“With three younger sisters grown up,” replied Elizabeth, smiling,“your Ladyship can hardly expect me to own it.”
Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer;and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence.
“You cannot be more than twenty, I am sure,--therefore you need not conceal your age.”
“I am not one-and-twenty.”
When the gentlemen had joined them, and tea was over, the card tables were placed. Lady Catherine,Sir William, and Mr. and Mrs. Collins sat down to quadrille;and as Miss De Bourgh chose to play at cassino, the two girls had the honour of assisting Mrs.Jenkinson to make up her party. Their table was superlatively stupid.Scarcely a syllable was uttered that did not relate to the game, except when Mrs.Jenkinson expressed her fears of Miss De Bourgh’s being too hot or too cold,or having too much or too little light. A great deal more passed at the other table.Lady Catherine was generally speaking--stating the mistakes of the three others,or relating some anecdote of herself. Mr.Collins was employed in agreeing to everything her Ladyship said,thanking her for every fish he won, and apologizing if he thought he won too many.Sir William did not say much. He was storing his memory with anecdotes and noble names.
When Lady Catherine and her daughter had played as long as they chose, the tables were broken up,the carriage was offered to Mrs. Collins, gratefully accepted, and immediately ordered.The party then gathered round the fire to hear Lady Catherine determine what weather they were to have on the morrow.From these instructions they were summoned by the arrival of the coach;and with many speeches of thankfulness on Mr. Collins’s side, and as many bows on Sir William’s,they departed. As soon as they had driven from the door,Elizabeth was called on by her cousin to give her opinion of all that she had seen at Rosings,which, for Charlotte’s sake, she made more favourable than it really was. But her commendation,though costing her some trouble, could by no means satisfy Mr. Collins,and he was very soon obliged to take her Ladyship’s praise into his own hands.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXX.
[Illustration]
Sir William stayed only a week at Hunsford;but his visit was long enough to convince him of his daughter’s being most comfortably settled,and of her possessing such a husband and such a neighbour as were not often met with.While Sir William was with them, Mr. Collins devoted his mornings to driving him out in his gig,and showing him the country: but when he went away,the whole family returned to their usual employments,and Elizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of her cousin by the alteration;for the chief of the time between breakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work in the garden,or in reading and writing, and looking out of window in his own book room, which fronted the road.The room in which the ladies sat was backwards.Elizabeth at first had rather wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the dining parlour for common use;it was a better sized room, and had a pleasanter aspect:but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason for what she did, for Mr.Collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment had they sat in one equally lively;and she gave Charlotte credit for the arrangement.
From the drawing-room they could distinguish nothing in the lane, and were indebted to Mr.Collins for the knowledge of what carriages went along,and how often especially Miss De Bourgh drove by in her phaeton,which he never failed coming to inform them of, though it happened almost every day.She not unfrequently stopped at the Parsonage, and had a few minutes’ conversation with Charlotte,but was scarcely ever prevailed on to get out.
Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to Rosings,and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise;and till Elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of,she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours.Now and then they were honoured with a call from her Ladyship,and nothing escaped her observation that was passing in the room during these visits.She examined into their employments, looked at their work, and advised them to do it differently;found fault with the arrangement of the furniture, or detected the housemaid in negligence;and if she accepted any refreshment, seemed to do it only for the sake of finding out that Mrs.Collins’s joints of meat were too large for her family.
Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not in the commission of the peace for the county,she was a most active magistrate in her own parish,the minutest concerns of which were carried to her by Mr. Collins;and whenever any of the cottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or too poor,she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences, silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty.
[Illustration:
“he never failed to inform them” ]
The entertainment of dining at Rosings was repeated about twice a week; and,allowing for the loss of Sir William, and there being only one card-table in the evening,every such entertainment was the counterpart of the first. Their other engagements were few,as the style of living of the neighbourhood in general was beyond the Collinses’ reach. This,however, was no evil to Elizabeth, and upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough:there were half hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte,and the weather was so fine for the time of year, that she had often great enjoyment out of doors.Her favourite walk, and where she frequently went while the others were calling on Lady Catherine,was along the open grove which edged that side of the park, where there was a nice sheltered path,which no one seemed to value but herself,and where she felt beyond the reach of Lady Catherine’s curiosity.
