The Portrait of Elizabeth

by Jane Angwin

  Darcy stared at Elizabeth's beautiful face, not quite believing that he was alone with her and having this conversation. "How would she feel if she knew that I have gazed at her face many times before, and that I have been drawn to her by some strange force. Do I dare tell her?"

  Elizabeth felt his stare and his uncomfortable silence and felt that her remarks about him proposing marriage had greatly offended him. She laughed aloud and said "Have I embarrassed you with my comment about marrying one of us, Mr. Darcy? I assure you, none of us expect any such proposal from you. A man of your position in society would not dare consider a mere country girl with little to offer!" She laughed again. "And besides, there is a gentleman due to arrive at Longbourn this afternoon who has declared he will marry one of us, and Mother's worries will be over."

  "I beg your pardon?" Darcy said, incredulously. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" He knew he sounded more than unusually alarmed, but he couldn't conceal his surprise.

  "I do not know if my father explained the situation at Longbourn regarding the entail on our property, but because Father has no male heir, the estate will transfer to a distant cousin of his when he dies. Fortunately, my father is in excellent health, but the gentleman himself is visiting us today to view his future home and apparently to choose one of us to marry!" She said this with such humor, that Darcy wasn't sure if the part about choosing a wife was really true.

  "Excuse me, Miss Elizabeth, but surely you jest?"

  "No, not at all, Mr. Darcy. He has written to us and detailed his intentions. He is quite serious about it, and my mother is overjoyed that this could be the answer to her worries. If he chooses one of us, he would inherit Longbourn one day, and our mother would be able to stay on."

  "I am sorry to hear that, Miss Elizabeth. Marriages of convenience are not usually happy ones, and unless this man is a gentleman of quality, this does not bode well for you or any of your sisters."

  "I agree with you wholeheartedly, Sir. I do not plan to marry for anything other than the deepest of love, and I would never agree to a proposal of that sort. I am just concerned about my sister Jane feeling that she is obligated to our mother to accept. She too does not wish to marry for wealth or convenience. Her heart is pure, and she deserves a deep and loving relationship with someone as lovely as she is."

  Elizabeth realized that she had just shared very personal feelings with Mr. Darcy, and she felt a blush on her face. Trying to lighten the conversation, she said "I believe that I should probably return home to be there when he arrives, or Mother will embarrass me again as she did when you came to visit!" As she made a move to stand, Darcy reached out his hand to assist her. Elizabeth looked at his hand, knowing that it was highly improper to have such contact with a man, but she took his hand and consented to permit him to help her stand. He held her hand for just a little too long to be an accident, and for some reason, she did not pull away. She looked at Darcy, feeling the intensity of his stare and then reluctantly pulled her hand back to end the moment between them. There was something about this man that she could not quite identify. He was at one moment aloof and haughty, but then quite charming the next. She had been sure that he disliked her, but now he was apologizing to her and almost appeared to enjoy her company. And the intimate touch of his hand was the most puzzling thing of all. She did not know what to make of any of it.

  "Good day, Mr. Darcy, " she finally said and looked away.

  "Thank you for allowing me to apologize to you Miss Elizabeth. I have enjoyed our conversation very much. I will return the way I came, but I will look forward to seeing you again." With that, he bowed and walked away to untie Omega from the tree. He turned the horse around and rode off, disappearing into the trees.

  "That was certainly odd," Elizabeth thought. "I wonder why he felt it was so important to apologize to me." But she also thought about the feeling that coursed through her when he held her hand. "Elizabeth, don't be ridiculous," she chided herself. She shook her head to erase the improper thought, but she couldn't forget the unexpected appearance of his deep dimples when he smiled at her.

