by Sophia King
Chapter 6
Longbourn buzzed with activity when the two young ladies alighted from their carriage the next morning. Jane and Elizabeth walked up the steps of their family home, looking around in curiosity to see servants dragging curtains and carpets outside to beat them. Mr Hill appeared at the window of the library, standing on a stool as he polished the glass. The butcher’s cart was just appearing around the side of the kitchen entrance. Elizabeth was confused. Her mother had mentioned that the butcher had made a delivery earlier that week, and there was rarely a need for him to come again so soon afterwards.
“There you are,” cried Mrs Bennet, coming towards them, wiping her hands on her apron. “Oh my love, let me look at you.” She grasped Jane’s arms and sighed with satisfaction as she looked up into her daughter’s face. “You have been ill, and yet you are still the loveliest girl in Hertfordshire,” she announced proudly. “I am surprised Mr Bingley was able to let you leave.”
“What is happening, Mama?” asked Elizabeth. She looked around at the whirlwind of activity. “Are we expecting someone?”
Mrs Bennet came to stand in front of her second daughter. She dabbed her thumb at a non-existent spot on Elizabeth’s cheek, then sighed as if her daughter’s appearance could not be helped.
“Yes, we have a very important visitor,” she said. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “I have made it very clear to the rest of the girls, but I must satisfy you as well with the importance of it. It is your father’s cousin, Mr Collins.”
For a moment, Elizabeth did not know to whom her mother referred. At her blank stare, her mother rolled her eyes.
“Mr Collins. The man who is to inherit this estate,” she hissed. “He is coming here tomorrow and means to stay for two weeks.”
“But why?” asked Jane.
“He wishes to make amends to you for taken this place over when your father dies,” said Mrs Bennet. “And I have a good feeling as to what that amends may be.” She gave Elizabeth a critical look. “I want you to be on your best behaviour,” she said sternly. Her hands fluttered nervously. “None of your pert remarks. Too much depends on this. We need him to feel affection towards us.”
Hill stuck her head up through the kitchen stairs. “Mrs Bennet,” she said. “The butcher forgot one of the legs of lamb. Can you come here for a moment, if you please?”
“He forgot!” shrieked Mrs Bennet. “Lord above, what is to become of us all. Anything that can go wrong seems to go wrong. I feel as if I were born to suffer…” She ran down the stairs after Hill. The girls could still hear her lamentations as she went.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and looked at her sister. “I do not like how Mama’s mind is working,” she admitted. “Surely she does not expect us to marry this man we have never even met?”
Jane patted Elizabeth’s arm. “You know she probably will,” she said. “It would be the answer to all her prayers if one of us became Mrs Collins.”
“Yes, and she would throw us to a man who may be every bit as unpleasant as his father,” said Elizabeth. “You remember the letters he used to send to Father? Asking him for accounts of Longbourn, acting as if he was about to move in before he was even dead.” In spite of her irritation, Elizabeth couldn’t resist a grin. “He must have been out of his mind with rage when he realised he was about to die and would never get his hands on this place. There is nothing more pleasurable than thwarting the likes of him.”
“Yes, I remember his final letter, congratulating Father and telling him he would have to prepare the estate for his son instead. I believe he calculated that Father might only have another two years to live. He’s been wrong so far.” Jane shuddered. “I do not like to think of such things. Let’s freshen up and see if the girls would like to take a walk into Meryton. I have not seen Aunt Phillips in several weeks.”
Elizabeth was concerned. “Do you think you are well enough?”
“I think I shall live,” said Jane with a smile. She linked her arm through Elizabeth’s. “Come. I hear Lydia shouting. Lets go and try to stem the flow of their folly. It will have run rampant in our absence.”
The three younger girls were ecstatic to have their older sisters home.
“I thought you should have come home engaged,” said Lydia. “Didn’t we, Kitty? We said she should come home with a ring. I wonder how you could have spent a whole week in an eligible man’s house and not come home as his wife? How slowly you move.”
“That is enough, Lydia,” said Elizabeth. Her youngest sister seemed to grow more noisy and unabashed as she grew older. Elizabeth often worried about what would become of her.
