Page 89 of New World Tea Company
There followed fifteen minutes of confusion, and Elizabeth grew frustrated that Jane should share details concerning the sudden illness that struck Mrs Bennet. Charlotte tried to be helpful without being intrusive and stood with Charles Bingley at the door while Jane and Eliza moved the hastily packed trunk to the top of the stairs.
The Netherfield footman was a familiar face as he climbed the stairs to bring down Elizabeth’s the trunk down. He carried it out the door and secured it to the top of the coach. Watching young Mr Hill, Charlotte and Elizabeth noticed there was only one other trunk on top of the carriage, and this lack of luggage reinforced the story that Mr and Mrs Bingley were not planning to travel far or long with only a single trunk between them.
“Charlotte…thank you for allowing me to visit, but I must be off,” the young woman told her friend.
“Eliza, go! Care for your mother, and know I shall pray for her recovery,” Charlotte assured her friend. “Write to me! Please write with news!”
As she helped her sister with her bonnet and shawl, Jane said, “I shall explain all once we are in the coach.”
Determined to be on the road, Elizabeth did not slip on her gloves but held them in her hand. Mrs Bingley turned to Mrs Collins and said, “Charlotte, forgive us for just appearing and sweeping my sister away so suddenly.”
“There is no problem, Jane,” Charlotte assured her friends. She mentioned again that she would pray for Mrs Bennet’s recovery as Charles led his wife and sister-in-law from the parsonage and helped them into the carriage. Before the man climbed into the coach, Charlotte asked, “What should I tell Mr Collins?”
Charles glanced at his wife before he replied, “Mrs Collins, please make certain to inform Mr Collins that we came for Elizabeth because her mother fell ill. Mr Bennet is healthy and in no danger.”
~~~
Once the carriage was more than a mile from the parsonage, Jane turned to her sister and revealed, “You must forgive us, Lizzy.”
Charles explained, his face set in a serious mask, “We used a bit of subterfuge to remove you from the parsonage this morning.”
“What do you mean?” asked Elizabeth.
Placing an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders, Jane revealed, “Mamma is perfectly healthy.”
Relieved momentarily and then aggravated, Elizabeth fussed, “Jane, you gave me a terrible fright! Why would you do this?”
Charles quickly explained, “Mr Collins sent two rambling letters to your father this month. Mr Bennet was concerned enough by the tone in the letters that he planned to travel to Hunsford today and remove you from Mr Collins’s home.
“But Charles and I offered to come in his stead,” Jane added. “I thought of the excuse of our mother being ill as a suitable reason for your sudden departure. No one can gossip about Father removing you without insulting Mr and Mrs Collins.”
“But why?”
“Since you travelled to Hunsford, Mr Collins has pressed your father to mortgage Longbourn and purchase shares in Mr Wickham’s New World Tea Company,” Bingley explained. “In the latest letter, Mr Collins mentioned fostering a marriage between you and Mr Wickham.”
Frowning, Elizabeth wanted to deny the idea but could not.
She did reveal, “Almost as soon as Mr Darcy left, Mr Wickham appeared. Mr Collins talks about George Wickham every day, and Mr Wickham has visited for supper and for lunch after the Sunday service. He and Mr Collins talk privately in the parson’s office.”
Grimacing, Elizabeth continued, “I prayed for rain to curtail the man’s visits, but Charlotte enjoys his company because Wickham makes Mr Collins more animated.”
“I heard you mention Mr Darcy. Have you seen Mr Darcy while in Hunsford?” asked Charles.
“Yes, he was here for two weeks when I arrived. He tried to untangle problems at Rosings, but he and his aunt argued in front of us one afternoon. That argument precipitated his early departure from Rosings.”
“Yes, now I remember,” Bingley added. “Sir Louis de Bourgh’s Last Will and Testament made Darcy executor to keep Lady Catherine under some semblance of control.”
“It does no such thing,” Elizabeth replied. “The woman is dictatorial and orders every tenant about as if they were serfs. Mr Collins worships at her feet and delivers the great lady’s instructions to Charlotte to wash her dishes and bed linens in the same water.”
Jane laughed and said, “Surely not!”
“Perhaps not in the same water, but certainly in the same tubs,” Elizabeth insisted.
Bingley asked, “What has Mr Wickham to say for himself this spring?”
“He came to visit Mr Collins and share the profits of a ship that has just returned to London.”
“In spring?” Charles asked. “Did Wickham say a ship had returned from the Americas in spring?”
