Chapter Three
Elizabeth must have fallen asleep. Despite her intentions of not surrendering into the arms of the devious Morpheus. The next thing she was aware of was the sound of the shed's door being opened. There was a small cry of horror let out by her ceremonious host, Mr. Collins himself.
"Elizabeth!"
Mr. Darcy must have woken up at the same instant she did. Because he hopped out of the bed and faced the man standing at the doorway.
"Mr. Collins."
"I'm in shock, Mr. Darcy. This is not, by far, the behavior I would expect from one of Lady Catherine's nephews." He scolded him in a very cold tone.
"Nothing happened here, Mr. Collins. But even if it had, there would be no harm done, since Miss Bennet has given me the honor of accepting my marriage offer." Mr. Darcy explained, in a very calm tone. "Is it not true, my dear Miss Bennet?"
Elizabeth squeezed against the wall, grasping the blanket hard to her chest. She dreaded the whole incident. She knew Mr. Darcy was saving her and her family from public disgrace. But even so, she wished she could turn back on time and prevent this awful situation to ever happen. How could such a marriage ever work? She was sure any feelings he might have held for her were long dead. Especially since the harsh words, she had used to reject him. And her motives to say 'no' remained unalterable.
And yet, here she was forced to say yes, to escape the ignominy of the opprobrium.
"Yes, Mr. Darcy. It is true." And with those words, she sealed their fate.
Mr. Collins snorted with disbelief.
"That sounds very dubious."
"I assure you, Mr. Collins there is nothing dubious with my intentions towards Miss Bennet. I would marry her right this instant if I could." Mr. Darcy said, probably with more enthusiasm than he should have. Because dear Mr. Collins took his word for it.
"Right this instant it is impossible, but I'll send a letter to the archbishop requiring a special license. I shall marry you on Saturday, three days from now."
"No." the shout from Elizabeth was impossible to hold back. She did not want to marry in such a hurry.
Mr. Collins looked at her with a triumphal look on his face but she quickly erased it.
"What I mean, Mr. Collins is that there is no need to rush things. I want a proper marriage, with all my family present, as well as Mr. Darcy's, of course."
"You are trying to fool me and I will not accept it." The man persisted. "You are a guest at my house and thus I am responsible for your welfare. I must insist in an immediate marriage. Otherwise, I shall have to explain the whole situation to your father and to Mr. Darcy's noble aunt."
It was a vile threat and both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were aware of it. They did not have many alternatives than to accept the man's plan.
"I assure you, Mr. Collins, no one tries to fool you. If it makes you feel better, then by all means, we shall marry on Saturday." Mr. Darcy convened.
"Perfect. I will give you a few minutes to get dressed, Elizabeth. As for you, I believe it would be a good idea if you would leave at once. No one other than the three of us needs to know about this night." The man suggested.
"Yes, of course, you are right." He turned to look at Elizabeth. "I will visit you, Miss Bennet, as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Mr. Darcy, I would appreciate that." She said, nodding.
They left the shed, closing the door behind them. Elizabeth hopped out of the bed, quickly putting on her still damp dress.
She should have known something like this would happen. It was just her luck to have Mr. Collins bursting in on them the way he did.
Surely Mr. Darcy was cursing the day he met her. She was sure she had killed all his desires of marrying her the other night. On her side, things remained exactly the same. She had no desires of marrying a man that thought so little of her and her family.
Making it a necessary marriage would only aggravate things for both of them. It was not something she was looking forward.
When Elizabeth came out of the shed, after putting some order to it, Mr. Darcy was nowhere to be seen. Mr. Collins, on the other hand, was leaning against the shed's wall, waiting for her.
"I must say, Elizabeth, I did not expect such a reckless behavior from you." He said as soon as he saw her come out of the shed.
"I am sure you were aware of last night's storm as much as I was, Mr. Collins. That shed was the only shelter I found and also the only shelter Mr. Darcy found. Our health, not to say our lives, were in danger. As two sensible, adult people, we decided to share the shed and wait for the storm to go away." She explained, even though she was sure he would not believe a word she was saying. Especially because he had already decided what had happened and no one would change his mind.
"I believe the small risk to your health was worth taking in comparison." His tone was pompous and arrogant and she hated him for it.
"How are we supposed to explain the urgency of this marriage, Mr. Collins?"
"Well, there is no real reason for you two to wait since Mr. Darcy has the means to provide you with all you might need." He said, in a tone that did not allow any arguing.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they were almost arriving at the house, he turned to look at her.
"I shall send a note to Mr. Darcy inviting him for tea this afternoon. Then encouraging him to inform Mrs. Collins and Lady Catherine of his engagement to you. After that, you will be able to start all the preparations you might consider necessary."
"I would have more time for those if you gave us at least another week."
"I thought I had been clear enough." There was a deep frown on his forehead.
"Yes, Mr. Collins, you were."
"Then, do not try to make me change my mind. It will not happen."
"Of course, not."
Mrs. Collins received them with breakfast ready. After changing into a dry dress, Elizabeth joined them at the table.
"I'm sure you were very scared all alone in that cave, Elizabeth." Mrs. Collins said, with pity oozing out of her words.
"Yes, for a few moments, but the lightning was much scarier," Elizabeth answered. Realizing Mr. Collins must have given her another version of the events.
