Page 49 of Collins Takes Charge

As Bennet walked, he was happy at being amused by his wife’s inept attempts at matching their cousin with Lizzy. Not only that, for a lady whose sole purpose in life was to marry off her daughters, Bennet could not grasp why his wife was blind to Collins’s interest in Mary and hers in him.

He would have his fun when a request for a courtship or engagement was made to him. What fun it would be when Fanny finally saw the writing on the wall.

Chapter 19

One of the many benefits of Miss Bingley no longer being the mistress of the house was that, since Saturday afternoon past, the house was operating on country hours thanks to Mrs Hurst making it so with her first decision as the hostess. Since Miss Bingley had been locked in her suite, the whole house seemed to breathe easier. The servants were far more relaxed, an attitude they had never known when Miss Bingley was mistress. She would scream at some of them and, in some cases, slap one near her. On the whole, the atmosphere was far more pleasant than it had been.

The Darcy courier returned to Netherfield Park early Monday morning, before Fitzwilliam and Darcy departed for Longbourn. The cousins were in the dining parlour breaking their fasts when the man entered the room. As he had been instructed by Lord Matlock, he placed the epistle directly into Colonel Fitzwilliam’s hands. He bowed to the master and his cousin after the latter thanked him. Then the man withdrew.

Fitzwilliam broke the seal on the missive. While he was perusing what his father had written, Bingley and the Hursts entered the dining parlour.

Bingley went to the sideboard to make selections for his plate. The reasonable amount of dishes and the quality were also advantages of his younger sister’s removal as mistress. In Miss Bingley’s attempt to impress Darcy, she wasted the kitchen’s time and her brother’s money preparing far more than was needed. She had never grasped that her displays of bad taste had the opposite effect than she had intended.

Bingley owned that there was none to blame but himself. In order to try keeping peace, he had placated Caroline and given in to her, regardless of how unreasonable her demands used to be. That had only made her worse.

Once Bingley had his plate filled, Hurst took his place and did the honours for his wife and then himself. If one man was as happy as, if not happier than, Darcy with Caroline’s banishment, it was Hurst. At long last he could be himself and not have to act the drunken, lazy lout to avoid the shrew.

“I hate to say this because Caroline is my sister, but our meals, everything in fact, are more enjoyable without her in our presence,” Bingley opined.

No one said a word in opposition, not even Mrs Hurst.

“I received the information I requested, that I promised to pass onto you. The asylum is called ‘The Quiet Place’, and it is on the Isle of Wight,” Fitzwilliam reported. “My source confirms that the accommodations are comfortable, and those who are resident there are treated well and with compassion. If your sister is accepted, she will be well cared for and will live in comfort.”

“What do you mean ‘if’, Colonel?” Mrs Hurst enquired. “Is it reserved for those related to members of the first circles?”

“No, Mrs Hurst, there is no connection to rank and status,” Fitzwilliam clarified. “The asylum has offices in London. I will scribe the direction for Bingley to write to them for an appointment. Miss Bingley will be evaluated by physicians. If they judge that your sister needs to be committed to their institution, they will accept her. As long as Bingley is able to pay, they care not who her antecedents are.”

“Louisa, will you write the letter for me so it will be legible?” Bingley requested.

“Of course, I will,” Mrs Hurst agreed. “Charles, what of the ball? It is supposed to be on the morrow, and although she scribed all of the invitations, Caroline lied to you. She never sent them out. I should have said something sooner.”

“I must wait for a reply from London. Hence, the ball will proceed as planned. I am sure that her not sending out the invitations was a tactic of Caroline’s to ensure that my neighbours did not attend the ball. She will fail in that as well. Have footmen take the invitations and deliver them at once. I am very thankful that I mentioned to so many that we are having a ball and all my neighbours would be invited. That way, everyone is aware, so the late invitations will not be too disconcerting to them. Please give me the one for the Bennets, I will deliver that one in person,” Bingley decided. “It has been brought to my attention how terribly Caroline behaved towards Miss Elizabeth when she was hosted here. I need to beg both Miss Bennet’s and Miss Elizabeth’s pardons for not checking Caroline.”

“You are not the only one who did not oppose her, Charles. Like you, I did anything I could to placate Caroline, and that included following her in being rude and dismissive to our neighbours, especially Miss Elizabeth,” Mrs Hurst owned. “I need to come with you when you go to Longbourn so I too can offer my apologies.” She thought of something and turned to Mr Darcy. “I am not sure if you realise it, but you caused Caroline to change from disdain of Miss Elizabeth to pure hatred.” Mrs Hurst saw Mr Darcy looked confused. “Until you made that comment at Lucas Lodge about admiring ‘a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman’, and naming that woman as Miss Elizabeth and not Caroline, as she expected you to say, my sister hardly thought of her. From that moment on, she became a mortal enemy.”

“Good Lord, I forgot I said that. I did not consider my audience before I blurted that out,” Darcy admitted. “She had just grabbed my arm again, and I had to pry her talons from my person, so perhaps I did so to try to show her how futile her attempts to attract my attention were.” He sighed. “I have even more for which to beg forgiveness. I caused the attacks Miss Bingley unleashed against Miss Elizabeth, and I did nothing to point out the rudeness of a hostess behaving in such a manner towards a guest.”

“I failed in that as well. As the master of this estate, it was my duty to check Caroline,” Bingley acknowledged openly.

“William, we have an appointment,” Fitzwilliam pointed out.

Darcy looked at the clock on the mantel. It was time to go have a quick wash and then begin their ride to Longbourn.

On his way up to his chambers, Darcy realised that what he was about to do was a wholly new experience for him. In the past, even when he was wrong, he had not been quick to own it, and certainly not publicly. After the almost debacle with Anna, all because he had been too proud and obstinate to check Mrs Younge’s characters, as had been suggested to him, he had yet to beg his aunt’s and uncle’s pardons. What, in Andrew’s and Richard’s words, an arrogant horse’s arse he had been.

After changing, the cousins met in the sitting room. “William, I did not want to say so in the dining parlour as it would have revealed the source of my information, but Andy will arrive with Anne later today. If we see Bingley at Longbourn, I will tell him I received a note from my brother. Do not look at me like that; it is nothing but the truth. I just will not say when the missive arrived,” Fitzwilliam stated.

By the time they arrived in the drive, Zeus and Invictus were saddled and being held by grooms, ready for the cousins to mount.

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

“Cousin Elizabeth, may I have a word with you?” William Collins asked after they had just completed breaking their fast on Monday morning.

“Of course, Lizzy will speak to you. Come everyone, we need to allow our cousin time to say what he desires to Lizzy.” Fanny jumped up in anticipation, sending her chair flying. Finally! She knew how it would be.

“Cousin Fanny, I am not requesting a private interview with Cousin Elizabeth. In fact, unless Cousins Jane and Mary remain in the dining parlour with us, I will not be able to speak to Cousin Elizabeth. I will not remain alone with her and put her reputation in jeopardy,” William said firmly. It was a pity Cousin Bennet had already escaped to his library. Then again, his cousin would have made sport of his wife and more than likely not checked her. At least from today on, William would be his true self.

“My nerves! No one knows how I suffer,” Fanny screeched. What did she have to do? Mr Collins was almost as headstrong as her second daughter. Fanny stomped her way out of the dining parlour, her youngest two following.