Page 17 of Introducing Mrs. Collins
The door to the drawing room opened, and Mr Darcy walked just two steps in and stopped. His face was a little red and his mouth drawn into a hard line. His fidgeting body ached to leave – that was clear. One of his legs was hardly in the room. ‘Good evening to you all. Please forgive me, but I cannot stay. I have pressing business to attend to.’
‘In the evening?’ enquired his aunt, sceptical.
‘Yes,’ Darcy replied tersely, before leaving the room and slamming the door.
Lady Catherine was shocked, and Mr Collins was directly on hand to mollify and comfort her – a job he had been born to do.
Charlotte turned to Fitzwilliam enquiringly. ‘Have you any notion as to why he is in such an ill humour?’
He looked as surprised as she. ‘I truly do not. My cousin is rather secretive at times – or, I should say, he enjoys his privacy, and so it has been on this visit. I will try to get the truth of it later tonight.’
The pair were now sitting very comfortably together. It was fortunate that all other parties in the room were so well settled in their pairings that there was, for once, no other demand on their time, no one pulling them away.
‘I know nothing of your family, besides Mr Darcy and Lady Catherine. Would you tell me about them?’
‘I will not,’ replied Fitzwilliam playfully, kindly. ‘I have talked enough of myself. I would like to know more of you. I have heard about you from Miss Bennet, who has said very fond things about you but few specifics.’
‘Well, I hardly have a career to regale you with, sir! I have not travelled or written a thesis or committed a crime. What would you have me tell you?’
Fitzwilliam laughed a little but then thought for a moment. ‘If your time were completely your own, and money no object, what would you spend your life doing?’
‘You mean, if I were not…’ She glanced at Mr Collins briefly.
‘Yes,’ said Fitzwilliam. ‘If you were free to do as you wished, unencumbered.’
Charlotte took his question seriously and gave it her consideration. ‘I fear my answer will disappoint you. With so much freedom, I think I ought to say I would travel the world, discovering newlands and having grand adventures, or that I would ride an elephant or be an actress on the stage or… swim the ocean!’
‘You don’t want to ride an elephant?’ asked Colonel Fitzwilliam, his face a mask of seriousness. ‘You shock me.’
Charlotte laughed. ‘Perhaps I do not know enough of the world, to make such a choice, in an informed way.’
‘I have seen a little of the world and of new lands, Mrs Collins, and I assure you, I feel no better informed.’
‘Well then, I will tell you. I would read as many new books as could be found. I would have the most splendid garden and spend hours cultivating more flowers and fewer vegetables. I would… I would wear looser dresses, and I would not curl my hair, even for a ball. I would see my friends whenever I wished, and carriage journeys would cost me nothing and take no time at all. I would walk for hours. I would talk freely, but only when I wanted to, with a companion who loved to walk and read and laugh, and who matched me in temperament and taste and humour. I would run more and dance less!’
She was alight as she spoke, her eyes bright and animated, looking here and there, picturing what she described.
Then she turned her eyes on him squarely and said, ‘I would choose a peaceful life, sir. That would be freedom to me.’
He was staring at her intensely. ‘And what of passion?’
She frowned at him rather sharply. ‘Why, that is part of it all,’ she said, as if it should be obvious. ‘To find passion in all those things, and passion with another. I have never agreed with the stories that say you can have either true love or calm waters, that real love must be turbulent. I do not want to believe that is true. And Iknowthat the other side is certainly not true. A lifewithoutpassion is not a peaceful one.’
‘Your life is not… peaceful now?’
She looked away from him, to her hands that she clutched together on her lap. ‘No, sir. I am not at peace.’
‘What are you both talking of?’ Lady Catherine’s voice came shrill from across the room. ‘It appears you are having a lively conversation, and I must have some part in it.’
Sighing, Colonel Fitzwilliam replied, ‘We are talking of riding elephants, Aunt. Have you the inclination?’
‘Oh. No. I have seen one, you know, last year, at Covent Garden. It was not as large as I had been led to believe.’
She continued, and the whole party was expected to listen. The evening drew to a close not long after, and Colonel Fitzwilliam accompanied the Hunsford group to the carriage.
Mr Collins was first to say farewell, while Maria and Charlotte settled themselves in their seats. ‘Please convey once again to your aunt ourdeepestgratitude for yet another wonderful evening in her company.’
‘I shall, sir, and you are most welcome,’ said Fitzwilliam. ‘I hope I will see you again before I leave; I will endeavour to.’
