Chapter Two

From birth, Elizabeth Bennet had always been possessed with a sunny disposition, but one June morning, when she awoke in her bedroom at Longbourn, she felt particularly gloomy. Mr. Collins, her father's cousin, was coming to stay and she suspected he was going to propose to her. The very thought appalled her. She didn't want to be married to anyone, least of all a man as silly as Mr. Collins. If her dear father had still been alive, he would never have countenanced such a plan. Unfortunately, it was now nine months since Mr. Bennet had passed away, so there was no one to protect her from Mr. Collins' advances. Her mother was very excited at the prospect of getting one of her daughters married.

Elizabeth threw back the covers and got out of bed, padding barefoot over to the window. The sun had not yet come up and a weak moon was casting an eerie light across the back garden.

Why, oh why could you not have been blessed with a son? thought Elizabeth. If Mrs. Bennet had borne a son instead of five daughters, the family would not be in the perilous financial position they now were. With no male heir among the Bennets, Longbourn was entailed to Mr. Collins and he was now free to lay claim to the house whenever he wanted. The only option for the sisters to save themselves from a life of penury was to get married immediately and support their mother.

"We will be thrown out on the streets with no one to care for us," Mrs. Bennet was fond of saying. "It's up to you girls to find yourselves a rich husband."

There was only one problem with that plan. Elizabeth did not want to get married. She never had.

"What do you mean you don't wish to get married, Lizzy? What are you talking about?" screeched Mrs. Bennet, almost falling out of her chair in horror when Elizabeth raised it. "Of course you want to get married. It is your duty. How can you talk such nonsense?" Mrs. Bennet's cheeks grew pink as she warmed to her subject. "Naturally you are not as beautiful as your sister, but your face is pleasant enough. Many men will want to marry you. You must marry and look after your sisters and me. It is very selfish to think only of yourself."

"But Mama, I don't want to get married," Elizabeth repeated patiently as she moved her needle in and out of her embroidery. "Jane will get married, Mary, Kitty and Lydia too, and that should be enough for you."

"I don't wish to be married," said Mary hastily as she looked up from the book she was reading, a worried expression on her face. "To give yourself to a man you do not know is a risk that a woman should ask herself whether it is worth taking."

"Well, I certainly want to," chimed in Lydia, who was busy attaching a new ribbon to her bonnet. "I certainly don't want to be an old maid."

"There is no disgrace in not answering the call of marriage," said Mary piously. "One's time could be put to much better use if one did not run a household."

"Oh, do be quiet, Mary. You talk as much nonsense as your sister, you silly girl," said Mrs. Bennet in an aggrieved tone.

Mary, who was quite accustomed to being insulted by Mrs. Bennet, merely smiled and buried herself in her book, a smug expression on her face.

"Mama, I am sorry I have upset you. It is not my intention," said Elizabeth, trying to soothe Mrs. Bennet's nerves, "but I would rather be an old maid and be a favourite aunt to all my future nieces and nephews than be married."

Mrs. Bennet shuddered. "You will not do it, Lizzy, I do not care what you want. You must find yourself a suitable husband to stop your sisters and I from starving. Jane we hope will soon be married to Mr. Bingley. Now it is time you did your part. Mr. Collins has shown a great deal of interest in you, and I am sure it will not be long before a proposal is forthcoming."

Elizabeth would gladly have dismissed her mother's thoughts, but on this occasion, she knew she was correct. When Mr. Collins had last stayed at Longbourn he had pursued her relentlessly, taking every opportunity to try and get her alone. Elizabeth had been adept at avoiding him and made sure that one or more of her sisters was always with her. But then tragedy had struck. Mr. Bennet, who had been caught in a rainstorm on his way back from Meryton one day, fell ill and all thoughts of Mr. Collins and his intentions were put on hold while Elizabeth and Jane spent their every waking hour trying to nurse him back to health. Sadly, Mr. Bennet never recovered from the chill that had taken hold and was laid to rest a month after he had first taken to his bed, succumbing to a particularly nasty bout of pneumonia.

Oh Father, why did you have to leave us?

Nine months had not dimmed the pain she felt at Mr. Bennet's parting. She missed him greatly.

Mr. Bennet had been a complex man and Elizabeth knew he had been neither a kind husband nor an ideal father. He had used his sharp wit to infuriate his wife and he had been neglectful of his three youngest daughters, believing them far too silly to be bothered with. But to herself and Jane he had been the best of fathers, sharing his passion for books, music and arts and ensuring they became knowledgeable young women who were welcomed into society wherever they went.

