12. Chapter 12

June 9, 2014 - Reviewing these chapters to do minor proofreading, I have to resist doing more than looking for typos and punctuation errors. My fingers itch to to do more but I refrain. sigh. I really do need a reminder of how far I've come as a writer.

Chapter 12

Darcy awoke the next morning much later than usual but well before most of the rest of the party. He was not too surprised to find Bingley in the breakfast room when he made his way downstairs.

"Bingley, you are up awfully early today!"

"I am afraid sleep did not come easily."

"I am not surprised. Did you get any sleep at all?"

"Not much, Darcy. I had many things on my mind."

"Did you make a decision on what we discussed about Miss Bennet?"

"Yes, I did. I have decided to wait to ask permission to court her until I return from my business in Manchester."

"I think that is very wise Bingley. I am very glad you came to that conclusion"

"I came to the conclusion you suggested, but not for the reasons you offered, Darcy. As I pondered the wisdom of your words I came to realize that this was not a good time to begin my formal court because it would not be fair to Miss Bennet. How could I ask to court her and then leave the next day without knowing how long I will be gone? It could take me one to three months depending on what I find when I get there. I could not in good conscience ask her to agree to such uncertainty. I will, however, call on her as I promised today. I will tell her what has happened and then tell her I plan on returning when my business is concluded with the intention of calling particularly on her when I return."

"I see your mind is made up on the matter, Bingley, and I shall not try and dissuade you. But what if her alleged feelings have cooled in the interim?"

"Then I shall see if I can reanimate them! If I truly love her and she is a woman worthy of my efforts than I shall not give up without a fight. But I do not think that will be necessary, Darcy. You have not seen the intimate looks we have exchanged. No, she cares for me, Darcy. She cares enough that this time of separation will only make our attachment grow stronger!"

"Very well, Bingley."

Georgiana entered the breakfast room and was very surprised to see both her brother and his friend.

"I must say that I am not surprised to see you so early brother but, Mr. Bingley, it is a surprise to see you up this early!" She then looked at his haggard face. "Mr. Bingley, are you well? You do not look as though you slept much last night."

Darcy nodded his permission to Bingley. "Miss Darcy, last night after the Ball I received an express from my solicitor in Manchester. There has been a fire at one of my business interests and I must leave tomorrow for Manchester."

"How long do you believe you will be gone?"

"I am not sure, Miss Darcy, but I do not believe I will be back before Christmas, it could be much later."

"Georgiana," Darcy began, "I learned of this last night and have made plans to leave tomorrow as well. I know we planned on staying 3 more weeks but with Bingley gone, it is very likely that Miss Bingley will prefer to remove to London. I was wondering if you would be amenable to returning to Pemberley and spending Christmas there. We could then return to town in time for the New Year, weather permitting."

"What about Mrs. Annesley? She is due to come here in four days."

"I have sent her word this morning to meet us in Derbyshire. It will be more convenient for her to travel directly there."

"Darcy, Miss Darcy, I am sorry to leave you but I have much to do today. Will you join me when I call on Longbourn?"

"Yes, we will join you. I am sure my sister will want to see Miss Elizabeth one more time before we must go away."

"Good, I shall have the carriage ready in an hour and a half then," Bingley promised before he left the room.

"Georgiana, I know you are disappointed to leave your friend early but you know we cannot stay while Bingley is gone."

"Yes Fitzwilliam, I understand. I do not want to be here alone with Miss Bingley any more than you do... Fitzwilliam?"

"Yes dear?"

"As you know, Mrs. Annesley has asked permission to attend her daughter for the birth. She was planning on spending December with me and returning after the New Year to her daughter's home. We know we had talked about me going to stay with Uncle and Aunt Matlock. I was wondering if, instead of this, I could invite Elizabeth to stay with me?"

Darcy was numb. "Let me think on this, Georgiana."

"I would like to ask her, if you agree, when we call. It is so much preferable to a letter, as much as I enjoy her correspondence."

"Very well, I will give you my answer before then. Now if you will excuse me, I also have many details to attend to in preparation for our removal to Derbyshire. You are glad to be going home to Pemberley, Georgiana?"

"Pemberley is my home too, Brother. I am always happy to return there."

"Even though you will miss your friend?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Brother!"

Darcy inwardly winced. 'I hope this is not the case with Elizabeth or I will be in worse shape than I already am!'

Elizabeth awoke that morning feeling much better than she had when she finally retired the night before. Today was a new day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and she would finally be able to go for a good long walk! When she made her way down stairs she was surprised to find her sister Mary waiting for her in the breakfast room.

