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Book 2 Chapter 6

Mary Bennet lay on her bed, fighting the tears. That she was crying over so ridiculous a man as William Collins just made the tears flow even faster. She was not even sure why she was crying. In truth she did, and it had nothing to do with Collins, or at least only tangentially.

The Reverend William Collins, the previously unknown heir, had arrived with almost no notice. That he had written to Mr. Bennet more than a month earlier meant nothing to that gentleman and he only informed his wife and daughters on the morning of Collins’ arrival. It was typically capricious and said much about Mr. Bennet, none of it good.

Mary was less of a slave to the Rev Fordyce’s Sermons but the arrival of an ordained gentleman caught her attention. Sadly for her, she did not catch his attention. And she was unsure whether she was sad or not over that fact. What was a cruel blow was her mother’s dismissal of her as a potential bride for Mr. Collins. He had come to Longbourn with the explicit wish to marry one of the Bennet daughters. He did not consider Mary, with Mrs. Bennet’s wholehearted encouragement, and instead focused on Kitty.

Mrs. Bennet tried to interest him in Lydia, but neither party was amenable. Lydia was fixated upon officers of the Militia in their redcoats, to the exclusion of everyone else. And Collins was taken aback at Lydia’s total lack of propriety. He could never introduce such a young woman as the new Mrs. Collins to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Which left Kitty.

She had no interest in the stocky gentleman, well on his way to being fat. But her opinions were of no importance, and did not stop him, or her mother. That very morning Collins had asked for a private meeting with Kitty and she was now engaged, however reluctantly, to the man.

Two doors down from Mary’s room Kitty was equally distraught. She was engaged! To that most odious of men! Her most fervent wish was that Elizabeth had been present. She needed her support to have the courage to say no to him. But she could not stand up to him and her mother at the same time. And she knew that there would be no help from her father. In less than three months Collins was to return and she would leave Longbourn as Mrs. Collins. She wept bitter tears.

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Jane and Elizabeth sat in shock having read first their own letter and then that of the other.

“Mary is upset but we will return to her momentarily. Kitty is devastated. Both of them have painted a picture of this cousin of ours, and it is not flattering in the slightest.”

“How do we help her? She feels like she has been sold off to the highest bidder.”

Silence was the only answer to Elizabeth’s question.

“There is nothing we can do, is there?”

Jane shook her head.

“When you look at it in one light, it is a good match for her. She will be the Mistress of Longbourn after Papa passes and her son will be Master in time, even if he bears the name Collins.”

Elizabeth had a thought, although she did not share it with her sister. Kitty could get no immediate revenge but Elizabeth would plant the seed for the future.

“But at what cost? She does not love Collins.”

Jane looked at her brilliant sister, surprised at this naiveté.

“Most brides do not love their husbands Lizzie. Charlotte had it right when we talked of it. What were her requirements? A comfortable home, a man of character and a good situation in life. That is what Kitty is getting.”

She paused but then confessed to her sister.

“It is no different than my own marriage.”

“Your own?”

Jane nodded.

“But you always vowed that you would only marry for the deepest love!”

“Those were the words of a child. What more could I expect? My husband is wealthy, not enormously but more than sufficient for us, and any family to come. I had nothing to offer other than being born of a gentleman and some little beauty.”

“You are not in love with your husband?”

“That is a very personal question Lizzie! I liked him when we married and there was affection between us. That affection has deepened but that is all I will admit to you. Kitty will have to discover all this for herself. She will have to make her own journey.”

Elizabeth Bennet was shocked to her core. Jane had not married for love, and upon thinking on it she could see that was so. Affection was slowly turning into love. Possibly. Jane had not been prepared to discuss the matter further. And she had been sympathetic to Kitty but there were no solutions offered. Collins was to be Kitty’s husband and there was nothing she could do.

Elizabeth returned to Gracechurch Street and wrote a long letter to Kitty and an equally long letter to Mary. Her predicament had been lost in the discussion over Collins and Kitty. Elizabeth’s letter to Kitty had been vengeful, her letter to Mary was full of plans for the future. Longbourn was never going to be the same.

All these plans were aided by a very unlikely situation.