Battle of the Dragons Chapter 20, a pride and prejudice fanfic

Sorry about the delay. Tradies all over the house for two days is not conducive to creativity.

~O~

Dying Dragon

As promised, Isabella called at the parsonage in the early afternoon. Her timing was quite deliberate as she had brought Jane with her, as they had agreed before leaving after dinner.

As soon as they arrived, Darcy and Richard, who had been loitering near the parsonage came to take Elizabeth and Jane for a walk. The cousins were free to do so since Lord and Lady Matlock again spent the afternoon with their niece.

When Isabella entered the parsonage, she was greeted by Charlotte and a greatly chastened Collins.

He immediately bowed to her and remembering Charlotte's advice said succinctly, 'Your Grace, I most humbly beg your forgiveness for my abominable behaviour towards you.'

Pleasantly surprised at the brevity of the apology, Isabella glanced at Charlotte who gave a small smile and an almost imperceptible nod. Focusing on Collins, Isabella replied, 'Mr Collins, you were fortunate to marry an intelligent woman. You should take advantage of her abilities by listening to her advice.'

Collins nodded and said, 'To my shame I did not put my wife first in my esteem.' He glanced at Charlotte again before adding, 'It seemed ungrateful not to listen to the advice and instructions given by Lady Catherine, who had been so very gracious to award me the living.'

'I understand. Unfortunately for you, Lady Catherine is not the fount of all knowledge as she would like others to believe.'

'So, I have discovered.' Collins looked as if he wanted to say more, but he again refrained from his customary verbosity.

'Very well, Mr Collins. Since you seem to be sincere in your apology and appear willing to reform, I will accept your apology, provided you promise to listen to your wife henceforth.'

'You are most gracious, and I promise to adhere to your condition. I have already made the same promise to my dear wife.'

Charlotte smiled in relief. 'Now that that is taken care of, may I offer tea?'

~O~

The three of them sat in the dining room where they could observe the traffic on the lane. Charlotte served tea and offered some biscuits, which they enjoyed and talked of inconsequentials.

When everyone had relaxed Isabella asked, 'Mr Collins, would you be willing to listen to some advice?'

'Of course, Your Grace. I would be honoured to listen to any pearls of wisdom you have to impart.'

'The other day you said, I consider the clerical office as equal in point of dignity with the highest rank in the kingdom.'

Collins gave her a puzzled look but agreed.

'Do you wish to know why many clergymen are treated with respect? Because the church is a way for younger sons of the nobility to make a living without soiling their hands with work. In many cases it is their birth rank which garners them deference, not the fact that they are clergymen… unless of course they rise to the rank of bishop or archbishop.'

'Forgive me, but I do not understand.'

'My point is that unless a clergyman starts out as a member of the nobility, they are considered only a small step above a tradesman. Any member of the gentry ranks higher.'

Collins' brow furrowed as he was thinking furiously. Eventually he asked in a diffident manner, 'As I am not a member of the nobility, have I given offence by taking on airs and graces to which I am not entitled?'

'Indeed,' Isabella agreed and glanced at Charlotte.

The parson followed her gaze and saw Charlotte giving him a sympathetic look, but she nodded in agreement. Collins grimaced and sighed. 'Growing up, I only ever saw clergymen treated with the greatest respect. I assumed that respect came with the office. Now I am to learn that the respect is given to the person rather than the position.'

'There is one more thing you should know. That respect can be earned by good and faithful service to your parishioners.'

Collins sat in thoughtful silence for a time while he remembered the vicar in the village where he grew up. The respect accorded to that gentle man was the reason he wanted to become a clergyman. In hindsight he realised that Mr Symonds never lorded it over anyone but was always there to extend a helping hand. Eventually he looked up at Isabella and said, 'I shall do my utmost to earn that respect.'

~O~

While Isabella visited with the residents of the parsonage, Richard and Jane spoke about Anne.

