Page 23 of Collins Takes Charge

“That would be interesting, Louisa; except then it would not be at all like a ball but rather an evening at home with friends,” Bingley stated. “There will be a ball here in a little more than a fortnight on the final Tuesday of November. That will give Cook more than enough time to prepare all the white soup we need and for you, Caroline, to show us the hosting skills of which you so like to speak.”

As she brushed her faux pas aside, Miss Bingley allowed her brother’s words to wash over her. What better chance would she have to show Mr Darcy her skill as a hostess and how perfect she would be as his wife? “Indeed, Charles, you have the right of it. It is time for these country mushrooms who are so far below us in society, to see how an event of the Ton is organised.

Darcy bit his tongue. Rather than point out that, as the daughter of a tradesman, Miss Bingley was below those she claimed to be above, he said nothing.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

As he prepared to depart his parsonage on Monday morning, William Collins, not for the first time, went over everything that he had put in place for the almost fortnight he would be away from Hunsford. As he ticked each item off from his mental list, he was assured that there was nothing he was forgetting.

The parish was in Keating’s good hands until he returned, and the latter would send an express if there was anything that needed William’s personal attention while he was away.

His parishioners were all very satisfied with his spiritual guidance. The tenants of Rosings Park were as happy, if not more so, than they had been when the late Sir Lewis de Bourgh had been master of the estate. Miss de Bourgh had learnt with speed, and in the months since her mother had been removed, she had steered the estate with a firm but compassionate hand. On the thirteenth day of September, William had been present at the celebration of Miss de Bourgh’s birthday. Even though she had been running the estate since her mother had been banished to the Orkneys, it was significant that she was now five and twenty, the age her late father had listed in the main body of his Last Will and Testament.

So far, the only cousins of Miss de Bourgh William had not met were her two Darcy cousins. If not before, he was sure he would meet them at Easter of 1812, when the whole of Miss de Bourgh’s family would be present at Rosings Park.

As far as Miss de Bourgh’s health went, she was, in William’s opinion, as healthy as any other woman he knew. It was thanks to her own strength of character that she was not dependent on laudanum and very unhealthy because of it. When he had asked Miss de Bourgh how it was that Lady Catherine did not realise she was not imbibing the drug-laced cordial, the mistress of the estate had replied that to her mind, Lady Catherine could not comprehend that someone would not obey her. Miss de Bourgh had not received an epistle from her mother since the lady and Mrs Jenkinson had been sent to their new home. When he had asked if she would read a letter from them, Miss de Bourgh had said she would make that decision if and when a missive was received.

William checked the gig he would drive himself. He had purchased it along with a horse to pull it some two months past. When he was not using his gig, the man looking after the glebe lands would use it when needed on the glebe. All was well. His trunk was lashed to the back, and Vulcan was attached to the back of the gig by a long tether. He was aware that his cousin, to whom he had written that ridiculous letter, would be surprised when he saw the stallion. However, if Mr Bennet was as indolent as Father’s investigators had reported, he may not see the stallion before he was stabled.

As he departed, William decided that he would see the lay of the land at Longbourn before he revealed his true self. At that point, he would know how to act and whether he needed to enforce certain terms of the entail.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“Mrs Bennet, you can expect one more for dinner this day,” Bennet drawled.

“Is Mr Bingley coming to dine with us? How wonderful that is for Jane,” Fanny gushed. “As long as he comes without that hateful Mr Darcy.”

“It is not Mr Bingley, nor is it any other man you have ever met. It is someone who I have not met in the whole of my life.” Bennet looked at the six expectant faces of his wife and daughters. He had waited with the news until he felt he would have the maximum amount of amusement, and he judged that the morning meal on the day of arrival would be the best chance of sending his wife into one of her supposed attacks of her nerves.

“If the person is unknown to us, then, who is it, Mr Bennet?” Fanny demanded.

Elizabeth, who had always participated in her father’s plans for sport, felt somewhat miffed that Papa had not let her in on this joke.

Jane sitting next to Mamma made sure the salts were in her pocket in case Mamma swooned when Papa deigned to share the news with them. She hated to think that her father would be intentionally cruel to her mother, so, as she always did, Jane sought a positive reason for the way Papa made sport of Mamma.

“Oh la, is it a man in a scarlet coat, Papa?” Lydia demanded. “You know how much I love officers.”

“I was in love with an officer before I met your father,” Fanny mused. “Colonel Millar’s regiment was here, and Lieutenant Kingsford was so dashing in his red coat. But then the regiment moved, and the officer never spoke to my late father before he left the environs of Meryton.” Fanny dashed an imaginary tear from her eye.

The three eldest Bennet sisters looked at one another with raised eyebrows. Their mother did not see the impropriety of speaking so in front of them. No wonder Lydia, and by extension, Kitty, said that only an officer would do.

“As much as I hate to disappoint you, the man is not an officer; in fact, he is a clergyman and a distant cousin of mine,” Bennet added.

“A boring clergyman!” Lydia exclaimed. “It is bad enough we have to listen to Mr Pierce’s sermons at St Hugh’s every Sunday and Mary’s repeating things from that reverend’s sermons. I do not want to hear more of the same in this house. What if he spouts the same nonsense from Fordyce’s sermons as Mary does?” Lydia put her hand over her heart theatrically. “I will die of boredom.”

Hearing that their cousin was a clergyman, Mary’s interest was piqued. She schooled her features, as the last thing she wanted was to give her sisters and parents something else to tease her about.

“Enough, Mr Bennet!” Fanny exclaimed. “Who is this man, and why does he come to our home?”

“It is Mr William Collins, my heir to this estate, and the man who when I am called home to God, may throw you from this home and into the oft-mentioned hedgerows,” Bennet revealed. “I received this letter from him in August, and unlike has been done with any letter from a Collins since my great-great-grandfather’s time, rather than consign the letter to the fire, I read it. I decided, as he is my heir, I should see what he had to say.”

“What an odious man! Is he not ashamed to steal this estate from our daughters? What will we do when he throws us into the hedgerows?” Fanny wailed. She turned to Jane and took her hand. “You will marry Mr Bingley and save us. You could not be so beautiful for nothing.”

“Papa, why have all letters from the Collinses, other than this one, been consigned to the fire?” Elizabeth enquired.

“It is what my father told me he did, as did his father before him,” Bennet responded testily. He did not want an inquisition from Lizzy to distract him from the enjoyment he was gaining from his wife’s reaction. He raised his hand, seeing that Lizzy was about to ask another question on the subject. “That is enough about that. As I was saying, I did read his letter, and I responded to it about a fortnight following.” Bennet pushed the letter across the table to Lizzy. “Read this for all to hear,” he instructed.

Although Lizzy was put out that Papa cut her off before she could ask more questions about never receiving a letter from a Collins, Elizabeth was not of a mind to disobey her father. She picked up the epistle, cleared her throat and began to read.