“No sir; however it is something I would also love to know, if you ever discover it.”
The coroner looked at his notes, “there was some gossip among the staff that Lady Catherine may have been afraid, errr... concerned that you might pose some danger to her daughter Miss Anne de Bourgh.”
“I beg your pardon?” Elizabeth stared at the coroner without blinking. “Danger? What kind of danger?”
Darcy cleared his throat and looked extremely uncomfortable standing in his corner of the room.
The Earl also cleared his throat and the Colonel coughed.
Elizabeth looked from one man to another, “What is going on here? What am I being accused of?”
“Oh no Miss Bennet, you misunderstand me,” the coroner replied hurriedly, “you have not been accused of anything. I am just covering all the perspectives of the case. You should be cleared from all suspicions very soon, madam.”
“Suspicions? I did not realise I was a suspect, especially since I was not even in the house when Mr Collins died.”
“Miss Bennet,” the bishop interjected, “do you have anything to gain from the death of your cousin? We understand that he is, I mean was your father’s heir?”
“Yes he was my father’s heir but no My Lord; we have nothing to gain from Mr Collins’ death, for his wife is expecting a baby. If it is a male child he will be the new heir, because the estate is entailed away from the female line. If it is a girl, another male heir will have to be found. So, you see his death does not help us in anything at all.”
“Mrs Collins informed us that her husband made you an offer of marriage. An offer which you refused? That is, before he married her of course,” the coroner continued, “is this correct?”
Elizabeth blushed crimson. For the first time in the interview she seemed uneasy.“Yes sir he did.”
Darcy looked at the lady, in shock at the new information. The stunning news that the pompous clergyman thought that a jewel like Elizabeth would ever accept him... that toad... a most ridiculous man!
The Earl looked surprised, “Why would you refuse an offer of marriage from the heir to your home Miss Bennet? I would have thought that such an arrangement would be a most advantageous agreement, not only for you but for the rest of the family also.”
Elizabeth smiled discreetly and turned to the Earl. “Yes My Lord, indeed it would be most advantageous. But I want more than just brick, mortar, lands and cattle to constitute my happiness. I would like a husband who possesses superior and strong conviction, judgement, information, knowledge. A man who values me and sees our union as an advantage to both of us, not just me; in short I want a marriage of equal minds, a model union based on mutual respect and affection, rather than just social standing.”
The Earl smiled and nodded, “I am impressed Miss Bennet. I really wish from the bottom of my heart that you find such a husband, for I believe he will be a most fortunate man. I am almost jealous of him already.” He laughed and looked at Darcy quite pointedly.
Darcy puffed his chest up with pride.What a treasure this woman is. Come what may, I will win her, for her worth is indeed far above rubies.
There were a few more questions about her relationship with Lady Catherine, points which were answered quickly and efficiently, so eventually the coroner dismissed her, satisfied with her answers.
She left feeling she had done all she could, which was not much, to aid the investigation.But she felt that she had eliminated any suspicion that they might have had about her being a suspect in a murder case.
Chapter 16
In Hertfordshire
Mr Bennet read an unexpected letter to his family. It was from a Colonel Fitzwilliam, on behalf of his cousin's wife Mrs Collins, informing him that the heir to Longbourn was no more. Furthermore it related that Mr William Collins having passed away under unusual circumstances, an inquest was under way to discover more details.
The letter was very short and left the family with more questions than answers.
“Oh Mama,” cried Lydia, “Maria Lucas will know more for Charlotte will have written to her family with more details.”
“Yes my dear that is true.”
“May Kitty and I visit Lucas Lodge to see if we can find out more?”
“What a good idea Lydia.” Mrs Bennet said enthusiastically, “by all means go and learn all you can before Mrs Long does, for if she hears the news first only God knows what else she will add to the story, making it impossible to separate truth from fiction.”
“Oh yes my dear,” Mr Bennet said sarcastically, “for Mrs Long is the only lady in the neighbourhood who embellishes stories.”
Mrs Bennet ignored her husband, “Now if only Charlotte has the decency to give birth to a baby girl, all will be well. That will be justice at last.”
“Not quite my dear,” Mr Bennet responded shattering his wife’s daydreaming, “If Mrs Collins delivers a baby girl we will have to look for another male relative to inherit the estate. I do not know where, but the law is clear about those things, Mrs Bennet. So please do not celebrate yet, for Longbourn may yet end up with somebody far worse than Mr Collins.”
