Hello again! Thank you so much for the amazing response to chapter 1. I can hardly believe that so many people have followed and favourited this story already. I'm also so grateful to anyone who pointed out the spelling/grammar/historical accuracy errors I made in a review or pm, I think they are all fixed now :).
To reviewers who mentioned that they found my paragraphs too long, I have broken up several of the long paragraphs in chapter 1 so hopefully it is easier to read than it was before. Something I struggle with is that where there are chunks of dialogue I always feel like it is necessary to keep them in one paragraph, I don't know what anyone else's view on this is but feel free to comment suggestions. I have split this chapter into shorter paragraphs than it was in my draft, but there is quite a bit of dialogue so some are still some pretty long ones - sorry.
Once again, thank you so much for reading and please continue to point out any mistakes I make in the reviews. Enjoy!


Her distress of the previous day caused Elizabeth to sleep later than was her usual wont and by the time she woke the rest of the household were already up and about. Hearing her stir, Mrs Collins knocked gently on the door of her room and - upon hearing a sleepy voice reply enter - slipped inside. Although she tried not to show it, having her normally healthy friend in such obvious distress had worried her exceedingly. She would much rather have stayed at home to comfort her and if it had not been for her husband's insistence that their noble patroness could not possibly do without her for a whole evening then she would have done, but as it was Lady Catherine must always come first.

It was the lot that Charlotte had chosen in life and though she may miss some of her old freedoms at times she could not find it within herself to regret her marriage. After all, she was the mistress of her own house, a help to those around her rather than a burden, and most importantly the children she would one day teach to sew and dance would be her own. Though not an overly intelligent or considerate man, her husband relied on her, was kind to her and even respected her wishes more often than not (not being the instances in which his noble patroness was concerned). No, Charlotte Collins did not regret her marriage at all.

Charlotte could see that Jane's misfortune had been weighing heavily on her dear friend and sensed that she was troubled by more than a headache. She wished that Elizabeth would share her thoughts with her as she had done in the past, but knew that it was unlikely that they could ever return to the way things had been before her marriage. Lizzy's fierce independence and dislike of Mr Collins would make her likely to hold back, feeling that Charlotte's vows to honour and obey him meant she was no longer a trustworthy confidant. Of course, Charlotte had easily taken her husband in hand soon after their marriage and thought herself well able to keep her private affairs from him, but Elizabeth had yet to accept this.

'Are you feeling much recovered this morning?' She inquired softly.

'Yes, much better thank you.' Lizzy smiled as she brushed her hair out of its nighttime braid and carefully arranged it. She had already donned her usual walking dress and boots, which reassured her friend. 'Did you need something?'

For a second Charlotte considered leaving her friend in peace, but their time together was dwindling and this was something she felt must be discussed, so she overcame her apprehension and spoke.

'Mr Darcy called yesterday evening to inquire after you, Eliza.'

'I know,' Lizzy admitted, 'or at least I was aware that he had called, for I observed him from the window but could not comprehend what on earth his purpose could be. What could that hateful man want inquiring after me when he has made his dislike for me so obvious? I can only think that even he finds the company at Rosings insufferable and so sought the only means of escape he could find.' She sighed in frustration, hands balled into fists on the dresser in front of her.

In the mirror behind her, Charlotte smiled wistfully, not for the first time missing the life she had left behind in Meryton. She had almost forgotten the extent of Elizabeth's stubborn nature. Almost, but not quite.

'I doubt very much that escape was his motive Eliza, for he did not say that he was leaving to inquire after you at all but mentioned some estate business.'

'Then perhaps it brought him close to the parsonage for other reasons and he thought it would be rude not to call while he was close by. Maybe he even sought to punish me for daring to forgo dinner at Rosings by imposing his company upon me. You can never tell with these men of great personage!' She widened her eyes and arched her eyebrows for effect.

'Do be sensible Eliza,' Charlotte shook her head at her friend's nonsensical answer, 'Mr Darcy came here solely for the purpose of inquiring after you and you cannot escape that. I will have no more of your ridiculous protests that he looks at you to criticise. You know just as well as I do that a man does not gaze at a woman in order to find fault, certainly not as intensely as Mr Darcy looks at you!'

Charlotte was continually amazed that her friend seemed so genuinely perplexed by Mr Darcy's attention. For all her intelligence Elizabeth had very little self-awareness in matters of the heart, for here she had both Mr Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam falling at her feet and yet she was entirely oblivious. Tired of her friend's theories, Elizabeth tried a different method of rebuttal.

'Dear Charlotte, you are a good friend to be always looking out for me so. But I cannot believe that Mr Darcy has any interest in me, his pride surely would not allow it. Still, I suppose I should thank you, for you are quite as intent as my mother is in trying to marry me off. And to a man of ten thousand a year no less; even Mama has not reached that high for me! I think you grossly overestimate my prospects. After all, we know he early withstood my beauty and I have very little else to recommend me. Now, I have been indoors for too long and I wish for some fresh air. I believe I shall go for a walk.'

Charlotte almost laughed at her friend's self-evaluation. If Elizabeth thought her only attraction to a gentleman of intelligence was beauty then she was grossly mistaken.

