A Wife for Mr Darcy

“I hope Charlotte knows what she is doing,” he said in a voice that showed how unhappy he was with his sister’s choice of husband. “Mr. Collins is driving everyone at Lucas Lodge to distraction. He is always going on about something that is of no interest to anyone but himself. At least I can get up and leave, but Charlotte can’t. And once she gets to Kent, she will not have any place to hide to get away from him.”

“Charlotte will be fine,” Jane reassured him. “Since Mr. Collins rarely requires a response, she may choose to ignore him if she is so inclined.”

“I hope you are right because, excuse me for being so blunt, he is a pompous arse,” and he took his leave.

John Lucas’s departure was quickly followed by the arrival of Tom Smart, one of Mr. Bingley’s servants at Netherfield. “Miss Bennet, I’ve come to tell you that Mr. Bingley’s back, so I expect we’ll be seeing a lot more of you at Netherfield ”

“Most definitely,” she said, and she could not suppress a smile. “How do things go with Mr. Collins and Mrs. Crenshaw?”

“I never seen anything like it. Mr. Collins will say something about Lady Catherine, which will cause Mrs. Crenshaw to remember something what Lady So and So said, and so it goes. And when Mr. Collins ain’t talking, he’s humming. It is irritating, but it does give us fair warning that he’s coming, and we make ourselves scarce.”

Before leaving, Tom asked if he might say hello to Mrs. Hill in the kitchen, and the sisters exchanged glances, knowing that the person he really wanted to say hello to was Betsy, their kitchen maid.

After he left, Lizzy said, “Love is in the air. Tom and Betsy, Mr. Collins and Charlotte, Mr. Bingley and you.”

“And Lizzy and Mr. Darcy,” Jane said, completing the list. After reading Mr. Bingley’s note and tucking it in her pocket, she told Lizzy that they had been invited to dine at Netherfield Park. “Mr. Bingley is to send his carriage at 3:00. I think I shall put on one of my better frocks. Will you do the same?”

“There is no need for that. Once Mr. Bingley sets eyes on you, he will not see anyone else. It will be as if I am not there at all.”

“Well, let us dress up anyway.”

“Whatever you say, as I am in a most agreeable mood.”

As soon as Bingley and the Darcys entered the foyer of Netherfield Park, the now voluminous Mrs. Crenshaw attempted to embrace her brother. Also there to greet the party from London was Athena. Although the little imp made a perfect curtsey and welcomed Miss Darcy to Netherfield Park, Georgiana would trust her only as far as she could throw her.

When Charles informed his sister that Jane and Elizabeth would be dining with them, Mrs. Crenshaw could barely contain her enthusiasm.

“Oh, that is such good news, brother. Mr. Collins has gone to Lucas Lodge to visit Miss Lucas, who has completely recovered from her illness. I must confess I am glad that he will not be at table with us. He talks a good deal and rarely gives the other party a chance to say anything, but he is a pleasant man and, for the most part, has been good company.”

Georgiana and Will looked at each other. This was a complication they did not need. Once Mr. Collins realized he was under the same roof as the nephew and niece of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, they would become a captive audience. That was not going to happen if Georgiana had anything to say about it.

As soon as the carriage conveying Jane and Lizzy pulled up in front of the manor house, Mr. Bingley was out the door and whispered in Jane’s ear. It was obviously something very special as Jane nodded her head in approval. After greeting Mrs. Crenshaw, Charles suggested they go into the drawing room, but told Lizzy that a friend of hers from town had asked that he deliver a letter to her and that he had placed it on the desk in the library.

When Lizzy went into the library, it was very dark, with only the glow of embers in the fireplace providing any light, so she was startled when a man stepped out of the shadows.

“Hello, Elizabeth.”

“Mr. Darcy!” and she placed her hand over her chest to calm her heart. “You are not in London?” And she could hear the quaver in her voice.

“No, I am not in London. Do you not know why I am here?”

“I would rather not guess. Can’t you just tell me?”

Darcy stepped forward and traced the outline of Elizabeth’s face with his fingers. “I am here so that I might tell you how much I love you—unconditionally, with no restraints, and with all my heart.” And then he kissed her, and all the passion of their first kiss at Pemberley returned, and she felt drawn into his very being, that is, until she heard someone coming down the hall, and that someone was humming.

“Mr. Darcy, quickly,” and she took him by the hand and led him to a space between two bookshelves, and she put her finger to her lips and whispered, “It is Mr. Collins.”

As the reverend went in search of a book, the lovers remained stranded. For fear that she would break out laughing at the absurdity of their situation, Lizzy buried her head in Mr. Darcy’s chest.

Mr. Darcy reacted differently. He gathered Lizzy in a tight embrace and ran his hands down her back until they rested on her waist, and then he pulled her hips toward him. Without hesitation, she moved against him, and she felt a warmth in every part of her body. After pulling her sleeve down her arm, he kissed her shoulder with his lips and tongue, and she thought that there was nothing as wonderful as this. When they finally heard the door close behind the humming parson, Lizzy pulled up the sleeve of her dress and stepped away from Mr. Darcy. As he moved toward her, she placed her hands upon his chest and said, “Please, sir. We are not married, and I fear if we continue, we will be acting as if we were.”

“You are right,” he said, half laughing and half in agony. “Why is Mr. Collins at Netherfield?” he asked and shifted his weight to deal with his discomfort. After Lizzy explained about the postponed wedding, he inquired, “Do you think he will come back to the library?”

“It is possible. When he stayed at Longbourn, to my father’s great distress, he was in and out of his library all day long.”

“Then we must go elsewhere.” After thinking about the rooms that were available, he finally decided on the billiards room. “No one will go in there at this time of day.”

“But it is across the foyer. We might be seen.”

“Well, then we will have to risk it. I have much to say to you, and I will not be kept from it. Once Mr. Collins finds out I am here, he will seek me out and talk and talk and talk. At Rosings Park, I was sequestered with that gentleman on a rainy afternoon and had the privilege of listening to him expound on the pollination of cantaloupe.”

Now Lizzy started to laugh. “Are you suggesting that we tippy-toe across the foyer to the billiards room?”

“No, I am suggesting that we run,” he said with a smile, and taking Lizzy by the hand, that was what they did.

Chapter 49

The reason Mr. Collins had been able to make a selection from the many volumes stacked on the shelves of the library in such a dimly lit room was because he only read two books: Fordyce’s Sermons and Thomas Secker’s Four Discourses on Self-examination, Lying, Patience, and Contentment. With its title concealed in the fold of his arm, he walked around the house with one or the other of those books merely as an affectation. He had successfully fooled all of Charlotte’s family, as well as Mrs. Crenshaw, into thinking of him as a voracious reader. However, the reason for his success in doing so would have disturbed him. No one cared what he read.

When Mr. Collins went into the drawing room, he was happy to see Miss Bennet and Mr. Bingley. As gracious a hostess as Mrs. Crenshaw had been, he was getting tired of her constant interruptions. Unlike Charlotte, who sat quietly doing her needlework while he talked, Mr. Bingley’s sister was not a good listener.