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W ithin half an hour, she heard her mother and sisters arrive. She could not mistake the reason for the commotion downstairs. Her mother was shocked to understand from Mr. Collins that Elizabeth had refused his proposal.

“Oh! That girl. She has lost her mind. I will not have it. Mr. Collins, she must have been in shock when you proposed. She will be most grateful to accept your proposal, and I assure you of that. I will talk some sense into her.”

Elizabeth could hear her mother cry from below and her father had not yet returned.

Lydia and Kitty giggled when they heard the matter, and Mary immediately ran up to her sister.

“Lizzy, I cannot believe it. Are you all right?” she asked with concern.

“Do not worry, I am well. I am still in shock, Mary. Is Papa here yet?”

“No, not yet. I suggest you avoid Mamma at the moment. She is furious, although I don’t understand why it is directed towards you. I cannot believe that man wants to marry so soon after his wife’s demise.”

Elizabeth quickly explained how disgusting his proposal was.

“He should not be in our house, not amidst any of our sisters. I am sure Papa will send him away.”

Mary looked at her with doubt, and within moments, the servant entered and informed Elizabeth that she was requested downstairs.

“Don’t go, Lizzy. That man is downstairs; please let us wait for Papa.”

But Elizabeth was not afraid to face her mother. She was angry and pained that her mother was aware of such a disgusting thought Mr. Collins had.

“No, Mary! I have done nothing wrong and I need to speak to Mamma.”

Mary followed her, not wanting to leave her sister alone.

As expected, Mr. Collins was present in the parlor. He smiled at her as if nothing had happened.

“Lizzy, what is that I hear from Mr. Collins? He has honored you with a proposal, and you behave rudely to him. Apologize immediately and convey your consent for the wedding.”

“I have done nothing to apologize for. He is the one who needs to apologize to me, and yes, I refused him. I will stay by my decision, and it will never change. He needs to leave Longbourn immediately.”

“Enough! What has gotten into you, you ill-mannered girl? Mr. Collins, I assure you she will marry you.”

“You cannot assure him anything, and I will not marry him,” Elizabeth said with determination.

Mr. Collins got up and walked close to her.

“Why, my dear cousin, have you forgotten the nature of your position in this world? The circumstances of your family and your dowry will not induce any man to offer for you. You cannot get a better offer than mine. And I assure you, even if I am displeased now, I will forgive you for such inappropriate behavior. Once we are married, I am certain I can tame your temper.”

Mary squeezed Elizabeth’s hand, unable to bear what her sister was going through.

“It is none of your business as to what my future would be. All I know is that marrying you is equal to the same fate as that of your late wife. You must be ashamed to call yourself a man of God. Mamma, if you at all have the notion of convincing me in this matter, please give it up. I am making myself clear: I will not marry this man or have any other discussion with you regarding this.”

She stomped out of the room along with Mary, and they could hear her mother abusing Elizabeth in all possible ways, and she hoped her father would stand by her.

Oh! Papa! Where are you?

“Lizzy, I am not as hopeful as you about Papa’s interference in this matter.”

“Why do you say so? He may not display his affection to us. But he will never allow one of his daughters to marry a man like Mr. Collins.”

“But, can’t you see that he is on Mamma’s side in every matter? He could have stopped that man from visiting us, but he did nothing.”

“That may be true, Mary. He always agrees with Mamma to escape unwanted conflicts with her. But I am sure this is not such a trivial matter, and he must have agreed to the visit, unaware of this man’s intentions. But Papa will never allow me to marry him, and I trust my intuition.”

Mary was silent. Somehow, she could not agree.

Since her childhood, Mary had noticed how their mother treated her sister.

She always attributed it to the fact that Elizabeth was different from them.

She was intelligent and did not care for materialistic pleasures.

Mary always looked up to her sister, and now her mother’s behavior vexed her.

She was certain that her father was aware of her schemes.

Sometime later Jane joined them.

“You are an idiot, and you know that. You will never get any other proposal in your life. Why didn’t you say yes? Mamma is hysterical about your refusal, and her rants give me a headache,” she cried with irritation.

“Would you have said yes?” Elizabeth asked, and Jane laughed.

