However, Mary was away from home. She had been at first incensed at her daughter’s letter stating that she had accepted an invitation to remain where she was for several more months, but soon decided that it was serendipitous since it would allow her to make plans without her daughter’s inference. Perhaps, Mary’s absence was not the problem she initially thought it was. If she could get Mr. Collins to sign the contracts before Mary returned home, he would not be put off by her looks, forgetting that Mary had already made the gentleman’s acquaintance.
She burst into her husband’s study to inform him of the plans she had made. “Mr. Bennet, when is Mr. Collins going to arrive at Longbourn?” she demanded.
“In a sennight. I understand from his letters he is mostly recovered and will be well enough to travel in a few more days. He is looking for a position as a curate so he can take orders when he comes of an age to do so,” Mr. Bennet answered, slowly setting down his book and looking at his wife, trying to figure out what she was hoping for.
“When he comes, he must be made to marry Mary.”
“Mary is but sixteen, and Mr. Collins cannot afford a wife at present unless you would like them to move into Longbourn. Perhaps that would be advantageous for then you can teach Mary how to be mistress of the estate,” Mr. Bennet replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Mrs. Bennet either ignored or missed his tone. Instead, she wrung her hands in apparent frustration at his failure to understand. “I am not suggesting they marry immediately,merely that you have him sign the marriage contracts. They can marry when Mary is eighteen. Then, we must see about convincing my brother to host Jane with them in London. If Lizzy could manage to catch such a wealthy husband, then surely Jane will do better. Now that Lizzy is married so well, she could even introduce her sister and then Jane can marry a peer.”
Mr. Bennet stared at his wife in surprise at her audacity. “Your brother will not host Jane, nor do anything else you demand of him. You might ask, but as I recall, you recently complained that they had not answered your letters.”
"Now that Lizzy is not living with them any longer, they can have no objection to hosting Jane for a time. If they will not, perhaps Lizzy will. We will send Jane to town, and they would have little choice but to keep her at least for a brief time."
Mr. Bennet could only shake his head at her lack of understanding. “At your insistence, we sent Elizabeth away. You wanted nothing to do with your second child, and I did not argue with you.” His tone was resigned. “Elizabeth might be willing to make amends with her sisters, but I do not think your demand that she host them in London will bear fruit.”
"Of course she will host her sisters in London. Why would she not want to? She must want to help her sister find a match at least as good as her own," Mrs. Bennet cried.
"Jane has written to her already. Elizabeth will not invite Jane to town but is willing to correspond with her. Jane told me about the letter she received, and while she was disappointed, she did eventually come to understand what you apparently will not. Elizabeth has absolutely no reason to want to assist the family that cast her aside. I received a message from herhusband, demanding that you cease sending letters to her and the Gardiners."
“How do you know all this, Mr. Bennet?” his wife asked, her tone demanding and shrill.
“Jane and Mary both came to me not long after Elizabeth left Meryton. They both wrote to her in secret and received replies in return. Jane did much as you would have done and asked for Elizabeth to host her in town. Elizabeth agreed to continue the correspondence, but not to host her sister. She is newly married and establishing her own self in society, nor do she and her husband intend to remain in London for long. They will spend the holidays at their estate in Derbyshire.”
Mrs. Bennet scowled at that. “She should remain in London to host her sister. Jane deserves a much better match than her ungrateful sister has managed.”
Shaking his head, Mr. Bennet ceased his attempts to explain to his wife. “Regardless of what you think she ought to do, she and her husband have determined to act as they will. I will sign no more marriage contracts unless both the groom and my daughter agree to the match. I cannot and will not force Mr. William Collins to marry one of my daughters unless he wishes to. He is also in mourning and will be for six months to a year. As I understand it, his father left him little, and until he finds a position, the gentleman is in no position to marry.”
“What does that matter?” Mrs. Bennet waved away her husband’s protestation. “You must encourage him to wed Mary, preferably before she returns home, and he can meet her. He will not want to marry her if he sees her first since she is not as beautiful as Jane. If only Lydia was older and of a suitable age to marry. She is a very pretty girl, and I have little doubt she willbe just as beautiful as Jane. She is far more lively, taking after myself as a girl, and I am certain she will have all manner of beaux when she is older.”
Mr. Bennet repeated that he could not force Mr. Collins to accept any of his daughters and coldly sent his wife from his room, shaking his head at her foolishness before returning to his book.
