Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I n London, the Darcys were settling into a new routine. The couple attended the tea at the Matlocks, first sending a note to confirm that Lady Catherine had departed before they arrived.

“Darcy, Elizabeth, we are pleased to welcome you back to London.” The ball celebrating your wedding will occur in just under a fortnight so we must do what we can to prepare. I know, Elizabeth, that you are not unknown in the ton, but you will still need to be introduced as Mrs. Darcy,” Lady Matlock said in greeting.

Darcy frowned. He tolerated most society events but, right now, he wanted little more than to return to Pemberley with his wife. "Aunt, I agreed to the ball, but we intend to depart for Pemberley early in December. We will spend the holidays at my estate."

A frown appeared on his aunt's face. "I know that was your intention, Darcy, but before you depart, you should spend a week or two doing the rounds to establish your wife in society. You would not want anyone to think you are ashamed of your wife."

"Of course I am not," Darcy snapped. "But we do not wish to remain in town for much longer than that, and I intend to spend far more time at Pemberley over the next few years. Georgiana has several years before her come out, and while we may be required to spend a few weeks in London each year, I am married now. Surely, there is even less of a reason for me to attend society events since I am no longer seeking a bride."

“You cannot forgo all society now that you are wed. Even if Georgiana will not come out for several more years, you must maintain your contacts so Georgiana can make an acceptable match. You will also need to handle business matters occasionally, and you take pleasure in attending certain events in London," Lady Matlock objected.

Elizabeth stepped in. “We will attend some of the musical evenings we are invited to, along with the theatre and the opera. We will not forsake town entirely, but I doubt we will spend more than a month or two here each year. There is no reason for us to attend a full season until Georgiana is ready for her debut in society. Once she is successfully launched, it is likely we will spend little time in London until it is time for our own children to enter society.”

Lady Matlock was displeased but recognised the futility of saying anything else now. She believed she could more easily persuade her new niece to stay longer each year once she learned to enjoy her status as Mrs. Darcy.

Darcy spoke again, recognising the look on his aunt’s face and wanting to turn to conversation to what he wanted to discuss. “What happened with Lady Catherine last evening?”

All could see Lord Matlock roll his eyes. “‘There is no fool like an old fool’” he quoted. “My sister grows more obstreperous with each passing year. You and Anne both repeatedly rejected the idea of the marriage. Your father explicitly stated there was no engagement at least twice in my presence, and I told her the same thing. I believe she thought by saying it enough, she could force you to bend to her will. Anne kept the letters from her announcing your engagement and marriage and waited until you were wed before allowing her to find out. I cannot say that it was the best idea, but Anne chose to reveal it this way.”

“I suppose there was no way to prevent Lady Catherine from having her say at some point, but I had hoped for a few more days of solitude,” Darcy replied, sighing in resignation

Several days later, Elizabeth received yet another letter from her sisters. She responded to Mary’s letter the same day she received it. She had not yet replied to Jane so she was surprised to receive another letter already. However, once she opened and read it, she understood a little more why Jane had written again.

She sighed heavily, causing Darcy to look up at her across the breakfast table. “Is everything well at Longbourn?”

“Not really,” she replied. “Mr. Collins has not arrived as expected and Mrs. Bennet has become hysterical yet again. The heir to Longbourn and his son were expected four days ago, but they have not arrived, and no word has been received from either man. Of course, Jane does not express it quite that way, but Mrs. Bennet has taken to her rooms yet again to cry and complain about what will become of them when Mr. Bennet passes away. Mary’s last letter said she also did this after we left since I ruined their plans for me to wed Mr. Collins. Jane says that Mr. Bennet seems unaffected by this, but given what we have learned of him, that is no surprise.”

“Have they had any word from Mr. Collins? Is anyone inquiring about what has happened to him?” Darcy asked.

“Jane does not know. Perhaps Mary’s letter will say,” Elizabeth replied, turning to look down at the other letter in her hand. After a moment, she looked up. “Mary has been invited to visit a friend of the rector’s wife in Maidstone. She said Mrs. Bennet has become unreasonable in the time since we left and has begun to blame Mary for the problems, that is, when she is not finding me at fault for the problems at Longbourn. Apparently, my absence for nearly a decade is the cause of all the problems at the estate, or that is what Mrs. Bennet insisted at the height of her hysteria.”

“That is utterly ridiculous,” Darcy inserted, his brow furrowing in anger.

