Chapter 5 #2
“If my information is correct, you denied Mr. Collins any path to propose to one of your daughters yesterday. Is that correct?” Bennet allowed it was so.
“From your study, he took himself to rant in the park, just as I was about to walk home. I know it is impolite to eavesdrop, but I will not apologise for doing so. I overheard him state what he planned to do to your daughters in the unfortunate event, which he seems to wish for, of your demise…” Charlotte went on to tell Bennet all, from the ranting she could not help but hear, to his proposal to her after following her home to Lucas Lodge.
She shared his words to her, as well as hers to him. Bennet was not happy at the attempt to intimidate Charlotte, but he smiled as he thought about his cousin cowering when Franklin and John confronted him. He had already pegged his cousin as a cowardly bully, and Miss Lucas had just confirmed it.
Bennet sat back in his chair, considering both what he had been told and the reason why.
He agreed that Collins was a problem, but what solution could Miss Lucas be intending to offer?
Then it hit him, the true way to thwart Collins was to remarry and sire a son, something he had not seriously considered until that moment.
But he would need a woman young enough to be able to bear children!
He saw Miss Lucas was watching him cogitate with a mysterious smile on her face.
‘She is offering herself as a solution! Surely not!’ Bennet scoffed, watching her watch him as his emotions played over his face, yet not saying a word.
“Miss Lucas, am I to understand your solution for me is to marry and sire a son?” Bennet asked carefully.
“Yes, Mr. Bennet, it is the one true answer to all concerns,” Charlotte replied evenly.
“And do you have one in mind who would marry me, Miss Lucas?” Bennet enquired.
“I do,” Charlotte averred simply.
“We can continue to beat around the bush, and you to answer my questions narrowly, or we can be candid with one another. Please inform me who the lady is, and how you know she will be amenable to an offer from me?” Bennet asked directly.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
At the same time Miss Lucas was meeting with Bennet, the subject of their musings had requested a private interview with Miss Matilda Dudley.
His request had been granted by Mr. Dudley.
The man was certainly not Mr. Dudley’s first choice for his daughter, but she had communicated her willingness to hear his offer to her father, so as always, he granted her wish.
Matilda listened patiently while Collins gave a speech; she was not aware it was the same one he made to Charlotte Lucas only yesterday.
At least he remembered to substitute Miss Dudley’s name for Miss Lucas'.
At some level, she was concerned he did not intend to allow the Bennets to remain at Longbourn if any of them were unmarried, but as much as she sympathised with their future plight, it was her future she was securing at that moment.
If only Franklin Lucas has been interested in her.
After he had exhausted hyperbole, unlike his first two forays into the world of selecting a bride, Collins was accepted on condition he bathed every day, to which he agreed.
He applied to Mr. Dudley, who, after he confirmed his daughter genuinely wanted the match, consented.
Collins asked if Miss Dudley was willing to marry by common licence the Friday after the ball, to which she consented.
Collins was happy his third attempt had borne fruit.
At least he could return to Lady Catherine with his head held high and a wife on his arm, and he had secured the next mistress of Longbourn.
As he thought about the pleasure he would derive from taking his cousin’s dowries and then turning the Bennet sisters out of his house, he almost salivated with anticipated revenge.
Had Collins been aware of the happenings at Longbourn, he would have had an apoplexy.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Come, Mr. Bennet, you are far too intelligent not to know exactly what it is I am suggesting,” Charlotte responded.
“I think I do grasp what it is, but if it is all the same to you, I would like to hear it from you in your own words,” Bennet returned.
“Based on that man’s words to me, I have as much interest as you in seeing him never inherit this estate. I will not lie; my suggestion is driven partly by revenge for the words he flung at me. That is the smallest part of my reasoning. We are both intelligent people.
“I am no longer a young woman, and I think we both seek companionship. If, from our union, one or more sons result, so much the better. For me, the most important part is I sincerely believe we are compatible on many levels. I know I am about twenty years younger than you are, but that is not and should not be a consideration,” Charlotte explained her philosophy.
“The age is not an issue for me, but you are very good friends with my two eldest daughters, and what about love?” Bennet asked, truly needing to know her thoughts on these matters before he would allow himself to entertain the thought in truth.
“Both Jane and Eliza are intelligent women. When we explain our reasoning, I am sure they will understand. You may or may not know this, but I am not a romantic. I do not need to be in love with my husband, but I do require mutual respect. And you should know, unlike the previous Mrs. Bennet, I will not be made sport of unless it is just the two of us. That being said, given we both enjoy the written word and are both debate partners for Eliza, I believe we will attain a level of felicity in the union, if you offer for me. You did not enjoy your first marriage, but a second one with me, I trust, would be more palatable to you. I do have one or two conditions, however,” Charlotte informed Bennet.
“And what would those be, Miss Lucas?” Bennet asked carefully.
“Nothing unreasonable, I believe. I would want responsibility for taking Kitty and Lydia in hand and I expect your full support regardless of my mandates,” Charlotte enumerated.
“I believe that will be an easy thing for me to grant,” Bennet allowed.
“Secondly, I would expect you not to be in your bookroom all the day long. I know from talking to Eliza, this estate could reach three thousand pounds per annum with but a minimum of effort from you. I would ask you expend the needed energy to attain such,” Charlotte concluded.
Bennet cogitated again, going over the pros and cons in his mind.
Pros there were plenty, cons almost none.
He stood and walked around the front of the desk to sit in the chair next to Miss Lucas.
“As much as you may want me on one knee, it would be too hard to stand up again,” Bennet stated dryly.
“Miss Charlotte Lucas, will you marry me?” Bennet asked simply.
“Yes, Mr. Bennet, Thomas, I will marry you,” Charlotte averred in the affirmative.
“If you agree, Charlotte, I will talk to my oldest three daughters when they return from Meryton. Once I explain it to them, I will go see your father on the morrow in the morning,” Bennet informed his betrothed.
“May I make a suggestion, Thomas?” Bennet nodded. “I should be with you when you talk to Jane, Eliza, and Mary. That way, and together, we should be able to address any questions or concerns they may have,” Charlotte recommended.
“I think your suggestion has merit.” Yes, it would be very different having an intelligent spouse, and suddenly he had hope he had not felt in almost fifteen years.