Author's Note (DNA): It's pretty quiet on the board, so I might as well post twice a week and keep the chapters coming, especially since this one is a little shorter. Thanks again to LizzyS for her amazing beta/cheerleading help.
Chapter 4
Barely after dawn, Mr. Bingley’s carriage called for Mr. Bennet and his blushing daughter Jane, and Elizabeth saw them all off with some satisfaction and a conviction that she would probably not see her sister again unengaged.
Little did she know that, in the eyes of at least two other people, it was herself that had been marked as the young lady soon to be married.
Mr. William Collins, cousin of the Bennets and heir presumptive to Longbourn, was, despite all other faults, a very patient man. Once he had decided on the correct path, he plodded along until it came to fruition and nothing would sway him from the goal.
Truly it may be said that throughout his life he had had little to require any proof of this aspect of persistence in his character, for his paths were not as rocky as some might encounter. And, indeed, rarely did he have to put much effort into making the decisions that laid him on his course. His miserly father had directed him early in life, and when at school he had been under the guidance of his instructors; after graduation he had merely transferred allegiance to his superiors in the Church. Now that he had the great counsel of his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, he rarely even needed to think before taking action.
Thus it was that, the benevolent Lady Catherine having become acquainted with the circumstances of Mr. Collins’ prospects and the relation of five unmarried ladies, the young cleric was advised to seek a wife among said ladies and settle the matter of the succession as immediately as possible. This advice he followed without question, descending upon Longbourn shortly thereafter and selecting, as suggested by his patroness, the eldest of the daughters for his future wife. On consultation with Mrs. Bennet, however, he discovered Miss Bennet to be unavailable to his purpose and thus had to adjust his course slightly. However, it was a mere side-step and, with the blessing of the lady's mother, everything soon was as it should be. Miss Elizabeth Bennet as second eldest would become Mrs. Collins.
Mr. Collins bided his time. He had heard that ladies preferred to be wooed, and he thus engaged in a campaign of attendance upon the delightful Miss Elizabeth. She was naturally modest in response to his attentions, as any young lady might be in the face of determined pursuit by an eligible gentleman, but he did not allow that to sway him from giving her all due consideration. After a week of his ministrations and compliments, he felt assured he had given her enough notice of his intentions so as to pursue the object of his quest: her hand in marriage.
Then, however, came the unfortunate events at the ball, and after such an upheaval he thought it prudent to allow the emotions attendant upon such a happening to settle for a day before presenting his suit. He was, after all, a patient man. He also considered himself a clever one: he had been aware that Miss Elizabeth had been so overset she had spent all hours in the protective presence of her father, even going so far as to attend him to Meryton. With that in mind, he would frame his offer in such a way as to assure her that she would have no concerns that he might prove wanting as the protector of his own family.
“My dearest cousin Elizabeth,” he began ponderously when she was shown into the morning room by her mother and then abandoned there to accept his passionate avowals. “And dearest you indeed are, for it was very soon after I entered this house that I singled you out as the companion of my future life.”
Elizabeth, though half expecting this outcome when her mother had maneuvered her, protesting, into the room to discover Mr. Collins waiting with a queer grin on his face, sat in quiet indignation at such a way of spending her morning, when the clear skies beyond the window were calling to her. Her mild annoyance, however, turned to diversion as he elaborated upon his reasons for marrying in general and the advice of his patroness, the generous Lady Catherine de Bourgh, in selecting a wife. And then he described his purpose in selecting her, in particular, painting the picture of a young lady who, to her ears, seemed absolutely nothing like her.
Seeing him pause to take a breath, she would have objected to his proposal, but she was startled into silence when he suddenly rushed forward and grasped her hands in his, declaring, “The events of the night before last have demonstrated to me how essential it is that I speak now in taking you into my protection. Be not ashamed of the weakness of your sex, in having been frightened by the horrors of such a loss of life as we witnessed. For are not all men urged by St. Paul to lay down their life for their wives? I assure you, my dear cousin, I have shown my dedication to this admonition in defending the honor of your sex and will only continue to do so after we are married.”
