Chapter 13
At Longbourn, distress and worry were experienced in the same manner as joy and amusement: with increasing noise building from loud and silly conversations, accompanied by tasty refreshments.
Elizabeth did not doubt their genuine concern for Darcy, but she could not stand their behaviour; therefore she withdrew to her chamber.
She felt unwell–both her body and her mind were exhausted–and she wished for a little rest which was denied to her.
She sat on the bed, then rose, paced the room, looked outside, then returned to the bed, gazing at the fire.
She shivered from the cold, then heat enveloped her.
She felt too tired to rise, but could not bear to lie down either.
Eventually, she remembered she had neglected Mr Jones’ advice, so she took the suggested medicine and returned to bed, wrapping the covers around her.
Sometime later, a knock on the door startled her, and her first thought was that something had happened to Darcy. But Jane entered with a tray, followed by their father.
“Dearest, I brought you a little hot soup, some biscuits, and warm tea. We will leave you now so you can sleep,” Jane said.
“No, do not leave! I am not sleeping; I just needed a little quiet. Stay and keep me company. How is Mr Darcy?”
“The same,” Jane replied.
“We sent the letter by express to both Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy’s town residences,” Mr Bennet explained. “We were debating if we should write to his aunt too.”
“His aunt?” Elizabeth asked absently.
“Yes. The famous Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
“I would not do anything until I hear from Miss Darcy. She should decide who else she wishes to inform. But I am sure Mr Collins will pass the news to Lady Catherine immediately; he probably has already done so,” Elizabeth responded, annoyed.
“Mr Collins left this morning. With all this chaos, I forgot to mention it to you. For some reason, he decided to return to Kent early today. He did not share the reason for his sudden–and I would say welcome–departure, but he did mention he had some business to complete first in Meryton. Since he asked nothing of me, I was happy not to enquire further,” Mr Bennet declared.
“Finally good news for today,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Just imagine how Mr Collins’ ridiculous comments would have exacerbated this disaster!”
“Your mother is rather distracted. I suspect she secretly hoped Mr Collins would propose to one of you before he left the neighbourhood.”
“Papa, I know you find great amusement in this situation, but I am not diverted at all. We all knew Mr Collins intended to propose to me, just as we all knew I would have rejected him and would have provoked a huge scandal. Thank the Lord he left and let us pray he will not return anytime soon!”
“Come now, my dear, nothing is more relaxing than making sport of difficult situations in life,” Mr Bennet replied.
“Forgive me, Papa, but I am in no disposition for jokes,” Elizabeth said, rubbing her temples to relieve a sudden headache.
“Yes, I have noticed that. Well, my dear, try to sleep a little bit. Perhaps that will improve your disposition.”
“I cannot sleep, Papa. I will come downstairs with you, but there is something I must tell you first. I trust you will keep the secret, as it would be tragic if Mama discovered something,” she declared, gathering her courage to confess her anguish.
To her father and sister’s worried and puzzled gazes, she replied with a nervous smile.
“During the ball, Mr Darcy told me he wished to speak to me privately, about an important matter of concern for him and for our family. We planned to meet this morning; we had happened to meet before on previous occasions, so it was nothing special. He never appeared, and now we know why; I imagine he was so close to Longbourn because he did not want me to walk far from home in such weather. Of course, there could be other reasons too.”
Jane and her father were now staring at Elizabeth with the deepest surprise and curiosity.
“But what matter? And why privately? Mr Darcy has been in our house several times. I would not have been opposed to him talking to you,” Mr Bennet said.
“I wondered the same, Papa. Sadly, I was not wise enough to ask that last night and to suggest he call on you instead. I do not know what was in my mind, or in his. We both lost our reasoning,” Elizabeth spoke hastily, with increasing distress, rubbing her hands together.
“Lizzy, could he have something truly private to discuss with you alone? I mean–I have noticed you have been on friendly terms lately. And he danced only with you…” Jane suggested shyly.
Elizabeth glared at her, her cheeks burning instantly.
“Jane, do not be silly! You sound like Mama now! We were barely on friendly terms, after hating each other for weeks. And do you imagine that after only one set danced together he decided to propose to me in the middle of the woods? This is absolutely ridiculous!”
“Lizzy, I am truly sorry, I did not mean…” Jane attempted to apologise with distress.
“Lizzy dear, calm yourself! You are being silly and ridiculous, truly,” Mr Bennet scolded her.
