Chapter 18: Mr. Collins

Elizabeth was sitting at her desk working on some of the post processing of the photos she had taken at Netherfield when she heard her mother's voice calling out to her. "Elizabeth, come down here." She glanced over at her watch and headed down the stairs. As she entered the living room, she saw her dad, mother, and four sisters waiting for her. There was a young man standing near the doorway; he was a tall, slender man with mousy brown hair and thin-rimmed wire glasses. He was dressed in a business suit and looked as if he had just come from the office.

"This is our second eldest daughter, Elizabeth." her mother said as Elizabeth came down the final few stairs.

"Elizabeth this is your father's cousin, William Collins," her mother told her.

"Hello," she said as her father led the family into the dining room.

"We were just about to sit down to dinner; you will join us, won't you?" her mother said as they all took their seats at the table.

William Collins sat down next to her father and across from Jane. "Oh, yes I'm very happy to join you for dinner. I'm afraid I had a rather busy day, and I left later than I intended to this afternoon. Then I ended up running into some traffic, so I'm famished."

Her mother smiled. "Well Hill, our cook, has made a delightful pot roast," she said. "I think you will like it very much."

Elizabeth sat next to Jane and listened as her father began the conversation. "I was surprised to receive your letter asking to come and stay for a visit with us here at Longbourn. It has been a very long time since I have had any real contact with my extended family."

Mr. Collins smiled, "I realize it must have seemed strange for me to contact you out of the blue as I did. But since moving to Rosings Park, I felt that it would be silly not to write and offer to re-establish our family relationship with one another. My new employer, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, believes that family ties and traditions are extremely important. When she understood that I had family that lived no more than an hour's drive away she insisted that I come and see you," he told him. "So, here I am."

Her father winked over at Elizabeth. "So tell me, Collins, if your employer didn't value family ties as you say, would you still have felt the need to come?"

Mr. Collins seem to realize how his remarks must have sounded, "Yes…" he stumbled over himself. "Yes, I would have come. Let me explain, what I meant to say was since I live so close to you now and my employer had no objections to giving me some time off I thought I would come and visit with you as a way of reestablishing our family connections with one another," he tried to clarify his statement.

Elizabeth could see the man was very nervous and she almost felt sorry for him. "My father is only teasing you, Mr. Collins."

Mr. Collins feigned a smile. "Oh yes of course," he said as he shifted in the chair. "You must all call me William. We are family and as I said we are so much closer now because of my new positions at Rosings Park."

Mrs. Bennett smiled. "Can I have Hill bring is some wine, or something else if you prefer?" she asked him as dinner was about to be served.

"No, I don't drink alcohol often. Lady Catherine, that's what she likes to be called..." he told them, then continued, "Lady Catherine doesn't really approve of drinking wine too often, and I did just have some three nights ago," he said as if he was trying to remember the exact date. "She's very particular about that, but I would love some water to drink."

Mrs. Bennett smiled then turned to her younger daughter. "Kitty, go and ask Hill to bring us in some refreshments won't you, and let her know we are ready for dinner at any time."

Kitty got up and went into the kitchen only to return a few moments later. They all sat staring at one another for several minutes while Hill brought in the drinks and their dinner.

"So William, do you have any other family near Rosings?" she asked trying to break the silence.

"No, my mother and sisters all live to the north, in Leeds," Collins told them.

"Oh, does your father live there as well?" Mrs. Bennet asked.

"No, he doesn't," he explained. "My father died when I was young. I was raised by my mother and two older sisters."

"How very sad, I am sorry to hear of your loss," she told him sympathetically.

"No, don't concern yourself, it was some time ago, and I have found that being raised in an all-female household has given me certain understanding to the way the female mind works," he told them. "I believe it has given me great empathy in understanding how fragile and emotional the female gender can be."

Elizabeth tried not to laugh at his last comment. "I'm sure it has offered you a unique perspective that other men might not have."

"Exactly right," he told her as he looked around the room. "This is a rather nice room," he told them changing the subject. "Although the décor is a little bit old-fashioned. Rosings Park, where I work, is a very magnificent estate. Lady Catherine has several rooms that she uses to entertain company, and each one of them is remarkably decorated with the latest trends in mind. Have you thought about updating the house at all?"

Mrs. Bennet looked around the room. It was one of her favorites in the house. It was true, it had been a while since it was done, but she still loved the elegant old Victorian charm the room held. "I rather like the colors in this room, and the pattern in the wallpaper is a personal favorite," she told him.

Collins rolled his eyes. "Of course if you prefer the old-fashioned feel that this décor offers then it doesn't matter if it is outdated," he said in a rather snobby way.

