by C. J. Hill
Charlotte quietly continued with her stocktaking and, once completed, bade Mrs. Dunn good morning and went upstairs to collect her bonnet and shawl in preparation for her visit to Elizabeth and the news she must tell.
“Indeed, I must impart it before the servants’ gossip anticipates me,” she thought with a resigned sigh. Charlotte knew that the news would be a shock to Eliza, coming so soon after her own refusal of the same suitor, but hoped, rather than expected, that she would take it matter-of-factly and rejoice in her good fortune as Mrs. Dunn had done.
The rain had cleared by the time Charlotte set out for her walk; it was late enough in the morning that she knew Mr. Collins would be well advanced on his journey and safely away from the recriminations and possible anger or disbelief that was about to rain down within the Bennet household. At midday, Sir William was to deliver the news, as was his right as the father of the bride, to the Bennets as his closest neighbours and friends; the fact that his daughter had secured a match before any of them was of no small satisfaction to him, either. The fact that the same daughter would someday be mistress of Longbourn was something he did not care, nor dare, to dwell upon at any length for the present time. However, his good wife had talked of nothing else all morning and would hardly be constrained upon the subject; Sir William deemed it best for her to remain at home for this, the first visit.
Charlotte hurried to the Bennets and found Elizabeth in the parlour by herself.
“Eliza!”
“Charlotte! What a lovely surprise! I did not expect you today in all this rain. Are you warm enough? Here, sit by the fire and dry your shoes. How do you do? We are without our guest, at last.” her friend laughed.
Charlotte settled herself, uncomfortable at basking in the dual glow of the fire and her friend’s warmth, and, taking both of Eliza’s hands in hers she immediately broke the news to her.
“Elizabeth, as you know, Mr. Collins has been thrown into my company quite often for the past several days.”
Elizabeth laughed delightedly.
“Indeed, Charlotte, you are a veritable saint; to relieve me of his attentions, and then his distain and aloofness; it was a charity only you could provide. Do you know, even when he took his leave of us last evening - you know he went this morning before any of us was up - he refused to speak to me, he was most disdainful and cold; however, I thought that something had pleased him. He kept smiling to himself when he thought no one to be looking and striking poses, admiring himself in the mirrors. ‘Twas all very strange! When anyone appeared he would resume his haughty manner and treat us all coldly. Since he was so very disgusted with us all, we were astonished when he professed his intention of returning very soon, assuring my father that he would trespass upon his hospitality once again in a fortnight!”
Eliza laughed releasing her hands from Charlotte to rearrange the logs in the fire.
“He truly is an oddity; thank goodness he is gone for now. Maybe he returns to court Mary. That is what mother is expecting; but of course she expects him to marry one of us, and Mary would take him.”
Charlotte could stand no more of her friend’s innocent derision of her intended husband, deserved and astute as it was, and stood up beside her friend saying quite calmly and clearly:
“Eliza, I can explain why Mr. Collins intends to return here Monday fortnight. Yesterday, early in the morning, he came to Lucas Lodge and asked me to become his wife, and I accepted. We are to be married soon after Christmas, and plan to return to Hunsford in the New Year.”
Elizabeth, shocked, span away from the fire to face her friend, scanning her face for a clue of a jest.
“Impossible!”
“You think it incredible that Mr. Collins should be able to procure any woman’s good opinion, because he was not so happy as to succeed with you?” Charlotte was stung into a reply of the same force as Eliza’s; she felt judged and betrayed and not a little foolish, knowing as she did Eliza’s opinion, so recently aired, of the gentleman in question.
Elizabeth’s face displayed an array of emotions. Disbelief reigned supreme and could not be suppressed. She turned away sharply and walked in an agitated manner to the window in order to control her emotions and any more outbursts that may injure her friend; she must gather her thoughts in an orderly fashion.
How could her friend humiliate herself in this manner? Unthinkable and utterly disgraceful! She could never be happy in the lot she had chosen. After all of their talks about marriage and love and them both laughing about dying old maids. It was too much, it really was. She had sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage. How could she accept this man who could not match her in intelligence, wit, or sense?
The silence grew into several minutes before Charlotte gently approached her friend.
“I see what you are feeling; you must be surprised as so lately Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you. I know that you are only concerned for my happiness and are not regretting your refusal of him. But when you have thought it over I hope that you will be satisfied with what I have done. I am not a romantic you know. I never was. I only ask for a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’ character, connections and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.”
Elizabeth turned and hugged her friend to her, mustering up every shred of friendship and sisterly love she could in an effort to profess the correct emotions and convince Charlotte of her good wishes.
“I am truly sorry for my ungracious outburst. It is all so strange and sudden I can hardly believe my ears. I am happy for you, Charlotte, if you are happy with your choice. I cannot admit to liking your reasoning, so devoid of love and affection as it is, and I fear for your happiness in such a situation; but, as you say, many marriages begin with less and survive and so I truly wish you well. I am sure you will turn every obstacle into an opportunity to improve, and Hunsford and Mr. Collins will be the fortunate recipients of your caring nature.”
