“And he has decided that you are that woman?”
Jane laughed. “Yes. Is it not astonishing?”
Mary handed Jane her bonnet and gloves. “Make haste, sister. Do not keep the poor man waiting overlong.”
Jane stood before the mirror and tied the ribbons of her bonnet. “I am truly blessed.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Perhaps he shall offer for you today, Jane dear.”
Mary closed the door behind her sister and then leaned back against it, her eyes upon Elizabeth.
“Was Mr. Collins a brute to you?”
“No, Lizzy. He is never disrespectful or harsh. He wishes for me to return to the parsonage, yet I dread going back there.”
“Why, Mary? What is he doing that has caused you to shrink from him so?”
“I do not know why I dread his company. His presence feels so heavy. Even the air seems too oppressive to breathe, and the day itself appears to darken whenever he is near. It is as though something within me is slowly dying.”
Mary settled beside Elizabeth, covered her face with her hands, and began to weep.
“Lizzy, I believe I am carrying his child.”
Elizabeth reached over at once and drew her sister into her arms.
“Nothischild, Mary. Your child. If you are increasing, the babe is as much a Bennet as a Collins. The child is yours, and you may raise it to resemble you rather than him.”
Mary lifted tear-filled eyes to her sister. “Do you truly believe so? What if it is a little boy and he favors his father?”
“What of it? His father is not vicious, and he is an attractive man.”
“But he is devious, Lizzy. I have caught him watching you. I am always careful to close the door behind me, yet he has watched you ever since you first arrived.”
“But it does not follow that he is vicious. Perhaps he has formed a fascination for me, but he does not behave so toward every woman, does he? Do his eyes wander habitually? Is it a practice with him?”
Mary paused to consider. “No, they do not. He is respectful toward others. It is only you whom he watches.”
“I do not claim it is proper for him to have developed a fascination with his sister-in-law, but if it is not a propensity he displays toward all women, then there is less cause for alarm. Your child need not inherit his faults.”
Mary appeared somewhat easier in her mind as she considered Elizabeth’s words. “Of course, you are right. It is no character defect to feel an attraction toward another person. Only look at Jane and Sir Gareth. They are entirely besotted with one another, and we think no less of them for it.”
“It is merely human nature to feel drawn toward the opposite sex. Mr. Collins has not behaved improperly, and I shall soon return to Longbourn and will no longer serve as either a temptation to him or a source of unease to you. Is that all you fear for your child? Is there anything else you dread the babe may inherit?”
Mary gave a weak smile. “I pray my child shall not become an arrogant prig, Lizzy.”
“That will depend greatly upon how you raise him. Merely ensure he spends rather more time with you than with your husband, and all shall be well.”
Mary laughed softly. “Of course you are right, sister. I think too much and construct mountains of distress within my own mind.”
“Mary, setting aside your fears for the child, are you happy that you are expecting?”
“I am.” Her expression softened. “I informed him, and he is very pleased.”
“You need not receive him into your bed while you are in a delicate condition.”
Mary laughed softly. “That is true, but however shall I tell him he is not welcome?”
“Perhaps you shall not have to. If he is so eager to become a father, he may restrain himself lest he endanger his unborn child in any way.”
