Page 4 of Compromise & Consequence
“I am so glad you came tonight, Charlotte. I have much to relay and not much time.”
“You sound almost frantic. Whatever is the matter?”
“Nothing is the matter, but I have laid the cornerstone for the foundation of your marriage.”
“You have what?”
“Mr. Collins was making much noise about choosing me as a wife, but I cannot abide the man – at least, not as a husband. With subtle nudges, I have set him on a path that hopefully leads to you.”
“But, if you married him, your family could remain at Longbourn when your uncle passes.”
“You know I am already well situated, and my cousins need not worry about where they will lay their heads when Uncle Thomas passes.” Elizabeth had confided in Charlotte a little of her family history. “Also, marriage is for life, and I cannot see myself making him happy. I know he would not make me happy. If I could have pushed him in Mary’s direction, I would have, but he is very much under the thumb of his patroness, and Mary would only sermonize, making it worse. Oh! Here he comes.” Elizabeth and Charlotte both turned to greet him with pleasant smiles. “Mr. Collins, I was complimenting Miss Lucas on the minced pies she brought over the other day.”
“You cook, Miss Lucas?”
“Cook? Miss Lucas not only makes mince pies, but Sir William has been heard to proclaim her dinner rolls are the best he has ever tasted.” Charlotte reached between them and pinched her arm. Elizabeth smiled and took a small step away. “I know she will deny all this because she is a modest Christian woman, but it is true.”
By this time, Mr. Collins had turned his undivided attention to Charlotte, and when Aunt Phillips called her guests to the card tables, he asked if Miss Lucas would partner him for a round of whist. With a slight skip in her step, Elizabeth found Jane and filled her in on her successful evening.
“You are lucky Mamma is not here.”
“Truer words were never spoken. It is a good thing they let us come alone. At this rate, he will probably make an offer to Charlotte by the end of this week.”
“You are that confident?”
“Jane, the poor man wants to marry so badly. He thinks it is his duty and dares not fail in the one task his patroness set for him before coming to Longbourn. And we are all aware that Charlotte also longs for marriage. Mr. Collins is not a horrible man, but someone I could never envision spending the rest of my life with. I wish to marry only for the deepest love, as do you.”
Chapter Two
Elizabeth sat with Jane on a small settee, watching and bemoaning the antics of Lydia and Kitty, while Mary stayed in a corner reading, looking up now and then to scowl in the direction of her younger sisters.
She loved all of them as though they were her true sisters since she’d come to live with them at four years of age. Her father, James Bennet, was the second son and third born to Henry and Rose Bennet. He had gone into the navy when he was but a lad, rising to the rank of Captain. While his ship underwent repairs in Spain, he met and married the beautiful Isabella de Cortez. Wanting to start a family, he retired and returned to England, where he purchased a lovely estate near his brother and, once settled, was blessed with a beautiful daughter.
The first four years of Elizabeth’s life were golden. Then Fate stepped in and took not only Isabella but also her unborn baby in a terrible carriage accident. Her father, distraught with grief, turned to his elder brother and asked that he raise Elizabeth as his own. James Bennet then took over a new command in the Royal Navy, perishing at sea three years later.
Elizabeth and Jane had bonded almost immediately, as there was only a year between them. Elizabeth quickly became more of a sister than a cousin. Even the citizens of Meryton looked at her as Thomas Bennet’s second daughter. The fact that she was slight in stature, with mahogany curls and exotic dark eyes, while hersisterswere tall, fair-haired, and blue-eyed, was rarely mentioned. Very few remembered her origins or even James Bennet, for that matter. Elizabeth’s best friend Charlotte Lucas did because she had been ten when the tiny little girl came to liveat Longbourn.
Elizabeth’s memories of her father were of a large man with a ready smile and laugh who would lift her high above his head and make her squeal with delight. Her mother always teased the edges of her memory by way of a soft voice that had sung her to sleep or soothed her bumps and bruises. She still had in her possession a bottle of Mamma’s Jasmine perfume, and she guarded it as though it were a king’s treasure. It was her greatest desire to wear the perfume, along with the string of pearls her father had gifted her mother on their wedding day when she walked down the aisle to meet the man she loved. She wanted, in some small way, for her parents to be with her when that happy occasion arrived.
Her only link with her mother’s family had been quarterly letters from her grandfather, who had passed on more than five years ago. Grandfather de Cortez’s vast estate was inherited by a cousin in Barcelona, but all her grandmother’s jewels were sent to her via courier, and now sat safely in a vault, alongside her mother’s, in a bank in London. The garnet cross necklace she wore had been her mother’s. It was a tangible link to her past and gave Elizabeth great comfort.
The estate she’d inherited from her father was currently leased, and her aunt’s brother in London managed all her assets and money, which consisted of her grandmother’s and mother’s dowries as well as her father’s fortune. No one but Uncle Gardiner, Mr. Bennet, and Elizabeth knew the true value of her worth.
Her reverie was disrupted when Mr. Wickham approached and asked if he could join her and Jane. At their assent, he lowered himself into the chair opposite and began to regale them with tales of his training, the mishaps, as well as the successes he and his fellow officers enjoyed. His stories were so entertainingthat Elizabeth’s cheeks ached from smiling. On the surface, there was much to recommend this handsome young man, and she had to admit, she was not surprised his attentions were focused on Jane.
Her eldest cousin was an undisputed beauty. Tall and slim with hair the color of burnished wheat and azure blue eyes, most men came to a stuttering stop when they first laid eyes on her. She had an air of innocence that transcended description. Jane saw only the good in people. One had to work very hard to earn her anger, and when they did, they had best stay out of her way. She became an avenging angel when defending those she loved, as Jonathan Lucas found out to his detriment when they were all around the age of fourteen. Thankfully, the scar above his eye had healed quite nicely, and he held no ill will toward her.
Unlike her cousin, Elizabeth didnotsee everyone in a glow of golden light, which was unfortunate for Mr. Wickham. While his manners were engaging, they seemed forced. While his smile was quick and ready, it did not meet his eyes. And most telling, while his lithe body seemed at ease in the chair, he kept a vigilant eye on the door as though calculating how long it would take to make a quick exit.
Elizabeth had taken the measure of this man and found him wanting, and would remain cautious while also keeping a watchful eye on her cousins. The two youngest could very easily fall prey to his well-practiced routine.
“How long has Mr. Darcy been in Hertfordshire?” Mr. Wickham asked Jane.
Immediately, Elizabeth noted his tone had changed, causing her to believe the real reason he’d sought them out was for more information on the taciturn gentleman from Derbyshire. She then remembered Lydia laughing over how Mr. Wickham had seemed pleased by Mr. Darcy’s abrupt departure from theircompany the day prior.
“About a month, sir,” Jane replied
“He is a man of very large property in Derbyshire, I understand,” Elizabeth added.
