Chapter 23
Elizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters, reflecting on
what she had heard, and doubting whether she was authorised to
mention it, when Sir William Lucas himself appeared, sent by his
daughter, to announce her engagement to the family. With many
compliments to them, and much self-gratulation on the prospect of a
connection between the houses, he unfolded the matter— to an
audience not merely wondering, but incredulous; for Mrs. Bennet,
with more perseverance than politeness, protested he must be
entirely mistaken; and Lydia, always unguarded and often uncivil,
boisterously exclaimed: "Good Lord! Sir William, how can you tell
such a story? Do not you know that Mr. Collins wants to marry
Lizzy?" Nothing less than the complaisance of a courtier could have
borne without anger such treatment; but Sir William's good breeding
carried him through it all; and though he begged leave to be
positive as to the truth of his information, he listened to all
their impertinence with the most forbearing courtesy. Elizabeth,
feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from so unpleasant a
situation, now put herself forward to confirm his account, by
mentioning her prior knowledge of it from Charlotte herself; and
endeavoured to put a stop to the exclamations of her mother and
sisters by the earnestness of her congratulations to Sir William,
in which she was readily joined by Jane, and by making a variety of
remarks on the happiness that might be expected from the match, the
excellent character of Mr. Collins, and the convenient distance of
Hunsford from London. Mrs. Bennet was in fact too much overpowered
to say a great deal while Sir William remained; but no sooner had
he left them than her feelings found a rapid vent. In the first
place, she persisted in disbelieving the whole of the matter;
secondly, she was very sure that Mr. Collins had been taken in;
thirdly, she trusted that they would never be happy together; and
fourthly, that the match might be broken off. Two inferences,
however, were plainly deduced from the whole: one, that Elizabeth
was the real cause of the mischief; and the other that she herself
had been barbarously misused by them all; and on these two points
she principally dwelt during the rest of the day. Nothing could
console and nothing could appease her. Nor did that day wear out
her resentment. A week elapsed before she could see Elizabeth
without scolding her, a month passed away before she could speak to
Sir William or Lady Lucas without being rude, and many months were
gone before she could at all forgive her daughter. Mr. Bennet's
emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion, and such as he
did experience he pronounced to be of a most agreeable sort; for it
gratified him, he said, to discover that Charlotte Lucas, whom he
had been used to think tolerably sensible, was as foolish as his
wife, and more foolish than his daughter! Jane confessed herself a
little surprised at the match; but she said less of her
astonishment than of her earnest desire for their happiness; nor
could Elizabeth persuade her to consider it as improbable. Kitty
and Lydia were far from envying Miss Lucas, for Mr. Collins was
only a clergyman; and it affected them in no other way than as a
piece of news to spread at Meryton. Lady Lucas could not be
insensible of triumph on being able to retort on Mrs. Bennet the
comfort of having a daughter well married; and she called at
Longbourn rather oftener than usual to say how happy she was,
though Mrs. Bennet's sour looks and ill-natured remarks might have
been enough to drive happiness away. Between Elizabeth and
Charlotte there was a restraint which kept them mutually silent on
the subject; and Elizabeth felt persuaded that no real confidence
could ever subsist between them again. Her disappointment in
Charlotte made her turn with fonder regard to her sister, of whose
rectitude and delicacy she was sure her opinion could never be
shaken, and for whose happiness she grew daily more anxious, as
Bingley had now been gone a week and nothing more was heard of his
return. Jane had sent Caroline an early answer to her letter, and
was counting the days till she might reasonably hope to hear again.
