Chapter 18
Elizabeth stared at her mother, fists clenched tightly at her side. Lord, please let my father come quickly!
While her outward demeanor presented a young woman who was firm in her resolve, inside, she trembled. Whilst she had defied her mother on occasion in the past - such as refusing to add more lace to a dress or lower the neckline another inch - this was an act of insubordination that had never before been seen in the Bennet household.
Indeed, if it were not for her knowledge of the money her father had set aside, as well as Bingley's forthcoming proposal and her semi-permanent residency at Netherfield, Elizabeth did not know if she would otherwise have had the courage to speak so insolently to the woman who had raised her.
In the past, her courage had always risen with every attempt to intimidate her, but Elizabeth's encounter with Mr. Collins had left her quite shaken. It took every ounce of mental fortitude she possessed to say what she had and not recall her words under her mother's astonished gaze.
Mrs. Bennet folded her arms and glared at her most troublesome daughter. "Well," she sniffed, "we shall see what your father has to say about this when he arrives! Mark my words, Elizabeth Bennet - if you refuse Mr. Collins, then you can consider yourself no longer welcome at Longbourn as long as I live!"
"And if I am forced to accept him," Elizabeth shot back, folding her own arms to hide her trembling hands, "then you will not longer be welcome at Longbourn once Papa no longer lives!"
The room fell into a heavy, uneasy silence for a full hour that was only broken by the occasional muttering from Mrs. Bennet about "ungrateful child" and "unnatural daughter."
At long last, just when Elizabeth thought she would lose her mind, she saw her father approach Netherfield through the window on his horse. She left the parlor to meet him at the front door, all the while wondering where the Hursts had disappeared to and thanking the Lord that everyone at Netherfield was being spared the unfolding drama.
Mrs. Bennet followed closely on Elizabeth's heels, just as eager to speak with her husband as Elizabeth. The two ladies arrived at the front entrance hall just as the door opened to reveal quite the commotion coming from outside.
"I am the rector of the honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and I demand to be allowed entrance immediately! You cannot keep me from my intended bride!"
Elizabeth flinched as the unmistakable tones of her father's cousin came echoing into the house. Two large footmen in livery stood shoulder-to-shoulder, preventing the man's entrance. She could see his black hat bobbing up and down between them; for all his height and bulk, Mr. Collins was no match for the muscular servants.
"Mr. Collins, desist this behavior at once!"
Elizabeth closed her eyes in relief at hearing her father's voice and gave a silent prayer of thanks for his arrival. Fortunately, Mr. Collins recognized the severity in Mr. Bennet's voice and fell silent.
It was short-lived, however; no sooner had the footmen allowed the master of Longbourn to enter Netherfield than they once again resumed their places guarding the front door. The parson's histrionics could be heard into the hallway even once the thick front door had been firmly closed.
"Now, my Lizzy, what's all the fuss about, hmm?" he asked with a chuckle as he removed his hat. "Have you frightened away one of your lovers?"
"One of her lovers? Oh, Mr. Bennet! How can you be so tiresome?"
Mrs. Bennet's earsplitting squawks caused Elizabeth to wince. Mr. Bennet raised a hand and looked sternly at his wife. "My dear, I do not believe I was speaking to you. Unless you wish to forfeit your pin money next quarter day, I suggest you hold your tongue."
His wife gaped at him in disbelief. "You wouldn't dare—"
"Oh, I think you'd be surprised at what I'd dare to do when I have been summoned in such a state, madam," he said coolly. "Now, might I recommend you wait for me in the delightful parlor?"
Mrs. Bennet never resembled a fish more than she did in that moment, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly with no sound coming out. She finally spun around and marched back down the hall, her head held high, nose in the air.
Mr. Bennet then turned back to his daughter with a wry grin. "You had better tell me quickly, Lizzy, before she decides I'm simply joking."
The twinkle in his eyes slowly faded away as she described the events of the morning. When she reached the point in her recitation where Mr. Collins had grabbed her arm forcefully, her father's eyes narrowed.
"Show me," he demanded.
Elizabeth held out her arm, which was already beginning to swell. The bruise was forming in the clear shape of a man's hand, with the blue and purple colors vivid against her pale skin.
He growled low in the back of his throat. "I ought to call him out for this."