"You are up early today, Mary! I must confess that I did not expect anyone to be up so early today."

"Yes, it is a bit early but I wanted to talk to you."

"Yes Mary?" Elizabeth asked. She was surprised at her sister. Mary never had time for anything other than her books and the pianoforte. She certainly never sought out the company of her sisters.

"Elizabeth," Mary never called her Lizzy, "Do you recall the conversation you had with me yesterday concerning choosing music to play for the company last night?"

"Yes," Elizabeth responded apprehensively.

"Well, you were right. I have never received the approbation for my playing as I did last night. It made me ponder; if you were right about that, how many other things are you right about that I do not even know? When you smiled at me after I played, I was amazed. You have rarely given me such a smile and I found it… pleasing."

"Oh Mary, I am so sorry. You deserve many more smiles than I have given you. I have neglected seeking you out to spend time with you, Mary. I am sorry."

"No Elizabeth, I would have spurned your attempts at increased intimacy. Last night I caught a glimpse of what I have been missing. It occurred to me that there were other places to search for wise counsel other than in my books. You and Jane are wonderful women. I would do well to learn from you and follow your example."

Elizabeth went to Mary and took her in her arms. "Mary, Jane and I would be honored to guide you in any way you ask. Just as our Aunt Gardiner has helped us, so we shall help you. I know I can speak for Jane on this. You are our sister, we love you even though we do not say so often."

"Thank you, Elizabeth."

"You are welcome, Mary. Would you like to join me on a short walk before breakfast? I know you are not used to such exercise so I will not take you far if you wish to join me. I believe you will feel better afterwards and more ready to eat!"

"Yes, I believe I shall. Would you like me to fetch your things?"

"Please, and I will tell Mrs. Hill where we will be."

"Does father still insist you tell him where you are going when you are out?"

"I did not know you knew about that, Mary. I believe we both have much to learn about each other."

"I shall be right back, Elizabeth."

Mary went upstairs to collect their things. On the way up the stairs she met her mother and Mr. Collins talking quite animatedly but strangely quietly passing her on their way down.

Elizabeth was surprised to see Mr. Collins this early and she was astonished to see her own mother too. She never made it out of her chambers before noon the day after a ball.

"Lizzy, Mr. Collins has asked to have a word with you in private."

"Mama, please, there is nothing Mr. Collins can say to me that cannot be said in the presence of others. Besides, Mary and I were just about to leave on a walk. She was just going to get our things."

"Lizzy, you will stay to hear what Mr. Collins has to say. I will be in the front parlor."

Unfortunately, Elizabeth knew exactly what the gentleman in question was going to say. She had been avoiding being alone with him fearing just such a moment. 'Very well, might as well get it over with.'

"Cousin Elizabeth, you must have some inkling as to what I am about to say. You are an intelligent, charming woman. I am sure that you realize that I came to Longbourn seeking a wife and I believe that we will be very happy together."

Elizabeth was having a hard time keeping her countenance. She wanted to laugh at the man but was, at the same time, mortified to think that he believed her wishing his proposal. While pondering such things she missed a few lines of what he was saying.

"…It was the particular advice of my noble patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh. And now all that is left to do is to assure you of the violence of my affections. I am well aware that you have very little dowry but I shall never make an issue of that once we are married!"

"Mr. Collins! Please, you are too hasty sir. Allow me to answer you. I am aware of the compliments of your offer and I thank you, but I cannot accept sir."

"I am aware that elegant females sometimes reject the offers of the man they secretly intend to accept. I will take it as a means of your wishing to increase my love for you!"

"You are incorrect sir. I am not in the habit of tormenting respectable men! I was perfectly serious in my refusal. I am the last woman in England who could make you happy. Please believe me! I cannot accept you. My feelings forbid it in every way! Now if you will excuse me, my sister is awaiting me for our walk."

Mrs. Bennet was waiting with Mary outside the breakfast room. She was startled to see Elizabeth brush past her, gather Mary with her and rush outside. When she went to offer Mr. Collins the congratulations of a mother he happily accepted and told her of Elizabeth's refusal in order for her to increase his devotion. Mrs. Bennet might not have been the keenest woman but she knew her second daughter was serious in her refusal. She immediately went to find her husband.

"Mr. Bennet, you are wanted immediately. You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr. Collins. She vows she will not have him and if you do not make haste he will begin to have second thoughts about her.

