Frustrations
Chapter 11
Mrs. Bennet was thoroughly displeased with the turn that her life had taken ever since that abominable Mr. Collins set foot into her home. Even though at first Mr. Bennet had tried to appease her disappointment by sending Lizzy away after the wilful girl had dissuaded Mr. Collins to propose to her, he resented her for it and he became more caustic than ever before, frequently setting her down, not caring if it was in front of their family or their neighbours. What was even worse, he refused to grant any of her wishes. Furthermore Jane, Mary and recently even Kitty started to look at her with contempt, refusing to do her bidding like dutiful daughters should. Her only solace was in her darling Lydia who still looked up at her and eagerly drank in all her words of advice of how to go about to entrap a suitor.
Unable to see the flaws in her own character she considered herself a martyr, understood by no one and badly misused by all of her family. Of course, it was all the fault of that headstrong, obstinate girl whom, especially now that she was gone, her father and her sisters idolized. In her mother’s eyes Elizabeth was not even a proper lady any longer. Why, to go off and become a nurse! That was not what gentlemen’s daughters did. Besides, she was sure that Elizabeth was enjoying herself immensely, for who would not in a camp full of soldiers, while her husband tried to make her feel guilty for driving the ungrateful child away.
Her resentment towards Elizabeth grew even more when the news that Mr. Bingley had given up the lease of Netherfield Park altogether reached her. She had been so sure that he will return, crawling on his knees and propose to her beautiful Jane. She had imagined herself as being the de facto mistress of Netherfield Park ever since the news of it being let to a wealthy, single gentleman reached her, sure that she will easily impose her will on her meekest daughter once Jane married the man and settled in the stately manor. She had been mentally decorating Netherfield Park ever since the night of the assembly which the Netherfield party attended in their short sojourn in the neighbourhood. Now it all came to nothing and she was convinced that Mr. Bingley’s defection too was in fact Elizabeth’s fault. He must have heard of her scampering about foreign countries with the army and considered her family disgraced and unworthy of him because of it.
---$---
“This is not to be bourn Mr. Collins” his patroness, lady Catherine the Bourgh was berating her hapless parson for the third time this month. “I told you years ago that you must marry, yet here you stand, unwedded still. You must find a bride and wed her as soon as it may be!”
Poor Collins bowed with a deep sigh, distraught that he had disappointed his patroness. After he returned from Longbourn unengaged and with no prospects of acquiring either of the Bennet ladies as a wife, at least not in the near future, he started looking around in the neighbourhood, hoping to find a suitable match, one that Lady Catherine will approve of.
First he thought of Miss Lowell, the daughter of the curate of the neighbouring parish, but Lady Catherine could not abide her father who some ten years back dared disregard her ladyship’s suggestion of a sermon, when Mr. Lowell was filling in for the parson of Hunsford. Collins had to agree with his patroness that this had been an unpardonable offense on the curate’s part. Why, even he always consulted Lady Catherine as to her preference of the topic of his sermon, and he was the parson, not a mere curate.
The next lady whom Collins had singled out as the companion of his future life was Miss Marlowe, the apothecary’s daughter. Surely Lady Catherine could not find fault with her, or her father for that matter, as Mr. Marlow constantly provided her ladyship with tonics for Miss de Bourgh which Lady Catherine thought necessary. Furthermore Miss Marlowe was a pretty, gentle creature who always showed great deference to the ladies of Rosings. However, it was found that Miss Marlowe could not play the piano, or any instrument for that matter, and Lady Catherine thought this unacceptable for the wife of a parson. When he thought back on his Cousin Elizabeth’s playing, he had to somewhat agree with Lady Catherine as even though the parsonage did not boast of holding a pianoforte, Rosings had several of them. Surely Lady Catherine was thinking of the pleasure of having some music whenever he and his wife would visit, as poor Miss de Bourgh was too delicate to play.
Finally, it was the companion of old Widow Harris, Miss Clemence whom he suggested. Miss Clemence was the daughter of an impoverished gentleman, who was forced to go into service in order to support herself as she was the eldest of three daughters. Lady Catherine initially was amenable to the match and asked Widow Harris and Miss Clemence to tea, a fact which filled Collins with the hope that he finally thought of the right lady to please her patroness. However, after the visit Lady Catherine declared that Miss Clemence was too plain to grace her parlour, and while one could not expect everyone to be as beautiful as her own daughter, she had no wish to be frequently forced to gaze on Miss Clemence’s rather long nose and protruding teeth.
What Collins did not know was that Miss Clemence’s real shortcoming in Lady Catherine’s eyes was the fact that she was outspoken and showed no inclination to defer to her ladyship’s opinions in everything.
The fact was that Collins was running out of eligible ladies, unless he were to consider Miss Johnson, the milliner’s daughter but he dared not even mention her, well realizing that it would be a downright insult to his patroness to suggest that she should socialize with the daughter of a merchant.
“Alas, my lady, there are very few eligible ladies in the neighbourhood from which to choose, especially ones who could be noticed by such exalted and sophisticated ladies as yourself and your excellent daughter.”
“Hmph…” Lady Catherine harrumphed, but she had no suggestion of her own to make. “I shall think of someone suitable. I will ask Lady Metcalfe, perhaps she knows someone who will do.”
