Prudence and Practicality

by C. J. Hill

  “Mrs. Collins. I will be frank with you as I hope you will be with me. You intimated last night that you were in receipt of some information regarding your friend and her marriage prospects, did you not?”

  “Oh, yes, Lady Catherine,” interrupted William. “But I assure you that there is no more to be said upon that matter as it seemed to be so disagreeable to you at the time, and I am sure that Charlotte has no wish to inflict any more pain on you. It was, as you surmised, only an attempt to redeem Miss Bennet’s reputation that Charlotte even mentioned it; is that not so, my dear?” he asked Charlotte anxiously.

  “Yes, yes!” Lady Catherine cut across him. “I am well aware of what I said last night but I have had time to think about what was said, and I have construed a most disturbing notion, which I hope Mrs. Collins will be able to alleviate.”

  Charlotte tried her utmost to appear undisturbed by this request as she smiled encouragingly, eager to relieve herself of the agony of suspense. But her husband was not to be diverted.

  “I think I can speak on my wife’s behalf, Lady Catherine, when I say that she had no intention whatsoever of causing your ladyship distress by anything that she may have said last night. Please allow me to apologise for any misunderstanding that has arisen from thoughts that may have been aired and construed incorrectly!” He desperately wiped his brow, as the enormity of what may befall him became clear; his benefactress was most displeased about something that Charlotte had said last night, and, although he had no notion what it could be, he had a sneaking suspicion that Charlotte did.

  Charlotte and Lady Catherine both turned to him as he spoke and Charlotte was the first to respond.

  “William, I would be most grateful if you would ask for a glass of water to be brought in; I feel suddenly in need of something cool. I am quite able to answer Lady Catherine’s questions by myself.”

  “No, no! Mr. Collins must stay. He will not escape my wrath if what I have surmised proves to be correct. He is connected directly to the family and as a consequence should have exercised a moderating influence upon them and their actions.” Lady Catherine now turned the full flow of her anger upon Charlotte, who quailed slightly but recovered sufficiently to draw herself up straight in her chair and regard her guest with commendable serenity.

  “I recall last night proving to all that your friend, Miss Elizabeth Bennet” – the words were spat out with a vengeance – “could not have met with any likely suitors on account of the close quarters in which she is contained. I mentioned her range to include only Meryton, Hunsford, and Derbyshire, and in each of these she has been suitably chaperoned by her family, your good selves, or her aunt and uncle. Is not this so?”

  Charlotte nodded her complete agreement, simultaneously with William who had dissolved into a chair.

  “It was also mentioned last night that your friend had improved her acquaintance with my nephews during her stay here in Hunsford; one more amicable than the other, as I understood it?”

  Again, Charlotte nodded her agreement while William’s countenance betrayed his utter confusion at this recapitulation of already accepted premises.

  “It occurred to me, last night, as I lay unable to sleep because of these worrying thoughts, why it was that something did not seem quite right, why I was still considering a conversation regarding a person about whom I have no real interest other than curtailing her excessive independence. And then it became crystal clear, Mrs. Collins. You have more information than you revealed last night; all of your hints and comments were only the tip of the problem. Your reluctance to defend your friend any more once I had said ‘enough’ – indeed, your apparent relief that the matter had been dropped - can only indicate that one thing. What is it that you know about your friend that you are not telling me, Mrs. Collins? I will be told!”

  Charlotte carefully considered her answer before speaking.

  “If I do have other information, clearly it is not for the knowledge of the general populace; I would be no less than disloyal if I should reveal anything more than I said last night. Elizabeth is a fine, intelligent person and does not deserve to be dissected by persons who really have no connection nor knowledge of her other than that of a very brief acquaintance. Anything that I said last night was merely to offset your, and my husband’s, negative views of a most precious and honourable friend. I would ask that you do not importune me any further, for I assure you that I shall not answer your questions.”

  Lady Catherine looked shocked, and disbelief rose visibly in her face as she retorted.