Lydia gave her a sly look. “And what of you, Miss Lizzy?” she demanded. “Did Mr Darcy’s ten thousand a year change your mind about him, even if he is the dullest, most intimidating man any of us has ever met?”
“He does not intimidate me,” said Elizabeth. “And of course it did not change my mind towards him. But Mr Bingley has some news for you all.”
Jane and Elizabeth told the girls about the Netherfield ball that was planned for the following week. Lydia and Kitty danced around the room, chanting and giggling until Mr Bennet climbed the stairs to command them to stop. He was already out of sorts that his precious library had been invaded by the servants and was in the process of being scrubbed clean. Even his threat that he would hang Mr Collins from the rafters if he attempted to infiltrate his beloved sanctuary had made no difference. Only the presence of his two oldest daughters gave him some comfort. After the week he had had, he was very happy to finally hear some words of sense strung together.
He smiled and held out his arms to his two oldest daughters. It was a rare gesture of affection. Mr Bennet preferred to show he cared by teasing the object of his affection. It spoke of how deeply he had missed them for him to display his affection so openly.
“I am very glad to have you home,” he said. “I am sure your mother has told you all about our exciting news? We are to be honoured with the visit of my dearest cousin, Mr William Collins.”
“How much do you know of him, Father?” asked Elizabeth. “What sort of man is he?”
Mr Bennet winked at his second daughter and drew a letter from his waistcoat pocket.
“I believe this will satisfy your curiosity,” he said. “Read it, Lizzy. I am avid to know what you think of him.”
Elizabeth sat on Kitty’s bed and scanned the letter. Her cousin wrote in a pompous, overly fawning manner.
“What does he mean by apologising for being the benefactor of the entail?” she asked. “He cannot suppose we blame him for it. It is not of his doing. He strikes me as rather a silly man.”
“Yes.” Mr Bennet beamed at her. “Yes he does. I am looking forward to being highly entertained by his folly. We will have much entertainment, Lizzy. Myself with my penchant for the ridiculous, and you with your delight in studying ludicrous characters. Mr Collins may prove to be a gift.”
Elizabeth smiled, then read the rest of the letter. “He mentions this Lady Catherine de Bourgh a lot,” she remarked. “He seems very taken with her. I take it she has done much for him. Do you know who she is, Father?”
Mr Bennet shrugged. “I have not the smallest idea. But I do look forward to hearing him wax lyrical about how illustrious and generous she is. If I am to have no privacy for the next two weeks, at least this will go some small way to making up for it.”
“Hmm,” said Elizabeth. “And he wishes to make amends to us?” She gave her father a significant look, and he grinned.
“It has your mother in a tizzy,” he said. “She cannot wait to throw one of you into his arms.”
“I think it should be Lizzy,” Lydia giggled. “After all, I am sure Jane will marry Mr Bingley, and it makes sense that he marry the second oldest instead.” She sobered up and gave Elizabeth a solemn look. “I will allow you to have this clergyman,” she said with pompous generosity. “You can help him with his sermons, and make up a table of four with him and Lady Catherine
and this daughter of hers.” She clapped her hands together. “It will be just the thing. I hope I will be bridesmaid?”
Elizabeth sighed and handed the letter to her father.
“Jane and I are walking into town to meet Aunt Phillips,” she said. “If you would like to join us, you will stop speaking nonsense and make yourselves ready to leave.”
Mary returned to her book, while Lydia and Kitty jumped up to find their coats and bonnets. Mr Bennet gave Elizabeth a grin.
“Thank you, Lizzy. I knew I missed you for a reason.” He tucked his letter back into his pocket. “Try to keep them out all day, will you? I’d be most exceedingly obliged to you.”
Chapter 7
Aunt Phillips was thrilled to see her nieces, especially Jane and Elizabeth. They could furnish her with all the gossip from Netherfield. Like the rest of the family, she had expected Jane to return engaged and made no pretence of her shock when she learned it had not happened.
“I felt sure of it, my dear,” she said. “I said as much to Fanny every day. I said ‘Mark my words, Fanny. Jane Bennet will be Jane Bingley before the year is out.’ What is the delay?”
