“Engaged?” His disappointment was palpable.
Mrs. Bennet waited calmly. Mr. Collins had expressed interest in marrying a Bennet daughter; surely the man was not so easily discouraged as this! Thus, she was unsurprised when he said, “Miss Elizabeth, then, next in birth and beauty.”
Mrs. Bennet had no illusions when it came to her most troublesome daughter. It was impossible for Lizzy to marry this man, but what could she say?
Mr. Collins saw her hesitation and said, quickly, “There are no prior claims there, I trust?”
“I believe she is interested in a man who is visiting Jane’s beau.”
Mr. Collins preened. “Merely interested? Surely an offer from the heir to the estate could easily overcome a mereinterest!”
Mrs. Bennet was not so certain, but she decided that she could not put Mr. Collins off again without cooling his interest in his cousins entirely. She would speak to Mr. Bennet at once.
***
“Absolutely not,” Mr. Bennet declared.
“But if he cannot have Jane, then he wants Lizzy,” Mrs. Bennet said, wringing her hands.
“Under no circumstances will my Lizzy marry that fool. Tell him he can have Mary, Kitty or Lydia.”
“Neither Kitty nor Lydia could be forced to marry him,” Mrs. Bennet said, doubtfully.
Mr. Bennet chuckled. “Yet you think that Lizzy will? Ha!”
“What of Mary?” Mr. Bennet asked.
“She is the most likely to be willing,” Mrs. Bennet said, hesitantly. “But you know she is the least comely of all of them. He is unlikely to want her, though she would be the best selection for him.”
Mr. Bennet shrugged. “I leave all this in your capable hands, my dear.”
That was the last straw. “No, I leave it inyourhands, Mr. Bennet,” she said, frostily, rising to her feet. “It isyouwho have saved no money for dowries or for your widow; it isyouwho have done nothing to erase the entail. So it isyouwho must speak with Mr. Collins.” With that, she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Netherfield Park
Alone in her room, Caroline Bingley had a good deal of time to think. Had she really done something wrong? What she had said was, in her opinion, true enough; but it was certainly not akindthing to have said.
She would never have done anything as foolish as elope – or even nearly elope – with a servant’s son, but then again, she had never been left unprotected at the age of fifteen.
In a rare burst of self-awareness, she realised that a good deal of her anger had been directed at Mr. Darcy. His actions – or inactions, perhaps – with respect to his sister had turned him into an ineligible suitor for her. That meant that all her struggles to capture his interest had been for naught. Her efforts to have her brother invite him to Bingley House, her many visits to Pemberley dressed in her finest clothes, even her attempts toread Shakespeare so as to impress him – all a complete waste of time!
Yes, she was angry with Mr. Darcy, and she had taken it out on poor little Georgiana. Miss Bingley experienced a rare emotion: shame. Not only was it rare, but it was also uncomfortable, so she pushed the feeling away. But then the image of the girl bursting into tears and running out of the room returned, and she felt the shame again.
She had tried to befriend Miss Darcy for a good long time now, and had failed. The sensitive child had doubtless known all along that Caroline was really only interested in Mr. Darcy.
She lay face down on her bed for a long while, wondering if it was too late now to make things right. Her brother hated her, Mr. Darcy hated her – everyone hated her! She was powerless to stop the tears.
***
“Harold, I think I should go and speak to Caroline.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Mrs. Hurst echoed. “Because I am concerned about her!”
Mr. Hurst turned away and did not reply.
