Mary studied her image for a while. A smile crossed her face. “Oh, yes. But I see why you insist that the ribbon ought to match either the necklace or the dress.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll walk out to Meryton and buy everything you need—a blue sash around the waist. I have just the thing in my own closet.”
Elizabeth returned, and while the piece was one that the eyes of aladywould identify as made from a cheap fabric, she thought that the eyes of aMr. Collinswould only note that Mary’s figure was set off to better advantage by the way it was tied.
At dinner Mr. Collins was seated between Kitty and Lydia. Mrs. Bennet had noticed the clergyman’s preference for the prettier daughter. A sharp lecture from Mrs. Bennet before they went down, and her mother’s occasional fierce glowersforced Kitty to make a better pretense of paying attention to Mr. Collins than she had during the previous whole of the day.
However, as soon as the party went to the drawing room Mary drew Mr. Collins into conversation with her, and Elizabeth thought from his expression that he appreciated Mary’s changed appearance. Despite that, Elizabeth was by no means confident that Mary’s efforts would win out over Kitty’s good looks which had both nature and all of Mrs. Bennet’s practiced arts in their favor.
From Mrs. Bennet’s frowns at Mary, Elizabeth thought that her benefactress had not considered the possibility that Kitty might refuse to marry Mr. Collins. Elizabeth considered that a certainty, and she knew that in a matter such as this Mr. Bennet would take the effort to oppose Mrs. Bennet. Therefore, Mrs. Bennet thought that Mary was interfering with a very promising romance.
The next morning, Mary spoke to Elizabeth in whispers around the breakfast table saying that she was very grateful for the help, and that she could tell it had improved matters enormously.
Mr. Collins still showed an early morning preference for bothering Kitty to conversing with Mary. And then he retreated to the library with Mr. Bennet to bother his host.
A half hour later, Mr. Bennet strongly suggested to the whole group that they walk out to Meryton, which served Elizabeth and Mary perfectly well as they needed to visit the shops.
Mr. Bennet’s patience with Mr. Collins’s endless speeches had already worn thin.
As soon as Mrs. Bennet could not see them, Kitty began to pointedly ignore Mr. Collins once more. When he came up to take her arm, she shook it off and then took Lydia’s arm. Thetwo youngest girls walked off at a very fast pace, calling back that they would visit Mrs. Phillips.
Mr. Collins looked after Kitty with a frown that seemed a mix of confused and offended.
Had he at last realized that Miss Kitty had not the slightest interest in him?
Mary approached him with a smile and said, “But Mr. Collins, tell me more about the improvements that Lady Catherine plans to make to the parsonage once you have married.”
That decided it, and the gentleman in a vastly better mood talked to Mary, who nodded along and seemed, to Elizabeth, to be almost actually interested.
Elizabeth walked along with Jane who ventured to wonder when they would all see Mr. Bingley again. And then Jane asked her whatheropinion was of Mary having begun to wear more ribbons and change the style of her hair for Mr. Collins’s sake.
Elizabeth shrugged and did not say much, thinking that given Mary’s near dislike of Jane, she would not like it if Elizabeth spoke about their conversation from the previous night.
Jane added that she thought very well of Mr. Collins, and that he seemed to have a great many thoughts, and that his patroness was very kind to him.
“But, Jane, will you admit that you are happy thatyouare not the one who must bear all of his conversation?”
Jane laughed in guilty surprise when Elizabeth said that.
Autumn had nearly cooled into winter. Few leaves still hung onto their branchy perches, and Elizabeth found a sharp beauty in this season. She loved the changing of the times, the sight of the wrens and blackbirds who remained through the winter. A robin flapped and settled on a branch to sing loudly.The cows lowed in the fields, and all the earth had slowed down, filling with the still and quiet that characterized winter.
In town, however, the human world continued on almost as it always did, affected much less by the advancing season than the natural world around them. People hurried to and fro in their autumn coats and cloaks. A master blacksmith in his open building pointed with his small hammer to the strikers holding their large hammers where to hit the plow he was working upon. Wagons rolled up and down the turnpike from London.
Carriages rushed up to the inn to change horses and then hurried off afterwards.
Meryton was by no means a large place, but even a market town of a mere thousand persons generated a great deal of traffic at all times of the year.
Upon arriving in town and making their way down the main boulevard to Mrs. Philips’s house, they found Kitty and Lydia speaking to two gentlemen, one of whom was an officer who had just gone to London, and the other an extremely handsome gentleman with an excellent air who Elizabeth had never seen before.
They were introduced to the new gentleman by Lydia’s enthusiasm. “This is Mr. Wickham, he is to join the militia!”
Hands were shaken around, and the man spoke with a great deal of friendliness and smiles. After a little, he began to particularly speak to Elizabeth.
Mr. Wickham’s conversation was pleasant, and the way that he oddly seemed to preferherto Lydia or Kitty, while confusing was flattering.
Then the sound of another pair of horses. Mr. Darcy riding next to Mr. Bingley came into view. Instantly Elizabeth’s attention towards Mr. Wickham was dropped in favor of a far more compelling object. Fine white buckskin breeches, a fine top hat, a green riding coat, and an excellent seat upon his horse.
Upon seeing her, Darcy turned towards Elizabeth with a small smile, and he rode up to them.