In this quiet way the first fortnight of her visit soon passed away. Easter was approaching,and the week preceding it was to bring an addition to the family at Rosings,which in so small a circle must be important. Elizabeth had heard, soon after her arrival, that Mr.Darcy was expected there in the course of a few weeks;and though there were not many of her acquaintance whom she did not prefer,his coming would furnish one comparatively new to look at in their Rosings parties,and she might be amused in seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley’s designs on him were,by his behaviour to his cousin, for whom he was evidently destined by Lady Catherine,who talked of his coming with the greatest satisfaction,spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration,and seemed almost angry to find that he had already been frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself.
His arrival was soon known at the Parsonage; for Mr.Collins was walking the whole morning within view of the lodges opening into Hunsford Lane, in order to have
[Illustration:
“The gentlemen accompanied him.”
[_Copyright 1894 by George Allen._]]
the earliest assurance of it; and, after making his bow as the carriage turned into the park,hurried home with the great intelligence.On the following morning he hastened to Rosings to pay his respects.There were two nephews of Lady Catherine to require them, for Mr.Darcy had brought with him a Colonel Fitzwilliam, the younger son of his uncle, Lord ----; and,to the great surprise of all the party, when Mr. Collins returned, the gentlemen accompanied him.Charlotte had seen them from her husband’s room, crossing the road,and immediately running into the other, told the girls what an honour they might expect, adding,--
“I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr.Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me.”
Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment before their approach was announced by the door-bell,and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room. Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way,was about thirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly the gentleman. Mr.Darcy looked just as he had been used to look in Hertfordshire, paid his compliments,with his usual reserve, to Mrs. Collins; and whatever might be his feelings towards her friend,met her with every appearance of composure. Elizabeth merely courtesied to him, without saying a word.
Colonel Fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly,with the readiness and ease of a well-bred man, and talked very pleasantly; but his cousin,after having addressed a slight observation on the house and garden to Mrs. Collins,sat for some time without speaking to anybody. At length, however,his civility was so far awakened as to inquire of Elizabeth after the health of her family.She answered him in the usual way; and, after a moment’s pause, added,--
“My eldest sister has been in town these three months. Have you never happened to see her there?”
She was perfectly sensible that he never had:but she wished to see whether he would betray any consciousness of what had passed between the Bingleys and Jane;and she thought he looked a little confused as he answered that he had never been so fortunate as to meet Miss Bennet.The subject was pursued no further, and the gentlemen soon afterwards went away.
[Illustration:
“At Church” ]
CHAPTER XXXI.
[Illustration]
Colonel Fitzwilliam’s manners were very much admired at the Parsonage,and the ladies all felt that he must add considerably to the pleasure of their engagements at Rosings.It was some days, however, before they received any invitation thither,for while there were visitors in the house they could not be necessary;and it was not till Easter-day, almost a week after the gentlemen’s arrival,that they were honoured by such an attention,and then they were merely asked on leaving church to come there in the evening.For the last week they had seen very little of either Lady Catherine or her daughter.Colonel Fitzwilliam had called at the Parsonage more than once during the time, but Mr. Darcy they had only seen at church.
The invitation was accepted, of course, and at a proper hour they joined the party in Lady Catherine’s drawing-room.Her Ladyship received them civilly, but it was plain that their company was by no means so acceptable as when she could get nobody else;and she was, in fact, almost engrossed by her nephews, speaking to them, especially to Darcy,much more than to any other person in the room.
Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed really glad to see them: anything was a welcome relief to him at Rosings;and Mrs. Collins’s pretty friend had, moreover, caught his fancy very much.He now seated himself by her, and talked so agreeably of Kent and Hertfordshire,of travelling and staying at home, of new books and music,that Elizabeth had never been half so well entertained in that room before;and they conversed with so much spirit and flow as to draw the attention of Lady Catherine herself,as well as of Mr. Darcy. _His_ eyes had been soon and repeatedly turned towards them with a look of curiosity;and that her Ladyship, after a while, shared the feeling, was more openly acknowledged, for she did not scruple to call out,--
“What is that you are saying, Fitzwilliam?What is it you are talking of?What are you telling Miss Bennet?Let me hear what it is.”
