we will need to move the tulips elsewhere, but perhaps he is remarkable.”
“Will we lose the tulips?” Lydia inquired in a troubled voice.
“We will not,” Mrs. Bennet reassured all her daughters.
“Mr. Philips has arranged for the legalities, I assure you. I brought the tulips to Longbourn when your father and I married, and thus they are not part of the estate. It would, of course, be far easier if we could dig up the young bulbs at the most efficacious time of year, but that may not be possible.”
“I will endeavor to die at the most convenient time of the year, Mrs. Bennet,” Mr. Bennet declared jovially.
“Father!” chorused Elizabeth and Mary indignantly, and he grinned at them unrepentantly.
“Mr. Collins seems quite contrite in the letter over being Father’s heir,” Jane pointed out thoughtfully.
“Which is foolishness itself,” Elizabeth insisted irritably. “It is not as if he would give up his rights as heir if he could, after all. Can he be a sensible man, Father?”
“I think not, Lizzy. Indeed, I have hopes that he has quite an amusing character with, given the tenor of his letter, an odd mix of servility and self-importance. But I will defer to you, Mrs. Bennet, as to whether he should be permitted to come or not.”
Frances Bennet stared blankly at the table for a long minute and then lifted her chin decidedly.
“Let us welcome him as an honored guest, but I will also invite my brother Gardiner and his family at the same time. I need to speak to Mr. Gardiner about our tulip conservatories in Kent, and the Gardiners’ presence here will be a natural distraction. What think you, Mr. Bennet?”
“An excellent plan, my dear.”
/
“Good evening, Charlotte!” Elizabeth Bennet said happily, embracing her closest friend outside of her own family.
Charlotte Lucas was the eldest daughter of Sir William Lucas, and was, at the age of seven and twenty, dangerously close to being on the shelf.
Charlotte was not beautiful and her dowry was mediocre, but she was intelligent and good humored.
“Elizabeth!” Charlotte replied. “You will no doubt be pleased to learn that no lady should be without a partner tonight. The militia officers are coming to Lucas Lodge in force, and the Netherfield party as well.”
“Are they indeed?” Elizabeth asked curiously, gazing around to observe that a few red-coated gentlemen had already arrived for the evening’s frivolity.
One, she noted with a slight increase in her heart rate, was the incredibly handsome Mr. George Wickham.
If Mr. Darcy came to Lucas Lodge tonight, it would be interesting to observe the interactions of the two young men from Derbyshire.
“Mr. Wickham!” squealed Lydia Bennet, rushing over to greet the man. Elizabeth watched with compressed lips as the lieutenant bowed courteously and extended an arm to the girl, guiding her to a nearby table for refreshments.
“Lydia means no harm,” Charlotte murmured softly.
“She does not,” Elizabeth agreed in exasperation, “but she is entirely too exuberant in company, and Mother does not know better and Father is too lazy to rein her in.”
“I daresay Lydia is seeking attention,” Charlotte mused. “It must be difficult for both Kitty and Lydia since you are your father’s preferred daughter, and Jane and Mary are your mother’s favorites.”
Elizabeth frowned thoughtfully at this. Lydia always seemed so ebullient that it had not occurred to her that the girl missed her parents’ attention, but it was quite true that the youngest two girls were rather neglected compared to the three older daughters.
“I had not considered that,” she admitted, “but I should have. I will speak to Jane on the matter ...”
She trailed off as Sir William Lucas surged into the room with the Netherfield party at his heels.
Charlotte’s father wore an enthusiastic smile and, after a few words, guided both Darcy and Bingley toward the group of officers.
Elizabeth found herself shifting position to observe the upcoming encounter.
She knew the moment Darcy laid eyes on the handsome lieutenant; his eyebrows lifted briefly in surprise, and then, a moment later, his countenance grew resolutely blank.
Wickham too looked entirely unpleased to see his old playmate; his expression grew stiff with discomfort and he lifted his chin defiantly at the wealthy gentleman’s approach.
“Officers and Gentlemen,” Sir William said jovially, entirely unaware of any underlying tension. “I am certain some of you have met before, but Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, I do not believe you have met Mr. Wickham previously; he joined the militia regiment here in Meryton only a few days ago.”
Darcy hesitated for a moment, staring into Wickham’s face, before saying coldly, “Mr. Wickham and I are known to one another. Wickham.”
“Darcy,” the other man said distantly. “Mr. Bingley, it is an honor to meet you.”
Bingley glanced uneasily between his friend and Wickham, and then bowed. “It is pleasant to meet you, Mr. Wickham.”
