“Lizzy!” greeted her father one morning as Elizabeth entered his bookroom, having received his summons. “The most amusing letter has just arrived.”
“A letter?” asked Elizabeth. Her father was not a great correspondent and rarely informed his family of what letters he received.
“From the most admirable correspondent,” said Mr. Bennet, his smirk telling Elizabeth the comment was sarcastic. “And such excellent timing, for it comes the day after you received your letter from Mrs. Collins.”
Now having some notion of her father’s meaning, Elizabeth shook her head, seating herself in front of his desk. “Might I assume that Mr. Collins did not receive the news with nearly as much enthusiasm as Charlotte?”
Mr. Bennet snorted; his eyes filled with mirth. “I do not know precisely what Mrs. Collins wrote, though I can guess. Her husband’s missive was full of pompous nothings and grave warnings of all manner of catastrophe if I allow my second daughter to pursue a man such as Mr. Darcy. Did you not knowthat he is engaged to his cousin? What manner of perversity is this, for a woman of no consequence in the world to fix her wiles on a man already claimed by another?”
“I suspect,” said Elizabeth wryly, “you have quoted Mr. Collins’s own words.”
“You appear to know him well,” said Mr. Bennet.
“Then his news is out of date.”
“That it is,” agreed her father. “Yet he dives into the pond with no thought for its depth or whether there are rocks under the surface.” Mr. Bennet shook his head, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “I declare, Lizzy, that regardless of how much I detest correspondence, I would not give up my cousin’s letters for the world. There is no more absurd specimen than he.”
“Shall you write to him and inform him of his error?”
Mr. Bennet wiped his eyes of the tears accumulating in the corners, and nodded, though he appeared reluctant. “I suppose I must, for if I do not, he may take it into his head to write to Lady Catherine or, heaven forbid, journey here to make his sentiments known.”
Becoming more serious, Mr. Bennet leaned on his desk and regarded Elizabeth. “There is also a faint whiff of resentment in his letter. When you were in Kent, did you sense any measure of rancor on his part for your refusal of him?”
“Not openly,” said Elizabeth, considering the silly man’s behavior. “Mr. Collins took every opportunity to remind me of what my recalcitrance cost me, but if he held a grudge, he said nothing of it to me.”
“Then I may be reading more between the lines than he means,” replied Mr. Bennet. Then he chuckled and added: “Then again, his flowery prose leaves much to the imagination, so it is possible to read much into his statements. I shall write to him and inform him of his error. Hopefully, he will take the hint and desist before he makesmoreof a fool of himself.”
Elizabeth did not know if her father’s warning was efficacious, as he did not speak to her of any further letters on the subject. When she mentioned it to Mr. Darcy, however, he was most decidedly not amused.
“That is the trouble with Lady Catherine’s penchant for choosing such men to serve her,” said he when he heard all. “The bolder ones tend to guard her ladyship’s perceived interests more zealously than she.”
“I do not know if I would call Mr. Collins bold,” said Elizabeth. “But he is not lacking in zealotry when it relates to Lady Catherine.”
Mr. Darcy nodded. “I shall speak to her on the subject. Whether she will take as dim a view of his actions as I do, I cannot say, but at the very least I expect she will instruct him to desist.”
What Lady Catherine thought on the subject Elizabeth did not know and she did not say, but to the best of Elizabeth’s knowledge, Mr. Collins made no further protest. Letters from Charlotte were plentiful, but she avoided the mention of her husband for reasons on which Elizabeth had no desire to speculate.
The date soon approached for the Gardiners’ arrival in Hertfordshire for the looming tour to the north, and with it, Elizabeth’s preparations began in earnest. Before they came, however, another letter arrived with a surprising suggestion.
“Mary,” said Elizabeth, wishing to bring the matter to her sister’s attention first, “I received a letter from Aunt Gardiner. In it, she suggests you travel north with us.”
Taken aback, Mary stared at her. “They want me to go to the north?”
“If you will promise to not mention it to Mama,” said Elizabeth, leaning in to impart a secret, “I will say that I suspect Aunt wishes you to come for additional chaperonage.”
“I shall not speak a word of it to Mama,” said Mary, showing Elizabeth a sudden grin. “I think I should be happy to accompany you, for I would love to see Pemberley and keep Georgiana’s friendship.”
Mr. Darcy was equally supportive of the idea. “That is an excellent notion. Mary would enjoy such a journey, and Georgiana would appreciate her company.”
“Oh?” asked Elizabeth archly. “Ismycompany not enough for your sister?”
“I do not intend you to keep my sister’s company,” said Mr. Darcy. “That, I reserve for myself.”
Elizabeth did not respond, the burning of her cheeks rendering it impossible. With Mr. Darcy’s approval and Mary’s eagerness, Elizabeth applied to her father, who quickly granted his permission, though it was not without a little grumbling.
“You have never included Mary in the list of your sensible daughters before,” said she when he said something on the subject.
“Of late, Mary has improved,” said Mr. Bennet. “I suspect it is because of her friendship with Miss Darcy, though there may be other factors. She has come to my room a few times to borrow books, and they are not herusual moralistic preferences. I dare say I have not seen Fordyce in some time now.”