“We were talking of music, madam,” said he, when no longer able to avoid a reply.
“Of music!Then pray speak aloud. It is of all subjects my delight. I must have my share in the conversation,if you are speaking of music. There are few people in England, I suppose,who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt,I should have been a great proficient. And so would Anne, if her health had allowed her to apply.I am confident that she would have performed delightfully. How does Georgiana get on, Darcy?”
Mr. Darcy spoke with affectionate praise of his sister’s proficiency.
“I am very glad to hear such a good account of her,” said Lady Catherine;“and pray tell her from me, that she cannot expect to excel, if she does not practise a great deal. ”
“I assure you, madam,” he replied, “that she does not need such advice. She practises very constantly.”
“So much the better. It cannot be done too much; and when I next write to her,I shall charge her not to neglect it on any account. I often tell young ladies,that no excellence in music is to be acquired without constant practice.I have told Miss Bennet several times, that she will never play really well,unless she practises more; and though Mrs. Collins has no instrument, she is very welcome,as I have often told her, to come to Rosings every day, and play on the pianoforte in Mrs.Jenkinson’s room. She would be in nobody’s way, you know, in that part of the house.”
Mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt’s ill-breeding, and made no answer.
When coffee was over, Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabeth of having promised to play to him;and she sat down directly to the instrument. He drew a chair near her.Lady Catherine listened to half a song, and then talked, as before, to her other nephew;till the latter walked away from her, and moving with his usual deliberation towards the pianoforte,stationed himself so as to command a full view of the fair performer’s countenance.Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenient pause turned to him with an arch smile, and said,--
“You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me.But I will not be alarmed, though your sister _does_ play so well.There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others.My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”
“I shall not say that you are mistaken,” he replied,“because you could not really believe me to entertain any design of alarming you;and I have had the pleasure of your acquaintance long enough to know,that you find great enjoyment in occasionally professing opinions which, in fact, are not your own. ”
Elizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself, and said to Colonel Fitzwilliam,“Your cousin will give you a very pretty notion of me, and teach you not to believe a word I say.I am particularly unlucky in meeting with a person so well able to expose my real character,in a part of the world where I had hoped to pass myself off with some degree of credit. Indeed, Mr.Darcy, it is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my disadvantage in Hertfordshire--and,give me leave to say, very impolitic too--for it is provoking me to retaliate,and such things may come out as will shock your relations to hear.”
“I am not afraid of you,” said he, smilingly.
“Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,” cried Colonel Fitzwilliam.“I should like to know how he behaves among strangers.”
“You shall hear, then--but prepare for something very dreadful.The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire, you must know,was at a ball--and at this ball, what do you think he did?He danced only four dances!I am sorry to pain you, but so it was. He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce;and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr. Darcy, you cannot deny the fact.”
“I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party.”
“True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room. Well, Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next?My fingers wait your orders.”
“Perhaps,” said Darcy, “I should have judged better had I sought an introduction,but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers.”
“Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?” said Elizabeth, still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam.“Shall we ask him why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world,is ill-qualified to recommend himself to strangers?”
“I can answer your question,” said Fitzwilliam, “without applying to him.It is because he will not give himself the trouble.”
“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said Darcy,“of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”
“My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do.They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression.But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault--because I would not take the trouble of practising.It is not that I do not believe _my_ fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution. ”
Darcy smiled and said, “You are perfectly right. You have employed your time much better.No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you can think anything wanting. We neither of us perform to strangers.”
Here they were interrupted by Lady Catherine, who called out to know what they were talking of.Elizabeth immediately began playing again. Lady Catherine approached, and,after listening for a few minutes, said to Darcy,--
“Miss Bennet would not play at all amiss if she practised more,and could have the advantage of a London master. She has a very good notion of fingering,though her taste is not equal to Anne’s. Anne would have been a delightful performer, had her health allowed her to learn.”
Elizabeth looked at Darcy, to see how cordially he assented to his cousin’s praise:but neither at that moment nor at any other could she discern any symptom of love;and from the whole of his behaviour to Miss De Bourgh she derived this comfort for Miss Bingley,that he might have been just as likely to marry _her_, had she been his relation.
