Chapter 5. DISCLAIMER: I do not pretend to own any of the works by Jane Austen or any other author and their characters. I am but a lowly servant.


The meetings with Mr. Collins continued for a month or so and 'Jerry' continued to look at Eleanor in a way that make her shake. Mr. Darcy seemed to think they might want to be alone and kept finding reasons to leave, but she would quickly give him a 'look' and he would stay put.

Then one day, Mr. Collins stayed behind after a meeting and watched Eleanor in the staffroom as she organised her next class. "Miss Bennet?"

Eleanor whirled around, "Mr. Collins, I didn't know you were still here." She turned back to her paperwork hoping against hope that he would simply disappear.

"I seem to have misplaced a small notebook of mine," he told her, "it is filled with…ideas…and I should like to have it returned to me. You have not passed by it have you?"

"No, sorry, Mr. Collins."

"Oh, well, it was filled with what to say to women…to make them feel special."

Eleanor stared at the papers in front of her fighting a losing battle against the laughter welling up inside her. "Really?" she squeaked.

"Yes, it's been a god send of late Miss Bennet."

Suddenly he was next to her…KNEELING next to her. "Mr. Collins," Eleanor leapt up out of her seat and stared at him.

"Miss Bennet. I have been meaning to make my feelings known to you," Eleanor gawked at him. He couldn't be serious. Could he? "I have been a pawn to your affections since the day we met, I must ask…I must plead with you, to take my hand." Eleanor was silent, "You are soundless," he observed, "your admiration for me must be greater than I expected-"

"Mr. Collins, if I have been silent then it is only out of the hope that I might wake from this Nightmare. You can't be serious, I've known you for only a few Weeks! And now you're asking to Marry Me? You're more insane than I thought."

"I've heard that women these days like to reject a suitor the first time as a test for his devotion-"

"Please understand. You are the Last man on earth I'd ever marry."

Mr. Collins looked up at her and stood up. "I shall leave you, but know this. I will not reproduce my offer again should you change your mind."

Eleanor rolled her eyes, "have no fear of that Mr. Collins, my mind is made up."

She watched him leave and tell someone in the hall that the woman inside was mad and then slammed the door behind him.

She half wondered who was outside, but didn't care enough to have a look. She gathered her books and went to her class. "Now guys, I've had a pretty cruddy day, so how about we watch the movie version of First Impressions?" her students didn't have much to say against the idea and they watched silently for the double lesson.

That night she called Charlie hoping to go out for a drink to get the afternoon out of her head, but the conversation didn't go as planned.

Eleanor: Hey Charlie, you wont believe what happened today.

Charlie: Hey Eleanor, sorry, but now isn't a great time.

Eleanor: Oh? What are you up to?

Charlie: I'm just going out with a friend, look, the taxis here, I have to go. Ill talk to you later.

But Charlie didn't 'talk to her later', in fact, Charlie didn't turn up to their usual lunch 'meeting', or any other time they were meant to meet up at all so Eleanor took to having lunch with Laura Fitzwilliam and her son Jack who she had formed a fast friendship with.

One day, a week or two after the disastrous proposal fiasco, Charlie called.

"Hey, I have some news that I don't think you'll like." She said as a greeting. Frankly Eleanor was too happy to have her back to care.

"What is it?"

"You might have noticed, I haven't been around much?"

"Oh?"

"Well, I've met someone, he's nice…and seems to adore me".

"Who is he? Do I know him?" Eleanor was excited, Charlie had had one bad experience…more of an extravaganza really and had sworn off love.

"He's Jerry, Jerry Collins?"

"You're going out with the whelp? That…Idiot? Why? Why are you with him?"

"He loves me Eleanor, he said so, and quite frankly, my time is running out. I'm 36 Ellie, I need to settle down soon, I can't live like I have been my entire life. What about kids eh? I don't have much time."

"Kids? With Collins?"

"Well, he's rich and has a pool, and there's a pool guy?"

"Charlie!"

"I know, I know. At least kids with Collins will be Kids! They'll be Mine, Collins works to hard to care anyway."

Eleanor shook her head, "I can't believe this, you're serious aren't you?"

"Yes! I am, I…I just wanted you to know."

Eleanor nodded and looked to the ceiling. "I know." Then she hung up.

She was in a foul mood for the rest of the week and nothing Denny, Kit or even Johnny Wickham could do to bring her out of it.

Johnny would bring her coffees while Kit would help her with her marking, but other than that, the life almost seemed to be seeping out of Eleanor Bennet.

Then a call came from Jenny. "Hey Eleanor, I haven't talked to you in ages, how are you?"

Eleanor smiled a ghost of a smile at her sister's voice and feigned happiness. "Me? What about you? How are you and Chris?"

Jenny sighed, "Brilliant. It's like a Dream!"

Eleanor smiled, happy to see her sister like this. "What have you done?"

"We went sailing the other day, we almost got lost." Eleanor laughed and listened as her sister gave her a day by day account of Chris's kindness. "He's sister's lovely, she seems to like me."

"It's impossible not to like you Jen," Eleanor laughed.

She could almost hear Jenny blush as a call waiting came through. "I'll be one minute Jen, got another call."

"Hello?"

"I'm getting married."

"What?"

"I'm marrying Collins."

Eleanor sighed, she couldn't stay mad at her, but…Collins? "Why?"

"He asked. It's probably the only offer I'm going to get." Eleanor shook her head but knew better than to argue. "I want you to be my bridesmaid, please?" Eleanor sighed again, "Please. Tell my you're happy for me, please."

"I am," Eleanor croaked, "I am."

Charlie laughed a nervous laugh, "you'll be my bridesmaid?" Eleanor consented. "I should warn you, Collins is inviting Will Darcy and Co, will that be a problem?"

"What? No, It'll be fine." Eleanor smiled and then swapped back to the conversation with Jenny. "She's marrying Collins."

"Collins? He's that one you emailed me about right? The idiot?"

"Yes!"

"Oh Ellie."

"I have to go," she told her sister and hung up. Eleanor walked back to her staffroom and sat at her small cubicle.

"What's got you down?" Johnny Wickham came around the corner and smiled his toothy smile.

"My friends marrying a whelp," Eleanor smiled a diminutive smile. "I can't do anything about it."

"It's your friends life, she'll live it they way she wants, with or without your help." Eleanor glared at him and smiled.

"Would you come with?"

"Who else will be there?" Johnny said turned a chair around and sitting on it lazily.

"My sister, her boyfriend…the movie producer Will Darcy and his colleagues…random people I think." Johnny's face fell.

"I'm afraid I can't make it."
Eleanor raised her eyebrows, "I haven't even told you the date."
Johnny smiled, "Fine, but I don't think I'll be terribly welcome."

"Why is that?"

"Arsey- Darcy will be there."

"So?"

"So? So I grew up with the arse."

Eleanor wrinkled her nose, "ouch."

"You're telling me." He sighed and smiled. "His father was my mother's boss. We lived on the estate, the old man loved me. Then he died and Darcy kicked me out."

"What? That's completely unfair!"

"You tell him that, I was about to marry a girl there, I loved her, and Darcy kicked me out. Of course I couldn't marry her if I had no money, so I got a job and went through uni."

Eleanor smiled an encouraging smile. "Not coming then?"

Wickham looked her in the eyes, an odd little glint in his eyes that Eleanor couldn't place. "I'll think about it, how about that?"

"That would be great."


Please Read and Review.