Page 12 of To Go Against Her Heart (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
It had been a week since Darcy had left Hertfordshire, and he had taken leave from all acquaintances, including the Bennets, at Lucas Lodge.
He had hardly said more than a few words to Elizabeth that evening, and as much as it put her at ease, she could not understand why he suddenly chose to avoid her so.
Charlotte observed her friend closely and understood that she was quite affected by Darcy’s treatment.
Now, Elizabeth sat in the drawing room with the rest of her family, anticipating Mr. Collins’ visit.
Mrs. Bennet tried hard to compose herself and wished something would occur to stop the unpleasant visit, but to her disappointment, Mr. Collins arrived promptly before breakfast, and the entire family found him highly amusing.
If anyone found it difficult to converse with him, his habit of speaking out of turn readily offered them relief, as he hardly allowed anyone to say anything; whatever he spoke was a lengthy monologue of unnecessary facts and sentiments the family had no interest in.
“Mrs. Bennet, I hold this moment very close to my heart and wholeheartedly thank you for the warm welcome you gave me this morning. I am glad that I followed the advice of my noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and decided to visit your wonderful abode. Though one might consider the visit unorthodox, and it pains me to mention the entailment, my only intention was to get acquainted with my wonderful cousins.”
Mrs. Bennet was quite satisfied with his assurance.
“We are most happy to have you here, sir. Your letter gave us the greatest pleasure,” she said, surprising her family.
“It is a happy occasion indeed. I am ever grateful to my noble patroness for sparing me a few weeks away from my duties. She possesses such a noble and generous heart and has done so much for the parsonage where I reside. Her kindness knows no measure, and she is looking forward to the prospect of extending her wisdom and guidance to my future wife as well. While on the topic, I must mention her insistence that I find a suitable match and settle down soon.”
“Surely, matrimony will increase your charm, Mr. Collins,” Mr. Bennet observed, as Elizabeth fought to restrain her laughter.
“I thank you, kind sir. I am certain that with unmarried daughters, you truly understand the importance of matrimony. I assume my cousins should have their own thoughts on the subject, the eldest at least,” he said, looking at Jane with warmth, much to her alarm.
“Of course they do, and I am delighted to inform you that an honorable gentleman is already favoring my eldest,” Mrs. Bennet declared, and Jane blushed in embarrassment.
“That is wonderful, indeed,” he replied with disappointment and immediately turned to Elizabeth and smiled handsomely. Mrs. Bennet did not need any encouragement on the subject.
“And our dearest Lizzy, second to Jane in both birth and beauty, will be the next to get married. Hopefully, when a suitable gentleman offers for her.”
Elizabeth held her breath, and her father saw her distress.
“Mrs. Bennet, I warn you not to discuss our daughter’s personal affairs with Mr. Collins now or in the future. I am not amused at the least by this conversation,” he glared at his wife.
Mr. Collins was alarmed by Mr. Bennet’s anger and went on for the next half an hour to apologize for causing it.
Elizabeth witnessed something in her mother’s eyes that scared her, and she was certain that her mother favored Mr. Collins as her son-in-law for reasons quite understandable to her.
She hoped against hope that the man would leave soon without causing her unwanted distress.
***
The same week saw another new arrival in Hertfordshire. Wickham was in a foul mood as he set foot in the village of Meryton, and the sight of his lodgings served only to heighten his displeasure.
If I had married her or at least gotten hold of some money by blackmailing her brother, I would never have to set foot in such lousy places. What am I to do in this wretched village?
He had joined the regiment, hoping to find opportunities to trap wealthy women with the status of an officer.
But to his dismay, the head of the regiment, Colonel Forster, ran a tight ship, and he was unable to succeed in his pursuits.
Nevertheless, he was not inclined to give up and endeavored to gain some understanding of the families in the neighborhood.
“I knew you would be interested in knowing about the pretty women in the neighborhood. Though it has been but a couple of weeks for us here, I enjoyed the company of many pretty girls. There is one, Miss Bennet, who is extraordinarily beautiful, a blonde. Her sisters are pretty as well and great flirts. There is Miss King, who is quite beautiful also, and she seems to have a huge dowry,” Captain Denny mentioned.
Wickham heard the details with little excitement.
“And there is the Bingley family, who have lately removed from town to Netherfield Park. Miss Bingley, I should say—though wealthy and elegant—looks upon us as if we were a plague.”