  “Indeed you shall answer my questions for I believe it is my nephew, Mr. Darcy, to whom you were alluding when you mentioned the advantageous proposal and continued attentions from a second gentleman. What have you to say to that?”

  At this, Mr. Collins emitted a strangled cry of disbelief and stared in horror at his wife who continued to sit, seemingly unperturbed, under this verbal attack. Lady Catherine ignored him completely and continued.

  “It is he who can be connected to all three of the areas where your friend has been this past year. It is he who took the trouble to speak with her in my parlour and visit this house on many occasions during his time at Rosings, did not he? I cannot but think that somehow, regardless of her seeming indifference towards him, and his to her in our presence, your friend has ingratiated herself sufficiently that, while she was in Derbyshire, she inveigled an invitation from him to visit Pemberley! Tell me! Is that not so? Have I not guessed correctly? Did she visit Pemberley? Is not he the man whom she refused?” Each demand rose in pitch along with a pounding fist upon the arm of the chair.

  Charlotte watched and listened with equanimity; Lady Catherine’s loss of control had the effect of increasing her own. She felt that nothing the lady could say now would make her release any of the information that was demanded.

  “I cannot, and will not, refute or confirm what you say, Lady Catherine. As I have said, in connection with this matter I am bound by the ties of a long friendship and will not continue this conversation. You may think what you will about the circumstances, and the players in the scenes, but I shall not be the one to alleviate your fears. You must ask the persons involved and find the answer out by those means, if you so desire.

  “However, I might insert the thought that, since you are convinced that it is your nephew who was the proposer, clearly, she refused him - they are not engaged. Therefore, surely there can be no cause for such anguish on your part?”

  William felt bound to insert his own agreement with his wife’s calm assessment of the situation and tried his utmost to appear as though he, too, was not at liberty to divulge any information on the subject, much as he would like to.

  Lady Catherine considered for a moment and then changed her line of attack.

  “But when did the proposal take place, if indeed it did? At which period was my nephew so overcome and out of his senses that he allowed this travesty to occur? It could not have been while he was at Meryton for he had only just made her acquaintance and confided to me himself, on one of my visits to his London house, that he had found all of the Hertfordshire ladies to be insipid and not worth mentioning; he could not contain his impatience until his return to London and then Pemberley. No, it could not have been then. It must, therefore, either have been while she was under your care and attention, Mrs. Collins, or when she was with her aunt and uncle. I cannot imagine that in such mature company she would have had the occasion to renew her acquaintance with him; they do not know him and would not have had the connections to make his acquaintance, and why, pray, would he wish to make theirs?

  “Therefore I can only conclude that it is due to your failing, Mrs. Collins, that my nephew was forced to lose his reason through whatever allures and arts your friend mounted against him while under your chaperonage. You should have held your friend under firmer control and not allowed such freedom of company between them. Oh! It cannot be tolerated! A marriage between an upstart young girl and a gentleman such as M
r. Darcy. I shall not rest until the truth is revealed and this monstrous idea quashed; I shall demand an answer from my nephew as to the meaning of it. I will be satisfied!” Lady Catherine rose and, seeing that she was to have no further response from Charlotte, her anger propelled her across the room and into the hall.

  As Charlotte clearly refused to engage with Lady Catherine any further on the matter, it was left to her bewildered husband to follow the angry lady down the passage and wring his hands as he waited for her to settle into her carriage. Her demeanour was so forbidding that even he decided that silence was the best policy at such a moment; his fears for the future were well and truly alerted by Lady Catherine’s parting words.

  “I shall discover the truth, even if I have to speak to my nephew and your cousin in person, Mr. Collins. Do not imagine that I shall not! And depending upon your wife’s involvement in the acquaintance, I shall have to make my decision about your worthiness and suitability to continue in your position here as clergyman for Hunsford parish. I do not take lightly your mendacious behaviour in this matter; it reflects very badly upon you. I do not wish you a good day.”

