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“I did not intend to cause such an upset,” Charlotte said as soon as the room was quiet again.
“My mother will calm down. It is surely the shock of seeing Mr. Collins here. I’m concerned about you; I hadn’t expected to see you again so soon.”
After settling back into the chairs by the window, Charlotte explained why they had come.
Just as she was finishing her explanation, they could see the gentlemen leaving Longbourn.
“I wonder where they are going?” Elizabeth murmured. Distracted, she rose from her seat, not even sure about her destination, completely ignoring the fact that she was leaving Mr. Bingley by himself in their drawing room, since her younger sisters had made themselves scarce when they saw Mr. Collins arriving.
She found herself in the hall outside her father’s study. That is when she decided she needed to see the settlement papers for herself. They would not be real until she saw them.
Carefully opening the door, she walked across to the desk. She thought she would need to look through drawers, or search for them in some way. Instead, sitting in the center of the desk, were some folded pages. Even without touching them she knew what they were.
Sitting in her father’s chair, she began by trying to examine them without touching them, trying to decide if she truly wanted to know.
“What are you doing?” Charlotte asked her.
“Just looking,” Elizabeth replied a little defensively.
“And what are you looking at?”
“That is exactly what I am trying to determine.”
Crouching down, Elizabeth tried blowing between the pages, hoping they would unfold enough for her to see a few words.
“You are being ridiculous,” Charlotte said with a giggle. “If you are that curious, just pick them up.”
“I do not know if I want to see them,” Elizabeth admitted.
“Do you think you know what they are?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes.” Then, after a pause, “Will you open them with me?”
“As long as you promise to immediately put them down if it’s not what you think it is.”
“I promise.”
Elizabeth picked up the sheets. They were exactly what she thought they were. Both of their mouths dropped open as they read the proposed settlement papers for the marriage of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. The sums were staggering. She would have more pin money every quarter than her mother had every year.
She dropped the papers, almost as if they had scalded her. As she ran from the room, Charlotte neatly folded the papers and set them back on the desk.
Chapter 9
George Wickham was agitated. It was becoming more and more difficult to avoid Darcy, he had just lost another heiress, and now it seemed as if the local populace was not quite as welcoming to him as they had been just the week before. Mary King had been sent to her uncle in Liverpool, and he had been told he was not welcome to follow. Although it was disappointing, he was certain he could charm his way into another heiress’ good graces. He was more disconcerted by the subtle shift in the manners of the gentry in and around Meryton.
He could not understand why his charm was not being received as gracefully as it had in the past, until he paid a call on the Lucas family. What he could not have known was that Miss Lydia had let slip just a small whisper of what she had overheard Darcy tell Elizabeth.
The visit had started out pleasantly enough. It had been a little over a week since the funeral for Mr. Bennet, and Mr. and Mrs. Collins had brought Miss Maria Lucas with them from Kent. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Collins was present, having gone to Longbourn to make plans for the coming few months, and Maria was basking as the center of attention.
He had inquired after her travels and had received the usual banal answers in reply. Then she expressed her sorrow when hearing about the death of Mr. Bennet.
“One evening, while we were at Rosings Park, a servant came and told us we were needed at the parsonage. We were so surprised when we arrived to find Elizabeth in tears. She had just received word that her father had passed. Mr. Darcy took care of everything. He gathered her from the parsonage before most of the house was up the next morning so he could bring her home.”
“How unusual that Mr. Darcy would lower himself in such a way,” Mr. Wickham interjected, hoping to remind the Lucas family of Darcy’s general haughty attitude.
“It is only natural that he would want to take care of his betrothed,” Lady Lucas replied. “He had only just asked her to marry him before the express arrived.”
“Mr. Darcy is engaged to Miss Elizabeth?” Wickham asked, stunned.