“Um… Maybe if you ladyship would allow me to visit my cousin again…” Collins said hesitantly. “It is over two years since I last visited him. Since then, more of his daughters have come out I am sure…”
“The idea does have some merit” Lady Catherine admitted. “You shall do that if Lady Metcalfe knows of no one” she gave him a dismissive wave.
---$---
Caroline Bingley spent a small fortune to prepare for the Little Season, despite the fact that her brother warned her several times that he will stop honouring her bills if she kept overspending so outrageously. It was of utmost importance to her to be absolutely dazzling this season. She was approaching six and twenty and she felt this was her last chance to induce Mr. Darcy into proposing to her.
Her brother and sister scolded her often enough for not encouraging other gentlemen to pursue her, but they did not understand that for her only the First Circles would do and Mr. Darcy was the only gentleman from that sphere she had any chance of marrying. It had only been through Mr. Darcy’s invitations to her brother they got to participate in some functions of the First Circles but no other gentleman of that sphere paid her any attention.
Bingley entered the parlour with yet another bill in his hand, his face red in indignation. “What is this Caroline? A bill of five and twenty pounds for a gown?! One gown!?”
“Oh, I just had to get it” Caroline said breezily. “It is the most exquisite thing ever. I am sure it shall be the talk of the ton. The lace alone that covers it is priceless. Mr. Darcy will see how exquisitely elegant I am and he will be sure to propose to me when he sees what an impeccable taste I have in clothing” she smiled with satisfaction, imagining the scene.
“Darcy is not going to propose to you no matter what you wear, be it a burlap sack or a gown made out entirely of gold” Bingley replied with a grimace. “He had made that clear to both of us years ago. He had never had any designs on you and he never will.”
“Nonsense” Caroline smirked. “He just needs a bit of help to realize that I am the perfect Mrs. Darcy. And speaking of that, you Charles should be more helpful in promoting me to him.”
“Darcy is my dearest friend. I am not going to ruin that relationship only to cater to your ambitions” Bingley smirked. “Now about this bill, I am not going to pay it.”
“But you must!” Caroline shrieked. “I cannot return the gown. It had been custom made for me.”
“I suggest that you try and if you cannot, then you shall pay for it with your own money.”
“I do not have any money left over from my allowance. So you see, you must pay for it” Caroline said insolently.
“What?!” Bingley was aghast. “You just got your quarterly allowance not two weeks ago.”
“Well, I had a lot of shopping to do. With all the functions that we are to attend with Mr. Darcy…”
“We shall not attend any functions with Darcy this fall” Bingley informed her tersely.
“What do you mean?” Caroline nearly panicked. “Do not tell me that you offended him in any way” she screeched.
“No, this is not what I mean. Darcy is gone from England and will probably be gone for some time.”
“What do you mean gone from England?” Caroline was now truly shocked.
“His cousin had been injured in Spain, so he went to ensure his safe passage home. Now coming back to this gown, I think you can safely return it as you will certainly not be participating in any events of the First Circles in the next few months, by which time it will be probably out of style. You tend to buy the most hideous things which are only fashionable for a short period of time. If you cannot, I will deduct it from your next quarter’s allowance and as of now, I am not paying any of your bills. You will have to learn to spend within your allowance.”
“You cannot mean that Charles” Caroline said aghast “What shall I do until December?”
“Wear the same gown twice?” Bingley said dryly and left the room.
Caroline sat heavily on the couch, deeply disturbed by the news imparted by her brother. With Mr. Darcy gone from London, how will she get him to propose to her? And who knows for how long he will be gone?
---$---
Lady Catherine de Bourgh was much less concerned by the continued bachelorhood of her parson than of that of her nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy. She had been deadly set on him marrying her daughter ever since Anne had been born, but the boy did not seem to fully understand his duty , no matter how often and how forcefully she reminded him of it.
It had been Lady Catherine’s dearest wish to be the mistress of Pemberley, the Darcys’ beautiful estate, since she had first seen it. Alas, no matter how hard she had tried to become the late Mr. Darcy’s bride, to her great displeasure and disappointment it was her sister whom he married. When Anne was born, almost a year after Fitzwilliam, another plan took root in her mind. If she could not be the mistress of Pemberley, she was determined that her daughter will be and through her, she will have full control of that delightful estate. Anne was too weak to manage it anyways, so she will have full reign over the manor of her dreams.
Fitzwilliam was now six and twenty and Anne was not getting any younger at five and twenty, yet he was showing no more inclination to comply with her wishes as he did when she first mentioned it to him four years ago, after his father died. And now he went off to Spain to pamper that other nephew of hers who did not know any better than to stand in the way of a bullet, when he should be coming to Rosings and propose to Anne.
She now regretted that she had not been more forceful to take over the guardianship of Georgiana when Darcy died. Whoever heard of two young bachelors having the guardianship of a young girl anyways? But her traitor of a brother refused to support her demands then. Had she succeeded in that at least, in case if anything happened to Fitzwilliam on the Continent she would still gain control of Pemberley through Georgiana.
She was determined that as soon as Fitzwilliam returned to England, she will no longer let him dawdle. He will marry Anne as soon as it may be, even if she had to put an announcement in the papers herself. Knowing his abhorrence of anything bordering a scandal, he will not dare refute it publicly and will bow to the inevitable. Finally, she will have her dream come true.