“That is a complicated word for me to consider, madam. I can only describe my own opinions, and you shall have to draw your own conclusions.” Bingley replied with an easy smile. He relaxed back in his seat and nonchalantly sipped his wine. “My friend recognised your daughter’s wit and beauty at once. How couldhe not? She is a diamond, madam. Once Mr. Darcy sets his mind upon something I have never known him to delay.”
“I do not see the value in it.” Darcy agreed, tapping his fingers fitfully against the stem of his own, empty glass. “Mrs. Darcy and I are well suited. That much was apparent from the start. Understanding the need for haste, I made my offer as soon as it was prudent to do so.”
“Need for haste?” the woman cried, “What need is that, sir? The need to interfere with another man’s prospects? With hisfuture,sir?”
Darcy met her eyes levelly, letting her see his disdain, “With two ladies’ welfare.”
“Mama, we should not discuss this now.” Elizabeth entreated, “You are tired from your journey, and we are all out of sorts. Shall we all try to enjoy the meal? We can speak in the morning.”
“We shall not be here in the morning, Mrs. Darcy.” Collins interrupted, “We are to leave as soon as this wretched meal is over.”
Lizzie blinked, genuinely taken aback. “But... the ball…”
“I have no interest in balls.” he informed her bluntly, “I have a written promise from your sister stating that, once she visited her family, she would return to her father’s home and become my wife. She has so far refused to honour this agreement - and this it entirely due to your interference, madam. You have made Miss Bennet act shamefully. I shall restore her to grace.”
“You go too far, sir.” Darcy warned. Mr. Collins balked but was not swayed.
“Perhaps I should have been more subtle, sir, had you not made your dislike for me so abundantly clear. You do not want meto stay here, and I will be glad to resolve that. We shall leave tonight, with Miss Bennet, and not trouble you again.”
“She shall not go!” Elizabeth cried.
“Of course she will. She is a good girl and knows that this is for the best.” Mrs. Bennet cut across in a sharp voice. “Do not speak of things that you do not understand! Just because you went behind my back, Lizzie, does not mean thatallmy daughters shall. They, at least, care about this family! She shall marry Mr. Collins, and we shall be safe. That is the end of it.”
Elizabeth caught her breath, hurt beyond words, and shook her head wildly. “Please stop talking about Jane as if she were a… an object. She is not a trading token, mama, she is your daughter! Would you dismiss all that we cherish - her warmth and goodness and the great love she still bears you - to appease a man who thinks her a possession?”
“I am thinking of the entail, Lizzie. The safety and security of your own sisters may not matter to you, but if we are to survive… ugh! How complacent you are, to lecture a poor helpless woman in your grand house, wearing your finest jewels! If you were in our position, Lizzie, you would not have the luxury ofcherishinganyone!”
“The entail. The entail.” Lizzie scoffed, “So you trust that man to shelter you after papa dies? He could cast you out in a heartbeat. How much are you willing to gamble on his good will, mother?”
“I am an honourable man.” Collins snapped, “Should she rather place her future in the hands of a drunkard?”
Elizabeth flinched. She reeled wildly around, eyes wounded and flashing furiously, but before she could retort Darcy placed his hand on her shoulder. A great shudder visibly ran through her body and Lizzie slumped back into her chair.
For a long moment the room was silent. There were a few harsh breaths, of course, and the occasional muffled sob from Kitty. She and Lydia had been weeping since the argument began, clinging to each other like frightened infants. Even the servants were mute, frozen in horror beside the forgotten, rapidly-cooling serving trays.
“May I speak?”
Jane’s soft question pierced the silence like an exquisite assassin’s dart. Everyone turned to stare at her. She did not return their looks. Her eyes were held down at her untouched food. A tear shimmered on her cheek, but she did not wipe it away. Rather, her arms were limp at her sides. By the intense expression on Bingley’s face, those who knew him knew that he was gripping Jane’s hand beneath the table.
Jane spoke quietly but her voice did not tremble.
“I wanted to speak to you alone, mama. I planned my words - oh, I practiced them! I was going to whisper them to you after dinner, but now I have no choice. I am already exposed. I have been shamed before my sisters and my friends. They may as well see my selfish, unfilial nature, and they can see me humbled before it.
Mama, I love you with all of my heart. I love you beyond reason, but it is with reason that I reach out to you now. My spirit demands to be heard. I cannot obey you, mama. Icannot.
I am of age and can make my own choices in my small, insignificant life. Good or ill, they are my decisions to make. It is my life to live.
Lizzie has invited me to live with her. It will ease your burden, mama, and spare papa the pain of seeing me sold to a life thatwill destroy me. I shall never return home again and I shall not - Icannot- marry Mr. Collins.”
In the utter silence, Jane looked up and into her cousin’s seething eyes.
“My instinct, Mr. Collins, is to make an apology. I know how much I mean to you. But I cannot apologise for refusing you. You have not been kind to me, sir. You have brought my poor dear mama down to this wretched remove, where even her youngest, dearest child cannot look her in the eye without fear. You have made a good woman lose her daughters’ love, which is a terrible thing, for the sake of your greed.
Yes, greed and… and desire are your masters, Mr. Collins, not love. I pray that you find a better path, but I fear that you are lost. No good Christian would have acted as you did towards me. I have not told anyone of the awful things you whispered into my ears, sir, but they will haunt me until the day I die.
I shall not marry you, sir. I refuse completely and I refuse without regret. Andthat,mother, is the end of it.”
Jane stopped speaking, looked down at her hands, and closed her eyes against the horror in her sisters’ gazes. There was a breathless pause and then Kitty started to cry again.
