Page 39 of Collins Takes Charge

The younger Collins couple nodded their agreement.

“It is addressed to both of us, my love. Should I read it aloud? I am certain there is nothing within that Clem and Bethany cannot hear,” Collins suggested.

“That is a good idea,” Ophelia agreed. “I do not know about any of you, but I am already sated. If that is true for everyone, we can retire to the family parlour and listen to you read William’s letter.”

The plan was agreed to by all. The members of the family stood and made their way up to the first floor, where the family parlour was located.

As soon as everyone had taken their seats, Collins began to read.

19 November 1811

Longbourn

Hertfordshire

Mother and Father, and to Clem and Bethany if they are with you, I send you all my greetings from Longbourn.

Father, your investigators were very close to the truth of the characters of the Bennets. As such, I do not need to describe them beyond that.

One thing that I have discovered is that Cousin Bennet, while he enjoys his amusement, is either unaware he is so, or he is intentionally cruel to his wife and daughters. I say this because it seems that he only told his wife and daughters of my arrival on the day I was to come! I wrote to him close to 3 months past, and he responded a few weeks later. As such, he has no excuse for waiting until the day of my arrival, (the previous day) to inform his family of my coming.

It is very hard for me to play the fool for Cousin Bennet. and there are times when I slip. I then have to say something he expects from one not nearly as intelligent as himself.

Today, before putting pen to paper, I went to the stables to ride Vulcan. I met Cousin Bennet there, who was amazed that not only did I have a thoroughbred stallion, but also a carriage horse and my own gig.

It seems that the tale successive Bennet men have been told since my great-great-grandfather William became a Collins is that we Collinses are nothing but nasty, bullying, illiterate farm labourers. Hence, when I told him about Collins Hollow and the fact that you, Father and Mother, gifted both Clem and me stallions, he was greatly surprised; so much so that there was no sarcastic comment made. (He really thinks that most people do not understand what he is about.)

I have given him much on which to cogitate. I know he is questioning why the myth about us, from his father on back through the generations, was perpetuated.

He is indolent in the extreme, and without even seeing the estate’s ledgers, I would estimate that the income has fallen below even the ₤3,000 per annum level. When I rode about the estate, it was sad to see almost half of the tenant farms standing empty.

On a personal level, even though the eldest two Bennet sisters (Jane and Elizabeth) are great beauties (according to their mother, that only applies to the eldest because she looks like Cousin Fanny) and the two youngest (Kitty and Lydia) are very pretty, it is Mary Bennet, the middle sister who has caught my attention. It is far too early to think of forming a lasting bond with her, but I would like to explore the possibility.

Before I forget, the day I arrived I saw two young ladies flirting with officers (a regiment of the Derbyshire Militia is encamped in Meryton), and other than knowing it was inappropriate, I thought nothing of it. That was until the two self-same girls walked into Longbourn. It was the two youngest Bennets. It seems that rather than being checked and educated, their mother encourages them, and their father ignores them. Speaking of the mother, she has put Cousin Elizabeth forward as my possible wife. We would never suit, so I will be ignoring Cousin Fanny’s machinations in that area.

I will stop here and add more when I have been here a little longer.

W

22 November 1811- My letter continues.

Cousin Mary and I are spending as much time together as possible. Cousin Elizabeth and I ignore any attempts by Cousin Fanny to push me together with her second daughter.

Even had I not known this already and seen how stubborn and blinded by pride and prejudice Cousin Elizabeth is, it would have been more than enough to convince me that she is not for me. Do not mistake me; I think she is basically a good person, but she has been her father’s favourite and apes his sarcastic and sardonic humour. She is intelligent in the extreme and has perfect recall. Anything she reads, sees, or hears once is stored in its entirety in her memories.

That being said, thanks to being insulted by Mr Darcy (Colonel Fitzwilliam’s cousin) at the assembly the first time she saw him, she has an intense dislike of him (hatred according to Cousin Mary), and in her mind he is the worst of men.

As far as I can see, she is so sure in her conclusions that she only seeks information that confirms what she already believes. I guessed, and Cousin Mary confirmed, that Cousin Elizabeth is very slow to forgive and even slower to change her opinions regardless of the facts.

I will not go into why here (if you ask, I will relate some of this in person), but I have written to Colonel Fitzwilliam and asked him to come to Hertfordshire. If he is unable to come here, I asked if I may call on him in London. All I will say is that it is connected to a snake in the grass who has a commission in the regiment. On that subject, I effectively spiked the guns of every dishonourable officer (I hope there are not too many like that) by taking the minor issues Faversham experienced when the regiment of the Devonshire Militia was encamped nearby and exaggerating them greatly. Thanks to some words in the right ear, no more credit is being extended to officers, and all debts were called in. In addition, the girls and young ladies in Meryton are very sceptical of flattering and promises from the officers. Unfortunately, Cousin Lydia (and by extension Cousin Kitty, who blindly follows her) refuses to hear a bad word said about any officer.

Cousin Bennet was told of the danger by Sir William Lucas, his closest neighbour, but he laughed it away and did nothing. I will keep a close eye on my cousins and step in if needed.

As far as my stay here goes in general, I am very close to allowing all the Bennets to see my true self.

There are many reasons why I need to do so. Not the least of them is Cousin Fanny’s blindness to my attentions to Cousin Mary, who welcomes them, while Cousin Fanny still attempts to push Cousin Elizabeth and me together. She is very frustrated because neither of us will gratify her machinations. Does she not see that if things proceed to their natural conclusion one of her daughters will be my wife? She is also wilfully blind.

Given that Cousin Bennet tries to lock himself in his study with his books and port rather than tending to the estate, it is not long before I will need to confront him with certain clauses in the entail.