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“You are right, he is the perfect gentleman to make my point. We will ignore the issue that he would never look at me as a potential bride. He appears to frequent the first circles and given our uncles in trade there is no way he would risk the stench of trade upon himself or his family. But even if we magically wish all these impediments away I still would not marry the man. I would need to know and understand the man. One of Mr. Collins more telling lines was ‘almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life.’ There was no attempt at getting to know me as a person. I was a woman who he had looked upon and selected. That attitude infuriates me, regardless of how common and prevalent it is in society.”

She thought for a moment.

“Maybe the biggest issue is that neither of our parents understands me anymore. I do not think many people really understand me. My attitude is too disruptive to the normal social order. La, listen to me. That sounds so pretentious even for me.”

They laughed but the underlying truth could not be denied.

Mr. Collins had stormed out of Longbourn heading for the parsonage so that he could vent his spleen about Miss Elizabeth to the local minister. But the further away from Longbourn he got the less certain he was of this course of action. In a rare moment of self-reflection, regardless of what he saw as the unjustness of the claims made against him, it would serve no purpose to air them with anyone else. His pace dropped and he considered what to do next.

“Mr. Collins, good morning.”

“Oh Miss Lucas, good morning to you too.”

--

Darcy had been played. Miss Bingley had no intention of remaining in Hertfordshire to await the return of her brother. The Darcy carriage had not even reached the end of the drive before the orders to close up the house were issued. In fact both she and her sister had ordered their own packing to start the previous evening. There was to be no delay in leaving Netherfield Park. She and the Hursts were on the road to London after an early luncheon, while the staff were still covering the furniture with dust covers.

“Caroline, Louisa, Hurst, what are you all doing here?”

“Charles, we could not stay another day amongst those country mushrooms. When Mr. Darcy let me know that he was returning to London early, I resolved that we should do the same.”

“What about Netherfield Park?”

“What of it?”

“Caroline, I signed a lease for a year. The income from the tenants will defray the cost. I cannot just abandon them.”

“Charles, that is what the steward is for. Mr. Darcy relies upon his steward, and he graciously spent the last two months educating you on running an estate. Enough of this, I am retiring to my room so that I can bathe.”

Caroline Bingley imperiously departed from the room, her sister swept up in her wake. Bingley looked at Hurst. He was already heading to the decanters, there was no point in talking to him.

It was the next morning when Darcy sent word that he wanted to meet. Bingley responded they should meet at their club. The opportunity to avoid Miss Bingley was prized by both.

“Darcy, why did you decide to cut short your stay. I am scheduled to return in two days. Or at least I was.”

“Why the change in tense?”

“You do not know that Caroline and the Hursts returned yesterday afternoon?”

“The devil you say. When did they decide to do that? I was unaware of it.”

“Really? Caroline said she decided to return when you yourself announced that intention.”

Darcy shook his head. This needed to be cleared up.

“Sorry Bingley we appear to be talking at cross purposes. I wished to talk to you before you did anything precipitate. Given that I would be travelling to London it made sense just to cut short my visit. I had no knowledge of your sister’s intentions. I assumed you were staying at Netherfield Park for the Christmas season.”

“What do you mean before I did anything precipitate?”

Darcy sighed, and looked at his friend.

“You are your own man, but I wished to talk to you regarding your intentions with Miss Bennet before you made any irrevocable decisions.”

Bingley looked at Darcy with questioning eyes.

“Go on.”

“Bingley, you fall into and out of love with your ‘angels’ on a regular basis. Yet your attachment to Miss Bennet appears more serious.”