Mr. Collins' Cousin by SheWalksWithRavens
A/N: The premise of this story comes from Lizzy's lines to Jane, when she states that perhaps Mr. Collins has a cousin and the repercussions that might arise from him having one. I hope you all enjoy it. So please review. Thank you.
Prologue
The sea journey from the New World was not an easy one by anyone's reckoning. Several months on a small wooden ship, with rough waters and little more to eat than stale bread and salt pork could drive anyone's insides to sickness. Luckily for Adrian Jennings, he was a man of sound constitution and bore the journey remarkably well. His hands firmly clasped to the rail, he looked outward as the English shore appeared before him, a thin strip of black against the blueish grey of the sky and Atlantic.
Mr. Jennings was the eldest son of the wealthy London merchant Lawrence Jennings and a gentleman's daughter by the name of Francis Bennet. Francis had unfortunately passed after giving birth to Adrian's younger sister Sarah. Sarah was roughly five and ten years his junior and barely knew her brother before he set off on an expedition for her father's company to meet with his trading partners in New York. Rumor reached them several months hence of Adrian's untimely death after a ship went down in the Atlantic.
They didn't know however that Adrian himself was doing quite well and was making a name of his own in New York under the name of Adrian Cudney. Mr. Cudney was known throughout the fledgling America as the man with the fastest ships and quickest wit when it came to the market. After he had established himself and garnered quite the reputation, it allowed him entrance into certain circles of society that were never before open to him.
Among these circles he happened perchance upon meeting the cousin of a Sir William Lucas, who spoke quite freely of his daughter's engagement to a Mr. Collins who was set to inherit an estate in Hertfordshire known as Longbourn when a Mr. Bennet passed on. Allegedly the entailment was set for the oldest living male heir to inherit the estate, so you could imagine the surprise that Adrian felt upon hearing this news. For it could not be mistaken that Mr. Bennet was indeed his late-mother's brother and that Mr. Collins was his cousin as well. If this was true, then he had claim to Longbourn and was not about to pass that up for Mr. Cudney had learned that opportunity was everything and should never be wasted.
He must have looked quite the charming sea rogue when he stepped out onto the English shore for the first time in nearly ten years. His hair was quite long and tied back with a bit of ribbon. However the wind off the ocean managed to dislodge quite a few of his sandy blonde strands. His clothes although fashionable, were mussed do to the harsh sea travel and he had acquired a bit of stubble on his strong jaw line. Yes, a charming rogue indeed. His green eyes surveyed the area before spotting a hackney near the docks.
"Excuse me sir, but could I acquire your services to transport me to Hertfordshire?" Mr. Cudney stated after clearing his throat.
"I mean no disrespect sir, but I'm only authorized to drive to the city limits. If it pleases you, I can take you to an Inn where you might rest, and secure you another chaise that might be able to take you as far as Hertfordshire." The driver said with a tip of his hat.
"That will do quite well thank you," Adrian said with a wink before signaling to his man to have his luggage loaded into the hackney, and pressing several coins into the driver's hand, "For your troubles."
The driver took a look at the silvery coins in his hand, and found himself quite fortunate. His wife would be mighty happy to know that he had such a generous gentleman in his carriage no doubt. Mr. Cudney played with the cane in his hand swirling it around back and forth.
"The only reason that the estate would be passing to myself, or Mr. Collins for that matter, would be ifmy Unclehad not produced a male heir. Therefore either his wife was barren and could not conceive a child, or he had only daughters." Mr. Cudney spoke to his servant Mr. Higgins on the ride to the inn.
"Yes, well if he has daughters you know that it will be expected of you to marry one of them." Higgins said with the quirk of his brow.
It was well known in the circles of New York society that Mr. Cudney, though he had frequent admirers was in no way a marrying man. He enjoyed his freedoms both in travel and in companionship too much to be tied down to one home and one woman.
"Perhaps, if one of them is pretty enough I shall take her as a wife...Do not get your hopes up Higgins." Mr. Cudney said with a smile.
"Yes sir." Higgins said suppressing his grin, as he turned his attentions to the London scenery passing them by.
"I think before we leave London, we should pay a visit to my father and my sister as well." Mr. Cudney replied after a few moments of silence.
"I will see that the arrangements are made as soon as we arrive sir." Higgins replied.
Cudney mused how his sister might look now, if she were pretty or homely, if she were married or with suitors. Sarah would be a stranger to him now, and as for his father? Well, he would have quite the shock of a lifetime to find that his eldest was alive and that was exactly what Cudney desired.
A/N: There we have it. If any of you were wondering as to the age of Adrian he was nineteen when he left for America, and he has been gone for about ten years making him roughly twenty nine. Next chapter we will meet the Jennings family, and take a peek into what is occurring at Longbourn. Please review and let me know what you think. And for those of you who read my other stories, I am quite aware that I am insane for having four at once. Thank you again.