“Goodbye, sir! I hope we do not meet again, but if we do… don’t… don’t steal anything.” She waved her book at me and ran, the strings of her bonnet trailing behind her.
I was still panting in pain, and I had to lean against the door of the inn to catch myself. I might have just won the time I needed to speak with Mr. Bennet, but why did I feel like I had actually lost that exchange? The woman was… terrifying.
Eleven
Elizabeth
Papawasnotinhis study when we returned to Longbourn.
That was no surprise. I knew precisely where to find him, but ridding myself of Mr. Collins proved difficult. Lydia and Kitty had gone to call on their friend Maria Lucas—probably so they did not have to walk back with the rest of us. Mary slipped into the parlor to bang away on some concerto, and Mama called Jane to her sitting room “to ease her poor nerves.”
Thus, I was forced to take tea with the oaf, my eyes on the clock every second as he recounted the many splendors of Rosings Park, the seat of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. However, I am not formed to suffer in silence. If I could do nothing but play the hostess for a quarter of an hour, I would make the best of it by learning what I wished to know.
“Lady Catherine sounds like a woman of exquisite taste,” I murmured as I sipped from my cup.There.I had but to observe that much, and he would rattle on for some minutes, unaided, while I enjoyed my tea.
I was not disappointed. I learned all about the glazing on her windows and the costliness of her fireplace, and the lavish quality of her Turkish rugs, not to mention a dozen more trivialities I cared nothing for. I had time to finish my cup before I could put another word in.
“And has she much art to grace her home?” I asked. “Many portraits by the masters, no doubt, but what of sculpture?”
“Oh!” Collins set down his cup and acted as if his heart had grown faint. “My fair cousin, you can have no notion of the variety and magnificence of her collection! Why, I once counted the pieces in her gallery, and they numbered overthirty!”
“Indeed! I suppose a lady of such a grand estate with so many wondrous treasures has little need for more.”
“But you are mistaken, cousin! Lady Catherine is a curator of fine art. She accepts it as her sacred duty to preserve and guard the great masterpieces of the ages from those who would not appreciate and protect them.”
“Truly, she is a grand lady,” I whispered, my eyes wide.
“I flatter myself when I say you can have no possible concept of her beneficence. Only this year, she secured a sculpture to rival the very one in Mr. Bennet’s keeping, and she desires nothing more than to set them together, as book-ends in her library.There,what do you think ofthat, my fair cousin?”
“She has a library, does she? What sorts of books does she keep?”
“Only what is suitable to a lady of her station, of course! Everything is bound in fine leather and gold leaf and tastefully shelved to best highlight and augment their quality.”
“Ah. A true book lover, then,” I sighed. I never could abide a library that was kept as a showpiece rather than a well-organized repository of wisdom and delight.
“Naturally! But the true splendor of her library is not the books themselves, of course, but the mere aspect of the room. I cannot possibly do justice to the beauty, the graciousness—”
“That is all well and good,” I interrupted, tiring of his prattle. “But what honor is there in a house, be it the library or the gallery, if only one person exists to appreciate it?”
Collins put his hand to his chest again. “Oh, but that is not true! She has a daughter, the heiress of Rosings, and a fine creature she is! Alas, her health is not robust, but if it were, I can think of nothing that would prevent her from becoming the fairest star of theton. Indeed—”
“Oh, I was not talking about family. They are obliged to compliment one’s little hobby regardless of their actual opinions. But does Lady Catherine not display her collection to others who might admire it?” I poured a second cup of tea for him.
“Ah! Forgive me. I misunderstood. Naturally, Lady Catherine appreciates a kindred mind of discerning taste. To that end, when she acquires a new treasure, she always summons one of unparalleled expertise and acumen to affirm its quality and to bask in its splendor.”
My hand quaked on the teapot. “She does? Who is this person?”
Collins sipped from his cup and then whispered, as if in reverence. “His name is Carruthers, and his opinion weighs greatly with her ladyship. Why, I have it on good authority that his expertise is valued far and wide for the exactness and accuracy of his judgment.”
I blinked.Carruthers!That William person had been telling the truth! And now Papa might have got us in an awful fix. Oh, Iknewsomething like this would happen someday!
I set my cup aside, trying to steady my breathing. “If you will forgive me, Mr. Collins, I’m suddenly feeling slightly indisposed. I think I must lie down for a while.“
“But of course! Far be it from me to disregard the delicacy of a lady’s constitution. Why, as I have always assured Lady Catherine when her dearest daughter Anne—”
I heard no more. I doubt Mr. Collins even realized that when I left him, I did not go upstairs to my room for a lie-down. I pulled on my bonnet and my walking boots and ran outside.
“Papa,thisisveryserious! I wish you would listen to me.”