Relieved and smiling at this show of true friendship and caring, Charlotte responded with heartfelt gratitude.
“Thank you Elizabeth. You know that I value our friendship greatly and to have my most intimate friend despise and be angry at me would be unbearable. Please do not concern yourself about my situation; I will be happy and content with my own household to run and hopefully, some good will come of my decision, for the parish and my husband. I do not intend for him to remain as he is for long.”
Charlotte smiled mischievously at Elizabeth, who returned it with a rueful laugh.
“Well, Charlotte, if anyone can, I believe you are the one to enact that miracle; he will be a new man in a six-month!”
“My letters will update you, you may depend upon it!” Charlotte laughingly agreed.
Elizabeth took her friend’s arm and saw her to the door; awkwardness was felt as the chasm of marriage and choice of a partner lay between them. As she waved, she reflected gloomily that, along with the startling news, was the knowledge that her friend, who would soon be gone forever, was actually lost already; lost to the next step in life’s merry march: marriage. She could no longer be her closest confidante; Charlotte would move beyond girlhood interests and knowledge and have a different focus from now on.
Charlotte was also reflective as she left Longbourn, feeling faintly relieved at her friend’s response but aware that Eliza was still not reconciled with the notion of her marriage to Mr. Collins; but how could she be otherwise, as she had so recently refused him herself on the grounds of his character, intelligence and wit?
However, Charlotte’s good sense regained control of her thoughts by the time she reached Lucas Lodge; she was to be married at long last, to a good man with position, connections and property. The future Mrs. Collins was relatively content with her prospect.
X
December opened its doors upon frenzied activity at Lucas Lodge; with not just the usual flurry of Christmas preparations and th
e social calendar of the season, but also the added busyness of the wedding. Charlotte was to be married, and soon, and much was to be done before the event: clothes, wedding invitations, church banns, refreshments, linens, silver. The chilly atmosphere that existed out of doors was quickly dispelled upon entering the house.
Although long awaited, now that the opportunity had been presented and accepted, Charlotte was, for the first time in her life, somewhat overwhelmed by the magnitude and imminence of her responsibilities. Lady Lucas had miraculously recovered from whatever had been ailing her these past eight years, her illnesses postponed in favour of ordering bed linens by the dozen, pillows, day dresses, night dresses, even down to the respectable married woman’s lace caps, all from the best warehouses in London. The Lucas name still opened doors, and former merchants and business associates of Sir William were anxious to supply whatever was required for the upcoming nuptials.
Sir William was most pleased with the turn of events and regarded his future son-in-law, now that he was safely removed to a great distance, as a most pleasant and agreeable fellow.
“Truly a fortuitous match for both parties,” was his considered opinion when discussing the approaching nuptials with acquaintances. “They suit each other as well as any other starting out - he a parson and she a parson’s wife - my Charlotte will be the making of him and his career.”
Charlotte was relieved and rather gratified to see her parents so happy and proud of the outcome of her machinations and willingly relinquished much of the arrangements to them; indeed, apart from the occasional meeting with her mother and whichever merchant she was interviewing that day, and being allowed to have her say on the choice of fabric or plate pattern, Charlotte allowed her days to pass as they normally did. She found, without surprise, that her mother’s new-found energy was still unable to extend as far as the housekeeping and so fell into her accustomed role. The servants redoubled their efforts, completing their usual tasks but then willingly being pressed into service where required by Lady Lucas – sewing, cleaning, and packing.
The packing, Charlotte found, was a combination of irksome chore and pleasant memories. Her twenty-eight years of life, many of which had been passed at Lucas Lodge, had provided her with a prodigious quantity of items, some of which she felt would not be acceptable cluttering her new home; she did not wish to mingle childhood memories with adult consideration, and so spent many evenings sorting through her belongings, offering some to her younger sisters and some to the servants. Most she packed away again for the poor; she considered herself fortunate to be able to do so.
Charlotte had heard only once from Mr. Collins, as she still referred to him, upon his return to Hunsford. His letter firstly repeating his desire of being married as soon as possible with more of his ridiculous outpourings of love, much of which Charlotte skimmed hastily through, distasteful and irksome as it was to her. She then found the nub of his missive: that Lady Catherine de Bourgh was agreeable to the match after minutely questioning Mr. Collins about his choice of wife, and apparently had proffered the invitation for Charlotte to take tea with her as soon as she arrived at the Parsonage.
“My dear, you cannot imagine the gratification that I felt when so honourable a personage as Lady Catherine was willing to accept my judgment in such an important a matter and has even gone so far as to invite you into her home, sight unseen!”
Thus gushed her intended, along with many other self-congratulatory paragraphs, his satisfaction oozing from between the lines.
“But will I do? Will I pass the Lady Catherine examination upon first application?” Charlotte laughingly asked Eliza, at one of their few meetings that week, while feeling rather anxious inside at the prospect.
“I do not understand her criteria for a suitable wife other than what Mr. Collins gave me to understand, and I am sure that all that he understands is not the whole of it! I have some trepidation regarding my acceptance by her.”
