Mr Collins grew red in the face, but his sense of decorum would not allow for an outburst of anger. With obvious effort, he put on a mask of haughty dignity. “I was lured here under false pretences. Why did you allow me into your home if not to see a union brought about between our two families?”
Her father raised a brow. “I will remind you, sir, that I did no luring. Indeed, you invited yourself here, and then proceeded to make a laughingstock out of my family.”
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. She had rarely seen her father in such an impassioned state.
Nor was Mr Bennet finished with his cousin. “I must ask you to leave forthwith, Mr Collins. I can see that we will not see eye to eye. You are no longer welcome to remain under my roof.”
Mr Collins sputtered for a moment, then headed toward the study door. “Very well then, I will leave on the next coach.But I assure you, Lady Catherine will hear of this!” He stormed out of the study.
She heard a collective gasp from her mother and younger sisters, who were all gathered outside the door. For a moment, Mr Collins’s muttering at how ill he had been treated remained audible. Thankfully, it soon faded away.
Elizabeth turned to her father, who came around the desk. They shared a look of astonishment and relief that Mr Collins would soon be gone. “Are you well, Lizzy?” her father asked, pressing her hand.
She smiled up at him. “Yes, Papa.” She was relieved that her confidence had not been in vain. Her father had come to her aid when she needed him most. “I am quite well.”
Her celebratory mood was shattered in the next moment, when her mother burst through the door, looking red in the face — as if she might expire from an apoplectic spell at any moment. “What is the meaning of this? I have just spoken to Mr Collins, and he says that you have rejected his proposal!” She pointed toward the corridor. Likely, Mr Collins was waiting there in offended misery. Elizabeth went to the door and closed it before her mother could embarrass herself further. “You must go out there and apologise to Mr Collins and say you’ve changed your mind!”
“I will not,” Elizabeth said calmly. She looked to her father for his blessing to proceed, and he gave her a deft nod. She took a steadying breath and turned her full attention back to her mother’s livid face. “I cannot marry him, Mama. We would be miserable together.”
“Nonsense! If an eligible man proposes marriage to a young woman, it is her duty to accept posthaste! Think of your sisters!” she wailed. “What will become of them when yourfather dies? If you marry Mr Collins, you will have this house. You will not have to leave this place when Mr Collins inevitably throws the rest of us out. Now that you have so rudely rejected him, I am sure he will do so before your father is cold in his grave!” Her mother began to cry, dabbing furiously at the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, praying for patience. “Mama, it is not as serious as all that. Papa is nowhere near death. And you make it sound as if I were in danger of being ruined. I do not understand why you think I should settle for Mr Collins. Indeed, with my inheritance — even if I do not marry — I promise to take care of all of you.”
“Not marry? Not marry! Whoever heard of such a thing?” Her mother raised a hand to silence her and turned to her father. “Mr Bennet, do something! I cannot allow you to stand silently by while your daughter spouts these dangerous ideas for her younger sisters to hear!”
“What do you want me to do, woman?” her father asked.
Nervousness crept up once more. Would he still defend her in the face of her mother’s wailing? Elizabeth knew it was the one thing her father hated more than anything else. Dealing with her mother’s hysterics sent him to the solitude of his library faster than almost anything else.
Mrs Bennet pointed an accusatory finger at Elizabeth. “Tell your daughter that she must marry Mr Collins.” She shot a glare in Elizabeth’s direction. “Or I shall never speak to her again.”
Her father raised a single brow. “Perhaps you might swear the same to me, my dear. For I tell you here and now that I would not permit our Lizzy to marry such a fool as that man,even if she wished to, and I would greatly enjoy a respite from such foolish chattering as I have heard today.”
Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief, then grabbed his hands and pressed them. “Thank you, Papa,” she beamed. She quickly turned and fled the room before her mother could say anything else.
She came face to face with Mr Collins as she exited the room, but she only lifted her chin, unapologetic for the choice she had made. He gave a loud huff, turned, and walked down the hall toward the guest room. Elizabeth shook her head. He could not be gone too soon.
Elizabeth went outside, relishing the warm sunshine and the birdsong. She had done it. She had freed herself from the ridiculous Mr Collins, and he would soon be gone.
She sat in silence for a long while, taking a seat on the low stone wall that encircled the yard and relishing in the beauty of the fields. A few minutes later, she heard someone clear their throat behind her and was pleased to see Mary had joined her. “How do things fare at the house, sister?”
“Mama is still in an uproar. She has taken to her bed, and Kitty and Lydia are sitting with her,” Mary replied. She clasped her hands in front of her, coming to join her in sitting on the wall. “It is a pity that Mr Collins is leaving.”
Elizabeth raised her brows at this sentiment. “Do not tell me you are taking Mama’s side against me?” she asked.
“No, not at all. But he might have looked beyond you if he was really serious about making an alliance within the family.” She hung her head, then sighed. It was only then that Elizabeth realised her sister might feel quite differently about Mr Collins. Mary was such a serious girl. She might appreciate Mr Collins’readings of sermons, and his long monologues on all things religious.
Though Elizabeth could not think him sensible enough for Mary, she knew better than to say so to her sister. “I am sorry, Mary. I did not realise how you felt about him until now. Why have you not said anything?”
“It is improper for a young woman to speak of such things,” Mary replied. She gave a weak smile and turned her attention back to the fields spreading out before them. “Perhaps, after some time has elapsed, he will come back here.”
Elizabeth hated to crush her sister’s hopes, but it was unlikely they would ever see their cousin again. No doubt, Lady Catherine would berate him for not coming back with a wife, and she would soon find him a suitably humble bride, one who would be properly appreciative of her condescension.
“Perhaps,” was all Elizabeth had the courage to say in reply to her sister’s hopes. “At any rate, I will be relieved to have the house back to normal. I have missed our family circle.”
Mary nodded, looking at Elizabeth with haunted eyes. “I shall miss him,” she said plainly. “I could have loved him, I think, if he would have allowed me.”
Elizabeth leaned over and took her sister’s hands. “I am sorry, Mary. I wish I would have known sooner. But I fear I have ruined it for you as well.”
