Despair consumed her once again.Mr. Bingley… there is no hope in that quarter.“Miss Bingley writes that they will stay in London through the winter.” Jane cast her eyes down, focusing on the tips of her slippers that peeked out from beneath her skirt.
“And so, you have decided that settling for my cousin is preferable to waiting for confirmation of such?”
“Netherfield has been shut up.” Her voice sounded dejected, even to her ears. “Mr. Collins confirmed it this morning.”
Her father eyed her steadily. “If you tell me you wish to marry Mr. Collins, I will not deny my consent. But, you do not need it, for you are of age. Is this what you want?”
Jane prevaricated yet again. “He is your heir and is established in a profession of his own. It is a smart match for a near-penniless daughter of a gentleman.”
“But is it what you want?”
Jane sucked in a breath and raised her eyes to meet her father’s gaze. “It is what will be,” she said. “What I want is no longer relevant.”
Mr. Bennet stood up and crossed the room. He closed the door the rest of the way, the latch clicking loudly. “Mrs. Long has likely taken the news all over Meryton by now,” he said knowingly. Jane winced at her father’s understanding but breathed a sigh of relief upon knowing their conversation was now completely private. “I will not see you forced into a marriage you do not want. If it is concern over the entail, do not despair. My brothers by marriage will not see you destitute. If you wish, I can send you to the Gardiners until the entire matter is put to rest. No one will fault you for running from such a ridiculous man.”
Oh, how Jane wanted to take the path offered by her father! She opened her mouth to accept, but before she could respond, Mr. Bennet doubled over, coughing heavily. Jane gaped as her father’s face went red with the force of each cough. He pulled a handkerchief out and held it to his mouth. Finally, the coughing subsided, and he took a sip from a cup of tea that sat on his desk.
Jane blinked. “You are ill?” she asked. She had not thought Mr. Collins’s report to be accurate.
Mr. Bennet shook his head. “It is nothing. Now, tell me. Shall I grant my blessing or call the carriage?”
Papa’s jest fell flat. He could deny it all he wished to, but the blood on her father’s handkerchief cast doubt on his assertions. Jane knew when Mr. Collins had fabricated her acceptance that her father would put a stop to it, just as he had with Elizabeth, if she wished it. For a moment, she had considered accepting his offer and escaping to London. But now? How could she condemn her family when it was within her power to save them?
Her self-doubt had stilled her tongue initially.Miss Bingley knows her brother better than I. He has gone and he isnot coming back. Chasing an unwilling man to London was as foolish as running from a willing suitor.Those thoughts continued to pound in her head. The turmoil, the sadness, every feeling she had entertained since meeting Mr. Bingley settled into firm resolve. She knew what was required. Jane closed her mouth, swallowed, and made her choice.
“Mr. Collins wishes to marry as soon as the banns are read,” she said, standing tall and straightening her shoulders. “If you have no more objections, I shall send him to Longbourn church to see Mr. Simms.”
Her father sighed. He stood and came around his desk, taking her hands in his. “Be happy, my Jane. Search for joy, for I fear it will prove illusive in the coming years.” He kissed her cheek and released her. She turned and left the room before she foolishly begged to be sent away.
She was the eldest child. It was her duty to save her family. Jane met her betrothed outside the library. He offered his arm, and she took it with only a moment’s hesitation. It was best she got used to the feel of him at her side. He would be there often enough.
Later that evening, Mama came to Jane’s room. She entered and closed the door behind her. “I am pleased, dear, that you accepted your cousin. If you had not, well…” Mama walked across the rug and sat on the bed. Jane’s knees were tucked under her chin. Mama reached out and turned Jane’s face toward her.
“Are you having misgivings about accepting Mr. Collins?” Mrs. Bennet spoke quietly, though Jane sensed something more in her mother’s words.
“I am,” she confessed. “I am foolish to enter into an engagement so quickly after Mr. Bingley departed. Mr. Collins told you of Miss Bingley’s letter. Elizabeth thinks she prevaricates—”
“Miss Lizzy had best keep her opinions to herself,” Mrs. Bennet snapped. “If you do not marry Mr. Collins, if you jilt him, I shall cast you out. And when your father dies, you will join Lizzy in some other household, for I shall not have you in mine.”
Mrs. Bennet’s tone softened, and she patted Jane’s knee. “There now,” she soothed. “It is far better to have a stupid husband than an intelligent one. I ought to know. You will manage well, my dear, and when you inherit Longbourn, I shall be safe from the hedgerows.”
Mrs. Bennet stood and left the room, leaving Jane to her thoughts.Would Mama really refuse Elizabeth a roof over her head?Mama had ever been silly, not vindictive. But the threat of the hedgerows might be enough to drive her to it.
Chapter Four
November 29, 1811
Lucas Lodge
Charlotte
Charlotte hummed a tune while she rolled the bread dough around the tabletop to shape it. Mama would be livid if she found out her eldest was in the kitchen, but there was something soothing about shaping a loaf of bread. Lucas Lodge’s cook, Mrs. Turner, would bake it and serve it with the evening meal. Cook kept Charlotte’s visits to the kitchen a secret, and Charlotte repaid her kindness by assisting while Mama was out.
Milly, one of the upstairs maids, poked her head into the kitchen and glanced around. Seeing Charlotte, she stepped inside.
“Miss Elizabeth is in the parlor waiting for you, miss,” she said.
Charlotte frowned. It was not Longbourn’s day for calls. Why was Lizzy upstairs? “Is everything well, Milly?” she asked.
