Page 2 of Collins Takes Charge

Mr Thomas Bennet of Longbourn:

I represent your cousin, Mr Clem Collins. He is aware that you have five daughters and that your wife will not be able to bear another child.

As such, he would be your heir presumptive to inherit Longbourn on the sad day that your time in the mortal world is at an end. I am not sure if you are aware, but Mr Collins has two sons.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that in the copy of the attached document, which will be filed with the Court of Chancery, Mr Clem Bennet Collins the father and Mr Clem Bennet Collins, the son, have renounced all claim to the estate of Longbourn in favour of the younger Collins son, Mr William Bennet Collins.

From this day forward, unless you and your wife are blessed with a son, Mr William Bennet Collins is your heir presumptive.

I thank you for your attention to this matter.

G Huntington

Bennet inspected the document; it looked like it was legal to him. He cared not which Collins inherited the estate after him, but he would have Phillips peruse the document and make sure all was legally sound, as Bennet did not want a Collins to pull the wool over his eyes.

He did admit that other than it had been passed down from his great-great-grandfather’s generation, he did not know why the Bennets disdained the Collinses as they did. The thought ended there, as it was too much effort to investigate.

He was aware that his cousin had written to him three or four times over the years, but like his father before him, Bennet never read those letters and consigned them to the fire. There were times he admitted that not reading the missives because of some old grievance was rather petty, but he could not bother to trouble himself to establish, and keep, a correspondence with his cousins. He was an indifferent enough correspondent with those to whom he had no choice but to respond.

It just so happened that Phillips called on Bennet two days after the receipt of the letter from the solicitor in Faversham. He looked over the letter and document carefully and assured Bennet there was nothing underhanded being attempted, and everything was perfectly legal and correct.

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

In October 1801, William Collins began his studies at Oxford. Aside from enjoying his classes and excelling in them, he loved being able to sit and read in the massive Bodleian Library, which sported three stories of space for books above the ground floor.

Reading was not William’s only activity outside of lectures. He was a member of the chess and fencing clubs. He was very good in the former and getting ever better in the latter.

Each term break and end of the academic year summer holidays, William took Mr Davidson up on his offer. When he was not assisting his father and Clem at the estate, he was at the parsonage of St Peter’s Church gaining practical lessons about the duties of a clergyman. From Davidson, William learnt that his most important task was serving the parishioners and being an upright spiritual guide for the parish.

William Bennet Collins graduated from Oriel College, Oxford, near the top of his class, with a divinity degree in May 1804, days after he had turned twenty.

On Davidson’s recommendation, William Collins enrolled in Bishop Lankershim’s seminary in Westerham, Kent, for practical study, as he needed to be three and twenty before he could be ordained as a deacon. Once William was ordained as a deacon, Davidson had promised that he would take him on as his curate. After serving in that capacity for one year, at the age of four and twenty, he would be admitted to full holy orders.

Until May 1807, William studied under Bishop Lankershim. He excelled in his studies and was able to put what he had learnt into practice with compassion and understanding. Said bishop was greatly impressed, opining that young William would make an excellent clergyman. The week after William Collins turned three and twenty, he proudly received his deacon’s orders. His parents, older brother, and the Davidsons were on hand to witness William’s ordination.

Davidson assured William Collins that the position of curate was his, something William accepted gratefully. When he was at Oxford or the seminary in Westerham, he had been distant from his home. However, St Peter’s in Faversham was less than an hour away from Collins Hollow on horseback or little more than one hour in a carriage. This made William very happy, as he would be able to be with his family at his father’s estate far more than when he was studying.

In June 1808, William Collins took his full holy orders and was ordained as a clergyman in the Church of England with all the attendant rights and duties. Knowing that men of his age generally did not receive a living, William was happy to remain as St Peter’s Church’s curate. Mr Davidson was well pleased, as his protégé was a hard-working asset in his parish.

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

Even though they were unaware that their cousin had been ordained in June 1808, the Bennets’ lives continued on as they had for some years.

Jane at twenty was a beautiful woman inside and out, and she was still much as she was when she had been younger. She was ever the peacemaker, and no matter what, she tried to see the positive in any situation. However, regardless of how she tried, she could not see anything positive in the way Mamma spoke to Lizzy. The two eldest sisters were best friends as well as sisters. Unlike Lizzy, even though she felt it was too early, Jane had not complained when her mother pushed her out at fifteen.

Fanny’s logic was that due to the entail, her daughter must come out at fifteen and marry as soon as possible, preferably to a wealthy man. Fanny had berated Jane for losing two suitors, and Jane had not had the heart to tell her mother the men had been chased away by her mother’s vulgar effusions as she pushed Jane at them while denigrating her other daughters.

Elizabeth had refused to come out at fifteen, and her father had supported her. She had agreed to come out in March of the current year at seventeen. Mary had also gained permission from her father to wait until she was seventeen. Kitty and Lydia had no desire to delay a minute longer than necessary.

Bennet still hid in his study, only admitting Lizzy regularly. She shared his sardonic sense of humour, his intelligence, and she was willing to debate vigorously with him. Best of all, like him, Lizzy was a bibliophile. Bennet did not stop his wife from constantly berating Lizzy for imagined errors she made, for being a hoyden for liking to walk out, and for being an unmarriageable bluestocking because she was educated. That was not even taking into account that at least twice each day Lizzy was told by her mother that in looks she was nothing to Jane. Having permission to hide in her father’s sanctuary, she was able to escape the worst of it. Elizabeth told herself she was inured to the effects of her mother’s thoughtless words. She convinced herself she was not pained when her mother denigrated her, but the truth was, it hurt deeply.

Mary, who would turn sixteen in July, also loved books, just not the kind either her father or next older sister appreciated. As she had grown older, her mother began to call her plain. Hence, Mary had begun to dress severely and have her hair put up in a tight bun. She wore spectacles that she did not need, and in the last few years, she had taken to reading moralistic texts.

In addition, in order to stand out, Mary decided she would be the most accomplished Bennet sister. She was the middle, forgotten sister. Jane and Lizzy were very close, as were Kitty and Lydia, which left Mary to attempt to excel in some way. When she was not reading her new favourite tome, Sermons to Young Women, a two-volume set written by one James Fordyce in 1766, Mary was banging away on the pianoforte, determined to become proficient on the instrument.

Kitty was older than Lydia. She was thirteen and would be fourteen in November. Lydia had turned twelve in April. Kitty was largely ignored by Mamma, whereas Lydia garnered as much attention as she desired. To try and come to Mamma’s notice, Kitty took to following Lydia in everything. She also developed an annoying cough that her mother said grated on her nerves, and she always commanded Kitty to cease coughing. It was negative attention, but it was attention. As their mother had not seen the need for a governess, the youngest two had not received any education other than learning to read, write, and do some basic sums.

The older two Bennet sisters had a great advantage regarding education. They had spent months at a time with the Gardiners when they were younger, and they had received lessons from the governess who was employed to teach their younger cousins. Also, Aunt Maddie had been teaching them how to comport themselves as gentlewomen. In addition, their father allowed them to learn whatever they wanted, and even employed masters for them from time to time.