  Mr. Collins quailed before such anger and truly believed he would collapse under the strain but, upon his return to the house, he found Charlotte quietly sitting by the window in her usual manner, stitching a garment for the baby.

  “Lady Catherine is furious, Charlotte! She is gone to seek the truth as you suggested – she feels we have broken her trust and will decide our future depending upon what she learns our involvement has been in the matter!”

  “Well, William, if that is the case, she will have nothing to decide. We have done nothing for which we can be blamed. I refused to divulge private information imparted to me by a friend and Lady Catherine should not expect me to do so. She has, however inadvertently, assiduously pieced together the identity of the second proposer and it is information corroborated somewhat by gossip in mother’s letter. If her ladyship found me to be uncommunicative, I believe in Mr. Darcy she will certainly meet that trait tenfold; I do not expect him to be at all forthcoming should she demand answers from him.”

  William was astonished. He could not believe his ears!

  “Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth? Are you quite certain, my dear? Can it be possible that so eminent a personage should ever consider attaching himself to one such as she?”

  “Such as she?” Charlotte retorted scornfully. “William. We both know that your first choice in marriage was Elizabeth! Do not insult my intelligence by trying to degrade someone whom you wished to marry. My friend refused your offer of marriage and a sensible refusal it was too. Your life, should that unlikely match have eventuated, would have been much less pleasant than it is with me. You feel that I have upset Lady Catherine? My dear; Elizabeth would not have been married to you for more than a week before she would have reacted badly to one of Lady Catherine’s ridiculous outbursts and thrown your position into question. At least I have held my tongue for this long and only loosened it when severely provoked! I shall not apologise for my words to Lady Catherine and you must not either; she may go on her journey for the truth but she shall not have it from me!”

  “My dear! Of course you are right. We have done nothing wrong other than to protect a confidence, which is an honourable trait. I am a clergyman; my discretion is my distinction. Without it I would never be trusted again, and I am sure that when viewed in that light Lady Catherine will completely understand. She values loyalty above all things and, once she has had time to review the situation, she will see our actions as such.”

  Charlotte nodded at her husband as he convinced himself of his words and that all would be well; that Lady Catherine valued his ministry and companionship and would not cause a rift for some unsubstantiated rumour. Charlotte even tried to console him with the notion that perhaps, after sleeping upon the problem, Lady Catherine would not, after all, pursue the matter any further – a long journey in Winter weather is not to be embarked upon lightly. And what could be more embarrassing than accosting one’s nephew and humiliating him with unfounded hearsay?

  However, Charlotte’s hopes of Lady Catherine’s fervour diminishing overnight were short-lived, as the next morning William came rushing into her parlour announcing that Lady Catherine had just driven away in the Barouche box. Meaning, of course, that she intended an extended journey of more than one day. To London or beyond was his anxious surmise, confirmed later that afternoon by a visit from Anne, who was sufficiently recovered from her recent malady to visit, as was often the case, Charlotte noted, when her mother left the area. Indeed, the young lady was more animated than usual but quite at ease as she sipped her coffee; remarkably so, Charlotte was to reflect, after she heard exactly how Anne’s day had passed yesterday.

  “Oh, yes, Mamma decided to leave this morning; she was in a fine temper all day yesterday, mostly affronted at her treatment at your hands, Charlotte! She intimated that you had thwarted her enquiries and that she was now forced to seek the truth from other sources. When I was allowed to enquire, she merely said it was concerning my immediate future but that I was not to worry and refused to explain. How could I not worry if it is something that immediately concerns me? Later last evening, after she had regained some composure and I knew that she had arranged for travel today, I felt safe to enquire again and she said it concerned my marriage to Mr. Darcy and that she would see to it! Can you imagine? I could not allow her to travel and ‘arrange’ something that was so far from anything I desired for myself that I felt impelled to speak my mind for once.

