Chapter 29
Moving out of the parsonage was humiliating for Collins.
Rather than his servants being sympathetic, they all seemed pleased that he was no longer a clergyman.
He could not understand why they would feel that way.
After all, he had treated them exactly the way Lady Catherine had told him to treat them.
He had arrived on Monday morning after staying at an inn Saturday evening and all day on Sunday.
Just because he was no longer a clergyman, he would still not travel on the Sabbath.
Once he had vacated the parsonage, Collins made his way to the mansion to take his leave of Miss de Bourgh and commiserate with her as she was losing him as her parson.
The butler admitted Collins and led him to the drawing room where he used to meet Lady Catherine.
As he walked, he saw even more changes than the previous time he had been at Rosings Park.
Nothing remained of the items Lady Catherine had told him marked her wealth, status, and rank.
To Collins, the house looked more like his future home at Longbourn than the magnificence that used to be on display.
When he was shown into the drawing room, Collins remembered to give a regular bow and not the low one Lady Catherine had expected of him. He noted that in addition to Miss de Bourgh and her companion, the Earl and Countess were present along with another couple he had not met.
“Anne, will you introduce this man to us?” Hilldale requested.
“Andrew and Marie, this is Mr William Collins, a former clergyman, who held the living at Hunsford. Mr Collins, Lord Andrew and Lady Marie Fitzwilliam, the Viscount and Viscountess of Hilldale,” Anne introduced as requested.
Collins was awed to meet more of the noble Fitzwilliams. He bowed to them and almost forgot not to bow as he formerly had done in this room.
Suddenly, what Miss de Bourgh said struck him.
She had called him a ‘former clergyman.’ How could she know that already?
It was only two days past that he had been stripped of his chosen profession.
“You look confused, Mr Collins, regarding how we are already aware of your ill-advised attempt to object to your cousin’s wedding,” Matlock drawled.
“A notice from Bishop Lankershim arrived this morning after he received word from the Archbishop’s office.
You evidently ignored my words and made that avaricious attempt to stop your cousin from marrying.
I hope it is worth having the ignominy of being defrocked.
At least, His Grace did not order you to suffer the physical parts[3] of defrocking.
Personally, based on the disgusting way it was reported you behaved, in my opinion you deserved the added humiliation. ”
“That being said by my uncle, some of the horrendous pieces Lady Catherine had all over my house have been sold. When you leave, which will be soon, the butler will hand you a draft for the money which was stolen from you,” Anne said in dismissal.
Even Collins did not miss the fact that he was being told to leave.
He bowed once more and exited the drawing room.
When he reached the double front doors, the butler had a document ready for him to sign which stated he had no more claim against the estate of Rosings Park or anyone associated with it.
He signed both copies and was handed a bank draft and one copy of the document.
As he had paid to have the rented carriage convey him to Faversham, it was waiting for him in the drive. Collins entered and took a seat. He hit the ceiling with his hand, and it was off.
It was three hours in the carriage to the destination Collins had given the driver. The coachman drew the conveyance to a halt at St Peter’s Church in Faversham, where Mr Davidson was the rector. Collins was certain that his old mentor would be willing and able to assist him.
First, Collins lumbered to the church to see if Mr Davidson was there; he was not.
As much as he did not like extra walking, Collins walked the distance to the parsonage and knocked on the door.
“Mr William Collins to see Mr Davidson,” he intoned when a lady, possibly the housekeeper, answered the door.
He was asked to wait while she went to see if her master was at home to him.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and Davidson stepped out, pulling the door closed behind him. “Why are you here, Mr Collins?” Davidson demanded in a tone which indicated he was not pleased to see the man calling on him.
“There has been a gross miscarriage of justice…” Collins began but closed his mouth when Mr Davidson raised his hand.
“Quite frankly, after what you have done, you are lucky His Grace did not excommunicate you. What were you thinking to object to a marriage for pecuniary gain? Did you learn nothing from me or at the seminary? It seems that your obsession with the lies your father and his father poured in your ears has become the driving force in your life. It certainly is not serving the Church of Christ and those who worship in it like you pledged to do when you were ordained.” Davidson pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You may not have threatened violence like your late father did, but you are no better than he was.
I worry for your mortal soul if you do not change the path you are on.
“Never return to this house, all connection between us is severed.” With that, Davidson turned and entered his house.
Collins stood, his mouth hanging open as he watched his former mentor, a man he thought had promised to help him. Was that not what his late mother told him on her death bed?
In shock at the treatment he was receiving, Collins made his way back to the carriage.
“Where to, guv?” The coachman asked.
“I care not; just away from here,” Collins mumbled.
He climbed back into the cabin of the carriage and fell back against the squabs.
He refused to believe that his late honoured father and grandfather had told him untruths.
He pushed the knowledge aside of how his father used to beat him and his mother.
This situation was perfect for the coachman. He needed to be somewhere in a few days, and it would mean two nights in an inn, but he would have his passenger, the buffoon, pay so he would earn while going where he needed to go anyway.
Collins was told how much extra it would cost him to be conveyed out of Kent; he turned over the additional coin without a complaint.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On Saturday, the day after the wedding, those staying at Netherfield Park went for a nice long ride—the Bennet sisters’ horses had been delivered to the estate’s stables during the wedding ceremony Friday morning.
They spent the rest of the day relaxing.
On Sunday, rather than attend St Alfred’s, the church in Meryton normally attended by the residents of Netherfield Park, they chose to attend services at St Hugh’s, the same church where Bennet and Louisa had been married two days previously.
To the Bennet sisters’ delight, as well as that of the two Bingleys’, Mr and Mrs Bennet had been at the service.
Hildebrand’s every wish for her girl’s felicity was confirmed when she noted how much Lulu was glowing with contentment and felicity. Although she had known her niece was marrying the right man for her, what she saw was so much more than anything she had hoped for her daughter of the heart.
None of his daughters had missed the way their father’s head was floating among the clouds. The Bennet sisters had seen Papa happy before, but nothing like he was now.
Lulu and Bennet had debated missing services and instead remaining in bed together, but both being devout, they had decided to go.
For Bennet, it was the longest he had been separated from all of his daughters since their births.
Even when he would travel to London to visit Gardiner to review his investments, there would be one or more of his daughters with him.
However, he could not repine the separation, not when he had his beloved wife at his side.
Besides, the girls would be home in less than a fortnight.
At the end of the service, there were many hugs, kisses, shaken hands, and backslapping shared between the Longbourn and Netherfield Park parties.
Lulu invited them all to enjoy the after-church meal with her and Thomas, but those from Netherfield Park followed Mr Pierce’s lead in refusing diplomatically.
Instead, Mr Pierce accepted an invitation to dine at Netherfield Park.
He was about ten years Bennet’s senior and for the last four years had been a widower.
As his children were all grown and living far away, he appreciated being included in invitations to dine with members of his parish.
Unless he had a reason to travel to see them, he had to wait to see his family until Christmastide when his son, daughter, their spouses, and his grandchildren would be hosted at the parsonage.
It was lucky that for a parsonage, the house was on the larger side.
Lulu and Bennet watched their family and friends enter the coaches to return them to Netherfield Park and began the walk back to Longbourn.
“Thomas, am I wicked that I was relieved when the invitation for others to join us after church was refused? It was sincerely issued, but I prefer to be in your exclusive company for the nonce,” Louisa admitted.
“If so, I am wicked as well because I too was very pleased,” Bennet admitted. “We are not evil, just very much in love and newly married.”
Being with Lulu made Bennet feel like a young buck again. Like her, he wanted nothing more than to return to their bed and continue the very pleasant activities they shared there.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~