In the afternoon, Charlotte worked on some mending while Elizabeth read a book. Charlotte looked over to Elizabeth from time to time, but she had her head bent and seemed absorbed in the story, evidently not inclined to converse. Out of the window Charlotte saw Miss de Bourgh's phaeton stopped at the gate. She put down her sewing, and said, "Eliza, Miss de Bourgh is here. Do not trouble yourself. She never comes into the house. I shall go out to meet her and see what mission she bears for Lady Catherine. I shall be back in a moment."
Elizabeth looked up at Charlotte and nodded. In the past, she would have said something about Miss de Bourgh being rude, making Charlotte stand in all kinds of weather to attend her selfish person. She had been subdued since the big reveal that morning, and she did not even bother to look out of the window.
Charlotte returned shortly after and said apologetically to Elizabeth, "I am sorry, Eliza, but could you go outside to keep Miss de Bourgh company while Mrs. Jenkinson shows me how to wax my dining room chairs? Her ladyship noticed some scuff marks last time she was in here. I shall attempt to be diligent and learn the skills required in as short a time as possible."
Being outdoors on a fine day like this would be a welcomed thought to Elizabeth usually, but the prospect of spending time with Miss de Bourgh, who was always silent and cross, did not appeal. However, she knew she should not refuse and forced a wan smile at Charlotte, saying, "Of course, Charlotte. I shall be just a minute."
Elizabeth approached the phaeton carrying her book, thinking that perhaps she could continue with her reading since conversing with the heiress of Rosings Park did not seem likely, and she needed something to occupy her mind. As soon as Mrs. Jenkinson, Miss de Bourgh's companion, had entered the house, Miss de Bourgh said urgently to Elizabeth, "Come! We are going for a drive. No one will be able to overhear what I shall tell you."
Elizabeth was puzzled. She had not spoken more than ten words directly to Miss de Bourgh during the six weeks that she had been in Hunsford and could not understand what secrets could be shared between them. Besides, there was no one in sight to eavesdrop.
Miss de Bourgh almost stamped her foot when Elizabeth still stood there without moving. "Miss Bennet, I implore you, please step onto the phaeton. We do not have much time!"
Seeing that Miss de Bourgh was about to cry, Elizabeth reluctantly complied and stepped up onto the low phaeton. She had barely sat down before Miss de Bourgh skillfully urged the smartly matched ponies to trot on.
Without preamble, Miss de Bourgh said, "Miss Bennet, I need you to help me regain control of Rosings. Please say you will do it."
Elizabeth's melancholy from this morning evaporated instantly. She sat up, turned to Miss de Bourgh with brightened eyes, and said incredulously, "I beg your pardon, Miss de Bourgh. This is an odd request indeed! I know nothing about the situation, and today is the first time I have spoken more than just a greeting to you. Whatever your scheme is, how would I know, and for that matter, how would you know that I am even qualified to help? To take control of Rosings, which is clearly in your mother's hands, seems something that your male cousins, Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, should be far better equipped to do if it is indeed your right to take Rosings from your mother."
Miss de Bourgh became agitated again, "Miss Bennet, you think I have not thought of that? Rosings has been mine since I was one-and-twenty, which was six years ago. Have you seen any of my male cousins lifting a finger to help me? They both have been ignoring, nay, avoiding me all their lives for fear that my mother would trap either of them, especially Darcy, into marrying me. They are no help!"
"Oh!" Elizabeth uttered softly under her breath. She was somewhat disappointed that these gentlemen could not be relied upon to help their own cousin. Mr. Darcy, especially, had risen considerably in her estimation simply because she had wrongfully accused him of crimes he did not commit.
She asked with genuine curiosity, "You have no affection for the Colonel? He has been looking for an heiress to marry. As a second son, he would welcome the role of master of such a grand estate as Rosings. Once you are married to him, he will take over the management of Rosings."
"Miss Bennet! You are not making sense. I have already told you Richard ignores me. He has no need for an heiress. My Uncle Lord Fitzwilliam is one of the richest men in the kingdom. Richard as his spare has already a sizeable estate from his grandmother set aside for him. As soon as he leaves the army, it will be his, but all Richard ever wants is to be the youngest general in the army. He often boasts that his achieving his goal is a certainty because Bonaparte's war is a godsend. He will never marry anyone before this war is over."
