Page 37 of Undone

"You are very kind, sir." She turned to Mr. Wickham. "I thank you for speaking so freely to me."

"The obligation is mine, Miss Bennet."

Elizabeth took Lydia's place at the whist table, whilst her youngest sister, evidently delighted by the exchange, lost no time in placing herself near Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth could not help noticing that he appeared perfectly willing to continue the acquaintance.

The remainder of the evening passed much as such evenings commonly did, with cards, conversation, and Mrs. Phillips seeing that her guests wanted for nothing. Elizabeth played herpart when required, but her thoughts returned more than once to the conflicting impressions before her. Either Mr. Wickham had given her a false account, or she had read Mr. Darcy entirely wrongly during their walks upon Oakham Mount, and she found the latter increasingly difficult to believe.

~

Longbourn

Elizabeth

As if the day's dilemma were not enough to carry home, scarcely had the Bennet sisters returned to Longbourn when Mrs. Bennet summoned Elizabeth into the smaller drawing room before dinner, announcing, with an eagerness she made no attempt to conceal, that Mr. Collins had requested permission to speak with her privately upon a matter of some consequence.

Elizabeth guessed the purpose of the interview before she had properly crossed the threshold, and was obliged to compose her countenance into something resembling polite surprise as her mother withdrew, closing the door behind her with a haste that suggested she feared some interruption might yet spoil the arrangement.

Mr. Collins rose the instant they were alone, and, after a bow of considerable solemnity, began a speech which appeared to Elizabeth to have been prepared with no little care.

"My dear Miss Elizabeth, I trust you will not think it presumptuous in me to introduce a subject of such delicacy so early in our acquaintance, but I have long observed that a clergyman's duties are best discharged without unnecessary delay. I came to Longbourn with the express design, encouraged most warmly by my honoured patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, of selecting a wife from amongst my fair cousins, that I might, in some measure, repair the unhappy circumstance of theentail, and secure the future comfort of a family towards whom I already feel the tenderest regard."

Elizabeth saw no opportunity of interrupting an address so plainly committed to memory. She folded her hands before her and waited with as much patience as she could command.

"I had at first intended to direct my particular attentions towards your eldest sister, but your excellent mother was good enough to intimate that Miss Bennet's affections are already engaged, or very likely soon will be. I confess I was not sorry to receive such intelligence, for, upon further reflection, and after the advantage of a closer acquaintance, I have become persuaded that you, my dear cousin, possess every quality I could desire in a wife. You have a lively understanding, an agreeable figure, and a disposition which, under proper guidance, cannot fail to render you an ornament to the parsonage."

"Mr. Collins..."

"Pray allow me to conclude, for I have not yet mentioned the principal recommendations of my proposal." Raising one hand with an air of gentle authority, he continued without waiting for her reply. "Upon marrying me, you will one day become mistress of Longbourn itself, a consideration which I cannot but suppose must carry considerable weight with a young lady whose fortune is necessarily limited. Lady Catherine herself was gracious enough to observe, when I informed her of my intentions, that a clergyman ought certainly to marry, provided he selected a woman of active, useful habits, neither brought up too high nor incapable of making a small income go a considerable way. I need scarcely assure you that her ladyship's admirable judgement has guided me in this, as indeed it has in every other matter of importance."

Elizabeth listened to this catalogue of advantages, each apparently of greater consequence in Mr. Collins's estimation than any expression of personal attachment. She found herself obliged to press her lips firmly together to prevent a smile. It was a singular experience to be courted so earnestly on behalf of an inheritance, a patroness, and the prudent management of a household, and so little on her own account.

The instant he paused for breath, Elizabeth seized the opportunity.

"Mr. Collins, I am very sensible of the honour you do me, but I must decline your proposal."

Mr. Collins stared at her in evident astonishment.

"You decline it?" His eyes widened in evident astonishment.

Elizabeth had seen this day approaching from the moment Mr. Collins, with no little encouragement from her mother, had attached himself so particularly to her. She had hoped it might be delayed a little longer. Whether the sight of Mr. Wickham in such close conversation with her had prompted him to hasten his design, she could not tell, though she could not help suspecting it had done so.

"I do, sir, and most decidedly." Elizabeth replied.

"I collect, cousin," said he, recovering somewhat from his astonishment, "that it is the established practice of your sex to reject a gentleman's addresses upon the first declaration, however sincerely you may intend to accept him after he has had the perseverance to renew them. I shall not, therefore, allow myself to be discouraged by a refusal which I cannot but consider merely the effect of female delicacy."

Elizabeth shook her head.

"You mistake me entirely, sir. I am perfectly serious. I could not make you happy, and I am persuaded you could not makeme so. I must therefore beg that you will consider the matter at an end."

She paused a moment before continuing.

"Indeed, sir, I believe Lady Catherine herself would, upon better acquaintance, conclude that I am very far from the sort of wife she intended for you."

Mr. Collins's confident expression faltered, his brow furrowing as uncertainty crept into his countenance.

"My patroness..."

"Has, by your own account, very particular notions respecting the qualities proper in a clergyman's wife. I cannot flatter myself that I possess them."