Chapter Thirty-Six
The next day, Mr. Collins left before breakfast without so much as a word to anyone.
His departure was witnessed only by Kitty, who had crept downstairs for a drink of water just as Mr. Collins was walking out the front door with his valise in hand.
She ran at once to the front window and watched him walk down the drive and turn left, evidently headed toward Meryton.
When she crawled back into bed, Lydia whispered, sleepily, “Did I hear the front door open?”
“You did,” Kitty whispered back. “Mr. Collins left.”
“Thank God,” Lydia murmured and promptly fell back to sleep.
***
When the family gathered for breakfast, Kitty was able to tell everyone why their guest was absent from the table. Mr. Bennet thanked her and then announced, “Now that we have met Mr. Collins, I am more concerned than ever for the future of Longbourn.”
“But the entail cannot be altered, can it?” Jane asked.
Mr. Bennet shook his head. “Everything I have learned tells me that it can only end with the consent of the heir.”
Mary said, “He is a fool, but I suspect not so much of a fool that he would willingly sign away his inheritance.”
“You have spoken with solicitors, I take it?” Elizabeth asked, curtly.
Mr. Bennet nodded. “I have consulted several by letter, as your Uncle Gardiner advised me; but I think that now I will travel to London and speak with someone directly.”
Elizabeth considered this. “Perhaps Mr. Darcy can help you find the best solicitor to speak to. At this point, surely cost is not an issue.”
“Agreed. Lizzy…” Mr. Bennet’s voice trailed off and she looked away. He cleared his throat and went on. “Mr. Darcy doubtless has extensive connections in London.”
***
That afternoon, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and Georgiana came to call. After the usual pleasantries, Elizabeth said, “Georgiana, does your aunt have a parson named Mr. Collins?”
Georgiana made a face and replied, “She does, yes. He is quite an odd man, and I certainly would not want him to be my parson. But why?”
Elizabeth sighed. “As it happens, he is our cousin.”
Georgiana immediately reddened. “I meant no offense, Lizzy. I spoke too hastily.”
Kitty laughed. “No, you are entirely right! He was here for two days, bored us all senseless with talk of his patroness, Lady Catherine, and how she relies on him, and then left in a huff when Papa told him none of us would marry him!”
“And now it is our turn to apologise,” Elizabeth said, quickly. “Georgiana, he had nothing but wonderful things to say about your aunt. It was tiresome only because he never stopped his dialogue.”
Mr. Bingley said, “My head is whirling! Let me see if I have this right. Mr. Collins, your cousin, turned out to be the rector of Rosings Park?”
“That is correct, Mr. Bingley,” Mr. Bennet spoke from the doorway. No one had seen him enter. “There is but one piece of information missing. Or perhaps two. The first is that he is the heir presumptive to Longbourn. The second is that the man is a complete idiot.”
There was a long silence as this news was digested. Finally, Georgiana said, tentatively, “But that is dreadful! Surely something can be done! Brother?” She turned to Mr. Darcy.
“There is an entail?” Mr. Darcy asked, looking at Mr. Bennet.
“There is, indeed. And as I have been unsuccessful in producing a son, this cousin of mine is evidently to inherit. I fear not just for my family, but also for the estate and the tenants, for this man is bound to bankrupt Longbourn in short order.”
“Have you spoken to solicitors?”
“I have, with no success. But if you will give me the name of someone – anyone! – in London with special expertise, I would be most grateful. I will do anything, anything at all, to prevent this man from inheriting.”
“May we speak privately, Mr. Bennet?” Mr. Darcy rose.
“Of course.” The two gentlemen left the room together.
“Well!” Mrs. Bennet said, fixing her hostess smile on her face. “Shall I order tea?”
Once the tea was passed around, the conversation turned to the Lucas’ card party.
Mr. Wickham was discussed at length. After he had danced with Georgiana, he had approached Lydia and had danced with her – twice!
Lydia tossed her curls a good deal as she described how he had complimented her dancing and her beauty.
“And he said he would call on me!” she finished, triumphantly.
Georgiana was stunned. She had no idea that she had a rival in Lydia Bennet, of all people! And he would actually call on Lydia at Longbourn?!