  Darcy returned to Netherfield from his conversation with Elizabeth with a feeling of elation having apologized to her but also with a sense of despair because he knew that he was in danger of his feelings deepening if he allowed it, and it could never be. He rationalized that all the supposed signs that he had thought pointed him toward Hertfordshire to find this woman were simply a series of strange coincidences and nothing more. He tried to convince himself that he had been foolishly pursuing a pipe dream that was nothing more than an inner cry for something deeper in his life. But he knew better. He was Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley, and this was not the way his life was supposed to work out, even though his mother had wished for a marriage of love for him. Surely she would not have approved of him choosing a girl from the country with ties to trade and such a ridiculous family. He would simply have to spend more time in London during the season doing all the things he disliked, hoping to meet a lady that he could have at least a congenial relationship with. Or perhaps he should just marry his cousin Anne after all. Either way, he simply had to give up on his dream of loving a beautiful country girl in a painting.

  Another of Darcy's concerns lay with the obvious intentions of Mrs. Bennett to encourage one of her daughters to marry this distant relative, and if he could predict this man's choice, it would undoubtedly be Jane for her physical beauty. He worried that this suitor would make his choice of Jane before Charles could determine if she had enough feelings for him to ask for a courtship. They had only been in Hertfordshire for a few days, but Darcy knew that Bingley was on his way to loving her.

  Charles Bingley had fallen in and out of love often, and Darcy was always dubious when his friend claimed to have found "the one". Bingley would dance with a lady at a ball, and if she praised his dancing skills and fluttered her eyelashes at him, he would declare her to be perfect for him, but by the time he attended the next ball, he would have found another lady, more perfect than the last. His attraction to Jane, however, seemed different, and Darcy knew it. Jane was a lovely woman, kind and genteel, not at all like the women of the ton that Charles had been interested in. She did not fawn over Bingley, and except for her mother's obvious selfish desire to have her daughters marry for her own secure future, Jane did not seem to be at all interested in his wealth. She seemed to like Charles very much, but she was shy, and she did not make her feelings known.

  It was still too early to warn Bingley about his concerns, because he wanted to make sure that Bingley knew his own feelings and did not make another impetuous decision, but he vowed to meet this distant cousin of the ladies and watch the situation carefully. While it was not possible for him to marry into a family such as the Bennett's, he felt that Bingley could do so. He would be marrying the daughter of a landed gentleman, technically of the gentry, and of a higher position than his own. And although Jane had no dowry, Bingley was already quite wealthy and did not need or want her money. He wanted his friend to be happy, and he would support this relationship if Bingley wanted to pursue it.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Mr. Collins comes to visit

  Two hours after Elizabeth returned home, a carriage pulled up to the front gate at Longbourn, and a short and portly man dressed completely in black came to their door. Mrs. Hill answered the door with full knowledge of his intentions, but she said "May I help you?" She wasn't at all happy to meet this man who would one day take this home away from the Bennetts. As demanding and neurotic as Mrs. Bennett was, she had lived with the girls their entire lives, and she deeply cared for them and felt a protectiveness that their own mother did not show them.

  He bowed to her, bowing so low that she was worried that he would surely split his pants, and it was difficult for her to keep a straight face. "I am William Collins, and I am expected. I am here on an important mission, and I would ask to speak to Mr. Bennett."

  "Certainly Sir," she said. "Please wait here,
and I will inform the master of the house that you are asking for him." She walked back down the hall and gently knocked on Mr. Bennett's door. "Sir, there is someone here to see you." She returned to the hall and took Mr. Collins' hat and told him that Mr. Bennett would be right with him. She did not invite him inside any further, however, and he stood awkwardly in the hall waiting to be received. Thomas knew that the foolish man was waiting for him in the hall, but he did not hurry to greet him, and when he finally did open his door, he saw Collins inspecting the room to the left of the hallway.

  "Collins!" he said quite loudly. "You need not inspect the rooms yet, as you can see that I am very much alive and not likely to die today."

  Mr. Collins nearly tripped over his own foot when he heard the loud voice and snapped around as if caught as a naughty boy, bowing low and looking as though he would tip over. "Yes, well good afternoon kind Sir. I assume you are my cousin, Thomas Bennett?"

