Chapter 2 #2
Jane and Eliza, who wished to marry only for the deepest love, would never be able to accept Mr. Collins.
Charlotte Lucas would settle for a comfortable home and a respectable man, but even she, a woman willing to accept a marriage of convenience, would never be able to accept Mr. Collins.
Eliza had done Charlotte a great service, allowing her to see the man in all of his glory for herself.
“He is not all that bad,” Jane opined, allowing her desire to see the best in one and all override her good sense.
“Jane!” her four sisters and Miss Lucas chorused.
“Even you cannot make him less ridiculous than he is, Janey. His repellent odour would be enough, but have you listened to him? He makes a fool seem a genius! Ask Charlotte what she thinks; you know she is the most level-headed person we know,” Elizabeth suggested.
Jane looked at Charlotte questioningly. “Jane, I know you want to see the best in everyone, but you can place rouge on a pig, and it will still be a pig. You know my opinion of matrimony differs markedly from yours and Eliza’s, do you not?
” Jane nodded. “What does it tell you that no matter how good the man’s situation, and even though one day he will inherit this estate, I would not marry him under any circumstances? ” Charlotte asked.
“Then I would have to allow that I may be wrong in this case,” Jane owned.
“Have you ever smelled anything as bad as that man?” Lydia asked, her brashness unchecked, as usual.
Before the discussion of the man’s odour could proceed, the drawing room door opened, and Bennet and Collins entered.
It was easy to see the parson’s frustration at the way the ladies were seated.
He could not sit near any of them, and he had intended to sit near the blond, blue-eyed beauty to further his suit, which he had no doubt would be successful.
“I will read from Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women,” Collins said without being invited to read to those in the drawing room.
“NO—thank you Mr. Collins, after dinner is a time for other pursuits at Longbourn,” Bennet stated firmly.
His daughters and Miss Lucas all relaxed, as they would not have to hear the odious man read to them. Mr. Collins looked put out, but no one paid him any mind. For her part, Mary was most thankful she had re-evaluated her reading material.
“Do you not think your daughters would benefit from some of Fordyce’s wisdom, Cousin?” Collins asked petulantly.
“Let me ask you, Cousin, when you are a guest in Lady Catherine’s drawing room, do you dictate what the entertainment should be?” Bennet asked pointedly.
“I would never dare dictate anything to Lady Catherine in her house,” Mr. Collins puffed up with affront on behalf of his patroness.
“Then why do you think you have the right to do so here, Mr. Collins?” Bennet challenged. Confused, Mr. Collins stared back at him as if his brain were about to overload.
“But I am the heir here!” Collins returned, presuming it was all that needed to be said.
“You are the heir presumptive, nothing more. Until the day I leave this mortal coil and there is no heir with a greater claim, you have no right to demand, dictate, or anything else at Longbourn!” Bennet told the spluttering man.
“Just as you are a guest in your patroness' house, so you are in my house. Do we understand one another, Mr. Collins?”
“I think I will retire for the night,” Collins told no one in particular. He then turned on his heel and left the drawing room in a huff. No one repined his departure.
“This is going to be a long seven days,” Elizabeth voiced the thought all were having. She turned to her friend. “It pleases me you will sleep here tonight, Charlotte. At least we were able to provide you with entertainment.”
“It is good Charlotte is here to see what an odious man our cousin is,” Lydia stated. “Mariah would have thought I was prevaricating otherwise.”
“I would have confirmed the truth, Lyddie,” Kitty added.
“Even being here myself, I can scarce believe such a man is a clergyman. I feel sorry for his parishioners; I am sure anything said in confidence by them reaches the ears of his patroness,” Charlotte opined.
“Surely not!” Jane was horrified at the idea a clergyman would behave in such a way.
“I must agree with Miss Lucas,” Bennet added. “The way he adores and extols Lady Catherine, as if she were all powerful and wise, I believe he would do exactly that. If you prompt him, I am sure he will admit it with pride to prove how valuable he is to his patroness.”
“If he does so, he could be defrocked! It is against church law!” Mary stated seriously.
“I would wager our Mary knows more about the Bible and church law than Mr. Collins does,” Elizabeth opined. Mary beamed; for it was so seldom she received any praise for her former pursuit of biblical learning.
“Papa, may we walk into Meryton in the morning?” Lydia asked. “Kitty and I would like to go see the,” about to say officers, Lydia checked herself, “the new ribbons at the haberdashery.”
“If some of your sisters walk with you, then you and Kitty may, Lydia,” Bennet agreed.
Lydia looked at Jane and Elizabeth hopefully, knowing Mary would not want to walk to Meryton to look at fripperies or officers. Jane looked at Elizabeth and Charlotte and both nodded. “Charlotte, Elizabeth, and I will accompany them Papa,” Jane told her father.
“Do you think we should ask Matti if she would like to walk with us on the morrow?” Elizabeth asked.
“Unless Jane objects, I see no reason not to include Matti on our walk. I am sure she will enjoy seeing what new wares have arrived in shops in the town,” Charlotte agreed.
“Of course, I do not object. It is not late; why do we not make the short walk to the parsonage and invite her now in case she decides on other plans for the morning?” Jane suggested. “Papa, you do not object if we walk out to the parsonage, do you?”
Bennet waved them away as he made for his study, leaving Mary reading and his youngest two tearing a bonnet apart so they could remake it.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Matilda was the only daughter of Mr. Dudley, Longbourn’s rector.
He had lost his wife some five years previously.
Matilda was not the most intelligent young lady; she could be quite vapid at times, but she was basically a good person and had been friends with, Jane, Charlotte, and Elizabeth since her father was appointed to his living fifteen years ago.
Matilda was of similar height to Elizabeth, but walking was not something she did if she did not need to, so she was on the portly side.
She was not a comely young lady, and at four and twenty she was younger than Charlotte but had no more prospects of marriage than Miss Lucas.
Her father was a pleasant man who would sit and play chess with his patron when he was not busy with parish business.
His one true weakness was his daughter; he could deny her nothing that was in his power to grant her.
Mr. Dudley’s housekeeper showed the three young ladies into the parsonage’s sitting room. “Welcome, you three, to what do I owe this honour?” Matilda welcomed her friends.
Jane explained the purpose of their call and their plans for the morrow and extended the invitation to join the group walking into Meryton.
“May I join them, Papa?” Matilda asked. Although she preferred not to walk the mile into the town, she wanted to spend time with her friends.
“I see no reason why not, Matti,” Mr. Dudley replied jovially. If one were asked who the more jovial man was, Sir William Lucas or Mr. Dudley, one would be hard pressed to decide.
“It is decided then. What time should I be at the manor house?” Matilda asked.
“We will depart at eleven,” Jane replied.
With Matilda’s acceptance, the two Bennet sisters and Miss Lucas wished the Dudleys a good night and made the short walk back to the manor house.