Elizabeth listened to the conversation with growing concern.
“I do not think we should be so very welcoming to his advances; he is, after all, just a lieutenant in the militia. I beg that you will be careful, all of you. Not just with Mr. Wickham, but with all the militia men who have come to Meryton. We know nothing about them, and remember that none of them can support a wife.”
Jaw set, Georgiana murmured, “If you have a big enough dowry, such things do not signify.”
Mr. Darcy was absent and so did not hear her rude remark, but the Bennet girls did. There was a moment of shocked silence; then Lydia’s brows drew together and she opened her mouth to reply.
Mary spoke quickly, hoping to forestall what was about to become a serious quarrel. “Georgiana, did you know that the bookshop just got in a supply of new music? I had thought to go yesterday, but decided instead to wait for you so that we might go together.”
Jane immediately added, “And do you recall the blue shawl that you particularly liked in Mrs. Alcott’s shop? She just received new wares, and there is a green shawl that is very similar. I believe it would go perfectly with your colouring.”
Georgiana knew that her attention was being deliberately directed away from the incipient quarrel, but she allowed it and agreed to visit the bookshop with Mary and Mrs. Alcott’s shop with Jane that very afternoon.
Mr. Bennet abruptly reappeared and said, “Elizabeth, please come with me.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to object to being so summarily summoned, but she had no wish to air her grievances against her father publicly, so she simply put her cup down and accompanied him to his study.
Mr. Darcy rose when she entered and remained standing until she sat down.
Mr. Bennet addressed his daughter. “Lizzy, I would like your opinion on what Mr. Darcy has told me.” Turning to Mr. Darcy, he said, “Elizabeth is one of the cleverest people I know; her opinion matters a great deal to me.”
Elizabeth’s mouth fell open in shock at such complimentary words, but she quickly composed herself and turned to Mr. Darcy.
He cleared his throat. “An entail may be broken by what is, essentially, a legal trick. It has been used successfully for some years now. I suspect it will become illegal at some point, as it comes rather too close to chicanery for comfort, but it will serve your purpose if you are sufficiently determined.”
Elizabeth stared at him. “A legal trick?”
“The process is called a common recovery. You need a third party, and to this third party you would grant the estate in fee simple. Since the estate is entailed, it would be an illegal conveyance, so this third party would not have a legal title and would then sue your father for the title. There is always a time limit assigned to such cases, and your father would simply allow the time limit to come and go. The court must then automatically assign the title to the third party.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “So now Longbourn belongs to this third party?”
“Correct; and then the third party transfers Longbourn back to Mr. Bennet. The entail is broken, Mr. Bennet owns Longbourn outright.”
“What if the third party does not transfer the property back?”
“This is the difficulty; the third party must be someone you trust absolutely.”
“And what of Mr. Collins in all this?”
“He is not involved. He would have to be informed at some point, so that he does not appear on your doorstep after your father dies, claiming Longbourn as his property.”
“Could he not then sue to reclaim title?”
“He could, but it would be in vain, as the records would show that title had been transferred to the third party and then back to Mr. Bennet. At this point, it would properly belong to whoever Mr. Bennet designated as his heir.”
Elizabeth thought it over for a long minute.
Mr. Darcy, thinking perhaps she had not understood, said, “It is complex; perhaps if I draw it out on a piece of paper –“
Impatiently, she shook her head. “No, no, I understand the mechanics. It is the morality of the ploy with which I am concerned.”
“Ah. I understand,” Mr. Darcy said, leaning back in his seat.
“He is the rightful heir, after all, is he not?” Elizabeth addressed her father.
“He is, of course, and had he proved to be a sensible man, I would not stoop to an action such as this. It sits ill with me, Lizzy, of course it does! But think of our tenants, our neighbours, not to mention your mother and sisters!”
“Alas, if only you had thought of my mother and sisters earlier!” she shot back. “We might have saved enough – no, no. I apologise, Mr. Darcy, for subjecting you to an old family argument.” Her face was red. She looked back at her father. “You wish my opinion?”
“I do,” he replied, leaning forward.
