Page 50

The morning had passed quickly as Elizabeth completed her work in the parsonage kitchen.

At Charlotte’s request, she had taught her friend how to bake the bread served by the Bennet family at Longbourn.

The freshly baked loaves sat on the table, cooling while the two women folded the last of the laundry.

The maid would carry the baskets above stairs to each bedroom.

Watching the servant go about her chores, Elizabeth resolved to tell Mrs Hill and the maids how much she appreciated their work when she returned home.

Charlotte planned to bake some shortbreads to have fresh biscuits when Mr Wickham called this afternoon. While Charlotte enjoyed the gentleman’s visits, Elizabeth felt uncomfortable around the man, and when the hostess went to the kitchen during his calls, Eliza always accompanied her friend.

Seeing Charlotte set about the task of baking, Elizabeth glanced out the window to find the sunshining. She debated reading until time for luncheon but argued with herself, ‘Should I walk out? With Mr Darcy leaving Rosings Park, I should not curtail my exercise.’

Her internal argument continued, ‘I might meet Wickham on the road to Hunsford. And I would not feel comfortable walking with him…he does not strike me as trustworthy as Mr Darcy. Perhaps a walk to the farms and back. I would not be out of sight of the farmers in the field along that path.’

Her decision made, Elizabeth spoke with Charlotte, who readily agreed to her friend’s decision.

Then the visitor hurried above stairs to gather her bonnet, shawl, and gloves.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, the sounds of a coach stopping outside the parsonage caught the attention of both women.

This drew Charlotte from the kitchen and Elizabeth down the stairs to the door.

Setting her bonnet and things on a nearby table, Elizabeth waited while Charlotte opened the door.

While it was early, the women anticipated seeing Mr George Wickham at the door. However, it was not Wickham but a pair of familiar faces.

“Jane? Mr Bingley?” asked Charlotte, the man standing at her door with Jane at his side.

From beside Charlotte, Elizabeth was equally surprised and declared, “Jane? Charles? Why are you here?”

Remembering her manners, Charlotte encouraged, “Mr and Mrs Bingley, come in. Please come in.”

As soon as the couple were inside the parsonage, their hostess offered them tea. But Charles replied immediately, “Thank you, no, Mrs Collins. I fear we cannot remain.”

As she hugged Elizabeth and held onto her sister, Jane revealed the reason for their unannounced visit. “Lizzy, I must tell you that Mamma has fallen ill. Father sent us to fetch you. We must retire to your room and pack your trunk this instant.”

“Ill? How long has Mamma been ill?” asked Elizabeth, her pleasure at seeing her sister transformed into concern for her mother.

Charles played his part in the subterfuge, saying, “Mrs Bennet has been ill only a few days. And we shall leave as soon as your trunk is secured to the top of our carriage.”

There followed fifteen minutes of confusion, and Elizabeth grew frustrated that Jane should share details concerning the sudden illness that struck Mrs Bennet.

Charlotte tried to be helpful without being intrusive and stood with Charles Bingley at the door while Jane and Eliza moved the hastily packed trunk to the top of the stairs.

The Netherfield footman was a familiar face as he climbed the stairs to bring down Elizabeth’s the trunk down.

He carried it out the door and secured it to the top of the coach.

Watching young Mr Hill, Charlotte and Elizabeth noticed there was only one other trunk on top of the carriage, and this lack of luggage reinforced the story that Mr and Mrs Bingley were not planning to travel far or long with only a single trunk between them.

“Charlotte…thank you for allowing me to visit, but I must be off,” the young woman told her friend.

“Eliza, go! Care for your mother, and know I shall pray for her recovery,” Charlotte assured her friend. “Write to me! Please write with news!”

As she helped her sister with her bonnet and shawl, Jane said, “I shall explain all once we are in the coach.”

