Chapter 13

“Mr. Darcy. Louisa and I are both very concerned that Charles will make an unsuitable match with Miss Bennet. We implore you to intercede, to stop him from making such a disastrous connection.”

It was the day after the ball and the three of them were in the drawing room. Bingley had departed for London immediately after the midday meal as he had business there. He expected to return in three or four days.

“Why would I do such a thing? Your brother is his own man, knows his own mind.”

“But Mr. Darcy, surely you can see that a connection to the Bennets would not benefit him?”

When Darcy did not immediately answer Miss Bingley was set to further importune him, but her sister’s warning hand on her arm kept her silent. Because Mr. Darcy was considering her point. The ball had played out like a three-act drama in the theatre.

The days leading up to the ball had been trying for Darcy, trapped in the same house as Caroline Bingley. But the first third of the evening had been a delight. The time spent with Miss Elizabeth, and Miss Mary, had flown by, interesting conversation in a relaxed atmosphere and devoid of tension. If only all such balls were so pleasant.

But then at supper everything started to fall apart, and quickly. He felt sorry for Miss Mary, her nerves getting the better of her. He could imagine his sister in the same position. Actually, he was not sure that Georgiana had the poise yet to perform in public. But for the following 30 minutes, it felt a lot longer at the time, the Bennets displayed crass behaviour, dangerous behaviour, and the most concentrated display of ill-manners he had ever witnessed. Who would want to connect to such a family? By the end of supper it was no wonder that Miss Elizabeth decided to return to Longbourn. He should have retired to his own rooms at the same time.

Miss Bingley, the lady who was now imploring him to intercede against her brother, had taken umbrage that he had spent time with Miss Elizabeth. That they had sat together, first during the second set, and again at supper, had infuriated her. Miss Bingley had come to detest Miss Elizabeth and she had come close to making a scene in the second half of the ball. And just to finish off the evening he had been approached by the Bennet’s cousin, the heir to their estate. Mr. Collins had brazenly accosted him without introduction and then proceeded to astonish Darcy with his mindless drivel. This was Lady Catherine’s new parson! Darcy knew she favoured toadies but he was an absurdity of the first order.

Miss Bingley’s words could not have been better phrased. The silence stretched past a minute as Darcy considered the situation.

“What would you have me do?”

The look of triumph on Miss Bingley’s face could not be disguised.

“Do not let Charles be blinded by the face of his ‘angel’. Make him consider and understand he is marrying into the Bennet family, not just Miss Bennet.”

Darcy realised that in all his musing he had not thought about the object of Bingley’s affection. He realised he knew little of the lady. She was quiet and smiled freely to everyone. He stopped and thought about the supper. Both she and Bingley appeared to affect deafness during the meal, ignoring the loud words of Mrs. Bennet. Bingley had referenced none of the appalling behaviour that morning before he left, it was all praise for his angel.

“I will talk to Bingley upon his return. I will not disparage Miss Bennet but I will talk to him about the rest of the family, make sure he realizes the full extent of such a connection.”

Darcy made to leave but it was Mrs. Hurst that stayed him.

“Such a solution would be perfect in normal circumstances, and we both thank you Mr. Darcy for agreeing to speak to Charles. Our additional concern is that he is preparing settlement papers in London and that if we wait until his return it will be too late to change his mind.”

Darcy had not thought things had advanced as far as settlement papers.

“You think this a real possibility?”

He was unsure of the sisters’ truthfulness as they proclaimed it such. He had a sudden idea.

“Very well, if you believe he is in such danger then I will have to follow him to London. However, since it is close to the end of my stay here at Netherfield Pack, I will pack and remain in London after meeting with Bingley.”

He watched to see if Miss Bingley would reconsider. Cutting short his stay by a week would be the ultimate test for her. If she acceded to this then it was a mark in her favour as to truth of her concerns.

“I am sorry that your stay will be curtailed but I thank you for the care you are showing our brother.”

As the meeting ended Darcy was convinced they saw the danger as real. He needed to get to London, and quickly, to ensure Bingley did not make a big mistake. He would leave immediately after breakfast the next day.

--

Despite being the first member of the family to return to Longbourn Elizabeth was not the first awake. Mary entered her chamber as Claire worked to protect Elizabeth’s foot.

“Good morning Mary. How was the rest of the ball?”

Mary flushed.

“It was very nice thank you Elizabeth. When everyone saw Mr. Darcy dance the first with me, I was suddenly a popular partner. For the first time I danced every set.”