  "You assume correctly. I am afraid we just learned of your imminent arrival this morning, and I must say your letter contained quite an odd scheme. It is not every day a gentleman arrives at my front door to line up my daughters like chattel to be viewed and evaluated for a potential marriage. This is highly irregular, Sir, and not at all to my liking."

  "Mr. Bennett, I have only the very best of intentions. My esteemed benefactress, Lady Catherine De Bourg of Kent, has advised that I should seek a wife, and she suggested that choosing from one of your daughters would be a wise and magnanimous thing to do. I am sure that one of them would be most pleased with my accommodations in the parsonage that abuts her glorious estate until such time as you pass from this earth. The lucky lady who will become my wife will have the guidance of Lady De Bourg, and she will be honored by her supervision in all things. There is no more refined and intelligent woman in all of England, and I am most fortunate to have been personally chosen to be her pastor and counselor. So, you see, Mr. Bennett, it is a rather perfect solution to your situation and to mine - do you not agree?"

  Bennett could not believe the utter stupidity of this person passing himself off as a gentleman and a pastor. He had to hold in his anger at the presumption that it was a foregone conclusion that he would be marrying one of his daughters because his esteemed benefactress declared it to be so. "Mr. Collins, perhaps we should go into my study and have a bit more conversation about this plan of yours. I have a few things to say to you as well." They walked down the hall toward his study, but before they could enter the room for privacy, Mrs. Bennett burst through the door from the dining room and spied Collins with her husband.

  "Oh, good gracious! You must be Mr. Collins! I am so delighted to have you visit with us! I have a room prepared for you and a hot meal will be ready in two hours. Would you like to refresh yourself?"

  Collins bowed again, so deeply that his hands almost touched the ground. "Why, yes, thank you, I would indeed. And you are Mrs. Bennett, I presume?"

  "Oh yes, my goodness, yes, I am Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Bennett's wife and the mother of five very beautiful daughters." She emphasized the word daughters and then turned toward the stairway and yelled out, "Girls! Girls! Come downstairs at once! Our guest has arrived! Hurry up and come down this very minute!" Thomas was already well aware that the girls were not happy about this gentleman's visit and his intention to choose one of them to marry, and no sound came from upstairs at their mother's loud call. Mrs. Bennett steered Mr. Collins into the sitting room, where he looked about, eyeing the furnishings as if they were already his own. "Please, Sir, take a seat. Here, by the fireplace. May I get you a cup of tea? A biscuit to curb your hunger until dinner? A piece of pie perhaps?"

  "Why yes, thank you. I would very much enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit and a piece of pie. I am quite hungry from my journey." Thomas rolled his eyes at the man's request for all three items offered, but nothing Collins did would surprise him now that he had met him. Less than five minutes with him had been enough to judge his countenance. His clothing was rumpled, his hair appeared to be stringy with oil, and he had an odor that was quite unpleasant. So much for a first impression.

  Mrs. Bennett went to the base of the stairs again and bellowed at the girls to come downstairs. This time, Jane came down the stairs first, and Mr. Collins's mouth hung open like a catfish, his eyes bulging. His lascivious look at her infuriated Thomas, and he rose from his chair to escort Jane into the room to a seat far away from the lustful man. "This is no pious man," he thought. "This is my eldest daughter, Jane." Jane curtsied and noticed the licentious look on Collins' face, and her cheeks turned bright pink. She timidly looked at her father, who gave her a nod of his head, and she quickly sat down.

  Collins bowed to her, and said "It is indeed my pleasure to meet you, Miss Bennett. You are quite lovely, and I look forward to getting to know you better!" Jane shivered and said nothing. She was mortified.

  Next came Mary, who seemed to have attempted to style her hair in a manner more attractive than her usual austere bun. She even wore a blue dress with lace on the sleeves as opposed to her normal grey jumper. Bennett realized that perhaps Mary might be interested in meeting a pastor, since she incessantly read religious and moral reading material and would have the most in common with him. That is if he was, in fact, a good man of the church, which he obviously was not. No man of God would ogle a woman as he had Jane. Bennett did not see the same lewd look on Collins' face when Mary arrived, so she was definitely not going to be his first choice.