Determined to be on the road, Elizabeth did not slip on her gloves but held them in her hand. Mrs Bingley turned to Mrs Collins and said, “Charlotte, forgive us for just appearing and sweeping my sister away so suddenly.”

“There is no problem, Jane,” Charlotte assured her friends.

She mentioned again that she would pray for Mrs Bennet’s recovery as Charles led his wife and sister-in-law from the parsonage and helped them into the carriage.

Before the man climbed into the coach, Charlotte asked, “What should I tell Mr Collins?”

Charles glanced at his wife before he replied, “Mrs Collins, please make certain to inform Mr Collins that we came for Elizabeth because her mother fell ill. Mr Bennet is healthy and in no danger.”

~~~

Once the carriage was more than a mile from the parsonage, Jane turned to her sister and revealed, “You must forgive us, Lizzy.”

Charles explained, his face set in a serious mask, “We used a bit of subterfuge to remove you from the parsonage this morning.”

“What do you mean?” asked Elizabeth.

Placing an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders, Jane revealed, “Mamma is perfectly healthy.”

Relieved momentarily and then aggravated, Elizabeth fussed, “Jane, you gave me a terrible fright! Why would you do this?”

Charles quickly explained, “Mr Collins sent two rambling letters to your father this month. Mr Bennet was concerned enough by the tone in the letters that he planned to travel to Hunsford today and remove you from Mr Collins’s home.

“But Charles and I offered to come in his stead,” Jane added. “I thought of the excuse of our mother being ill as a suitable reason for your sudden departure. No one can gossip about Father removing you without insulting Mr and Mrs Collins.”

“But why?”

“Since you travelled to Hunsford, Mr Collins has pressed your father to mortgage Longbourn and purchase shares in Mr Wickham’s New World Tea Company,” Bingley explained. “In the latest letter, Mr Collins mentioned fostering a marriage between you and Mr Wickham.”

Frowning, Elizabeth wanted to deny the idea but could not.

She did reveal, “Almost as soon as Mr Darcy left, Mr Wickham appeared. Mr Collins talks about George Wickham every day, and Mr Wickham has visited for supper and for lunch after the Sunday service. He and Mr Collins talk privately in the parson’s office.”

Grimacing, Elizabeth continued, “I prayed for rain to curtail the man’s visits, but Charlotte enjoys his company because Wickham makes Mr Collins more animated.”

“I heard you mention Mr Darcy. Have you seen Mr Darcy while in Hunsford?” asked Charles.

“Yes, he was here for two weeks when I arrived. He tried to untangle problems at Rosings, but he and his aunt argued in front of us one afternoon. That argument precipitated his early departure from Rosings.”

“Yes, now I remember,” Bingley added. “Sir Louis de Bourgh’s Last Will and Testament made Darcy executor to keep Lady Catherine under some semblance of control.”

“It does no such thing,” Elizabeth replied. “The woman is dictatorial and orders every tenant about as if they were serfs. Mr Collins worships at her feet and delivers the great lady’s instructions to Charlotte to wash her dishes and bed linens in the same water.”

Jane laughed and said, “Surely not!”

“Perhaps not in the same water, but certainly in the same tubs,” Elizabeth insisted.

Bingley asked, “What has Mr Wickham to say for himself this spring?”

“He came to visit Mr Collins and share the profits of a ship that has just returned to London.”

“In spring?” Charles asked. “Did Wickham say a ship had returned from the Americas in spring?”

“Yes. And he gave Mr Collins fifty pounds but made him promise to tell no one in Meryton about the payment.”

Jane asked, “Why the secrecy?”

“Collins explained that Mr Wickham asked for the secrecy to allow him to bring happiness to the gentlemen in Hertfordshire when the time was appropriate,” Elizabeth reported.

“Wickham told Mr Collins he plans to visit Meryton in a few weeks once his business is settled and deliver the monies himself.”

Charles grimaced and shook his head, the disappointment evident on his face. “No one in Meryton will be happy with this development, and we three shall not reveal this information to anyone except for Mr Bennet.”