Lady Catherine continued her remarks on Elizabeth’s performance,mixing with them many instructions on execution and taste.Elizabeth received them with all the forbearance of civility;and at the request of the gentlemen remained at the instrument till her Ladyship’s carriage was ready to take them all home.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXXII.
[Illustration]
Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning, and writing to Jane, while Mrs.Collins and Maria were gone on business into the village,when she was startled by a ring at the door, the certain signal of a visitor.As she had heard no carriage, she thought it not unlikely to be Lady Catherine;and under that apprehension was putting away her half-finished letter,that she might escape all impertinent questions, when the door opened,and to her very great surprise Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only, entered the room.
He seemed astonished too on finding her alone, and apologized for his intrusion,by letting her know that he had understood all the ladies to be within.
They then sat down, and when her inquiries after Rosings were made,seemed in danger of sinking into total silence. It was absolutely necessary, therefore,to think of something; and in this emergency recollecting _when_ she had seen him last in Hertfordshire,and feeling curious to know what he would say on the subject of their hasty departure, she observed,--
“How very suddenly you all quitted Netherfield last November, Mr. Darcy!It must have been a most agreeable surprise to Mr. Bingley to see you all after him so soon; for,if I recollect right, he went but the day before. He and his sisters were well, I hope, when you left London?”
“Perfectly so, I thank you.”
She found that she was to receive no other answer; and, after a short pause, added,--
“I think I have understood that Mr. Bingley has not much idea of ever returning to Netherfield again?”
“I have never heard him say so; but it is probable that he may spend very little of his time there in future.He has many friends, and he is at a time of life when friends and engagements are continually increasing. ”
“If he means to be but little at Netherfield,it would be better for the neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely,for then we might possibly get a settled family there. But, perhaps, Mr.Bingley did not take the house so much for the convenience of the neighbourhood as for his own,and we must expect him to keep or quit it on the same principle.”
“I should not be surprised,” said Darcy,“if he were to give it up as soon as any eligible purchase offers.”
Elizabeth made no answer. She was afraid of talking longer of his friend; and,having nothing else to say, was now determined to leave the trouble of finding a subject to him.
He took the hint and soon began with, “This seems a very comfortable house. Lady Catherine,I believe, did a great deal to it when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford.”
“I believe she did--and I am sure she could not have bestowed her kindness on a more grateful object. ”
“Mr. Collins appears very fortunate in his choice of a wife.”
“Yes, indeed; his friends may well rejoice in his having met with one of the very few sensible women who would have accepted him,or have made him happy if they had. My friend has an excellent understanding--though I am not certain that I consider her marrying Mr.Collins as the wisest thing she ever did. She seems perfectly happy, however; and,in a prudential light, it is certainly a very good match for her.”
“It must be very agreeable to her to be settled within so easy a distance of her own family and friends. ”
“An easy distance do you call it?It is nearly fifty miles.”
“And what is fifty miles of good road?Little more than half a day’s journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance.”
“I should never have considered the distance as one of the _advantages_ of the match,” cried Elizabeth. “I should never have said Mrs. Collins was settled _near_ her family.”
“It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire.Anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I suppose, would appear far.”
As he spoke there was a sort of smile, which Elizabeth fancied she understood;he must be supposing her to be thinking of Jane and Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered,--
“I do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near her family.The far and the near must be relative, and depend on many varying circumstances.Where there is fortune to make the expense of travelling unimportant, distance becomes no evil.But that is not the case _here_. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a comfortable income,but not such a one as will allow of frequent journeys--and I am persuaded my friend would not call herself _near_ her family under less than _half_ the present distance.”
Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said,“_You_ cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment._You_ cannot have been always at Longbourn.”
Elizabeth looked surprised. The gentleman experienced some change of feeling;he drew back his chair, took a newspaper from the table, and, glancing over it, said, in a colder voice,--
“Are you pleased with Kent?”
A short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued,on either side calm and concise--and soon put an end to by the entrance of Charlotte and her sister,just returned from their walk. The _tête-à-tête_ surprised them. Mr.Darcy related the mistake which had occasioned his intruding on Miss Bennet, and,after sitting a few minutes longer, without saying much to anybody, went away.
[Illustration: “Accompanied by their aunt”
[_Copyright 1894 by George Allen._]]
“What can be the meaning of this?” said Charlotte, as soon as he was gone. “My dear Eliza, he must be in love with you,or he would never have called on us in this familiar way.”
