“Where can we find Miss Bennet in London?” Colonel Fitzwilliam asked. “We are off as soon as we take our leave of you.”
“She is with my aunt and uncle on Gracechurch Street.” Jane clenched the handkerchief tightly in her hand. “Charlotte is with her. They will likely continue to Longbourn within a few days. They intended to stay in London for a week after leaving Kent.”
“Then that is where we shall go,” Lady de Bourgh said. “I need to make arrangements to correspond with Miss Bennet. I will sponsor her, as I said yesterday. I did not offer merely to tweak Catherine’s nose, you know. Your sister has fire. She will do well as Mrs. Darcy; I have no doubt.” She tapped her walking stick against the floor to emphasize her point.
“Are you departing as well?” Jane asked.
“I am. Mr. Darcy and the colonel have graciously agreed to convey me to my house in town. Andrew is to stay until the official papers granting him oversight of Rosings Park are complete.
Jane turned to the lady in surprise. “What?”
“Oh, it was quite a marvelous to-do last night after you all departed,” Colonel Fitzwilliam chimed in. “It seems Anne has conspired to remove her mother from the management of her estate. As of yesterday, Rosings Park is completely hers, and she has decided to ask Sir Andrew to manage it. Anne toldLady Catherine that she had no desire to marry and would not be forced to do so. My aunt argued for hours but to no avail. The solicitor arrives today with the papers. They will be signed and filed immediately. It was only after Anne threatened to banish her mother to the dower house that she ceased her caterwauling.”
“Oh dear,” Jane murmured. “Mr. Collins will be very disappointed.”
“Fie on what that incompetent sycophant thinks or feels.” Lady de Bourgh said sharply. “Why ever did you marry him?”
Jane grimaced but did not reply.
“We must take our leave now if we wish to reach London before dark.” Mr. Darcy stood. “It was a pleasure seeing you again, Mrs. Collins. Please accept my wishes for your health and happiness.”
“Please!” she cried. “Take a note to Lizzy for me!” She hurried to her writing table and scribbled a quick note, sanding and sealing it as fast as she could. She handed it to Mr. Darcy and he took it, tucking it into his pocket.
Jane’s hand dropped to her waist as she said her farewells to her guests. In a few minutes, the parsonage fell silent again and she could hear the carriage leaving outside. Feeling suddenly very alone, Jane stood and retreated to her little parlor. She shut the door and locked it, praying her husband would leave her be.
Darcy
“What a shame to have such a fine lady wasted on Mr. Collins.” Lady de Bourgh said, tapping her cane against the floor of the carriage.
“Her family’s estate is entailed,” Darcy said shortly. “The Bennet ladies have little dowry; when she could not find a better prospect, she married her cousin.”
“And you know this for certain?” Lady de Bourgh challenged him.
“My friend Bingley courted her last autumn when he leased an estate near her home. When we departed, he was persuaded that Mrs. Collins—then Miss Bennet—did not feel the same for him as he did for her. My suppositions proved correct; she has been married since December. Mrs. Collins must have become engaged to that fool shortly after Bingley quit the estate.”
“It was Mrs. Collins?” Colonel Fitzwilliam sounded shocked. “Darcy, why did you not tell me?”
“It did not seem relevant. Regardless of details, Mrs. Bennet is the worst matchmaking mama I have ever encountered. She pushed her eldest at Bingley and I did not wish for my friend to be trapped in a loveless marriage.”
“And you know for certain that Mrs. Collins held no real affection for your friend?” Lady de Bourgh asked quietly.
Darcy nodded. “I watched her closely the last night we were in company. She smiled at Bingley, but she smiled at everyone. Had she any true regard, we would not have found her married and, as I suspect, already with child less than six months later.”
“I hope for your sake that you are correct, Mr. Darcy.” Lady de Bourgh shook her head. “A lady may find herself married for any number of reasons. In circumstances such as you describe, Mrs. Collins may have found herself forced into her present situation.”
Darcy scoffed. “She is of age. Even her father could not have forced her. I was right to warn Bingley away.”
“Sometimes force does not come from a person. You are about to marry Mrs. Collins’s sister. Can you live with yourself if you find out from your future wife that you were entirely mistaken?” Lady de Bourgh watched him cooly, and Darcy shifted nervously. Had he been wrong?
Stubbornly he shook his head. “I am not wrong. Mrs. Collins has proved herself to be a fortune hunter, just like her mother. I shall have to tell Bingley eventually, given my betrothal to Elizabeth.”
“Does your betrothed know that you convinced Mr. Bingley to abandon Mrs. Collins? What will she think of your interference?” Lady de Bourgh asked.
“She does not know, and I see no reason to tell her.” Darcy shrugged indifferently.
“Darcy…” Colonel Fitzwilliam said. “She does know. I told her. The day you proposed, we spoke as we strolled the lane. Though I did not name names, I am certain she deduced that I referred to Bingley and Mrs. Collins. She called your interference officious and then shortly thereafter claimed a headache. I thought she seemed discomposed when I delivered her to the parsonage. She must have been very upset.”
“If she was, she has since forgiven me. We are to be married. How could she do anything less?”