She gasped and stepped back, one hand reaching up to her grasp at the simple cross she wore around her neck. "No, Papa! For what it's worth, I don't think he meant to hurt me. He does not seem to be cruel or vicious, simply—"
"Simply an idiot," he replied.
She sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm afraid so. He just couldn't believe I wouldn't accept him. He thought I was being modest and embarrassed by his attentions."
"He thought you had accepted him?"
"I'm afraid Mama told him that I would, and he therefore couldn't accept any other alternative. It was as if… well, it's as if he doesn't quite possess the full measure of intelligence a normal man does. He's not like Jane, but he's also not as intelligent as even Sir William Lucas!"
Mr. Bennet grimaced at this mention of their friendly but somewhat simple-minded neighbor. "I can see your point, Lizzy. Very well, it shall not be pistols at dawn, then. I suppose I shall have to save the Mantons for another time."
"Quite sensible, considering that he would take over the estate should he win. Then Mama would force me to marry him, and we would be back in the same position - only worse!"
The two shared a smile, then Mr. Bennet said, "Well, I suppose we shall have to go give the bad news to your mother."
"Oh! Well, I had thought you would do that, seeing as you are the had of the household, after all. Besides, I really should be seeing to the dinner menus, as Louisa has yet to come downstairs, and -"
"Not so fast, Elizabeth Bennet! If you are going to subject me to your mother's histrionics because of your choices, then you are going to suffer right along with me."
Without giving her time to argue her case, Mr. Bennet marched his daughter down the hall and into the parlor, where Mrs. Bennet waited at the window, watching Mr. Collins alternate between pacing the front lawn and ranting at the footmen blocking his entry into the manor.
Upon hearing their footsteps, the matron placed her hands on her hips and spun around to face them. The retort she meant to throw at them died before it could leave her lips when she spied the scowl on her husband's face.
"Good Lord, Frances. What on earth were you thinking, promising my buffoon of a cousin that Elizabeth would marry him? Did she not already refuse to leave Netherfield in place of Lydia because she was caring for Jane? Is she not your most obstinate, headstrong daughter?"
Mrs. Bennet began to defend herself, but Mr. Bennet cut her off. "Even if she were willing to accept such a proposal, when did the laws of England reverse themselves and give the mother precedence over the father? Am I not the master of my home? Do I not have the guardianship of my children? Does not the holy Bible itself give me the responsibility to rule over my home?"
Once again, Mrs. Bennet tried to protest, but Mr. Bennet refused to allow it. "No, madam, for once in your life, you will allow me to be the one to speak! You have proven yourself to be the most unfit, unnatural of all mothers. Forcing Jane into the rain and nearly costing her her life, and now placing Elizabeth in the hands of a relative stranger without so much as a word to me, her father. This has gone far enough, madam, and I will have no more of it!"
Mr. Bennet punctuated his last statement with a hard flick of his riding crop, which snapped loudly in the air. For the first time that Elizabeth could remember, her mother fell silent. Indeed, Mrs. Bennet's face went so pale, Elizabeth thought her mother was in true danger of falling prey to a fit of the vapors. She took a step forward and reached out to steady the swaying woman, who looked down at her daughter's arm and gasped at the lurid marks.
"He… he did this to you?"
Elizabeth nodded, and Mrs. Bennet let out a noise that was halfway between a sob and howl, then tore out of the room. Astonished, Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth looked at one another for several moments before turning and hurrying after the distraught woman.
By the time they reached the hall, Mrs. Bennet had raced down towards the front door, her skirts lifted up to her knees to hasten her progress. She ignored their calls and flung herself into the still-waiting carriage that had brought her and Mr. Collins from Longbourn. The suddenness of her arrival spooked the horses, who reared back and began to make their way home.
The coachman, who had been dozing off at his place in the box, had startled awake when Netherfield's door had been slammed open by Mrs. Bennet's exit. He looked frantically around for guidance when she shouted her demand to return home, and he accepted Mr. Bennet's wave of approval with relief and the tip of his hat.
"I suppose I had best follow her home," Mr. Bennet said with a decided lack of enthusiasm. "Who knows what sorts of chaos she might cause if I leave her unchecked like this."
"But what about me?" wailed Mr. Collins, who had been watching the coach drive away.
"I suppose Mr. Bingley's stablemaster could saddle a horse for you," suggested Mr. Bennet.
