The Baron and Baroness went to Longbourn for dinner as arranged. When they arrived there, the whole family greeted them, including young Master Tommy Collins. The Bennets were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Philips, who were introduced to the visitors. Mrs. Bennet added, "I have asked my brother and sister Philips to join us so the Baron would not be the only gentleman at the table." This statement confused the Glenwoods as they were not sure who was the mistress of Longbourn, Mrs. Collins or her mother. They assumed that Mrs. Collins was deferring to her mother to keep peace in the family.
It became obvious to the visitors that the two youngest sisters were young and not nearly as mature as Miss Bennet, but they were being restrained by their older sisters who were keeping watch over them. Young Tommy was naturally curious about the visitors and cautiously went to the Baron, who picked him up and set him on his knee. He was very careful not to show any discomfort around the child as he wanted to impress Miss Bennet about his suitability as a husband and father. This lady certainly noticed his actions and approved of them.
As soon as dinner was announced, Mrs. Collins picked Tommy up and passed him to his nurse who led him up the stairs to the nursery. The others then went into the dining room, with the Baron graciously offering his arm to Mrs. Bennet. The Baroness followed with Jane, and the others trailed behind. Mrs. Bennet was thrilled to be so honoured.
Mr. Philips sat at the head of the table, flanked by the Baroness and Jane. Mrs. Bennet sat at the other end with the Baron and Mrs. Philips next to her. Dinner conversation was lively with the Baron usually leading the discussion. The youngest girls were quite subdued and generally spoke only when they were asked direct questions. The Baroness talked mainly to Jane and Mrs. Bennet, although she brought others into the conversation whenever she could.
When everyone had finished eating, Mrs. Bennet rose to signal all the ladies that it was time for them to leave the two gentlemen to their port. When they were alone, the Baron asked Mr. Philips for the details of what happened to the Bennet family since Mr. Bennet died, even though he was quite sure that he knew most of the details. As Mr. Philips was well aware of his courtship with Jane, he told him everything that had occurred. He was generous with his praise of Jane and especially Elizabeth. He plainly stated his opinion that it was only their actions that kept the family together in spite of the depraved behaviour of the Collinses. He mentioned that Mrs. Collins had managed to increase the income of the estate substantially over what it had been when her father was alive. He said that he had no hesitation in approving whatever Elizabeth wanted, especially in restraining the spending and behaviour of the rest of her family, including her mother. By the time they rejoined the ladies, the Baron was sure of the worthiness of Miss Bennet to be the next Baroness.
He was even more impressed with Mrs. Collins and wondered who would be worthy of being her husband. As he was not aware of the attention that Colonel Fitzwilliam had paid to her, he began to think of all his friends and acquaintances who were in need of a wife who had only an insignificant dowry and no important connections. Darcy's name stood out and he wondered why he had not pursued this lady when he was here in the autumn. He thought that it might have been her lack of dowry and connections; the Bennets were just not in the same social class as Darcy or himself. However, if, as he hoped, he married Miss Bennet, this would improve their suitability substantially. He decided to repeat his invitation to Darcy to spend some time here before he returned to Pemberley.
When the gentlemen went into the room where the ladies were having tea, they heard pleasant music as Mrs. Collins was seated at the piano with Miss Mary turning the pages for her. The Baron could see, by his mother's contented look, that she was enjoying the music and conversation. He went to sit by Miss Bennet. "Miss Bennet, do you play the piano?"
"No, I do not, even though I enjoy hearing it played well. When we first had a piano teacher, I quickly learned that I did not have the aptitude for it. Only Elizabeth and Mary took to it. As you can hear, Elizabeth makes beautiful music. Mary may be technically better, but Elizabeth puts such feeling into her playing. I fully intend to have my children learn, though." When she said this, she realized the implications and she blushed at her words. Her blush, as usual, did nothing but enhance her beauty. The Baron certainly noticed her mention of children, which pleased him as he wanted a large family.
When the Baron and his mother returned to Netherfield, she told him how much she enjoyed the evening, especially in getting to know Mrs. Collins. "I am surprised that no one has discovered what an exceptional lady she is. I understand that she has been widowed for more than three years, yet no gentleman has seemed to have caught her attention. I assume that is because she has not been in town often, being so busy managing her son's estate."
"From what I heard, Bingley brought both Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam here with him last autumn. Her dowry was likely not large enough for Richard and her connections may not have been good enough for Darcy. She is too bright for Richard but would be a good match for Darcy. Even though I know Darcy quite well, I am not sure what his thoughts are about her. I will encourage him to come here to give him another chance with her. I would not mind having him as my brother." After saying this, he was somewhat embarrassed to be seen as a matchmaker by his mother. She just smiled at his discomfort.
The Baron wrote to Darcy renewing his invitation and encouraging him to bring his sister with him. Darcy wrote back saying that he was unable to go just then as he would soon be leaving for Kent to help his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, with her estate, which he did every Easter. Darcy added that he might stop in on his way up to Pemberley after he returned from Kent and that he would be accompanied by Georgiana. He did not mention anything about his worries about the possibility that she might encounter Wickham while she was there.