"Very well. Have Lizzy fetched here at once and I will give my opinion to her."

Once Elizabeth was brought back to the house from the garden Mr. Bennet began. "Now Elizabeth, it is my understanding that you have been made an offer of marriage from Mr. Collins. Is that correct?"

"It is sir."

"And I understand that you have refused him."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh you ungrateful girl! If you do not change your mind I will never speak to you again!" Mrs. Bennet interrupted.

"Be that as it may madam. Elizabeth, I am afraid an unhappy choice awaits you. From this day forward you are to be estranged from one of your parents. Your mother says that she will never speak to you again if you do not accept Mr. Collins and I will not if you do!"

With that Mr. Bennet smiled at his favorite and dismissed her and her mother from his room.

'Well, well, I was right. The fool thought he could win my Lizzy! But my girl, I would never inflict such a man on you.' Mr. Bennet mused.

Mr. Collins was not at all pleased with such news. Perhaps Elizabeth was just as foolish a girl as Lydia. She would be crossed off the list as well. The only problem with this was that it left none of his cousins as prospective brides. He had early on crossed off Jane as taken, Lydia as too wild. Mary soon followed as too engrossed in her books. He wanted a wife at his beck and call. Kitty had been crossed off the list when he saw her flirting with all the officers last night at the ball. That had left only Elizabeth, whom he had been paying his attentions to anyway. If she would be so foolish to not accept him then he would have to look elsewhere. Miss Lucas seemed respectable. Her father had been knighted. He would have to talk with her before he left Hertfordshire.

Elizabeth hurried back to the garden where she had asked Mary to wait for her.

Seeing her usually buoyant sister so out of sorts concerned Mary.

"Elizabeth, whatever has happened?" Mary asked.

Elizabeth continued her pacing. "Mr. Collin made me an offer of marriage which, of course, I refused. Mama went to father to insist I recant and accept Mr. Collins. Papa refused and now Mama is furious. What a wretched beginning to such a fine day!"

"You refused an offer of marriage? You could have been mistress of Longbourn someday!"

Elizabeth smiled wryly. "Mary, there are more things to consider when made an offer of marriage than just material comfort."

"I do not understand. Mr. Collins is a respectable man. He is to inherit Longbourn when our father is gone."

Elizabeth had Mary come sit next to her on a nearby bench. "Mary, just this morning you said you wished to learn from Jane and me. One of the most important lessons you can learn is what you should look for in a marriage partner."

"Is not Mr. Collins an acceptable prospect?"

"For some women, but not for me. Mary, when you consider that the man you intend to accept will be your companion for the rest of your life, you need to have confidence that you will not come to regret your choice."

"Can one ever be sure?"

"Yes, I believe you can. If you take the time to get to know the true character of a man then you will see if he is worthy of your admiration and respect. If you can respect your future husband then you will be able to enter that union willingly. We pledge to obey our husbands. Can you do so honestly if you do not respect him? I do not respect Mr. Collins. He is not a sensible man. I could never respect and admire him let alone love him. No, he is not an acceptable prospect for me."

"What about love Elizabeth? What role does that play?"

"Mary, I intend to marry for love, to a man I can respect and admire. I believe if I can respect such a man, I could and would love him. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"I think so. You intend to fully honor your wedding vows. That means that you plan on loving your husband and obeying him. You could only place yourself under his authority if you respected him. Thus you will only accept a man you can respect, who is your equal?"

"Yes Mary, you understand correctly. Jane has the same feeling on this as I do. I know it is not the normal acceptable position in good society. People marry for money and material comforts all the time. I, and Jane like me, do not intend to sell my self-respect for a comfortable situation. I would rather be poor and free than a slave to man I do not respect."

"You have given me much to think on, Elizabeth. Whom do you learn such ideas from?"

"Aunt Gardiner! She is a very wise woman and you would do well to listen to her. Why do you not begin to correspond with her? I am sure she will be happy to do so with you."

"That is a good idea. I shall write to her this afternoon!"

"Well then, Mary, I think it time we go inside again. Would you like to take a walk with me tomorrow morning again, after breakfast this time? We will not go far and maybe Mr. Collins will be gone back to Kent by then!"

Elizabeth was relieved to find Mr. Collins gone when they entered the house.

"Charlotte Lucas came by. When I told her all the to do, she offered to invite him to dine with them. He seemed happy to escape Mama!" Kitty informed them. "I think you should avoid her as well, Lizzy. She is very vexed with you!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and nodded ruefully in agreement.