She smiled at her sister.

“Who knew dancing all night was so tiring.”

Elizabeth smile in return was broad and genuine.

“Maybe he does have some consequence after all.”

“You know that he apologised to me for that. He did not dissemble, he was in a beastly mood but it was not the actions of a gentleman to speak about me in such a way. Especially loud enough for me to have heard.”

“That is a handsome apology, overdue but handsome nonetheless. Do you feel better?”

“I do Elizabeth. Being asked to dance every set was a new experience for me. But moving on from such pleasant reminisces, I have to warn you that both Mama and Mr. Collins were upset that you returned here after supper. There will be words at breakfast.”

Every time Elizabeth considered her mother, and Mr. Collins, she seemed to sigh. Rather than revel in Mary’s happiness, even tease her gently, she would have to endure another scolding. And for what? Being injured by an ill-educated social disaster.

“There is no point in delaying the inevitable. Thank you Claire, at least I can wear a slipper despite the bandages. Will you assist me down the stairs please Mary?”

Elizabeth had not even managed to sit down at the dining table before her mother started.

“Lizzie! How dare you leave Mr. Bingley’s ball after supper. What must he think.”

Elizabeth looked round the table, a sardonic smile, smirks, lips pressed into a thin line, there were many expressions but other than Mary little sympathy. Elizabeth tried to calm her beating heart.

“I spoke to him before I left. He knew that I had been injured by Mr. Collins and understood that as I could not dance there was no point in staying. I thanked him for holding the ball and he thanked me for attending, and staying through supper despite my discomfort.”

Elizabeth’s honest answer stunned her mother into silence, she had been unaware that Elizabeth had spoken to Mr. Bingley before her departure. She took a moment to rally.

“That is as may be, but you did not inform either your father or I before you left. I found out from Mary at the end of the seventh set.”

There was not a question there so Elizabeth kept eating.

“Lizzie! Pay attention to me. Why did you not inform us?”

“To what purpose. I told my sister and our host. My foot is badly bruised and was starting to hurt something fierce. I looked for you but you were talking to Lady Lucas at the other end of the room so I asked Mary to inform you.”

“We are your parents. This conceited independence has to stop. Mr. Collins was most upset, he wanted to sit with you and offer his apologies.”

Elizabeth looked at the gentleman, surprisingly silent so far.

“He had already apologised, many times in fact. I wanted to come home, take off my stocking and ice my foot.”

She knew the reference to removing her stocking would cause another pause in the conversation. And even Mr. Collins could not talk about such things.

“Yes well, it was most upsetting.”

As Elizabeth was the one with the bruised foot and her mother had evidenced no concern in the first half of the evening, she was pretty sure this had nothing to do with her injury and everything to do with trying to control her. ‘Conceited independence’, an interesting turn of phrase. And, as seen from her mother’s point of view, probably true.

As soon as he had finished his breakfast Mr. Bennet left to his study as usual. Elizabeth saw Mr. Collins nod at her mother and she had a sudden chill in her body.

“Girls, attend me in the drawing room. Not you Lizzie, you are to stay. Mr. Collins wishes to have a private audience.”

On another day, and with her injured foot not hurting so much, she would have protested vehemently. But Elizabeth realised that there was no way to avoid this meeting, or to avoid the confrontation that would follow.

Elizabeth had been propositioned on three separate occasions to be the mistress of different gentlemen and yet this was still the most insulting 15 minutes of her life.

“You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse; however your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble, my attentions have been too marked to be mistaken. Almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life.”

That was almost the best part of the speech because it went downhill from there. Elizabeth was barely holding onto her temper and tried to tune out much of his speech. Mr. Collins rambled on about how he was marrying on Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s instructions, how she, Elizabeth, would have to temper her wit and vivacity, and even commented that she had no dowry. He managed to sound like Mr. Wickham, claiming that he would make no mention of it again. It was at this point that Elizabeth attempted to reject this most cack-handed of marriage offers.

“It is impossible for me to accept this proposal, I must decline.”

It was blunt, but bluntness was needed with Mr. Collins. When looking back on the morning, it was the next words that caused Lizzie’s temper to overflow her restraint. Mr. Collins proceeded to insult her by claiming that young ladies initially refused an offer they secretly meant to accept. He followed this up by extolling his virtues, as if being the toady of Lady Catherine de Bourgh was a virtue. And the final blow was his assertion that she may never receive another offer of marriage, especially given her lack of dowry. He and Mr. Wickham had gone to the same school of tone-deaf-ness.

