Page 80

He just grinned, a bit more of the Bingley grin we were accustomed to.

“Your servant, Madam.”

“The first matter is clarification of proper address. I have not been Mrs Collins for a fortnight, nor am I now a widow.”

I must admit that was the most diverting trick I had ever played on the lunkheads, and I thought I might have to hold Fitzwilliam up, which might be harder than one would think.

He naturally yelled, “What?”

I craned my neck around to where I could see him, then asked him to release me so I could stand on my own two feet facing him. “

You and Richard are not the only numbskulls here. I must join you in the distinction. Aunt Catherine dragged the story out of me with her fingernails and laughed at how silly we all were with such an obvious solution at hand.”

He looked even more confused, so I elaborated. “Do you remember what I told Bennet, just before we came to the er… instruments?”

He thought about it a bit, then smiled like a schoolboy. “How long did it take her to bring the archbishop?”

“Five days.”

He laughed aloud, while Richard and Charlotte asked, “What do you mean, Lizzy?”

I belatedly wondered how this news would affect Charlotte, but it was far too late to worry about that now. “I neither consented nor consummated the marriage, so it was annulled… as if it never happened. Annulments are rare and expensive, but fraud or lack of consent are the most common causes. I am back to being plain old Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

She took it with an even bigger smile than the last. Charlotte was someone who knew how to be happy when it was time to be so, and I was not entirely convinced she would not find her own way to happiness one day sooner rather than later.

Once I was happy with her condition, I asked, “Tell me, Mr Bingley, why exactly are you standing outside a burning parsonage in Kent?”

I was surprised but not entirely shocked to hear another voice join the discussion.

“Yes, Mr Bingley. Do please enlighten us.”

Mr Bingley looked at the newcomer with an expression somewhere between joy and fear, but straightened his spine and prepared his answer.

Resolve

Jane

I arrived with my sisters somewhat out of breath after running the half-mile from Rosings like Lydia’s famous hoydens (Lydia loves her analogies), only to find the strangest tableau I could imagine. There were so many outrageous things present I could not even begin to list them. We had all found a last-minute appreciation for decorum, so we walked the last hundred yards or so silently, and heard the entire exchange before any of the players even became aware we were present.

Lizzy in the arms of Fitzwilliam was not as shocking as you might think, since it was a truth universally acknowledged by every female in Rosings except one that it was inevitable… eventually. Regardless of her surname, she was still a Bennet born and bred, so a bit more stubbornness was only to be expected. Of course, the first thing she did was revert to her previous surname, but certainly not her previous dislike of our adopted brother, much to my satisfaction. I knew things would work out exactly as they should between the two. It was only a matter of time and stubbornness.

She had not bothered to share the news of her annulment with any of us—including the broken sisters—judging by Charlotte’s look. I would have been most vexed with her, but I could see the sense in it. There was only one person truly entitled to be the first to know, and he was standing less than a pace before her, smiling enigmatically, the rest of us forgotten.

Charlotte had the biggest smile I had ever seen grace her face after hearing of the demise of Mr Wickham. She even seemed like she would happily forego the pleasure of dispatching him personally. The loss of fear she must have been carrying around like a dead weight these several months left her free… practically ready to float away in the breeze like a daffodil.

Of course, that was all exactly as expected as soon as I heard Mr Bingley describe the cretin’s demise. What I did not expect was to find her hand resting in the crook of Richard’s arm. It had crept there during the revelation, and I doubt she even noticed. It would be interesting to see what happened when she did, but I put her out of my mind. I glanced at Lydia to ensure she kept a close eye on Charlotte.

With my sisters well in hand, I turned my attention to the other newcomer. Charles looked very different from how he had looked the last time I saw him a year earlier. I imagine adversity had me looking different as well, but I could tell he was trying his best not to stare, so it did not appear to have done my appearance any harm. I was made of sterner stuff, and it was he who was out of place, so I simply stared at him with a look that would make a grown man cringe; but he just stood there and said nothing, just looking at me neutrally, as if he were willing to take anything I cared to dish out.

He seemed altered, and it took me a few minutes to notice the specific changes, but my curiosity got the better of me.

“Yes, Mr Bingley. Do please enlighten us.”

He did not wilt under the combined stares of the sisters in the least. Perhaps he was now a bit stronger himself, but if so, I had no idea why.

“Ladies, well met. I am delighted to see you all once again. Lady Catherine, Miss de Bourgh, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, Miss Mary, Miss Catherine, Miss Lydia, Miss Darcy.”

In my surprise, I had not even heard the carriage drive up, which made our mad dash through the woods somewhat superfluous, but I did not mind. I was just happy that Anne and Aunt were joining us.