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From the little he had seen of Cousin Bennet, the reports Father’s investigators had given him were wholly accurate.

It would be difficult to hide his true character for a few days, but it is what he needed to do. William wanted to be certain of his conclusions before he began to assert himself.

Chapter 11

Some little time before dinner, when her daughters had left the drawing room and Mr Bennet was in his study, Fanny took the opportunity to make her sentiments known to Mr Collins. When she had been overwhelmed by thoughts of the dastardly entail, she had forgotten that Mr Collins meant to make amends to her daughters for being the recipient of the estate.

“Mr Collins, will you remain and attend me?” Fanny requested when she saw her quarry was about to leave the drawing room.

If William Collins was a man who wagered or gambled, he would have put money on the subject of the conversation the Bennet matron wanted to have with him. That conversation being connected to his marrying one of her daughters. Being a polite and gentlemanly man, he deferred his desire for some solitary time before the meal and turned to face his cousin’s wife. “How may I be of service, Mrs Bennet?”

“There is no need to be so formal; please call me Cousin Fanny. Come and sit.” Fanny pointed to the armchair next to hers. She waited until Mr Collins complied. “You wrote of amends to my daughters. What form would those amends take?”

It was not hard to tell that Cousin Fanny’s purpose in life was to marry off her daughters as well as may be. Though in all fairness, was that not the aim of every mother of daughters? His cousin’s wife had the added pressure of the entail, and with her husband fanning her fears rather than alleviating them, it was little wonder that the woman was obsessed with putting her daughters forward. Add to that, he knew from Father’s investigation that this lady was not gently born, and from what he had seen so far, Cousin Bennet had done nothing to educate his wife in the ways of the gentry. Hence, he would listen to what she said and give her the respect she deserved.

“I am not sure yet, but it could include marriage to one of your daughters,” William stated evenly.

Ignoring the word ‘could’, Fanny only heard that he was willing to marry one of her daughters. “How perfect that will be,” she gushed. “Jane is all but engaged to the master of Netherfield Park, but none of my other daughters are spoken for as yet. Lizzy is next in age, and even if she is nothing to Jane in looks, something of a bluestocking, and has hoydenish tendencies, I am sure she would make a good parson’s wife.”

Knowing that Mrs Bennet would push one of her daughters at him and experiencing it, were two very different things. How she could assume that her eldest was to receive a proposal escaped him when as far as William knew she was not being courted officially. Denigrating her second daughter with one breath, and with the next breath pushing her forward as his potential wife, was not a way to make a man interested in Cousin Elizabeth. Was the woman blind? Although she was not tall, willowy, with blonde hair, and blue eyes, Cousin Elizabeth was as beautiful as her older sister, just in a different way.

That being said, admittedly based on a very short acquaintance, William did not see either of the two eldest Bennet sisters as his wife. Rather than judge too soon, he needed to take his time and get to know them better; perhaps he would discover that his initial impression was incorrect. William realised that Mrs Bennet was waiting to hear his response.

“As I seek a wife, I will take your words into account.” What William said was true and did not commit to anything or, more importantly, anyone, but he knew that his cousin’s wife would interpret the words as they suited her.

“I knew you would see the good sense of my suggestion,” Fanny enthused.

“If you will excuse me, Mrs Bennet, I would like to return to my chamber and prepare for dinner.” Collins stood, bowed, and exited the room.

In Fanny’s mind, it was a settled thing. Mr Collins would marry Lizzy, and that would save them from starving in the hedgerows. ‘It is the least that wilful girl can do after she refused to be born a son!’ she exclaimed in her thoughts. Just as she had never done previously, Fanny did not ask herself why she never thought the same about Mary, Kitty, and Lydia.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

As the guest of honour, William Collins was seated to the right of the hostess at dinner. He noticed that the two eldest daughters sat either side of their father, Cousin Mary closest to him and Cousins Kitty and Lydia on the left of the mother, the younger one closest to Mrs Bennet.

“Lizzy, come sit next to your cousin,” Fanny called out across the room before the footman could place the dishes on the table.

Elizabeth looked at her father plaintively. She hoped this was one time he would intervene and not look on for his own entertainment. She held her breath as she watched while Papa decided what to do.

As entertaining as it would have been to see Lizzy fend off any advances by his cousin, Bennet decided he preferred to have his second daughter close by where he could enjoy some sensible conversation. “No, Mrs Bennet, the food is about to be served, so there is no reason to change where Lizzy is seated, nor do I want the seating changed for subsequent meals,” Bennet commanded.

“But, Mr Bennet…” Fanny began.

“No, Mrs Bennet, I am firm in this,” Bennet interjected. He used his tone of voice, which told his wife that he would brook no argument.

Realising that her husband would not relent, Fanny huffed then nodded to the footman. She watched with dissatisfaction as Mr Collins spoke to Mary instead of the daughter she had planned for him to converse with at the first meal together.

While William was enjoying the well-cooked repast, he heard his cousin address him.

“I am not sure this is the quality that you are used to when you dine at the great estate of Rosings Park, so I hope you are satisfied with our simpler fair,” Bennet stated to see what reaction he could coax from his cousin in order to amuse himself.

“I do dine at Rosings Park at times, and the food is very good there,” William looked to his hostess, “as is the food here.” He had been vague but truthful. He ate the after-service meal at Rosings Park, and at least once a fortnight, he would have dinner there. Miss de Bourgh enjoyed much plainer fare than what she said Lady Catherine used to order. That meant that the meal here was on par with that served at Rosings Park, but William knew it was not what Cousin Bennet was looking for. He decided to throw Cousin Bennet a bone. He turned to Mrs Bennet. “This meal is excellent; the boiled potatoes are perfect. To which of my cousins is thanks for this meal owed?”

“Mr Collins! None of my daughters work in the kitchens or anywhere else in the house. We can afford a cook.” Fanny sniffed.

Bennet was much happier with what he was witnessing. His wife was making a cake of herself, and his cousin was showing his ignorance. He had a wide grin on his face as he watched the unfolding scene.

“I meant no offence to your wonderful daughters, Mrs Bennet,” William said, making his voice drip with contrition. “I apologise if I gave any.”