“What do I have to say to you for you to understand that accepting your proposal is impossible. My answer, expressed as plainly as I can, is NO.”

"You are uniformly charming and I am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable."

Mr. Collins had brought it upon himself. Elizabeth’s temper went full Vesuvius.

“Mr. Collins! Please pay me the courtesy of acknowledging that I know my own mind. You are not proposing to my parents, who are already married to each other, you are proposing to me. Badly. I care not about Lady Catherine’s instructions what I care about is the man in front of me who thinks it acceptable to insult me while proposing at the same time. I will not marry you. I will never marry you. I would not marry you if you were the last man of earth. You are a poor man of God. You daily breach two of the Commandments and at least five of the deadly sins. No Mr. Collins. No. Never. Ever. Am I clear enough for you now.”

The fight was on.

“How dare you accuse me of such despicable things. I am an ordained minister granted a Living by Lady Catherine de Bourgh herself. You must be hysterical to think that I could ever breach the Commandments, or succumb to any of the deadly sins. I will be having words with your father and the local parson.”

“Really Mr. Collins. ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ You venerate Lady Catherine before God himself. I do not have to be an expert on Canon Law to know this. And I have seen your gaze when here at Longbourn. ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house’. That ties nicely into the deadly sins. Envy and greed right there; gluttony at every meal; sloth in your physical appearance and health; and misplaced pride in your situation. I look forward to a discussion with Rev Ferry. Good day.”

Elizabeth limped over to the door and upon opening it found Mrs. Bennet loitering in the hall.

“Congratulations Lizzie.”

Really. Her mother was so deluded that she thought Lizzie would accept this poor excuse of a man?

“For what.”

“Your engagement of course.”

“I am not engaged. I declined, three times, Mr. Collins’ proposal.”

It was clearly fish for dinner.

“What do you mean you declined. You selfish girl, get back in there and accept. How can you do this to me, oh my nerves.”

Mrs. Bennet attempted to push Elizabeth back into the dining room but with her injured foot all she ended up doing was pushing her to the floor. Elizabeth had to inelegantly slide over on her bottom to get within reach of chair to assist her in getting back to her feet.

“Come with me at once. We are going to see your father. He will get you to see sense. Mr. Collins, wait.”

Mr. Collins did not respond but instead continued up the stairs returning to his room.

“Lizzie! You come with me this instant.”

Elizabeth threw off her mother’s hand before she pulled her over again, and slowly followed Mrs. Bennet to her father’s study. Without knocking Mrs. Bennet burst into the room.

“Oh! Mr. Bennet, you are wanted immediately; we are all in an uproar. You must come and make Lizzie marry Mr. Collins, for she vows she will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have her.”

Her breathless outburst was met with a raised eyebrow and a sardonic expression on his face.

“I will not be forced to marry Mr. Collins. I declined three times, the third time in such a manner to leave him in no doubt as to my feelings.”

Elizabeth’s words punctured the unconcerned expression of her father’s face.

“What do you mean Lizzie?”

“It is of no concern father, and I will not repeat the words. They are between Mr. Collins and myself.”

“Elizabeth Rose Bennet! If you do not marry Mr. Collins I will never speak to you again.”

“Mr. Collins is the heir to the estate Lizzie. Are you sure you do not want to marry him? You would inherit Longbourn upon my passing.”

“I do not wish to think of your passing Papa. I hope you live many more decades before such an event comes to pass. In the meantime I refused to be shackled to Mr. Collins. My answer is unchanged.”

“Mr. Bennet, you have to do something. What will happen to us when you die? We will homeless in the hedgerows. And Mr. Collins will not look kindly on us after Lizzie’s refusal. She must marry him.”

Without waiting to be dismissed Elizabeth left her parents arguing and slowly limped upstairs to her bedroom. Mary and Claire were waiting for her.

“I hope you do not mind Miss Elizabeth. I brought Miss Mary to help you recover.”

Elizabeth looked at Claire in confusion.

“Your mother was outside the door in the hall but did not know of what came to pass.”

It was a statement but it was really a question.

“The servant doors are not as thick, or as well fitting, as the family doors. I was staying close in case you needed my assistance and heard the last part of the meeting.”

“Just the last part?”

“Yes, his initial proposal was nothing but a murmur. It was when you raised your voice that it became plain.”