“Mrs. Bennet is not known for her logic,” Elizabeth said with a shrug. “It is a ridiculous notion. However, I will send a note to both my uncles. Perhaps one of them can determine what has happened to the heir. If I recall correctly, he has a son so if something has happened to him, the son would inherit, would he not?”

“It is probable, but Mr. Phillips would be more familiar with the estate and the entail. He would be the logical choice to pursue this matter, but Gardiner may have more resources to find out what has happened. Do you know where this Mr. Collins is from?”

“I want to say the letter I saw had a return address from somewhere in Kent. I am not particularly familiar with that area and do not recall much else,” Elizabeth offered. “I think Uncle Phillips would know since I believe he has corresponded with the man on occasion.”

“I will write to Mr. Phillips, if you will write to Gardiner. I think you are right; Gardiner will have resources that Mr. Phillips will not. He may be able to discover more quickly what has happened. Mr. Phillips might have already begun to search since it is not unlikely that all of Meryton is aware of his failure to show.”

Elizabeth nodded, not really wanting to reply, but knowing he was probably correct. They finished their meal and then went into Darcy’s study to write their letters. While they would eventually choose to work separately one day, for now, they enjoyed the opportunity to spend time in each other’s presence even while working.

It did not take long to receive a reply to their letter to the Gardiners. Her uncle promised to send out runners to find out what they could. Surprisingly, Gardiner knew much about the heir to Longbourn already, having exchanged letters with Phillips about the man several times over the last fortnight.

Two days later, they received the answer to their inquiry from Gardiner in person. Several days earlier, on the very day that Lady Catherine had arrived at Darcy House, the carriage conveying the Collinses had been in an accident. A larger carriage, one moving too quickly as it journeyed toward London, had passed the slower conveyance near the town of Maidstone. As it passed, the larger carriage jerked and knocked into the other vehicle, with enough force to cause it to crash along the roadside

The elder Mr. Collins died immediately while the younger was injured and was unconscious. A family had taken the young man into their home and was attempting to nurse him to health although the doctor was unsure of his recovery.

“Is Mary not in Maidstone?” Elizabeth asked when her uncle explained what he had learned. “Perhaps she can make the young man’s acquaintance, and the Bennets could help him recover, assuming that he will recover,” she said questioningly, looking at her uncle for confirmation.

His face was grim. “It is uncertain,” he replied. “The doctor believes the longer he is insensible, the less likely he is to recover. I do not know how near Mary is, nor how willing her hosts will be to allow her to visit the young man. He is her cousin, yes, but they are distantly related and have never met before now.”

“Do Mr. and Mrs. Bennet know about Mr. Collins’ fate?” Darcy asked.

“I sent a letter by express to my brother Phillips. I have asked him to inform Bennet of the matter and to find out what will happen should the younger Collins pass from this world as well,” Gardiner replied .

Darcy nodded at this, and all three were momentarily lost in their thoughts. Finally, Gardiner broke the silence. “I understand, Elizabeth, that my sister is still rather upset with you. She has written to my wife accusing her of turning you against the family. It is sheer ridiculousness, given that she was the one who has not contacted you in many years, but somehow, I expect little else from her. However, I want you to know that I fully comprehend your reasoning for refusing her demands and even those of your sisters that you invite them to visit.”

“I know, Uncle. I spoke to my aunt about this same matter a few days ago and have shared with her some of what was said at Longbourn. Jane has written to me twice now, the first time to complain about Mrs. Bennet’s fretting and to subtly hint at an invitation, and the second to inform me of the situation with Mr. Collins. I have as yet not responded to either letter. William and I need to discuss matters before I do so.”

Gardiner nodded at his niece. "You are wise to continue to distance yourself from them, Elizabeth. If my sister thinks you will eventually comply with her demands, she will become more vehement that you do as she wishes. She has always needed someone to take a strong stance with her; my father would not after our mother died, and Mr. Bennet certainly has not. They did not do her any favours. Only our mother was ever able to handle her, but she died when Fanny was near Georgiana's age."

Elizabeth sighed, not wanting to continue this conversation. “I will write to Mary to tell her what we have learned. I doubt Mr. or Mrs. Bennet will say anything to her; in fact, given what I know about the man, I doubt he will say anything at all to his family about Mr. Collins’s fate.”

With that, Elizabeth turned from the gentleman and retreated to the mistress’ study that she had been shown only a few days before. She rarely used it, but just then, she preferred to be on her own.