Darcy's trip to Rosings was worse than he expected as his aunt pestered him even more than normal with her expectations that he would marry her daughter. His cousin Richard had usually gone with him on these annual trips and provided a buffer for him with their aunt. This year his aunt had no such distraction, so her complaints about his not doing what she wanted were even more incessant than usual. Rather than staying in Kent for the three weeks that he had planned, he simply could not tolerate any more of this and he left after two long weeks, satisfied that he had accomplished most of what he had hoped with the estate's steward.
When Darcy reached his London home, he went to Matlock House to pick up his sister, who had been staying with their aunt and uncle while he was away. When he went through his mail, he found a letter from his cousin who was still stationed in Canada with his regiment. He was quite surprised when he read the following paragraphs:
Darcy, my assignment here has been quite interesting. My regiment has been stationed in the western part of Upper Canada and we have been busy encouraging our native allies to resist the Americans from moving west from their bases in the east. Tensions are high as more and more American settlers keep moving into the area west of here around Detroit, which annoys the natives, to say the least, as the settlers are encroaching on their traditional hunting grounds.
My resignation still stands and I will be out of the army in May. I am thinking of applying for land here as there is plenty available just for the asking. Something else I am considering is even more interesting. I have become friendly with a Scottish settler here who has a large tract of land and is making a lot of money selling lumber to other settlers who are building houses and barns. He built a sawmill on a creek that runs through his property and has been busy supplying lumber for the whole area. He happens to have three daughters but no sons, so he wants his oldest to marry someone who will help him with his business and who will eventually take it over from him. His oldest daughter is quite attractive and has been very friendly with me whenever we meet. They cannot be considered to be in the same social class as my family, but that is not nearly as important here in Canada as it is back home. The fact that my father is an earl does not mean much here where we are stationed, but it does mean something in the more settled areas such as the city of York. That at first bothered me, but now I am actually impressed that a person's worth is determined by how successful he is rather than the status of his family. I believe that I would be very comfortable living here, especially if I become part of a good family.
Darcy had to read this letter twice as the implications of what his cousin was saying sank in. It was clear that Richard was definitely thinking about marrying a woman in Canada mainly because her family was doing well in the lumber business. An additional attraction for staying in Canada was that he could easily acquire a substantial piece of land, apparently just for the asking. This was simply not possible in England where every square inch of land was already owned by someone or the Crown.
In a way, Darcy almost envied his cousin as conditions in the colonies were so different from here. There, a person could do well based on his own initiative, which was not nearly as easy to accomplish here, where the rigid class structure determined your fate. He knew that the added lure of an attractive woman with a significant fortune would be almost irresistible to Richard.
Darcy then thought of their time in Hertfordshire. The lady who had been interesting to Richard while they were there would certainly become less attractive to him as the income from her estate was not really hers—it was her son's. Darcy then thought of Mrs. Collins waiting to hear word from Richard. Would she hear of his current plans, or would she be just left there, waiting? Darcy knew that she did not deserve to be treated in such a callous manner; she was too good a person for that. Darcy realized that he was the only one who was thinking of this lady's situation; if anyone were to tell her about Richard, it had to be him as there was no one else who was aware of what was happening. His conscience would not allow this situation to continue. He would have to go to Hertfordshire to warn the lady himself.
With this resolution about what he would have to do, Darcy thought about how he would accomplish this. He could easily stop in Hertfordshire on his way to Derbyshire and stay with Glenwood at Netherfield. His hesitation before finally deciding to do this was that his sister would be with him and that despicable cad, Wickham, was there. After her near escape in Ramsgate, Georgiana was still in a fragile condition. If she met this villain again, her recovery might be set back. He would have to warn her that meeting him was a possibility.
Darcy immediately wrote a letter to Glenwood accepting his invitation to stop in at Netherfield with his sister on their way to Derbyshire. He said that they could stay for a week and casually asked if the militia regiment was still stationed in Meryton. Several days later he received a reply in which the Baron stated that he was pleased that the Darcys would be able to visit them. He also wrote that the militia regiment was still there but was getting ready to move to their summer camp in Brighton within the next couple of days. This bit of news made Darcy's decision to stop there much easier in his mind.
Darcy had told Georgiana his plans to stop in Hertfordshire and he now wrote to his Pemberley housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, telling her when he expected they would arrive there. Georgiana was pleased as she wanted to meet the Bennet sisters. Her aunt had spoken about meeting the eldest Miss Bennet at her ball and how impressed she was with her. She had asked her brother about them and had received only the best impression of the two oldest sisters. His description of the two youngest sisters as too lively was intriguing to her as almost all of the young ladies she knew were quite subdued and restrained. She secretly thought they would be exciting and fun and could not wait to meet them.