“Oh, Charlotte! You will succeed wherever you go, you know very well that you will. How can she not approve of you? She will see what we all see in you: honest, sensible, hardworking and loyal. Someone who will mould her parson into a truly pleasant soul for her and the parish’s benefit. And if she does not, then she is the simpleton who should not be allowed out in company!”
Elizabeth robustly defended her friend against her misgivings of her suitability and the quite possible attacks of Lady Catherine if she was not found to be so, while secretly thanking her good fortune that she was not the bride about to be presented and inspected; quite apart from the intolerable situation of being the wife of Mr. Collins and all that entailed, she would not tolerate such an appraisal for long and would certainly not pass the inspection from so critical a judge if provoked into one of her outbursts.
Elizabeth admired the silk cuttings left over from the wedding dress which was already with the village seamstress, there not being enough time to have it made in London.
“This will be a beautiful dress Charlotte, what cut did you decide upon?”
Satisfactorily diverted, Charlotte showed her friend the choices made regarding the wedding, travel, and night clothes. All were agreed as suitable and quite charming by her friend who was doing her utmost to remain as positive as possible regarding everything matrimonial.
Lady Lucas passed through the parlour in search of her daughter and greeted Elizabeth in a distracted manner, immediately addressing her daughter.
“Charlotte, I need you to come now and decide upon the chickens you will take with you to Hunsford. You should separate them immediately so they become accustomed to a new situation. Your father is speaking with the wine merchant downstairs and I must go and help him; unless I am there he will mistake the quantities, I am sure.”
Charlotte smiled at her friend and they followed Lady Lucas into the back kitchen garden where the gardener’s boy was waiting with a small crate to transfer the chosen chicks to a new coop, recently constructed, which would accompany Mr. Collins when he returned.
After leaving many contradictory instructions for the poor boy to follow, Lady Lucas departed in a rush to avert the next crisis she was sure was in process in the cellar, and Charlotte and Elizabeth continued with their task of pointing out the best chicks and discussing their various attributes.
“I feel so glad that these chicks, at least, will connect me with my home,” said Charlotte as she surveyed the coop with its new inhabitants. “I feel certain that I will not see many friendly faces in my new home for quite some time.” A deep sigh was quickly disguised as Charlotte recollected that she must not allow even her most intimate acquaintances to guess her inner doubts and fears. She had made her choice and now must live with it without complaint.
“But surely your family will visit you soon in the New Year to see you comfortably settled?” Elizabeth asked gently, guessing her friend’s inner turmoil.
“I would like to hope so, but I dare not. The weather, of course, will be inclement and the roads mainly impassable, especially for Mamma who will not be well enough to visit in such conditions. Although she has recovered a great deal this last week, I fear that she will repine after the excitement dies down.”
Elizabeth nodded sagely; she understood the vagaries of mothers of adult daughters only too well.
“She will miss you sorely, Charlotte. Who will take over the administration of the house when you are gone?”
“I suspect Maria is being prevailed upon to do so, but she is so young, younger than I was when I took over from Mamma. Also, I requested the opportunity which is a different consideration from being expected to take on the task. Maria is now looking to her future, after being allowed out, in the hopes of following in my footsteps as soon as a likely candidate appears. She is more interested in gaining a household of her own rather than inheriting mine and Mamma’s.”
Charlotte sighed deeply; this was one of her true concerns since her engagement. She was leaving Lucas Lodge without an interested housekeeper and fe
lt keenly aware of what that lack might cause for her family.
“I do not know, but I am convinced that Mamma could and should regain control of her own household; she is not so incapacitated that she could not do so if she wanted to. After all, over the past weeks she has proved to be a formidable organiser and, with some extra help, would again be of use to father and the family.”
“I believe you are right, Charlotte. It is a distinction to be of use to your family in a particular way, either through education or organisation. My mother relies heavily upon the services of Hill who arranges everything as she knows Mamma would like it. I do not know but that our home is actually Hill’s house as Mamma is eager to agree to anything brought before her rather than have to think about making a change or inconvenience herself. It all runs extremely smooth, and we are fortunate to have such an excellent manager in Hill, but I believe it is a mistake to trust everything so implicitly to the offices of a servant.
“Their ways are not our ways, after all, and however well raised and however long they have been in the employ of a particular family, they will never rise to the true level of society or completely understand that society into which they have been thrown. Think of your own experiences, Charlotte. Your servants respect your judgment and would never be able to confuse or cheat you since you are so well versed in every aspect of the daily running of your household. They understand their position in the house and what is expected of them. My mother has no such understanding, nor does father. They both rely entirely upon their servants to be honest and independent in all things.”
These thoughts poured forth from Elizabeth and, as she uttered the words, she realised that she, too, was following the example of her own parents when, in truth, she really appreciated the way in which her friend had ordered her life. Never before had Elizabeth taken the trouble to understand what Charlotte’s role had been at Lucas Lodge; her friend had been preparing herself to be useful in a marriage partnership whereas she, she now realised, was preparing herself, unconsciously, for a far different marriage: one where servants and leisure were to be expected. Charlotte had no illusions of how high she would marry: Elizabeth, in her sudden realisation, apparently did.