At the end of the night, Mr. Bingley had danced a second set with Jane and the Colonel had done the same with Elizabeth. Even though she had had no intention of dancing much that night, she realized that she had enjoyed herself. At the very least, she found two gentlemen who did not make her nervous, at least the small amount she had come to know them after such a short time. Their friendliness overcame her disgust at the insult she had received from their haughty friend.
When they arrived back home, the Bennet ladies were all tired and very pleased with the evening. The two youngest sisters had managed to dance almost every dance, so they were delighted with themselves, especially since one of the sets was with the officer in his finest regimentals. Mary's evening was better than she had anticipated as she had been asked to dance several times after the Colonel had escorted her to the floor. Even Elizabeth, who had not intended to attend the Assembly in the first place, found that she had enjoyed herself in spite of her gloomy anticipation of what the evening would most likely entail. Jane was pleased as Mr. Bingley had spent so much time with her. Mrs. Bennet was pleased that her daughters all had an enjoyable time. She had spent the evening gossiping with her friends.
The situation at Netherfield was quite different. Two of the gentlemen were very satisfied with the evening and the ladies they had met; the other four people not so much. The two sisters could not stop complaining about how disgusted they were to be forced to be in the company of such rustics; in fact, they described the locals as being almost savages with no class or sense of style at all. Miss Bingley preened that her eye-catching orange ball gown was the most striking of all the outfits she had seen. No other outfit came close to being as elegant or fashionable as hers. Mr. Darcy said nothing; Mr. Hurst was almost asleep after having sampled all the libations that were available. Even though the quality of the drinks was nothing special, the quantity available compensated for it.
When the Colonel suggested that the gentlemen have a nightcap in the billiards room, they all agreed. When they all had a glass of brandy, Mr. Bingley was almost bubbling with excitement. "Miss Bennet is an angel! I have never met such a beautiful lady. She kept smiling at me!"
Darcy was not impressed and still felt upset with what he had said and the putdown he had received. "She smiles too much. Bingley, I suppose she is just your latest angel. Do you even remember the name of the last one? Next month there will be a different one. I have heard you admire too many attractive ladies to expect that this one will be any different from all the others."
"For some reason, Miss Bennet is special. Darcy, I tell you this one is different; I just know it. Just wait and see. I cannot wait to see her again. I believe I will like it here."
"Bingley, I have heard you say that before."
Darcy could not resist adding, "Richard, you spent a lot of time with Mrs. Collins. What did you learn about her?" He did not add that he considered her to be insolent for having the audacity of putting him in a position where he was forced to apologize for something he had said. To top it off, she had the nerve to turn her back on him after he had apologized, publicly showing her disdain for him.
"Not much, but I was certainly impressed by her intelligence once I got her to talk. Sir William had mentioned that she is a widow and she said that her husband had died more than three years ago. Her conversation is delightful and she is exceptionally knowledgeable about so many things. She is very attractive, and she has such unusual eyes; they flash in an enticing way. Darcy, surely you noticed that about her, at least?"
"I cannot say that I did." He refused to utter the slightest compliment about her.
The Colonel wondered how true this was, but he continued, "She must have been very young when she married. From the little she said about it, she has been almost in seclusion since then, but she would not talk about it. I have a feeling that her marriage was not a happy one, but that is only an impression that I have. Did anyone else hear anything about her?"
Mr. Bingley joined the conversation, "My sisters heard that she has a son who is the heir to their estate. I am not sure how that could be; she must have been married to the owner of the estate for her son to be the heir. They heard that Longbourn has been in the Bennet family for many generations even though it is not very large. They did hear that there was some scandal about her marriage and her husband's death, but they could not find out any details. People are not willing to talk about her. They must think a lot of her not to gossip. If there was some scandal involved, people would normally love to talk about it."