“Very well. It is a very difficult thing to do. We are discussing stealing – for there can be no other word for it – a man’s lawful inheritance.”
“It is stealing, there is no doubt about it, but evidently it has been done before. Is that not right, Mr. Darcy?”
“Many times,” Mr. Darcy replied.
“Murder has been committed many times, and that does not make it right,” Elizabeth said, testily.
Mr. Darcy interjected, “May I ask as to how, precisely, you are related to Mr. Collins?”
Mr. Bennet leant back in his chair. “My grandfather, Arthur Bennet, had two sons. The eldest was my father, Henry Bennet; the younger was named Joshua.”
“So Joshua was your uncle,” Mr. Darcy said, nodding. “Go on.”
“Joshua was not allowed to inherit, of course, being the younger son, so he went into the law profession. He married a woman named Janet Collins, and as she was her parents’ only child, her parents begged Joshua to change his name to Collins.
There was no good reason not to do so, so he obliged them.
Joshua had a son, named George Collins. George is our Mr. Collins’ father. ”
Mr. Darcy asked, “You have your baptism records? And that of your father as well?”
“Certainly,” Mr. Bennet replied.
Elizabeth said, “Mr. Collins’ letter mentioned something about a feud between you and his father.”
“Yes; some years ago, George Collins wrote to me. It was poorly written and did not make a good deal of sense, but the gist of it was that it had been everything unfair for his father, Joshua Bennet, to have been given essentially nothing upon the death of his father, Arthur. George Collins demanded money, and a good deal of it.”
“And you wrote back?” Mr. Darcy asked.
“I did, though perhaps that was not the best course of action, for it was followed by a series of letters that could only be considered abusive. Eventually, George Collins actually appeared here at Longbourn, again demanding money, and I had to have him removed from the estate.”
“That must have been very unpleasant, Mr. Bennet,” Mr. Darcy said, gently.
Mr. Bennet shrugged. “It was a long time ago. In any event, this is the feud that our Mr. Collins referenced. I had not even known that George Collins had died until I received Mr. Collins’ letter.” He sat up and straightened his shoulders. “So, tell me, Lizzy, should we do it?”
She sighed. “I suspect this will haunt my sleep for the remainder of my days, but it seems to me that you must save Longbourn. I think we will all regret it if you do not.”
He nodded. “That is my thinking as well. But who shall the third party be?”
“Uncle Gardiner?” Elizabeth suggested.
“Who is he?” Mr. Darcy asked.
“My mother’s brother; he is a successful merchant in London.”
Mr. Darcy hesitated, and then said, “Allow me to serve as the third party.”
“You! But why?” Elizabeth asked, astonished.
“I fear this will sound rather self-serving, so I must apologise in advance, but I am quite familiar with most of the solicitors in London. They know me and they know my uncle, the Earl of Matlock; they will not hesitate to support me.”
Elizabeth stared at him. “And the fact that we are depriving a man of his inheritance does not disturb you?”
“No, it does not,” he answered at once. “Miss Elizabeth, I was raised to understand that we are the guardians of the land, not the owners of it. The land is our livelihood, for all of us in England. I met your Mr. Collins at Rosings Park. He is not a fit guardian of the land, and it would be wrong to allow him to step into that role.”
The passion in his voice was unmistakable, and Elizabeth stared at him with something approaching admiration.
“That is very generous of you, Mr. Darcy,” Mr. Bennet said.
“This process fills me with trepidation, but I fear we must proceed with it. I accept your offer with gratitude.” He rose and extended a hand; Mr. Darcy rose and took it.
The handclasp lasted for a long minute, and the two gentlemen looked into each other’s eyes and nodded.
“Have courage,” Mr. Darcy said. “This is the right course of action. I shall write to my solicitor to take the necessary steps, and of course there will be papers requiring your signature, Mr. Bennet. Now I shall leave the two of you to discuss this in private.” He bowed and left the room.
Elizabeth immediately got up to follow him.
Her father’s voice stopped her. “Elizabeth,” he said, pleadingly. “We must speak.”
She stopped and stared at the door, waiting for him to say something more, but he did not. She took a deep breath and then left the room.