A Mutual Accord

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

T he next morning all five Bennet girls could be heard giggling in Mary's bedroom. An hour later, Mrs Bennet's jaw dropped and Mr Bennet nearly choked on his tea as their girls sailed into the breakfast room with a glowing, yet still simply attired Mary Bennet, who was completely transformed in Elizabeth’s favourite pink gown, with the addition of a modest fichu, and with her hair in a soft yet elegant twist accomplished by Jane. Kitty had assisted nobly by accidentally dropping Mary's silly, useless spectacles, and breaking them under her foot while assisting with Mary's hair.

Mr Collins continued his attentions toward Elizabeth throughout breakfast, but Elizabeth continually referred his attention back to Mary, who engaged him quite agreeably about scripture. Towards the end of the meal, Elizabeth invited Mr Collins to escort his cousins into Meryton. When his acceptance was assured, Mary announced that she would remain home to practise the instrument for, "No excellence can be achieved without constant practice!"

"My dear cousin, that is just what my esteemed patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh always says!" exclaimed Mr Collins. Mrs Bennet, not having caught on to the plan, scolded Mary for her silliness, and shooed the other girls and Mr Collins out the door.

Elizabeth took her cousin's arm companionably as they began their walk. "How clever you are to fall in with me so quickly, Mr Collins, for I am the Bennet sister who can assist you most in achieving your goal, and I am feeling distinctly chatty this morning," Elizabeth said mischievously as they followed Jane, Kitty, and Lydia down the lane toward Meryton.

"My goal?" asked Mr Collins in awe at her sudden familiarity.

"Your goal to secure a mistress for your lovely parsonage of course! You said yourself that your most esteemed patroness desires you to wed, and indeed is it not a truth universally acknowledged that a young man with a comfortable situation and such excellent prospects as yours, must be in want of a wife?" returned Elizabeth.

"Oh, well yes indeed, of course," said Mr Collins.

" Of course , and for you to have such luck as to have already gained the good opinion of such an excellent lady! You will be very successful as a gentleman when you return one day to take over Longbourn, for your lady is well liked and respected in Hertfordshire, and will guide you well when the time comes. What a fortunate circumstance! Your good fortune is to be wondered at, sir!"

Mr Collins stared at her with awe, and a small amount of apprehension. "It is?"

"I am certain my sister Mary's delicate reaction to your introduction yesterday was too marked to be mistaken," Elizabeth said wistfully, dreamy eyed. "The moment I observed her when you entered the house, I knew then that Mary had singled you out as the companion of her future life.

"And how could she not, when you are quite Mary's ideal partner in every way? Mary has always been the most devout of us, and the most hopeful of joining a kind and hardworking husband to share in the service of a good parish. She studies so diligently at Fordyce! I know she feels keenly the absence of someone to guide her in the understanding of those teachings that we – the unordained – are ill equipped to mentor her in. How happy will Mary be in such a situation!" Elizabeth went on merrily. "I confess, I am overjoyed for my sister," she said, wiping away an imaginary tear.

Mr Collins seemed to be at a loss for words for the first time since arriving at Longbourn. "Miss Mary did seem quite attentive as I read from Fordyce last night, and asked for my explanation of several important points. And I very much enjoyed my discourse about the Golden Rule with her this morning at breakfast."

"May I share a confidence with you?" Elizabeth said quietly, looking about as if she could be overheard out on the lane. "Mary is quite a beautiful girl. Her beauty is rather the opposite of Jane's. If Jane is tall and blonde like the Princess Cinderella in the fairy stories, then Mary is the petite, ivory skinned, raven haired beauty, like Snow White. But our mother calls Jane's charms to attention so much that Mary, who is shy, modest, and eschews vanity, hides her light under grey gowns and a severe hairstyle, so as not to attract Mama's attention and cause her embarrassment."

"It is to her credit that she turns away from vanity. We must all be vigilant not to allow vanity to overcome us, but such a young lady should not hide her virtues. She appeared much less severe this morning," said Mr Collins thoughtfully.

"I have always hoped that if one day a gentleman showed her some respectful and genuine attention, she might blossom. So we sisters ambushed her this morning, and insisted she try something new; I believe the effect was quite worthwhile. If you chose to court her, you will have the support of all her sisters, sir," Elizabeth replied. "And indeed, how can you fail, when you have me to tell you her favourite flowers, and help you along?"

