The carriage of the Rosings fugitives went at a moderate pace because they did not plan to stop for long rests at coaching stations or to change horses. They would go to the Earl's house right away even though they might run the risk of meeting Lady Catherine there for time was of the essence.
During the ride, Elizabeth asked Miss de Bourgh what gave their plan away. It seemed to her that it was the writing on the bookmark.
Miss de Bourgh answered with chagrin, "That was my uncle's address in London, No. 4. Grosvenor Square."
Elizabeth sighed, "It would have been helpful to have but not necessary. Your uncle is a prominent member of the House of Lords. I was planning to ask my uncle. He knows a great deal about the ton and its people. By the way, why did you not put the bookmark in 'Sense and Sensibility?' Was it because you were reading it and did not want to return it just yet?"
Miss de Bourgh almost stamped her foot while nodding her head and said, "I almost completely ruined our plan by committing that blunder. I hope you will forgive me."
Elizabeth squeezed Miss de Bourgh's gloved hand and said gently, "There is nothing to forgive. You have been very brave to stand up to your mother. Up until this morning, I had a remnant of remorse about helping you turn against your own mother but no more. Do you know that when I left Mr. Collins was still unconscious due to a fall?"
Miss de Bourgh gasped on hearing this and started weeping behind her hands. She asked, "Did my mother do that?"
Elizabeth answered kindly, "No, it was an accident. However, if Lady Catherine had not shown up making all kinds of unreasonable demands, Mr. Collins' life would not have been in peril. I think his injury, grave as it is, did turn all of us firmly against your mother. Miss de Bourgh, you now have my undying support!"
Miss de Bourgh, for the first time during the journey, smiled and said to Elizabeth, "Would you call me Anne? All my life I have not had a friend who has declared such allegiance to me as you just did, and I have not even offered you a bribe! From my mother, I have learned only coercion, which I do not possess the constitution to exert, and bribery, which I have not had the means to give. In fact, I do not have any money on me to even purchase food."
Elizabeth answered with her own smile, "Do not worry about money for food, Anne, and please call me Elizabeth or Lizzy, like my sisters. Charlotte alone is allowed to call me Eliza. I still have plenty of money left for this trip, at least fifteen pounds. I was planning on spending some money to buy gifts for my family while in London before returning home to Longbourn. When we arrive at Bromley, I would like to leave a note for my uncle's servant, and we may buy some food then."
Anne turned to Elizabeth and said light-heartedly, "Lizzy, thank you! I look forward to the time when I shall have my own money to pay you back tenfold."
Several times during the trip, John spied a large carriage barreling toward them at a distance and immediately turned into a small country road to wait. Each time it turned out to be a false alarm, but it was nonetheless very nerve-racking for the inmates in the carriage, and the constant stopping added a lot more time to the journey.
They ended up not stopping at Bromley as Lady Catherine was well-known there, and her carriage would have been easily noticed. Mr. Gardiner's servant, when he found that Miss Bennet was not on the stagecoach, assumed that the plan had been changed and went back to London as there was only one connection from Hunsford to London each day.
Meanwhile, back at the parsonage, Lady Catherine finally found the nook by knocking on the wall panels. She could not open it and went downstairs to force Mrs. Collins to open it for her. By then the apothecary had come by and the grim news had been delivered: if Mr. Collins did not wake up very soon, there was a chance that he might not wake up at all. Mr. Collins had been placed on the sofa and two chairs to make him more comfortable. Mr. Hancock the apothecary promised to come back shortly with a physician from Swanley who just happened to be close by that morning to do a more thorough examination. Dr. King was newly from town and was an expert on nerve injuries.
"Mrs. Collins!" called Lady Catherine forcefully from the entrance to the parlor, but Charlotte ignored the address. She continued to sit by her husband's body, rubbing his hand and weeping.
"Mrs. Collins!" Lady Catherine was almost screaming. Charlotte finally turned and, seeing Lady Catherine's angry face, stood up but refused to get any closer to the patroness.
"Mrs. Collins, I have found the nook where you hide trash that is disguised as books. I want you to open it for me at once!" ordered the lady while moving toward Charlotte menacingly.
