pages expressed Georgiana’s delight at the prospect of
having a sister.
Less welcome was Lady Catherine’s letter.
Fitzwilliam,
I do not call you nephew, for you are no longer
a nephew of mine. I am shocked and astonished
that you could stoop to offer your hand to a per-
son of such low breeding. It is a stain on the
honour and credit of the name of Darcy. She
will bring you nothing but degradation and
embarrassment, and she will reduce your house
to a place of impertinence and vulgarity. Your
children will be wild and undisciplined. Your
daughters will run off with stable hands and
your sons will become attorneys.You will never
be received by any of your acquaintance. You
will be disgraced in the eyes of the world, and
will become a figure of contempt. You will
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bitterly regret this day.You will remember that I
warned you of the consequences of such a dis-
astrous act, but by then it will be too late. I will
not end this letter by wishing you happiness, for
no happiness can follow such a blighted union.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Wednesday 15th October
I dined with Elizabeth this evening, and I was surprised
to find a large party there, consisting of Mrs Philips, Sir
William Lucas and Mr and Mrs Collins.The unexpected
appearance of the Collinses was soon explained. Lady
Catherine has been rendered so exceedingly angry by
our engagement that they thought it wiser to leave Kent
for a time and retreat to Lucas Lodge.
Elizabeth and Charlotte had much to discuss, and
whilst the two of them talked before dinner, I was left to
the tender mercies of Mr Collins.
‘I was delighted to learn that you had offered your
hand to my fair cousin, and that she, in her gracious and
womanly wisdom, had accepted you,’ he said, beaming. ‘I
now understand why she could not accept the proposal I
so injudiciously made to her last autumn, when I knew
nothing of the present felicitous happenings. I thought at
the time that it was strange that such an amiable young
woman would refuse the wholly unexceptionable hand of
an estimable young man, particularly one who possessed
so fine a living, and who, if I may say so, had the advantages of his calling to offer her as well as the advantages of
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his person. The refusal seemed inexplicable to me at the
time, but I fully comprehend it now. My fair cousin had
lost her heart to one who, if I may say so, is, by virtue of
his standing, more worthy even than a clergyman, for he
has the clergyman’s fate in his hands.’
I saw Elizabeth looking satirically at me, but I bore his
conversation with composure. I might even, in time,
grow to be amused by it.
‘Admirably expressed,’ said Sir William Lucas, as he
joined us. He bowed to me, and then to Mr Collins, and
then to me again.‘Only such worth could resign us to the
fact that you will be carrying away the brightest jewel of
our county when you carry Elizabeth to Derbyshire,’ he
continued with another bow.‘I hope we will all of us meet
very frequently, either at Longbourn or at St James’s.’
Fortunately we then went in to dinner, but though I
was relieved from the company of Mr Collins and Sir
William, I found myself seated next to Mrs Philips. She
seemed too much in awe of me to say very much, but
when she did speak, it was all of it very vulgar.
‘So, Mr Darcy, it is true you have ten thousand a year?’
she asked.
I looked at her quellingly.
‘I am sure it must be, for I have heard it talked of
everywhere. And is Pemberley bigger than Rosings?’
When I did not reply, she asked the question again.
‘It is,’ I said.
‘And how much was the chimney-piece? Mr Collins
was telling me that the chimney-piece at Rosings cost
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eight hundred pounds. I expect the chimney-piece at
Pemberley must have cost over a thousand pounds. My sister and I were talking of it only the other day.“Depend on
it,” I said,“it will have been well over a thousand pounds”.
“Very likely it cost more than twelve hundred pounds”,
she returned. It is a good thing Lizzy did not marry Mr
Collins, after all, though my sister was annoyed enough at
the time, but what is Mr Collins to Mr Darcy? Even Lady
Lucas agrees that he is nothing whatsoever. Ten thousand
a year.The dresses, the carriages she will have.’
I bore her remarks as best I could, and I look forward
to the day when I will have Elizabeth with me at Pemberley, free of all her relations.
Tuesday 28th October
I did not know that I could feel so nervous, but this
morning I felt almost as nervous as the day on which I
asked Elizabeth to marry me. Bingley and I went to the
church together. I believe he was even more anxious
than I was when we went in and took our places at the
front.
The guests began to arrive. Mr Collins was the first.
His wife was not with him, for she was to be Elizabeth’s
attendant. Mrs Philips followed closely after.The Lucases
arrived, then a number of Elizabeth’s acquaintances. Of
my own relatives there was only Colonel Fitzwilliam and
my sister, Georgiana. Lady Catherine and Anne did not
attend. I did not expect it, and I was relieved that aunt
had decided to stay away, but I would have liked to have
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seen Anne, and I suspect she would have liked to see me
married safely to Elizabeth.
The church filled.The guests took their seats. Bingley
and I exchanged glances. We looked to the door. We
looked back again. I glanced at my watch. Bingley
glanced at his. He smiled nervously. I smiled reassuringly.
He nodded. I clasped my hands. And then we heard a
sigh and, looking round, I beheld Elizabeth. She was
walking up the aisle on her father’s arm, with Jane on his
other arm. But