Elizabeth lowered her head. Not in shame, but in something. Although she had no idea what.

“Mr. Collins proposed?”

“Yes Mary. In about the most insulting way possible. Actually he could have been worse, Miss Bingley worse, but he was bad enough. The main issue was he did not listen to, or accept my first refusal. Or my second. His response to my second refusal was the final straw. I excoriated him in the harshest way possible.”

“Excoriated?”

Claire clearly did not know the word.

“I tried to flay him alive.”

“Oh my.”

“What did you say Lizzie?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“Claire heard, you might as well tell me.”

“I accused him of breaching two of the Commandments and five of the deadly sins.”

Rather than the expected outburst from her sister there was a momentary pause.

“The first and the tenth?”

“Er, yes Mary. I thought you would be horrified.”

It was Mary’s turn to sigh.

“I am not you Lizzie, I could never express myself as you can. But I am a devout woman. When I heard that the heir was already ordained I allowed myself a little hope. It is exactly the kind of situation that I have dreamed of. The reality of Mr. Collins shattered that dream. You do not need to be an expert on Canon Law to know the Commandments. We have talked of his display of the sins before. He is a poor excuse for a member of the clergy. I do not condone your words or behaviour but I do not condemn them either.”

“What about number four?”

“I do not know how you can comply with that. It is in contradiction to numbers one and ten in this instance. What did Papa have to say?”

“He did not demand me to accept, but he did question the decision. He asked if I was sure I wanted to refuse Mr. Collins given that he is the heir and I would inherit Longbourn upon his passing.”

“How did you respond?”

“I deflected to an extent. I said I did not wish to consider his passing, hoping that it is many decades in the future. In the meantime I refuse to be shackled to Mr. Collins.”

“Does the prospect of Longbourn not give you pause?”

Elizabeth sighed and flexed her aching foot.

“It comes back to how I have changed while I was in London. Mr. Collins was an easy man to refuse. I wish that he had the courtesy to accept my first refusal but there is nothing I can do about that. Who is the most handsome man of our acquaintance?”

“Sorry Lizzie, you have lost me with that jump.”

“I am trying to explain it is not just Mr. Collins I would refuse.”

“Oh I see.”

Mary thought for a moment. Then the perfect man came to her.

“How about Mr. Darcy. He is handsome and rich to boot.”

“You are right, he is the perfect gentleman to make my point. We will ignore the issue that he would never look at me as a potential bride. He appears to frequent the first circles and given our uncles in trade there is no way he would risk the stench of trade upon himself or his family. But even if we magically wish all these impediments away I still would not marry the man. I would need to know and understand the man. One of Mr. Collins more telling lines was ‘almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life.’ There was no attempt at getting to know me as a person. I was a woman who he had looked upon and selected. That attitude infuriates me, regardless of how common and prevalent it is in society.”

She thought for a moment.

“Maybe the biggest issue is that neither of our parents understands me anymore. I do not think many people really understand me. My attitude is too disruptive to the normal social order. La, listen to me. That sounds so pretentious even for me.”

They laughed but the underlying truth could not be denied.

Mr. Collins had stormed out of Longbourn heading for the parsonage so that he could vent his spleen about Miss Elizabeth to the local minister. But the further away from Longbourn he got the less certain he was of this course of action. In a rare moment of self-reflection, regardless of what he saw as the unjustness of the claims made against him, it would serve no purpose to air them with anyone else. His pace dropped and he considered what to do next.

“Mr. Collins, good morning.”

“Oh Miss Lucas, good morning to you too.”

--

Darcy had been played. Miss Bingley had no intention of remaining in Hertfordshire to await the return of her brother. The Darcy carriage had not even reached the end of the drive before the orders to close up the house were issued. In fact both she and her sister had ordered their own packing to start the previous evening. There was to be no delay in leaving Netherfield Park. She and the Hursts were on the road to London after an early luncheon, while the staff were still covering the furniture with dust covers.

“Caroline, Louisa, Hurst, what are you all doing here?”

“Charles, we could not stay another day amongst those country mushrooms. When Mr. Darcy let me know that he was returning to London early, I resolved that we should do the same.”

“What about Netherfield Park?”

“What of it?”

“Caroline, I signed a lease for a year. The income from the tenants will defray the cost. I cannot just abandon them.”

“Charles, that is what the steward is for. Mr. Darcy relies upon his steward, and he graciously spent the last two months educating you on running an estate. Enough of this, I am retiring to my room so that I can bathe.”