"A horse?" Mr. Collins recoiled, aghast. "I do not ride!"
"Well, then I suggest you begin walking towards Longbourn. I will send the carriage back for you."
"Perhaps I could wait here with my betrothed -"
"Let me make one thing perfectly understood," interrupted Mr. Bennet harshly. "You are most certainly not engaged to my Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet was quite mistaken in the matter, and Elizabeth has other demands on her affections of which her mother does not have knowledge. It is impossible for her to accept your attentions. Is that understood?"
Mr. Collins blanched. "Yes, quite understood!"
He turned and bowed awkwardly at Elizabeth. "My sincerest apologize, Cousin, for the misunderstanding. Had I been aware that you affections were otherwise engaged, I would never dared to have presumed to impose upon you."
She blinked at his continued rambling for several minutes before interrupting him. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Collins. I accept your apology with all my heart."
"You are too good, too gracious! Indeed, your charity and magnanimity are second only my benevolent patroness, the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh, whose condescension and —"
"Yes, yes, that is all very good," interjected Mr. Bennet, "but I believe you might wish to start making you way towards Longbourn now, or else you will not get very far before it grows to dark to see."
Mr. Collins's eyes widened, and he looked around in no small panic towards the setting sun. He gave another graceless bow towards Elizabeth, then turned his large frame towards the road and began an uncoordinated type of trot in the opposite direction of Longbourn.
Elizabeth watched with amazement at her oaf of a cousin's lumbering, while Mr. Bennet let out a snort. "I suppose I had best point him in the right direction, lest I find myself the subject of an inquiry should he not survive the night."
"Papa, you told him my affections were engaged elsewhere?" Elizabeth finally asked her father the question that had been weighing on her mind for the last several minutes.
"Why, yes! Does not your dear sister Jane currently command all of your love and devotion? Are you not dedicated to her care, especially now that she is reaching the end of her time with us?"
Not knowing whether to laugh or to cry, Elizabeth gave her father a teary smile. "Thank you, Papa. Thank you for coming."
"I am only sorry I could not protect you from my cousin's brutality. Be assured, your mother will feel the full force of my displeasure."
Elizabeth shook her head. "I do not think either of them truly intended any real harm, Papa. Mr. Collins is simply… simple. And as for Mama, well, I do not think she thought him capable of causing physical trauma. 'Tis naught but some bruises, and they will heal soon enough. As long as they cease to think of me as a potential marriage partner for him, I shall be content."
"They shall, I assure you," Mr. Bennet replied grimly.
With a final farewell, Elizabeth watched her father mount his horse and ride off towards Mr. Collins, who had only made it some yards down the road before he had stopped to double over and catch his breath. Before she entered the house, she made sure - admittedly, with some amusement - that the large, cumbersome young parson had turned around and was currently on the correct course towards Longbourn.
Once all of the Longbourn visitors had disappeared at last, Elizabeth returned to the library, this time successful in settling herself in the cozy chair at the fireplace. A passing maid had informed her that Jane had awoken during her time with the Mr. Collins debacle but had quickly fallen back to sleep.
Elizabeth would have been concerned at the amount of time her sister was spending at rest, but both Mr. Jones and the doctor from London had informed her that the various tinctures and herbal remedies they were prescribing for Jane's cough would leave her feeling quite drowsy until the doses could be lowered in another week or so.
With all of the tumult of the past day - nay, the past fortnight - Elizabeth eagerly sought refuge in one of the new books she had purchased in Meryton. For the next several hours, she immersed herself in the fantastical worlds of Lilliput and Brobdingnag, where gentle giants, noble horses, and floating islands carried her away until the scale of her problems shrank away like the Emperor in front of Gulliver.
Suddenly, the sharp clang of the dressing bell pierced the mental haze that had enveloped Elizabeth as she read. She shook her head slightly to clear the fog, and noted the time with no small amount of surprise. She quickly made her way back to her room and changed for dinner. As she was accustomed to doing so without a maid - for the Bennet girls only shared the one girl, Sarah - she had ample time to visit with Jane before the bell rang yet again, this time to call her down to dinner.
After she had secured Jane's promise to eat all that was served on the dinner tray, Elizabeth went down to the drawing room. She was quite surprised to discover that she was the first one to arrive. Typically, Mr. Hurst was quite eager to begin his meal, and he and Louisa were often the first to enter the room.