Elizabeth muttered another "Oh!" She now felt even more foolish than before. She had thought that Colonel Fitzwilliam favored her. If not for his need to marry an heiress worth fifty thousand pounds, he would have chosen her. With this new humiliating realization, she turned to Miss de Bourgh and sighed, "Miss de Bourgh, I am not intelligent enough to handle Lady Catherine. Your mother is very shrewd. You must excuse me for declining to offer to help, which would in all likelihood be futile. Furthermore, I cannot stay at Rosings for any length of time. My sister Jane needs me, and I have plans to travel to the Lakes with my relations this summer. Perhaps Mrs. Collins may help. She is a dear friend, and she is very sensible."
Miss de Bourgh turned to Elizabeth with tears in her eyes, weeping quite openly while speaking, "Miss Bennet, you are plenty intelligent! Mrs. Collins tells my mother often that you are in truth the one keeping your father's estate together. I need someone to help me run Rosings. I have never seen any person besides you, and that includes my uncle Lord Fitzwilliam, who so fearlessly talks to my mother since my dear Papa. I had given up on ever escaping my mother's control until your visit here. You dare to disagree with her, and speak your mind with no ill consequence, unlike my Papa…. he always beat a fast retreat after a great row with her, which was a daily event. Miss Bennet," she paused and waved her arm over the beautiful park they were driving through, and exclaimed quite exasperatedly, "all this is mine in name, but in truth, it is nothing but a gilded cage! And your sensible Mrs. Collins? She is polishing chair legs like a scullery maid just because my mother says so!"
Elizabeth marveled at this passionate Miss de Bourgh, so unlike the sickly and mute girl she had known. She pulled out her handkerchief and reached over to dab Miss de Bourgh's eyes, as if the heiress six years her senior had been one of her sisters. Her description of Charlotte was accurate – Charlotte was sensible, but between being practical and sensible, she almost always chose being practical. Helping Miss de Bourgh against her husband's patroness would very likely be considered impractical.
Elizabeth, when facing a challenge could not help but rise to it and said, "Miss de Bourgh, I am grateful for your kind estimation of my meager wit. I am willing to consider the possibility of offering what little help I could in your quest for gaining back your inheritance. However, I must know more before I can firmly commit. Would you tell me why the sudden urgency for you to take control?"
"Miss Bennet, I will be seven-and-twenty in five days, the 20th day of April. Before that day, if I am not married, my mother has an advisory role on my management of the estate - and what a farce that is: she never allows me any say in any matter concerning anything!
"My father worried that as a young girl, I would not be able to bear such a demanding responsibility. I was only ten when he died, and he knew that my mother was capable even though they did not get along. If I marry, my husband will have Rosings. That is why my mother wants Darcy to marry me. Darcy has Pemberley, which is even grander than Rosings, and would likely allow her to stay here and rule Rosings as she is accustomed to. If I remain unmarried at seven-and-twenty, and do not object to the arrangement of my mother's advisory power, then the arrangement would go on without any future possibility of my gaining back control, even if I eventually get married. My future husband must live as a dependent on my mother's whims unless he has a disposition that can even overpower my mother's, which I frankly cannot imagine. Now that I have seen a possible path out of living under her suffocating oppression, I do not think I can continue with this half-life!"
"And you truly believe that your path goes through me?" asked Elizabeth.
"Yes. I see no other option. Time is running out. I was in fact going to ask Darcy tomorrow morning right before he was to leave because my mother watches his interactions with me like a hawk, and I was going to wait till the last minute. However, he left with Richard today instead before I had a chance!" said Miss de Bourgh in despair.
"Oh!" Elizabeth muttered the third time. Now she felt an obligation to help Miss de Bourgh since Mr. Darcy would not have left so suddenly if not for her. Nonetheless, she asked one last question, "Do you really think that leaving the running of Rosings in Lady Catherine's hands is so detrimental to your life?"
Miss de Bourgh looked at Elizabeth incredulously, "What do you think? Would you be willing to exchange your life with me?"
At that moment, Elizabeth's mind finally cleared up completely. Lady Catherine usurped entirely the power to manage what was rightfully her daughter's inheritance, making her daughter's life miserable in the process. Even though she had been thinking ill of herself lately, she had enough wit to deduce that wealth begot power. Without the wealth that belonged to her daughter, Lady Catherine could not continue to behave like the despot that she was, interfering with the lives of all in her sphere, causing unhappiness everywhere. Elizabeth herself had been able to grin and abide the rude and condescending assaults from her ladyship in every meeting, and that was only because she knew she would be away soon. She did constantly feel sorry for Charlotte.
Elizabeth said with her usual confidence, "We need allies. May Mrs. Jenkinson be trusted?"
