FAN FICTION

GENERAL REGENCY

Previously:

"First, watch your tongue, slipping twice on his name is bad enough, do not do it again. Second, there are ways around guards."

Mrs. Collin's Visit

Ch. 16

The sun had risen high over the green hills, warming and perfuming the air with the scent of flowers and grass. Birds sang cheerfully in the trees, and various flowers displayed their colorful blossoms. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves and the curtains of the slightly open windows, creating a soothing sound and a cozy and welcoming atmosphere.

Charlotte Collins stood nervously at the door of Longbourn, holding a letter in her hand. She had been visiting her parents, who had fallen ill, and had learned from her friends that the rumors of the Bennets' involvement in a secret feud in Scotland were lies. She also knew how it had all started, and felt guilty and ashamed. She had come to confess to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet that it was her own husband who had reported them to the authorities, though she had no idea why they had sent a military officer to watch them.

She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. She hoped that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet would be at home, and that they would be willing to listen to her. She knew they had no reason to trust her, or to forgive her for not coming forward sooner. She heard footsteps and the door opened. It was Mrs. Bennet, who looked surprised but not angry to see her.

Caitlin, who had just finished securing her newly acquired material to a quilt frame, heard the knock. She would have ignored it, but with the girls visiting the neighbors, the servants all busy, and Mr. Bennet in his library, she set aside her material and left the parlor. She answered the door and saw Mrs. Collins.

"Mrs. Collins," Caitlin said with surprise in her voice. "What brings you here? I thought for sure you and your husband would be heading home by now."

Charlotte tried to smile, "We stayed longer than planned because of my parents' health. They are now in good hands and doing better. But, Mrs. Bennet." The poor lady swallowed hard and said, "I beg your pardon for this intrusion, but I could not bring myself to leave without making a confession."

"Indeed? And what might that be, Mrs. Collins?" Mrs. Bennet asked, feeling a surge of curiosity and concern.

Charlotte said, "It is about my husband, Mr. Collins. He is the one who reported you to the authorities. He is the one who lied about you being involved in a feud in Scotland. He is the one who wanted to destroy you and your family."

"Let me guess, Lady Catherine was involved?" Mrs. Bennet asked.

"Yes, she allowed his connections with her to spread the false rumors. The ones that got Colonel Fitzwilliam ordered to your house that day."

"Why come now? Why not before? Why even come at all? The damage to Thomas's name has already been done." Caitlin folded her arms. "I can honestly say, my husband avoids a fight whenever possible."

Charlotte said, "I wanted to, Mrs. Bennet, I really did. But I was afraid. I was afraid of my husband. People already know he is a man of very little brains. And, until now, I would not have claimed I felt as if I was in danger by Mr. Collins. But now, he threatened me with violence and blackmail if I ever spoke against him. I was afraid of Lady Catherine, who has the power to ruin me and my family. Mostly I was just plain afraid of losing everything I have, which is not much, but it is all I have." She took a deep breath. "But now, I find I could not depart without telling you the truth."

"Go in peace, Mrs. Collins. And do it before that husband of yours figures out where you have been. Anyone who really cares to know me, knows the truth." Mr. Bennet spoke from behind his wife. "Besides, it is not you I have ever had an issue with." Thomas did not have the heart to tell the lady they already figured out what she had confessed.

"How can one's own husband be so cruel?" Caitlin asked as they closed the door and she found herself in Thomas's arms. "To hate us I can comprehend, though I find it sad. However, to threaten your own wife?"

"Do you not ever long for some peace and quiet, my dear? A place where you cannot hear my incessant chatter? A place like, oh, I do not know, a dank and gloomy cavern?" Thomas said with a mischievous smile and a wink wishing to distract his wife's mind of such wretched man as Collins.

"If only I get to pack your bags, Mr. Bennet, I would make sure you have everything you need for your cave adventure. A lantern, a blanket, a book, and a sandwich. And maybe a map, just in case you get lost." She said with a sarcastic tone and a wink.

Their humorous remarks, followed by flirtatious ones, were the reason Mary, Kitty and Kirsty found only the servants downstairs when they arrived home from the neighbors. And, as much as the girls might have loved to converse with their parents before dinner, none of them were stupid enough to attempt to open their parents' bedroom door. No, especially not when they were ordered to go back downstairs by their father-without him answering the door. However, it was not long before Mrs. Bennet was back working on her quilt, and Mr. Bennet was sitting at his desk in his library.

"Father?" Mary cautiously poked her head into the library.

"Yes?"

"I did not wish to alarm mother, but..." She stepped in the room and closed the door. "But I saw a man watching us as we were walking home."

"Did you recognize him?"

"No..." Mary could not help but shudder. "But I had the urge to stick a worn out hat on his head, a tattered coat, and gloves with no fingers." When asked why his daughter felt such a need, Mary replied. "Because the stranger fits many descriptions Elizabeth gave of what she saw men of questionable characters wear in bad parts of London."

Mr. Bennet did not like what he was hearing.