The Colonel noticed one part of this piece of information with interest. "So, she must have control of the estate until her son becomes of age, or is there someone else who is who is responsible for it? A guardian or steward, perhaps? If she is actually managing the estate, that is interesting as I know of no other ladies in that position who would or even could do it." He began to wonder how large the estate's income was and if she had total control of how it was spent. He thought that he may have to rethink his plans for this lady. She might be worth pursuing with more honourable intentions in mind.
Darcy knew what he was thinking. "Now, Richard, Longbourn does not belong to Mrs. Collins if she has a son who is the heir. Granted that she may be controlling the estate and its income until he becomes of age, but it is still not hers. I appreciate that you need to marry a lady with a reasonable income or a good dowry, but she is not the one for you. In any case, look at her connections—I am sure she has none of any significance whatsoever. I cannot believe that the Earl and Countess would approve of her."
"Darcy, let me worry about that. The estate is under her control for the next eighteen years or so; that is quite a long time. I have some savings, so we could manage to live quite comfortably. In any case, I just met the lady tonight. I am committed to the army until the resignation of my commission becomes effective next summer, so I cannot do anything in a hurry. However, I am finding it quite pleasant to speculate about her. She is a very attractive lady whom I intend to get to know better." He smiled when he thought of her enticing figure and how light her steps were in their dance. Yes indeed, she could be well worth pursuing.
"Surely you saw how improperly her youngest sisters acted tonight? They were very forward in seeking partners, including yourself. I doubt that they have any dowries to speak of. Richard, they are not in our social class, they are beneath us."
"With her looks and smiles, I could forgive a lot. She is very appealing to me for some reason." While he did not admit it, he knew very well there were several reasons why he was attracted to her.
They did not settle anything before they finished their nightcaps and soon went to their beds. Both smiling gentlemen had pleasant dreams all night, but Darcy did not sleep well at all as he worried about his cousin's intentions. There was something about Mrs. Collins that captured his attention; was it her apparent vulnerability or was it that she was obviously not impressed by him in the least? This was so different from every other lady that he had met. He had certainly noticed her flashing eyes when she was upset with him even though he had denied it earlier.
Hurst slept like a log.
As was his habit, Darcy rose with the sun and went out to the stables for an early ride. He loved the peace and quiet when no one else was astir. There was nothing like the wind in his face to clear his mind. He had noticed a goodly-sized hill not too far away that he thought might offer interesting views of the area, so he headed in that direction. He reached the bottom of the hill and thought that he should not force his horse to ride up its slope, so he dismounted to walk to the top.
He was just tying the horse to a tree when he saw someone approaching through the trees. "Mrs. Collins! I did not expect to encounter anyone so early. Good morning to you."
As soon as she noticed him, she made a sound like a squeak, turned, and ran without saying a word, disappearing among the trees in just a few steps. Darcy was shocked at this reaction to him and was tempted to run after her to demand an explanation. However, he knew that he should not do this, so he just stood there, perplexed. Why did she run from him? Was she afraid of him in particular, or was she afraid to meet any man out here with no one else around? He hoped that it was not his insult from last night that made her run. He thought about her being 'almost in seclusion' as the Colonel had mentioned, which might indicate that she had avoided any unnecessary contact with men for several years. Did this mean her experience with men, most likely her husband, had been so horrific? He had never had any woman run from him before; indeed, he was the one who was usually doing the running. He decided he had to find out more about her to satisfy his curiosity. There was something about her that intrigued him.
Elizabeth had been out early walking as was her normal habit, just enjoying her solitude and the early morning bird sounds. She suddenly came upon a man where she least expected to see anyone, just at the base of Oakham Mount. She panicked and fled. Images of her brutish husband were all she saw; she did not even recognize that it was Mr. Darcy until she stopped running and allowed her heart to return to its normal pace. It took her quite a while before she was once again her normal self. She vowed never to walk this route again as she would not feel safe in this area.
