Reversed Fortune Chapter 7 - Getting acquainted, a pride and prejudice fanfic

I hope you enjoy getting acquainted with Mr Collins.

~~CC~~

Getting acquainted

Elizabeth was up early as usual the following morning and was surprised to find their cousin in the dining room, enjoying a cup of coffee.

'Good morning, Cousin Elizabeth. I hope I did not disturb you by rising early?' Collins greeted her cheerfully.

'Not at all. I always rise early. This allows me to go for a walk before the family rises,' Elizabeth replied with a smile.

Against all expectations, she had enjoyed the previous evening. Mr Collins had proven to be an excellent conversationalist and had defended her against her mother's strictures on ladylike behaviour. As if mother knew how a lady acted, Elizabeth thought mulishly.

Mr Collins had not been in the slightest put off by her education and her refusal to hide her intelligence. It had been quite delightful that he listened respectfully to her opinions. Although at times they had disagreed, and debated quite heatedly, he had never dismissed her ideas out of hand.

Collins responded to the smile and requested, 'if you are planning to go for a walk, perhaps you would allow me to accompany you? I would appreciate it if you could show me something of this area.'

'I would be delighted,' agreed Lizzy and meant it.

~~RF~~

As soon as Elizabeth finished a cup of tea and pocketed two muffins, they set off.

'I hope a brisk pace is agreeable to you. I would like to get to Oakham Mount before the sun rises,' Lizzy asked.

'I am used to walking and, if you forgive my saying so, I have longer legs. I should be able to keep up,' Collins replied with a smile. He was pleased that his cousin was not like some gentlewomen who only liked to stroll.

'What is so special about Oakham Mount?' he asked as they walked.

'It is the highest point in this area, and you will be able to see all of Longbourn from the top.'

'That is an excellent idea. I will be able to get an overview of the estate… literally.'

Elizabeth grinned at him as she answered, 'precisely.'

Considering the pace Lizzy was setting, they saved their breath for walking, but their silence was a companionable one as they strode along. About twenty minutes later, just as the sun was cresting the horizon, they reached their destination. Despite the cool temperature, both were quite warm as they sat on a convenient rock at the top of the mount, from where they could see all the surrounding area spread out before them.

They watched in silence as the countryside changed from misty grey to a landscape bathed in golden sunlight.

Once they could see properly, Elizabeth pointed out the extent of Longbourn and the various tenant farms.

'Longbourn is bigger than I expected,' commented Collins quietly.

'It is the second largest estate in this area. Only Netherfield is larger.' Elizabeth turned to indicate the neighbouring estate.

'No wonder, my father lusted after Longbourn,' mused Collins.

'Do you know why there was a rift between our families? My father would never say.'

'Neither did mine, although I suspect that he had hoped to inherit instead of your father.' Collins looked embarrassed as he admitted, 'I must confess that I am pleased that your father is still hale and hearty. I am afraid that my father's plans for your family were most uncharitable.'

'So, my mother had good reason to be afraid of being thrown into the hedgerows?'

'I am afraid so,' Collins sighed. 'I must reassure Mrs Bennet that I have no intention of removing her from her home if something happens to your father.'

'Is that the olive branch of which you spoke in your letter?'

'Not exactly.' The tips of Collins' ears turned pink, but this was an opening too good to miss. 'I thought that perhaps amongst Mr Bennet's daughters one would be compatible with me and if we were to wed…'

He trailed off.

'You thought to marry one of us to keep the estate in the family?'

'Yes, but only if it is agreeable to the lady,' he hurried to say. 'And continued residence for any ladies still living at Longbourn is not contingent on my marrying one of you,' Collins carefully pointed out.

'How were you planning to choose? I have to warn you that Jane is rather smitten with Mr Bingley, and it appears to be mutual,' Elizabeth thought to warn her cousin.

Collins smiled, pleased to see the protectiveness in Elizabeth's demeanour. 'Even if Cousin Jane were not enamoured with Mr Bingley, she would not be my choice. I was hoping to find someone more… opinionated than her.'

'But Jane has opinions, she is simply more subtle about expressing them,' Elizabeth cried, defending her sister against what she perceived as a slight. 'And every man is always taken by her beauty and goodness.'

'Peace, Cousin Elizabeth. I mean no offense to your sister. I am simply not interested in her. I favour someone with a more lively personality.' Collins smiled at Elizabeth. The more they spoke the better he liked her.

Elizabeth accepted his assurance and considered her sisters as potential brides for her cousin. 'Lydia has a lively personality, but she is hardly more than a child, no matter what my mother thinks. Kitty too is still too young. Since Mary has a passion for scripture, she would make an excellent wife for a parson,' she mused aloud.

'What about yourself? Is there a beau in your life?'

'With Jane as my sister? Hardly anyone gives me a second look.'

'In that case, most men must be blind. I noticed you immediately.'

