Page 67 of A Most Beloved Sister
The room fell into a heavy, uneasy silence for a full hour that was only broken by the occasional muttering from Mrs. Bennet of “ungrateful child” and “unnatural daughter.”
At long last, just when Elizabeth thought she would lose her mind, through the window, she saw her father approach Netherfield on his horse. She left the parlor to meet him at the front door, all the while wondering where the Hursts had disappeared to and thanking the Lord that everyone at Netherfield was being spared the unfolding drama.
Mrs. Bennet followed closely on Elizabeth’s heels, just as eager to speak with her husband as Elizabeth. The two ladies arrived at the front entrance hall just as the door opened to reveal quite the commotion coming from outside.
“I am the rector of the honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and I demand to be allowed entrance immediately! You cannot keep me from my intended bride!”
Elizabeth flinched as the unmistakable tones of her father’s cousin came echoing into the house. Two large footmen in livery stood shoulder to shoulder, preventing the man’s entrance. She could see his black hat bobbing up and down between them; for all his height and bulk, Mr. Collins was no match for the muscular servants.
“Mr. Collins, desist this behaviorat once!”
Elizabeth closed her eyes in relief at hearing her father’s voice and gave a silent prayer of thanks for his arrival. Fortunately, Mr. Collins recognized the severity in Mr. Bennet’s voice and fell silent.
It was short-lived, however; no sooner had the footmen allowed the master of Longbourn to enter Netherfield than they once again resumed their places guarding the front door. The parson’s histrionics could be heard into the hallway even once the thick front door had been firmly closed.
“Now, my Lizzy, what’s all the fuss about, hmm?” Mr. Bennet asked with a chuckle as he removed his hat. “Have you frightened away one of your lovers?”
“One of her lovers? Oh, Mr. Bennet! How can you be so tiresome?” Mrs. Bennet’s earsplitting squawks caused Elizabeth to wince.
Mr. Bennet raised a hand and looked sternly at his wife. “My dear, I do not believe I was speaking to you. Unless you wish to forfeit your pin money next quarter day, I suggest you hold your tongue.”
His wife gaped at him in disbelief. “You wouldn’t dare—”
“Oh, I think you’d be surprised at what I’d dare to do when I have been summoned in such a state, madam,” he said coolly. “Now, might I recommend you wait for me in the delightful parlor?”
Mrs. Bennet never resembled a fish more than she did in that moment, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly with no sound coming out. She finally spun around and marched down the hall, her head held high, nose in the air.
Mr. Bennet then turned to his daughter with a wry grin. “You had better tell me quickly, Lizzy, before she decides I’m simply joking.”
The twinkle in his eyes slowly faded as she described the events of the morning. When she reached the point in her recitation where Mr. Collins had grabbed her arm forcefully, her father’s eyes narrowed.
“Show me,” he demanded.
Elizabeth held out her arm, which was already beginning to swell. The bruise was forming in the clear shape of a man’s hand, with the blue and purple colors vivid against her pale skin.
He growled low in the back of his throat. “I ought to call him out for this.”
She gasped and stepped back, one hand grasping at the simple cross she wore around her neck. “No, Papa! For what it’s worth, I don’t think he meant to hurt me. He does not seem to be cruel or vicious, simply—”
“Simply an idiot,” he replied.
She sighed heavily. “Yes, I’m afraid so. He just couldn’t believe I wouldn’t accept him. He thought I was being modest and embarrassed by his attentions.”
“He thought you had accepted him?”
“I’m afraid Mama told him that I would, and he therefore couldn’t accept any alternative. It was as if… Well, it’s as if he doesn’t quite possess the full measure of intelligence a normal man does. He’s not like Jane, but he’s also not as intelligent as even Sir William Lucas!”
Mr. Bennet grimaced at this mention of their friendly but somewhat simpleminded neighbor. “I can see your point, Lizzy. Very well, it shall not be pistols at dawn, then. I suppose I shall have to save the Mantons for another time.”
“Quite sensible, considering that he would take over the estate should he win. Then Mama would force me to marry him, and we would be back in the same position—only worse!”
The two shared a smile; then Mr. Bennet said, “Well, I suppose we shall have to go give the bad news to your mother.”
“Oh! Well, I had thought you would do that, seeing as you are the head of the household, after all. Besides, I really should be seeing to the dinner menus, as Louisa has yet to come downstairs, and—”
“Not so fast, Elizabeth Bennet! If you are going to subject me to your mother’s histrionics because of your choices, then you are going to suffer right along with me.”
Without giving her time to argue her case, Mr. Bennet marched his daughter down the hall and into the parlor, where Mrs. Bennet waited at the window, watching Mr. Collins alternate between pacing the front lawn and ranting at the footmen blocking his entry into the manor.