Charlotte pled mournfully, "Madam, have you no mercy? My husband is lying at death's door! Could you at least lower your voice while speaking to me?"
"Your husband is already unconscious. How would the volume of my voice affect him? You are dawdling. Come upstairs and open the door to the nook at once or else I will order a few strong footmen from Rosings to knock down the wall to open it!"
Charlotte was burning with anger inside at this insensitive diatribe from one so completely devoid of decency. She decided that if her husband was to have a little peace and quiet, she might as well comply, but she would prolong the process to give her friend a little headway.
She went to her husband to arrange the cushions under him one more time before following Lady Catherine upstairs. She sent her sister downstairs to sit with her injured brother before going with Lady Catherine to the other guest chamber. In just a few moments, the door to the nook was opened. Charlotte stood back so that her patroness could examine the titles inside the small compartment.
"Why, these are just ordinary novels. 'The Vicar of Wakefield' may even be called respectable. Why did you try so hard to hide them?" asked Lady Catherine with some actual curiosity.
"Madam, you have poisoned my husband's mind about reading ordinary novels. I have no choice but to hide these novels I have owned since girlhood," answered Mrs. Collins with some spite.
"Mrs. Collins, take care and do not assume the impertinence of your friend. Speaking of Miss Bennet, where is she?"
Charlotte decided that she had made enough concessions to this termagant and answered firmly, "Madam, please do not ask me anymore where my friend is. I do not know. My mind was completely frazzled by my husband's injury. She took her satchel and walked out the door. That is all I know."
Lady Catherine narrowed her eyes and spoke angrily, "So you let her leave! After I have told you not to. You dare openly defy me! I was going to offer to send for a physician from town to look over Mr. Collins; I will not do it now unless you tell me where that she-devil has gone!"
By now Charlotte was truly fed up and said a little heatedly, "Madam, you have mistaken me as your household staff. I have the resources to hire my own town doctor. Please do not trouble yourself. If your business is finished here, please see yourself out as I must return to my injured husband. He is in this sorry condition because he was too eager to carry out your deadly order."
Lady Catherine could not believe her ears, but she was at last showing some signs of exhaustion from the agitation all morning. Even then she had to have the last word, "You ungrateful woman! Who is your husband? A bumbling fool! I gave him this valuable living to pluck him out of mediocrity. Is this insolence what I should expect from you in return? I shall not forget this ingratitude. If he dies, I will not let you stay here one moment past the funeral!"
Charlotte was truly incensed hearing that. She arrived at the front door and held the door open for Lady Catherine since the grand lady appeared to be still not finished with her unending stream of harsh scolding.
Lady Catherine was surprised that her carriage was not waiting for her at the door. Her wrath was great indeed thinking that Mrs. Collins somehow had sent her carriage away to spite her. She stormed back into the house and shouted, "Mrs. Collins, what is the meaning of this? Where is my carriage? Did you send it away?"
Charlotte had at that point been numbed by all the terrible events of the morning and answered woodenly, "Your ladyship, I do not know the whereabouts of your carriage any more than the state of my husband's health. Please order whomever you want to go to Rosings and ask for your carriage to be sent here. You must excuse me for not attending to your needs at this moment."
Lady Catherine was of course furious at this insubordination. However, her mind was so occupied by the many happenings of the morning that she decided to order a maid to Rosings and then went to sit in the dining parlor to wait for the carriage to return. She did not even remember to look at the chair legs to see whether they had been polished.
When she saw the phaeton instead of the carriage coming for her, she was extremely irritated and berated the groom for disobedience. The groom told her that the carriage needed to be serviced and had not returned. Lady Catherine's response to this explanation was, "That is no excuse!"
The groom cowered as usual, and that placated the grand lady to a degree because her total dominance over her underlings, which had been challenged all morning, was once again asserted.
By the time lady Catherine returned to Rosings, she had some time to reflect on what had happened. The accident which befell that ridiculous parson was all his own fault of course, but as a benevolent mistress of the most prominent estate in the parish, she should take it upon herself to make sure that he would receive adequate care. While she would not call in her physician from town, she would ask her butler to engage a physician close by to look over that albatross of a vicar whose amusement value had dwindled to nothing.
