Lost Chapter 10

After a long pause Georgiana asked "What are you going to do now William?"

"I am of a mind to get married. This whole thing…" here Mr. Darcy waved his right hand in a vague circle encompassing his recent marital misadventure "has made me realize that it is time I married and set up my nursery. I will not do anything this season so as to let the notoriety of my last wedding die down; but next year I will attend the season and find myself a bride." Before Col. Fitzwilliam could say anything, Mr. Darcy added "And I will not scowl at anyone, or hide away, or treat anyone with distain. I will take up a voucher to Almack's and dance every dance. I will be as amiable and charming as Bingley …" Here Col. Fitzwilliam snorted and Georgiana giggled. "But I will cast my net wide; I am not going to restrict myself to debutantes. I will consider any young lady whom …"

"Is like Miss Elizabeth" said Col. Fitzwilliam.

"Well, not exactly." Mr. Darcy thought for a moment and then said: "My ideal bride would be eight parts out of ten like Miss Elizabeth; but the other two parts would be like Mrs. Collins."

"Really?" said Col. Fitzwilliam.

"Who?" asked Georgiana.

Col. Fitzwilliam answered her. "Mrs. Collins is a plain elderly spinster who married Aunt Catherine's fool of a rector which should tell you all you need to know about her."

Georgiana gave her brother a puzzled look.

Mr. Darcy said "Mrs. Collins is a friend of Miss Elizabeth's from Meryton. She is plain and she was a spinster. I believe she is only seven and twenty which she makes her younger than me and much younger" he gestured at Col. Fitzwilliam "than this ancient and decrepit soldier."

"Women age faster than men" said Col. Fitzwilliam. Georgiana glared at him while Mr. Darcy ignored him.

"Longbourn, Mr. Bennet's estate, is entailed. Mr. Collins is the heir presumptive, and since the youngest Bennet child is ten and five, it is likely that he will inherit. So, you see that Mrs. Collins, in marrying a fool, which Mr. Collins most assuredly is, has put herself in a position to become the mistress of an estate. In doing so, she has exhibited a forward-looking practicality that I quite admire. During our visit to Rosings at Easter Fitzwilliam and I spent a lot of time in company with Mrs. Collins at both Rosings, and the rectory, and if he had not spent all his time flirting with Miss Elizabeth and Mrs. Collins' sister, he would have noticed that she was a very fine mistress of the rectory and that she and Mr. Collins rubbed together very well indeed. That says to me that she is someone that makes the best of any situation in which she finds herself; I would guess that she has never whined or bemoaned her fate. Knowing now how much Miss Elizabeth dislikes me I have to wonder, if our marriage had gone ahead, whether she would have tried to make a go of it, or whether she would have made my life a living hell. I am inclined to think the latter. And one last thing about Mrs. Collins – Mr. Belton, the steward at Rosings, sends me a report every month and he has indicated that Mrs. Collins, who has only been installed at Hunsford for about four months, is the person parishioners seek out when they have a problem, and notwithstanding our aunt's habitual intransigence, and her husband's foolishness, more often than not, she finds a satisfactory solution. Reading between the lines I would say that Mrs. Collins has impressed Mr. Belton to such an extent that if Mr. Collins were to choke to death on a potato, which is a possibility the way he eats, Mr. Belton would be proposing to her at the first proper moment. That says something to me about her intelligence, her strength, and her subtle use of power. I find much to admire about Mrs. Collins."

"But if Miss Elizabeth were to knock on our door today and said she would marry you; would you marry her?" asked Georgiana.

"That would never happen, we have already talked about why she dislikes, if not hates, me" said Mr. Darcy.

"But what if Mr. Bingley and Miss Bennet get together, and if Miss Elizabeth finds out the truth about Mr. Wickham, and if you groveled before her with an abject apology for insulting her, if all that happened, if she then said she would marry you, what would you do?" asked Georgiana.

Col. Fitzwilliam laughed. "If you could arrange for that apology to take place on stage, we would sell out the theatre and make our fortune."

Again Mr. Darcy ignored his cousin. "That is a lot of 'ifs' Georgie. Too many to even consider. I think I will start afresh with another young lady."

"Don't give up on Miss Elizabeth so fast Darcy, there may not be as many other candidates as you might think" said Col. Fitzwilliam.

"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Darcy.

"Tell him, Georgie" said Col. Fitzwilliam.

Georgiana started: "As part of my education about the real-world Aunt Martha has gone through the gossip columns with me. When news of the compromise first happened there was speculation about the Miss B from Hertfordshire who had trapped you but it didn't last long. As Aunt Martha said, it was an age-old story: a bachelor is caught in a closed room with a chit, lured there by his lust and her arts and allurements, and after the initial report the ton soon lost interest. You were of interest to the ton because you were an unmarried, rich gentleman. But when Miss B jilted you that made a big splash. Why had a penniless country chit jilted Mr. D of Derbyshire and his £10,000 a year? What was wrong with Mr. D? Oh, William, they've said such horrid things about you. That you're bankrupt, you're violent, you're a drunkard, you're already secretly married, you're …"

"Poxed" interjected Col. Fitzwilliam.

While Mr. Darcy glared at his cousin, some things could not be ignored, Georgiana continued. "Aunt Martha says no decent lady will consider you until the ton has been given a reasonable explanation."

"Although indecent ones still will" said Col. Fitzwilliam.

"Stifle yourself, Fitzwilliam" growled Mr. Darcy.

"Oh, what are you going to do, William? What will you tell the ton?" asked Georgiana.

Mr. Darcy shrugged. "As I said, I will not be going to Town until next year, by then the ton will have another scandal to chew on. And in any event, I do not owe the ton any explanation and I will not give one. Now I believe we have discussed my marital situation quite enough for the time being, let us adjourn any further discussion regarding it until next year."

Col. Fitzwilliam held up his hand. "Hold on, you might be interested to know that my mother found out who called compromise on you and Miss Elizabeth."

"Who did it?" asked Mr. Darcy.