  Elizabeth came downstairs right after Mary, somberly joining the group without a smile and with little enthusiasm. Collins eyed her in a course manner, looking over his glasses at her and running his eyes up and down her figure as he had done with Jane. Lizzy saw his look and took no time in sizing him up. If he had any interest in her, she was anxious to show him how impertinent she was so as to discourage any designs he might have on her. She could easily find ways to horrify him. She curtsied as he did his ridiculous bow, and she found a seat near her father. She gave him a look that the two of them perfectly understood.

  Lastly, Kitty and Lydia bounced down the stairs together, whispering and giggling as usual. They took one look at the odd man in their sitting room and their giggles got even louder. Mr. Bennett admonished them to be silent, and though not entirely successful, they finally did stifle their laughter and found a seat together on the settee, forgetting to curtsy.

  "Mr. Collins, let me introduce the rest of my daughters to you. This is Elizabeth, my second eldest, and this is Mary, my third and middle daughter." Collins bowed again in his usual low manner, and this made Kitty and Lydia begin their giggling again. "Girls! Silence! Please remember yourselves!" He introduced Kitty and Lydia, but Collins did not take his eyes off Jane.

  Mary curtsied, and smiled broadly at Collins. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir," she said. Collins was not at all as effusive with her as he had been with Jane, and she looked crestfallen at his inattention to her.

  Although highly impolite, Elizabeth said nothing to him. She felt that this was a waste of time, as her father would never agree to any of his daughters marrying this buffoon. But he was a guest in their home, and it was the proper thing to do to converse. Mrs. Bennett returned to the room with Mrs. Hill and began serving tea. Mrs. Hill offered a tray of biscuits to him, assuming he would take one or two, but he took the whole tray and set it down on the small table next to his chair. She brought out the pie that she had made that morning, and although it was cut into several pieces, he also took the pie and set it down on the piano forte bench on the other side of his chair. All the biscuits and the pie were eaten by Mr. Collins before he went to his room to prepare for dinner.

  After he left the room with Mrs. Bennett to be shown to his room, the girls and their father sat somewhat dumfounded for a moment. "Father, who is this man?" Kitty asked. "He is ridiculous!"

  Lydia piped up, "He is the strangest man I have ever met. Does he have to stay here with us? I feel as though he might come into my room in th
e night!" With that, she and Kitty started giggling again, and Mr. Bennett had to chastise them for their unladylike thoughts. "But Papa, he is quite peculiar, and I could never be married to someone like that. I intend to marry an officer, and if he makes any attempt to talk to me, I will stick my tongue out at him and bark like a dog!" That set them off again, and they both started yipping like two small puppies.

  Mary was the only one in the room not laughing. "I personally find him to be quite an interesting man, and his looks do not bother me. You should not judge a book by its cover," she said.

  "Well this book appears not to have showered in weeks!" Lydia replied, causing another round of laughter. "His hair is so greasy I could touch his head and grease the wagon wheels in the shed!"

  "Ewwww....!" Kitty exclaimed.

  Elizabeth sat quite still, worried that Collins might choose her beautiful sister, and knowing Jane as well as she did, she feared that Jane might feel obligated to save her family from losing their home should their father die. "If only Mr. Bingley would make an offer to court her," she thought. "It is much too early for that, although he did seem quite enamored." She would have to talk to Jane to give Bingley more encouragement the next time she was in his presence. She felt that Jane was much too tentative and shy to make her feelings known, but Elizabeth would somehow make this her mission to have Mr. Bingley see Jane's interest in his attention.

  Dinner that night was preposterous. Between Mr. Collins commenting on the "wonderfully prepared and delicious repast" and the beautiful silver pieces that he eyed with glee, and Mrs. Bennett extolling the virtues of her "five lovely and very eligible daughters," Elizabeth wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. This was going to be a very long visit.