“You forget, Aunt,” said Elizabeth. “Jane has been ill. She was not there to be courted by a gentleman. It would have been rather indelicate of him to announce his intentions while she was battling an illness, do you not think?”
Aunt Phillips sat back in her couch. She nodded although she did not look entirely satisfied.
“Well then, perhaps he is a sensible man, but I do not believe a man should be sensible when he is in love. Your own Uncle Phillips sat on my doorstep a whole evening, and simply refused to leave until I came out to speak with him. Papa threatened to shoot him if he did not clear off. And your own dear father!” She clapped her hands together and fell back against the chair in a swoon. “I never saw a man so besotted. He would not leave Fanny alone. Do you know…” She leaned forward and the girls did likewise, trying to suppress their giggles. Elizabeth had never known her parents to be affectionate. She knew her father had been attracted to their mother, but her silliness and vapours had long since destroyed any affection he felt towards her. Elizabeth was keen to imagine there might have been a time when her parents were young and in love.
“One night, your father stood right there out in the street and sang at your mother’s window. Is that not sweet? The neighbours were livid, of course. Your grandfather threatened to throw boiling water over his head. But he would not be deterred. He knew he wanted Fanny as soon as he saw her.”
The girls exchanged shocked looks. None of them could imagine their sarcastic, aloof father behaving in such a manner. To them, he had always been as he was. Vague, kindly, but with little tolerance for silliness, and a little too apt to make fun of them. Even his darling Elizabeth was only considered the cleverest of a silly brood. Jane, as the oldest, had no other memory of him. It impressed on Elizabeth not for the first time, the vital importance of ensuring one’s life partner was someone one could trust and respect. She was determined that the man she married would value her for her mind and not just for her pretty face and lively manners. She had none of her mother’s silly vapours, but she was adamant that she would not have a husband of hers grow to despise her and regret his decision to marry her.
And she would certainly never feel that way herself. She must be able to esteem her husband and hold him in high regard as well as love him.
“You will forgive me, Mr Collins,” she thought silently. “I am not the lady for you. You had better look elsewhere for a wife, and find a better way to make amends to our family.”
She was distracted by Lydia leaning out of her aunt’s window to look down on the street below.
“Denny,” she cried.
“Lydia,” said Jane firmly. “Come away from the window at once. You are making a spectacle of yourself.”
Aunt Phillips stood up to join her. Elizabeth hoped she would pull Lydia back, but instead, she leaned out with her.
“Oh, there are the officers,” she exclaimed. “Don’t they look handsome, girls? You must come and see them.”
Elizabeth and Jane declined, although their curiosity was great.
“Won’t you come up, Denny?” called Aunt Phillips. “And bring your friends too. My nieces are here, and we shall all be a merry party.”
The invitation was heartily accepted. Elizabeth was too surprised to protest. What would people think of Bennets and Phillips’s screaming out of windows to invite officers upstairs? She would have expected her aunt to have more sense than that.
Heavy boots trudged up the stairs outside and Aunt Phillips ran to open the door. A large group of men came in, making the room seem smaller with their masculine presence.
“Well now, this is a pleasant invitation,” said Denny with a pleased smile. “I must say, the society of Meryton has been nothing but warm and inviting. We are very fortunate, are we not, Wickham?”
“We are indeed.”
The attention of every lady in the room was drawn towards the handsome man by Denny’s side. He wore a plain coat and breeches with a top hat, in contrast to Denny and the officers’s scarlet uniforms. But he exceeded them all in looks. His curling brown hair fell over his forehead, and his blue eyes twinkled at everyone in the room. Except for Mr Darcy, Elizabeth had never seen such a handsome man.
“Won’t you introduce us, Denny?” Lydia demanded. “Who is your friend? And why is he not in uniform?”
Denny sighed and rolled his eyes with mock dismay. “I knew this would happen,” he said mournfully. “Wickham only has to enter a room, and every woman forgets the rest of us exist. Even in uniform, we cannot compete. Ladies, may I have the pleasure of introducing you to George Wickham. He is my friend, and was recently staying with me in London. And yes, Miss Lydia, he will be in uniform before the week is out.”