After standing there for a while wondering about the reaction of this lady to their unexpected encounter, Darcy climbed up the hill and enjoyed the view from the top. He could see all around the area and was able to identify the Netherfield manor house and the village of Meryton. He saw several other estates, but could not name them. Then he sat on a large rock and again thought about Mrs. Collins, reaching no conclusions about her startled reaction when she saw him. Finally, he went back down to his horse and rode to Netherfield to break his fast. He hoped that Miss Bingley would not be up yet so he could eat in peace without her constant fawning over him.
When he went into the dining room where breakfast was laid out, he found only his cousin there. "Richard, good morning."
"I see you have been out for your usual early ride. Where did you go?"
"I went to that large hill you can see in the distance. I had the strangest encounter there. I had just tethered my horse to walk to the top when Mrs. Collins appeared on foot. I greeted her, but she just turned and ran away. She did not say a word to me. I swear that I did nothing at all to frighten her. I do not know what is wrong with her."
"Darcy, after what you said about her last night, I do not blame her for being afraid of you. Surely you have to admit that she does not owe you any consideration at all." The Colonel was still annoyed at his cousin for his very impolite words about this lady.
"I apologized to her! You heard me! I can understand that our meeting out in the middle of nowhere might have startled her. However, I was wondering if her running meant that she is afraid of men in general and not just me. You did tell me that she had been almost in seclusion for several years. What if her marriage was so dreadful that she is now afraid that all men might be like her husband? If that is her attitude, I am surprised that she danced with you and Bingley last night.
"I would like to find out more about her history, especially her marriage. How can we find out what happened? I would not want to be to be too obvious, at least not yet."
"Darcy, I am not sure why you might be interested in her, but I was thinking the same thing. I want to know more about her. I thought that I might ask my batman, Jones, to snoop around to find out if there is any gossip about her among the servants. He can be quite discreet when he wants to be. I will task him to do this.
"Meanwhile, I thought that I might drop in to her estate today to further our acquaintance. I bet that Bingley will want to go as well. He was certainly entranced by the eldest Miss Bennet."
"She is just the latest attractive lady to capture his attention. If you knew how often that happens, you would not be surprised about his reaction to her as she certainly is a beautiful lady. Perhaps I should go with you to assure Mrs. Collins that I meant her no harm when we met this morning."
"Darcy, that is noble of you, but I think you should wait for a day or two so I can talk to her first. I will tell her you mean her no harm in spite of your dreadful manners." He could not stop himself from teasing his staid cousin. "She will not know that this is how you always are around strangers."
Darcy was not happy to think that she would need this reassurance about him, but he agreed to wait. He was so used to presenting an aloof manner to all ladies that he met that he had not been aware that his stern appearance might actually frighten some of them.
That afternoon, Bingley and the Colonel rode to Longbourn, leaving Darcy at Netherfield. To avoid Miss Bingley, he hid in the library, ostensibly to do some work. At Longbourn, the two gentlemen were greeted effusively by Mrs. Bennet and were invited to take tea with the ladies. This they readily accepted as it allowed them to stay there longer.
Mrs. Bennet was pleased when Mr. Bingley went to sit by Jane and was soon talking only to her.
The Colonel found an opportunity to speak quietly to Elizabeth. "Mrs. Collins, Darcy mentioned that he encountered you out walking early this morning. Is that your normal habit?"
"It is, as long as the weather co-operates. Either I go for the exercise or to inspect part of the estate or to visit tenants."
From these words, the Colonel realized that she seemed to be acting as the manager of the estate and must have complete control of it. This was all that he could hope for. "Do you always walk? Surely it must be a long way to some of your tenants."
"I like to walk, but I do have a small carriage, a chaise, that I use if I need to."
"Do you have complete responsibility for the estate?"
"Yes. It is my son's inheritance, so I manage it for him."
"Pardon me for saying this, but that is quite an unusual situation. In fact, I have never heard of any other gently born lady who was solely responsible for managing an estate. I am sure they would leave it up to a steward to look after everything." The Colonel hoped that she would volunteer more information about her situation and history.