  “I told her, as I told you very recently, that the idea of marriage to Mr. Darcy horrified and scared me; that he would never be happy with me as his wife and I certainly could never live up to his expectations, not to mention my feelings for him which would not allow me to accept him if he ever should propose to me.

  “I then told her not to concern herself any further with my future which, naturally, evinced an even larger exhibition of anger than that which you had caused. I was immediately named an unnatural and ungrateful daughter and called upon to recall the lengths to which she has gone to provide a suitable life for me. She vowed that she would pursue her enquiries whether or not I intended to co-operate and, for good measure, I was prohibited from visiting or even talking to you, Charlotte, ever again! Imagine!” Anne actually laughed heartily at this notion.

  Charlotte could imagine, and listened with horror at Anne’s recital of her mother’s tirade, utterly astonished at the young woman’s change of character and obvious enjoyment of standing up to her mother’s tyranny at last. The difference between the cowed girl Charlotte had met when she first arrived in Hunsford and the self-possessed young lady sitting in her parlour was immense and Charlotte was absolutely sure that, in some way, Lady Catherine would hold her responsible for that, too, upon her return.

  “So Lady Catherine travels to Derbyshire for an extended period?” asked Charlotte after she had poured her guest another coffee.

  “No. I think not,” Anne replied. “I believe that she intends to travel to Hertfordshire to find Mr. Darcy at his friend’s house, Netherfield Park. He is apparently staying there for a period for the Autumn shooting.”

  “To Hertfordshire? But what effect does she imagine she will have by appearing unannounced at Mr. Bingley’s home and confronting Mr. Darcy in front of his friends? What possible reason could she give for appearing, uninvited and during a shooting party? Does she mean to confront Elizabeth too? I fear that she has not thought through this journey and its effects sufficiently before staring out upon it. It will all go terribly wrong.”

  “Well, Charlotte! Apparently you were the one who could have forestalled it but you refused to do so. I do not believe Mamma has ever been so thoroughly defeated before from gaining her own way, and she does not accept defeat. She will learn the truth, was her parting message to me.”

  Charlotte smiled worriedly as her mind raced with the possibilities of Lady Catherine arrivi
ng unannounced in Meryton. Lady Catherine’s reception from her nephew could be counted on to be distant and unwelcoming at best, but if she should attempt to accost Elizabeth! Elizabeth may incorrectly perceive that Charlotte had exposed her confidences, which could be the only reason for her ladyship’s visit.

  Suddenly, all Charlotte wanted was solitude, that she might write a letter to Elizabeth warning her of the impending attack but more importantly, to assure Eliza that her friend had not broken her trust. It was with barely concealed impatience that she listened to Anne for the next half hour until she decided to return to Rosings to enjoy her freedom while she had it.

  She laughed as she ascended into her carriage. “I shall eat my meal at the little table in the parlour tonight and every night until Mamma’s return! And I shall read in the library until two o’clock in the morning if I have a mind to. Oh, what a release from constant supervision it is; I shall enjoy every moment of Mamma’s trip, even if she does not.”

  Once Anne had taken her leave, Charlotte returned to the parlour to find William pacing the room anxiously.

  “My dear! I have been thinking. Do not you think, in light of this new development of Lady Catherine travelling to Pemberley to accuse her nephew of making, or indeed, intending to make another imprudent offer of marriage, that we should alert Mr. Darcy as to her arrival? It cannot be agreeable to be attacked by a relative to whom he must be respectful and conciliatory. If we forewarn him, he will be prepared.”

  Charlotte smiled at his notion; that William considered himself to be sufficiently acquainted with Mr. Darcy to believe a letter containing a warning about Lady Catherine would impress anything on Mr. Darcy other than disgust at the impertinence of such a missive and at the sender, was further evidence of William’s lack of awareness of just how limited to Hunsford his influence was.

  “No, indeed, William. Lady Catherine travels to Hertfordshire, not Derbyshire! Mr. Darcy is staying at Netherfield Park with Mr. Bingley for the shooting. She intends to speak with him there, according to Anne.”