"Enough!" Elizabeth cried "We are not engaged, ‘tis only a courtship! I have accepted, but it is not certain he will ask me for an engagement, nor is it at all certain that I would accept! We have had many misunderstandings already in our acquaintance, there is much to be overcome, but we have discovered we share principles in common, and to that end, have decided to learn more about each other. It does not follow that I will marry him, so you must all stop this immediately or it will never happen!"
"Indeed, it will never happen, for he will never ask, Cousin!" Mr Collins cried in hysteria. "Mr Darcy is destined for thatdelicate and rare flower of Kent, the Honourable Miss Anne de Bourgh!"
"I refuse to believe Mr Darcy would do such an abominable thing as to ask a lady for a courtship while being engaged to another!" Elizabeth retorted hotly.
"Mr Darcy and Miss de Bourgh have been destined for each other from their cradles – they will unite two of the most splendid fortunes in the kingdom! Bennet, I fear my cousin has been used to sow this man's wild oats. I am sure he has already left for London with Mr Bingley! Cousin Elizabeth I am grateful for all of your kindness to me, but I wish you had taken greater care. Having intentions in a very different direction, I will feel grieved indeed if I have to marry you to save yours and your sister’s reputations."
"MR COLLINS, YOU WILL BE SILENT!" bellowed Mr Darcy's voice thunderously from the doorway.
The entire family turned in their chairs to see Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley standing in the hall behind Mrs Hill, who curtsied primly, and announced, "Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley, ma'am."
Mr Bingley had not been able to wait until after breakfast to speak his heart to Jane, and so the gentlemen had set forth immediately from Netherfield after their conversation.
Mr Darcy spoke, "Mr and Mrs Bennet, please allow me to humbly beg your pardon for my outburst, however, in my shock in entering your breakfast room to hear my private affairs being bandied about, and my honour being besmirched by a man who has yet to be evenproperly introducedto me," he glared at Collins as he referred to his incivility the previous night, "I fear I forgot myself. With your permission, I will address the charge this man has laid against me."
At Mr Bennet's nod, Darcy continued. "My cousin Anne is three years my junior, and very sickly and weak. When we were very young, my aunt commented to my mother how splendid itwould be if we made a match and combined our fortunes. My mother agreed that it would be splendid, if we wished for it. My aunt took this to be an ironclad agreement. My father declined to sign a settlement, and so did Anne's father, Sir Lewis de Bourgh. When my mother died, and again when my father died, my aunt renewed her demands for a formal engagement, but my father and I both refused. He made it plain in his will that my aunt has made these demands, and that he has signed no agreements to the fact whatsoever, and that it has never been his wish that I marry my cousin. My uncle, the Earl of Matlock, has letters from both my father and Anne’s in which they state their disinclination for the match, and their refusal to make it official.
"I visit my aunt and my cousin Anne along with my other cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam every year at Easter. Sir Lewis left the management of Rosings to my father until Anne marries, and when my father died it fell to me, and so during each visit, I manage what is necessary for their estate. I love and care for Anne deeply as a friend, and as a cousin, much the same as I do Richard, whom I regard as a brother, but I have no desire to marry her. I shall always be there for her, to help her with Rosings or offer any familial protection she may require, but neither of us wishes to marry the other. Anne does not wish to marry at all, for she fears childbirth, and expects that her life will be short due to her failing health; she has no wish to hasten her end. I am not, and shall never be committed to marrying her."
He looked at Mr Collins. "You sir, are a presumptuous man. Youpresumedan acquaintance with me before one was even obtained. Youpresumedto know and disseminate my private business to the world on the word of a meddling and officious old woman whose aims will never be achieved. I am told you will inherit an estate some day. I can only advise you to find an honourable and respectable gentleman to teach you the manners and rules of society that you must know, or youshall fail miserably if you continue on like this. I only wish to tell you this one time, Mr Collins. if I ever find you again spreading gossip about me, speaking of my affairs, or, for God's sake, besmirching Miss Elizabeth's name with scandalous and disgusting falsehoods, I will call you out!" As Mr Collins' face drained of all its colour, Mr Darcy turned away. "Now, if you please, I have some private business with Mr Bennet. May I have a moment of your time, sir?"
As Mr Bennet acquiesced swiftly and led Darcy from the room, Mr Bingley spoke up and said, "I am off to London shortly, but I find that before I go, I cannot leave without requesting a private audience with Miss Bennet."
Elizabeth slipped the letter from Caroline back into her sister's hand, as Mrs Bennet herded Mr Bingley and Jane into the drawing room, while Elizabeth sat heavily back in her chair, and stared blankly at the plate she had barely picked at.What a morning, she thought to herself. Mr Collins had stormed up to his rooms in embarrassment and distress, while Kitty, Lydia, and Mary lingered outside the drawing room door in excitement.
After a moment, Mrs Bennet bustled back into the room, sat next to Lizzy, and took her hands. "Now Lizzy, tell me, when he asks, will you say yes? I must know, dear."
