Chapter 4
Darcy left Colonel Forster’s office discontented.
As planned, he had interrupted his journey to London for a conversation which he had tried to keep reasonable.
He could not reveal much without sounding like a groundless gossip.
Therefore, he only mentioned Wickham’s tendency for spreading falsehoods, tales of his invented misfortunes, and his inclination towards dissipation.
“I hope he will prove me wrong by becoming a reliable army man, loyal to his regiment. If that is the case, I will be the first to admit my error and apologise for it.”
“Your concern is appreciated, Mr Darcy, but we are all men of the army here. None of us is flawless, and some of the traits you put on Wickham’s account are quite common among us. All I expect from Wickham is to behave with honour and to accomplish his duties.”
“Yes, that should be expected of any man. I hope you will not be disappointed, Colonel.”
“I truly thank you for your worries, but I am old enough not to fear disappointment, Mr Darcy,” the colonel responded. “As I said, I am aware I lead a group of men who are far from perfection—just as I am.”
The colonel’s jesting tone only increased Darcy’s preoccupation.
He had often seen such an attitude from Wickham’s acquaintances, who tended to excuse his flaws due to his pleasant manners.
‘Yes, he is a rascal, but he is a pleasant fellow,’ people used to say, until Wickham abused their trust and hurt them directly.
With the colonel, Darcy did not insist further.
Before leaving Meryton, he was tempted to call at Longbourn and speak to Mr Bennet, hoping that at least that gentleman would take his warning in earnest. But again, he abandoned the intention.
Calling on a house with young ladies before taking his leave could also be a sign of a particular inclination, which he wished to avoid.
He was confident enough—from the little he had seen—that Elizabeth had discovered Wickham’s true character and would protect herself and her sisters from him.
With a strange, unexpected weight in his heart, he left Meryton behind with the conviction he would never see it again and hurried on the road to London. The Bingleys were expecting him at the first inn.
∞∞∞
Elizabeth was guarded against Mr Collins approaching her after the ball. However, oddly and fortunately, starting the following morning, he appeared to be less attentive to her. He wrote to Lady Catherine, spoke to Mr Bennet, then went to Meryton where Sir William had invited him.
“Well, that Charlotte Lucas is a slick woman,” Mrs Bennet declared, once their cousin had left. “I am sure she is trying to use her arts to attract Mr Collins. She would like nothing better than to become the mistress of Longbourn one day.”
“I am sure that is not the case, Mama,” Elizabeth replied, rolling her eyes.
“You can have little to say on the matter, young lady,” her mother scolded her. “If you were a well-behaved daughter who knows what is in her best interest, you would already be engaged to him!”
“Mama, I hope you do not entertain hopes in that regard. I do not want you to suffer from disappointment,” Elizabeth replied, exchanging an amused look with her father.
“I do entertain hopes! I am still praying that somehow, Longbourn will belong to our family forever!” Mrs Bennet cried, then called for Hill to bring her smelling salts.
∞∞∞
Mrs Bennet’s hopes and nerves suffered a terrible blow two days later, when the news of Mr Collins’ engagement to Charlotte Lucas was announced with much solemnity. Mrs Bennet’s astonishment was so complete, that she refused to accept it.
“Engaged to Charlotte Lucas? Did you not express your admiration for Lizzy only a week ago? She is so much prettier and more lively than that Charlotte!”
Mr Collins turned pale at the claim. “My dear Mrs Bennet, I assure you...”
“Mama, what are you saying?” Elizabeth interjected. “Mr Collins surely has the liberty of choosing whomsoever he wishes! And if he is so fortunate as to have gained Charlotte’s affection in such a short time, we must congratulate them both!”
“My dear cousin Elizabeth, how generous of you!” the clergyman said with apparent relief.
“I assure you that, if not for that disturbing incident in the library, on the night of the ball, my intention would have been elsewhere. But I cannot afford to attach my name to a scandal that might meet Lady Catherine’s disapproval! ”
The last statement stunned Elizabeth. While she was surprised and dismayed about Charlotte’s decision to marry a man she barely knew and whose worthiness was questionable, she had attempted to calm things and avoid a ridiculous argument between her mother and her cousin.
However, it seemed that Mr Collins believed she regretted his change of mind and tried to justify himself for it.
“Mr Collins, I cannot possibly imagine what an incident so wholly unconnected has to do with your decision to marry. I trust you have proposed to Charlotte because of your admiration for her and that she accepted you for the same reason.”
“Yes, yes...of course...of course,” the clergyman mumbled.
“Well, this has been a lesson for me,” Mrs Bennet said with vexation. “One must be very careful when trusting a new acquaintance, family or not, in order to avoid disillusion.”
She then left the room, while Mr Collins seemed speechless for the first time in his life.
“Mr Collins, allow me to express one more time my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes,” Elizabeth said with complete seriousness.
“Perhaps a glass of brandy would be appropriate at this time,” Mr Bennet offered, barely concealing his amusement.
The next day, Mr Collins left Longbourn and returned to Kent.