Mr. Bennet had never pressed his daughters about marriage, though he had been pleased about the fledgling relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley, a young man who had recently moved into the Netherfield Park estate and was reputed to be a man of some means. With Mr. Bennet gone, Mrs. Bennet was intent on marrying off her daughters as quickly as possible to ensure a comfortable future for herself. But Elizabeth was as stubborn as her father and she had no intention of being pushed into a marriage she did not want. She knew her mother was determined that she would marry Mr. Collins and she was equally determined she would not.

Elizabeth jumped as a noise broke her reverie. Before she had time to think what it was, Jane's head popped around the bedroom door. "Lizzy, may I come in? I thought you might be awake."

"Of course." A visit from Jane, particularly in the early morning when they could talk undisturbed, was always welcome.

Jane was soon in the room shutting the door quietly behind her. She joined Elizabeth by the window, pulling her shawl more closely around her as she shivered in the cool air.

"Jane, you must take more care of yourself," scolded Elizabeth gently, taking a shawl off her bed and wrapping it around Jane as she settled herself on the window seat. "You cannot afford to get a cold like Father."

Jane looked sombre. "You are right, Lizzy. Father could be a little careless with his health and that's not a path I should follow. How are you, Lizzy?"

Elizabeth fetched her own shawl and flung it around her shoulders before answering. "I was thinking about Mr. Collins coming to stay."

Jane pulled a slight face. "He can be a rather demanding visitor. Perhaps he will be a little easier this time."

"No, he won't be. Mr. Collins is a nincompoop and he will never change."

"Lizzy," admonished Jane gently as she played with the end of her long blonde plait. "I am certain that Mr. Collins feels Father's loss almost as much as we do. I am sure we will find on this occasion he will practice a little more restraint."

Elizabeth loved her sister, but there were times when she yearned to shake her. Jane always tried to see the best in everyone, even those who were quite undeserving of it. Mr. Collins was far too interested in himself to have had any real feelings for Mr. Bennet.

"You are too optimistic, Jane. Mr. Collins will be asking for my hand in marriage. I know it."

Jane looked troubled. "I do not think so ill of him as you do, Lizzy, but I am not sure he is the man for you."

Elizabeth laughed. "I am relieved to hear it. I would be disappointed if you did. Jane, if Mr. Collins proposes I have no intention of accepting."

"But what can you do? Mother will insist on there being a marriage. She is naturally worried about our future."

"And so am I, but as you know, I have no wish to wed."

Jane reached out and took her sister's hand. "Lizzy, I have never believed you," she said carefully. "You only say that because you are frightened of finding a suitable man."

Elizabeth stared at her sister in surprise. It was so unlike Jane to offer such a forthright opinion.

Perhaps it was time for her to be honest. "Jane, you may be correct, but we have seen how our father did not respect our mother. That is not what I want. I would rather not wed at all."

Jane nodded thoughtfully. "Not every marriage is like our parents', Lizzy, but even if it was, marriage and children are our destiny. You cannot fight it."

"I understand that, but should I marry a man I have no affection for simply because he asks me and it is advantageous to do so?"

"Oh Lizzy, I do not know. In the fullness of time, I hope that I may marry Mr. Bingley. He is a good man."

"That he is," agreed Elizabeth who was fond of the man who more than a year ago had come to live at the Netherfield Park estate and had made such a good impression in the local area. "It is a pity that he does not have four friends willing to marry the rest of us."

Jane laughed. "That would be advantageous indeed. Imagine what Mama would say. She would never recover."

"Well, we are saved Mama's hysterics as Mr. Bingley has no such friends."

"What about Mr. Darcy?" asked Jane, naming Mr. Bingley's best friend.

"Jane! Mr. Darcy. What a thought. He is one of the rudest people I have ever met."

"His manner is a little severe, but I think that is down to shyness. And you have to admit, Lizzy, he is very handsome."

"More handsome than Mr. Bingley?"

"No, of course not. No one is more handsome than Mr. Bingley," said Jane, looking dreamily out of the window.

Elizabeth inwardly smiled. She admired Jane's loyalty, but Mr. Darcy was a great deal more handsome than his more amiable friend. Nearly six feet tall, with a head of dark brown hair, he had a proud upright figure, compelling dark brown eyes, and a determined chin. It was a pity his manners did not match his looks. "Well, there will be no marriage between Mr. Darcy and myself, and nor will there be with Mr. Collins."

Jane Bennet stared at her sister suspiciously. "Lizzy, what are you up to?"

Elizabeth wondered for a moment whether to tell Jane the truth, but quickly decided against it. Jane would not approve. Elizabeth had been pondering on the matter for several weeks until one evening an idea had popped into her head and she had laughed when she realised she had the solution to rejecting a marriage proposal from her father's cousin. By the time she was finished with Mr. Collins, she would be very last woman on this earth he would want to marry.

"You will have to wait and see," was Elizabeth's maddening reply.