Page 62 of New World Tea Company
To escape from her family for an hour, Elizabeth spoke of desiring a nap and retreated above stairs to her bedchamber. Alone, she chided herself when her thoughts turned toward a particular man once again.‘What makes Mr Darcy different from the other men I have met?’
Elizabeth thought of Samuel Goulding, a pleasant young man and neighbour she had known her entire life. There was no comparison and when she struggled with her feelings she admitted,‘Samuel is not Mr Darcy with his stare and sharp mind. But how have I allowed the man to overwhelm my thoughts as this one has?’
In her mind, his image appeared tall, with black hair. It was as if his blue eyes stared into her soul. She blushed as she remembered the fire that was ignited when their hands touched while dancing at Netherfield.
She glanced at the line of trees in the distance and thought,‘Jane says that the fire of love consumes her and Charles, but she does not fear it. What if Mr Darcy does not feel the same fire? Will I burn and blow away like the cinders from the fireplace?’
Elizabeth stood and shook her head to dispel her thoughts.‘I shall not gather wool and cloud my mind needlessly. There are songs to practice on the instrument in the parlour, and Mary will play a duet with me if I ask.’
Leaving her bedchamber, the young woman walked down the stairs with a new purpose. Mr Bennet noticed that his daughter returned to the parlour after only fifteen minutes for her ‘nap.’ He wondered what troubled Lizzy but said nothing to his wife or other daughters, choosing to continue to observe silently.
~~~
At lunch the next day, Mr Bennet received the post from Mr Hill, and after sorting the letters, he handed one to his second daughter. “Lizzy, you have a letter.”
Mrs Bennet asked, “Who is writing to you, Lizzy? Is it Mrs Gardiner?”
“Mamma, allow me to open the letter and discover who has written,” replied Elizabeth while her mother motioned for the young woman to be about reading the letter. It only took a moment to see the signature on the bottom of the page, and she announced, “The letter is from Charlotte Collins.”
Instantly, Mrs Bennet demanded, “What does that woman want? Does she ask after your father’s health?”
However, Elizabeth did not reply while reading the letter. Only when she completed the letter, did she reply to her mother’s question by saying, “Charlotte writes that the parsonage is a pleasant home and the tenants around the parsonage labour industriously on their farms. She has met none of the members of the gentry in the area, but Lady Catherine is most helpful with advice.”
“Does married life agree with Charlotte?” asked Mary. “Do Mr and Mrs Collins enjoy their honeymoon after three months?”
“No,” replied Elizabeth, as she kept her attention on the page in front of her. “Mr Collins overspent his income, and they live with little tea and butter. But she has invited me to visit for the month of April.”
“Visit! With that wanton woman and her husband? I shall not have it!” Mrs Bennet declared. “No doubt, Mrs Collins will inquire about the silver and the linens at Longbourn and plan the day she becomes mistress here!”
“Mamma, Charlotte is very familiar with our silver, and she has helped us mend our table linens several times,” Kitty reminded Mrs Bennet.
Lydia giggled and said, “Lizzy can bake bread for Charlotte Collins and have flour all over her gowns when she meets Lady Catherine de Boise.”
“Who do you mean, Lydia?” asked Mrs Bennet.
“That grand lady Mr Collins spoke of endlessly,” Lydia explained.
“Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the lady’s name,” explained Mary.
Smirking, the youngest daughter stated, “de Bourgh or de Boise, what difference does it make?”
Turning to her father, Elizabeth asked, “Father, might I go and visit with Charlotte?”
“It will certainly be an adventure for you, Lizzy,” Mr Bennet said. “You shall take the stagecoach to London and then transfer to a different coach for the ride into Kent. I believe Mr Collins changed coaches twice; first in Gravesend, then again in London.”
“But she will be unescorted, Mr Bennet!” warned Mrs Bennet. “A young woman without a chaperone will fall prey to highwaymen and scoundrels.”
Lydia sighed and declared, “I am certain a brave officer in his red coat will appear and rescue her. Lizzy will meet some handsome officer who saves her life and virtue before bringing her home to Father and declaring his love for her.”
“Lydia, have you been reading the newspaper again?” asked Mrs Bennet. The woman did not pay attention to her husband exchanging glances with Mary and Elizabeth. “When you read those stories, you have wild ideas about officers and lords in London.”
“Yes, Mamma,” Lydia confirmed. “The officers and lords sound wonderful in the stories. Mary leaves the paper where Kitty and I find it.”
“But I never see you reading it,” Mrs Bennet explained.
Kitty explained, “We listen to Mary and Elizabeth talking about the stories in the paper, so we know which ones to find when we look at the paper in our bedchamber at night.
Mr Bennet cleared his throat and said, “It would be much safer if the girls read the paper in the parlour beside the fireplace. In that room, there is better light and less chance of fire.”