'What an excellent idea.' Charlotte replied promptly. 'It is wonderful weather; I believe I shall join you.' She flashed a smile at her friend, knowing that this was not what had been in Elizabeth's mind at all. This conversation was far from over.

'Oh, very well,' Elizabeth sighed, 'At least we shall be outside where we have only the birds in the trees to overhear us. Walls have ears after all.' Charlotte merely ignored her friend's ramblings, ushering her out of the door and down the staircase towards the sunshine outside. As they passed the linen storage closet she thought she heard a scuffling sound but dismissed it. She could ask the maid to check it later - perhaps they had rats.

Mrs Collins needn't have worried, or at least not for the reason that she did, for there were no rats. However, she was perhaps wrong to have dismissed Elizabeth's ramblings so easily for just a few minutes earlier, while walking along the landing of his humble abode and considering what an excellent parson, husband and man of the community he was as he often did in his spare time, Mr Collins had happened to notice his wife entering the room of his headstrong cousin. Thinking that he ought to wait for the two to emerge so that he could advise his cousin how selfish she had been to deprive Lady Catherine and her party of her company by taking ill, he positioned himself just outside. A man of the cloth would never reduce himself to listening behind doors, but it just so happened that from his place he could hear their conversation clearly. As his wife and cousin, he had a right to know their business anyway, so he did not see fit to inconvenience himself by moving out of earshot.

He was not surprised to overhear that Mr Darcy had called at the parsonage the previous evening - such gracious manners were only to be expected from a gentleman of such noble breeding and countenance. What did surprise him was his wilful cousin's rude response. How dare she speak of his noble patroness and her illustrious nephew so? This was yet another behaviour he would have to correct in her! What a relief that he had escaped the burden of marriage to her, for she would surely have given insult and offence to all he valued whereas his dear Charlotte - despite her inferior looks - had brought peace, obedience and harmony.

Following this, he almost fell over in shock when his wife announced that Mr Darcy admired his foolish cousin. It could not be. What could such a fine man want with such an uncouth lady? His Charlotte did have a point though; Mr Darcy did look at Cousin Eliza a great deal and men certainly did not tend to gaze at ladies in order to criticise.

So wrapped up in these thoughts was he that he almost missed the end of their conversation and panicked when he heard footsteps approaching the door. After all that he had heard he could not remain and scold his cousin as he had planned; this new intelligence would require thinking on. Looking around desperately for a means of escape, he dove into a small side room which was mostly used to store the linen and pulled the door closed. His wife and cousin walked past, none the wiser to his presence, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Luckily much of the spare linen was currently in use or being laundered due to the presence of his cousin and sister in law else he probably would not have been able to fit.

Mr Collins let his body sag back against the shelves, wondering what the best course of action in regards to what he had overheard would be. At that moment the maid opened the door and almost screamed at the sight of her master inside, interrupting his musings.

'I am examining the amount of storage room that we have available.' Mr Collins told her decisively, thinking up an excuse quickly. 'Lady Catherine is very particular about these things you know.'

'Yes, of course, sir. I am so sorry to have disturbed you.' The frightened young maid replied, feeling certain as she scurried away from her master that he had suffered some sort of mental breakdown. Being rather alarmed by this strange behaviour she immediately related the event to the older housekeeper. The other woman only nodded in resignation and told her that it was nothing out of the ordinary, having come to expect this kind of eccentric behaviour from her master when it came to the demands of his noble patroness.

Meanwhile, now ensconced in the safety of his private study, Mr Collins sat back to contemplate this conundrum. Loyalty to his patroness dictated that he must inform her of this threat to her plans for her daughter's marriage. In order to cultivate favour, it was important to ensure that complete openness existed on his part. Furthermore, such a report which she was unlikely to hear of from any other quarter could only remind the great lady what a valuable asset he was to her.

However, he also very much doubted that this would be in his best interests while his cousin still resided with him as he could be blamed for being the means by which the two came together. If he waited some time before actually informing Lady Catherine then he would be able to pass it off as a rumour he had heard in some correspondence, making him entirely faultless and still allowing him to prove his worth to her as long as she had not heard the report from another source first.

Better still, if he waited for some time before making the report then an engagement might actually occur. Just thinking of all the influence that cousin Elizabeth could wield as Mrs Darcy, an influence that by relation must also pass to him, gave him a thrill of excitement. For all his loyalty to his patroness, he did not delude himself that she actually held any sway over her nephew and he was relatively sure that if she attempted to end any affection the gentleman felt for Cousin Elizabeth then it would only strengthen. Yes, it would be far better to wait for the correct opportunity to pass along this piece of news. If he played his cards right then he could satisfy his duty to Lady Catherine and curry her favour as well as potentially gaining Mr Darcy as a cousin.


Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than the first, the next one will be more than double the number of words but I think that dividing them at this point rather than making two chapter of equal length makes the most sense in terms of plot. I'm trying to be strict with myself and only upload a chapter once a week so I have plenty of time for editing the rest, so they should always go up on Saturdays or Sundays. In chapter 3 we will be back to Darcy and he's in for a shock...

©Isabelle Lowe, 2018