'You are interested in me? Did either of my parents put you up to this?'

'Yes and no,' Collins answered nervously. When Elizabeth looked confused, he explained, 'yes I am interested in getting to know you better, and no, your parents have nothing to do with this.'

'Oh…'

'Miss Elizabeth, please do not feel that you need to give me an answer right away or think that I wish to pressure you. After all, we only met yesterday, but at first acquaintance, of all the Bennet ladies, you alone appeal to me. I am hoping to get to know you and for you to get to know me. If it turns out that we are compatible, that would be wonderful. If it turns out that we are not, then we both need to keep looking.'

'If my mother finds out that you are interested in me, she will insist that I must accept you,' Lizzy pointed out. She had noticed the change in address which had gone from Cousin to Miss, indicating that he was thinking of her in less familial terms.

'I will never allow her to force you into doing something you do not wish for yourself, and I hope that you will feel that you can be honest with me,' Collins declared firmly.

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she looked at her cousin, thinking that she was pleased that the relationship was a distant one. He was very handsome and appeared completely sincere as well as concerned about her feelings.

'I have no issue with getting to know you, Mr Collins, although I cannot say what will happen.'

Collins too noticed the change in address. 'That is all I ask for… although… would it be presumptuous of me to request we forgo the formalities in address? Since in the circumstances we both appear reluctant to call each other cousin, would you be agreeable to calling me William?'

Elizabeth was relieved that this man seemed to immediately understand her. As a consequence, she was pleased to suggest, 'I would be pleased to do so, if you call me Elizabeth or Lizzy, like my family do.'

She was rewarded by a smile which made her catch her breath. William was even more handsome when he smiled.

~~RF~~

On their return to Longbourn, which they took at a much slower pace, Elizabeth asked Collins about his childhood.

'I suppose that like most childhoods, parts of it were very good and others not so much. As you have probably gathered, my father was not the easiest man to please, although in his younger years he must have had some good points, since my mother agreed to marry him.'

Collins shrugged. 'Perhaps that was before the quarrel when my father still thought he was to be the heir to Longbourn. Mayhap my mother married him because she thought she would be mistress of a good estate. My grandparents had a farm which supported their family quite well, but there was not much to spare. As an heir to an estate, she would have seen him as a good match.'

'I must have been about five years old when your father inherited. Although I do not remember any details, the uproar at the time stuck in my mind. After that, my father fell into black moods and my mother protected me as much as she could.'

His pensiveness gave way to a fond smile. 'I also had another protector, Mr Hemmings, who was our local parson. He was a wonderful man, who taught me to read and write. I think he took a liking to me, because he educated me in all the subjects I would require later on at school. At the time I had no idea of what he was doing, but I appreciated that I had a place where I was safe from my father.'

'Was your father truly that bad?' asked a shocked Elizabeth.

'He was illiterate, miserly, and he drank away all the money he earned. When he was in his cups, he became abusive. Anything my mother or I ever received, other than blows, was from her parents, or later on from her brother, who inherited the farm at my grandparents' passing. My father worked as a labourer, and he took it hard that he had to perform manual labour when he had expected to be the master of an estate.'

'Did you have any siblings?'

'No. After I was born, my mother was never able to have any more children.' Again, he shrugged. 'I suppose it was a blessing since my father could not have supported us.'

'Is your mother still alive?'

'No, she passed about fourteen years ago when I was but twelve, which was only a few months after the death of her parents. After that, I spent most of my time at the parsonage. Ostensibly I was working there. But Mr Hemmings had me divide my time between working in his garden and learning all that he was teaching me.'

Collins shook his head as he fondly remembered the gentle old man. 'Mr Hemmings lost his family years earlier, and I suppose that he saw me as a substitute. He was the one who sponsored me to my studies at Oxford.'

'I agree, he does sound like a wonderful person. You were lucky to have such a marvellous friend and sponsor.' Elizabeth felt moisture gathering in her eyes as she considered the circumstances of her cousin's life. 'I think that I would love to meet him.'

Collins smiled at her. 'Perhaps you shall. He is getting older but still quite spry.'

'What happened to your father? You said in your letter that he had passed away…' she left the question hanging.

Her cousin looked a little shamefaced as he related, 'about five years ago, when your father had that accident when he broke his leg, my father was expecting that Cousin Bennet would not recover. He was celebrating the fact that as your father had sired five daughters but no son, Longbourn would soon be his. One night he celebrated too much and fell into the river. He could not swim… Much as I am ashamed to admit it, I could not but feel relieved that he would not be able to impose himself onto your family.'

'Is that why you waited so long to make contact?'

'That was part of the reason. I also did not want to make you and your family think that I was like my father… just waiting for Cousin Bennet to die, so that I could inherit.'

'From what I have heard of your father, you are nothing like him… I am most happy to say.'

~~RF~~

~~CC~~