Chapter Thirty-Six
Longbourn
Ithink…Miss Bennet,” Mr. Collins whispered to Mrs. Bennet the next morning after breakfast.
Mrs. Bennet had not missed Mr. Collins’ interest in Jane, but she had better things in mind for her eldest. “I am sorry, Mr. Collins, but my eldest daughter is almost engaged to a neighbour. We expect an announcement any day.” This was not quite the truth, but she suspected that nothing less than an almost-engagement would suffice to move Mr. Collins’ interest elsewhere.
“Engaged?” His disappointment was palpable.
Mrs. Bennet waited calmly. Mr. Collins had expressed interest in marrying a Bennet daughter; surely the man was not so easily discouraged as this! Thus, she was unsurprised when he said, “Miss Elizabeth, then, next in birth and beauty.”
Mrs. Bennet had no illusions when it came to her most troublesome daughter. It was impossible for Lizzy to marry this man, but what could she say?
Mr. Collins saw her hesitation and said, quickly, “There are no prior claims there, I trust?”
“I believe she is interested in a man who is visiting Jane’s beau.”
Mr. Collins preened. “Merely interested? Surely an offer from the heir to the estate could easily overcome a mere interest!”
Mrs. Bennet was not so certain, but she decided that she could not put Mr. Collins off again without cooling his interest in his cousins entirely. She would speak to Mr. Bennet at once.
***
“Absolutely not,” Mr. Bennet declared.
“But if he cannot have Jane, then he wants Lizzy,” Mrs. Bennet said, wringing her hands.
“Under no circumstances will my Lizzy marry that fool. Tell him he can have Mary, Kitty or Lydia.”
“Neither Kitty nor Lydia could be forced to marry him,” Mrs. Bennet said, doubtfully.
Mr. Bennet chuckled. “Yet you think that Lizzy will? Ha!”
“What of Mary?” Mr. Bennet asked.
“She is the most likely to be willing,” Mrs. Bennet said, hesitantly. “But you know she is the least comely of all of them. He is unlikely to want her, though she would be the best selection for him.”
Mr. Bennet shrugged. “I leave all this in your capable hands, my dear.”
That was the last straw. “No, I leave it in your hands, Mr. Bennet,” she said, frostily, rising to her feet.
“It is you who have saved no money for dowries or for your widow; it is you who have done nothing to erase the entail. So it is you who must speak with Mr. Collins.” With that, she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.