Mrs Bennet felt unwell and could not leave her chamber to say goodbye, but her five daughters offered their cousin a joyful farewell, which he took as a compliment.
As his carriage departed, the Bennets were happy to return to their normal life, interrupted only by Mrs Bennet’s lamentations.
With Mr Bingley’s absence, Meryton was mostly preoccupied with Miss Lucas’s future wedding. Lady Lucas held dinner parties twice a week and repeatedly expressed her joy for her daughter’s upcoming felicity.
Mr Wickham’s preference for Elizabeth Bennet disappeared after the Netherfield ball.
He avoided even being close to her and did not address her more than with brief greetings.
Consequently, Mr Wickham never visited Longbourn again, although he remained on apparently friendly terms with Lydia and Kitty.
To Elizabeth’s surprise, Wickham appeared very friendly with Colonel Forster’s wife too.
She remembered Darcy’s threat about exposing Wickham’s character to the colonel and she assumed Mr Darcy had abandoned that plan, after all.
It was the only explanation for the colonel allowing Wickham in his close company.
“Well, Charlotte Lucas will be married soon, and Mr Bingley is nowhere to be seen,” Mrs Bennet complained again one evening.
“Why does he stay in town for so long? He said he would return in a week, did he not? And it has been a fortnight since his departure. Well, how nice it would be if he never returns! That would give Lady Lucas and her daughter even more reason to brag. Nobody has any compassion for my poor nerves!”
“And how can we prove our compassion, Mrs Bennet?” her husband asked, with pretend seriousness.
“Oh, Mr Bennet—you tease me, but you are at fault for all this, really! You have spoiled Lizzy too much and this is why she is so wild, and Mr Collins did not propose to her! You will see after you die, that I was right!”
“Well, my dear, once I am dead, I will hardly be able to see anything. Unless you wish me to return and haunt you all, but I doubt that would be of any more benefit to your nerves.”
“You like to see me suffer, Mr Bennet!” the lady replied. “I am distraught!”
“I am sorry to hear that, my dear. And I do not mean to upset you, but I truly do not know how to alleviate your complaints. I cannot force either Mr Collins or Mr Bingley to do something to please you!”
Such conversations continued for several days. Mrs Bennet remained in a most pitiable state. The very mention of anything concerning the match threw her into an agony of ill-humour, and the sight of any Lucases was repulsive to her.
Lady Lucas purposely called at Longbourn more often than usual to say how happy she was. Mrs Bennet's sour looks and ill-natured remarks might have been enough to drive her happiness away, but Lady Lucas purposefully ignored them and persisted in her visits, despite not being welcomed.
Mrs Bennet regarded Charlotte as her successor in the house and treated her with jealous abhorrence whenever she came to see them.
"I cannot bear to think that they should have all this estate," Mrs Bennet declared. “How anyone could have the conscience to entail away an estate from one's own daughters, I cannot understand, and all for the sake of Mr Collins too, who is not even worthy of such a lovely property!”
“Again, my dear Mrs Bennet, I have no power and no knowledge to bring you relief in this matter,” Mr Bennet replied. The same conversation was repeated often, and the result was always the same: Mrs Bennet asking for Hill with the smelling salts.
To Elizabeth, Charlotte’s engagement was also a reason for estrangement.
She could not congratulate her lifelong friend with an open heart but did not dare express her doubts either.
Therefore, between Elizabeth and Charlotte, there was a restraint which kept them mutually silent on the subject.
Elizabeth felt confident that no real confidence could ever exist between them again.
Her disappointment in Charlotte made her turn with fonder regard to her sister, of whose rectitude and delicacy she was sure her opinion could never be shaken.
Elizabeth also grew anxious for Jane’s felicity, as Mr Bingley had now been gone more than a week, and nothing was heard of his return.
Neither she nor Jane was comfortable with the subject.
Day after day passed without bringing any other tidings of him other than the rumours that he might not return to Netherfield for the whole winter; a report which highly incensed Mrs Bennet, and which she hurried to contradict as a most scandalous falsehood.
Elizabeth began to fear—not that Bingley was indifferent—but that his sisters would be successful in keeping him away.
And very likely, his friend Mr Darcy took the sisters’ side.
Unwilling as she was to admit an idea so destructive to Jane's happiness, and so dishonourable to the stability of her lover, she could not prevent its frequently recurring. The united efforts of his two unfeeling sisters and his overpowering friend, combined with the attractions of Miss Darcy and the amusements of London, might be too much for the strength of Mr Bingley’s attachment.
As for Jane, her anxiety under this suspense was more painful than Elizabeth's, but her feelings were mostly repressed, and the subject avoided.
Mrs Bennet, however, spoke of it with no delicacy as often as she scolded Charlotte Lucas—several times a day.
However, one day everything changed regarding the Bennets’ preoccupations. Lydia returned home from her usual Meryton walk, together with Kitty, and threw herself on the settee, shouting.
“Lizzy, is it true that you had a secret affair with Mr Darcy? That he refused to marry you and then you tried to pursue Mr Wickham?”
Mrs Bennet, who was just enjoying a cup of tea to calm her nerves, dropped it in her lap.