“Charlotte was disturbed that she could not write to her parents with the news,” Elizabeth revealed. “Mr Collins went so far as to take all the paper, inks and sealing wax into his study and lock it in his desk.”

Jane studied her sister’s face and asked, “What else do you know? I know you too well, Elizabeth Bennet. There is another tale to add to this story.”

“Mrs Bingley, you do know me too well! Beware, Mr Bingley, your wife will know every secret you hope to hide,” Elizabeth said, pretending to be affronted.

Then Elizabeth confessed her unintentional eavesdropping. “This past Sunday, Mr Collins invited Mr Wickham to join us for luncheon after the service. I feigned a headache immediately after the meal and retreated to my bedroom to hide until the man left.”

“A tactic Caroline uses regularly,” Charles admitted, referring to his sister.

Squeezing her husband’s hand gently to discourage such statements, Jane prompted her sister to continue, “It was perfectly normal for you to retreat to your bedchamber to avoid Mr Wickham. What happened then?”

Nodding, Elizabeth took a deep breath and continued her tale.

“My bedchamber at the parsonage is directly above the office where Mr Collins and Mr Wickham went to discuss business. And the chimney from the first floor carries every word into the room above as clear as though I was in the room with the two gentlemen.”

“Oh dear,” remarked Jane though Charles grinned and leaned forward.

“What mischief are Wickham and Collins plotting, Miss Bennet?” asked Charles mischievously.

“I was about to cough loudly to let the gentlemen know I could hear them when I heard Wickham mention Mr Darcy’s name.”

Jane and Charles smiled as Elizabeth blushed and confessed, “I could not stop myself from listening then and remained silent during their conversation.”

“Wickham confided to Collins that Mr Darcy hesitated to agree to a business opportunity involving the purchase of a merchant ship to sail from London to the Americas. He said the ship would carry tea and return with tobacco and other items from the New World that London merchants would purchase. Wickham was emphatic that he would have profits of fifteen thousand pounds a year.”

Interrupting his sister-in-law, Charles quipped, “It must be a very large ship with a crew of ghosts to provide that much profit in a single year.”

“Go ahead, Lizzy, what else did Mr Wickham say?” asked Jane.

“He revealed that he thought Mr Darcy had come to Rosings to talk with Lady Catherine about making an investment of Miss De Bourgh’s estate into the business.

Wickham said he had an investor in London for the first half of the ship’s price and had to find someone willing to invest another fifteen thousand pounds. ”

“Another fifteen thousand pounds?” Charles exclaimed. “This must be an enormous merchant ship! Battleships cost between fifty and sixty thousand pounds. Merchant ships cost less than twenty thousand pounds.”

~~~

Upon reflection, Charlotte thought Mr Bingley’s instructions were too specific, but she did not mention that idea to her husband that evening. However, Mr Collins did question his wife about the news several times, asking, “And Mr Bingley said it was Mrs Bennet who was ill? Not Mr Bennet?”

“No, Mr Collins,” she explained each time. “Mr Bingley said he and Mrs Bingley came to fetch Elizabeth because Mrs Bennet was ill. Mr Bennet sent them to bring their sister to her mother’s side.”

“Oh dear,” Mr Collins mourned. He asked, “What if Mrs Bennet dies? What if Mr Bennet marries again and fathers a son?”

By now, Charlotte was used to her husband’s wild thoughts, and she assured the man there was no use worrying about such matters. The housewife provided her husband with more tea and to calm his nerves, she plied him with several thimbles of the port he kept hidden in his study.

‘What if Mr Collins never fathers a son? What happens to his widow if I do not have a son?’ Charlotte wondered.

It being Friday, Mrs Collins imposed on her husband and visited his bedchamber for a time when they retired. Flustered by his wife’s behaviour for a moment, Mr Collins acceded to her wishes for companionship that evening.

~~~