"My son's guardians are actually my two uncles, but they leave most of the responsibility for managing the estate to me. I do not mind as I am enjoying learning how to make Longbourn more profitable. I believe that I am doing as well as any steward would and it saves us a lot of money."
"Again, please pardon me for asking, but have you really been successful in this?"
Elizabeth thought that she should be offended at this personal question, but she decided she did not want to discourage this interesting gentleman. "If success is measured by the satisfaction of the people on the estate and the amount of income generated, then, yes, I have been successful. My uncles assure me that I am doing well."
"That is very commendable; I congratulate you. You are a remarkable lady." His regard for her just went up, especially as she mentioned that her estate was doing well.
His compliments made her blush. "Enough about me. What about you, Colonel? Do you enjoy being a soldier?"
"To tell you the truth, Mrs. Collins, I had no choice about finding a career as I am only the second son. My brother will inherit the title and estate. However, I do enjoy training my men into an effective fighting force."
"Have you seen action?"
"Yes, I have, and agree with whoever said that war is horrible. I can only wish that Napoleon were not such a tyrant that we have to stop him before he takes over the whole continent. However, I would rather not talk about my experiences there. They were not pleasant, to say the least."
"So, as a second son, you need either to continue with your army career or find a wife who has a good dowry? You mentioned a title. Who is your father?"
"He is the Earl of Matlock with a fine estate in Derbyshire, not far from Darcy's. As I said, it will go to my brother, the Viscount."
"As the second son of an earl, your life must have been quite comfortable with your father's support. You must require a wife with a significant dowry, indeed."
"I suppose my life has been quite comfortable compared to most people. I do have some savings so I can afford to be more selective than I would otherwise—either a wife with a decent dowry or some income. I prefer to live in the country to the city, so that is also a consideration as well." He was trying to be very careful in what he said as he did not want her to think that she was not suitable. He was finding her very attractive, especially when he had her full attention. He wondered how large Longbourn's income was.
"You mentioned your son. How old is he?"
"He is three and quite active."
The Colonel wanted to keep his options open, so he smiled and said, "I would like to meet him sometime. I enjoy little children; they are always so lively and fun to be with. However, it is time that we left." He turned to Bingley. "Bingley, we should be going. They will be looking for us at Netherfield."
Mrs. Bennet could not let them go so easily. "Gentlemen, I would like to invite you to come to join us for a family dinner. I will invite my sister Philips and her husband to join us so it will not be inappropriate to have you here." She briefly wondered if she should extend the invitation to the others at Netherfield, but then she thought of Mr. Darcy's insulting words to her daughter and quickly rejected that notion. She had been impressed by the elegance of Mr. Bingley's sisters.
Bingley looked at the Colonel and saw that they both wanted to accept. "That would be welcome, Mrs. Bennet. We plan to go shooting tomorrow, so we should be able to contribute some game for your table."
They set the time for the morrow and Mrs. Bennet managed to have Jane and Elizabeth escort the gentlemen out to their horses. As they were going out, the Colonel managed a private word with Elizabeth. "Mrs. Collins, Darcy mentioned that when he saw you this morning he regretted that he did not have a chance to speak to you. He wanted to repeat his apology for his unkind words."
She knew that she could not tell him why she ran. "I decided that I did not want to meet him all alone with no one else around. After last night, I am not sure what to think about him."
"He is not such a bad fellow; he would never harm you. I have known him all my life and he is almost always a complete gentleman. Last night was quite unusual for him. I hope you will allow him to apologize again if you meet him another time. Darcy likes to ride out early, so that is a possibility."
"We will see," was all she said. She was still unsure about Mr. Darcy. When she first saw him at the Assembly, she had noticed how handsome he was, but her bitter experience with her marriage had made her leery of all men. The Colonel was the first strange gentleman that she had spoken to for any significant length of time in many years. As she was finding that she enjoyed his company, she thought that she could trust him and so she might be able to speak to Mr. Darcy if she happened to encounter him again. However, she would certainly not go out of her way to look for him.