“You are too hasty, sir!” she cried, attempting to pull free from his clammy grip. “You forget that I have made no answer. Let me…” she trailed off as something in his words tickled her thoughts. “Did you say you had defended the honor of my sex? How do you mean?”
Mr. Collins seemed to recall something, for he started and, for the first time since Elizabeth had entered the room, began to look uncomfortable. “Well, it is simply that... rather, before the unpleasantness at the end of the ball... that is, I reproved that young man for his language regarding the young ladies.”
This did not elucidate. “Which young man?” Elizabeth persisted. “Do you mean Mr. Denny?”
Mr. Collin’s neckcloth appeared to be strangling him. “Yes, I believe that may have been his name.”
Elizabeth looked at him thoughtfully, and he withered under her gaze. “When did this happen?”
“Two dances after our own,” he answered.
“And what did you say to him?”
At her question, he pursed his lips. After a moment, he seemed to regain his courage and crossed his arms, looking down upon her fiercely. “I shall say no more on this subject, Cousin Elizabeth. Far be it from me to besmirch the good name of others, especially those who, like this Mr. Denny, may his soul rest in the perpetual light, have passed beyond this plane unto the next. We are all the adopted sons and daughters of a most benevolent God, it is true, but yet he is a just God, and our sins will be held for our final trial. It is not for me to call down wrath upon anyone who has repented. Most particularly in this case, where such a violent end was met only steps from where he confessed his sins, we must remember to judge not, lest we be judged. I assure you, my dear cousin, that I have forgiven this Mr. Denny of his transgressions against you and your sisters, and he declared before us, fully and without reservation, his remorse for the slander and his commitment to a conversion of heart.”
Elizabeth merely blinked at him, unsure what to say.
Mr. Collins once again claimed Elizabeth’s hands in his own. “But rest easy, my dear, and do not let these words of wrath and transgressions trouble you. You are all that is good and noble, and I shall have no reason to reproach you, I am sure, when we are married.”
“Mr. Collins!” Elizabeth exclaimed, realizing suddenly that her insensibility had allowed his imagination to run more freely than she had intended. She struggled to pull her hands free from his and when she had succeeded she backed away several steps. “Forgive me -- I should have stopped you long ere now. Please accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me with your proposals. I am very sensible of the honor you bestow upon me, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline.”
A look of baffled anger crossed Mr. Collins face, but he quickly recovered himself and chuckled in a knowing fashion. “I am not now to learn that it is usual for young ladies to reject the first addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Indeed, I understand that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or third time. I am by no means discouraged, my dear, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long.”
His response flummoxed Elizabeth, and she did her utmost to explain to him that her rejection was, in truth, the first and last and only one she hoped to give to him and that no other response would be forthcoming. He persisted, however, in his conclusion that she was giving him encouragement that his addresses would be eventually accepted.
His reasons for his disbelief in her sincerity was predicated primarily upon his worth in his own eyes: his living, his relation to her, and his future inheritance claimed the majority of his attractions. But he was no less generous in ascribing her lack of position, portion, or available suitors as advantages to the match.
“And, indeed,” he concluded, “you can be no more assured by my behavior that I should not be deficient in my position as head of our household. When you forsake your father’s protection, you shall have no fear that any evil should ever befall your person or that of our children. To that end, knowing that your father is not a young man and that he holds a position that entails some manner of danger with regard to the criminal classes, I do caution you that you should not persist long in your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females.”
Though aghast at this reference to her father’s mortality during a proposal of marriage, Elizabeth overcame her horror and made one last attempt to repudiate any claim to such a practice and make plain her feelings on the matter, but to no avail.
“You are uniformly charming!” Mr. Collins cried, with an air of awkward gallantry; “and I am persuaded that, when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable.”
Her parents! Elizabeth stared at Mr. Collins, suddenly realizing the full import of her situation. With her father not in residence, and her mother fully in support of their union, there was no one present who could depress his aspirations for her hand. With a stifled cry of alarm at her helplessness, she fled.