"Why would you help me marry your sister? Many women would have sought to claim their father's heir over her younger sister," Mr Collins asked.

"Oh, I could never accept a gentleman one of my sisters had hopes for. I would rather push for Mary's happiness than mine. Besides, Mr Collins, as you can imagine, there is one element that is sadly lacking at Longbourn, and that is brothers. Not because of the entail, but because we all of us would have valued the kindness and protection of a good brother, and my parents would have felt the same. But it has occurred to me that with four sisters, if all of us marry, I shall one day have four brothers! But I believe you shall be my favourite, for you will have been my very first brother. That is, if you propose and marry faster than Jane and her suitor. I would never suit as a parson's wife; I am too opinionated. Your Lady Catherine would quite despair of my obstinate, headstrong ways, I am sure. Her ladyship would be offended indeed when I removed all the shelves from the closets! How else should I hang my gowns! I cannot bear to be managed, I must have my own way in most things. But I will support my sisters and family as best I can. And certainly you will benefit as well, for you have never had sisters, and if you marry Mary, you shall have four of us!"

"Cousin Elizabeth, you are too good! A more kind and generous cousin and sister never lived! Please, tell me everything about Miss Mary. What is my fair cousin's favourite flower? Does it grow in the gardens at Longbourn?" Mr Collins began peppering Elizabeth with questions as they entered the haberdashery.

Elizabeth spent the rest of the outing telling Mr Collins everything there was to know about her next younger sister, and by the time the party returned to Longbourn, Mr Collins was head over heels in love with Mary. The idea that a lady actually was interested in him was nearly more than the man’s excitement could bear. He had arrived thinking that he would be lucky if one of his cousins would consent to have him in order to save their home for their family, and somehow, one of them actually liked him .

As they entered the house, Mr Collins went immediately to the music room, and said, "Cousin Mary, I have recently been studying a new book of sermons, and it has several points I would be vastly interested to hear your thoughts on. If I were to fetch it from my trunk, would you like to sit in the garden and discuss it with me?"

Mary blushed happily, and agreed; Kitty offered to accompany them, for she wanted to sketch a section of the garden that had recently been redesigned.

"Mr Collins! I was quite set on taking tea with you in the parlour. Lizzy and I are vastly interested to hear about the renovations Lady Catherine made to your charming parsonage," cried Mrs Bennet, attempting to stop the procession, and throw Mr Collins together again with Elizabeth.

"My dear Mrs Bennet, I shall be very happy to join you for tea, just as soon as Miss Mary and I return from the garden," Mr Collins promised as Elizabeth caught her mother's eye and shook her head imperceptibly.

Mrs Bennet waited as Mr Collins left the room with Mary and Kitty, and then rounded on Elizabeth. "What do you think you are up to, young lady? You are up to something, and I will not have it! Mr Collins is interested in you, and you will not discourage him, Lizzy!"

"Mr Collins is no more interested in me than I am him, and there is no reason to push me at him when he and Mary like each other, Mama," Elizabeth responded.

"He- they…"

"Mama, Mary likes him. She wants him to court her. And it was scarcely the work of a moment to pique his interest in her as we walked to Meryton. I have promised to advise him on his courtship, and by the time we returned home, he was half in love with her already!" Elizabeth replied.

"Lizzy, how clever of you!" Mrs Bennet clapped her hands. "Your father always promised me that you could not be so clever for nothing! Now to help Mary, we must go into the village tomorrow, and get some lace, and visit the dressmaker, and-"

"Of course I am clever, Mama. I am Papa's daughter, am I not? Let us settle down, Mary needs no help- no," she insisted as her mother began to argue about lace. "Mary is being assisted by her sisters . I'm sure you've noticed that she already looks very well today. It was not easy to find simply cut gowns among our wardrobes with minimal embellishments, and we worked very hard with Mary to select a number of our frocks that she feels comfortable and pretty in. If you make a spectacle of her or her courtship, you know she will withdraw entirely."

Mrs Bennet made to argue again, and Elizabeth said, "Mama, you have spent twenty-two years teaching us to catch husbands. This is the moment you have trained us all for, and now you must give your girls some credit, and trust us to get the matter right. Have we not already made an excellent beginning? Let Mary attend to her affairs, and allow her sisters to help her. I promise you that I have every confidence that we shall hear a proposal very soon indeed!"