'After the discussion with Aunt Catherine last night, it occurred to me that you might be able to help Anne. All the doctors employed by our aunt have been unable to affect a cure.'

Jane immediately protested, 'I only make up salves and tonics according to instructions by Mr Jones. I doubt that I could do better than all those medical experts.'

'Perhaps not, but would you at least meet my cousin?'

Jane agreed and they informed Darcy and Elizabeth of their plans.

'Since we are supposed to chaperone each other, I think that we should accompany you,' suggested Elizabeth. While she was overcoming her dislike of Darcy, she still preferred not to be alone with him.

In response Darcy tilted his head and had a suggestion of his own. 'Perhaps it would be better to use a side entrance. That way we do not have to explain anything to Aunt Catherine.'

Richard grinned. 'Coward.'

'No. I am trying to protect Miss Bennet. I would not wish our aunt's ire to be directed at her if, as she fears, she cannot help Anne.'

'You have a point,' Richard agreed with a sigh. Turning to the ladies he asked, 'Is that agreeable to you?'

'Oh, yes. I would not wish to raise hopes which I cannot fulfil,' Jane concurred fervently.

Soon the four young people were admitted to Anne's sitting room and were met by Lady Matlock. When Richard explained his idea, Lady Matlock took Jane to meet her niece.

Jane was shocked at how frail Anne appeared, propped in her enormous bed.

Lady Matlock introduced them and explained the reason for Jane's presence.

Anne extended a hand towards her visitor, which Jane grasped with great care.

With a tired smile Anne said, 'Thank you, Miss Bennet, for your concern, but I have no wish for you to extend my suffering.'

'Is there nothing I can do for you?'

'You are doing it by making my cousin happy. For years I worried that Richard would be killed in battle. I can now stop worrying. I only wish I could will Rosings to Richard. He would make an excellent custodian of my birthright.'

Lady Matlock stayed in the background, fighting tears as she listened to the two young women who talked quietly for a few minutes until Anne ran out of energy.

~O~

'It must be difficult for your aunt, not being able to help her daughter. For a lady who controls everything and everyone around her, this situation must be well-nigh unbearable,' Jane said as they made their way back to the parsonage.

'I suppose that might explain some of her temper,' mused Darcy.

Richard contradicted him. 'From what father told me about Aunt Catherine, she has always been this way, which was why it took her almost ten years to find a man prepared to marry her.' He sported a mischievous grin when he added, 'And according to a family rumour, Sir Lewis was the only one who could not afford to have his reputation ruined…'

Elizabeth could not help but quietly comment to Darcy, 'It seems every family has members who embarrass us.'

The sly smile reminded Darcy of his unfavourable opinion of Mrs Bennet. 'Can we agree not to hold those relations against each other?'

'I am willing if you are.' Elizabeth hesitated a moment as she remembered Jane's report on her last encounter with their mother. 'Although I suspect you might be surprised at the changes in my family.'

'Changes?'

'Indeed. It is amazing what a difference a sense of security can make. Since Aunt Isabella came into our lives, everything has improved. Knowing we would not end up in the hedgerows has been a balm to our mother's nerves. I suspect you would barely recognise her now.'

~O~

When they arrived at the parsonage, William Collins excused himself to attend to his parishioners.

Charlotte provided more tea, while Jane related her meeting with Anne de Bourgh. 'I cannot help but feel sad. She is so young but the only thing she is looking forward to, is death.'

'Considering her health, I never understood why Aunt Catherine for years insisted that I should marry Anne,' Darcy commented.

Richard answered that question cynically. 'I often wondered if the reason was to remove Anne from Rosings and leave the running of the estate to her.' When he noticed Isabella's raised brow at the scathing assessment, he shrugged and said, 'You are soon to be family and I expect that Mrs Collins is well aware of the situation at Rosings.'