The promised letter of thanks from Mr. Collins arrived on Tuesday,
addressed to their father, and written with all the solemnity of
gratitude which a twelvemonth's abode in the family might have
prompted. After discharging his conscience on that head, he
proceeded to inform them, with many rapturous expressions, of his
happiness in having obtained the affection of their amiable
neighbour, Miss Lucas, and then explained that it was merely with
the view of enjoying her society that he had been so ready to close
with their kind wish of seeing him again at Longbourn, whither he
hoped to be able to return on Monday fortnight; for Lady Catherine,
he added, so heartily approved his marriage, that she wished it to
take place as soon as possible, which he trusted would be an
unanswerable argument with his amiable Charlotte to name an early
day for making him the happiest of men. Mr. Collins's return into
Hertfordshire was no longer a matter of pleasure to Mrs. Bennet. On
the contrary, she was as much disposed to complain of it as her
husband. It was very strange that he should come to Longbourn
instead of to Lucas Lodge; it was also very inconvenient and
exceedingly troublesome. She hated having visitors in the house
while her health was so indifferent, and lovers were of all people
the most disagreeable. Such were the gentle murmurs of Mrs. Bennet,
and they gave way only to the greater distress of Mr. Bingley's
continued absence. Neither Jane nor Elizabeth were comfortable on
this subject. Day after day passed away without bringing any other
tidings of him than the report which shortly prevailed in Meryton
of his coming no more to Netherfield the whole winter; a report
which highly incensed Mrs. Bennet, and which she never failed to
contradict as a most scandalous falsehood. Even Elizabeth began to
fear— not that Bingley was indifferent—but that his sisters would
be successful in keeping him away. Unwilling as she was to admit an
idea so destructive of Jane's happiness, and so dishonorable to the
stability of her lover, she could not prevent its frequently
occurring. The united efforts of his two unfeeling sisters and of
his overpowering friend, assisted by the attractions of Miss Darcy
and the amusements of London might be too much, she feared, for the
strength of his attachment.
As for Jane, her anxiety under this suspense was, of course, more
painful than Elizabeth's, but whatever she felt she was desirous of
concealing, and between herself and Elizabeth, therefore, the
subject was never alluded to. But as no such delicacy restrained
her mother, an hour seldom passed in which she did not talk of
Bingley, express her impatience for his arrival, or even require
Jane to confess that if he did not come back she would think
herself very ill used. It needed all Jane's steady mildness to bear
these attacks with tolerable tranquillity.
Mr. Collins returned most punctually on Monday fortnight, but his
reception at Longbourn was not quite so gracious as it had been on
his first introduction. He was too happy, however, to need much
attention; and luckily for the others, the business of love-making
relieved them from a great deal of his company. The chief of every
day was spent by him at Lucas Lodge, and he sometimes returned to
Longbourn only in time to make an apology for his absence before
the family went to bed. Mrs. Bennet was really in a most pitiable
state. The very mention of anything concerning the match threw her
into an agony of ill-humour, and wherever she went she was sure of
hearing it talked of. The sight of Miss Lucas was odious to her. As
her successor in that house, she regarded her with jealous
abhorrence. Whenever Charlotte came to see them, she concluded her
to be anticipating the hour of possession; and whenever she spoke
in a low voice to Mr. Collins, was convinced that they were talking
of the Longbourn estate, and resolving to turn herself and her
daughters out of the house, as soon as Mr. Bennet were dead. She
complained bitterly of all this to her husband.
"Indeed, Mr. Bennet," said she, "it
is very hard to think that Charlotte Lucas should ever be mistress
of this house, that I should be forced to make way for her, and live to see her take her place in
it!"
"My dear, do not give way to such gloomy thoughts. Let us hope for
better things. Let us flatter ourselves that I may be the
survivor." This is not very consoling to Mrs. Bennet, and
therefore, instead of making any answer, she went on as before. "I
cannot bear to think that they should have all this estate. If it
was not for the entail, I should not mind it." "What should not you
mind?" "I should not mind anything at all." "Let us be thankful
that you are preserved from a state of such insensibility."
"I never can be thankful, Mr.
Bennet, for anything about the entail. How anyone could have the
conscience to entail away an estate from one's own daughters, I
cannot understand; and all for the sake of Mr. Collins too! Why
should he have it more than anybody
else?"
"I leave it to yourself to determine," said Mr. Bennet.