Chapter Thirty-Two
JUNE 1809
Throughout the winter and spring, many letters travelled back and forth between Elizabeth and Mary. In those letters, Mary shared first of her growing familiarity with the new heir to Longbourn, Mr. William Collins, a young man of just twenty-three who was waiting to take his orders to become a rector. Mary and her cousin formed a friendship, and Mary recommended him to the Allens in Meryton who might help the young man find a curacy.
Since he was not yet of a proper age to take orders, Mr. Allen was able to offer him the position of curate for his church in Meryton. This pleased the young man, who enjoyed the company of his cousin. The two were frequently in company as their friendship continued.
Initially, he stayed at Longbourn, though Mrs. Bennet’s shrill complaints and her vocally insisting that Mary and Mr. Collins wed “to save the family” grew taxing on everyone. When Mr. Allen offered Mr. Collins not only the position as curate but also a small cottage for him to live in, he gladly accepted. He earned enough to hire a maid to help with the cleaning and washing, and he knew enough to brew a cup of tea and prepare a few simple dishes. Mrs. Allen often invited him for meals, and as he became more involved with Longbourn’s tenants and the parish's less fortunate, the number of invitations to meals and social events steadily increased.
It became widely known that the young curate was the heir presumptive to Longbourn, which made him an eligible catch by many of the women of that small village. However, most of these ladies seemed to want to bide their time, for they saw where and how he lived and were not quite ready to suffer the hardships of being a curate’s wife, regardless of his future prospects.
Mary’s letters indicated a growing regard for the gentleman although it was evident that she viewed him as a friend and brother, not as a future husband, much to her mother’s frustration.
Toward the end of April, not long before Elizabeth’s nineteenth birthday, two critical events came to pass. The first was that Elizabeth discovered she was with child after emptying the contents of her stomach every morning for nearly a fortnight. Both she and Darcy were concerned by this until a casual reference by the housekeeper reminded Elizabeth of a conversation she had with her aunt before her marriage. She sent a note to Mrs. Gardiner asking her to visit and related the symptoms she was experiencing. It did not take long for Mrs. Gardiner to confirm what Elizabeth already suspected and when she informed her husband of the cause of her so-called illness, he was delighted. The two would become parents before the year was out.
The second event was much more upsetting. A letter from Mary informed the pair of a smallpox epidemic spreading through Longbourn village. It had begun with the tenants and servants and quickly spread to the family, with each member of the Bennet family suffering from the illness in varying degrees. Mary returned to Longbourn, and as she remained unaffected, took up nursing the rest of her family. The least ill of the servants assisted her in this, as did Mrs. Allen and several othersfrom the neighbourhood who had smallpox as children and were therefore at less risk. Mrs. Hill, the housekeeper, was one of these as was Charlotte Lucas, and these three proved invaluable in assisting those who needed it.
Jane was not particularly ill though she was perhaps the most affected by the rash. This was enough to keep her confined to her room for the duration, believing what her mother had taught her, that her only value came from her appearance. Therefore, she did not want anyone to see her when her body was marked by the sickness. When anyone entered her room, she would cover her body with the bed clothes and refused to be seen. This frequently made caring for her more difficult, while, as usual, she did not seem to realise how her actions affected others.
Though Mrs. Bennet, Kitty, and Lydia were all ill, they recovered reasonably quickly. It was Mr. Bennet who was the sickest in his family. Mr. Allen came frequently to speak to the gentleman, as did the apothecary and Mr. Phillips, all who had fallen sick from the illness in their youth. Each of these conversations was serious, and they provided guidance in the only way they could: Mr. Allen tended to him spiritually, Mr. Jones medicinally, and Mr. Phillips spoke to him of his family’s future.
Unsurprisingly, none of these conversations were pleasant. Mr. Bennet was angry with himself, his family, God, pretty much everyone, blaming each in turn for the illness that befell him. He had little to say to Mr. Jones, though he did listen to his advice. However, Mr. Bennet’s health only grew worse. It was Mr. Phillips who heard the worst of his anger. Mr. Bennet had done nothing to plan for his eventual demise, and Phillips could barely disguise his disapproval at this lack of foresight, leading to several arguments between the two men.
As Mr. Bennet declined further, Mrs. Bennet took to her own bed, demanding attention from her daughters. She could not help but bemoan Jane's altered appearance, lamenting the small scars from smallpox near her right ear. Though minor and confined to a small area, Mrs. Bennet acted as if Jane was now hideous. All the praise she had once heaped upon her daughter for her beauty turned into cries of lost chances.
