Although the situation was far from dire, given Mr Bennet was alive and in good health, Elizabeth could not help butwonder whether she could maintain her friendship with the future mistress of their home.
“Please, Mama, do not speak in such a manner,” she eventually responded, attempting to quell her mother’s anxieties and doubts. “Charlotte has taken nothing from us. Must I remind you that Mr Collins once sought to marry one of us?”
Rather than soothing Mrs Bennet, these words only served to further upset her. “Of course, I know my daughters handed Longbourn to Charlotte on a silver platter, deeming themselves too good to marry that man!”
Fortunately, Elizabeth’s hesitations were eased one morning when Sir William paid a visit to her father, and they spent a good hour in the library.
Mr Bennet appeared in the parlour with an expression that left the ladies quite confused, speaking in a forceful, uncharacteristic tone. “My dear daughters, I have had a long and encouraging discussion with my old friend Sir William,” he began. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, realising that there was no bad blood between Longbourn and Lucas Lodge, and that eased her heart, knowing she would be able to repair her friendship with Charlotte.
“Sir William,” her father continued, “has assured me that when the time comes, you will have a full year to vacate Longbourn.”
“Oh!” Mrs Bennet exclaimed. If Elizabeth and Mary understood their father’s words, Kitty and Lydia looked on in confusion, and when Mr Bennet patiently explained the situation, the younger girls burst into tears.
To everyone’s surprise, Mary spoke up. “Do not worry, Papa. I shall marry promptly if a suitable gentleman proposes, and I shall care for us all.”
Her words were so unexpected and endearing that Mr Bennet, in an unusual display of affection, embraced her, whispering, “Thank you, my dear!”
Elizabeth felt that Mary’s words comforted her father more than Sir William’s reassurance. They demonstrated that his daughters would face his departure with dignity and courage, striving together to build a future for themselves.
Elizabeth wrote to Charlotte the following day, accepting her invitation to visit Hunsford. Sir William and Maria’s trip to Kent, which was supposed to take place in a few days, provided the perfect opportunity for her to do so.
∞∞∞
Elizabeth liked to travel, a passion that granted her an invigorating reprieve from the rhythms of everyday life. The mere thought of escaping the routines of her family home and countryside filled her with boundless delight, her spirits rising at even the most modest opportunity to venture beyond Longbourn. She adored everything regarding a journey—the cadence of the carriage in motion, the stops to change horses, even the neighing of the animals, though it was well known that she feared horses and never rode.
The promise of a day’s journey, such as the one to Hunsford, was enough to set her heart alight with anticipation.
And indeed she found the journey pleasant in the comfortable carriage Sir William possessed, while the conversation with Maria genuinely amused her. Her gaze, ever attentive, lingered on the vast fields they passed, while the charm of the villages they drove through—each quaint and distinctive—touched her imagination and fed her natural curiosity.
As the hours wore on, Elizabeth found herself surrendering entirely to the joy of travel, her spirits buoyant, her mind finally free from all the problems she had left behind at Longbourn. When at last Rosings and then the Parsonage came into view, she felt her earlier pleasure wholly justified.
Mr Collins and Charlotte appeared at the door, and the whole party exchanged nods and smiles. With Charlotte welcoming her with the liveliest delight, Elizabeth was utterly content with her decision to come when she found herself so affectionately received.
While Mr Collins, with great determination, resolved to personally escort his father-in-law to his room, the ladies settled into Charlotte’s cosy parlour.
“Your home is delightful and elegantly appointed,” Elizabeth remarked, her genuine praise obviating the need for mere polite comments as, indeed, she did find the Parsonage to be tasteful and pleasant.
“Oh, thank you, but I must confess that we have done very little ourselves—Lady Catherine deserves all the credit. It was her idea to renovate the house. Mr Collins told me even the furniture was changed.”
Everything at the Parsonage and in Mr Collins’s life seemed to revolve around his patroness, Lady Catherine.“She is so generous!” continued Charlotte, clearly sharing her husband’s opinion on the formidable lady living at Rosings, the magnificent estate across the lane from the Parsonage.
Elizabeth thought that, beyond her generosity, Lady Catherine certainly enjoyed interfering in the lives of everyone around her and insisted that things be done precisely in the manner she preferred. But she kept this thought to herself. Even though their friendship appeared as steadfast as ever, there were subjects Elizabeth avoided out of consideration. At the same time, jesting had been forbidden of late, as Charlotte, since shebecame Mr Collins’s wife, seemed to have lost most of her sense of humour. Gazing at her friend’s kind face, Elizabeth could not help but wonder whether she had ever genuinely enjoyed jesting or whether her frequent visits to the Bennets’ parlour had merely created that impression. Yet some questions were destined to remain unanswered.
∞∞∞
Despite these thoughts and doubts about their friendship, they spent several delightful days together—taking long walks around Rosings, visiting Hunsford and Charlotte’s new acquaintances, and receiving guests from Mr Collins’s parish.
Elizabeth tried to imagine herself in Charlotte’s position. Aside from being Mr Collins’s wife, she had to admit that the other aspects of life at the Parsonage were quite agreeable. She could picture herself as a vicar’s wife, forming friendships with the local ladies, addressing their concerns, and participating in community life. At the same time, she felt a secret allure at the prospect of having such a lovely house to call her own.
For the first time in her life, Elizabeth contemplated the true meaning of marriage. It was curious that this revelation occurred while observing Charlotte rather than her own mother or Mrs Gardiner, whom she had witnessed in that role throughout her life. But Charlotte was her friend. They had grown up together, and now she was a wife with responsibilities, a household, and—Elizabeth could not help but blush at the thought—a bedroom, about which she dared not reflect for long.
Yet in seeking love and marriage, she must also considerthatresponsibility of becoming a man’s wife.
Has our friendship endured the trials to which it has been subjected?Elizabeth pondered as she penned a letter to Mrs Gardiner a week after arriving at the Parsonage.
Although I admire how Charlotte has settled into her new life, home, and community, I see she is on a different path from mine every time we are together. Living with Mr Collins, not simply being a wife, has transformed her into someone I still listen to but do not truly regard as an example.
Yet, it is not difficult to face this new Charlotte, as when we are alone, she is almost the Charlotte I remember, and we are alone quite often, as Mr Collins not only serves as the vicar of a rather prominent parish but also as Lady Catherine’s personal butler, valet, groom—any role she requires. He runs to the stables to see whether her majesty’s carriage is ready, and he fetches her a glass of wine, milk, or lemonade—whatever she demands. I would not be too surprised if he also cleans her chambers (sorry, I could not resist this image!).