Deep down, she felt an ache caused by the betrayal of her daughter, Anne, who conspired with a nefarious nobody of poor lineage whose aim was no doubt to defraud her artless daughter of money and property. It was a good thing that she was a formidable gatekeeper of Anne's fortune. And to think that she had thought the Bennet girl spirited and entertaining!
On her arrival at the manor house, she went to her throne chair to await her daughter to be brought to her. It was high time to uncover from her guileless daughter the whole ludicrous scheme dreamed up by that despicable chit. From what she had gathered since the morning, her daughter was to give her brother Lord Fitzwilliam's address to the Bennet girl. Jenkinson gave a letter to that schemer two days previous, and it was quite clear to her that the Bennet chit was supposed to deliver the letter to her brother. With Anne's birthday coming up in just three days, it was likely that her daughter was swindled into pushing her away as co-guardian of Rosings. What a silly girl! How could she even imagine that she had what it took to manage such a vast estate? This must have been where the Bennet girl came in. She must have convinced Anne that she could be of use to Anne as she mentioned more than once that she did a man's job managing her father's insignificant estate.
She was well-pleased with her own power of deduction when the footman returned not only without her daughter, but also with the news that there was no response to his insistent knocking on the door. Lady Catherine was alarmed, and collecting the housekeeper who had the master key, led the way to Anne's chambers.
"Anne! Come out, girl! What is this insolence about, locking yourself away? You know I can open the door with the master key!" called Lady Catherine rather gently as she was in fact a little tired from all the excitement and raising her voice for several hours. She felt that she was running out of breath.
After a few minutes of knocking with no response, Lady Catherine gave the signal to the housekeeper to open the door. When only Mrs. Jenkinson was found sitting, almost shrinking into the corner of the room, Lady Catherine's fury returned with a vengeance. She looked at the companion with fire in her eyes, shook a finger at her and asked forcefully, "You! You…. where is Miss de Bourgh? Why did you not open the door right way?"
Mrs. Jenkinson, who had proven to be entirely ineffective in withstanding her employer's ferocious demands, said timidly, "My Lady, Miss de Bourgh told me to stay in the room behind the locked door no matter what, or else she would not pay me the pension she had promised when she became the mistress of Rosings in three days' time. She left me here but did not tell me where she was going."
Everyone present heard the possibility of Miss de Bourgh's taking over Rosings in short order and began to hope that their days ahead would be much more pleasant. Both footmen, Stevens and Steen, had sweethearts among the upstairs maids but could do naught about it since Lady Catherine did not approve of marriages among the help; and Mrs. Baker the housekeeper had been counting her days to retirement, and she would much prefer her mild-mannered young mistress to the current one who, even on the slightest provocation, could dismiss her and take away her well-earned pension.
Lady Catherine was incensed that the servants had heard about her daughter's open disobedience. She turned to the two footmen and told them loudly, "Take her out of the house! I do not want to see her face ever again!" She turned back to Mrs. Jenkinson and screamed quite at the top of her lungs, "What has become of you? Miserable woman! You are dismissed without reference…." And then she dropped her cane, pressed both shaking hands on her temples, grimaced, and would have collapsed onto the floor if the footmen who were on their way to escort Mrs. Jenkinson out of the house had not turned around quickly to hold up their swaying mistress.
Mrs. Baker ordered the footmen to take their mistress to her chambers and asked Mrs. Jenkinson all about Miss de Bourgh's becoming the mistress soon. Meanwhile the entire upstairs household staff in the vicinity came to watch the commotion. Before long, the whole staff had learned of the impending change of mistresses, and there was quite a lot of open glee and rejoicing. Mrs. Jenkinson told all she knew and was invited to the housekeeper's quarters to wait in case the mistress regained her health and became seriously displeased with the presence of the banished woman. No one wanted to offend the young mistress by mistreating her companion when she came back to rule Rosings. A footman was dispatched to fetch Mr. Hancock the apothecary to see the mistress.