“No…I would never presume to…my dear lady, I only wished to share the joyous news…”
“It seems everyone is having children these days!” Lady Catherine spat. “I just heard the wife of my nephew Darcy is expecting—”
“—oh yes, Elizabeth wrote my Charlotte that she is with child again.”
“Do not speak her name in my presence!” Her face was beginning to turn a splotchy red, and her hands clenched the arms of her chair. “Worthless fortune hunter—securing Darcy’s fortune that ought to have been co-joined with my daughter’s!”
“Indeed, what a blessing it would have been to unite Rosings Park and Pemberley,” Mr. Collins said unctuously. “A match made in Heaven. To see your daughter happily wed to—”
“—and instead, she is still on the shelf! At twenty-seven and with her ill health, who will have her now? My dreams of grandchildren decrease by the day. I shall die bereft of the sound of happy children in my home.” She leveled a gaze at her rector. “And. It. Is. All. Your. Fault!”
Mr. Collins swallowed before stammering a reply. “My…my fault? But how?”
“You allowed that young woman to come to Hunsford and visit your wife four years ago. I was hoodwinked into inviting her into my home, showing her condescension far beyond her merit. And what was the result? My nephew fell in love with her instead of my Anne as my sister and I always intended. It is all your fault!”
Mr. Collins’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Finally, Lady Catherine stood. He jumped up, still attempting to speak.
“Leave me at once!” Lady Catherine ordered. “I do not wish for your company at present. Nor can I say I ever shall again.” She glared at the hapless cleric, who could do nothing but bow and scuttle out of the room as rapidly as his girth allowed.
Lady Catherine sat down heavily once she was alone. She felt the beginnings of a pain in her temple. She rang the bell on the table to her right. When Jonson entered, she told him to bring her a glass of water and her headache powders. He bowed and hurried to do her bidding.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet—for she still thought of her by that name—you may think your dear friend Charlotte’s life is so fine. But you will see that things can change when you least expect them to.
***
“You are very quiet this evening, my dear,” Charlotte said to her husband as the dishes were cleared away. She wanted to speak before he could disappear into his study for the remainder of the evening. Not that she greatly missed his company when he did so. She had no problem coping with her solitude in this cozy house whenever Mr. Collins absented himself for work or visits around the parish. Truly, her life was more than she ever could have hoped for when she had accepted Mr. Collins’s hasty marriage proposal. As she told her friend Lizzy, she was quite content with her situation. But she found William’s mood this evening disquieting. He was seldom like this—so taciturn. Indeed, he had hardly spoken a word throughout dinner.
“Is something causing you concern?” she continued. “Perhaps I can help.”
Her husband gave a wan smile and heaved a sigh. “I do not wish to burden you with my troubles, Charlotte.”
“Your troubles are mine as well, of course,” she replied as she rose from the dining table and came over to him. She took his hand—inwardly cringing a bit at its moist touch to which she had still not become accustomed even after five years of marriage. “I am your wife, and we are soon to have a child, so of course whatever affects our household should be discussed openly between us. Can you not share what is upsetting you?”
“It is just—well, I had a very discouraging meeting today with Lady Catherine.”
“Oh?” Charlotte led him from the dining room to the front parlor, away from the prying ears of any servants, and pulled him down beside her on the settee. “What made it so? Is she displeased with something you have done?”
“More like displeased with me in general.” Mr. Collins lowered his eyes, unable to meet his wife’s gaze. “I went to share the news of our impending child. I anticipated she would be pleased—especially at the news that we plan to name a girl after her. Instead, she went into a tirade, accusing me of expecting her to all but adopt the child financially! And then it devolved into her anger over Cousin Elizabeth’s fortunate marriage to Mr. Darcy. She quite blamed you and me for it!”
Charlotte sighed. “Oh dear. I am afraid Lady Catherine simply will not give up on the idea of Mr. Darcy’s divorcing Eliza so she can foist her daughter, Anne, upon him. It is, as you know, her fondest desire.”
“True. But what disturbed me the most was her final statement. As she asked—no, ordered me to depart. She all but said she never wished for my company again!”
“But, she has been similarly upset and said such things before, has she not? Then she forgets her rage and the invitations continue.”
“I have never seen her like this.” Mr. Collins shook his head. “I fear she may ask the bishop for permission to send us packing. After all I have done for her. To be so summarily dismissed! It would be more than I can bear to lose her patronage—the humiliation of it!”
“Well, she has not yet taken that step, nor is she likely to in my opinion,” said Charlotte calmly. After a moment, she added, “However…perhaps…just perhaps it is time for us to consider another path.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mentioned to you that I received a letter from dear Eliza this week, remember?” At her husband’s nod, she continued. “Well, her father has not yet found a new rector for Longbourn. Mr. Dudley is proving somewhat difficult to replace, likely due to the modest living it affords. However, since there is still an opening and Mr. Bennet is related to you, why should you not take the living there? I am certain we can manage on the budget quite adequately. You know how economical I am with money.”
She watched as an expression of wonder appeared on her husband’s face.
“Indeed, that is quite a sensible idea, my dear. Since I am to inherit Longbourn anyway upon the unhappy occasion of Mr. Bennet’s death, it would be so much simpler to move from the parsonage to the manor. Plus, the parish would already know me and not resent my becoming the new head of the estate. I would not be seen as an interloper. And, you would like to be back with your family too, I imagine, as you near your time.”
“You must write to Mr. Bennet tonight.”
