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“And yet he proposed the next day?”

“I am sorry to say I lost my temper again. It was if he was channeling every conceivable way to annoy me with his proposal. He ignored my first two refusals of his proposal and after the second he calmly informed me that he was going to marry me after it was sanctioned by my parents.”

Elizabeth lowered her head.

“I excoriated him.”

Lady Maria knew that Elizabeth was careful in her choice of words. She knew this was going to be worse than the fight with Miss Bingley.

“I accused him of breaching both the 1st and 10th Commandments and told him to his face that he displayed five of the deadly sins.”

“You accused an ordained minister of breaching two Commandments?”

There was silence.

“I can see why you would think that, it is just.”

She stopped when she had a thought.

“In both fights did you consider turning the other cheek?”

“Let me ask you a question in response to your own. Is there a limit to how many times you are supposed to not react negatively? I am aware of my temper, and I do not go seeking conflict. I do not wish to get into an argument about semantics, but I feel I did not react several times in both fights. What would you suggest I do?”

And that was the issue. No one would dare speak to the sister of the Duke of Richwood in such a manner. Miss Bingley would be an obsequious toady worse than Mr. Collins if she ever met her.

“I see your point. I suppose I am just taken aback at the ferocity of your responses. I have been witness to several verbal jousts here in town but the responses are not so extreme.”

“When I first came to town back in ’07 I think I was calmer. I am sad to say it is a result of my keeping house for my uncle. Between the sneers of gentlemen at those in trade, their constant jabs about the ‘stench of trade’, and then compounded by the disdain of all men, regardless of their background, at the thought of an intelligent woman, I am less circumspect than in years past.”

“Let us break here for luncheon. I would like to return to some of the issues from this morning but we have not even finished the story yet. We need to talk of Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley, Lady Catherine, are there any other people or issues raised from your discourse?”

Elizabeth wondered if she would still be there at supper. Luncheon was light and cheerful, focusing on Lady Maria’s Christmas.

“As you know I am one of four siblings, but two of them were out of the country over Christmas. My next youngest sister is in Bermuda with her husband who is the Admiral there and my brother is the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It is a quirk of the family that my grandfather, the second Duke, had seven children that survived to adulthood, yet his oldest son, the third Duke, had no legitimate issue. His sisters, my aunts, had 22 children that reached their majority and 15 of them are still alive. When we are all at Chichester even the family home struggles to accommodate us. It was wonderful to see everyone, but I was also ready for some peace and quiet.”

Luncheon was simple meal, the food and service excellent. Eventually they settled back in Lady Maria’s parlour.

“Is there much left to tell?”

Elizabeth explained the switch of Mr. Collins’ affections from her to Charlotte Lucas.

“Explain the timeline again please, so that it is clear in my mind.”

“The ball was on Tuesday the 19th of November. Mr. Collins proposed to me the following morning. He and Miss Lucas announced their engagement on the Friday, the 22nd.”

Lady Maria sat quietly for many seconds.

“I imagine that you were remonstrated with for not accepting Mr. Collins, given his swift engagement to this Miss Lucas.”

“I was. My mother was not silent on the matter and harangued me daily. It was on December 28th that my father told me that I should return to London, three months and one day since my arrival.”

“Given everything I have heard about Mr. Collins, I presume you were never tempted to accept his offer?”

“That is where it gets very complicated. Mr. Collins was easy to dismiss, other than his inheriting Longbourn he had no redeeming qualities. My sister Mary did confess to me that she would have accepted him if he had made an offer to her, hoping to change him from within the marriage. But that situation never arose. The remaining reasons are all around my relationship with my parents and I do not wish to speak ill of them.”

“The four years of sacrifice here in London and then this issue so soon after your return?”

Elizabeth merely nodded, she spoke no answer.