Elizabeth turned the book so that Collins could read the entry, which he did somewhat laboriously with the tip of his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth.
When he finished reading, he raised his eyes to his cousin with a frown. ‘This confirms what I said earlier. Sir Lewis was a member of the peerage.’
Elizabeth’s eyebrow quirked as she gave him a disbelieving look. Instead of answering, she took back the book and flicked to a different page, which defined the different titles. She turned the book back to Collins and pointed to the relevant paragraph.
A Baronet is a member of the lowest hereditary titled British order, with the status of a commoner but able to use the prefix ‘Sir’.
When Collins finished reading, Elizabeth had the satisfaction of seeing a stunned expression on her cousin’s countenance. ‘This cannot be right. This must be a misprint. My most gracious patroness assured me that she was a member of the peerage. After all, she is the daughter of an Earl.’
‘It seems that Lady Catherine did not pay enough attention during her education. Her father was a peer and so is her brother, the current Earl. But the junior offspring of a peer are commoners even though females are allowed the courtesy title of Lady which she may use for life. When a woman marries, she partakes of the status of her husband but that still does not make her a peer in her own right.’
Collins shook himself as if to rid himself of some contamination as he changed the subject. ‘No matter. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is still my most revered patroness and I am bound to obey her. Therefore, I must go and find Cousin Jane to give her the joyous news that I have chosen her as my bride.’
‘Did you not listen to my mother when she refused you permission to address her daughters on this subject.’
Collins was taken aback. What was the matter with this family? All the females were quite obstreperous and most unbecomingly opinionated. ‘It is exceedingly indelicate to listen in on private conversations,’ he accused.
‘Cousin Collins, the door was open, and my mother has a penetrating voice. Anyone in the house was able to hear her tell you not to raise that topic with her daughters.’
‘What kind of an unnatural family is this? Five unmarried sisters and a mother who would refuse a respectable and eligible suitor?’
‘Mrs Bennet is exceedingly concerned that her daughters should have felicitous marriages with husbands whom we can love and respect and who love and respect us in return. None of my sisters and certainly not I would consider marrying a man who is more devoted to his patroness than his wife.’
Elizabeth grimaced slightly as she knew that the main reason for Mrs Bennet’s attitude was her own less than happy marriage. ‘Even Mary, who is the most likely of all of us to one day marry a clergyman, would never consider marrying a man who reveres his patroness more than god.’
‘Are you claiming that such is the case for me?’
‘You yourself stated that calling the lady a commoner borders on heresy. According to my knowledge, and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, the term heresy pertains to a belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine, yet I have not read of Lady Catherine being mentioned in any recognised religious text.’
‘Perhaps I misspoke when I used the word heresy, but I wanted to impress upon you that Lady Catherine is deserving of the highest respect from all and her advice is to be humbly accepted and followed, especially by lowly persons such as your family.’
His ludicrous statement took Elizabeth by such surprise that she needed a moment to formulate her reply and missed her chance to speak.
‘But women have to marry to ensure that they have a man to protect them and take care of them. After all, since they are the weaker sex and incapable of rational thought, they need a man to guide them through life. Therefore, I shall follow Lady Catherine’s orders and marry Cousin Jane to ensure that when your father passes, I will be in a position to teach you and your sisters proper decorum and respect for your lords and masters.’ It never occurred to Collins that Lady Catherine was also awoman and by his lights, one of the weaker sex. As his patroness she was above such insignificant details.
Elizabeth took a deep breath to stifle the scream she was desperate to utter. If looks could kill, the parson would have expired immediately. She was certain that the pompous and self-satisfied man who expressed such ridiculous notions would be hard-pressed to count past ten without taking off his shoes. Yet he had the temerity to claim that she was irrational.
She slowly counted to ten to rein in her temper while she glared at him. Since her dander was still at an excessively high level, and she did not wish to say anything which might confirm that women could be unstable when irritated beyond reason, she counted backwards from ten under her breath… this time in Greek.
The tactic was successful, and Elizabeth was able to speak in even tones. ‘Cousin, you should remember that while women have next to no rights in this country, we are allowed one very important choice. No one can force us to marry a man whom we do not wish to marry.’
Collins let out a snort as he raised his head to look down his nose at her and huffed, ‘Have you considered that unless I am married to one of the Bennet sisters, I will not be inclined to house and feed you ladies after your father’s passing. Without having husbands to look after you, you will not find the world a very accommodating place.’
‘You assume that we are beggars?’ Elizabeth burst out laughing. ‘I hate to disappoint you, but the Bennet ladies have a lovely home to go to and adequate funds to live in comfort without having to put up with some obnoxious man, whoever he might be.’
While Collins was still staring at her with his mouth open, Elizabeth stalked to the door and delivered a parting shot. ‘You might as well return to your beloved patroness. You will not find a bride at Longbourn.’
~T~
Mr Collins was most perturbed when he spied a lavish travelling coach with four outriders pulling up at Longbourn that afternoon. The single passenger who exited the conveyance was a modestly dressed woman of middle age.
‘Who is this lady who can afford to travel in such luxury? Even Lady Catherine does not have a coach to rival it.’ Collins mused out loud.
‘Oh. That must be Mrs Milford. She is to chaperone our girls on their way to London,’ said Mrs Bennet. ‘My brother, who arranged for the carriage and her services. assures me that the girls will be perfectly safe in her company.’
The original plan for the Gardiners to come and collect the girls had been changed since Mrs Gardiner was expecting her fourth child and Mr Gardiner was reluctant for her to travel at present and also refused to be away from her for any length of time.
Collins looked again at the coach and four. Turning back to his hostess he said in bewilderment, ‘I thought that your brother is a tradesman.’