But when Elizabeth told of his silence, it did not seem very likely, even to Charlotte’s wishes,to be the case; and, after various conjectures,they could at last only suppose his visit to proceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do,which was the more probable from the time of year. All field sports were over.Within doors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a billiard table,but gentlemen cannot be always within doors; and in the nearness of the Parsonage,or the pleasantness of the walk to it, or of the people who lived in it,the two cousins found a temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day.They called at various times of the morning, sometimes separately, sometimes together,and now and then accompanied by their aunt.It was plain to them all that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he had pleasure in their society,a persuasion which of course recommended him still more;and Elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with him,as well as by his evident admiration, of her former favourite, George Wickham; and though,in comparing them, she saw there was less captivating softness in Colonel Fitzwilliam’s manners,she believed he might have the best informed mind.
But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the Parsonage it was more difficult to understand.It could not be for society, as he frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his lips;and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity rather than of choice--a sacrifice to propriety,not a pleasure to himself. He seldom appeared really animated. Mrs.Collins knew not what to make of him. Colonel Fitzwilliam’s occasionally laughing at his stupidity proved that he was generally different,which her own knowledge of him could not have told her;and as she would have liked to believe this change the effect of love,and the object of that love her friend Eliza, she set herself seriously to work to find it out:she watched him whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford;but without much success. He certainly looked at her friend a great deal,but the expression of that look was disputable. It was an earnest, steadfast gaze,but she often doubted whether there were much admiration in it,and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of mind.
She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of his being partial to her,but Elizabeth always laughed at the idea; and Mrs.Collins did not think it right to press the subject,from the danger of raising expectations which might only end in disappointment;for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt, that all her friend’s dislike would vanish,if she could suppose him to be in her power.
In her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was,beyond comparison, the pleasantest man: he certainly admired her,and his situation in life was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr.Darcy had considerable patronage in the church, and his cousin could have none at all.
[Illustration: “On looking up”]
CHAPTER XXXIII.
[Illustration]
More than once did Elizabeth, in her ramble within the park, unexpectedly meet Mr. Darcy.She felt all the perverseness of the mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought;and, to prevent its ever happening again, took care to inform him, at first,that it was a favourite haunt of hers. How it could occur a second time, therefore, was very odd!Yet it did, and even the third. It seemed like wilful ill-nature, or a voluntary penance;for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal inquiries and an awkward pause and then away,but he actually thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her. He never said a great deal,nor did she give herself the trouble of talking or of listening much;but it struck her in the course of their third encounter that he was asking some odd unconnected questions--about her pleasure in being at Hunsford,her love of solitary walks, and her opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Collins’s happiness;and that in speaking of Rosings, and her not perfectly understanding the house,he seemed to expect that whenever she came into Kent again she would be staying _there_ too.His words seemed to imply it. Could he have Colonel Fitzwilliam in his thoughts?She supposed, if he meant anything, he must mean an allusion to what might arise in that quarter.It distressed her a little, and she was quite glad to find herself at the gate in the pales opposite the Parsonage.
She was engaged one day, as she walked, in re-perusing Jane’s last letter,and dwelling on some passages which proved that Jane had not written in spirits, when,instead of being again surprised by Mr. Darcy, she saw, on looking up,that Colonel Fitzwilliam was meeting her. Putting away the letter immediately, and forcing a smile, she said,--
“I did not know before that you ever walked this way.”
“I have been making the tour of the park,” he replied, “as I generally do every year,and intended to close it with a call at the Parsonage. Are you going much farther?”
“No, I should have turned in a moment.”
And accordingly she did turn, and they walked towards the Parsonage together.
“Do you certainly leave Kent on Saturday?” said she.
“Yes--if Darcy does not put it off again. But I am at his disposal.He arranges the business just as he pleases.”
“And if not able to please himself in the arrangement,he has at least great pleasure in the power of choice.I do not know anybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he likes than Mr. Darcy.”
“He likes to have his own way very well,” replied Colonel Fitzwilliam. “But so we all do.It is only that he has better means of having it than many others, because he is rich,and many others are poor. I speak feelingly. A younger son, you know,must be inured to self-denial and dependence.”