The pianoforte began playing a Scottish reel in the background and Wickham turned to Lydia, who was still dogging his steps determinedly, and smiled at the young lady, “Miss Lydia, will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him, “I would be overjoyed, Mr. Wickham.”
He swept her toward the open area at the side of the room, and Mr. Darcy, after a long moment, turned and, to Elizabeth’s surprise, made his way toward her and Charlotte.
“Miss Lucas, Miss Elizabeth, good evening,” he said with a bow.
“Mr. Darcy,” the ladies replied, curtseying in response.
There was an uncomfortable pause and then Darcy, with great effort, inquired, “Is that your sister, Miss Mary, at the pianoforte, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes, sir.”
“She plays well.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy. She works very hard.”
“Elizabeth also plays and to my mind, rivals Mary in her abilities,” Charlotte declared.
Darcy looked down on the petite brunette with interest, “Do you indeed, Miss Elizabeth? My sister Georgiana is also a great enthusiast on the pianoforte.”
“How lovely! Perhaps when next we meet, we can discuss our favorite composers.”
“That would indeed be charming,” Darcy agreed, bowed, and moved toward the back of the room, shooting a last glance at Wickham as he went.
“That was a trifle odd,” Charlotte murmured softly.
“Yes, but I believe Mr. Darcy is quite odd.”
Charlotte glared at her friend, “Elizabeth, I beg you to be careful and not insult a man who has ten times the consequence of anyone else in this room.”
“I have no intention of being discourteous to anyone, Charlotte, even to a gentleman who thinks me not handsome enough to dance with.”
/
Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth found herself dancing a reel with Mr. Wickham who was, in addition to being ridiculously handsome, a very fine dancer.
Mary was still at the pianoforte, but Elizabeth would take her place shortly so that Mary could have her own turn.
While Mary was not particularly beautiful, she was an entertaining conversationalist, and all ladies who wished to dance tonight were easily finding partners.
“Are you enjoying your time in Meryton, Mr. Wickham?” Elizabeth asked, enjoying the cadence of the steps with a skilled gentleman across from her.
“I am,” Wickham agreed cheerfully. “Indeed, I find myself relishing the great welcome toward the militia here in Meryton. I have not often experienced such hospitality.”
“We flatter ourselves on our warmth to newcomers,” Elizabeth said merrily. “Indeed, the presence of the militia is a great boon to us; at the last assembly here at Meryton, gentlemen were so scarce that many a lady was required to sit down for more than one dance.”
“I fear that the war against the French has denuded many a town of its finest men,” Wickham returned gravely. “I am honored that we officers can provide a slight mitigation of the pain of losing so many of your native sons to the Continent.”
“Did you ever consider entering the Regulars?” Elizabeth asked curiously. The militia regiments were entirely confined to British soil and she wondered if the lieutenant longed to travel to faraway lands.
“I have considered it, certainly,” her companion admitted as the dance came to an end. “But I fear that due to various ... complications, I have no money to purchase a commission. Miss Elizabeth, thank you for a most delightful dance.”
Elizabeth smiled up into the face of the man, “It was my pleasure.”
/
“Mr. Bingley approached me at Lucas Lodge tonight and invited us all to Netherfield for dinner in two days,” Mrs. Bennet informed her family as they prepared to retire to their beds for the night. “Mr. Bennet, I hope we may attend?”
“Certainly,” her husband replied with satisfaction. “Perhaps I can prevail on Mr. Darcy to play another game of chess. He is very good; I barely beat him!”
“Will there be officers present?” Lydia asked single-mindedly.
“No, it will be the Netherfield party and ourselves, and I expect you to behave yourself. Mr. Darcy may be proud, but the rest of the company seems congenial enough, and Miss Darcy is your age. Jane and Elizabeth tell me that she is rather shy, but sweet.”
“Regarding Mr. Darcy,” Mr. Bennet said mildly, “I found him taciturn but not at all displeasing in his speech.”
“He insulted Lizzy at the assembly,” the youngest Bennet said indignantly.
“Perhaps he had a headache or was otherwise indisposed,” Jane pointed out kindly. “Not that I am excusing his incivility, but we are called to forgive one another, are we not?”
“I do wonder what occurred between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham,” Kitty commented. “Did you see how Mr. Darcy watched you both when you were dancing with the lieutenant? He could hardly keep his eyes off of you!”
Elizabeth was surprised. “I confess I was focused on my partner, not Mr. Darcy. It seems there is some complex history between those two young men, but I daresay we will never hear exactly what occurred between them.”