“Thank you, Denny,” said Wickham with an embarrassed laugh after Denny had named all the ladies present. “You must not take Denny too seriously. He delights in teasing me.” He beamed around at them all. When he reached Elizabeth, his gaze lingered for a second. Elizabeth blushed and gave him a shy smile.
“Shall we play cards?” asked Aunt Phillips.
The rest of the party except for Elizabeth agreed, and tables were quickly organised. Elizabeth had had her fill of card games at Netherfield and chose to sit them out. She took a seat by the fire and was prepared to observe the game when Wickham broke away from the group.
“If you do not mind, I will join you,” he said. “I enjoy a lively game from time to time, but I have been playing quite a bit in the London clubs. What I have not had much of in that time is pleasant conversation.”
Elizabeth was thrilled to have his company. “How do you like Meryton so far, sir? Is it to your liking?”
“I have only been here a few days, but I confess I like it far better than I expected. The people here are so warm and welcoming. There has scarcely been an evening where we have not been invited to dine, or dance or play cards. I do not know how we shall occupy ourselves when we leave.”
Elizabeth laughed. “You do not expect to find this in other places? I had not thought we were so very unusual in that regard.”
Wickham laughed as well, drawing a suspicious look from Lydia. “I fear I shall not,” he said. “I have come from London, and have been fortunate enough to stay in places of very high society. But I found it difficult, Miss Bennet. People look down on a man who wishes to make an honest living. If you are not born to wealth, you are nothing. It is an attitude I cannot agree with. I think a man - or a woman,” he added with a gallant grin, “should be known by who they are and what they offer the world.” He laughed. “I am sorry, forgive me. You came here for a pleasant afternoon’s chat and I am already boring you with my life philosophies.”
“Not at all,” said Elizabeth. She was delighted with her new companion. “And I quite agree with you. I wish others thought as you and I do, sir. I have a healthy respect for rank,
but it does not make sense to me that anyone should be considered less because of how they earn their bread.”
Her mind went back to that morning in the Netherfield rose garden when Mr Darcy and Miss Bennet had looked down on her uncle for his work in trade. She did not understand how they could not consider the sense of his actions. All the good that he had done. It mattered little to them if he were not born in the right family and did not have his wealth handed to him by another.
Wickham smiled at her. He was exceedingly handsome. Elizabeth noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and she wished she had paid more attention to her dress before leaving for her aunt’s. She had never expected to encounter such a man as this.
“It is not just London society, of course,” he added. “I am sorry to say that even in rural communities, where one would expect warmth and welcome, a man is judged by his family and his connections. And I am afraid I have neither. I was cast adrift to make my own way in the world at an early age, and have had to rely on my own skills ever since.”
Elizabeth gasped. “How dreadful,” she said. “I am so sorry to hear it. My own family can be a trial at times, but I cannot imagine being without them.”
“It did not help that I was an only child,” said Wickham. “My mother died when I was born. When my father died before I came of age, his employer’s son cut me off and told me I had to make my own way in the world. His own father, my father’s employer, wished for me to go into the church and arranged a living that should have been mine as soon as it became available. But I am sorry to say, his son was always jealous of the affection his father showed me and as soon as the old man died, he turned me out of the house.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “That is truly wicked,” she said. “And his father sounds like an excellent man. It is a sorry thing that his son should have turned out this way.”
“You are perfectly right,” said Wickham with feeling. “It is that which I feel sorry for more than anything else. My own pain at my struggles matters not at all compared to the pain of knowing how he has turned out. And his sister as well. She was always a sweet girl, and I devoted hours to her amusement. But in recent years, she has grown as proud as her brother. It pains me to see it.” He sighed, then smiled at her. “But you must not feel sorry for me, Miss Bennet. In spite of all I have been through, my lot in life has been a happy one. I have found friends who are more steadfast and true than any man could hope for. I have occupation and variety, and have food in my belly and a place to sleep at night. I do not consider myself unlucky.”