Grantham entered about five minutes later. "Dinner is served," he announced.
"Am I… am I the only one eating?" she asked with surprise.
"Mrs. Hurst requested a tray be sent to her room," he informed her.
"But what about Mr. Hurst?"
Grantham blinked, then looked around the room in surprise. "I assumed he would be dining downstairs as usual. I had not heard otherwise."
"Perhaps someone should ask his valet," Elizabeth suggested.
Grantham snapped his fingers at a footman in the hall, who immediately darted off in the direction of the servant's staircase. "Would you like to wait for him, Miss Lizzy?"
She hesitated. "I think I would prefer to take a tray to the library, actually. I'm not entirely certain I would enjoy dining with just Mr. Hurst for company."
Grantham's lips twitched slightly. "Very well. I will have it sent there directly."
"Oh, there's no need! I can carry it myself."
He gave her a look of deep indignation. "I could never let it be said that a guest of Netherfield carried their own dinner tray!"
His voice was filled with such offense that it was all Elizabeth could to do to hold back her laughter. "I see. I had not thought of it in quite that way, Grantham. I would be more than happy to accept the tray. Thank you very much for taking such good care of me."
He bowed low, then excused himself to go see to the arrangements. Elizabeth gave a soft giggle, then made her way back to the library, where she once again settled into the snug armchair by the fire to await her dinner.
How long she waited, she did not know, because at some point, the warmth of the fire and the soft comfort of the chair lulled her away into a brief slumber. That peaceful rest was ended rather suddenly when the door flew open with a loud crash.
Elizabeth jumped in her seat, startled awake. "Good heavens!" she cried in alarm. "What on earth?"
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! He's missing!"
Louisa Hurst came flying into the room, wearing only a dressing gown over her shift, her hair tumbling down around her shoulders under a nightcap.
"Who is missing?"
"Reggie! My husband. Mr. Hurst! He went for a ride hours ago, but he still hasn't returned!"
Elizabeth looked out the window in alarm. Other than the dim light from the half moon, there was nothing but inky blackness.
In an attempt to cater to both Darcy and Bingley, Netherfield's schedule was a unique blend of both town and country hours. Dinner at Longbourn was usually served between three and five in the evening, with a late tea before bed. At her uncle's house in Gracechurch Street, however, Elizabeth would usually have dinner at around seven or eight at night.
At Netherfield, Bingley was attempting to make the adjustment to country hours. He therefore had requested that dinner be served at six o'clock, and every two weeks, move the meal half an hour earlier. A similar adjustment was being made for his waking times, unless there was a social event.
Since it was late October, the sun was already setting as early as five o'clock, which meant Mr. Hurst had been out in the cold darkness for at least two hours.
"Let us not panic, Louisa," Elizabeth said in a firm voice, belying the knot of dread in her stomach. "Here, you take my place while I organize things."
Elizabeth stood and guided her trembling friend over to her seat by the fire. She rang the bell, then poured Louisa a glass of wine from the bottle that had been left out the night prior.
"Yes, miss?" A young maid came to the door in response to the bell.
"Please have Mr. Grantham and Mrs. Pearse come here immediately, as well as Mrs. Hurst's lady's maid. Quickly!"
The girl curtsied briefly, then dashed off. Within minutes, the butler and housekeeper arrived, with Louisa's lady's maid not long after.
Elizabeth quickly explained the situation. "I believe we should have every able-bodied man split off in partners with lanterns to begin searching. The hunting dogs may be of use, too, I should think."
"We should also see if any of the regiment are able to help search," added Grantham.
"Excellent," Elizabeth agreed. "The more help, the better. It is already so dark, but it is too cold to wait until morning. We do not know what his condition is, either."
This last bit was said in a whisper as Elizabeth glanced as Louisa to make certain she didn't overhear.
"I will send someone for Mr. Jones," Mrs. Pearse said.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said. "In the meantime, I will work to coordinate efforts here. Mrs. Hurst's made can stay with her and keep her calm."
Having been given their assignments, each person went their ways, united in their goal to find Mr. Hurst.
As Elizabeth made her way towards the parlor where she would coordinate the search efforts, all she could do was pray. Please, Lord, let us find him safe.