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“There are too many unknowns. We know the two senior officers are honourable men. But for the rest we have the basics of their background but no knowledge of their character. We all know that the Militia are not here to protect us from the French, their role is to stop revolution. If there is a disturbance in London then they will be sent there immediately. They have done nothing to be trusted as yet. Equally they have done nothing to be distrusted either. So we remain on guard and watch them closely.”

Elizabeth sighed.

“My sisters, and my mother, will be ready to trust them immediately. Based on last night, they already do. And Mr. Wickham and his tale of woe?”

“Two things stand out, although I would have not thought of one of them if you had not mentioned it. The part about not speaking ill of the family, while doing exactly that, it seems glaringly obvious. The part I would not have considered is the requirement to be ordained. An appointment to a living means you have to be ordained. Even your cousin managed that.”

“We will come back to him in a minute. Go on.”

“If this Mr. Wickham was ordained then it would have been part of his narrative, another arrow to fire in his grievance against Mr. Darcy. That it was not mentioned suggests he is not ordained, therefore he could not have been granted the living. Such an obvious liar needs to be watched carefully.”

They walked in silence for several minutes.

“I do not particularly like Mr. Darcy but I think I should inform him of the lies Mr. Wickham is spreading.”

“You have eased up on your dislike of him, Miss Elizabeth?”

“A little. He was polite with me while we were at Netherfield and he listened to me when I discussed the war with him.”

Robert and Claire resisted the urge to look at each other. A gentleman listening to Miss Elizabeth always made her think well of him. Sadly the instances were rare.

“Anything new on Mr. Collins? Sorry, first did your time at the Inn reveal anything else?”

Robert flushed at the question.

“Er, well.”

Elizabeth flushed as well but rescued her footman.

“There were discussions regarding an establishment similar to that we would pass if we took a direct route to my uncle’s warehouse?”

Robert gratefully nodded. There were two routes from Gracechurch Street to the Gardiner warehouses. The shortest and most direct route went past a brothel. Normally Elizabeth would take the longer route to avoid passing it, but on occasion she had taken the shorter route. There was not such an establishment in Meryton.

“How on earth am I going to discuss that with anyone?”

“Do you have to?”

“I am worried about my two youngest sisters. Honeyed words from any of the officers would have their virtue at risk. Should I not ensure that the tradesmen’s daughters are similarly warned?”

“I am sorry to say this Miss Elizabeth but I think most of the fathers in Meryton will be aware of the risks. I do not think you need to say anything.”

Another deep sigh, another long pause in the conversation.

“Have you anything to add about the Rev Collins, Robert?”

“He annoyed everyone, even your aunt was tired of him by the end of the evening. But it is mostly due to the fact he never shuts up. Any silence, and there were precious few of them, was immediately filled with prattle about Rosings and his patroness. He does go on about her, and her estate.”

The Reverend William Collins was a harmless man, as long as you could keep him quiet.

“We should return to Longbourn. What say you to breaking our fast in Meryton. We can return their gig and I know they will be happy to feed us. It also spares me a few hours with Mr. Collins.”

--

Elizabeth had let the cook know that she would be in Meryton with her aunt and uncle, which was complying with the letter of her mother’s edict but hardly the spirit. She was saved from a harangue due to the fact that Mr. Bingley was in the parlour delivering their invitation to his ball. Elizabeth listened as he invited the whole family, including Mr. Collins. There had been moments when she wondered if she would be excluded from the invite due to the words between her and Miss Bingley. Mr. Bingley took the opportunity to request the first dance with Jane. When she granted him this dance Elizabeth could not tell who was more pleased, Jane, their mother, or Mr. Bingley himself. After his departure Elizabeth retired to her room, once again hiding from the persistent attentions of Mr. Collins. But she could only escape for so long, she had to eat with her family. The food was hardly on the table before Mr. Collins was talking yet again.

“I shall hope to be honoured with the hands of all my fair cousins in the course of the evening; and I take this opportunity of soliciting yours, Miss Elizabeth, for the two first dances especially.”

“You wish to open the ball with me Mr. Collins?”