Mr. Darcy interrupted. “Wait – what? What about three thousand pounds?”
“Were you not listening, Darcy? The Bennets are in debt, and it is so very bad that they cannot buy tea or meat or – well, suffice it to say that Mr. Bennet is in desperate need of three thousand pounds to pay his debts and to see the family safe until the coming harvest.”
Mr. Darcy closed his eyes. Miss Elizabeth had been living in near poverty all this time, and he had not known! He could not bear to think of her suffering. Opening his eyes, he said, “Tell me, when is the wedding to take place?”
“The fourth of February. You will stand up with me, will you not?”
“I shall be honoured to do so, of course. But when did you plan to give Mr. Bennet the money?”
“Why, after the wedding…oh, I see.” Mr. Bingley looked briefly downcast.
“Yes; what will the family live on until then? And how will they pay for your wedding breakfast, if the situation is as dire as you say?”
“I will bring him five hundred pounds tomorrow,” Mr. Bingley said. “That should set things to rights for now. I will have to go to London to get the remaining amount out of my bank; and I shall need to have my marriage settlements written in any case.”
Mr. Darcy was relieved. Five hundred pounds would at least buy candles and put meat on the table!
Chapter Eighty-Five
Oh! Oh! Oh, Mary! It worked!” Elizabeth’s excitement was such that she was very much in danger of knocking over the teapot, which Mary hastily moved out of the way.
“What worked? Oh! Did Jane – ?”
“Yes, yes! She is engaged to Mr. Bingley! She writes that Charlotte Lucas took it upon herself to go to Mr. Bingley directly and tell him of our situation. He says he jumped onto his horse the moment she was out the door and galloped to our door! Then he knelt before her, told her that he knew all about the three thousand pounds and was more than happy to give it, and begged her to be his wife! It worked!” There were tears of joy in Elizabeth’s eyes.
She and Mary rose and threw themselves into one another’s arms. Mr. Collins, who had heard rather a hullabaloo in the dining room, walked in at this moment. “Mary!” he called out in considerable alarm. “Is all well?”
“More than well, William!” she replied, joyfully. “For Jane is to marry Mr. Bingley, and he will give Papa the three thousand pounds!”
“Three thousand pounds?” Mr. Collins was confused.
It was only then that the two sisters recalled that Mr. Collins had been told nothing of the difficulties at Longbourn. They looked at one another, almost guiltily.
“Is it meant to be a secret?” Mr. Collins’ voice was mild.
“Oh, no, Papa just did not wish to burden you,” Mary said, hastily.
“Burden me with…?”
“Well, Papa is not the best estate manager, and Mama is not the best at keeping to a budget. Then there was a poor harvest, and two of the largest tenant farms were unoccupied, and, well, Lizzy understands it better than I…” Mary trailed off.
Elizabeth took up the thread. “All in all, we were very much in debt and the Meryton merchants were no longer extending us credit. Papa needed three thousand pounds to pay off the debts and to get the family through until the next harvest. We did not know where to turn, as the Gardiners had already lent him a good deal of money, so one of us needed to marry into…well, marry someone who…” And now she trailed off as well.
Mr. Collins considered this. “I see. So Mr. Bingley has proposed to Jane and it is up to him to give the family three thousand pounds?” His voice was calm.
“It sounds quite dreadful, I know,” Elizabeth said, hastily. “But Jane and Mr. Bingley are very much in love, so he is happy to be able to relieve Papa’s burdens.”
“Well, I am glad of that,” Mr. Collins declared. “I would hate to think of my sister by marriage having to marry a gentleman for no other reason than his income, but if they are in love, then all is well. I do rather wish Mr. Bennet had told me, not because I have three thousand pounds, but only so that I might learn from his mistakes, had he been willing to confide them to me.”
“You need not fear, Mr. Collins,” Elizabeth reassured him. “I do not doubt that you will be a conscientious estate manager. And Mary is not like our mother. She will have no difficulty in adhering to a budget, no matter how many daughters she might have.”
“When are they to marry? For I am certain that you both will wish to attend, and though Lady Catherine cannot be counted on to provide a carriage, I must set aside some coin to hire one to convey us there.”
“It will be the fourth of February. But I am to attend Charlotte’s wedding soon, and I will likely just stay in Meryton, rather than return to Kent with Lady Catherine. Jane will want me to stand up with her as well.”
“Oh, Lizzy!” Mary’s face was suddenly fearful. “Miss de Bourgh!”
“Mary?” Mr. Collins turned again to his wife.
