Mr. Collins bowed excessively and went back to where the Bennets were sitting, taking a seat next to Miss Elizabeth. Despite Miss Elizabeth’s clear disdain for the man, Mr. Collins seemed to exercise the same inability to read her expression as he did with Darcy. Instead of being offended by her manner, he seemed to lean into her in a rather possessive sort of way.
A beast of jealousy and rage leapt up in Darcy’s heart. He tried to repress it. After all, he had no claim on Miss Elizabeth. If he was unwilling to pursue her, he could not complain if she was pursued by another. The beast within his chest, however, would not be quelled with reason.
Darcy stood up from the table and went to pace along one side of the room. He desperately wished he could simply leave, but he refused to show such disrespect to his friend.
As he neared one corner, he heard Mr. Bennet and Sir William conversing. “It certainly looks as though you will be losing your eldest daughter to marriage soon enough,” said Sir William.
Darcy slowed so he could hear more of the conversation. He wished to have more information concerning how the neighborhood perceived Bingley’s behavior.
“Perhaps,” said Mr. Bennet. “Young Bingley has said nothing specific, but he is certainly paying marked attention to Jane. Other young men have done the same, however, and it all came to nothing, so I cannot say how that affair will end. I can tell you that I will almost certainly be giving Elizabeth away soon.”
“I noticed Mr. Collins’ attention in that quarter,” said Sir William. “It is rather difficult to miss, but I had thought Elizabeth to be rather opposed to such a match.”
“Opposed or not, she will have to go along with it,” said Mr. Bennet. “I am not getting any younger, and despite the fact that Jane has been out for seven years, she is still unmarried. My daughters and my wife need some kind of future security. Thus, though it will make her unhappy, I will have to insist that Elizabeth accept Mr. Collins’ offer when he undoubtedly makes it.”
The jealousy and rage Darcy already felt intensified to an unholy degree, causing his vision to go red temporarily. The only way to prevent himself from making a ridiculous scene was to simply walk out of the room.
In the cool, dark, quiet hallway, Darcy paced.
As he paced, he remembered all the many times he had observed Miss Elizabeth. Every time they were in company together, his eyes followed her almost against his own will. Hehad listened to her conversation simply because he enjoyed her ready wit and cheerful voice.
He thought back on how much happiness and pleasure Miss Elizabeth had given him. Other than Bingley, she was the only person in this county whose company he thoroughly enjoyed.
Then, his mind moved forward to her future. He had seen enough of Mr. Collins to know that a clever, intelligent, independent lady like Miss Elizabeth would likely be stifled under such a man’s thumb. Mr. Collins had an odd form of arrogance, apparently born of his pride in his status as parson for Lady Catherine, as evidenced by the fact that he had possessed the temerity to introduce himself to Darcy, who was multiple layers above him in society.
Such arrogance could not suffer his wife to outshine him, as Miss Elizabeth undoubtedly would. Her light, her happiness would be sacrificed on the altar of his humble arrogance.
And Darcy would have to bear witness to it every time he visited his aunt. He would have to look on as she was inevitably embarrassed by his awkwardness or as she covered up or mitigated his errors in judgment. He would have to watch her light dim over the years, and he would have to hope that it would never be snuffed out completely.
A small part of Darcy’s mind knew he was making sweeping generalizations about Mr. Collins. He barely knew the man, after all. But he did not care. Whether the details were correct or not, what mattered was that the brightest jewel in all of England was about to be offered to the most annoying man Darcy had ever conversed with.
Darcy did not return to the dining room or the ballroom. He did not think he could maintain his self-control if he placed himself either in Mr. Collins’ or Mr. Bennet’s company. Instead,he retired to his bedroom. His valet was surprised to see him so early, but he helped him into a nightshirt and was happy to retire earlier than expected.
Darcy, however, did not retire. He alternated between pacing the room and sitting and staring at the fire, all the while wondering what he should do, or even if he should do anything at all.
By the time dawn arrived, he knew what he needed to do, but he continued to puzzle out the best way to go about it. He finally fell asleep just after dawn, but he awoke only a couple hours later.
At ten, his valet woke and helped him dress. Then, he went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast. On a day like today, after such a late night, breakfast would not likely be served before noon. So, he grabbed a couple of rolls and headed to the stables to have his horse saddled.
When he entered the stables, he was momentarily surprised to see the carriage horses missing. Then he remembered that Bingley had to go to London for a few days. He must have left fairly early.
By the time Darcy’s horse was ready, his rolls were gone. He climbed on and began the three-mile journey to Longbourn.
Chapter 3
After knocking on the door at Longbourn, Darcy was immediately shown into Mr. Bennet’s study and asked to wait. On any other day, Darcy would have expected Mr. Bennet to be available at this time of morning, but upon reflection, he realized that the Bennets likely didn’t get home until the wee hours of the morning, making his visit far too early in the day to be considered polite.
Darcy didn’t care over much. It was imperative that he speak to Mr. Bennet as early as possible.
Fifteen minutes after his arrival, Mr. Bennet finally entered the room.
“Mr. Darcy, I must admit to quite a bit of surprise at your presence so early this morning,” he said.
“I apologize for intruding on you,” said Darcy. “The situation could not wait, however.”
Mr. Bennet sighed and sat in the chair behind his desk. He waved Darcy to sit in the chair opposite. “And what could possibly be so urgent?”
“I want to ask you to refuse permission for Mr. Collins to marry Miss Elizabeth,” said Darcy.
