This letter is to inform you that by the terms of the entail as written by James Bennet in April 1739, there is a clause which, I am afraid, disqualifies you from the line of succession to the estate of Longbourn.
“No, no, no!” Collins exclaimed aloud. “I will not be cheated out of my birthright! This is all prevarication made up of whole cloth.” He returned to the disgusting missive as he stuffed two more shortbread biscuits into his mouth to comfort himself.
Before you cry that this is an attempt to steal what you claim as your birthright,I strongly suggest you review the documents I included.
One is a copy of the Court of Chancery’s decision granting the petition to remove you. Examine it and you will see the seal of the court affixed thereto. It also, as it clearly states, ends the entail on Longbourn to heirs male. A new deed naming Thomas Bennet the owner and not a lifetime tenant is being issued as you read this.
Next, open the entail document (a copy, also with the court’s seal is included) to page 4 and read clause 5.1.
I will paraphrase it. It bars all clergymen or any of their descendants from inheriting Longbourn. Even had you and Mrs Collins had a son, that son or any of his progeny would be expressly excluded.
The reason the late James Bennet added that clause is enumerated in it. I suggest you read it.
You are, of course, free to pay a barrister to represent you in an appeal to the Court of Chancery, but any honest man of law will tell you that you have no grounds to challenge your removal. That path will only drain your purse, and it will be more than for the barrister’s fee. If the court deems your case frivolous, they will make you pay for wasting their time over and above the great cost on top of a solicitor and barrister. If you have thousands of pounds to waste, that is your right.
F.B. Phillips, Esquire
Solicitor
Collins picked up the entail document. It bore the court’s seal near the bottom of the page, and the clause the solicitor listed did, in fact, exclude him because he was a clergyman.Then he looked at the document ending the entail, and it too was real. He had to see Lady Catherine; she would be able to put an end to this injustice.
In her back parlour, Charlotte had heard her husband speaking to himself in his study, followed by the opening and slamming of the front door.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Mr Collins to see you, your Ladyship,” the Rosings Park butler drawled.
“The man was just here; he should be working on the sermon now! Show him in, so I may berate him for not following my instructions,” Lady Catherine commanded.
The butler bowed as he backed out of the drawing room like his mistress demanded. Soon enough, he was replaced by Mr Collins who bowed and scraped every few feet as he entered the room. When he arrived in front of the raised, throne-like chair, Collins bowed so low he almost fell over.
“Mr Collins, did I not order you to go home and write the sermon I wish you to deliver on Sunday? Why are you here and not doing as I ordered?” Lady Catherine demanded.
“I beg your pardon, my beneficent and wise patroness. That is, in fact, what I was doing when I noticed a letter on my desk. On my arrival home, my wife did not inform me that an express had arrived for me. This scandalous letter is from Meryton. My birthright has been ripped away from me,” Collins reported, bowing a few times during his retelling.
Collins hoped that if he made the story sound better for himself, his patroness would be more disposed towards assisting him.
“Show me this scurrilous letter!” LadyCatherine held her hand out.
As much as Lady Catherine de Bourgh liked to think she could order the world according to her whims, she was not delusional, and after reading the letter, she knew that she had no power in the matter before her.
“Hand me the documents you were sent,” Lady Catherine ordered.
He had hoped that his patroness would not read more beyond the letter. Unfortunately, the additional materials gave lie to his assertions that he had been ill-used and badly done by.
“Mr Collins, this is legal. You were only the heir presumptive, not the heir, and now you have no claim on the estate. This Mr Phillips has the right of it. You could employ every barrister and solicitor in the land, and nothing would change other than the balance of funds you have at your disposal. It is done.” Lady Catherine handed the sheets of paper back to her dejected parson.
As he departed his patroness’s presence, Collins walked out; he did not back out, nor did he bow once.
Lady Catherine was about to recall her underling and berate him for his disrespect. She decided that the shock of no longer being in line to inherit his cousin’s estate had made him forget what he owed her. She would forgive him the lapse this one time only.
There was an unpleasant thought that entered Lady Catherine’s consciousness. She was stuck with this buffoon as her parson for his lifetime or until he resigned, which now he had no incentive to do. She had only offered him the living once he had told her how he would be master of an estate in Hertfordshire, which he estimated would be in the near future. She liked her lackeys to be subservient, but she did not suffer fools, and this one was just that.
As he walked, Collins did not notice anything around him. How could this be? Not only had that impertinent chit, Elizabeth Bennet, not cared a whit about all of what she gave up by refusing him, but now, he would never have the pleasure of evicting her, her mother, and her unmarried sisters from Longbourn! He would have done so with glee.
If that was not bad enough, he had tied himself to the former Charlotte Lucas for no reason at all. His cousin was never jealous, and now, being able to lord being the master of the Bennet estate over her was no longer an option.
If he had not been so close-fisted with money, he may have gone to see a solicitor. He had hoped that Lady Catherine would take up his cause and pay for a solicitor and barrister. Had she decided to order someone to do so, his case would have gone to court without costing him a penny. He hated to spend money unless there was no choice.
