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"Why, Aunt? Are we expecting callers?"

"We have a gentleman staying beneath our roof. There is no harm in appearing to advantage."

Elizabeth considered her aunt's expression and wished very much that she could ask her uncle what mischief was intended. But the chair at the head of the table was empty.

For the first time she understood how much had changed.

CHAPTER 6

The Price of Gratitude

Mr. Collins possessed a remarkable talent for turning ordinary conversations into statements of his own consequence.

If the subject was the weather, he explained how often Lady Catherine had observed that fine weather was preferable to rain. If the family discussed music, he informed them that Miss de Bourgh might have become a celebrated performer had her health permitted the exertion. At dinner he praised the potatoes and then assured Mrs. Bennet that his patroness employed a cook capable of preparing them according to methods rarely encountered outside distinguished households.

Elizabeth endured these observations with a composure that surprised even Jane. She had recently lost a second father, and the familiar pleasure of finding absurdity in other people had become less reliable. Collins was ridiculous, certainly, but he would soon command the house in which she had spent half her life. She found it difficult to laugh at him.

Mrs. Bennet, however, had rediscovered her spirits.

She seated Collins beside Elizabeth, urged him to accompany her on walks, and praised Elizabeth's accomplishments with an enthusiasm that would have astonished anyone who had heard her complaints about German only a fortnight earlier.

"Our Lizzy reads a great deal," she announced one evening. "And she speaks foreign languages, though I cannot pretend to understand a word of them."

"A useful accomplishment when properly directed," Collins answered. "Lady Catherine holds that young ladies ought to improve every opportunity, provided they do not neglect their domestic duties."

"Elizabeth is very attentive to domestic matters," Mrs. Bennet assured him.

Elizabeth glanced toward Jane, whose lowered eyes suggested that she was fighting a smile despite the circumstances.

"I am delighted to hear it," Collins replied. "A clergyman's wife must be both modest and industrious."

Elizabeth's smile disappeared.

Later that evening she found Jane in their old sitting room, sorting papers that had belonged to Mr. Bennet.

"I believe Aunt Fanny intends Mr. Collins to admire me," Elizabeth announced.

Jane folded a letter carefully. "I fear you are right."

"But why? Surely she would prefer him to marry one of you, if she wishes Longbourn to remain connected to the family."

Jane's expression became troubled. "Mama hopes that if he marries you, we may all continue to receive his consideration. She also believes you should be grateful for the prospect."

"Grateful!" Elizabeth repeated. "I should be grateful if he permitted me to eat dinner without informing me how Lady Catherine prefers her carrots."

Jane laughed, then immediately looked apologetic. "He means no harm, Lizzy."

"A quality I should value more highly if it were accompanied by the ability to think."

"Have you considered what you shall do if he proposes?"

"Refuse him."

"Mama will be terribly disappointed."

"Then I hope she may recover. She has survived disappointed expectations before."

Jane put aside the papers. "I do not wish to alarm you, but I think Mama sees this marriage as the answer to everything. She is frightened of leaving Longbourn."