Page 43 of Infamous Relations

“You may come to regret that offer,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“Lizzy! Anne, that is a truly kind and generous invitation, and we will be delighted to accept as soon as we can. May we correspond, in the meantime?” Jane requested.

“I shall be quite downcast if I do not hear from both of you regularly,” Anne stood to embrace them both. “Charlotte and I shall be very quiet here; we shall depend on you to keep us entertained with your letters!”

Anne requested that they not speak of her request to Charlotte yet, only to advise her that she should remain in the Parsonage as long as she wished. Anne would visit once the funerals had passed.

Sir William and Lady Lucas arrived on the morning of the funerals; Sir William would attend with Mr. Bennet and the other gentlemen, and they would remain with Charlotte for a few days before returning home with Maria.

Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner left directly following Mr. Collins’ funeral with Jane and Elizabeth. They would stop for a night at the Gardiners’ home on Gracechurch Street before Mr. Bennet took his daughters home to Longbourn at last.

Elizabeth had no opportunity to farewell Mr. Darcy without her father present. Cautious of raising Mr. Bennet’s suspicions, she cast Darcy a pleading look when he bent to kiss her hand. He correctly interpreted the glance and reverted to his usual formality, though with a warmer attitude than Mr. Bennet was wont to expect.

Peering thoughtfully from Darcy to Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet let out a small harrumph. Hie eyes twinkled a little as he bade farewell to Darcy.

“Perhaps we shall see you at Netherfield again this autumn, sir?”

“Perhaps,” Darcy said blandly, wondering if Elizabeth’s father had somehow seen through him, or if Mr. Gardiner had been talking. He could hardly ask; though he could at least hope that time and the opportunity to consider might bring Mr. Bennet to be pleased with the idea of Darcy courting Elizabeth.

“I shall be rather displeased if any of my daughters have their hearts broken again, though,” Mr. Bennet said sternly.

“I shall sincerely hope that they do not, sir,” Darcy glanced sideways, to where Colonel Fitzwilliam was staring at Jane with a foolishly lovesick expression on his face. She, in return, was blushing shyly and casting small smiles his way. “I pray that you will take good care of all of your daughters in the mean time.”

“I believe that I have quite learned my lesson about letting any of them out of my sight,” Mr. Bennet replied dryly. “Never fear, Mr. Darcy. Three months’ mourning will be quite enough time for them to drive me all to the point of wanting to banish at least some of them from the house permanently, though it is likely that those who depart will be those I would wish to keep!”

He definitely knows, or at least strongly suspects. Darcy said no more, only bowed in polite farewell before turning to bid Mr. Gardiner a friendly adieu.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mrs. Bennet fussed over Jane and Elizabeth on their return to Longbourn, though she spent more time mourning that both of them had come home unwed than showing concern over Elizabeth’s accident. They were quite content not to have to discuss the matter anyway, since they had already agreed that no good could come of anyone else knowing the depths of Mr. Collins’ wickedness. Especially not Mrs. Bennet, who would never have been able to keep such a juicy secret to herself.

“Well,” Mrs. Bennet threw up her hands, after several minutes of prying over their dinner failed to elicit any worthwhile gossip, “I am glad that you are well, Lizzy, and that you are both come safely home again. Poor Charlotte.” This was said with a great deal of insincerity, before Mrs. Bennet leaned forward and said in a loud whisper “I do not suppose you detected any signs that she was increasing, did you?”

“Mama!” Jane gasped, utterly shocked.

“Well, but it is an important question, Jane, for you in particular! If there is no son, then there is no entail,” beaming, Mrs. Bennet sat back in her chair. “Longbourn will be saved.”

Astonished, Elizabeth and Jane stared at each other in silence. Elizabeth was the first to recover her voice. “Are you sure, Mama? Does not the entail devolve to the next male heir in line?”

“There is none,” Mrs. Bennet said with great satisfaction. “My brother Phillips has investigated the matter thoroughly, and the terms of your great-grandfather’s will are quite clear. With no living male heir after your father, the entail reverts to the eldest female in line - yourself, Jane! Provided that Charlotte Collins is not enceinte with Mr. Collins’ son, ghastly thought!”

“Mama, she has just lost her husband,” Mary reproached. “Surely a child would be a great comfort to her in this time of such terrible grief.”

“Oh, what do you know about it,” Mrs. Bennet flapped a dismissive hand at Mary. “She only took him because she had her eyes on being mistress here after I am gone; well now she will have nothing!”

“Mama!” Jane, Elizabeth and Mary cried in a chorus of disgust. Mrs. Bennet harrumphed and tossed her head.

“Well, the timing is most inconvenient, too! Your father was going to take us all to Brighton for the summer…”

“I most certainly was not, my dear,” Mr. Bennet lowered his newspaper for long enough to say. “Nor did I plan to allow Lydia to go by herself, no matter how dear a friend she is to Mrs. Forster.”

“Stupid, stupid Mr. Collins!” Lydia burst out vehemently. “Now we’re in mourning, we can’t even go to parties and meet the officers, and they are leaving in just a few days! I’ll never see my dear Wickham again!”

“Poor, darling Lydia!” Mrs. Bennet fluttered her handkerchief. “If only you could go to Brighton, I am sure you should have caught him!”

Lydia promptly burst into noisy tears and was equally swiftly banished upstairs by Mr. Bennet, who would not tolerate such behaviour, not at mealtimes at any rate. Elizabeth could hardly wait to make her own escape with Jane, hurrying upstairs to their shared room and closing the door.

“Dear Lord, I think that this family may have had a lucky escape!” she gasped.