Caroline Bingley imperiously departed from the room, her sister swept up in her wake. Bingley looked at Hurst. He was already heading to the decanters, there was no point in talking to him.

It was the next morning when Darcy sent word that he wanted to meet. Bingley responded they should meet at their club. The opportunity to avoid Miss Bingley was prized by both.

“Darcy, why did you decide to cut short your stay. I am scheduled to return in two days. Or at least I was.”

“Why the change in tense?”

“You do not know that Caroline and the Hursts returned yesterday afternoon?”

“The devil you say. When did they decide to do that? I was unaware of it.”

“Really? Caroline said she decided to return when you yourself announced that intention.”

Darcy shook his head. This needed to be cleared up.

“Sorry Bingley we appear to be talking at cross purposes. I wished to talk to you before you did anything precipitate. Given that I would be travelling to London it made sense just to cut short my visit. I had no knowledge of your sister’s intentions. I assumed you were staying at Netherfield Park for the Christmas season.”

“What do you mean before I did anything precipitate?”

Darcy sighed, and looked at his friend.

“You are your own man, but I wished to talk to you regarding your intentions with Miss Bennet before you made any irrevocable decisions.”

Bingley looked at Darcy with questioning eyes.

“Go on.”

“Bingley, you fall into and out of love with your ‘angels’ on a regular basis. Yet your attachment to Miss Bennet appears more serious.”

“I accept your point on my past behaviour, although you make me sound like or appear a rake.”

“No Bingley, you have exhibited interest but you have never raised expectations. And your conduct has definitely not been that of a rake.”

“Why your concern about Miss Bennet?”

There was no point in dancing round the issue.

“Her family. And I do not mean the two uncles that your sister is always harping on about. Given your own family situation that would be hypocritical in the extreme. Rather it is the behaviour of the mother, the two youngest sisters, and to a lesser degree, the father.”

“You have no concerns about Miss Bennet herself?”

“I do not know the young lady. You rather monopolised her society. She is quiet, well spoken, appears moderately accomplished, and seems happy in your company. Other than that I know little of the lady.”

“Explain to me your concerns about the family.”

“Did you hear Mrs. Bennet during supper at your ball?”

“Everyone is always aware of Mrs. Bennet but I was not listening to her words. Why?”

“She was proclaiming that your marriage to Miss Bennet was a settled affair, and she was pleased that Miss Bennet was settling only three miles away. She waxed lyrical about the opportunities this marriage would present to her other daughters. And finally she looked forward to the time when her younger daughters were living with their sister, allowing her more free time. This was being said to Lady Lucas sitting next to her, but at a volume that the whole room could hear her. I am mystified how you managed to miss it.”

“I was talking with Miss Bennet and having lived with Caroline for so long was able to tune her out. So your concern, based on Mrs. Bennet’s own words, is that I will get the whole Bennet family if I made an offer to Miss Bennet?”

“An interfering mother-in-law living only three miles away and two ill-disciplined young women that should be back in the nursery. Oh, and they would be under the same roof as your own sister.”

The possibility of Bingley drafting settlement papers was nothing more than a ruse by Caroline Bingley. But he had been considering asking for a courtship with Miss Bennet. Darcy’s concerns now gave him pause.

“I had thought Miss Bennet had feelings for me. When I think of her I see a future together. Do you think she is playing me false?”

“I can give you no answer to that. You know her far better than I do. All I will say is if you make an offer to her I do not see Mrs. Bennet allowing her to decline. With the entail and five daughters none of them will be allowed to decline an eligible match. And you are very eligible.”

Bingley was silent for several minutes.

“Will you accompany me to Hyde Park? I feel the need for fresh air yet also peace. With you there I can get your opinion or answers to any further questions I have.”

“Of course Bingley, an excellent idea.”

They rode in silence for an hour, neither feeling the need to chat. As their horses walked towards the gate at the end of the ride Bingley announced his intentions.

“I am going to stay in town until at least Twelfth Night. I will reassess my feelings for Miss Bennet then. There is also the matter of dealing with the steward at Netherfield Park. Your own plans? Will you return to Pemberley or will you and Miss Darcy stay in town?”

“Pemberley. My early return to town will allow us to depart in plenty of time. If the weather is inclement then we can make the journey in four days rather than three. I will let you know when we plan to depart.”

The pair went their separate ways. They met by chance in their club ten days later allowing them each to wish the other the best of the season. With that Darcy left town until the start of February.