“Is that so? I wonder why.”
“I heard from her brother, Mr. Hurst, that she does not favor the country much.”
“Well! As much as the options seem very trivial for my standards, I am eager to get acquainted with all these ladies and try my luck.”
“I warn you again, Wickham. I had a tough time silencing the maid in town from reporting you to the Colonel; I hope you will not do anything to get into trouble. You need this position to save yourself from all your debts.”
“But if my pursuit would help me settle well, I am certain the risk is worth taking,” he said with resolve.
The very next day, he was thrilled to get acquainted with Jane and her younger sisters when he was invited to a gathering at Mr. Phillips’s house along with the other officers. He was quite taken by Jane’s beauty and quickly understood that her dowry was a meager sum that could never tempt him.
“Mr. Wickham, we are truly delighted to have you join us today, and I am certain the young ladies will mirror my sentiments,” Mrs. Phillips said.
“The pleasure has been mine, madam. It is very generous of you to entertain us with such delightful company,” he replied charmingly.
Lydia and Kitty were taken with Wickham and found him to be extremely handsome.
Wickham, on the other hand, was greatly disappointed not to have met any woman whom he might be inclined to pursue.
He felt a certain curiosity to see Elizabeth, having been told by his friend Denny of her remarkable beauty.
“Why is Miss Bennet’s sister not here?” he asked Denny.
“I do not know; I have seen her a few times in the village, but not in many gatherings. She is very beautiful; I can assure you that.”
While conversing with his friend, he overheard something that captured his interest.
“I hope the supper party at Lucas Lodge will provide good entertainment for the weekend. My husband mentioned that Mr. Bingley and his sisters are going to attend. He seems to miss the company of his friend after all,” Mrs. Phillips said to one of her friends.
“I do not know what he sees in that man; Mr. Darcy seems too proud to fit into our society.”
Wickham could not believe his ears when he heard Darcy’s name mentioned.
As much as he was surprised, it made him very nervous to entertain the thought of facing Darcy after almost a year.
He could not understand why Darcy had traveled to Hertfordshire, of all places in the country.
However, he was able to get some insight into the matter from Mr. Phillips.
“What a coincidence it is to understand that you were also raised in Derbyshire. Mr. Darcy must have been delighted to meet you had you arrived a few weeks earlier. He was here to assist his friend Mr. Bingley, a wonderful gentleman, currently leasing Netherfield Park.”
“I see; yes, it would have indeed been a good occasion to see him and renew our acquaintance. Is he to return soon?” Wickham asked anxiously.
“I do not think so. Mr. Darcy declared that he had no plans of returning in the near future, and he seemed to miss his sister a lot. I assume she stayed with his uncle, the Earl of Matlock.”
Wickham nodded in relief. He was well aware that Darcy would explicitly avoid him if they were to meet, and he understood that he had narrowly missed being exposed to the world by his former childhood friend.
Jane returned home, eager to fill in all the details about her new acquaintance.
“You should have come with us, Lizzy. Why have you been sitting in our room since morning?”
“Had I known Mr. Collins was to spend the morning here, I would have accompanied you all. I assumed he would enjoy the outing, but the man has stationed himself in the library since breakfast. I decided to stay here, not wanting to be trapped with him. Oh! Jane, I am getting tired of his constant praise for Lady Catherine and of late, of his attention toward me as well.”
“Do you want to take a stroll in the gardens?” Jane asked, and Elizabeth readily agreed. They rushed out of the house, not wanting Mr. Collins to spot them, and laughed heartily at their ridiculous behavior.
“The man sure has brought us much amusement,” Elizabeth declared, laughing.
“So far, he has not mentioned his return. I wonder what else he plans to do here. Could we possibly get an insight into when he plans to leave?”
“I suppose, I could ask him outright at dinner; and he would assuredly apologize to himself on my behalf for the ill-bred question,” she said, causing Jane to laugh.
“I have been most eager to share this with you. We made a new acquaintance this morning, one of the officers from the regiment. His name is Mr. Wickham, and you would not believe it as he claimed an acquaintance with Mr. Darcy.”
“This is indeed surprising. How so?”
“I do not know the particulars, but Uncle Phillips mentioned that he was also raised in Derbyshire. They might have been acquainted since childhood.”