“And I too noticed the new friendship between you and Mr Darcy. He even confessed to me his admiration for you last night. But I agree that he is not the sort of man to propose in such circumstances. Now, Mr Collins–he would surely do that if he met you in the woods…”
“Papa! Please!” Elizabeth cried angrily and almost tearfully.
“You may shout at us if doing so makes you feel better, Lizzy. But if I do not jest, how else may I help you? Tell me what you want me to do. Can you presume what Darcy intended to talk to you about? Could anyone be in danger? I do not think so, or else he would have told you immediately rather than waiting until the morning.”
“I do not know, Papa. Forgive me, I am so distressed that my mind is blurry. You know, I heard the horse when I headed towards Oakham Mount. If I had looked for it then, he would not have stayed in the rain for two more hours.”
“Now, you are indeed being silly and ridiculous. You could not have imagined such a situation and surely cannot blame yourself for it. As I said earlier, you saved his life! I am equally concerned for you, though. You also stayed outside in this freezing rain for a long while. Promise me you will not be ill too.”
Elizabeth embraced her father and kissed his cheeks, answering in jest, “I promise I will be fine, Papa, if you promise to keep Mr Collins away.”
Mr Bennet returned the kiss. “Well, my child, then I am afraid you will need Mr Jones’s assistance too. Thank God your mother thinks nobody dies of a trifling cold!”
∞∞∞
Later in the afternoon, Mr Darcy’s fever increased, Mr Jones’s distress rose, Elizabeth and Jane’s concern and helplessness grew, and on top of everything, Mrs Bennet’s nerves had another trying obstacle to overcome.
Lady Lucas arrived with Charlotte, bringing the most unexpected and upsetting news, under the pretext of enquiring after Mr Darcy’s health.
“We did not expect to hear such a report about poor Mr Darcy! How horrible indeed! Everybody is shocked in Meryton!” Lady Lucas said.
“It was shocking for us too, but we are doing our best to take care of him. I cannot imagine how a man who stopped a couple of galloping horses could fall from his own. He was lucky that Lizzy found him,” Mrs Bennet replied, inviting the guests to sit.
“And although this is not the best moment, we must take this opportunity to share with you some news. Perhaps we should have waited a few more days, but considering that we are almost family, we wished you to be the first to know.”
“To know what?” Mrs Bennet asked, looking from mother to daughter.
Those Lucases could be very irritating at times.
“Earlier today, just before he left the country, Mr Collins called on us. He proposed to Charlotte and she accepted!” Lady Lucas cried with such cheerfulness that Elizabeth feared she might start clapping her hands.
With astonishment and disbelief, she glanced at Charlotte, but her friend avoided meeting her eyes. Surely this must be a poor joke!
“Proposed what to Charlotte?” Mrs Bennet asked with vexation.
“Marriage, of course!” Lady Lucas answered.
Mrs Bennet dropped her cup of tea. “Marriage? To Charlotte? But how? Why? He does not even know Charlotte! How could he propose?”
“He most certainly does! He visited us a few times, and he and Sir William got along very well. Just last night he danced with Charlotte and they spoke quite enough. He was charmed and he said he could not find a better wife!”
“But…but…” Mrs Bennet could not believe her ears and she glared around the room, from the guests to her family, waiting for someone to tell her it was a joke.
She had few hopes that Elizabeth would ever accept Mr Collins if he happened to propose to her.
Perhaps Mary would have been a better choice for him and more easily persuaded.
She did not regret so much losing Mr Collins as a son-in-law, since she expected Mr Bingley to return soon and solve all their problems. But the notion that Charlotte Lucas would one day inherit Longbourn was unacceptable.
She was about to faint, but did not wish to give Lady Lucas and her daughter the satisfaction!
“Congratulations!” Jane said warmly.
“I am sure this union pleases both Sir William and Mr Collins and indeed I am sure he could not have been more fortunate in his choice of a wife,” Mr Bennet said in all honesty.
Elizabeth forced a smile to her friend, trying to conceal her disappointment. She moved towards Charlotte and took her hands.
“I wish you all the happiness you deserve, my dear,” she said.
“Eliza, I know this is a surprise for everybody,” Charlotte whispered. “I can imagine what you think, but I hope you understand my decision.”
“I wish nothing else but to know you are happy with your choice, my dear. If you are content, so am I,” Elizabeth concluded.