"I'm glad you are all right and nothing wrong happened. Mr. Collins was very worried and so was I, of course." She assured Elizabeth.
"I know, my dear Charlotte. I wanted to come back, but I have to admit that scared me more than staying alone in the cave."
Mr. Collins cleared his throat, interrupting them.
"My dear Charlotte, I have just invited Mr. Darcy and his cousin over for tea. Will you please be kind enough to see to it?" Mr. Collins asked, changing the topic.
"Of course, it will be my pleasure."
The rest of the day went by with no memorable events if you discard the state of nerves Elizabeth had been in. As well as the amount of paper she had wasted trying to write to her father announcing the news. She did not want to see the dread in Mr. Darcy's face when he was forced to announce their marriage.
She had spent the whole day looking in vain for a way out of the situation. Other than having lightning strike Mr. Collins, and they were not that lucky, there was no way out. She would have to marry Mr. Darcy. Living with the knowledge that her husband would have preferred to marry anyone else.
Fate had worked against them.
By tea time, both Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived riding their horses. Everything was set in the drawing room and Mr. and Mrs. Collins received their guests at the door. Unaware of the reigning tension, Mrs. Collins guided them to the drawing room, inviting them to take a seat.
They enjoyed the delicious cucumber sandwiches. As well as the magnificent pastries and a hot, strong black tea. Mr. Darcy cleared his throat and looked at Mrs. Collins.
"My presence here in your house ma'am, obeys a concrete purpose." He started with a very formal tone, suitable for the occasion. "A few nights ago, I had the pleasure of offering marriage to your dear friend here. She gave me the honor of accepting me."
Charlotte let out a small cry of surprise and turned to look at her friend in disbelief.
"You did not mention a word." She protested, a little sad.
"My dear friend. Mr. Darcy asked me to allow him to make the announcement himself. And I just could not say no." Elizabeth tried to explain, hating to lie in such a way to her friend.
"Of course, I understand. This makes me very happy for you." She took Elizabeth's hand in hers and squeezed them slightly.
"Your good husband agreed to marry us this Saturday since we don't see any reason to wait any longer." Mr. Darcy continued, surprising Mrs. Collins once more.
"So, fast? I'm sure you could wait a few weeks to organize the wedding properly." She protested.
"Mr. Darcy needs to visit one of his properties up in Yorkshire and he would like to take Elizabeth with him. He cannot wait any longer and I understand his urgency." Mr. Collins explained, surprising Elizabeth. She never expected such imagination from a man such as him.
"I'm sure Miss Bennet's family will understand my eagerness. We shall throw a party as soon as we get back, to which you are invited, of course." Mr. Darcy added.
"I assume you've notified your beloved aunt." Mr. Collins asked Mr. Darcy.
"Yes, of course. She is very happy for me and wished us both all the happiness in the world." Mr. Darcy replied and Elizabeth was certain she detected some sarcasm in his words.
After all, Lady Catherine had hoped he would marry her own daughter.
"Have you notified your parents, Elizabeth, darling?" Mrs. Collins asked.
"Yes, I sent them a letter this morning. I'm hoping they find enough time to travel here for the wedding but I'm aware it will be very difficult."
"Of course, Well, you can count with my help, you know that."
"Yes, dear Charlotte, I know." She patted her friend's hand.
"Well, I'm happy to see that this is all settled." Mr. Collins said, getting up and ending the reunion.
The rest of the group imitated him and soon Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam were saying goodbye.
"Of all the men of the realm, there goes the last one I thought I would see married to you." Said Charlotte, turning to look at her friend.
"I know, but you have to admit I could have done much worse. Mr. Darcy will provide me with the life I have always wanted. And I have heard he has a fantastic library. What else could I ask for?" Elizabeth replied, seeking to convince her friend of her complacency with that marriage.
"Have you decided what to wear for the wedding?"
"I have a white dress that will do perfectly fine." She had not thought of that detail until her friend had asked, but that was not something that worried her.
Running her fingers through her light brown curls, she decided. Nothing really mattered in a marriage where both contractors hated each other.
It was not going to be an easy life, she was sure of that.
The following days were filled with preparations and visits.
The night after their wedding announcement. Lady Catherine had insisted on inviting Elizabeth and the Collins for dinner.
Although the old lady showed politeness and cordiality. Elizabeth could tell she was not happy with her nephew's decision.
Dinner was a bit tense and Elizabeth had been more than happy to return to the Collins' house. Answering Lady Catherine's questions about their engagement had been extremely exhausting. It had required all her attention and skills to give her the right answers. So, she would not expose the fraud they were committing.
On Friday morning, Elizabeth received a letter from her father. Though she had expected something similar. She could not help feeling hurt for her father's absence. She had known her mother would never forgive her for such a marriage. But she had hoped her father would defend her and be there to take her to the altar.
According to him, her mother had taken the news very badly. She considers it treason on Elizabeth's part. For marrying with such haste and for notifying them on such short notice.
Mrs. Bennet wished her all the happiness in the world, but she politely asked her daughter not to visit too soon. It would require time for the wound Elizabeth had caused to heal.
Her father added his apologies for not being there. Ending the letter with words of support and good wishes.