Miss de Bourgh answered without hesitating, "No. My mother terrorizes everyone in her employ. Mrs. Jenkinson will likely report to mother as soon as we return to the house that I was alone with you this afternoon."
"Is there no secret at all that she is willing to keep for you?"
Miss de Bourgh thought for a moment and said, "My mother does not approve of novels, but I love reading them. Mrs. Jenkinson takes them out of the circulating library for me without letting my mother know. She gets more time to herself when I am occupied with a novel."
Elizabeth looked at the book in her hand and said with some regret as she was loath to part with this newly acquired favorite. "I shall let you borrow this novel from me. It was published just a few months ago. I have placed several bookmarks in it. Use them to write messages for me. I hope Mrs. Jenkinson does not like novels. If I have a message for you, I will use my other novel 'Cecilia' to send you a message. Do you agree with this method of communication?"
"Miss Bennet, I had chosen well when I asked you to help me! I love 'Cecilia.' It is one of only two novels I own, but in secret of course. They were gifted to me by the previous parson's wife without even Jenkinson's knowledge. 'Evelina' is the other and I have read each one at least twenty times! I cannot wait to read this one- hmm …. 'Sense and Sensibility' by a Lady? It is not anything like Mrs. Radcliffe's stories, is it? I do not enjoy stories that have maidens trapped in dark dungeons by cruel villains – I feel too much like the heroine of such stories. Jenkinson's eyesight does not allow her to read fine prints. She will not be able to decipher our messages if we write small!"
"You must like Mrs. Burney a great deal!" Elizabeth looked at Miss de Bourgh with renewed astonishment – so passionate about novels! And she did not enjoy Mrs. Radcliffe's stories, unlike Lydia and many other young ladies who loved the thrills and exaggerated romance the gothic novels supplied. 'Evelina' was also one of her favorites. They had that in common. Before today, she would have thought that the lower class depicted in 'Evelina' would be considered too coarse for Miss de Bourgh's sensibilities. Why did she ever think that the heiress was haughty and sullen? She was on the verge of chastising herself for misreading yet another person but caught herself arguing that perhaps it was just the Darcy-Fitzwilliam-de Bourgh clan who evaded clear characterization. The Upper Class was definitely not in her regular circle of acquaintances.
They soon arrived back at the gate of the parsonage. Elizabeth was going to hop off the phaeton when Miss de Bourgh reached her arm over to squeeze her forearm, mouthing "thank you" at the same time.
Elizabeth answered, "Do not thank me yet. I have not thought of a plan and may never. I do give you the solemn promise that I shall try very hard. If I have very good luck, I may come up with something. Incidentally, what were you going to ask Mr. Darcy to do if you had been able to secure his help?"
Miss de Bourgh looked over to the door of the parsonage and saw Mrs. Jenkinson emerging, and quickly said, "I was going to send a letter to my Uncle William through Darcy because my uncle must be informed and approve of my request to take over Rosings from my mother before my birthday. Oh, I have the letter here with me…"
Before Miss de Bourgh could find the letter, Mrs. Jenkinson reached the phaeton. Elizabeth said amiably to Mrs. Jenkinson, "Miss de Bourgh saw the book I was reading and asked to borrow it from me. I would like to trouble you to return it as soon as Miss de Bourgh has no more use of it."
Mrs. Jenkinson squinted to try to look at the book cover, but gave up and smiled pleasantly to Elizabeth, and said, "I thank you for the loan of this novel to Miss de Bourgh. She does enjoy them so. I shall bring it back soon. Miss de Bourgh is an exceptionally fast reader."
Miss de Bourgh had returned to her silent and wooden persona and did not even bid farewell to Elizabeth when she turned to go back to the house. Before she reached the door, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Mrs. Jenkinson waving what appeared to be a letter in her hand and calling her name. The old lady came up to Elizabeth and said that Miss de Bourgh found the letter in the book and would like to give it back to her in case it was urgent.
When Mrs. Jenkinson tried to bring the letter closer to her eyes to look at the direction written on it, Elizabeth unceremoniously snatched the letter out of her hand, and then apologized, saying, "Forgive me, Mrs. Jenkinson, for my rash action. Thank you for returning this letter to me before I start thinking that it is lost as I intend to send this express to my father. He has an urgent estate matter that only I can help." She looked towards Miss de Bourgh and the heiress was looking straight ahead, paying her no mind. Elizabeth shook her head in amusement, thinking that she grossly underestimated how clever Miss de Bourgh actually was, and returned to the dining room of the parsonage where Charlotte had turned over the furniture polishing task to a maid.