Elizabeth thought he sounded a bit like a snob. She forced herself to listen as he spent the next fifteen minutes explaining how lucky he was to have gotten such a position at his age with such an important client. "Lady Catherine herself chose to hire me and was very pleased with my qualifications; I don't mind saying. At least fifty others were applying for the position, but in the end, her Ladyship felt I had just the right personality for the job.

Elizabeth smiled and asked, "What is it that you do for Lady Catherine?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment then said. "I'm a lawyer, but I do so much more than that. In the few short months that I have worked for her, I have become someone whom she confides in on all her business matters. I will admit I have even helped her with some personal decisions. I really do take it as a great honor that someone with her vast knowledge and understanding of things comes to me for opinions about everything."

Her father didn't miss the chance to tease the young man "Oh really, opinions on everything you say?" He asked pretending to be astonished. "Like what for example?"

Collins seemed to love being the center of attention, "Well just last week she called me in and asked me to help her decide what colors she should choose to have the library redone in," he said very proud of the fact.

Mr. Bennet smiled, "Really, how wonderful, tell me cousin did all that studying you did at university help prepare you for the kind of day-to-day tasks of your current position?" he said as he glanced over at Elizabeth and winked.

Collins didn't seem to notice the absurdity of the question instead he nodded his head. "It really has I must say," he began. "Working for Lady Catherine has been such a privilege, and I feel I'm learning so much."

Elizabeth tried to keep from laughing as the conversation continued. Collins told them all about Lady Catherine. He said she was a widower and her beautiful daughter Anne lived in the states with her husband. He gushed on and on about being called to Rosings so often to give his expert opinions and advice, that Lady Catherine decided it made the most sense for him to move into the small cottage at the edge of the property. That way he would be close by whenever she needed him. "Lady Catherine is such a generous employer that she has gone out of her way in helping me to get settled in my new home."

Mr. Bennet cleared his throat, "It must be most helpful to you to have such an attentive boss, as Lady Catherine?"

"Oh, it is," Collins told him. "She even bought me this new iPhone, as well as a laptop, and tablet," he told them as he pulled his phone from his jacket pocket to show them.

Mr. Bennet smiled. "Well, I'm sure you will be expected to call your ladyship before it gets too late. I imagine she's the type of employer who desires to keep up with all that's going on," he suggested as he took the last sip of his wine and finished his dinner.

Collins glanced down at his watch and realized how late it was, "Oh, you are right, I really should say good night to you all. It is only a short drive to the Meryton hotel, but I don't want it to get too late," he said as he stood up from the table. "Thank you for dinner, it was lovely," he said.

Elizabeth and Jane walked him to the door with their father and waited while everyone said good night. Then their father turned to them and smiled. "Oh he was exactly as I expected he would be," he told them as he walked over and kissed Lizzy on the cheek and then Jane. "Good night my dears, tell your mum I will be reading in my study."

Jane smiled, "Good night Dad," she said as she turned to join her mother and sisters in the living room.

Lizzy called out, "Night," as she followed Jane. Their mother was already plotting as they walked into the room.

"So, he was not such a bad sort of fellow," Mrs. Bennet told them all.

Lydia rolled her eyes, "He was utterly boring, Mum."

"No, he was just focused on his work," she told her. "There is nothing wrong with that," she said then she turned her attention to Jane. "You will remember when he comes tomorrow to invite him to the party at Netherfield."

"Mum it's not my party to invite him too," Jane told her again. "It's Charles's party; he may not want me to ask someone he does not know and will have very little future contact with."

"Nonsense, once you and Charles are married there is every chance that he will spend more time with William," she told her.

Jane protested again, "Mum, Charles has not asked me to marry him."

"Details Jane, his asking you is just a detail," she told her. "He will soon ask you, and when he does there is every likelihood that he may see more of William at family events."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, "Mum, it was very clear that Dad was not impressed with him so what makes you think that he would want to invite him to any future family events?"

Mrs. Bennet smiled sheepishly. "Your father might have no choice but to ask William around more often if one of his daughters were to find herself having feelings for him. After all, he's a bachelor, with a decent job, and one day he will inherit this house and your father's business," she reminded them again.

Elizabeth shook her head, "No Mum, absolutely no!" she stood up and walked toward the door. "No matchmaking or attempts at matchmaking of any kind!" she said before leaving the room.

"You will end up alone the rest of your life Miss Lizzy, with an attitude like that!" her mother snapped at her.

Elizabeth heard Kitty say as she climbed the stairs, "But how could any of us marry him, he's father's cousin, doesn't that make it illegal or something?"

She stopped and let out a heavy sigh when her mother replied, "He's a distant cousin, so it's completely fine."

Elizabeth shook her head in frustration as she stepped into her room. She closed her eyes and took in a long deep breath, "I know what she's going to do…" she mumbled to herself as she walked over and lay down on her bed. She let out a heavy sigh and pulled the pillow over her head. "This is not going to end well."