Not wanting to expand on that particular topic, Jane said, 'Miss de Bourgh made one comment which I found a little strange but rather flattering to you, Mr Fitzwilliam. She said that she wanted you to have Rosings as you would look after the estate well. But I got the impression that for some reason she could not do that.'

'I had forgotten about that,' exclaimed Darcy. 'Father once mentioned that Rosings was entailed to the de Bourgh line.'

'That cannot be right,' refuted Elizabeth. 'I distinctly remember Lady Catherine saying I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. It was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh's family. We were discussing the entail on Longbourn.'

'I think I can clear up the confusion. She was speaking about the difference in the entails. Longbourn is entailed to male heirs. Rosings Park is entailed to the de Bourgh bloodline, which can include female heirs.'

'Thank you for explaining,' Elizabeth replied and with a sudden grin turned to Charlotte. 'While I hope for Miss de Bourgh's sake that she will get well, but if she does not, I hope that you shall get a sensible patron or patroness.'

Due to the relaxed atmosphere in her dining room, Charlotte forgot herself enough to quip, 'I suppose it would be nice not to have the butcher tell me that I cannot have the cut of meat which I prefer because he has been ordered by Lady Catherine to curtail my extravagance.'

When Charlotte blushed as she realised what she had said, the cousins reassured her that they took no offence on their aunt's behalf. 'After all, you said nothing but the truth.'

As the conversation continued, Isabella listened with pleasure at the easy relationship the young people had developed.

~O~

When it was time for Isabella and Jane to return to Ravenswood, she offered to convey the cousins the short distance to Rosings.

Once in the carriage she explained, 'I just remembered that I need a private word with Lady Matlock. I suppose one of you could distract Lady Catherine while the other sneaks me in?'

Richard grinned. 'Darcy, I think you had better deal with Aunt Catherine. I had better be the one to escort the Duchess as I have more experience at sneaking than you have.'

Seeing that Darcy was about to say something, he added cheekily, 'On the continent of course.'

At Rosings, Darcy dutifully went to the drawing room, while Richard led the way to Anne's suite. 'Mother planned to spend the whole afternoon with Anne,' he mentioned to Isabella as they quietly entered Anne's sitting room.

After a brief whispered conversation between Isabella and Lady Matlock, both entered Anne's bedroom where the Countess introduced her friend to her niece and mentioned the relationship to Jane.

'Your Grace, I hope you have not come to insist that I should allow Miss Bennet to ply me with any of her potions,' Anne said dispiritedly.

'Not at all and you may as well call me Aunt Isabella. We will be related soon enough. But the reason I am here is to give you some information,' Isabella reassured her. She then bent down and briefly whispered into Anne's ear.

When Isabella straightened, Anne's eyes shone as she asked, 'Truly?'

'Indeed,' Isabella replied with a smile and just as cryptically.

'Thank you, for your visit, Aunt Isabella. I shall sleep well tonight,' Anne said quietly. 'Goodbye.'

Isabella made her farewells just as quietly.

True to expectations, Anne did go to sleep very easily that night.

The following morning, Mrs Jenkinson discovered that Anne had drifted into eternal sleep with a happy smile on her face.

~O~

A/N

Dear reader

If you insist on correcting me, could you please ensure that you are correct?

Jane Austen did not specify if Sir Lewis was a knight or a baronet.

I extrapolated that Lady Catherine would not have married a knight but would have insisted on a man with an inherited title.

As the daughter of a baronet, Anne would be Miss de Bourgh until she married. In the early 19th century, it was almost impossible for women to inherit a title. BTW the wife of a baronet is Lady Surname, a baronetess in her own right is a Dame.

Some titles can be in abeyance until a son is born (usually to the oldest daughter) to inherit the title.

Lady Catherine said, 'I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. It was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh's family.' She was talking about the estate, not a title.

As for the rest – this if fanfiction and I can make any changes I like. 😊

As I said before, if you do not like the changes, do yourself a favour and stop reading.

~O~