After Mary and Mr Collins had spent a pleasant hour in the garden, and another hour was spent taking tea with Mrs Bennet in the drawing room, hearing about his parsonage and the patronage of the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Elizabeth and Mary went to the kitchens, assisted the cook with dinner, and prepared a special pudding. Mrs Bennet had always disapproved of the girls spending time in the kitchens, but after her conversation with Mrs Long, she had encouraged the older girls to learn some basics in the kitchen, and teach their younger sisters, in case any of her daughters chose to marry down.

Each of the girls had found something they were good at in the kitchens over the last few weeks. Jane had learned one or two savoury courses, and was interested in learning more. Elizabeth was becoming good at baking, but not at all at the decorating of cakes and puddings. Mary found interest in savoury dishes, like Jane, and they learned that with little practice, Mary was extremely skilled at decorating cakes and other puddings with icing, sugared flowers, and the like. Lydia and Kitty were very enthusiastic about learning to bake bread, and were learning to make braids, and other attractive and appetising loaves. The cook had some fish and a beef roast; Elizabeth helped with some of the vegetables, while Mary decorated a lovely pudding for the end of the meal.

Mr Collins' praise was generous at dinner. He spoke unendingly, and complimented everything from the tablecloth to the dishes upon the table. "I must say, Mrs Bennet, you set a remarkably fine table. I might be at Rosings Park right now, with such a meal before me. To which of my fair cousins should I compliment the excellence of the cooking?"

"Longbourn is perfectly able to keep a cook, Mr Collins," said Mrs Bennet. “But my daughters and I believe that it is necessary for a lady to have some simple skills, and so they have recently begun to help in the kitchens. For example, today Lizzy assisted with the vegetables, and Mary decorated the pudding, which is a talent she only recently acquired, but has learned with distinction."

"Indeed, and Cousin Elizabeth, what excellent boiled potatoes! It has been many years since I enjoyed such an exemplary vegetable! I am all anticipation for the pudding. I am sure my fair cousin Miss Mary will have designed a confection fit even for Lady Catherine!" enthused Mr Collins as Mary blushed.

"Mary has recently discovered a gift for the culinary art and housekeeping. She is learning so quickly in the kitchens. She will be quite the charming homemaker one day when her time comes, so very accomplished! I am quite in raptures at her little design for a table that she is saving for when she marries," Elizabeth replied to him.

The pudding was brought out and praised by all, to which Mary blushed again deeply. At the end of the meal, the sexes did not separate, and Mr Bennet challenged Elizabeth to a game of chess in the drawing room. Mary played the piano quietly in the corner, a low, easy tune that was the perfect background for the quiet conversations happening in the room. Mr Collins settled down close by her to enjoy her playing, and make notations in the book of sermons from earlier that day, so that he and Mary could discuss it in more detail. Jane worked on her embroidery, while Lydia, Kitty, and Mrs Bennet began looking at fashion plates, Mrs Bennet looking over at Mary and her suitor surreptitiously every few moments. She seemed to have decided to leave the management of the courtship in Mary and Lizzy’s hands for the present, since it seemed to be developing splendidly..

"However did you manage that?" asked Mr Bennet, nodding to the couple in the corner.

"It was easy to see yesterday when Mr Collins arrived that Mary wished for his attention. Lydia and Kitty were persuaded to assist with her wardrobe, and it was scarcely the work of a moment to make her interest known to him, and welcome him to the family as my future brother."

"Nice work," grinned Mr Bennet. "Somehow you have even made your mother fall in line."

"What point is there of forcing my cousin and I together if he and my sister have already discovered an affinity for one another? I would never accept a suitor that one of my sisters had hopes for under any circumstances." Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at the thought. "I sense that Mr Collins is rather lonely with no family of his own. He may be rather silly, but there seems to be no malice in him. He is insensible, but harmless, rather like Mama. He has made several remarks that make me believe that he is quite alone in the world, and would like to be welcomed to the family as a close connection. Indeed it could only be beneficial to everyone if we were to do so."

"You make a fair point. While he may not be a sensible man, nor would I relish spending much time with him, there is certainly no reason to be at odds with him. Let us see where matters fall with Mary for now," replied Mr Bennet. The rest of the evening passed comfortably. Eventually Mary abandoned the pianoforte, and joined Mr Collins to discuss the book of sermons.