"Mama, I do not know. I can tell you I will only marry for love, even if it means I never marry at all. I have learned a bit about him that makes me think that maybe Icouldlove him. But I have to discover it for myself," Elizabeth replied.
"Silly, silly, girl," Mrs Bennet tutted and shook her head. "How can I help?"
Elizabeth laughed and threw her arms around her mother's neck. "I know I try your nerves, but I do love you, Mama. How can you help someone fall in love?"
Mrs Bennet smiled, "And I love you too, dear girl, though I know I haven't always treated you as I should. Obviously, youmust have great worth for a man like Mr Darcy to see it. And you saw what I did not see, and helped your sister Mary when she needed it. Your father was right, and I should have listened. But now listen to me, Lizzy. I know I am not fashionable like the matrons Mr Darcy knows from town. I am aware of my faults, and I don't wish to ruin this for you. This chance is special. I know that my behaviour is distasteful to Mr Darcy, I have seen it on his face many times. Sohow can I help?"
"Mama, I will never accept anyone who does not respect my family, I do not wish for you to change so that I might catch a man," said Lizzy, wondering if she had gone mad, because just this very morning that was precisely what she had hoped for. That her mother and family might change so she and Jane could have proper courtships. And now that her mother was offering to do just that, it nearly shattered her heart. She fought the urge to weep like a child in her mother’s arms at such a thought.
"I know that, dear girl, and I love you for it, but I do not wish to embarrass you, so tell me!" insisted her mother.
Elizabeth hesitated. "Well… As I have observed, people of very high rank and indeed all of genteel society, dislike three things in particular." as Mrs Bennet encouraged her to go on, she continued. "I have noticed that they dislike very loud voices, which is why Jane and I always speak in very modulated tones, as Aunt Gardiner taught us. If you notice, the genteel families of Meryton often act disapproving of Lydia and Kitty when they behave loudly."
Mrs Bennet insisted she go on, and encouraged, Elizabeth continued, "Society also highly discourages any talk of money or income. Not even references to the cost of one’s possessions. If you discuss such things in public, a gentleman will consider your family to be vulgar, or mercenary… And last, society positively does not approve of speaking aloud of expectations. So if one were to speculate that a man might marry one's daughter…"
"And throw the others in the paths of rich men, a gentleman finds it distasteful and runs away. I must say, I wish one of you had sat me down and told me this before, Lizzy," fretted Mrs Bennet.
Elizabeth embraced her mother again, and said, "Mama, we love you, and we all know that you love and want what is best for us. We would never have been so disrespectful as to attempt to correct your manners."
Mrs Bennet drummed her fingers on the table, contemplating, "Is there anything else? Anything I can do to help make your courtship easier, Lizzy?"
"Lock Lydia and Kitty back in the nursery?" Elizabeth tried feebly, not really expecting her mother to agree. When her mother looked at her ponderously, Elizabeth said softly. "Those two are going to ruin us all, Mama. Last night Lydia attempted to compromise me simply because I would not let her kiss an impoverished officer on the terrace. Thank heavens that there were others besides Captain Carter out there. Jane and I live in fear every day that one day Lydia will be found naked in a soldiers tent. Do you know she and Kitty have been seeninsidethe camp on at least two occasions? Papa laughed about it. Said it was time someone taught Lydia how insignificant she is. She behaves like a prostitute, Mama. Last year, I was in town with Aunt Madeleine, and one night after the opera, there were women on the street, dressed in colourful garments, and flirting with men. They were fallen women, Mama! And Our Lydia acts just like them. And Kitty will follow, as she always does. It frightens me."
Mrs Bennet was quiet for a moment. "What ought I to do?" she said worriedly.
"I cannot say, Mama. She has gone so bad that I don't know what she would do if anyone attempted to check her. Lydia might run away and be lost forever, but she is likely to throwherself away on some useless, penniless, soldier, and the poor girl cannot even heat water for tea. And you ought to expect her to try something very soon, for she vows daily that she will be the first of us to wed. She might run away with an officer in an attempt to be married first, now that I am being courted, and who knows what is happening with Jane in the drawing room. Lydia ought to be watched carefully. You should make Papa talk seriously about it. Once he realises you are in earnest, hopefully he will listen. Maybe a governess or perhaps a school. Perhaps Lydia could visit Aunt Madeleine for a time. If Jane and I marry, you know we will help."
Mrs Bennet promised to speak privately with Mr Bennet about the matter, then the two left the dining room, and joined the other girls outside the door to the drawing room. As the other ladies bent with their ears to the door, Elizabeth noticed Mr Collins returning downstairs and going out the back doors to the gardens. She followed, and called out, “Cousin, are you well? That did not go very well, with Mr Darcy in the breakfast room. I am certain he did not mean to be such a bear.”
“I was a fool! Why did I not listen to you last night?” Mr Collins cried. “You told me not to approach him. I ought to have waited to be asked. I only worried that Lady Catherine might be furious with me if I did not show the proper respect that is due her and her nephew, and pay my respects to her relation with all haste.”