After they had eaten and retired to the different parts of the house Mr. Bingley called with Darcy and Georgiana. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mr. Bingley suggested a walk. Mrs. Bennet was anxious for her Jane to be alone with Mr. Bingley so she quickly acquiesced when Darcy asked if Elizabeth could join him and his sister as well.

After much consideration, Darcy had decided to grant Georgiana's request to ask Elizabeth to come for a visit when they returned to London. He knew how important she had become in his sister's life. He would be able to control himself for his sister's sake.

Jane and Bingley allowed the other three to go on ahead.

"Miss Bennet, I very much enjoyed our dances together last night."

"As did I, Mr. Bingley."

"Miss Bennet, after you left last night I received a distressing express from my solicitor."

"Whatever is the matter? Is something wrong?" she cried.

"There was a fire in Manchester. My main warehouse there was severely damaged. Fortunately it was mostly empty at the time. But I must leave for Manchester in the morning. I should have left today but I could not go without seeing you. I do not know how long I will be gone. I believe it will be at least one month. It could be as many as three. I needed to tell you this because I did not wish to you to think that I was leaving because of you. I want to stay because of you, Miss Bennet! But I cannot. My duty takes me away."

Jane was shocked and saddened by the news. She looked at him longingly.

Bingley saw this, stopped her and took her hand in his. "Miss Bennet, there is much that I wish to say to you but now is not the time. I must away tomorrow and to say any more would be unfair to you. When I can, I will return. I wish to call again, particularly to see you. May I call when I return, Miss Bennet?"

"Yes" was all she said.

Bingley raised her hand to his lips and bestowed the lightest of kisses on her fingers. Then he tucked her hand back in his arm, turned them and began to follow the three in front of them once more.

Just after they left the confines of Longbourn, Darcy addressed Elizabeth. "Miss Bennet, we have called specifically to take our leave of you today."

"But I thought Georgiana had told me you would be here for three more weeks!" cried a very surprised Elizabeth. A bad day was rapidly turning worse. What next? And the weather was so beautiful!

"Last night after all the guests left, Mr. Bingley received an express from his solicitor. There was a major fire at one of his businesses in Manchester. He leaves tomorrow and does not know when he will be back. He wanted to tell your sister himself." At this Darcy glanced back to see Bingley standing next to Jane. "We cannot stay. I am sure Miss Bingley will leave for Town within days of her brother. She does not care for the country."

"I will miss you, Georgiana."

"We will go to Pemberley for Christmas and return to Town for the New Year." Darcy explained.

"I imagine Christmas at Pemberley would magical." Elizabeth said dreamily.

"Yes it is." Georgiana replied. "Elizabeth?"

"Yes Georgiana?"

"My brother and I would like to invite you to come visit me in town after the New Year. I told you that Mrs. Annesley was planning on coming to Netherfield four days from now. Now she will meet us in Derbyshire. What I do not think I have told you is that she will return to her daughter after Christmas to be with her for the birth. I was going to be staying with my Aunt and Uncle Matlock but Fitzwilliam has said that I can stay at home if you can come. Will you, Elizabeth?"

"I must first ask my parents, Georgiana. As much as I would like to say yes right now I still need to consult my father. Though after this morning I do not think he will begrudge me being gone."

"Is there something the matter, Miss Bennet?" Darcy asked concerned.

"No, just a disagreement between my mother and me. It will pass soon enough," and Elizabeth added to herself 'I hope!'

"I am glad to hear it. I hope you parents will let you come. I know Georgiana has her heart quite set on this and you know how much I hate to disappoint her!" They all laughed at this.

Darcy quietly kicked himself. 'Distance man! How can you maintain emotional distance if you insist on teasing her!'

The two groups continued on their way. Soon they returned to Longbourn where all three took their official leave but not before Elizabeth secured her father's consent to the Darcy's invitation.

Mrs. Bennet, while still vexed with her second daughter, calmed down somewhat upon hearing of the invitation.

"So you will be Miss Darcy's particular friend! Not that you deserve such after your dealings with Mr. Collins. We will all be ruined! But perhaps you will meet some eligible rich men in town. I am sure Mr. Darcy has many such men come to see him."

She spent the rest of the day alternating between being distressed over Mr. Bingley and Mr. Collins to being delighted about Miss Darcy's invitation. Elizabeth was glad when she was finally able to escape to her room for the night. It had been a remarkable day! And for once the weather had absolutely nothing to do with her mood.