Page 8 of When Elizabeth Said Yes

"Nothing was promised. Nothing is broken," Jane said.

But as gentle as her words were, Lizzy could see the pain in her eyes.

"It is good that our uncle is making provisions for us in London, and I am sure Mother will grow to understand our new situation and enjoy living there."

"Well, she will have no choice," Lizzy said with a sigh. "But hopefully she accepts it with the same grace as you, eventually."

"Who was the third letter from?" Jane asked.

Lizzy frowned. "You know, I had entirely forgotten. It is still on the salver in the parlour. Words of condolence, I imagine. I shall read it when we go back in to change for supper."

And indeed, the letter did contain words of condolence – but so much more besides.

She remained standing to open it, still expecting it to be nothing of consequence, knowing she only had moments before she needed to be upstairs to change and then dinner would be ready.

She would miss these routines of Longbourn when they did have to leave, whenever that would be. Not just because they would undoubtedly be living far less grand lives, but because they were the routines and rituals of a lifetime.

It was all she had ever known.

And so she was hard-pressed to imagine anything else.

She cut open the envelope with the letter opener on the writing table and scanned it, and her heart sank when she saw the name scrawled at the bottom.

Mr Collins.

So this was it.

She forced herself to sit and read the letter from beginning to end, even though merely holding it in her hands made her heart race.

She knew that eventually he would be here. He would take this home. So why did this letter matter so much?

Well, she supposed it did not really seem real until she held the written proof in her hands.

My dear Mrs Bennet and my fair cousins,

First, allow me to profess my heartfelt sympathies on the loss of your wonderful husband and father. He was a great man, and he will surely be missed by everyone.

Please rest assured that I do not expect you to vacate the property immediately, for I am sure you are all in the deepest depths of grief, and such an undertaking would be a challenge at the present moment.

My wife and I would like, in the near future, however, to visit you, if that would be agreeable, to make decisions about our future home.

But before then, Mrs Collins, encouraged by the very esteemed Lady Catherine de Bourgh, wished to invite my cousin Elizabeth to visit with us in order to take some time away during this period of heartbreak.

If this is agreeable, we would be honoured to have her presence from the twenty-seventh of the month and hope that our company may be of some use during this difficult time.

Your servant, as always,

Mr Collins

"You must go to Hunsford, Elizabeth," her mother said when she told her the news of Mr Collins's letter. "Not because I harbour any good feeling towards that man, but you may be able to sway him more in our favour. Give us longer before we need to leave, perhaps, or persuade him to look out for you girls in some way or another. You must not anger him, Lizzy. You have already turned him down. You must do this for your family."

Elizabeth sighed.

She longed to see Charlotte, even in the current circumstances. Other than Jane, she was her closest confidante. She had missed her since she had left to begin her married life, but she did not know whether she could tolerate Mr Collins or socialising when she felt so bereft.

She was still in mourning, so they would not expect much of her, surely, and society would dictate that she could not attend any functions.

But perhaps a break from home, a break from her mother... Well, perhaps it would not be so terrible.