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“Maria, I will be very glad of your company,” Charlotte said, knowing her sister well enough to understand what she was talking about. “Mr. Collins and I will need to return to Hertfordshire soon, and we will enjoy having you with us.”

Darcy let out a breath he had not realized he was holding. Of course, Mrs. Collins would want the help of her sister as she readied everything for a move.

“Oh! I hadn’t thought about that!” Maria exclaimed. “How long do you think Mr. Collins will let Elizabeth’s family live at Longbourn?”

“I am sure he will give them plenty of time,” Charlotte assured her sister, but the unease in her eyes told a different story. “He did not expect to inherit for many years, surely he will see the wisdom in giving everyone time to adjust.”

That unease worried Darcy. It would be several months before it would be appropriate for him to wed Elizabeth, but if she was being removed from her home, he would have to convince her to move up the timeline. But that would be a scandal; and how he hated scandal.

Mr. Collins could be heard coming through the front door of the parsonage, so Darcy resolved to have a discussion with the man in order to best determine his next course of action.

Before Collins was done with his bowing and scraping and exclamations of how honored he was that Mr. Darcy would deign to visit his humble abode, Darcy interrupted him to ask for a private conversation.

“Of course, of course!” Collins agreed, bobbing his head. “Right this way, right this way. Though my study is much more humble than what I am sure you are used to at both Pemberley and Rosings Park, I flatter myself that it is particularly well suited for a private conversation between just a few people. I have followed the advice of your esteemed aunt in the perfect placement of the chairs to best invite open discourse. I am sure it will serve your purpose well.”

Darcy raised his eyebrows a little at the arrangement, with the chair behind the desk being large and comfortable, while the two in front of it were lower to the ground and of an inferior quality. There was no doubt in his mind where his aunt sat if she ever joined Collins in this room, so Darcy chose the nice chair behind the desk to sit in as well.

“I am sure you are concerned about why your wife was called home early this evening,” Mr. Darcy started.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Collins replied. “I understand that Cousin Elizabeth has taken a turn for the worse. She was unwell when we departed for Rosings Park earlier. But with my wife and sister downstairs, it does not appear to have been too serious.”

“I am afraid it is very serious indeed,” Darcy started again.

“Is it catching?” Collins asked, turning a little green.

Although Darcy was concerned with Mr. Collins’ ability to minister to the sick and afflicted of his parish if this was his reaction to a possible sickness when he was not even in the room, he decided to be thankful that, for once, Collins had only spoken a few words.

“It’s not that kind of serious. Miss Bennet is not sick. She received an express from home. Her father has passed away, and she needs to return home immediately.”

A speechless Mr. Collins was a very unusual sight. He raised one hand in front of him, almost as if he were asking a question. Then, the hand moved to his chin, as he pondered the implications, making little inarticulate noises. To his credit, the first emotion to cross his face was one of sorrow, though that was followed by bewilderment, then a bit of joy, back to sorrow, then slightly happy confusion, his hand moving back and forth in front of him the entire time. If his first reaction had been any kind of joyful emotion, Darcy would not have been so gentle as he started to direct the man.

“I am sure you must be concerned for your cousins,” Darcy led.

“Oh! Yes, of course. Though I’ve only known them for a short time, who could not be concerned. All five unmarried.” At this his eyes bulged. “Will I be responsible for them?”

“I am certain that Mr. Bennet has named a guardian in his will, and, as you said you are only recently acquainted with them, it is unlikely that he would have named you their guardian.”

“That is good, that is good,” Mr. Collins muttered as his eyes darted back and forth, trying to work things out again. “Not that I would mind having charge over the dear girls, of course. It is only Christian charity, but it really is such a relief. I mean, not a relief exactly, more a recognition of the removal of a burden. Well, not a burden, per se, but a responsibility. Yes, I am happy to place their welfare in the hands of God and the man who was chosen as their guardian. Though, if called on to do so, I would diligently perform the service for my cousins. As I said before, it is only Christian charity. And as a clergyman I must feel the bounds of charity more than others.”

Darcy interrupted this soliloquy to add, “It will take them some time to prepare to leave the only home they’ve ever known.”

“Time, yes, time. How much time, though? I wouldn’t want them to want to stay forever, but it will take time.”

“Surely they would not be expected to move until they are out of mourning,” Darcy suggested.

“A whole year…” Collins whispered. “That is so much time, too much time. I don’t think I could live with Mrs. Bennet for a year. She lied to me, you know. Told me that Cousin Elizabeth wanted to marry me, pushed me in her direction from almost the moment I entered that house. Then she refused me. Wouldn’t listen to reason. Though, now I’m glad. Mrs. Collins was a much better choice. No, I cannot live with Mrs. Bennet for a year.”

Darcy felt sick as he realized from Mr. Collins’ ramblings that there had been a very real possibility that Elizabeth would have been brought to Hunsford as Mrs. Collins, instead of as the friend of Mrs. Collins.

“Half mourning, then?” Darcy asked. “You would not want to evict them too soon. They have been members of the community for generations. The local gentry are not likely to look kindly on you if you start your sojourn with them by forcing one of their own out of their home.”

“Six months, still so long…”

“You would not have to live with them that whole time,” Darcy suggested. “It will certainly take some time for Lady Catherine to find another clergyman to fill this living. You will not want to leave her without a rector so precipitously.”

“Oh! Lady Catherine! I certainly do not want to disappoint Lady Catherine. She has been all that is good to me. Her very great condescension. I will want to let her know at once.”

“As a widow herself, I am certain that Lady Catherine will be sympathetic to the plight of Mrs. Bennet,” Darcy suggested, trying not to wince at his blatant lie. His aunt would not care two straws about the surviving Bennets. “If you wait three months to move into Longbourn you will be able to remain by my aunt’s side while she looks for another clergyman, and the Bennet ladies will have time to deeply mourn their father and prepare the house for your arrival.”