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As Sir William rode back to Lucas Lodge, he owned that he, and the whole town, owed a large debt of gratitude to Mr Collins.

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

After his ride and then breaking his fast with his cousins, William Collins retired to his chamber. He wanted to finish the missive he had begun to his parents, and after the tale Mr Wickham had spun, he needed to write to Mr Darcy’s cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. He felt the need to write about more than just the profligate man but also what had occurred between Mr Darcy and Cousin Elizabeth.

With his letter to Collins Hollow sealed, William was about to write to Colonel Fitzwilliam when he decided he first needed to speak to Cousin Mary and ask if she could enlighten him about the source of the animosity her next older sister had for Mr Darcy. He had heard Cousin Elizabeth speak of an insult. If that was what it was, it must have been a very serious slight for her to disdain him the way she did.

William walked down to the ground level and placed the epistle to his parents on the tray for outgoing post. He heard the sounds of the pianoforte, telling him his cousin was where he suspected she would be. Thankfully the section of wall between the drawing room and music room had been drawn shut, so he would not be importuned by Cousin Fanny about spending time with Cousin Elizabeth. His cousin was seated at the upright pianoforte, concentrating on the score before her.

“Cousin Mary,” William said as soon as she lifted her hands from the keys. He had made sure to leave the door all the way open to observe propriety.

Mary’s body shuddered with surprise. “I was not aware anyone was in the music room with me,” she said. “Yes, Cousin Collins, how may I assist you? Would you like me to play something particular?”

“Would you take a turn in the garden with me?” William invited. “It is unseasonably warm for autumn today.”

“I cannot unless we are chaperoned, Cousin Collins,” Mary said as she twisted her muslin square nervously. “That is because the loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex.”

“Do you think me undeserving, or that us walking in the garden in full view of the house will somehow threaten your virtue?” William enquired. “Cousin Mary, there is a reason that I, and any clergyman of good sense, do not use the sermons Reverend Fordyce wrote as a reference. I know you read them, but I must tell you it is not just my opinion that they are, for the most part, nonsensical. My bishop and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York agree as well. If you will walk with me, your honour and virtue will remain unblemished. If you would feel easier to have a maid sit outside where she can see us, I would welcome that.”

Feeling relief that her cousin had not demanded there be no chaperone, Mary relaxed. “I will request that Mrs Hill send a maid,” Mary said as she stood from the bench where she had been seated in front of the instrument. She was pleased he had suggested a maid. That way she would not have to have Mamma try to make Lizzy walk out with Cousin Collins instead. Having a man, especially a good-looking parson, pay attention to her made Mary feel warm all over.

It was not many minutes before Cousin Mary joined William in the entrance hall, a maid in tow.

“This is Sarah, the upstairs maid who assists my sisters and me as needed.” Mary did not say that it was very seldom she saw Sarah. Mamma made sure that Jane was helped first, then Lydia, and after her, Lizzy and Kitty. She was always last, so more often than not, Mary dressed herself without anyone’s help.

When they reached the drive, William offered his cousin his arm, and they walked into the park. “Cousin Mary, if you agree, I think Sarah can sit on this bench close to the side of the house. That will give her an unobstructed view of the park. Just remember, as long as you can see her, she will be able to see you.” Cousin Mary nodded that she was satisfied, and they set off on their first turn about the park.

As soon as he was certain the maid could not hear them, William indicated a bench. He helped his cousin sit first, then took a seat at the opposite end of the bench from her with more than enough distance between them to satisfy propriety.

Mary was very pleased that rather than mocking or dismissing her concerns, Cousin Collins took them seriously and was doing what he needed to do so she would feel comfortable with him. Unless she was blind, he was paying all of his attention to her and not to her much prettier sisters. She could not understand why this was, but whatever the reason, it made Mary feel very good.

“I need to ask you something about Cousin Elizabeth…” William did not miss how her face fell. He understood what she thought. “Cousin Mary, what I want to ask has nothing to do with a shared future. It is something your sister said and an observation I made.”

Hearing what her cousin said made Mary relax. “You are not a simpleton or a buffoon, are you?”

“No, not at all. You want to know why I wrote the letter I did in the manner I did?” William saw his cousin nod. “You know there has been a break between our branches of the family for a few generations, do you not?” Another nod. “Until I wrote to your father, no Collins, no matter how many letters were written, had received a reply from a Bennet of Longbourn. My father made some enquiries once we learnt that your mother would not be able to bear another child, as he knew that one of us would be the master of Longbourn one day. I am sorry if this pains you, but based on what was reported about how your father likes to make sport of everyone, I decided that in order to ease my way in coming to visit, he needed to think he was my intellectual superior. I will not address it now, but by the terms of the entail, I could have demanded access to the estate and the records. However, I preferred to be allowed to visit in a non-confrontational manner. It worked, did it not?”

“There was nothing you said in your missive that was not true, was there?”

“Not a word. I did write some things in a way that allowed the reader to interpret them as they chose, but that was all.”

For a few moments, Mary considered her cousin’s words. Knowing her father as she did, she could understand why this man employed a level of subterfuge. She was sanguine with what he had done. “You answered my questions honestly, so now I will do the same for you, if I am able.”

“First, why do you use spectacles you neither need to read nor see?”

“How did you know?” Mary was used to being dismissed by everyone in the house, so making them believe she needed reading aids had been easy.

“You read over your spectacles. When you walk or play the pianoforte, they are positioned down your nose so you are able to look over them.” The answering smile told William he had been accurate in his assessment. “Now, if I may, I have a question regarding your next older sister. If it is something confidential that you feel you are not able to answer, I will understand.”

“Go ahead and ask; if I am able, I will respond.”

“What happened between Cousin Elizabeth and Mr Darcy that has made her dislike him with such intensity?”

A little chortle escaped Mary before she covered her mouth with her hand and blushed. “I would say hate, not dislike.” She paused; what she was about to repeat was well known in Meryton and the environs, so it was not confidential. “The first time any of us met those residing at Netherfield Park was at the Michaelmas Assembly. Due to the war, there are many more ladies than men at the dances. All of us ladies—except for Lydia and Kitty—sit some sets out voluntarily to ensure that anyone who wishes to dance will have an opportunity to do so. Mr Darcy danced a set with Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst each, and then he stalked the side of the dance floor. This was after he had refused to be introduced to almost everyone.

“Mr Bingley was dancing with Jane when, during the break between the first and second dances of the set, he made his way to Mr Darcy, who was standing right next to where Lizzy was sitting out her first set. They were no further apart than you and I are now. Mr Bingley demanded that Mr Darcy dance and suggested Lizzy as a partner, saying that Jane would make the introduction. Mr Darcy looked at Lizzy and back at Mr Bingley and said, ‘She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.’ If for all of her life, had Lizzy not had to hear Mamma tell her that her looks are nothing to Jane, she would have ignored him, but I believe that what he said made Mamma’s words real.

“Each time thereafter we were in company with those from Netherfield Park, Mr Darcy would stare at Lizzy. She claims he is doing so to find more faults with her. Thanks to Mamma’s machinations, Jane rode to Netherfield Park in the rain and was sickened with a very bad cold and needed to remain there. The following day, Lizzy walked the three miles to see what ailed Jane. Our eldest sister had played down her illness. It ended up that Lizzy was invited to remain to nurse Jane.