“Yes, Lewis was a good boy. He was five-and-thirty before he took a bride. I thought he would never marry.” Lady de Bourgh sipped from her glass before continuing. “My dear friend, Lady Margaret, the Countess of Matlock, approached him one day while he resided in London to arrange his match. How manyseasons were you out, Catherine? Five? Six? My dear friend held the belief that younger sisters could not come out until the elder were married, and Anne, her youngest, was nineteen.”
So that is why Lady Catherine was scandalized to learn all five Bennet sisters were out at once.Her ladyship’s appalling behavior came from her upbringing. Elizabeth felt pleased at her new understanding. She glanced at Lady Catherine. The lady stared into her glass, a pinched expression on her face. She had long since ceased her attempts at dominating the conversation around her table. Instead, she sat silently. Surprisingly, Elizabeth realized that she pitied her. Obviously, her family had grown desperate and married her off against her inclination.
Suddenly, the aforementioned lady stood. “Let us depart to the sitting room,” she commanded.
Even she must have limits to her patience.Elizabeth stood to follow, hurrying after Jane and Charlotte. Lady de Bourgh, her granddaughter, and Mrs. Jenkinson came last.
They had not yet settled themselves when the doors opened and Brisby entered.
“Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, madam.”
Elizabeth stared in shock as the last man in the world whom she wished to see entered the room and bowed to Lady Catherine.
Chapter Thirteen
March 24, 1812
Hunsford, Kent
Jane
Jane stitched the sleeve of her husband’s shirt. Having discarded his jacket while working in the garden, he caught it on a nail and there was a tear three inches long just below the shoulder. Thankfully, gentlemen wore coats, and it would be covered most of the time.
Her thoughts drifted back to the previous evening. What a fracas it had been! A polite one, but a fracas, nonetheless. Never had she seen so many insults that were so carefully concealed in polite conversation. Lady Catherine and her mother-in-law certainly did not get on, and their contention had made Jane exceedingly uncomfortable.
Jane’s confidence and self-assurance had grown in abundance since her marriage. The absence of her mother and more wild younger sisters meant that she was no longer required to be the peacemaker, the soother, the comforter… For so long she had acted in the position of a parent to her three youngest sisters without the benefit of the authority granted to a mother. Kitty and Lydia especially rarely listened to Jane or Elizabeth in matters of correction or advice, instead laughing or making light of the concern their elder sisters showed.
Now, Jane had her own household. She answered to none but her husband. Even Lady Catherine’s generous counsel was acknowledged and then set aside if it did not suit her. And when she welcomed her children to the world, the years of unwanted practice would prove beneficial at last.
Dinner the evening priorhadbeen a trial, followed by further surprises when Mr. Darcy and an unknown gentleman had joined their party. The butler announced him as Colonel Fitzwilliam, another of Lady Catherine’s nephews.
The sight of Mr. Darcy caused Jane some pain, though she attempted to ignore it. When his gaze landed on her, she noted the consternation in his expression as he eyed her lace cap. No doubt, he wondered how and when she came to be married to her cousin so soon after Mr. Bingley’s departure.
It does not matter what Mr. Darcy thinks,Jane thought, angrily stabbing the fabric in her hand.Mr. Bingley did not come back. Mama would have written if Netherfield opened again. If he had returned before I married I…In truth, Jane did not know what she might have done if Mr. Bingley returned to Meryton before speaking her vows. Would she have cried off? To do so would make her as bad as Mr. Collins, who had given rise to Charlotte’s hopes before abandoning her without a word.Would it? I never did say ‘yes’ to his proposal.
Mr. Collins had hardly spoken two words to Charlotte since her arrival. His reaction upon seeing her had been obvious, though Jane had not questioned it further until Charlotte’s words when they first dined with Lady Catherine. Putting the pieces together, she deduced Mr. Collins’s dishonorable behavior.
Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam’s presence would add another layer to the company at Rosings Park. The next few weeks could prove entertaining… and contentious.
“My dear! Jane! Make haste, make haste! They are coming!”
Jane looked up from her mending and toward the door to the sitting room. She heard her husband’s heavy footsteps coming down the hallway toward her. The door, slightly cracked, flew open as Mr. Collins pushed against it.
“Who is coming?” she asked calmly.
Her demeanor settled him somewhat; she had always possessed the ability to soothe overwrought individuals, and it served her well in her marriage, for Mr. Collins often became overwrought.
“Her ladyship’s nephews, of course. Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam are coming down the lane even now, andSir Andrewaccompanies them! A baronet in my home! Oh, what condescension, what graciousness!” Mr. Collins’s hands waved about as he spoke, his expression one of awe and gratitude.
“I shall step out and have Martha fetch tea.” She placed her mending in the basket at her feet and stood. “Charlotte and Elizabeth are in their chambers. Will you fetch them?”
Her husband nodded enthusiastically and bounded out of the room, calling for their guests as he went.
Jane shook her head.The gentlemen can likely hear him from the lane.She stopped the thought there, for it could lead to bitter musings she did not wish to entertain. She had made her choice, and overall, her marriage pleased her. Especially now.Her courses had not come since before she wed, and if Aunt Gardiner’s words the night before her wedding were accurate, she was very likely with child.I married for love,she reminded herself.And now that love will be multiplied.Yes, her ridiculous husband sometimes frustrated or embarrassed her, but despite his nonsensical pomposity, his sycophancy and his worship-like behavior toward Lady Catherine, Mr. William Collins had thus far proved himself to be a kind man. Many times he displayed a tenderness that surprised her, and though she did not love him as a woman ought to love her husband, she was fond of him.
Elizabeth and Charlotte appeared at the door, without her husband.He is likely waiting to answer the door.
“What a to-do about a threesome of elevated gentlemen!” Elizabeth’s teasing tone made Jane smile.