“You think that old man would even dare to propose to me? I am not you. I am beautiful and deserve the best in life. This position at the parsonage is quite sufficient for your standards.”

“Jane, you are being cruel. We need to support Lizzy here,” Mary said.

“And get into the bad books of Mamma? Never. Oh! I thought you would be gone soon, and I can have the room to myself,” she said and sat by the mirror admiring herself.

Elizabeth hoped her father would be back soon and support her.

She could not eat anything and waited while Mary tried to comfort her. By evening, her father returned, and before she could see him, her mother and Mr. Collins met him in the library.

“Lizzy! Pappa is here. Let us hurry,” Mary said, and they ran down.

Just then, they saw the library door open, and Mr. Collins walked out with a sarcastic smile.

“My dear cousin, I intend your parents want to speak with you. I am sure everything will turn out well,” he said, disappearing up the stairs.

Mary and Elizabeth entered the library without understanding what he meant.

Mrs. Bennet was seated, and her father paced the room visibly irritated.

“Papa, I…” Elizabeth started.

“Don’t you dare justify your actions. What is wrong with you, and why did you refuse him?”

Elizabeth’s heart sank.

“Papa, how could you ask me for a reason? Were you aware of his intentions before he came here?” she asked in agony.

“Mary, leave the room,” Mr. Bennet yelled.

“Papa, please. Lizzy needs me,” Mary said.

“No, she does not. She is not a child, leave!”

He yelled again, and Mary had no choice but to leave the room. She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand and left.

“You will marry him. There is no more to discuss in this. Apologize to Mr. Collins as he has graciously forgiven your horrendous behavior,” Mr. Bennet said and sat down.

Elizabeth felt devastated. All these years, she had thought her father neglected her because of his stressful life managing the house with a meager income. She had never placed him on the same platform as her mother, but now she understood that he was no different.

“I never expected this of you. How do you expect me to accept a man like him? You do not care for my well-being, do you?” she cried.

“What is wrong with him? He has a decent living and the assistance from a wealthy patroness. You would be settled for life, and you could even extend an invitation to a couple of your sisters to stay with you. I am already struggling to manage Longbourn,” Mr. Bennet said.

“How could you talk like this about your daughter? You are mentioning this proposal like a trade.”

“Yes, it is! That man promises never to claim Longbourn once your father leaves us and he has no family. He will assist us with funds as well. What more can we want? All he wants is to marry you, and you will do so,” Mrs. Bennet said with resolve.

“Why me, Mamma? Tell me. Why me? Why not Jane? Isn’t she the eldest?”

“How dare you? Is my darling Jane to marry a widower? Never. She is the jewel of Hertfordshire.”

“If that is the case, what makes you think I will marry him?”

“He is good enough for you. Your plain looks and unruly behavior will fetch you no eligible suitor. What if he is widowed? You will have a good living and must be grateful for that.”

Elizabeth was enraged.

“I do not care about him being widowed or not. I cannot marry him as I have no respect or affection for him, and you cannot force me to.”

“Of course, we can, and you will do as we say.”

“I cannot. You can try all possible means to make me accept this horrific trade, but it will be useless.”

Mr. Bennet stared at her angrily, and Elizabeth gave up on her expectations of him.

“All that matters to you is money, Papa. And my mother wants to throw me into misery, citing that I may never get a proposal. I want to ask you one question: Will you allow any of my sisters to marry him? Will you?”

She asked with tears running down her face.

Both her parents were silent.

“Why are you silent? I know the answer. You will never allow Jane or any of my sisters to marry him. Then why me? Why should I bear the ill fate of marrying that man because of our financial woes? Why me? Answer me?” she cried.

She saw her father startle, and Elizabeth continued.

“All these years, you have become deaf to my concerns. Anything I do is subjected to scrutiny. What have I done wrong? Why do you consider me below Jane and my other sisters? Why does my welfare not concern you? I need an answer for this kind of agony you are trying to inflict upon me. Am I not your blood? Why do you care less about my welfare?”

“Yes, you are not my blood,” her father said spitefully.

“You were born to someone else. Is this answer enough?” Mr. Bennet asked her with a deadly look on his face.

Elizabeth’s world froze for a moment as she stared at her father in shock.

No! This cannot be true!